Sanguine Lunacy (In Circumspect rewrite)

Chapter 1
06.18.2008-11.13.2008

"Kacea Marie!"

I could barely hear her over the distorted wail coming from my amplifier. "What's up, Mom?" I asked innocently, rattling off a few more quick scales up and down the fret board. I could almost see the vein in her forehead popping out with her agitation.

"It's almost time to go to school. Put that noise up! Aren't you going to have breakfast?"

I ran my tongue up the neck of my guitar. "Music equals life, Mom. I don't need food." I was joking and she knew it, but she still rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine." I said with a resigned sigh. Mom smiled as I put up my guitar and I stuck my tongue out at her before I headed downstairs to finish getting ready.

Dad and his cup of coffee waved sleepily at me from the kitchen table as I grabbed some toast and a bottle of Sunny D from the fridge. I gave both of my parents a kiss on the cheek before heading into the garage. Mom drove a Lexus and Dad had a Porsche, but neither of those cars were mine. I went past both of them to get to my little black Dodge Stealth.

Mom and Dad had inherited a lot of money when I was five or six, so they liked to unnecessarily flaunt our wealth. I'd worked my ass off to earn enough money for this used and abused Stealth. It didn't even roll when I got it, but I worked on it for a whole summer to make it road-worthy, and I was proud that it was mine. Being a waitress after school really sucked, but the money I'd made from tips had helped me buy most of the parts I'd needed to make it legal, not to mention all the fun pretty bits I'd been able to add because of it.

The driver's side door creaked when it opened and I smiled. "G'morning to you too, Baby." Yes, I talk to my car. And yes, her name is Baby... Don't judge me!

Once inside and buckled in, I brought the beast to life with a roar that only a beat old muscle car should make. Nobody could keep this thing running but me, and that was the way I liked it.

The super loud and hyper expensive sound system had been a present from my parents. If my car wasn't going to be the best and brightest, at least hip-hoppers far and wide bowed before the thunderous roars of the shred-gods I was listening to wherever I went. It'd been Dad's idea; he'd known that it would make me much happier than the weekend trip to the spa my mother had wanted to give me. She'd hated being wrong, but was ultimately happy because I was ecstatic.

And who were my metal gods of the morning? I was in a classic kinda mood, so Metallica's "Master of Puppets" album poured out my open windows. A few people gave me dirty looks as I rolled into the school parking lot, but most of the other students weren't even fazed by it anymore.

I double-checked my schedule for my homeroom number as I headed into the school. I was curious about who I'd have the pleasure of sharing my mornings and super last-minute homework with this year. Junior year... Only this and one more year before I could head off to college and get the hell out of this one-horse-town. Being sixteen definitely isn't the worst year I've been through, and things will likely get better once I've graduated. It's all uphill from here, right?

As the last homeroom bell rang and everyone filed in, I grabbed myself a window seat. I saw a few people I recognized, but no one surprisingly interesting or that I'd enjoy socializing with. Until he walked in, that is. Mister tall, dark, and mysterious: Jynxx Davison. He was a true stud unlike any this school had ever seen before.

He had this gorgeous thick, straight black hair that was as glossy as a Camaro with a fresh coat of wax. Eyes just as dark and so deep you could get lost in them and drown forever... And he was built like a tank, so we probably would sink like a stone. At a little over six feet tall and a little under three hundred pounds, the kid was a juggernaut wrapped in moon-pale skin. I would've let Jynxx drag me under the waves with him any day if it meant I'd get to hold him, even if it was just for a minute or two... Man, did I have it for him bad.

He caught me staring at him and we shared a tense, angry glance for the barest of seconds. My blue-green eyes looked away first, unable to counter the intensity of his own obsidian orbs. I flicked my eyes back in his direction for a second to catch him scribbling furiously quick in a small spiral notebook.

The teacher called everyone's name for attendance and we listened to the Principal do her yearly pep-talk over the P.A. system. When her usual speech was winding down, I anticipated the bell by a few seconds and took the opportunity to peek over Jynxx's shoulder. I only saw part of what looked like song lyrics.

Chained and barred, Collared and fettered, I am a thing to be toyed with...

I was massively intrigued but knew that more prolonged snooping would definitely get me caught, so I hurried to the door and onward to my Shakespeare class.

I was the first one in the room, so I grabbed an inconspicuous seat near the back. I slumped wearily into the chair, wondering who would waltz in and be the worst murderer of iambic pentameter ever. As my classmates filed in, I was debating between a few candidates for the Worst Person At Reading Aloud Award. Then two familiar faces joined the throng and I perked up.

"Tarren! Taylea!" I waved enthusiastically. "Back here, guys!" They smiled and came to occupy some of the seats at the table I'd claimed.

"How was your summer back home?" I asked the dark-skinned boy. Taylea and I had spent most of our summer together, so it seemed redundant to ask the blonde girl the same question.

He flashed me a gorgeous, heart-melting smile and his British accent was thicker than usual when he answered, "It was positively splendid, Kacea." Tarren was of some flavor of Hispanic descent, but he'd been adopted as a baby by a rather affluent British couple. They'd decided that moving to the States was just the sort of adventure Tarren needed after a schoolyard brawl when he was nine where he put another boy in the hospital.

