EL Official BK5 Chapter 3 - I Stalked the Quiet Kid (pt.1) (Patreon)

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It was only the sound of our terrified ragged breathing that broke the oppressive silence of the woods. We had run as far as we could, and now stood in the middle of the dark forest alone, huddled together too afraid to go any further. Cassy and I weren’t friends, she was the weird girl who had dragged me into this mess, and as I tried to calm my breathing I resented ever having met her.

A twig cracking somewhere off to the right echoed through the night air and we turned slowly toward the sound. There was no telling what that could be and we both trembled with fear. I’m sure my eyes were as wide as saucers as I strained to see through the dimness and I held my breath trying to keep quiet.

Someone, or something, was moving toward us. Slinking between the trees like a shadow as it approached and I dared not speculate. I didn’t know what we could do now. This was all her fault, I shouldn’t have been out here in the first place, and this shouldn’t have been happening to me!

This had all started a little over two weeks prior:

It was mid way through senior year and students filed into the morning class one by one with backpacks slung over their shoulders. Warm air from the AC ruffled the edges of my books and I tapped a pen absently on the desk as I waited. The school was a ‘no tech’ school, meaning most of our assignments and tasks were completed with pen and paper. My parents hated technology. They didn’t want me growing up reliant on it, I was lucky I was even allowed a phone.

Anyway, as everyone filtered into their seats our teacher, Mr. Thomson, cleared his throat. “Good morning everyone, I hope you’re all well rested after the weekend. Today we have a new student joining us, this is Cassandra, please make her feel welcome.”

Beside him stood an unfamiliar girl. She was skinny with mildly hollow cheeks, shoulder length dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. When introduced she gave a little awkward wave. “Hi,” she said shyly. Prompting a disjointed chorus of welcoming from the rest of us before she was allowed to take a seat.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” she whispered as she slipped quietly into place beside Adrian.

“No, it’s empty,” he assured.

Adrian was probably the most boring person I knew. He sat unobtrusively beside the window in every class, and I think he’s on our ice hockey team, but he’s not the best player. I almost felt sorry for the girl, she might as well have sat next to a piece of soggy cardboard.

The only thing mildly interesting about him is that he’s got ashy white hair and purple-ish eyes. It’s some kind of albinism, I used to think it was cool, until I was paired with him on a project. As it turned out he was dumb and lazy. I ended up doing most of the work, and what little he did, I had to revise. I was a straight A student, but we only got a B+ on that assignment because of him. I decided then that he probably wasn’t who she wanted to associate with.

So, when lunch came she stood with her tray of food uncertainly and I waved her over, “Hey, Cassandra! You can come sit with me!” I called.

“Thank you, I wasn’t sure where to go.. And you can call me Cassy,” she laughed and I smiled as I introduced myself.

“It’s okay, I’m Mia by the way. I was in your first class, back seat to the right.”

“Sorry, I didn’t really notice,” she admitted, but I gave a dismissive wave.

“It’s fine, first days are a bit much,” I assured as we took a seat among my friends.

Cassy wasn’t shy like I thought, rather loud and bright. She laughed easily and wore a little makeup that covered the blemish spots on her skin. I really thought we could be good friends.

“So, where are you from?” The question came up at last.

“Oh! I’m from Canada, we just moved here because my parents got work nearby. But we probably won't stay too long,” she explained, folding her arms under herself as she leaned forward on the table. She hadn’t eaten much off her plate, no wonder she was so skinny.

“How long do you think you’ll stay?” I asked curiously.

“Mm~ probably until the end of the year, if I’m lucky.”

“What do your parents do for work?”

“My dad is a sales associate, and my mom works for a tech company.”

“A tech company? But she sent you to a no tech school?” one of my friends chimed in.

“Yeah, I wanted to go here. I think it’s really quaint, you know?”

“That’s one word for it,” I agreed sarcastically.

Talking to Cassy was oddly nice? She was easy going, and by the end of lunch it felt like I’d known her for years. We sat together in the last class of the day and she pulled a face when Mr. Thomson reminded the class that parent-teacher meetings were coming up.

“That’ll be a waste of time for me, I just got here,” she mused quietly.

“For me too, I already get good grades,” I whispered back.

