Chapter 2

Kirei rested her chin in her hands, idly flickering her eyes towards the trio of freaks sitting on the steps near the parking lot. She and her friends were currently seated at one of the picnic tables in the courtyard. They were discussing Homecoming and who would win the football game. She wasn't interested. The Eagles won randomly and their opponents were the Buffaloes; a sturdy team with a roster of future professional players.

Zeke and his friends didn't care about sports. Their passion was music. Kirei clashed with Zeke on various levels. Their attitudes were polar opposites; Kirei was prone to fits of quick anger, a studious student, and was the poster girl of Abercrombie and Fitch. Zeke was always calm, he slacked in school, and looked as if he were to be one of those metal singers that caused Kirei's ears to ring.

And yet, as tiny as Zeke's group was, Kirei could tell that they three were closely knitted. That they would lay down their lives for each other. Kirei wasn't positive if she could say the same for her own. She sighed, brushing the locks of hair from her eyes. As she did the motion, she was surprised that a cool pair of brown eyes were locked onto hers.

There was something primal in the gaze. It sparked betwixt them increasing ten-fold with every passing second. Zeke was so tuned from his surroundings that he didn't notice his friends were trying to get his attention. Kirei was puzzled. Why was Zeke making her heart pound so tremendously? Zeke was the first to break the hold, lip curling into a snarl. Kirei glared, turning her back on him and rejoining the chatting.

Darien and Mags passed a Look. Zeke scowled at them both. "Why the hell are you doing that?!" Zeke demanded irritably.

"Dude, you were fucking STARING at the little bitch," Darien remarked crudely. "For thirty seconds." The blue haired boy smirked smugly, the silver eyes with the red irises glinting with amusement. Darien was the lead singer of Dragonspear and his sister owned the Grunge club that he, Zeke, and Mags frequented daily.

"I was not!" Zeke protested, keeping his emotions under contorl and preventing the blush that threatened to sneak across his nose and cheeks. Darien and Mags chortled, leaning against each other. Zeke pouted. "Fuck off."

Mags grinned, smacking him upside the back of the head. "Awww, Zekey-poo has a crush on the preppy whore!"

"Damnit! I do not! Shut the fuck up!" Zeke growled, standing up abruptly and heading towards the building. He didn't care that he was retreating from the arguement. He would not sit there and let Darien and Mags get the best of him. He DID NOT give a damn about Kirei! He was not staring that long at the girl. Darien was delusional.

Kirei watched Zeke swagger bad-humoredly through the courtyard. Darien and Magdelena were scoffing at each other, the looks of mystisim clearly portrayed. A poke on her shoulder alerted she had once again become lost in her own musings. Ellen, disapproving and caring expression set in place, raised a brow. "Once, I could understand but twice?! Kirei, what is wrong with you? Lately you've become obsessed with the faggot."

Kirei furrowed her brows at the last word. "He isn't gay." That was met with the previous mentioned brow nearly arching into a hairline. "I mean," Kirei flushed pink, pursing her lips. "If he was gay, it would show. Not that I pay attention to who he flirts with but it's not men."

Ellen nodded, letting Kirei think she had relented on the badgering but Ellen wasn't done by far. She would be damned before she let her friend crush on Zeke when a very willing and decent Tom was more than enough to keep Kirei's mind from wandering towards the freak.

~ ~ ~

Zeke slammed his fist against his locker, bruising the knuckles. Why was life so fucking hard? He rested his forehead against the cold metal, ignoring the throbbing pain in his hand. Why did Darien and Mags have to say those things around him when he was already questioning his own sanity when concerning Kirei. Why now, was he thinking about those sorts of things?

"Are you well?" came the voice that sent Zeke's anger skyrocketing. Tom stood with a less than cordial grin topping his full lips. Zeke turned stoicly refusing to comment. Tom clucked his tongue. "Do they not teach you manners in America?" He circled the taller boy, arms crossed in front of his chest and an appraising value to his eyes. "Is your hand broke?" Tom asked with a sly curl of his lips.

"What the fuck do you want?" Zeke spat not accustomed to any sort of predatory advances nor the unafraid aura that Tom was displaying. He was used to people either ignoring him or being frightened or in Kirei's position; wanting to battle him constantly.

"I want you to keep from Kirei," Tom responded shrewdly, shrugging a shoulder.

"What?"