"Positively splendid?" I echoed, jokingly mimicking his accent. "Does that mean you finally hooked up with that cute girl you were yammering about before summer vacation started?" I lightly poked him in the side.

His cheeks flushed ever so slightly and I smirked. "No, Veronica and I did not 'hook up' this summer. Actually, there was someone back this way who kept my mind occupied for those terribly long three months." He sighed and rested his chin on his fist. "It rains in England almost constantly, you know..."

"So I've heard," another familiar face joined our usual crew.

"Mia!" Taylea and I chorused, enveloping the girl in an almost crushing group hug. She laughed at our enthusiasm and took a seat next to Tarren.

He lifted her hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. "I see that this summer has treated you kindly, love." The green eyed Asian girl blushed terribly, her porcelain complexion taking on the hue of a tomato. She merely nodded, seeming more flustered than usual by Tarren's casual advances. I made a mental note to grill them both on the subject later.

The teacher, Mister Alaric, went to close the door, pausing as one more student arrived. My jaw almost dropped into my lap as the burly and sullen Jynxx Davison came into the classroom. With his bag slung easily over one shoulder and the muscles of his torso straining at the fragile confines of his simple black t-shirt like they were, he looked ready for a photo shoot.

Shit! He caught me staring at him for the second time that day and the glare he gave me was anything but friendly. This time I glared back, refusing to be the one to back down. He broke the staring contest to look around for a seat, none too thrilled to find that the only available one was right next to me.

Mister Alaric, always the cheerful optimist, held his hand out towards the cold seat beside me that suddenly felt like a traitor. "Sit by Kacea for now please, Jynxx. I'm sure a few seats will open up once some of the others drop out in a week or so." Jynxx nodded to the teacher, although in thanks or agreement, I wasn't sure. He came and sat down beside me without a word. I made a point of not looking at him as he unpacked his books and Mister Alaric began class.

"Good morning, everyone! Welcome to the Works of William Shakespeare. I know it's a touch early for such brain-intensive studies, but I'm sure we can make it through with a little teamwork and some coffee, hmm?" Everyone chuckled and Mister Alaric smiled, the expression not being one of either happiness or humor. "Now I'll be perfectly honest with you all. There are three reasons why you're all here, and only one of them is the correct one. If either of the first two I give apply to you, then kindly speak to your guidance counselor about relocation as you simply don't belong here. You'll only be hindering the learning process of others.

"The first reason is that you needed to fill an English elective slot. Do us all a favor and go sign up for the Poetry class." He pushed his glasses up with two fingers. "Everyone in this class will actively participate, which means reading aloud often, or they will fail." Mister Alaric held up two fingers and I couldn't help smirking as he went on. "The second reason is that you're here for some silly romantic notion or other. Shakespeare wrote tragedies, people. That means that relatively everyone dies and nothing ends happily. If you're here to read Romeo and Juliet, you're wasting your time. I won't allow that overused tripe to be read in my class..." He half-snarled the last and I snickered under my breath.

"The third reason is that you enjoy fine literature, reading aloud, and are a literate person in general. You belong here, and welcome to you all. However, if either of the first two applies to you, please leave my class immediately. I give a heavy workload and don't need your lack of enthusiasm or knowledge holding us back."

Several people looked embarrassed, but more people looked pissed. I expected nothing less of Mister Alaric, so it didn't even faze me. Our class of thirty-five quickly dwindled to twenty. Taylea, Mia, Tarren, and I were all staying. Surprisingly, so was Jynxx. But the fact that he was here to begin with should have been a big enough clue that he'd stick around. He didn't seem the type to do anything he didn't want to. And who could argue with those muscles of his, honestly?

"Kacea?"

Damn! I'd been staring at Jynxx again and not heard the teacher's question. "I'm sorry, Mister Alaric... What did you say?" I politely asked in reply.

"Could you recite a sonnet for me please?"

"Any sonnet, sir?" He nodded and I sifted through my mental storage before choosing one.
"Not mine own fears, nor the prophetic soul
Of the wide world dreaming on things to come,
Can yet the lease of my true love control,
Suppos'd as forfeit to a confin'd doom.
The mortal moon hath her eclipse endur'd.
And the sad augurs mock their own presage;
Incertainties now crown themselves assur'd,
And peace proclaims olives of endless age.
Now with the drop of this most balmy time
My love looks fresh, and Death to me subscribes,
Since, spite of him, I'll live in this poor rhyme,
While he insults o'er dull and speechless tribes;
And thou in this shall find thy monument,
When tyrant's crests and tombs of brass are spent."

What was left of the class applauded very enthusiastically and Mister Alaric was grinning ear to ear. "I expected nothing less, Kacea. An interesting choice, though. I would have pegged you more as the 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day' type."

I shook my head. "The creepier the lines, the easier they are to remember," I replied with a grin.

Mister Alaric addressed the whole class again. “We’ll start the class off with a study of some sonnets before we get into the deeper stuff. We’ll see how a sonnet is constructed and then you’ll be writing your own…”

I spaced out the rest of the class, taking notes like a machine without really listening to anything the teacher said. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell rang and it was time for math class. Geometry, no less… Who the hell would ever use that crap aside from engineers and architects anyway?