We were leaving class just behind Adrian when Mr. Thomson stopped him, inadvertently halting us as well. “Hadrian, a word,” he began in a hushed tone, “Please make sure your parents show up this time, it’s very important that I speak with them, alright?”

The boy fidgeted uncomfortably, “Ahh, sure, no problem,” he agreed softly.

“I mean it. I need to talk to them, or you’ll fail this year,” Mr. Thomson reiterated sternly and Adrian clenched his teeth.

“I-... I can’t promise my parents will be able to come. Would it be okay if my uncle came in their place?”

“No. I need to talk to your parents.”

“...I’ll try…”

“Tell them, I’ll call them if they don’t come… You’re a good kid, Hadrian, and this is important.”

Adrian looked uncomfortable, “I understand,” he murmured, moving to go without making eye contact as Cassy and I stood awkwardly waiting to move past them. We probably weren’t meant to hear any of that.

Mr. Thomson glanced at us as he realized we were still there, prompting us to exit hurriedly. We walked through the halls at a brisk pace to escape the awkward situation.

“Is Adrian in trouble or something?” Cassy asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I guess maybe? His parents never come to the meetings, he usually doesn’t show up either.”

“That’s weird?”

I shrugged, “I guess.”

Cassy was quiet as her attention focused across the car park to where Adrian was. He was headed toward a truly ancient black Mercedes with white rimmed tires. That car had to be over a hundred years old, but it was just one of three antique cars that came to pick him up every day: a cherry red Mustang, a beat up truck, or the black Mercedes. However when he reached the car Adrian stopped, surprised for a moment, before he smiled, speaking to whoever was driving as he got into the car.

“Who do you think picks him up?” Cassy asked with a strange expression. Her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion.

“Who knows. He gets picked up by a bunch of different cars, and whoever is driving never gets out of the car,” I answered uncaring, why was she so fascinated by him?

“…Has anyone ever gone missing or disappeared at this school since Adrian’s been going here?”

“What? No?” I laughed confused, “Why are you asking so many questions about him? You got a crush on him already?”

Her serious demeanor dropped immediately and she laughed as well, “No! But I mean- he is kind of cute isn’t he?”

“I guess!” I mused, I didn’t want to outrightly admit that I thought he was handsome. He was taller than most with a good build, and the way his hair fell into soft waves was nice. It was just a shame his personality was so flat, he was disinterested in everything and it was hard to strike up a conversation.

Still, even as we joked, Cassy followed that Mercedes with her eyes as it left. It was like she was trying to see through the tinted windows to glare at the occupants and I briefly wondered what this girl's problem was with Adrian.

In the following days Cassy and I became somewhat more acquainted. She sat with me every lunch and in our last two classes, but by the end of the week I was getting a bit annoyed. The girl was obsessed. She watched Adrian like a hawk, in class, at lunch, during break periods, in the hall—we were standing beside our lockers when I finally got fed up.

Adrian was across the hall talking to two other guys from the hockey team and Cassy was watching him from behind her locker door.

“If you want to ask him out, you should just go do it already,” I commented bluntly, catching her by surprise as I approached.

“I- what? No, that’s not it,” she stated in a fluster.

“Then what’s your deal? Why are you being so weird about Adrian?”

At this, Cassy was quiet, looking to her feet as she decided what to say, “Well… I… How old do you think he is?” she asked at last.

“What?”

“How old do you think he is?”

I rolled my eyes, “Eighteen, nineteen like the rest of us. Why?” I stated harshly.

“Because I think I know him…” she lowered her voice and I folded my arms as I waited for her to elaborate. “I went to a different school like this one, back in Canada, and there was a guy there that looked just like him.”

“So?”

“So, I’m pretty sure that’s him.”

“And? I told you he only got here last year. Maybe he went to your old school before.”

“But I was a freshman… and he was still a senior. It’s been three years, and he looks the exact same.”

“Maybe he has a brother?”

Cassy looked exasperated, “But he looks identical.”

“Okay, well, maybe he got held back a few years,” I suggested, afterall, with his grades, it hardly seemed like a stretch.

“Does he look like a twenty-something year old to you?” she demanded and I subtly glanced over to the boy in question: he barely looked eighteen, let alone twenty.

