Chapter One

He stared in shock at Bret Stone and Adam Beck continued their raucous laughter, wiping tears from their eyes as they stared at their victim. "Wow, Kenny, I've never seen someone catch a ball with their face before!" Bret sneered. Kenny continued to stare at them, wide-eyed.

Someone coming down the hallway growled in disgust. "Bret! Adam! Are you guys serious?" Kenny's breath caught in his throat as he realized the voice approaching. He felt his palms begin to sweat and he shivered involuntarily. Mallory Walsh walked up between the two football players and glared at them. "Why did you do this? He didn't do anything to you!" She yelled. Kenny slowly picked himself off the ground and brushed dirt off himself.

"Oh come on, Mal, we didn't do any lasting damage. At least not to his face." Adam snickered as he gazed upon Kenny's face which had presently began to turn a deep red.

"You don't know that!" She said viciously. Mallory rolled her eyes at them. Kenny felt sweat begin to bead and roll down his back. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mallory Walsh, the goddess of Thorton High, was defending him? He had watched her from afar for weeks now; all he wanted to do was hear her say his name. Just once. Even though she didn't know it, Kenny worshipped Mallory. He referred to her as his angel, his light.

As if reading his thoughts, Mallory looked up and locked eyes with Kenny. "Ken, are you okay?" Ken felt as if he couldn't breathe. He thought if he even dared to move, this fantastical dream would suddenly collapse on itself and bring him back to reality. He didn't say anything and Mallory smiled kindly at him. "Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" she asked him quietly. The football players rolled their eyes at the pair and stalked off towards the locker room.

Suddenly, Ken was brought back to the present and tentatively opened his mouth and uttered the words, "N-no, I'm okay…"

Mallory bit her lip and looked him up and down. "Are you sure? I mean, I think it hit you pretty hard." She crossed her arms over her chest. Right then Ken noticed that she was carrying a Nike gym bag. Ken's mouth dropped open; his angel couldn't be involved with the disgusting world of sports, could she?

"What's the bag for?" He questioned her, blatantly ignoring her question.

"Oh!" she smiled and gripped her gym bag. "I'm on the volleyball team! I'm the libero." She said sweetly.

Ken felt as if the floor had dropped out beneath him. Mallory was one of them?! He felt his chest start to rise and fall rapidly, and without explanation walked right past Mallory and walked out the doors of the school. As he did so, he ignored all her shouted questions at him until he was safely beyond his personal hell—the school. He walked straight home—his house was only two blocks from the school…perfectly ironic—and hurried inside its welcoming embrace.

"Ken? Are you home?" he heard his mother's soft voice, as well as the piercing noise of dishes being washed. He didn't even speak to his mother and just rushed down the hallway to his room. He desperately needed to be alone; he couldn't stand this one more second. He flung open the door and quickly entered the small room. He shut the door behind him and locked it securely. Ken fell onto his bed, grasping at his hair. No…this couldn't be happening! Not Mallory…certainly not Mallory! She was the only reason for his existence. He was the one who was meant to be with her! He didn't even acknowledge that she had a boyfriend—it didn't matter. Nothing would keep them apart.

How could his beautiful angel be involved with such grotesque people? How could she constantly surround herself with athletes? He shuddered as he thought the word. Athletes, and all that they stood for, were his enemy. He shook the devastating thought from his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think of a plan; one that would solve all his problems. He would save his beloved Mallory from the disgusting hole she had fallen into, and therefore purging her, making her an angel once more.

Ken's breath accelerated as he thought about this plan. He knew what he had to do; not only to the school but to his classmates as well. He was sick of being bullied. He was tired of being pushed around by jocks day after day as they criticized his masculinity. Ken's plan had to be meticulously thought out and crafted carefully; one slip up and he could wind up dead. He needed to cover his tracks and at the same time make sure no one suspected him of anything.

He got up off his bed and crouched beside it, digging underneath of it for something. He paused as he felt the familiar flat surface of the box and he dragged it out from the bed. He slowly opened it and felt a shiver pass through him as he saw the familiar sight—a handgun was placed caringly in the box, with a cloth underneath of it, supporting it. He caressed the cold metal lovingly and began to smile wickedly.