The Beauty in Ugly
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This is a work of fiction. Any characters, names, incidents, or otherwise are the sole work of imagination. If a resemblance to a person should occur, living or dead, then it is purely coincidental.
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The Beauty in Ugly
Stephanie Campbell
Copyright Stephanie Campbell 2011
The Beauty in Ugly
By Stephanie Campbell
The party was boiling hot, and London McKay wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. His t-shirt stuck to his skin and he noted how the girls stared at him as he walked by. He did not smile at them, but he was pleased by the attention. It felt good to be here, to be anywhere but home. All that mattered was that he was out for the first time in two weeks.
"London?" a voice said from behind him. "London, hi."
He turned around and grimaced when he saw who it was that had spoken to him. It was his ex-biology lab partner and the girl who asked him out at least once a week. She was stick thin and bony, though he supposed that her wide blue eyes and her auburn hair cut in a short bob could have been considered attractive. It was just that when he was with her, he didn't feel right. The fact that half the school called her Squeal because of her high-pitched voice didn't help matters either.
As he stared at her, contemplating saying hi or just walking away, Squeal stepped forward and pressed her hand on the inside of his arm. He tried to escape, but his back was against the wall. A part of him wondered whether she was about to lose her head and kiss him.
"Squeal, what are you—"
"I just wondered if you were, you know, okay?"
He was silent for a beat. Why wouldn't he be okay? He was always okay. Maybe she was out to get him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, shoving her back. Her eyes widened in hurt. "Why the hell wouldn't I be okay? Who have you been talking to, Squeal? What, have you been talking to my mother?"
Squeal's eyes filled with tears, but she did not walk away. Instead she just stared at him with a hurt expression that made his stomach squirm with guilt. She's out to get you. You turned her down, so now she's digging around in your life. He gritted his teeth and fought down the urge to shove her again. She was a girl. He could get beat up over shoving her, even if she deserved it. But he had to do something.
"Leave me the hell alone, Squeal," he said, stepping in closer and whispering sinisterly in her ear. "I mean it. I don't know what you're doing or what you're trying to prove, but I'm on to you. I know that you're out to get me."
"Out…to get you?" Squeal stared at him. "I don't understand. All I've ever done is like you."
"Yeah, right. I can see it so clearly." He glared at her. "You're mad because I wouldn't take you to prom, so you're trying to dig around in my life and destroy me."
Squeal just stared at him, silent and shaking. A hand dropped on his shoulder and he leapt skyward. He wouldn't have been surprised if some of Squeal's little friends were behind him, ready to do something to him. Yet when he turned to look at who had grabbed him, the only people that he saw were his best friends, Francis and Cole.
When he swiveled around again to question Squeal, he saw that she had disappeared. He looked around the room for her, feeling his hair stand up on end and his stomach bubble in anxiety, but he did not see her. He guessed that she had gone away to skulk, as well as to plot. He gritted his teeth. Tonight he was going to have to make sure that he jammed his door shut with his chair, just in case she decided to come in to get him. It wasn't like he could lock the door, after his mother took away his key.
As he searched the room, desperate, Cole knocked him from his thoughts by wrapping an arm around his shoulder blade and steering him toward the backyard. "What did you do to Squeal? Were you playing a prank or something? I've never seen somebody go pale so fast."
He frowned. "I was just letting her know that I don't appreciate her following me all the time. I want it to end. Now."
"She's kind of cute, for a stalker," Cole said. "Maybe you should ease up on her a little bit."
Beside him, Francis, thin and wiry and ever the shadow, nodded his head in agreement. That was when his blood ran cold. Oh God. These two are working with Squeal. He pulled away and stared at them with massive eyes. Cole was a big guy. He was six foot seven and weighed at least two hundred pounds. There was no way that he could take him. Francis was small but fast, so he was dangerous as well. He couldn't believe that his friends would betray him like this, and for a stalker girl who was the enemy. London narrowed his eyes.
"London," Cole said, sounding nervous now, "are you okay? You're acting funny tonight. You just got really tense."
Once again, Francis nodded in agreement.
I can't let them know that I'm aware that they're against me. He ran a hand through his hair, nervous. I have to make them think that everything is okay. He forced a smile on his face and nodded, feeling a nervous trickle of sweat dribble down his face and neck. His mouth was dry. This party had been a bad idea. This whole place was filled with enemies.
"I think I'd better get you a drink," Cole said, turning toward the keg in the backyard by a giant tree. Cole went rigid. "Oh, wait. You can't drink, can you?"
In his entire life, London had never drunk anything at a party. But Cole knew that. They had been best friends since preschool. There was no doubt in London's mind then that Cole was trying to poison him. He gritted his teeth, his eyes darting back and forth as he looked for more enemies that could be heading his way. He half wanted to climb up the tree and hide among the leaves, but that would give away his position and Cole would attack.
Yet it was too dangerous to stay here. Who knew what Cole would do next? London had a peanut allergy. Maybe Cole would try to exterminate him by dumping particles in his coke and then watch him twitch and die. He narrowed his eyes at Cole and then at Francis, his faithful sidekick. Smart. They were very smart.
"I'm going to go get a soda," he said. One that you can't touch.
Cole stared at him. "Are you sure that you're okay? The look that you just gave me frightens the hell out of me."
London forced a smile on his face, and Cole stepped back, exchanging worried glances with Francis who shrugged. Turning, London walked to the kitchen and pushed his way through alcohol guzzling partiers. He had just reached the refrigerator when he heard the sound of an angel's voice in his ear. That was when he saw her for the first time.
She was the most beautiful creature that he had ever laid eyes on, and she was aflame with glowing red energy. It was like she wore a veil of crimson that only he could see. It had been a long time since that had happened, a long time since he had followed somebody because he could see the fact that they were different. But now that red energy was back. He was special again, and this girl was special too.
He stepped forward, coke forgotten, and approached the red draped beauty. Her hair was strawberry blonde and flipped out at the sides, an old seventies style haircut that made her appear even more fun and beautiful. Her bright green eyes shimmered like the leaves of the trees outside in the backyard. The red halo around her, so intense, practically scalded his irises. He wanted her. He wanted her now. The fact that she was surrounded by red meant that he was destined to have her.
As the beauty moved to walk by him, he grabbed her arm and felt electricity burn his senses. The urge to possess her got stronger and so intense that it bubbled inside
of him. He smiled at the beauty, and she smiled back, though he felt her arm tremble in his hand.
"Hello, my name is London," he said. "Please let me get you drink."