chapter 3

It had been one full week since Arius had began going to school, and Jaida had been studying his behavior the entire time. Oddly enough, he'd participate in class by answering questions he was asked or even ones he wasn't asked. She was sure he just wanted to show off, to show that he was smarter than all of them were. She also noticed, however, that he didn't talk much otherwise. He would only offer Amy short phrases, Seth a small glare, and anyone else a cold shoulder. However, strangely enough, he spoke quite often to Jaida. He was always asking her about something, and depending on what it was, she'd offer an answer.

Right now, the two of them were leaving the school at the same time everyone else was. This was one of those rare Fridays where the teachers didn't give any homework. Every kid dreamed of those workless weekends, but as the two of them stepped out onto the lawn, Jaida was beginning to wish they had had a reason to stay after. No sooner had they reached the gate when a voice called out to them.

"Hey!" he shouted challengingly. "New kid!" Arius stopped, but he didn't bother turning around. Jaida glanced back for him, and her eyes fell on a rather tall, round boy. He had a fat face, his greasy sand colored hair falling to his ears. His eyes were a dark brown, almost black, and right now they held a certain amount of amusement.

"Ignore him," said Jaida softly to Arius. "He isn't worth your time."

"Who is he?" Arius asked, stealing a curious glance at the heavy set young man. He wasn't exactly heavy, per say, but he looked like he was a pro wrestler. However, no matter how big he was, Arius wasn't intimidated.

"His name's Jerrod," answered Jaida. "He's been sick this past week, so you haven't seen him. He's a bully whose parents are loaded with cash. That's the only reason he can go here. He likes to beat on the new kids." She turned away, wanting to leave the school premises before anything could happen. "Just ignore him. He has a big mouth."

"Come on new kid," Jerrod coaxed. He had already earned himself a decent sized crowd of students. "Let's have a fight. Right here right now. I wanna see if you're worthy of attending this school." That one word seemed to strike a nerve in Arius as he turned around to face Jerrod.

"Arius, I said ignore him," demanded Jaida, not wanting him to get into any unnecessary trouble. However, Arius only removed his backpack and walked towards Jerrod. "Look, don't fight him. Please Arius. I'm begging you."

"Relax," said Arius casually with a small smirk. "It's not like he can hurt me." True, Jerrod probably couldn't hurt him. After all, Arius wasn't human nor was he a pushover. At first glance, he didn't look that tough at all. He lacked the oversized bulging muscles that most men with his strength had. Jerrod was just the opposite. He actually looked as strong as he was. There wasn't much of a difference between the two of them height wise, but their build was definitely a contradiction.

"So you'll accept my challenge?" asked Jerrod with a sickening smirk, earning him a deep scowl from Arius. Normally he wouldn't waste such time on an insect like this, but Jerrod had used Lucius's favorite word: worthy. Oh how he hated hearing that word, especially when it came from the mouth of someone who was so arrogant. He would teach this boy a lesson, but he'd honor Jaida's wish and not fight. He'd simply evade for a while. Once he got bored, he'd leave. It was as simple as that.

"Are they really going to fight?" asked one of the bystanders.

"Don't worry," responded another. "After school, this is considered public property. They won't get in trouble." Despite all the murmuring, Jaida didn't feel any more relaxed. True, she had no reason to worry about Arius. She just hoped he wouldn't fight. She knew how strong he was. One punch could be deadly for Jerrod, and the last thing Arius needed was to kill someone. After all, he was supposed to be saving the human race.

"Hey Jaida," greeted Amy as she walked over with Seth.

"What's going on?" he asked her, his scowl gone since Arius wasn't there.

"Jerrod picked a fight with Arius," responded Jessie with a rather annoyed glare on her face. "And like any other boy, he accepted."

"Will he be alright?" Amy asked, sounding a bit worried as her eyes strayed to Arius.

"He can handle himself," stated Jaida, but only she knew how true that was.

The crowd that had gathered around the two boys kept murmuring, some making bets about who they thought would win. Needless to say that most were against Arius. After all, Jerrod had knocked out quite a few teeth in his life and had probably broken a few noses. The students he had something against often feared for their good health. Perhaps today, though, someone would be able to teach the brute a lesson.

