The Sign of the Black Feather

~1~

Chapter One
Zane




The town of Somerset Kentucky was a dull place to live. It was like a town of clones, each one just as preppy as the first. And there I was the exact opposite of every single one of them. Everyone in Somerset had perfect brown or blonde hair, possibly the occasional redhead, and designer label clothes from places like Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and American Eagle. (Though where they would get that way out here in the middle of nowhere was beyond me.) I am certain I could have snapped each and every one of them in half as easily as you could a toothpick. (Not that they were much bigger.) I wouldn’t mind their clothes and their unnatural skinniness, if it weren’t for the attitude that seemed to go along with it. I had never seen such a group of snobs in my whole life!
And then there was me. I’m not saying that Adrian Puget was some perfect angel child, but I knew I wasn’t anything like these people. I had dyed black hair that I spend most of my mornings straightening to the point that you could probably stab people with it. I wore the same outfit just about every day: a pair of shredded, skin-tight jeans, a black t-shirt with a band’s logo printed on the front, and either one of my black jackets. One has Green Day across the front, the other having My Chemical Romance on it. And while I was by no means fat, I wasn’t the anorexic thin of the others here in Somerset.
I was almost alone here. Almost. There was one girl I didn’t care to hang around with. Her name was Anne Clark and she was a sweetie. Never in a million years could you convince me that there was a nicer person out there than Anne. While she wasn’t classified “emo” like me, she wasn’t a prep either. She had blonde hair that came down about an inch past her shoulders and was s-k-i-n-n-y skinny! She had a nice figure, curved and natural, with a round face and full lips. She was really pretty, but the boys in Somerset seemed to only care for the preppy girls in town. I was a Goth queen trapped in the Barbie Dream House.
The 20th of November, 2008 wasn’t a date I was going to forget willingly. A.) It was Davey Havok's birthday. And B.) We had been hearing all week about some new kid that was moving into town from New York. And all week, I dreaded the next prep to enter Somerset’s Southwestern High School. That morning, Anne and I were sitting in class chatting idly as I cast glares at anyone who even looked like they were going to send a spit-ball at my best friend. The bell rang and we slid down into our seats. Anne immediately began doodling in her notebook and I in mine. Occasionally, I would peek over her shoulder to see what she was drawing. The teacher walked in a few seconds late, so I knew that new kid would be with her. I could picture him now, blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples, big as a house. Yuck. The teacher cast a disapproving glance out the door.
Why did she do that? She only gives me and Anne looks like those…
“Alright everyone, we have a new student, I’m sure you have already heard about. This is Zane Stevens.”
The teacher nodded towards the door and a boy of about 14 stepped in. I could have died when I saw that kid. It was all I could do to keep from screaming, “YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” out of shock, never mind that my jaw was on the floor. He was beautiful!! Black hair cut like Sasuke’s from Naruto, deep, rich, black eyes that were so pouty that it was almost inhuman, big, pouty lower lip with snakebites, pale-skinned, and oh-my-gosh muscles. I mean, not huge, but definitely there.
“Oh my jeeze…” I sighed and slid down into my seat.
Anne looked over at me and smiled, “Well, ain’t he a fine one.”
I nodded vigorously, “Oh yah… Really fine.” I whistled a little bit then returned to looking him over.
Aw!! His butt’s so round and cute!
Then I looked around and realized something wonderful. The only empty seat in class was right next to me!! I could stare at him all day! I did a little mental happy dance and looked down at my paper, doodling idly and trying to look natural. He walked past me to his seat, bumping my elbow with his AFI bag on his way past. He realized that he had touched me a little and immediately went into an “omigosh!” freak-out mode. He sat down and looked at me with those big, pouty, black eyes rimmed in eyeliner.
“I’m sorry!” He bit his lower lip, “I didn’t mean to hit you, I mean, I was just walking past and it sorta hit your arm and I-“
I cut him off there, “It’s ok, I mean, you just said it was an accident, right?”
Aww!! It’s so adorable how he rambles!
Zane let loose a sigh of relief, “Oh, thank heaven. I don’t want to make anyone here mad on my first day, right?”
