53

Sienna walked from her house to the skate park in the blaring sun, feeling her skin begin to tan. That wasn't good for her new gothic look, so she pulled out her black hoodie and placed it over her shoulders despite the fact she was already sweating.

'Sweaty pits aren't a good look either,' she reminded herself.

As she passed the row of shops—a chip shop that was reputed to be best in town, an off-license and a newsagent—a group of lads dressed in tracksuits turned toward her and whistled.

"Hey," one of them said, following and matching her stride. He took a puff on his cigarette and breathed out, eyeing her up as he walked. "I've always wanted a goth girlfriend."

'Oh geez, gimme a break,' Sienna thought. She gave him one of her patented derogatory glares.

"So... become a goth then," she suggested with an exaggerated shrug.

"Naa man," he looked up at Damien as he approached and snickered. "I don't wanna look like that."

"Then stick in your lane I guess, I dunno..." Sienna trailed off, losing interest in the guy. Now that Damien had appeared, he was all she saw.

'How did I never notice it before?' she wondered. 'All those years I thought he was just a loser.'

She was actually embarrassed about her former opinion of him.

He was so cool. Everything about him was so cool. The way he smiled kindly at the chavvy pest and stared, obviously waiting for him to leave.

The chav did not like this because he didn't know how to respond.

"We were talking," the guy said. He puffed out his chest and lifted his chin, as if subconsciously trying to compensate for the fact Damien was so much taller. He moved closer to Sienna, as if to stake a claim over her. The whole scene was so laughable she almost broke down in hysterics.

"Oh?" Damien asked.

Most guys would step up to this challenge by doing the same, but not Damien. He took a step away.

"I didn't realise—" Damien started.

"He's my boyfriend, Kay?" Sienna interrupted, moving toward Damien and away from this overfriendly stranger.

By this point the lad's friends were sauntering over. One of them spat on the floor as he swaggered over, as if he thought he was some kind of gangster or hardman.

"Hah." He sucked his teeth. "Is there someone's funeral going on or what?"

Sienna rolled her eyes and stared at him like he was the biggest fool.

"I'd say it's likely, statistically speaking," Damien said with just a hint of a smile.

Sienna couldn't help but laugh at this.

The gangster's face transformed with rage. "Are you taking the piss?"

When Damien nodded the guy punched him. No warning, no posturing... he just threw a punch out of nowhere.

"What the fu—" Sienna cried.

Damien didn't hit the guy back. He never hit back at the bullies. She'd seen her friends—Tom and his mates—as well as other groups of bullies punch his face in before at school. He'd never once hit them back.

Back then Sienna had laughed at him, calling him a pathetic coward.

Now, she was close enough that she could see the look on his face. His smile.

The aggressor did not like that smile. He made a fist, screwed up his face and punched again.

Damien didn't move. He didn't blink. Didn't block.

He didn't flinch in the slightest.

'Now I understand why they only tried to beat him up the one time,' Sienna thought.

It had to be emasculating and humiliating to hit someone your hardest and see them smile back at you.

He didn't need her help, but she couldn't stand there and do nothing while a gang attacked her and her boyfriend. She just wasn't that bitch.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the can of cheap hairspray she carried about because pepper spray was illegal.

Turning to the group, she aimed at their eyes and let loose.

"Fucking weirdo freaks!" the leader of them cried. He looked horrified as he ran away, leading his pack of thugs back toward the chippy.

She heard one of them complain that the 'stupid bitch' had damn hear blinded him.

'I didn't ask you to come over and perve on me, you fucking sad nonce,' she thought, becoming angry. 'How dare you hit my precious Damien!'

"Well that was pretty random," Damien commented before shrugging and walking off.

"Did he hit like a little girl or something?" she asked, seeing there wasn't a single mark on his face.

He laughed and nodded.

"What an idiot, I can't belie—" Sienna started.

"Let's just forget them," Damien interjected while patting her on the head. As they crossed the green, making their way towards his other friends, he laced his hand and hers and smiled.

That smile. His hand in hers. The sun on her face. Everything in this moment was perfect.

'This is happiness.'

Then she saw the look on Adrienne's face and felt her heart drop. The beautiful goth girl was staring at the pair's entwined fingers as if she were about to scream.

Sienna's mind went back to the party, when Adrian had teased the older girl for being in love with a high schooler. At the time she'd figured Adrian was just being Adrian. Now, though, it was clear his judgement was astute.

'But why wouldn't he choose her over me?' Sienna wondered. 'She's older, cooler, way more beautiful and badass than me. Why on Earth would he pick me over her?'

As Sienna watched his face change expressions as he spoke to his friends, she wondered if he could see some inner beauty in her. Some quality she'd pushed down and hidden under insecurity.

'Does he love me for who I am—not what I look like or portray?' she asked herself.

When he took a seat, he didn't release her hand, but instead pulled her into his lap.

"Oh... so, you guys are a couple now?" Josh asked. He glanced around, seeing that Adrienne had drifted into a different group and was out of earshot.

Damien laughed. "What gave it away?"

"Erm, yeah..." Josh scratched his head and laughed. "Just... maybe don't be all kissy in front of Adrienne. I think she's... well... you know..."

"Hmm. No. She's what?" Damien asked.

"You know." Josh frowned. "She's a little bit in love with you, Mate."

"Don't be silly." Damien threw his head back and laughed. "She's a twenty-one-year-old college student. Of course she's not interested in me."

The way he said it, it wasn't bluster or humility. He genuinely believed it.

"Hmm." Josh smiled sympathetically and nodded. "I thought you were the smart one. How'd you miss that?"

The conversation made Sienna deeply uncomfortable.

Now that he knew about Adrienne's feelings, would he still choose to stay with her?

Just as that thought occurred she felt her phone buzzing.

A text from Scarlett sat in her inbox—the only thing unread.

It was all in caps—which was odd for Scarlett. She wasn't known for being overly dramatic.

'COME TO OUR OLD HIDING PLACE ALONE. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT DAMIEN. ITS IMPORTANT.'

Sienna frowned as she read. She looked up at Damien.

"Who was that?" he asked without looking down.

"N—nothing," she mumbled, snuggling into him and turning off the phone. "Nothing important."