Irrelevancy of the class aside, Jynxx was in my math class too. Thankfully I didn’t have to sit next to him and have my nostrils get molested by whatever yummy cologne he was wearing again. I’d have major issues focusing if Alaric made a seating chart and kept me next to him all semester.

After geometry, it was on to gym class. Since it was the first day we didn’t have to change out of our street clothes, buy we’d have to starting next week. Blargh… Stupid “safety issues” nonsense. And Jynxx was in my gym class too. Oh yeah… Someone up there hated me.

They let us play volleyball to kill time, but the two gym teachers chose who was on what team… based on hair color. What the hell, right?

All the redheads and blondes versus the dark-haired kids. That meant Jynxx and I were on the same team. He covered my back and everything that came too high for me to hit. Then Tommy Gunter spiked it towards me and all hell broke loose. Jynxx and I dove for it at the same time; my timing was off and I missed. He nailed it and Mia spiked it back over, scoring a point at the same time that Jynxx Davison crashed into me with the force of a Mack Truck.

He slammed into my side and landed half on top of me as I slid a few feet across the floor on my bare arm. With hands that felt like they could have crushed iron, he wrapped his fingers around my upper arms and helped me to my feet. Jynxx pulled me up so fast that I was pressed against him for a second, the warmth and closeness of his body making my heart beat so loud that everyone in the gym should have been able to hear it.

We both stepped back quickly and it seemed that no one else had noticed our “moment”. He let go of my arm and the spot that had been so warmed by his touch turned icy… and wet. I looked down and saw that our skid had sliced my tricep open. “Oh, damn it!” I swore loudly and clamped my hand down over the wound, causing Mrs. Ring to blow her whistle.

She pointed at me and I sighed. “Meade, you are more accident prone than a toddler on a rusted jungle-gym! Get to the nurse with that before you gush all over my floor!”

“But Coach Ring, it’s a shallow cut. Can’t I just..?”

“No!” she cut me off. “To the nurse, Meade! Davison, go with her to make sure she doesn’t pass out on the way and give herself a concussion to boot!” He opened his mouth to protest and she blew her whistle again. “Quit arguing, both of you! March!”

We both sighed and left the gym, making the lengthy trek to the Nurses’ Office. I was surprised that there was blood trickling over my fingers from the gash on my arm. Apparently it was worse than I’d initially thought.

Jynxx looked concerned, the most expression I’d ever seen on the kid’s face. “You gonna be okay?”

I nodded with a little wink, hoping he couldn’t tell that I was getting a little dizzy. “I’ve cut my fingers worse than this on my guitar,” I lied, feeling woozier by the second.

“You play?” he asked, seemingly unfazed by the blood that was now running down the length of my arm in the most fascinating rivulets…

“Mhmm. I took lessons when I was a kid, so I learned how to pick up notes by ear. I’ve been mimicking guitar gods and practicing ever since. My speed’s pretty good, especially for a girl.” I blinked and the whole world tilted a little. “… I’ve written a lot of stuff on my own too, but I’m lacking a band to make it more polished and go public with any of it.”

I stumbled and he caught my around the waist. Why in the hell did my legs feel like they were made of lead?

He kept talking as we went, like he was trying to distract me or keep me awake. Damn… Was I really hurt that badly?

When we finally got to the Nurses’ Office, I was leaning on Jynxx pretty heavily. Not that he noticed; a tank could have leaned on that kid and it wouldn’t bother him. I caught my reflection in the glass on the door as we went in, surprised at how paper-white I was. It felt so cold, but Jynxx’s arm around me was so hot that it felt like he was going to spontaneously combust.

Nurse Faun looked up at us from her desk and her jaw dropped. She was on her feet and at my side like lightning. “What happened, Kacea? Are you okay? Who did this? How long ago did it happen? You’re white as a ghost!”

She tossed out questions so fast I couldn’t even begin to wrap my fuzzy brain around them. Finally I interrupted her barrage of questions with: “The gym floor jumped up and bit me, Miss Faun, just like always.”

Then the whole room started swimming and rolling around me. The edges of my vision faded to black and there was a loud ringing in my ears. Then the ringing dissolved and was swallowed by a weight that muffled all sound. I knew I should fight it, but I was so cold and tired…

Something reached out to me with open arms in the darkness and I embraced it fully, allowing myself to be enveloped in that velvet blackness.

~*~ƒƒƒ

Author’s Notes: Well, here’s the start, boys and girls! Please let me know what you think, whether you’re an old fan or someone who’s never encountered my writing before. I’ll try to respond back to everyone who reviews, as I’d really like to rebuild my neglected fan base,

Much love to all! And here’re a few songs that helped me get through this chapter, since music = life.

“Dancing Through Sunday” - AFI

“Master of Puppets” - Metallica

“Almost Easy” - Avenged Sevenfold

“Wenches & Mead” - Alestorm

“Kyuuketsu ~Utsukishiki Onna No Chi~” - Aikaryu