I smiled at him, “Oh, don’t worry about them. They’ll get mad at anyone who wears more eyeliner than they do.”
Zane shirked in his seat a little, “Uh oh. I guess I’m in big trouble then, right?”
A speck of glitter shone from the corner of his eye and I realized that he was wearing sparkly eyeliner. I held in a scream of happiness, and smiled, “Don’t worry. Anne and I are in the same boat.”
Anne giggled and waved with her fingers at Zane, who waved in the same way back to her.
“Well, at least I’m with good company then.” He smiled and adjusted himself in his seat.
I almost squealed with delight at his words. Was he saying that he liked us? Or was he just being nice? Thinking about it made my head hurt, so I just decided to remain content with the fact that he said the words instead of worrying over the meaning behind them.

I was more than happy to discover that Zane had two other classes with me as well. Because I only saw Anne in first block and lunch, it made the rest of the day a whole lot easier knowing that I would have someone like myself to be with in two out of three of my other classes. And by ‘someone like myself’, I mean people that weren’t head-cheerleader and football star wannabes.
Second block was a nightmare, though, as I was all alone and they were, again, pointing that small tidbit of information out. As if I hadn’t already noticed?
“Why would you dye your hair, like, black? I mean, like, only Chinese people have black hair.” Said Jessica, the queen bimbo.
I rolled my eyes, not bothering to try and come up with something witty to say back to her. After all, if it had more than five letters, she probably didn’t know what it meant.
Then Nick came in. Ah, Nick. The son of the football coach. Everyone loved Nick. Especially Jessica. Nick slid into the seat next to her, just about killing her with the closeness, “Hey, did you guys see the new girl? I thought Zane was a boy’s name.”
Now, that had done it with me. Zane was in no way a girl. He was one hundred percent pure man. “He is a boy.” I said, contradicting his statement.
“How would you know?” Nick laughed, “Did you yank down her pants or something hoping she was a girl?”
If they don’t stop soon, this is going to get ugly.
“It’s kind of obvious if you really think about it.” I said, trying to keep my cool, “Girls have boobs, he doesn’t.”
Not to mention the thing in his punch-buggy trunk.
“Zane does have boobs. I saw them.” Jessica said, trying to back Nick up.
“Those are pectorals, also known as pecs, Jess. You ought to know the difference.” I shouted, and then realization hit me, “Oh yah! You wouldn’t. ‘Pectorals’ is a nine letter word! Oh my gosh! What ever will we do?” I slammed myself back into my seat, crossing my arms over my chest in my ‘don’t mess with me unless you want to die’ pose.
Jessica pouted, looking hopefully over at Nick, who seeing the opportunity to score a date with a cheerleader, immediately took up her defense, “Hey, did you just call her stupid?”
“Um, yah. And if you really have to ask me that, then you are stupid, too.” I snapped back quickly.
A few ‘Ooh, burn!’s echoed through the room, then Nick grabbed the top part of my shirt, pulling me up to eye level with him, “Say that again. I dare you.”
“You. Are. Stupid.” I said slowly, my eyes defiant. I wasn’t going to let him push me around, “And so is your girlfriend.”
Just then, a whistle blew as my teacher came in the room. Miss Howard. A panic-stricken look was on her face as she saw Nick holding me up by my shirt, “Mr. Masterson! Please put down Miss Puget.” Clearly, she didn’t know how to deal with a fight.
The principal was called down, Nick was immediately given the equivalent of a pardon for being Coach Masterson’s son, while I was taken into the office and ‘interrogated’.
“Miss Adrian, why were you fighting with Nick? He’s a sweet, kind, and caring boy.” Principal Edwards said, trying to unravel the mystery of my mind.
“Clearly, you don’t know him like I do.” I contradicted, “He called the new boy a girl and I wasn’t going to have him and his group making things hard on Zane.”
The Principal looked at me with a ‘Yah. Right.’ Expression, then after more questions, let me go back to class with a day in ISS, starting tomorrow.

We went to lunch, Anne joining me at our table. I, being vegetarian, brought my own food, while Anne ate whatever edible foods the cafeteria came out with. Anne informed me that she had her second class of the day with Zane, and he had the same lunch period as us. But, after a long while of waiting, he hadn’t shown up. I was a little confused, so I left to see if I could find him.