Tom shoved Zeke against the lockers, the handle digging into his lower back painfully. "I see the way you oggle her. I see it in your eyes right this second. You are at war with what you are feeling for her but heed my words well, Zeke; I will not let you ruin my chances with her. If you know what is good for ye health, keep ye distance. That clear, mate?" Tom's personality lost its cheerful and playfullness.

"Crystal."

"Good." Tom smoothed the folds in Zeke's shirt, patting him on the cheek. "Just make sure ye do."

Zeke held his bruising throat. What the fuck was going on? He heard a shout and recognized the tittering of Mags. "Zeke?! Are you okay! We're really sorry about what we said." Mags elbowed Darien in the gut.

"Yeah man, sorry."

Mags looked at Zeke's red neck. "What the fuck happened to your throat?"

"Nothing. A rash or something."

Mags wasn't convinced and neither was Darien. "O-kay. Um, we should probably get to sixth." Sixth period was American History with a teacher that was the most boring person on the planet. Mags linked arms with Darien and Zeke. "Let us go, me hearties!" the little spunker shouted dragging her two friends towars Mr.Tomas's class.

Zeke's mind raced to the confrontation with Tom. There was something fishy about that boy that Zeke didn't like. He was uncommingly strong for his build and then, the change in dialects. He went from British to Irish. Even his personality shifted severely. What did Tom want with Kirei? Zeke wasn't positive on what he should do about it. Would Kirei let him help her against whatever Tom was planning?

~ ~ ~

Zeke went to student parking. Darien and Mags were already leaving in Darien's Hummer for the Grunge. Zeke sighed, leaning against the driver's door of his Jeep Wrangler. His had wrapped his knuckles in gauze with an ice in between the layers. At least the swelling wouldn't be as horrendous. A yelp snapped him from his position.

Kirei was kicking at her car's fender. "You stupid asshole!" She squealed, slamming her fists onto the hood of her BMW M3. The paint chipped from the onslaught. Kirei let another strangled squeak escape before unleashing her fury on the grailing. "You stupid piece of junk! I told that bastard that the car wasn't working right but nooooo, did he listen to me?!! GODDAMNIT!!" A well aimed kick dented the license plate that read Cabbit.

"Whoa! Don't beat up your car, runt."

Kirei eeped and lost her balance about to fall on her rump when two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Her eyes went insanely round at who exactly was holding her. It felt...kind of nice. "EEE! Let me go, let me go, let me go!"

Zeke in good judgment did as he was told before the petite girl went spastic. "Move and I'll check it." Kirei kept a wary eye on him. He took the oil checker and slipped into the designated area. It came back clean. "See, you should always check the oil of your car. I think I have some in my trunk. Alright?" Kirei nodded. He returned with the bottle of oil and poured some of the contents inside. "It should work fine now. Next time, make sure you keep it routinely checked."

"....Thank you," she muttered, cheeks flaming.

"You're welcome," Zeke said equally quiet. She was looking everywhere but at him. Was that a good sign or a bad one? Zeke shook himself from those thoughts. Shutting the hood, he disturbed the comfortable silence.

"Kirei!" Ellen shouted with nearly all of the varsity cheerleaders behind her. "Meet you at Mel's!!"

"Okay!!" Kirei dangled her keys from her fingers, stepping back from Zeke. "Um, I....I...." Kirei wasn't supposed to stutter! Not around Zeke anyway. "..Bye," she climbed into her car and turned the ignition over, pulling from the spot.

Zeke smiled, feeling that his own face had heated. He was attracted to Kirei. Zeke, as he left the school's premises, was fully accepting it. But what exactly could he do about it? Kirei and he were on different tracks but weren't those tracks decidely in the same direction? So, why couldn't the tracks converge to form one? Zeke turned the CD player on to Korn. Tom was competetion and more than likely, Tom would be the one to steal Kirei's heart. Zeke was the freak and Tom was the perfect one. What chance did he have? Slim to none in his opinion.

~ ~ ~

"He likes her," Mags was the first to bring it up as she and Darien went to the Grunge.

"And she likes him."

Mags groaned, hitting her head against the seat. "Oh just fucking great! How the hell are we going to make that happen?!"

Darien snorted. "WE don't Magsy. They'll have to realise it on their own time. We can't interfere."

"Whatever Dari."

~# # ~

Thanks for reviewing!!!! :D

Yeah, there will be loads of angst. Mostly from Tom. ^.^ So, the road to Zeke/Kirei is still awhile even though Zeke's realised his attraction