A/N: Well this is certainly a big change to what I usually write. The main character is a male! Ah! Look at that! Phew, I have certainly gone mad this time, either that or I'm high on something…Anywho! This story is very different and will be dark for the first few chapters. Give it a shot because it will get better!

Chapter One of Outcast

Denial

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"Settle down, please!" the teacher snapped briskly, bringing the one metre ruler down hard on the table in front of him and accidentally snapped it in half. The class did anything but settle-down, the noise rose to a deafeningly level of harsh laughs, name-calling and a colouring of curses to point out the teachers obvious stupidity.

"I said quiet!" The teacher hollered and resulted to desperate measures by scraping his blunt nails down the chalk board and received more shouts of annoyance and severe cursing but they did settle down considerably.

"This is 11th grade, people! How do you expect to get jobs if you are jumping around and squawking like a group of monkeys?" he said in disbelief. None of his classes had ever been this hard to handle, but this was a whole group of teenage boys. Some shouldn't even be in TEE let alone still be in high school, most of them deserve to be put back into pre-primary.

"Do we look like a group of apes to you, sir?" a boy sitting in the front row asked with a raised brow and a smartarse look at his friends beside him.

"Of course you don't, but you do act like them!" the teacher snapped and sighed, rubbing his temple, "Look, boys, you have approximately three seconds to walk out of this room if you refuse to behave like adults. You've already lost fifteen minutes in your exam"

Groans echoed around the classroom and a few of the boys actually stood up, hefted their bags over their shoulders and walked swiftly out of the room without a backward glance.

"Mr Green" this boy hadn't been one creating the deafening noise before, he was the quiet one, "if the rest of my classmates don't mind, do you think we could get this test over and done with, please?"

Edward Christophe, a sixteen year old teenager with short black hair and blue eyes was the out cast of the entire school. It was just the way he acted, how quiet and strange he could be and what he wore to school ever day of the week! His clothing consisted of black, plain back, a pair of jeans and a dress shirt for every start of the day. He had a silver piercing in one ear and a silver chain around his neck. On first glance people would think he's one of those, hey-don't-mess-with-me-or-I'll-bite-your-fucking-head-off type of boys but once you talked with him, the phrase, looks can be deceiving rings in your mind. Apart from the way he acted and what he wore, he looked strange. No one had such bright blue eyes, eyes that glowed in the darkness.

"Ah, Mr Christophe; Yes, I do agree with you. Pencils out, people! If I see any cheat notes or scrap books I'll make sure you don't get out of high school!"

A lot of the boys groaned and shouted protests but most were cursing Edward. Mr Green proceeded to walk around the classroom and place the test sheets on each desk, print side on the table.

"You may begin"

There was the loud, annoying noise as everyone turned over their papers and set to working out all the answers. Edward scrutinized the test with the most concentrated look anyone could muster.

He glanced at the corner of his table as the boy besides him placed a folded piece of paper there. Edward looked sideways at him, immediately regretting it as he stuck up his middle finger. Mr Green had left the room but the class continued in silence, some having not noticed his absence. Edward unfolded the piece of paper and read the poorly written script.

Morning break

Courtyard

Were going to beat you to a bloody pulp dickhead! If we fail, you won't live to see your college years!

Note: 1) If you don't show, we'll make the beating last longer.

2) Tell any teachers, and you'll have broken knee caps.

3) If you manage to find someone to defend you…which you won't…oh forget this!

Just fucking show and we can kick the shit out of you!

Edward blinked twice at the script. Why was someone bothering to swear in a letter? Why were they even bothering to write one since he got beaten up once a week, sometimes for no reason at all. He looked over his shoulder to see four boys in the back row waving at him. He stared down at his test and continued.

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Edward handed his test to Mr Green with an anxious look, "if there are any incorrect answers please write the correct one out for me and tell me where I went wrong"

The teacher smiled gently at him, "I will, though you only get one or two wrong anyway"

Edward smiled slightly and exited the classroom and walked down the corridor. He may look strange but he was cute to at least to some of the girls and at six foot, he wasn't too short either.