As soon as I opened the cafeteria door, I immediately bumped right into him. Literally. A recording of the encounter would have been creeCRACK!
I blinked twice, then looked up at his smiling face, now with a split lip. I didn’t think I would ever get used to how gorgeous he was.
“What happened?” I asked, going back into the cafeteria with him.
“I heard about you and that Nick kid.” He smiled, “Let’s just say I proved I was most definitely not a girl.” Zane laughed as he buttoned his pants. I couldn’t help but giggle.
“You get in trouble?” I asked.
“Yah.” He shrugged, “I’m in ISS tomorrow. Can’t say that wasn’t part of the reason I did it, though.”
I couldn’t help but let one quick burst of a laugh out, “You went and beat Nick up to get in trouble?”
“No.” Zane turned and smiled at me, locking my body in place with the beauty of his deep, black eyes, “I did it so neither one of us would be lonely in class tomorrow.”
I had to shake my head loose after his eyes broke the path between them. We went and sat down at our usual lunch table, Anne giggling like a schoolgirl, “Hey, Zane.”
Zane chuckled a little, “Hey, Anne.” He replied, mimicking her voice as best he could.
That about did it for my self-control. I laughed so hard that everyone in the cafeteria stared at us for a good solid three minutes. Zane chuckled and raised an eyebrow.
“W-was it th-that funny?” He struggled to get the words out between giggles.
I nodded a yes quickly and tried holding my breath to stifle the laughter. My eyes watering, I tilted my head back and took deep breaths, “Oh my goodness…” I giggled, “OK, I think I’m good.” I looked back down in front of me at Zane, who was plucking through mine and Anne’s food.
“What are you doing?” Anne asked.
“Trying to find something I can eat.” He smiled, “I’m vegan.”
My eyes widened, “Really?”
“Yah.” He chuckled, “A lot of people think it’s kind of weird.”
“It is.” Anne said, popping a chicken nugget in her mouth.
“No it isn’t.” I argued. “I’m vegetarian.” The last part was directed at Zane.
“Cool.” He looked up at me, “So you got anything I can munch on?”
The way he said ‘munch’ made me giggle a little bit, but I answered anyway, “Probably just about everything here.”
“Aw, sweet!” Zane said happily, grabbing a carton of my soymilk and sticking two straws in it, “There we are. Drink up.”
I put the straw in my mouth without letting the carton off the table and Zane did the same. My nose gently touched his because there was only so much room you could achieve without bendy straws, and his cheeks suddenly turned a bright red. He leaned back in his seat, covering his face with his hands.
“Gah! I hate it when I do that.” He complained.
I leaned back in my seat as well, “Do what?” I said, trying to make him feel better by pretending I didn’t notice.
“You hit my button.” He said between giggles.
I laughed, “Your what?”
“My button.” He smiled, “When people touch my nose, I blush really brightly.”
Aw! It’s adorable!
“Don’t worry about it.” I comforted, “Anne would blush if you crossed your eyes when you look at her.”
Zane had to test it. He crossed his black eyes and looked right at Anne, setting her cheeks ablaze.
“Stop it!” She squealed.
“Told you.” I chuckled.
That was about when the bell rang, forcing us to leave Anne in her honors classes with Nick, who was sure to cause a fuss over her for being with the two of us. If Zane didn’t put him in the hospital, that is.

Zane and I walked into American Government 1 together, talking excitedly about an album AFI was still in the process of making. Miss Green sighed as she saw us, then shook her head and returned to her papers.
Zane frowned, “Does everyone here look at us like that?”
I nodded sadly, “Unfortunately, yes.”
Zane bent down to my height and wrapped his arms around me, not saying a word. As much as I enjoyed it, I had to ask.
“Um… thanks, but what’s this for?”
“It’s sad that you’ve had to live like this for so long. You needed a hug.” He said with a smile, letting go of me and standing back up.
Our conversation returned to AFI, then progressing to Blaqk Audio, and finally ending with The Cure when the bell rang and class began again.

