p e r m a n e n t
m a r k

"Pick that up, Avery," Connor Axton, the school's most notorious bad boy demanded in a voice so angry I could only whimper in noticeable fear.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. I never intended to get him so furious. I was only supposed to stand up for myself instead of cowering in fright.

But I guess there was no point in bothering. I tried so hard, but it was just no use.

"Now Avery," Connor repeated, annoyed even further if that was possible, "now."

"O-okay," I stuttered, alarmed at his tone of voice.

Shaking, I clutched the disgusting cigarette into the palm of my slightly numbing hand and I could feel the lit flame digging deeper into my skin every second that passed. Almost as if it was trying to scar and burn my soul itself.

Maybe it was.

I deserved it.

As I began to hand him the burnt cigarette, he snatched it from my loose grasp like I was the one staining and tainting it.

He yanked me upward in a cold manner from the dirty, hard ground and I could see the sparkling green specks in his mystifying blue eyes. The dirty blond hair every girl would dream of each night. The sculpted jaw bone and the straight nose that only added to his better-than-good looks. The rock-hard abs as my elbow accidentally stabbed him when he harshly lifted me up.

But I think the most attractive feature most girls in our school would die to have were his kissable pink lips.

Before I could protest -not that I actually would- he roughly shoved the dirty cigarette into my parted lips and the horrible taste threatened me to throw up on the spot.

"Inhale, sweetheart, inhale," Connor whispered into my ears, tingling it with his husky voice.

I inhaled. Even if it was coaxing me to hurry up and cough violently, I kept it in.

I held in the strong urge to spit it out and inhaled some more until I felt uncomfortably dizzy with his seducing voice tempting me and the gray smoke clouding my senses.

"Now that's a good girl," he mumbled as he rubbed my back soothingly.

I didn't note that his hands roamed to the torn hem and under my baggy maroon sweater.

I shivered, but it didn't alert my fuzzy mind as his large and warm hands felt me up.

I didn't even regard the fact that he unclasped my satin bra strap until his phone made a disturbing beeping sound that jerked me wide awake.

"Come to my celebration party tonight," he hastily told me, somehow managing to make it seem more like a command to obey.

His blue eyes darkened with undeniable mischief as they briefly scanned mine, almost daring me to say no. But I never did and he knew that.

"Okay," I said softly and at the same time, I hoped that he misheard.

"Then it's settled. You know the details. Wear something revealing, not like those hideous clothes you're always wearing."

He turned away from me to answer his still-ringing phone while leaving me disoriented and wondering what happened in the span of less than five minutes.

I didn't even notice the unshed tears that brimmed my eyes as I watched him leave as quickly as he came.