I watch scornfully from the dark corner of the cafeteria as Sarah leads Blake by his arm over towards her group of friends. My bagel snaps in half and crumbs fly everywhere due my fists gripping it so hard. I diverted my eyes away from Sarah and my new housemate.

"You look agitated," comments Lisa with a raised eyebrow as she scrutinises the crumbs of my beloved bagel.

"I am just slightly irritated," I speak between clenched teeth as I pry my hands away from the table.

"Looks more like furious to the point of steam coming out your ears."

"Alright, marginally irritated," I concede. She smirks.

"Thought so." Her eyes light up in amusement but when I don't laugh back her features turn serious. She glances towards the dark, evil and demented table as we like to call it.

"So, what is it about this new guy that has you so worked up?" She inquires as she leans closer to me like we were discussing a very secretive secret.

"Nothing he just makes me so angry," I growl refusing to look over at them.

"He was in my Math class, he seems kind of scary. He gives me the heebabegebies," she cringes as her eyes move over his black clothes, dark form and glare that his features seem to be permanently set in.

"Yeah and to think he is living in my bedroom," I speak with horrified wide eyes.

"Rest in peace," she nods with tight lips. I couldn't help laughing at her, even though what she said is too true.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I was killed in my sleep to be honest. He hates me, and I didn't even do anything to him," I admit with a low voice, I really didn't know why that fact was effecting me so much. Lisa touches her hand onto my shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it, he will come around soon. Who can't like you?" He tries to cheer me up with a goofy grin. I force a smile back at her effort to cheer me up. But then I turn my gaze towards my old best friend and group of friends and I close my eyes tightly as I remember they used to be the most important people in my life and now they despise me.

I refuse to look at Blake or my group of bullies for the rest of lunch. Lisa and I busy ourselves with looking on her computer as we work on our computer technologies assignment on cryptography which is cracking and analysing code, we were both very skilled in hacking but actually decrypting that code we both needed to work on. I felt better after lunch and didn't look at them once but as we leave the cafeteria I weakly glance behind me towards Blake.

I notice he had moved off from the bullies table and was talking to Dean and Liam. Liam was very tall with long pale bushy hair that was tied back into a shaggy bun. He had a scar through his right eye that has been rumoured to be caused by a prison fight. Dean was dark skinned and he was short and made up of all muscles, I was pretty sure he is taking steroids. A shiver of fear runs through me but not for myself, for Blake. My body itched at me to turn around and warn Blake not to speak to those boys.

They truly were people to be afraid of, they were both apart of a gang and have been suspended multiple times for getting into fights. I am pretty sure Dean has been to prison a few times and judging by the way Liam has a very unfashionable flare at the end of his pants I am pretty sure he carries a gun holstered there. And the third member of their group who used to attend our school Adrian is in jail right now. As I stare worriedly at Blake as he speaks and laughs with these two dangerous guys his eyes move to mine and I am caught staring.

Instantly Blake's features darken and the glare he sends me causes my toes to curl in my shoes. My heart jumped in my chest in panic and I immediately spin back around and start speed walking out the cafeteria.

I part with Lisa as she heads off towards her next class and I move towards my locker to grab my Maths book. I push through the hustle of students that have now filled the corridors with my mind lost in my thoughts. Blake was not what I expected when my mother said he was going to be staying with us. I felt anxious to think I need to sleep in the same room with the guy that hangs out with my bullies and is associating with the scariest guys in school. I think I need to start sleeping on the couch or I wouldn't mind sleeping in my bin outside actually.

I am horridly pulled out of my thoughts as I feel a cupcake slam into the side of my face. I stagger backwards into my locker and yelp in fright. I glance up with panic in my eyes to find Sarah walking towards me with her friends in tow. Horror sunk into my veins and my breath was caught in my throat as I realised what was coming next. Public humiliation. I should have known that because she left me alone in English she would find another part of the day to bully me.

"Oh sorry, I mistook you for the bin," she taunted. Her thick top lip was out of proportion to the rest of her face was curved into a wicked grin and her long blonde hair swayed behind her as she swaggered towards me. "Wasn't really that difficult given you are trash." Her words send a bolt of fire streaming through my blood and anger overtakes me causing my jaw to clench together painfully.

"Yeah well given your lack of brains I am not surprised you mixed those two things up," I snap back. I can't help the retort, I was just so angry. I should have been more careful, I have learned many times before not to speak back to her. I knew as soon as Sarah snaps her head towards mine with a glower on her face that this time was no different. She stalks up to right in front of me, her close proximity causes my chest to constrict with fear. But not from her, just from having anyone that close to me.

"Are you trying to be smart with me?" She barks viciously, her large crooked nose points down at me sharply. Out of the corner of my eye I realise that everyone in the corridor had stopped what they were doing and was watching our disagreement. I glare at her, my top lip twitching in contained anger. We glare at each other, she was taller than me so my glare didn't feel as powerful as hers.

Then suddenly she yanks my bible out from under my arm. Panic so strong radiates through me causing my vision to go blurry for a moment and such desperation to overtake me that I jump at Sarah. She pushes me back easily and holds me away from her with one hand as the other scrutinises my bible with a look of disgust on her face.

"Give that back," I bellow in pure panic. My eyes were skittering over the crowd that we had drawn for someone to help me. I couldn't lose my bible.

"What is so interesting about this book anyway?" She taunts. What is so interesting about that book is that my father gave it to me before he died. It means everything to me and I would rather die than lose it.

"What would happen if I placed it in here?" She jibed as she reached out towards the bin. My heart dropped to the floor as horror surged through me.

"No," I scream and try to jump towards Sarah, but she was too strong for me.

In desperation I search around frantically at anyone to help me, but no one cared. Everyone either had eagerly awaiting or blank expressions on their faces, no one seemed angry with what was occurring or sympathetic of me. No one was going to help me.