The ending bell rang and Zane and I quickly scrambled to get to out and into the halls where we could talk. Zane actually jumped over a chair to catch up to me. (My seat was closer to the door.) It was both hilarious and incredibly sweet. He smiled brightly as he landed next to me, “That was an experience.”
“What?” I tilted my head to the side in confusion.
“That was the most pointless class I have ever sat through.” Zane chuckled, “Therefore, it was an experience. I thought you guys went over the three branches of government in elementary.”
“No…” I shook my head, “We didn’t.”
“Well,” Zane smiled, “I’m going to make sure you ace that test we are having next week over them, then.”
I laughed, then stopped walking, “We have a test?”

Chapter One, Cont.

~*~

Zane and I put up with typing class as best we could, Zane somehow impressing the teacher with “proper form” at 75 words per minute. I laughed as she walked off, clearly miffed that he was better than she was, then high-fived him.
When the time came for them to call bus and car riders, Zane pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text. I looked over his shoulder, “Who was that to?”
“My brother.” He smiled, “I was just telling him I’d be walking home.”
“Why are you walking?” I asked.
“I was going to walk home with you so we’d have more time to talk. I felt like we didn’t have enough chatting time in class today.” Zane blushed, “I mean, that is if you want to…”
My heart nearly skipped a beat. Was he asking to walk me home? It sounded sort of like an old movie, but I didn’t care. It was the fact that he thought of it.
"Uh, no, sure, I don't mind." I said.
He's so sweet...
Zane smiled his perfect, crooked half-smile that seemed to only lift the left side of his mouth, "That's great!" He smiled, hugging me tightly as we walked. As in, hugging and walking at the same time. Though it was an awkward way to be walking, I can't say I didn't mind it. We were about twenty feet down the street, when Zane spoke up, "So, um... where do you live?" I could tell he was blushing as his cheeks grew warm on mine.
Aww, he's blushing! I've never met a guy that blushes as much as he does, or is that sweet...
"About three blocks down and a street over," I said, pointing in the general direction of my house.
Zane sighed, "Three blocks and a street, three blocks and a street..." He repeated it five or six times before he let go, though his hand traced down my arm and lingered at my hand for a brief moment. He seemed a little unsure of himself, as if he wanted to say something, but he wasn't ready to risk it yet.
I shot him a curious glance and laughed. "What was that all about?"
Zane grinned brightly, with a hint of mischievousness glittering in his black eyes, "I'm memorizing where your house is."
Aww...I think my heart just melted. Or maybe this should worry me. Nah, he's too cute.
"Ooh, do I have a stalker now?" I asked playfully.
Zane laughed, "Grrr!" He growled, jumping on my back and wrapping his arms around me so his left arm was on my right side and vice versa, then tickling me relentlessly.
"Ah....Zane.....What the-" I managed to get out between bursts of laughter.
Okay, he is now officially the most adorable person I've ever met.
Zane hopped down, laughing every bit as much as I was, if not, then more so. He smiled, walking alongside me with a light bounce in his step as if he were on top of the world now. "So, do you have any siblings?" He asked, as if I were the most fascinating topic on Earth.
I shook my head. "Nope. It's just me and my mom in the house. And my cat, Spiffy."
Zane laughed, "You named the cat Spiffy?" He had to stop for a second to catch his breath, "That is stellar. I mean, seriously. Spiffy?"
I sighed. "Yes, I named him Spiffy. He is a free loading, deadbeat kitty who sits around on my couch, watches TV all day and eats all the Triscuits."
Zane held back a laugh with great difficulty, walking with me for a few feet, then managing to talk, "I moved here with my older brother, Marcello. He's going to college and I didn't want to deal with my menopausal mother so I came with him. Dad died last year." His face didn't seem to be too disheartened by it, but his eyes seemed a little saddened by his father's death.
"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that." I said, giving him a hug. "My dad died when I was six. Car crash."
Zane smiled, hugging me as well, "I lost my dad to suicide. Mom had been having a rough time with a bout of cancer and they had told him she wasn't going to live."
My eyes grew wide. "Oh my, that is horrible!" I said hugging him again, burying my face in his chest.
Zane hugged me back, and I almost sighed in pleasure at the warmth that was coming off his skin, "It's OK. I'm pretty good at suppressing memories."
