She was being followed.

She had to be.

At this point, Lysistrata thought, trying to keep her eyes straight ahead and her shoulders level, she really only had a few options. She could run to her empty house... not particularly wise because she didn't want this creep knowing exactly where she lived... or she could probably go back to school. That would require backtracking, and Lyza didn't know if that was particularly wise.

That.. and she just didn't want to go back.

Her Mary Janes were next to silent against the damp sidewalk, her skirt swished gently over her thighs, and just over those noises, she could hear his swagger, reverberating down his feet and polluting her sidewalk. The prick. Oh, yes, Lyza knew who this one was. He'd done it before. But she had been in public, then, surrounded by people who'd helped get rid of him.

Lyza dropped her hand down to her side and pretended to fidget with the iPod clamped to her bookbag. For now, she figured, it was safe to pretend that the musical device was playing music through the earbuds tucked into her lobes. Perhaps it would lull Aaron into a false sense of advantage, and give her some sort of her own advantage.

She kept walking towards the cemetery, though she couldn't quite put a finger on why it seemed the right place to go this afternoon. School had let out not half an hour ago. The senior usually walked home, enjoying the quiet rustle of leaves and the lingering warmth of fall. It was a bit of a walk but completely worth it. Only occasionally did she stop at the cemetery, and usually it was only because she had never seen another student there.

Today, she strode deep into the heart of the cemetery, slowing her pace as she followed the gravel to the center. Little gravel paths broke off here, leading all over the ancient grounds. Markers and stones and headstones, statues and fully fledged tombs were scattered throughout. Lysistrata moved slowly down the center road, towards the oldest stones, the ones belonging to the families of those who had founded Ipswich.

The crunching of shoes behind her was loud enough that she assumed he'd have figured out if she had her music on or not. She whirled around and ripped the headphones out of her ears.

"What do you want, Aaron?" she demanded, putting on her best expression of surprise. "How long have you been following me?"

Aaron quite enjoyed his little... experimental adventures. Every now and then, he'd select one student whom he felt needed a little challenge in their lives... and would provide the stimulus necessary to turn them, in his eyes, into the right sort of student at Spenser. Usually it was a freshman or a sophomore who wasn't willing to bend when he told them to, or one who thought he could get away with pushing his buttons.

Today's victim was a senior in his class. Lysistrata Dymalis. She kept to the back of the class, didn't respond well to his advances, and was, well, an all around smartass. So he thought he'd freak her out a bit by following her to the cemetery.

It was really a shame that she was so stubborn. He kicked up a few leaves and rocks as he swaggered behind her. She was actually kind of hot. Aaron wasn't used to getting completely dissed by girls. She had headphones on so it wasn't likely that she'd hear him, which was slightly unfortunate. It was more fun when he could play some sort of pseudo-stalker, watching her freak out while he just hid behind a tree or something.

But in the cemetery, he could make his move. Hell, he was Aaron Abbout. He could overpower her so easily. It wasn't like she was friends with many people. In fact, he didn't think she had friends at all. Maybe that's why he'd picked her today. They wouldn't wonder where she was or why she was late.. or whatever.

She surprised him when she whirled around. He took a step back, then two steps forward, a malicious grin on his face.

"What do you want, Aaron?" she demanded, putting on her best expression of surprise. "How long have you been following me?"

"Two words for you... after school... special..." Aaron's eyes went a little vapid as he thought about his last comment, but he shook it off and continued anyway, "Long enough to know you're in a cemetary... alone... maybe ya' need a little company?"

He grinned once more and reached out to grab her nearest wrist, the one hovering near her bellybutton, almost protective like.

"Two words for you... after school... special..."

Lysistrata took a step back, paling. This was a little more than she'd bargained for. Where was her cell phone? Probably at the bottom of her school bag, as usual. But even if she had it in her hands, what would she do with it? The only one who might come to her rescue was Damian, but even then, he was so.. freakish with schedules. She never knew when he'd answer, or when he'd be gone for ours at a time.