"Come on," coaxed Jerrod as he readied himself for the fight. "Let's get started." To his surprise, Arius laughed.

"Why should I waste my time on you?" he asked Jerrod. Pathetic humans...

"What are you implying?" asked Jerrod, his face turning red. He was getting angry, and talking to Arius was like putting fuel to the fire. The Deslyan would just keep pushing Jerrod until the boy exploded.

"Wasn't I clear the first time?" he asked the larger boy, causing a vein to snap. Jerrod charged for him, but Arius just sidestepped, avoiding the punch with ease. He then avoided another and sidestepped again to get away from a kick. For all of his boasting, Jerrod seemed rather slow. He couldn't land a single hit on Arius. The worst part about it was that Arius wasn't even trying. He just kept his hands in his pockets and a smug smirk on his face. After Jerrod realized he couldn't hit him like this, he decided to switch to another tactic.

"Pathetic," he sneered at Arius. "You keep running away. Why not fight me like a real man?" He grinned stupidly as he flexed one of his fat arms. "I know! You're afraid of me! That's why you keep running!" He then broke into an obnoxious laugh that made Arius sick to his stomach. There was only so much he could take of this. He glanced back at Jaida, a look of something between boredom and agitation written on his face.

"Can I hit him now?" he asked her, but she only shook her head.

"I said you don't need to fight him," she told Arius strictly. "He's a waste of your time.

"Come on Jai," he pleaded, wanting to put an end to the boy's annoying laughter. "I won't kill him or anything."

"You're so pathetic," sneered Jerrod, earning him perhaps half of Arius' attention. "I can't believe you gotta ask permission from your whore just to fight." Something inside Arius seemed to snap as he whipped around. Before anyone knew what was happening, he had a firm grasp on Jerrod's throat and had managed to lift him a good foot off the ground. Jerrod suddenly seemed deathly afraid of the man before him as he was forced to stare down into Arius' blood red eyes. There was a deep scowl on the black haired boy's face, one that twisted in both disgust and anger.

"I may not be completely familiar with your culture," he told Jerrod in a low voice so that the crowd couldn't hear, "but I know that's not a word you should call a woman." His grip tightened. "Especially not Jai."

From the crowd, Jaida was watching in slight awe. She had known that Arius was strong, but he was holding up Jerrod by the throat without showing any signs of struggling. His arm was perfectly straight, able to stand the full weight of the larger boy. She could hear people whispering around her, talking about how they had barely seen Arius move. His strength was no longer a secret, but hopefully people wouldn't find it strange.

"Amazing," she heard Amy whisper, but it wasn't for the reason she thought. "Look, he's standing up for you."

"He's what?" questioned Jaida, sounding a bit bewildered. True, she had noticed that the second Jerrod had called her by that nasty word that Arius had reacted, but the Deslyan boy hated her, right? In fact, he hated all humans, didn't he? She began to wonder what he was telling Jerrod. The boy looked absolutely terrified, and Jaida no longer pitied him. He had insulted her and badly at that.

"See?" said Amy. "He got mad at Jerrod because of what he said about you. Arius is defending you." Jaida allowed a small smile to cross her face as she watched the scene before her.

"Hey Arius," she called, earning his attention quite easily. "Go ahead. You can hit him if you want." A wicked smirk crossed Arius' face. He wanted to teach this arrogant pig a lesson, and now he had the permission to do so. He pulled back his fist, watching as Jerrod's eyes widened considerably.

"No, please!" he begged. "I take it all back. Can't we just pretend this never happened?" Arius still wouldn't lower his fist, now aimed diagonally up towards the other boy's face. Jerrod was terrified. "No, don't! I'm sorry! I'll never bother anyone again, I swear it! Just don't hurt me!"

"Pathetic," sneered Arius as he gave Jerrod a smug smirk. He then lowered his fist and tossed Jerrod to the side. The larger boy hit the ground hard, scraping his elbow on the paved walkway. "Begging like that...you seriously aren't worth my time." Arius shoved his hands into his pockets and casually walked back over to Jaida and her friends. Both Seth and Amy were in awe, but Amy's was more out of adoration than anything else. Seth was simply surprised that Arius was that strong. He had been hoping that Jerrod would wipe the floor with him.