"Hey, Edward!" a brunette with a kind face called to him cheerfully, waving enthusiastically. She had just walked out of the classroom ahead of him and patiently waited for him to come up besides her.

"Hi…" he tried to sound cheerful but he had also forgotten her name, she hadn't spoken to him in a while.

"Oh, you don't remember my name? It's Emily, please try to remember that" she smiled at him. Edward tried to smile back, he really did, but considering what was awaiting him in the courtyard…

He refused to run away; his mother had always told him to make an attempt to stand up for himself and to never back out because that revealed weakness. They passed a section of seats and tables which were starting to fill with students, which also happened to be directly in front of the courtyard.

"Emily, what the hell are you walking with him for?" a girl snickered and the others around her giggled under their breath. Emily gaped at them and then looked at Edward quickly as he said, "its ok…Emily"

Edward didn't waste anytime as he scooted around her and continued into the courtyard, his bright eyes zeroing in on the large group of boys turning around at his approach.

"So, you showed up?" the biggest of the boys said, grinning like an absolute idiot. The others around him cracked their knuckles in anticipation.

"Yes, I did. It's not like I had much of a choice considering my options" Edward said quietly, his posture stiffening up considerably as the boys circled him.

"Just for that little comment" the biggest stepped forward and grabbed Edwards hair, yanking it up so that he had no choice but to look up at him, "I'm going to make sure you can't walk properly"

The courtyard was in an uproar with the bystanders cheering each boy on as they took their turn to take something out on Edward or just beat him for the sheer sick fun of it. Edward took blow after blow, only lasting a few before he was forced to the ground. His lip was spilt, he had a black eye and bruises would probably appear all over his body by tomorrow morning. Michael, the biggest of them all had certainly kept his promise by saying he wouldn't be able to walk properly. At last, the teachers came and there was a flurry of activity as the students were pushed out of the way and the perpetrators taken to the principal's office. Edward was silent as he was half-carried down the corridors to the front entrance of the school, talking quietly if he was asked a question. It hurt to talk, it hurt even more to try and walk.

Now he sat on the bench in front of the office, staring down at the brick pavement. He wasn't angry at the boys who had beaten him up, to be perfectly to the point, he didn't really care. They could beat him up, yes, they could do that but it would never change the way he acted or the way he looked. Why bother getting all worked up over it when there were worst things in life then getting beaten to a bloodied pulp?

Edward asked himself the same question day in and day out but never did he make sense of it all. Why didn't he care? Was there something more important in his life that covered every miss fortune? He groaned slightly as he shifted more comfortably on the bench and sagged against the wall. He really was something worthless. His mother always burst into tears when she saw him come home bruised and beaten up, always saying, "I'm so sorry, Edward, I'm so sorry"

What was she sorry for? How was it her fault that he got beaten up all the time? But every time he had tried to console her or ask her what was wrong, she moved away from him into a different room. He had never met his father and when he asked, he received a ridiculous answer. He'd asked his mother last week and she had said something different then to the week before that. Edward sighed; maybe it was better if he just didn't exist. It seemed like his mother was ashamed of him and everyone else hated him.

"Mr Christophe" the principal sighed as he sat down on the bench besides him. Edward said nothing and merely waited.

"Edward, why do you not tell us if they threaten to hurt you? Why don't you just walk aw-?"

"Only cowards walk away from a fight, sir" Edward interrupted him quickly, fierce determination set in his bright eyes, "and I am not"

The principal nodded, "I didn't say you were, son, but it doesn't do well for the reputation of this school for one of our students to be beaten up on a daily basis!"

Oh, so if reputation didn't have anything to do with it, would students be able to get away with beating each other up all the time? Edward stared at him for a minute before looking away; a sad expression on his face. It didn't make any difference what happened to him; after all, he was an outcast.

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A/N: let me guess, it's one of those stories where you just want to scream, "GET IT OFF THE STAGE!?"

Please don't say that, this one holds promise in future chapters. I….promise!