Masked Truths: Book 1

Chapter 22: The Library

Blaze's POV:

It's another dreadful day at school, and it's honestly not that bad so far. Brandon is absent, and I can finally breathe. I looked beside me, and saw Brandons pals walking over to me.

Heh, at least I thought I could breathe...

"Yo Blaze get over here!" They called, beckoning me for me to come.

"Me?" I called back in confusion.

Why would they want me here, of all people?

"Yes, you!" They said, sounding suspiciously cheerful.

I sighed and walked over to them.

"So, how are you?" One of them asked, giving me a friendly smile.

"I'm okay I guess..." I shrugged.

"Hmm, getting into any fights lately?" Another asked.

"No? Why would I-" I began.

Suddenly, one of them pinned me to the wall.

"Listen up, if you don't do our maths homework, we're going to go around and maybe we'll spread a small rumour, how about that, hmm?" He growled.

"No way! I'm not doing shi-" I started again, but then James, Brandon's sidekick, punched my nose hard.

Blood flowed down my nostril, dripping onto my shirt.

"What about now?" James hissed. "If you don't do it, we'll beat the living cra- OWW!"

James fell to the ground, clutching the side of his head in pain. I looked up to see my saviour, and to my surprise, it was Cassie.

"Get lost if you don't want another taste of this." She hissed to Brandon's pals, holding up a fist.

They surprisingly scampered off, and she leaned out a hand. I took it and tried to stand up. Cassie quickly helped me get on my feet, and she gave me a small smile, handing me a tissue. I quickly grabbed the tissue and fastened it on my nose beneath my mask, preventing any more blood from coming out of my nose.

"You okay?" Cassie asked, nudging her glasses up.

"Yeah..." I said breathlessly.

Who would've thought that the girl who ruined my family could be so pretty- I mean... nice?

I zoned out for a moment, until Cassie waved her hand in front of my face.

"Hello? Earth to Blaze? Are you done staring at me? It's creepy..." She called.

"Oh, umm, sorry." I stammered, and Cassie picked up her bag.

"You wanna meet up at the library for the project?" She asked.

I nodded, giving her a quick wave and walked to my next class.

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"Okay class, that's the bell, you are all dismissed!" Mr Johnson smiled, and students rushed out of the classroom.

I sighed and walked out, heading over to the library. For some reason, I felt oddly excited for the meeting up, which was weird, like... REALLY weird. I turned around, and the library came into view. I spotted Cassie near the entry with a bunch of books in her hand, her black hair slightly coming in the way of her glasses. She saw me and waved with a smile.

Sure, she's nice, but I can't forgive her for what she did to my family...

"Hey!" She called.

"Sup." I sighed blandly.

"Let's go!" Cassie smiled, taking my hand gently and leading me to the library.

I was a little shocked, but I didn't pull away. Her hands were surprisingly warm, unlike her cold father. I followed her and we found a few seats around a table.

"Here, take a seat." Cassie smiled warmly, taking a seat.

I followed and sat down, and we both pulled out our laptops.

"So, we both agree on the mask thingamabob?" I asked, and Cassie gave me an amused expression.

"Yep! I'll get my notes and I'll make a basic sketch of it." She chirped, pulling out a pencil and her art book.

I nodded blankly and opened my art book, jotting down a few notes. I glanced over at Cassie's book and saw the sketch of the mask, and it looked AMAZING.

"Wow, and I thought you couldn't be pretty enough!" Someone said from behind her.

I looked up, and saw Brandon standing there.

"Wha- I thought you were absent!" I spluttered, and Brandon stood over Cassie with a sickly smirk.

"Aww, ruining your lovey-dovey moment, hmm?" James sniggered.

"Shut up you two, what's going on between us is none of your business. And besides, we're only friends." Cassie snapped.

"Great, so you're free this weekend?" Brandon grinned, and I wanted to slap that goofy smile off his ugly face.

"Well, yes." Cassie sighed. "But. That. Does. Not. Mean. I'm. Going. Out. With. You. Got that?"

"Hmm... why not?" Brandon mused, now standing in front of us.

"Brandon, she said no, and no means no. Now get out of here and respect her personal space, will you?" I hissed, standing up to meet his gaze.

"Alright then Romeo." Brandon snickered, before walking off with his friends.

"That little brat..." Cassie muttered under her breath.

"Agreed." I sighed, and began looking at her notes for the basic ideas.

Cassie's loose hair untucked itself from her ear and fell over it, blocking my sight for the notes. I quickly pulled the hair behind her ear, and she looked up in surprise before I realised what I was doing.

"Woah, umm..." She blinked in shock, and pulled her hair over again in case it fell again.

"Sorry, I couldn't see the notes..." I mumbled, and Cassie shrugged it off.

"Hey, how's that for the sketch?" She put her notebook in front of me, and I gawked.

"How the hell am I supposed to-" I started, before Cassie cut me off.

"Just trace it." She smiled, before she disappeared behind her laptop's screen.

I nodded blankly and examined the sketch carefully.

"Tell you what, I'll draw it in your book, and you can jot down some notes from here." Cassie smiled and moved her laptop so that I could see the screen with directions and tips on how to make the sculpture.

"Okay, sure." I returned the smile and pulled her book to me, and she took mine.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before the bell went for class, and we began to pack our stuff. I stood up too suddenly and felt dizzy for a moment. I quickly held onto the table for support, and Cassie gave me a concerned look.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, and I nodded blankly.

Cassie was putting her pencils away, when she suddenly swayed on the spot and collapsed. I frantically ran over, tucking in our chairs roughly and rushing over to her.

"Cassie?" I called. "Cassie! Wake up! This isn't funny!"

"What happened?" The librarian came over, hearing my cries and her confused face was replaced with a face of horror.

"Cassie! Get up!" I cried out desperately, prodding her in the side.

Cassie didn't show any signs of movement and lay quietly, her glasses knocked askew.

"I'll call the nurse." The librarian walked over to her desk, grabbing the phone and calling a number, while I held Cassie's head in my hands.

I hope she'll be okay...