Desolation and depression surges through me and I feel like my knees were going to give out from underneath me from how helpless I felt. But then suddenly a figure pushes its way forcefully through the crowd to the front and when his face appears my heart sinks to the floor and embarrassment causes blood to rush to my face, I never wanted him to see this. Blake was staring at me and what was unfolding with wide eyes.

Blakes eyes flicker towards Sarah and her group as they taunted me and then back to me again, his eyebrows puckering together. His eyes were turning wider and wider as he finally understood the scene in front of him. I drop my eyes to the floor, I couldn't look at him any longer. I knew what was going to happen next Blake was going to join in on my bullying, he wouldn't be able to find a better way to show how much he hates me.

"You don't deserve anything to love, you are a freak!" Screams Sarah. Her words were like knives into my heart as my former best friend screams at me like I am the dirt on the bottom of her foot. Traitorous tears well in my eyes that I have to blink to percent from falling.

"Hey," A deep voice shouts in outrage from the crowd who were all happily witnessing my humiliation. My heart stops and then restarts again faster than a jackhammer as I recognise that voice. The dark figure pushes his way through the crowd and steps in front of me. In a defensive position, but that isn't possible.

"Get your hands off her," Blake bellows and pushes Sarah away from me with both hands. Her hands instantly are pulled away from my hair and she staggered a few steps away into Bree her friend who catches her. Blake places one of his hands onto the small of my back in reassurance and the warmth of his touch radiated through me like a bolt of fire. My heart was doing strange things in my chest and my stomach had swarmed with butterflies as I watched Blake defend me to his friends.

"What are you doing?" Blake hollered at Sarah, his eyebrows lowered and eyes narrowed in disgust as she looked at her like he was seeing her in a new light. Sarah was taken aback, and her expression was plastered blank in shock.

"Do you have any idea the consequences of what you are doing?" Blake shouted in a tone I had never heard him use before, his voice cracked halfway through with a deep emotion.

"You disgust me." He spits at Sarah, and then turns his narrowed eyes to the entire crowd as he shouts his next words. "You all do." The entire student body was just as shocked as I was.

"Give that to me." Blake yanks my bible out of Sarah's hands and then turns his back to her to face me. His beautiful blue eyes stare deeply into mine as he places both his hands onto my shoulders. In absolutely stultification I search Blakes' eyes for his reasoning for this and what I see there was not what I expected. His eyes were void of all hate, there was only concern there as his eyes moved across my face looking for any signs of damage.

"Rose, are you okay?" He whispers in true concern and his voice caused warmth to spread in my chest from how much he seemed to care for me. It was only in that moment when he showed true care for me did I realise why it affected me so much that he hated me before was because I wanted him to like me. I wanted him to like me because I had feeling for him.

I could barely manage a weak nod, I was gob smacked, dumbfounded. I thought he hated me. So why is he protecting me?

"This is yours." Blake places my bible into my arms and something happens to me in that moment. When I looked into his eyes I didn't see the hate filled guy that he wants everyone to see, he was someone different. I look up deeply into his eyes trying to express my gratitude. Who would have thought my wish would be granted by him?

"Let's get out of here." Blake places one of his arms around my waist and leads me through the gob smacked crowd who allow us to pass easily, moving out of our way. My mind was a jumble but what was blindingly stark the forefront of my mind was the warm hand that was placed on my back. Blake opens the door for me and we walk out into the courtyard, which was now bare as the second siren had just rang. Blake stops and then turns to face me.

"Are you okay?" He asks again, more sternly this time. A nod would not suffice as an answer for him.

"I am fine," I manage to choke out. Blake's eyes leave mine as I say those words and then he lets out a deep breath as if he had a buildup anxiety inside. He runs his hands through his dark hair in agitation and takes a step away from me. His eyes were red, and it looked like he was angry and scared at the same time.

"I can't believe they did that to you. What evil, vile vermin," he ranted as his hands balled up into fists in his hair. I watch his movements intently like he was a new person. He hated me and yet he still protected me. Nobody else had the guts to do that. I didn't understand him.

"Why did you just do that?" I ask confused. Blake looks away from me and his mouth opens as if he was going to snap at me but then he stops himself. He just lowers his head and turns on his heels to walk away from me.

"Thank you," I burst before he could walk off and the sincerity in my tone causes Blake to freeze and look back at me out of the corner of his eye.

He just stares deeply into my eyes for a very long time. He doesn't say anything, and I don't understand what his look meant but it was causing butterflies to swarm in my stomach. He doesn't say anything for a very long time and I realise that is my time to part.

"Well thank you again for being a great human, I am just going to get to my next class now," I admit awkwardly, and I salute him as I stumble away.

I risk a glance back towards Blake to find him standing in the exact same spot I left him. His eyes were still following me, and it causes my heart to jump in my chest. I spin my head forwards and continue walking away from him.

As I was out of his line of sight I am overcome with emotions, my hands were shaking, and my stomach was filled with anxieties butterflies and it was all because of him. And the strangest thing is I didn't feel sad about being bullied, I felt alive from being so close to Blake. I let my head fall against the locker as I was still coming to terms with what actually just happened. The Blake that has made it extremely obvious that he hates me just defended me.

I didn't understand him, but his actions made me want to understand him even more.

It just made me realise that Blake is not who I thought he was, he was hiding who he really is inside. And I made a promise to myself in that moment that I was going to find out just exactly who Blake Huxley is.

***

Hey my lovelies :) I hope you are all well.

So we have seen a new side of Blake, who likes it? Please let me know what you think of the chapter and how you are enjoying the story so far. I really love to read your comments. Thank you so much for reading, have a fabulous day.

Love, Elaine Xx