"That was amazing," stated Amy with stars in her eyes. Jaida could have sworn she had seen a smile cross Arius' face, but she decided that she had just been seeing things.

"Let's go, Jai," he told her. "I'm done here."

"Right behind you," she said cheerfully as she jogged after his retreating figure. Amy just beamed brightly as they left and the crowd dispersed. Seth, on the other hand, seemed a bit angry.

"What's wrong with you?" Amy asked him. He just shook his head a bit and put on a somewhat believable smile.

"It's nothing," he told her. "Let's get going." The two of them walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Arius and Jaida to walk alone. For once she was being led by him as she walked casually, doing her best to hold onto her book bag and his backpack. He seemed to notice this as he glanced back and quickly snatched his bag from her, easily slinging it over one shoulder.

"Arius?" she began as she fell into step beside him. "Thanks." He faltered a bit, but then fixed her with a look that questioned her gratitude. "You...you defended me."

"It's not like that," he assured her without much emotion present in his voice. "He just pissed me off, that's all. An insect like him has no right to go shooting his mouth off like that." Jaida couldn't help but smile, because despite what he had said, she knew that that one insult had really snapped something in him. Perhaps he wasn't as cold as he led everyone to believe. In just this one week, she had gotten to know him pretty well. At home he wasn't arrogant at all. True, he was very quiet around her mother, but if the older woman asked him to do something, he'd do it, no questions asked. If anything, he found everything about their lifestyle fascinating. He was slowly learning a bit more about their culture, about how to act like a human.

Jaida sighed a bit when she realized that he'd hate her for even thinking something like that. He despised the human race, or so he said. He didn't seem to mind them as much anymore, but some people did tend to get on his nerves. Her friend Seth happened to be one of them. She had noticed the glares they'd exchange, though the feeling was more or less one sided. Seth seemed to have something against Arius, and Jaida was wondering if perhaps her friend really was jealous. She couldn't blame him. Half the girls in the school had already decided that Arius was by far the cutest boy they had ever seen, and she couldn't help but admit that she was one of them. Unfortunately for her, she knew what he was like. His looks were one thing, but his personality was another.

"Jaida!" called out a familiar voice, stopping both her and Arius. They watched as Mr. Owens ran over to them, his briefcase in one hand and a bag in the other. By the time he reached them, he was out of breath. "Are both of you alright?" he asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Why do you ask?" questioned Jaida.

"I heard from a student," he began, trying to catch his breath, "that Arius got into a fight with Jerrod. I was worried that you had gotten pulled into it too."

"Relax, Mr. Owens," she said with a smile. "Arius was more than a match for that jerk. He beat him without throwing a single punch. You should have seen the look on Jerrod's face. I've never seen him so scared." Jaida was almost laughing by now at the thought, and to Arius' surprise, their English teacher broke into a smile.

"Good to hear," he told them both. "Truth be told, I never liked the kid or his family. A bunch of rich snobs, all of them. Good work, boy."

"Uh, thanks," Arius muttered, seeming just a little confused. As far as he knew, teachers couldn't favor students, so then they couldn't hate them either, right? Maybe the rules had changed, or maybe Mr. Owens was just a bit different from the other teachers. He was nicer, that was for sure. He never put a student on the spot, and he seemed to like trying to get to know them all better. He was just a roundabout nice guy who wasn't half bad at teaching.

"I better get going," he told them. "I've got a lot of work to do. I just needed to make sure you were both alright."

"Thanks for the concern," Jaida told him brightly. He just nodded with a smile and then continued to run down the street, leaving Jaida and Arius alone.

"He's a strange teacher," commented Arius, drawing a confused glance from Jaida.

"What do you mean?" she asked, but Arius only started walking down the street again, leaving her to catch up with him. "Hey!" she shouted. "I asked you a question."

"He doesn't follow the rules," stated Arius. "He favors some students and hates others. A teacher can't do that."

"True, but all teachers are like that. It's human nature. A normal person can't love or hate everyone. It just doesn't work. Everyone favors some people to others." Arius just smirked a bit, as if indulging in some private joke.

"Guess I'm not human then, huh?" he told her, not seeming to really mind.

"Why?" she asked, curious. His smirk only widened.

"Because...I hate all of you pathetic insects," he answered as he sped up a bit, keeping ahead of her.