“No…” I admitted reluctantly as I refocused my attention on her.

“Exactly. Which is weird right?”

“I guess. So then what do you think?”

Again the girl paused, “...Do you believe in monsters?”

It was all I could do not to close my locker and walk away. This girl was so weird, “What? You think he’s a vampire or something?” I teased instead.

“I don’t know…”

It was only then that I realized she was serious, she really thought he was some kind of supernatural being, “I think you need to get out more,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t sure what I had gotten myself into befriending the new girl, and honestly I was beginning to regret it.

“I know I sound insane, but the guy I knew also got picked up from school in a black Mercades. Or, I guess, sometimes it was a red car or a truck too…”

That gave me pause. I hadn’t told her the color of other cars, and so far, she had only seen the Mercedes. “... I sat next to him because I thought he would say something, but he didn’t so I wasn’t sure. But now I think I’m sure. Isn’t it weird? Has anyone ever been to his house or seen him eat anything?”

Her insistence sparked some tiny doubt in the back of my mind. Logical thought tells us that monsters don’t exist, but, when you live near the Appalachian mountains in Maine, you sort of get a bit superstitious, and Adrian was strange in his own ways. I don’t know how it happened exactly, but before I knew it, I too was watching Adrian.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, reflecting brightly off his hair and creamy skin. The tendons in his hand flexed as he wrote and his brow furrowed slightly with concentration while Cassy and I bore holes into him from two seats back. We were like two school girls with a crush, watching him at a distance and from behind walls.

By the end of the week we had his routine figured out and a list of everything he did written down. We missed him at lunch on Tuesday, but at 11:34am on Wednesday, Hadrian pulled a glass container from his bag. It held a colored assortment of fat round grapes and we watched with bated breath as he began to eat them. His perfect sharp teeth sliced through each grape as he bit them in half.

The grapes were big, sure, but I had never seen anyone eat them so slowly like that. It was elegant, as if he was pondering the meaning of life with each one, and profoundly confusing. He ate nothing else other than the grapes, and it took him the entire lunch break to finish the small bunches.

On Thursday, he ate cheese and crackers in the same odd way as he talked with his friends and we stared dumbfounded. I guess we couldn’t say we hadn’t seen him eat anymore, albeit, we hadn’t expected him to eat like a disney princess. When he noticed us watching him once by chance, he turned away awkwardly before getting up to leave and I felt mild guilt. What if there was nothing weird about him and we were just stalking him for no reason?

On the day of the parent-teacher meetings we waited in anticipation. Would Hadrian show up? Would his parents? And if they did, what would they be like? It happened that Cassy and I were in the parking lot when a familiar cherry red mustang pulled in. It came to a gentle stop and Hadrian stepped out of the car. He waited beside the front passenger door, and opened it for a young woman to step out.

She was beautiful, her eyes were a shade of gray that made me double take, and her hair was mid length and brown. It fell neatly just past her shoulders and had an auburn undertone when it caught the light. Her stomach was swollen, but she wore stretchy casual jeans and a top that looked unreasonably expensive. It was like she was wearing unbranded designer clothes, and if I had to guess I would have said she didn’t look more than twenty five.

The woman smiled at Hadrian when he tried to help her, but waved him away, “You think because I’m fat I can’t get out of a car?” she accused playfully.

“Well, you couldn’t pick up the cup you dropped yesterday, so…” he trailed off and she lightly hit his arm, as he grinned.

“Rude! Markos– your son is rude!”

“It’s not my side of the family he gets it from,” a man answered her as he stepped out of the driver's side.

He was tall and regal with a slim waist, and spoke with a faint accent. He wore a cream button down shirt and freshly pressed, dark, business pants. Much like Hadrian, his hair was white with a gentle wavy texture, and his eyes were a piercing purple in color. The family resemblance was uncanny, they even had the same sharp jawline and broad shoulders, but if I thought Hadrian was quiet and boring, this man seemed even less approachable.

As they made their way up the steps into the building the Mustang’s lights flashed as it locked, and the woman latched onto the man’s arm. It wasn’t until then that I remembered Cassandra. She looked distraught beside me with her fists clenched and her eyes wide with disbelief. I couldn’t imagine what conclusion she was coming to. But I understood immediately why Hadrain had been so hesitant to bring his parents: there was no way that woman was old enough to be his mother, and his father looked some years older than her, which meant she was probably a step mom.