She didn't want to point out to the idiot that that was really three words.

"Long enough to know you're in a cemetary... alone... maybe ya' need a little company?"

Suddenly Lyza could think of no one she hated more. He reached out to snatch her wrist; she pulled away but he grabbed her left hand sharply and dragged her closer.

"Let go, you prick!" she cried, raking her nails against his fingers. It only seemed to make him clench harder. The feeling in her left hand started to fade quickly. Lyza struggled against him, digging her feet into the ground and trying to angle herself away from him. If she got enough leverage, she might be able to kick him.

Ohhh, how much he loved it when they fought. It was such a turnon for him. Aaron's eyes glinted with the prospect of her as she pulled, uselessly, away from him.

"Let go, you prick!"

He let out a throaty laugh and pulled her closer, latching his right hand onto her wrist. The gravel beneath their feet crunched in protest. Her hair smelled like strawberries, flying into his eyes.

"Oh, but come on, this is what you like, isn't it?" he asked, pressing her close to him. Eliminate the spaces between - then they won't struggle so much. The feel of her curves against him, that was just something extra for him to enjoy. Aaron brought his chin close to her neck and inhaled. So sweet, like an apple waiting to be plucked from a tree and eaten.

Aaron latched his arms around her back, firmly locking her against him. The feel of him against her made her flesh crawl. Lysistrata wanted to vomit.

"Oh, but come on, this is what you like, isn't it?"

She locked her limbs and stood rigidly against him, agonizing. Perhaps this was a nightmare. Perhaps it wasn't really happening. She could really only pretend for so long.

It was probably when he put his face close to her that she jerked. First it was just her head, trying to get her exposed flesh away from him. But he still came close enough to touch. She cringed inwardly, her knees starting to buckle; and then, faster than she gave herself credit for, she brought her knee up between his legs with as much force as she could muster.

He was turning a corner when he heard his bike make a odd noise and then stop all together. He managed to climb off before the bike took him town with it. Holding on to the handle bars he parked it at the side of the street which happened to be next to the cemetery. Kicking down the kick-stand he went to the opposite side and bent down. Pulling his gloves off he looked inside the bikes panel thinking maybe a rock might of rolled up inside of it.

Hearing some one scream made him turn his head. Raising from his sitting position his hazel eyes looked around a little but didn't see anything. Until he noticed a familiar Spencer letterman's jacket. Aaron Abbout. Making sure that his bike was safe from not being hit or anything he jogged up towards where Aaron was. Quickly noticed that Aaron wasn't alone but with a female that didn't look at the happy to have Aaron's attention.

"I think she wants you to back off Abbout" he said as he walked up behind the younger boy. "Some girls don't like to have morons in there personal space" he said with a smirk before crossing his arms over his chest. "Why don't you run off and find Kira, I'm sure the two of you can find something to do a little more productive".

He totally didn't expect it. The sudden, blinding, searing, knock-the-wind-out-of-your-lungs pain came out of nowhere.

It was all he could do to stay upright. Aaron immediately released his grip on the girl, eyes wide open but completely blinded. Suckerpunched. He'd been suckerpunched. He brought his knees together and hunched forward, pressing his hands to his groin and slowly sank onto the cold, stone gravel.

His breath came in short, shallow gasps. Slowly, the white light began to clear.

"I think she wants you to back off Abbout"

Aaron squeezed his eyes shut, still hunched over. In his state of mind he could easily see one thing - Lysistrata had caused this. And thusly, Lysistrata would pay. He struggled to get to his feet. He did not want to deal with any of Caleb's friends. Not right now.

"Some girls don't like to have morons in there personal space"

"You watch.. your mouth!" Aaron panted. Painstakingly, he rose to his haunches, and tried to pull himself further upright. "Fuck off, Parry. The lady and I... just had a... disagreement!"

Aaron couldn't seem to get up completely, but he didn't really care. He started to hobble away from the site, a horrible mix between the waddling of a penguin and the knuckle-walk of a primate.