Jaida stopped, allowing Arius to slowly leave her behind. Had she heard him right? Had he said that he hated all humans? Did that include her? The problem with the statement wasn't the fact that he had said it but how he had said it. She was pretty good at reading people through either expressions or voice tones. His disturbed her a bit. He hadn't said it sarcastically at all, nor had there been a smirk to his words. He had said them with honesty.

Arius was lying on his bed, staring at his dark ceiling. It was already midnight, but he wasn't tired. Perhaps he would have been if his mind hadn't been racing at about five hundred miles an hour. He had way too much to think about, and it would take forever to sort through everything. He almost wished he had someone to talk about this with, but the only person who knew what he was happened to be Jaida, and she was avoiding him. He figured she was angry about what he had said that afternoon.

Arius sighed deeply and rolled onto his side, now fixating his eyes on the digital clock on his bed stand. It's not like it mattered how late he stayed up. He didn't have to wake up early for school tomorrow. He had a two day break before he'd have to return. He began to wonder how people could put up with this. Until a human was eighteen, they were bound by school, and it was such a boring place if you had no one to talk to. However, he did have someone to talk to. He had Jaida. Unfortunately, right now she'd probably rather talk to a wall than him.

Arius sighed once again and rolled over again onto his back. He just couldn't get comfortable, not with all of these thoughts flooding his mind. There was something else though. He couldn't help but feel just a bit of guilt. He had possibly really hurt Jaida with his harsh statement, and no matter what he said to deny it, he had attacked Jerrod because of what the jerk had called her. No one had the right to say something that horrible about Jaida, who was by far the most useful human he had ever met. She also happened to be the nicest. He had realized by now how rare it was to find a human who was so willing to help out someone like him. Even though humans were nothing more than insects, at least she was a nice one.

Shaking his head, he quickly squashed that thought. He had to keep up his act for a bit longer at least. Once he got rid of Lucius, he could go home and be himself once again. He just had to keep his distance from everyone until then. He was only going to be here for a short while, and he didn't need to develop any attachments to this foreign planet. The fact that he was already considering Jaida as "not so bad" was proof enough that he needed to double his efforts. He had to try and be a bit colder, a bit more arrogant. He had to try and make it appear that he honestly didn't care about what happened to the Earth. He was just following his orders. That's all anyone needed to know.

"Damn these thoughts," he muttered before closing his eyes. "I never had this problem back home." After another hour of muttering curses and sorting thoughts, he was finally too tired to continue. His body relaxed, and he fell asleep.

Arius' eyes slowly opened, but what he saw wasn't the dark ceiling of his room. He noticed immediately that everything seemed so warm, and he soon found out why. Everything around him was burning. He began frantically looking around, trying to figure out where he was. He knew one thing for sure. This wasn't Earth. The sky was a blood red instead of blue, and the clouds were black. At least he thought they were clouds. He didn't notice until they began dissolving that they were puffs of smoke let off by the fires that seemed to stretch for forever in every direction.

Arius finally decided to move, so he spread his wings and took to the skies in hopes of escaping the choking smoke. The sky wasn't much better though. The higher he got, the worse he felt. It wasn't because of the smoke, though. He was feeling somewhat nostalgic, as if he had been here before, seen this place. The licking tendrils of fire that nipped at his limbs were so familiar that when they touched him, he felt his whole body ignite.

"What's going on?" he asked, wiping some sweat from his brow. He began to look around, realizing that there was no one left in the area. The strange, dome shaped houses that lined the streets were all ablaze. Whoever had been living in the town had either evacuated or been consumed by the flames. The second option was much more probable.

Arius clenched his fists, suddenly finding himself angry. The more he looked around, the faster he was realizing that he had seen this before. He knew this place, and he knew it well. It had been so long ago that his mind had tried to push it out of his memory. However, a memory like this died hard, and he knew now that he'd never escape it. But why was he seeing this? He hadn't even been thinking about it. How could he see something he barely remembered?

"Do you like it?" asked a sickeningly sweet voice, one he would never forget. Arius whirled around to face his tormenter, but he saw no one. There was nothing before him but the dark sky and the hellish flames.

"Where are you?" he shouted to the sky. "Come out!"

"I asked you a question? Do you like what I've done here?" the voice questioned.