It must’ve been awkward for him, maybe she was a sugar baby and he didn’t really like her, or maybe he was just embarrassed. By coincidence alone my parents and I were placed near where Hadrian’s parents were meeting with Mr. Thomson and I overheard some. They were discussing the possibility that he had some kind of learning disorder, and that he would probably need to repeat the year. They took it surprisingly well, if not denying it, until Mr. Thomson mentioned that unless his grades improved, he would likely be removed from the hockey team. Then their voices became tense and serious.

It was uncomfortable, it seemed like his parents cared more about his sports than his grades, all the while the boy tried to reassure them. When it was over the woman stood with her arms folded and her lips set in a hard line, but her husband and Hadrian showed no emotion.

“It’s alright, I don’t need to play hockey,” Hadrian spoke softly trying to settle the woman.

“It’s not ‘alright’, you love hockey. I don’t see how academic success should determine anything to do with hitting a little black thing across some ice,” she muttered, scrunching her nose.

“That’s just how they do it-”

“I know that! Gawd nothing changes. School is so stupid, are you sure you want to keep going?”

“Mom…” he agonized, “I want to finish this year at least, I’m learning more here than I ever could anywhere else… You know it’s important for the future…” he pleaded with her.

The woman exhaled in irritation, “You’ve been spending too much time with your uncles… they’re always going on about ‘choosing the right path for the future’ or whatever. You know you’re too young to be worrying about that don’t you?”

Hadrian didn’t answer and so his step mom continued on a tangent, “And what does he mean ‘learning disability’. There’s nothing wrong with you! If he knew even half the things you’re capable of he wouldn’t say that. And, graduating isn’t everything, I didn’t graduate,” she huffed.

“Yeah, but, you met Dad.”

She stopped, pursing her lips mildly discouraged. “And I didn’t need a highschool diploma to do it, did I?”

“Tu sais, elle a raison,” (you know, she has a point), his father mused in another language.

Hadrian opened his mouth to respond when his step mom glared, “Don’t you dare answer so that I don’t understand,” she warned and he smiled.

“Sorry,” he apologized insincerely as he opened the car door for her to get in.

It was only then that an uncomfortable feeling settled in my gut. Adrian was just some guy with a complicated family but I had gotten caught up in the mystery, and we had been harassing him for nothing I thought. I didn’t say a word to Cassy as we left with our own families. I was dejected, I was an idiot having allowed myself to believe her. Now I would have to find a way to apologize.

On monday I came into class with the intention of talking to Cassy. I was done with this charade, and we needed to stop following Hadrian. However a commotion down the hall caught my attention, someone was yelling, and I realized with dread that it was Cassy’s voice.

I rounded the corner to find a small crowd had gathered in a semicircle. An empty plastic cup preceded the smeared puddles of milky liquid that coated the floor, and in the spilled drink were little chunks of fruit with melting ice cream. The concoction was sticky underfoot and I had to be careful not to slip as I approached.

“How can you just stand there and pretend you don't know me!?” Cassy was screaming at Adrian as she shoved him back.

His shirt was drenched, soiled by whatever drink Cassy had thrown over him. Creamy water droplets dripped from the ends of his hair and fruit pieces slid down his clothing like garnish on a meal.

“Did you think I wouldn’t recognise you?” she accused.

“Cassandra, I think you’re extremely confused, let me take you to the medical office…” Hadrian responded in a level tone. His voice held some kind of concern and the gentle calmness was surprising, but it set Cassy off.

“Stop it! Why are you doing this?” Hot, angry, tears welled along her lower lash line as she spoke and her voice broke, “Why- I know- I know it’s you-.”

“I don’t know you-” he tried but she cut him off as she grabbed his shirt to shake him.

“Stop saying that! Stop saying that-!” she shouted until her voice broke.

Cassy was dissolving into a greater mess with every passing second while the crowd leered around them. A couple students were risking suspension by recording the situation on their phones, when Hadrian noticed he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Carefully he pulled Cassandra’s hands from his clothes as he redirected her away, “Come on, let’s go this way. It’s not far to the medical office…” he tired but she thrashed wildly out of his grip.

