3

The old-fashioned building made Jenna feel like a lost interloper in a cold and harsh land. Her heels clicked on the stone flooring as she followed her stepbrother, clinging to him like a liferaft.

'So much for not needing his charity,' she thought, feeling like the world's biggest fake.

Her earlier resolve that she could survive on her own had vanished as quickly as her warm puffs of breath in the cold air around her.

"The heating is being replaced," Kenny explained, seeing how she was shivering and hugging herself with her sleeves pulled down over her hands. "You'd think the brainiacs running this place would do it in the summer but nooo."

"This place is a joke," Kai chimed in. "They're lucky I haven't burnt this shithole to the ground yet."

"You should do it," Jenna muttered. "At least then it would be warm."

As the group chuckled at her comment, she felt the tiniest bit of validation. Was it possible she might be able to fit in with these guys after all?

Looking up and down the corridor, she figured it was her only option. The other students that passed did not seem to like her stepbrother's group much, and by the looks they were flashing, they had tarred Jenna with the same brush. In their eyes, she was already one of the bullies.

She never stood a chance of being anyone but Kai's stepsister. He appeared to be too well known in this place.

After a brief stop to sign her in at the front reception, she noticed that the staff did not seem to like her stepbrother much either. The girls behind the glass exchanged withering looks as the group approached. They seemed to relax when Kai explained the reason for their visit.

"I've got a new inmate for you lot to process," he told them with a humourless grin.

"I've printed your timetable and log-in details off. Since you're new, I've been asked to place you in the same classes as Kai," the reception lady explained. The look on her face was apologetic, veering on worried. She leaned in closer with a thin smile and whispered, "If you decided to swap to other classes after a while, that wouldn't be a problem at all."

Jenna thanked her, trying her best to look confident as she backed away. Thumbing through the pile of leaflets the woman had passed her to peruse her timetable, she found a domestic abuse crisis leaflet shoved into the wad.

Nothing up until this point had unnerved her quite so much. Even the office staff were scared of what Kai might do to her.

When Kai glanced back, she shoved the pamphlet into her pocket and smiled in a manner that was probably suspicious.

Thankfully, Kai frowned but didn't say anything, and they continued to the classroom without any issues.

Walking into the room, other students glanced up with sharp eyes before quickly turning away. They seemed both curious and cautious about her.

Also... they seemed scared of her.

'But I'm not even really related to him,' she thought. 'Why would they all assume that I'm as bad as he is?'

Jenna scanned the seats, hoping to see a kind face. Anyone would do.

Nobody stood out to her.

One guy didn't even lift his head from the table until Kai kicked his chair. When he did look up, Jenna was mesmerised.

With jet-black hair, chiselled cheekbones and full, heart-shaped lips, he made Julian look plain in comparison.

His eyes shone like a wolf's as he glared up at Kai; blue, clear and predatory.

Just for a moment.

Then his face transformed with fear as Kai grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him from his seat.

Beautiful, but no longer wolf-like, he dangled from Kai's fist like prey. His body, though perfectly proportioned, was slender, with little muscle and no way to fight off a monster like her stepbrother.

Jenna's heart must have stopped beating. It felt like time had ceased altogether as she stared at the scene before her.

'Leave him alone,' she wanted to scream. She felt the urge to pick up the nearest chair and bash Kai around the back of his head.

Then it was over, and the beautiful boy crashed to the floor.

A second later a voice boomed from the doorway. "Okay, let's have you in your seats!"

The teacher, a man in his forties with slicked-back hair and horn-rimmed glasses, made no comment on the obvious bullying.

'This is why they get away with it,' Jenna thought, 'The teachers just don't give a crap.'

Jenna figured he wouldn't have acknowledged the new student in his class if she hadn't glared at him.

"New girl," he uttered, "I'm Mr Burton. You can sit anywhere there is a space."

Jenna tactically took the empty seat beside the black-haired boy and jumped as Mr Burton slapped a book onto the desktop.

'Turn to page 15,' he said.

Throughout the lesson, the teacher's face and tone of voice did not change once. He didn't make a joke, become excited by the topic or even smile once.

Back in her old school, her teachers were all brilliant. They loved their subjects and did their best to instil that love in their pupils. Jenna realised it wasn't just her friends, mother and boyfriend she missed. She missed everything about her old life.

Glancing to her right, she couldn't stop herself from stealing a glance at the boy in the next seat. He must have sensed her eyes on him because he turned to face her. When their eyes met, he took Jenna's breath away. She quickly turned her eyes toward the window, trying to pretend she had just been innocently glancing about the room.

"Jacob, collect the books," Mr Burton said.

When the gorgeous boy stood, she finally knew his name.

'Jacob.'

As Jacob turned, Jenna could stare without him knowing and she took full advantage. She stared at his backside as he walked up the aisle and watched as Kai pushed his own pencils onto the floor.

"Oi! Pick that up you clumsy little prick," Kai shouted.

Jacob paused. He had to know it wasn't him who had strewn Kai's stuff across the floor. Yet, he mumbled a sorry and bent to pick them up.

As his hand reached the pencil, Kai stamped his foot down.

Jacob winced in pain but did not make a scene.

'He must be afraid to,' Jenna thought. And she was scared too, but the anger rising up inside overtook it.

She jumped from her seat and kicked Kai directly in the ankle.

"Ouch!" he cried, looking at her like she'd gone insane.

Maybe she had.

"You dropped them yourself, you clumsy fuck," she blurted in her own defence before she could stop herself. Once the words were out, she regretted it.

Seeing his eyes glimmer with rage, she wanted to pluck those words from the air and shove them back down her throat. But it was far too late for that.

She swallowed, slinking away from him.

'Oh shit. I've really gone and done it now.'