I frowned a little. "You sure that's healthy?"
Zane laughed, ruffling my hair a bit, "Yah. It's alright." He turned at the street corner.
Home for most people was supposed to be a relief, but now, it was a little upsetting. When we got to my house, that meant Zane had to leave. I smoothed out my hair sub-consciously, hoping that he'd want to hang out for a little while.
Zane smiled weakly, "So... would you mind me pestering you a little while longer while I wait for Marcello to get off work to pick me up?" he blushed a Victoria's Secret pink, which in my opinion was adorable.
I smiled to myself, wondering how in the hell could one boy be that cute. I tapped my chin in mock thought. "I don't know......mmmmmmmmm.....okay!" I said, pretending to think about it.
Zane grinned brightly, laughing for a second, as if he wasn't sure weather or not I was joking around, "Thanks. I don't want to walk all the way over to Slate Branch."
"It would be cruel and unusual punishment to make someone walk that far," I said, trying to keep my thoughts of him purely G-rated.
Zane smiled brightly as ever, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink, "Espcially in these jeans." he commented, pointing to his tight silver skinny jeans.
"Ooh, yeah, those things can chafe like a mother trucker," I said, sympathizing with him.
Zane nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it."
We discussed the horrendous affects of the outdoors on our clothing until we got to my house, where Zane opened the door for me, despite the fact that I had unlocked it myself.
Such a gentleman...
I blushed a little, and muttered, "Thanks" as I led him into the living room.
Zane followed me in, curiously looking around at the same things over and over again as if he were trying to memorize what everything looks like, "Wow. It's so much cleaner here than it is with Marcello."
I stifled a laugh. "Trust me, if i had my way, this place would look lived in," I said, walking into the kitchen. "You want anything to drink?"
Zane smiled, "Do you guys keep soymilk?"
I smiled brightly. "I couldn't live without it!" I pulled out two cartons of soy milk. "Do you want Very Vanilla or Chocolate?"
"Ohmigosh! You have chocolate!" He almost squealed. He was so silly... "I think I told you that I'm vegan, but Marcello might as well be a carnivore, so I have to forage for food."
"Ah, I know how that is. My mom is always trying to force meat down my throat." I said pouring us both a glass of chocolate soy milk. "One week, she bought nothing but meat, and said if I didn't eat it, I would just go hungry."
"I'd eat grass out of the backyard." He snorted, "At least Marcello facilitates a little. He just complains that it costs too much for a college student to keep up with."
"Yeah, it's pretty tough to stay vegan. I couldn't do it because mom refused to buy soy cheese."
"I have some at home if you want a vegan sandwich tomorrow. I can fix you lunch." He offered.
Am I blushing? Aw, damn. Please don't let me be blushing!
"That sounds great!" I said, draining the last of the soy milk from my glass. "Are you always this nice to people you've only known for a day, or am I just special?"
Just then Spiffy came flying around the corner going about 120 and skidded to a halt in front of Zane. The cat looked up at him and meowed expectantly, as if to say "Hey buddy, either feed me or pet me."
"Actually, I'm not usually still talking to people after a day. You are special." He smiled, slurping the milk as he looked up at me with his deep black eyes, "Really, you are an amazing person."
I was definitely blushing now. But I tried to keep my cool. "Thanks!" I said, leaning down to pick up Spiffy.
Zane smiled, "Your welcome." He reached across to pet Spiffy, the cat leaning into it and purring with a soft rumble.
I laughed softly. "I think Spiffy likes you. Usually he takes a while to get used to new people."
Zane looked up and chuckled, "Like me, right?"
"Just like you," I said.
Zane winked, "It must be one sexy cat, then." He laughed, "I'm just kidding. Though I do have to say, your cat is pretty damn hot."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm not sure if that's a joke, or bestiality." I said jokingly.
Zane quickly handed me the cat, "Joke! Joke!" He said quickly.
"I was kidding!" I chuckled, shoving Spiffy back into his hands before pouring myself another glass of soy milk.
Zane sat down on the couch cross-legged, petting the cat, "I'm sorry, as sexy as your cat is, I think I'd bang you before I did the cat."
Is he being serious or...?
