Harness The Hatred (Ch: 1, Prt: 1)

Instructions

Dianna’s eyelids stubbornly kept fluttering up and down in a jittery rhythm as she fought sleep, the weight of her eyelashes seeming heavy as she tried her best to keep her eyes open. She was tired, exhausted even. She pushed against the counters she was behind to give her some balance as her head started to tilt. She had worked so many endless shifts at so many endless jobs that she never had the time to sleep, this was her fourth, her fourth job. She worked at a tacky convince store located on the corner of her apartment complex, and it sucked. Everyone that entered the store was either a druggie, an alcoholic, or a serial killer in the making, the pay was disgustingly low for the night shifts, and the boss was a jerk who she also suspected was a pervert. The door chime ringed, indicating someone had entered the store, and usually she would have snapped into stature, but not this time. She was already half asleep, the only reason she was still standing being that her hands were pushing against the counter. She heard chuckles, but the thought of getting laughed at didn’t matter to her. Only sleep did. She heard their footsteps approach but her brain was on such a hard lockdown, that she forgot to take the precaution of waking up. She could have sworn she heard a few whispers and a few more laughs, then she heard nothing, a split second of silence. Until she heard a sudden loud clap that jolted her awake, She blinked trying to regain her thoughts as her gaze shifted to where she heard the loud noise, after a second of adjusting her eyes, there she saw four teenage boys, three were snickering, while one was glancing away, and then she turned a bit where she saw another teenage boy smirking- he was the closest to her face. “Did ya’ have a nice beauty rest?” The one smirking asked. The group seemed to laugh a little harder. But she stared into his eyes, her brow furrowed. She knew him from her high school, his name, Hanson. he was, “The Cool Kid.” But a bully. He hosted a lot of parties and was known for getting with a lot of girls because of his looks and popularity and then throwing them away like he never liked them in the first place. And though Dianna would never say it aloud, she did find herself sometimes staring at his handsome features, like his dirty blonde neatly cut hair, his sharp light brown eyes, his perfect eyebrows- he didn’t deserve any of it, and she felt her fists clench whenever she really thought about it. His group that he had come along, were the same, jerks who think they’re better than everybody else. Well, except for Ronin. Ronin was the only one not laughing, and just by staring into his eyes-involuntarily looking over Hanson’s shoulder- she could tell he didn’t wanna be here, or to be doing this. It was peer pressure. She had studied him for weeks, and she knew he was a good person, but his want for popularity seemed to become stronger as he became their dog on a leash. Hanson shifted, blocking her view of him. “So anyways, I want a beer and your number, could that happen?” She shifted her gaze to his, scanning his face to see a look of actual attraction directed to her. If she didn’t know any better, she would think he felt something genuine for her, but it was a trick, it was manipulation, one many of the girls falled for at her school. “No, for both questions, first you need to be the legal age of 21 to purchase or possess a beer, and no, I’m not interested in sharing my number with people who can’t keep a relationship for a week.” Dianna said very boldly and proud, something she probably wouldn’t have said if she wasn’t exhausted and annoyed. Hanson’s friends turned the tables, and they started laughing at him. One even saying, “looks like you lost the bet! Those five dollars are mine!” Hanson’s face changed, a look of pure anger flickering on his face as he clenched his jaw, he ignored his friends and glared into Dianna’s eyes, snarling. “Since when you become such a rule follower? Huh?” “Listen,” She said sharply, demanding attention to her raw emotions instead of hiding them away like usual. “I could lose my job over you buying a beer, simple as that. You may not have a job, but if you did you would understand that we don’t just give beers away to underage minors, so get lost.” The fury and anger in her voice shocked the group, like they hadn’t been expecting her to fight back. But Hanson’s face of anger and shock, smoothly transitioned into a wide smirk. “Feeling feisty today, huh? I like that.” His eyes landed on her chest, his smirk becoming more sly and slender as he reached out with both hands and gripped her right underneath her brests, using his thumb to caress them as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I told you this once too many times…I want a beer.”