"Damn you," cursed Arius as his nails grew into claws. "Stop hiding!"

"Do you remember this place, Arius?" taunted the voice. "Do you like what I've done with it? Stupid question, I know. I mean, you hated it then." A figure suddenly appeared before him just as fast as a picture appeared on a television. Arius jumped back in surprise as his blood red eyes set their sights on the white winged angel before him. "Why would you like it now?" Lucius finished with a smirk as his sky blue eyes flashed with deep amusement.

"Damn you!" Arius cursed angrily, looking ready to rip the angel apart.

"I didn't think you'd forget this," he told Arius with a smug smile. "But just in case you did, I thought I'd give you a refresher. I mean, you were only a child at the time. A pity how close you were to forgetting." As Arius looked around a bit more, he began to slip into a state of dejection. This place, this fire eaten town, had once been his home. His world, his planet, his family...they were all gone. It was a reality he would have to face. He'd never see his real home again.

"It's not fair," he said softly, his voice dripping with a deep hate for the man before him. "Why'd you do it? Why did you take this away?" Lucius only let out an amused laugh.

"Why?" he questioned. "Isn't it obvious? You Deslyans think you're so great, what with your black magic and wings. You were disgusting creatures, merely a step above those insignificant human beings. You're so much like the creatures you despise. You age the same, you look the same, and you even think the same."

"You're wrong," he told Lucius, but his usually hard voice was weakening. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this scene. The memory was already coming down hard on his mind, and now Lucius was taunting him. It just wasn't fair anymore.

"Enjoy your life while it lasts," Lucius said to Arius with a wicked smirk. "I'll attack you wherever you go. Not even your dreams are safe anymore. Remember that." His body began to fade away, leaving behind a mass of clouds. "You will never escape. You'll suffer for the rest of your life." His laughter didn't fade until the cloud mass completely dispersed. He left Arius alone in the burning town, but now the flames were rising. Without warning, they shot up, nipping at Arius' body. This isn't fair. He clutched at his head as it began to hurt. No more...no more!

Arius shot up in his bed, his body covered in a cold sweat, his hair matted to his forehead. His crimson eyes were wide with shock, and it took him a while to realize where he was. He closed his eyes, the dream still fresh on his mind. He could see it all in the darkness before him. The only problem was that it hadn't been a dream, nor had it only been a nightmare. It was more like a memory. My home...everything...gone.

"Arius?" questioned a voice at his door. His attention quickly shot to it, and he was a bit surprised to see Jaida standing there. She was wearing a heavy housecoat, concealing her moon blue pajamas. There was a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright? Y-you screamed." Arius' eyes only widened, looking more bewildered than before. It wasn't until she brought this to his attention that he noticed something else. He was gripping the side of the bed, his nails now claws. He quickly let go, shocked at his reaction, and allowed them to shrink back down. He then clutched at his head as the horrible memory kept flashing before his eyes.

Jaida walked over to him, but he didn't seem to notice. Only when she was right next to him did he acknowledge her. Jaida was shocked to say the least when she saw just how wide his eyes were. For once he was incredibly easy to read. He was afraid. Not just afraid but terrified, as if he had just been put through a horror beyond imagining. For something to cause him this much fear, it had to be bad. As far as she had known, he wasn't afraid of anything.

"Arius?" she questioned hesitantly. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," he told her, closing his eyes. Once he opened them, his indifferent mask went back up. His crimson eyes were cold again. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked him, receiving only a nod in response. She should have known that he wouldn't tell her the truth. It just wasn't him.

Jaida stood up, preparing to leave his room, when a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She jumped, startled, before turning to look at Arius. He had a firm grasp on her arm, but when she turned to him, he avoided her gaze. He seemed to want to say something but was struggling with the words.

"I..." he began, acting as if this was the hardest thing in the world to say. "I'm...I'm sorry," he told her, "about what I said earlier."

"About hating me?" she asked him, receiving a very small nod in response. Jaida just smiled brightly at the boy. "Apology accepted." With that said, he released her hand and lied back down on his bed. She decided to take her leave and padded softly back to her own room. When she got behind the safety of her door, she couldn't help it. She broke into a large smile, a soft laugh escaping her. Who would have guessed? Maybe Arius wasn't the jerk she thought he was.