Despite my obvious shock, I laughed, hoping it didn't sound forced, or like I was nervous. I plopped down on the couch beside him, turning on the TV, where Sponge-Bob was singing the Campfire Song.
Zane immediately jumped up in the air, taking my hands and pulling me up with him as he danced around in a circle, singing along with Sponge-Bob and Patrick. "I love this song!" he squealed gleefully.
I laughed as I danced along with him.
Zane giggled, dancing in a circle with his arms waving in the air. He wrapped his arms around my neck, hugging me tightly, "No one else dances with me."
I laughed, not even trying to hide the fact that I was blushing again. I could tell that was going to happen a lot around him.
Zane looked me in the eyes, a curious expression on his face that was hard to make out. "Can I kiss you?"
My eyes had to be as huge as dinner plates. I couldn't say I wasn't shocked, because that would be a lie. But it's not that I didn't want it, but his suddenness caught me off guard. My vocal chords refused to work, so I nodded lightly, my eyes glued to his.
Zane gently put one hand on my cheek, tilting his head to the side and kissing me right on the lips. His warm, soft lips pressed against mine made me shiver, and my legs were starting to feel like animal-friendly Jell-o. Realizing I had been holding my breath, I exhaled as he pulled away.
Zane smiled and laughed, "You OK? You were holding you're breath."
I jumped suddenly as the door clicked. My mom came in and blinked twice when she saw Zane standing there with my face on his hand. Zane quickly put his hand in his pocket.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I said quietly. My face was the reddest I ever remember it being.
Zane smiled and waved a little to my mom, "Nice to meet you, Miss Puget. I'm Zane. I just moved here."
I face-palmed. Hard.
Here's my best impression of Comic Book Guy. "Worst. Timing. Ever!"
"Hello, Zane," Mom said cautiously. She was obviously not happy about him being here.
Zane waved a bit as my mom went into the kitchen, obviously suspecting something, "I hope I didn't get you in trouble." Zane winced a bit.
I sighed. "No you didn't get me in trouble. It's just...well...my mom's a bit.. Just put it this way, she hates people." I explained.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not people." Zane suddenly stopped and turned his back toward me, "Ooh! Back itch!! Help me scratch it!" He lifted the back of his shirt, showing me two black angel wings tattooed on his back.
I laughed as I scratched the center of his back. "Nice wings," I said.
"Ooh..." Zane sighed in a way that almost sounded orgasmic, "And thanks. I had my brother do them since I couldn't reach back there myself. I did the ones on my arms though. I wanted to make sure they looked the way I wanted them to.”
"Wow!" I was impressed. All of his tattoos looked very nice and professional.
Zane smiled, "Thank you. I had a very hard time reaching that one." he said, reaching around to the backside of his arm to point out the AFI logo from the cover of their older stuff.
"Ohmigosh! That's the ship from Black Sails!" I squealed.
Zane looked over his shoulder, "Yep. I think I might have messed it up a little though..."
"No, it's perfect," I said, running my fingers lightly over the inked skin.
Zane giggled girlishly, "That tickles..." he turned around to whisper the words in my ear, his warm breath tickling my cheek.
A pleasant shiver ran down my spine when his breath hit my cheek. I smiled and laughed. "You giggle like a girl."
"Apparently, I do a lot of things like a girl." He giggled, "Do you want me to stop?" he asked.
I smiled and shook my head. "No, don't stop. I think it's cute."
Zane smiled brightly, "Well, don't I feel loved." his phone buzzed from inside his pocket as he pulled it out, looking at the screen. "My brother is home now. He wants me to come back to the house, so I'll see you at school tomorrow, OK?" he winked, "I'll bring you some of my vegan muffins?"
"Ooh, that sounds great!" I said.
Zane smiled, and hugged her with both arms, "Alright. See you tomorrow!" he waved as he walked out the door.
"Who was your friend?" my mom asked.
"That was Zane. He's new in town, and he walked me home so I thought he could hang out here for a bit," I told her as I picked up Spiffy and headed towards my room. "I think he's pretty cool, don't you?"
My mom grunted lightly, a sign of disapproval, but I ignored her. After all, I liked Zane, and that was all that mattered to me.