“You’re lying to everyone but you can’t fool me! I’ll expose you for what you are if it’s the last thing I do I swear it!”

Hadrian clenched his teeth, briefly looking up as if finding some sort of inner peace before responding. “Listen. I’m trying to help you here. Can you even hear yourself? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only met you for the first time the other day! I don’t know why you think you know me-” he stopped when she hit him across the face.

Her acrylic nails scraped his cheek, and the slap echoed in a way that took the breath from the room as the observers fell instantly silent. “Know you? We dated for three years. How can you stand there and pretend like I never existed to you?” she whispered more quietly while Hadrian stood still frozen in shock.

However, he ignored her this time. Instead reaching up to touch his lip with his thumb as blood trickled down his chin. He looked mildly surprised to have been hit, but more amused than anything to be bleeding. His lips twitched into the slightest smile, and Cassy took a step back as he lowered his gaze to look down at her.

I couldn’t imagine what he was going to say, but something in his narrowed smile sent a chill down my spine and I moved to stand between them. “O-okay, let’s just calm down,” I began with trepidation.

“H-he's a monster, I swear, you have to believe me…” she pleaded, her wide eyes came to rest on me and through them I saw the true depths of her madness. She was having some kind of psychotic break, that much was clear.

“No Cassy, he’s just a dude, look at him, he’s bleeding. Would a monster bleed?” I tried to reason with her.

She glanced past me to Hadrian and for a moment, it seemed as though she would calm down, until he spoke. “At least someone has some sense,” he muttered to himself and Cassandra launched at him over me.

Half an hour later we were all sitting in the hall outside the principal's office waiting for our parents. Hadrian sat on the narrow bench on one side of the hall, holding a tissue to his split lip until it stopped bleeding, while Cassy and I were in chairs on the other side. She glared at him, keeping her arms folded and tapping her foot impatiently while he ignored her.

Cassy’s parents were the first to arrive, they were frantic like they had been expecting some worse news and seemed happy just to see their daughter. She was handed a five day suspension for attacking another student, but it was Adrian that I felt bad for. He had to sit in wet clothing while he waited and the milky water was drying in crusty patterns on his clothes.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” I began at last.

“If you’re going to insist you know me as well, then no,” he answered flatly.

“Actually, I was going to ask why Cassandra thinks you dated?”

“How should I know?”

“Do you really not know her?”

“Does it look like I know her?” he retorted.

“Well… I don’t know...” I mumbled, “Are you okay? She hit you pretty hard.”

“I’m fine.”

His statement was final, and we fell into an uncomfortable silence. The minute hand on the wall clock ticked rhythmically as time crawled by until eventually soft footsteps approached down the hall and Hadrian looked up.

A man I had never seen before approached. He was oddly pretty and looked nothing like Hadrian. Instead, he was in his mid twenties from the look of him, with dark hair covering one eye, while the other was the darkest blue with long straight lashes.

The man came to a stop before Adrian, looking down on him without emotion as he spoke, “Hey kid, looks like we got the call to come get you,” he teased lightly.

“Yeah…” Adrian answered without looking up, giving the man pause.

“Are you alright?” he asked, more skeptical as he crouched down to be below eye level with Adrian.

“...Does my dad know?”

“...Yes…”

“Is he mad?”

“Not at you.”

Adrian was quiet a moment and so the man continued, “What is on your clothes?”

“Some girl poured her drink on me, but I'm fine.”

The man regarded him for a long moment before standing again, “Obviously, a drink won’t hurt you. Now get up. We should get you home,” he stated as he turned to leave, expecting Hadrian to follow.

“Eric…” the boy called instead.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think they’ll pull me out of school over this..?” he asked the question so quietly I hardly heard it.

“No, I won’t let them. Now come. We’ll get something to eat on the way.”

Hadrian delayed a moment more before getting up, “Can I stay at your place tonight?”

“Absolutely not.”

As they reached the end of the hall, a taller man with brown hair, and an asian woman with white hair fell into pace with them. The woman was just as emotionless as Eric, and they didn’t speak, while the other man fretted until they were out of sight.

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