Post by alex on Aug 15, 2008 20:29:09 GMT -8
Hai ^_^ I just joined, and I thought to start off I'd post this, just to see how everyone likes/hates it! And I totally hope I got this in the right place ^_^
Chapter One:
I was ninety nine percent positive I was dreaming for two reasons.
One, I was standing in front of my parents - my mother with her curtain of auburn hair and amazing blue eyes, my dad next to her with his arm wrapped around her, his blonde hair messy as ever and eyes glinting a soft green. The only problem was the fact that they had been dead for almost three years.
The second reason was because I was standing barefoot in the middle of a forest clearing, wearing a dress. The dress was a deep, almost blood red - the sort of dress you saw in pictures of old Hollywood on the women who loved to flaunt just how much money they really had. It's silky rich fabric made my milky, almost translucent skin stand out even more in the moonlight shining down from the full moon almost directly above my head.
Something glittering to my right caught my attention, my head turning only to find a pair of bright, golden eyes glinting at me in the darkness between two large trees. I took a step back instinctively, the grass wet from dew between my toes. The eyes blinked, staring directly at me as if taking in my appearance. The creature who the eyes belonged to was obviously comtemplating it's next move. I was hoping it wouldn't eat me - then again, it was a dream, so it probably would end up eating me, only for me to wake up in my own bed. Either way, I wasn't going to go down with a fight.
Then, the creature moved. It emerged from the trees, it's movements flawless as I made out what type of animal it was. Or at least, I was pretty sure it was an animal.
It was light gray, almost silvery in color. It was easily the size of a full-grown horse, it's legs long and slender. It sat down at the edge of the trees, eyes still trained on me. I started as the apparent wolf let out a long, very loud howl, creating goosebumps along my arms. A cool breeze blew, whipping my hair about my face and causing it to sting my cheeks.
Then it began toward me.
It's movements were quick, so I barely had time to react. I turned and bolted out of the clearing, crashing through the trees. I tripped, stumbling over the twigs and rocks along the forest floor, as well as the hem of the stupid dress. Branches and leaves tore at my face and arms, creating long scratched. I ran harder, faster, anything to get away from the creature. But no matter how fast I ran, it was still right behind me, snapping at my heels.
Suddenly, I fell forward on my face as I finally tripped over the hem of the dress, flailing my arms in an attempt to catch myself. The breath was knocked out of me as I landed hard on the ground, a rock digging into my lower back through the dress. I winced and pushed myself up onto my elbows. The wolf was at my feet, sitting, waiting, and watching, as if daring me to make a move.
I didn't.
Frozen to my place on the ground, I didn't dare move, for fear the wolf would lunge and tear my leg off. Even if it was a dream, it would probably still hurt like hell. I winced slightly at the thought.
The wolf's gaze switched after a brief second to something behind me that I could see. My heart was pounding deep in my chest, hitting against my ribcage in fear. My adrenaline was running high, and I felt like my head was going to explode. I wanted to scream, cry, and run all at the same time, but I remained frozen to my place on the ground. Just let me wake up. Let me wake up. Let me wake up. I repeated to myself in my head in a chant, my eyes shut tight.
Something cold snaked around my waist and for a moment, I thought it was a snake. My eyes snapped open, looking down to see a pair of arms wrapped tightly around me. The arms lifted me up, away from the wolf, and the next thing I knew, I was flying.
Or at least, it felt like it.
Everything around me was suddenly blurred in one black, green, and brown streak. The cold arms were now against my back and under my knees, their owner carrying me at an inhuman speed through the forest. I looked up, and a horrifying scream escaped my lips.
The man carrying me was faceless.
Nothing but a pale slate of marble-like skin greeted me when I looked at him. If you could even call it a him. It was more of an it. Yet, he had saved me from the wolf, which was now crashing through the trees a long way back, it's silvery form following after us as quickly as possible.
I shut my eyes.
When I opened them, it was morning, the sunlight streaming through the window and falling across my bed. I groaned the second I realized it was a Monday, and I had to go to school. Wrapping myself in my blankets, I had full intentions of going back to sleep. However, that was obviously not going to happen with the series of events that happened next.
My bedroom door burst open, slamming back against the wall and even causing some of the pictures on my wall to rattle and my bedside lamp to shake. There was the sound of footsteps pouding across the carpet toward my bed. There was silence for a moment, then something rather heavy landed dead center on my stomach, causing me to jerk up and twist out from under the object.
Groggily, I stared at the object until my focus became clear. I sighed, realizing it was my little cousin Claire, still dressed in her pajama's and her dark blonde curls still in a frizzy, bedhead mess. I shook my head and sighed again - she was always way too hyper for mornings, unlike me, who absolutely detested mornings. I wouldn't have to put up with them for much longer though. I was a senior in high school, with only two months left of school.
"Daddy says get up!" She grinned, bounding off my bed and out of my bedroom. Figuring I'd better get up before Logan came up here himself - which wasn't pretty; he usually gets a glass of water and dumps it on my head to wake me up - I rolled out of bed and onto my feet, still half-asleep.
My stomach aching from where Claire had done her Spider-Man leap onto it, I grabbed my school uniform and headed into the bathroom. The uniforms my school had were hideious - dark blue skirts and a white button up shirt with a dark blue tie and jacket to go along with it. They were required of all the students in my school district - a rule that had implied before I had gotten here.
I gazed at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed out the tangles in my auburn colored hair, simply throwing it up into a ponytail to keep it out of my face during the school day - which I wasn't looking forward to. I never looked forward to Mondays. Green eyes gazed around the bathroom, looking for my hairclip - then I realized Claire had it. Rolling my eyes, I headed downstairs, the smell of pancakes wafting through the house and teasing my nose. Logan was already up and cooking my favorite breakfast - he had to be the best uncle in the world.
I had been put into the care of my Uncle Logan when I was in my Sophmore year. I had, up until then, lived in the sunny, warm state of California in San Deigo with both of my parents. They had gone to dinner with the neighbors, leaving me at home to babysit the neighbor's two twin boys - who were just little infants then. At about midnight, I found myself facing a policeman at the door, telling me my parents had died in a car crash, my neighbors were in critical condition, and my Uncle had been called to come out and take me to his house. According to my parents will, I was supposed to be in his care anyway. Logan had instantly taken me back to Kentucky, to his little town of Warsaw. I had lived here for almost three years now - and frankly, was getting sick and tired of my boring life.
Sighing, I made my presence known in the kitchen. Logan glanced up from his position at the stove, gesturing to the stack of pancakes at one of the chairs.
"There you go kiddo." He grinned and I tried to smile back, but a yawn stopped me. He just shook his head with an eye roll, going back to cooking Claire's usual chocolate chip pancakes. I prefered mine plain, with plenty of syrup and butter spread out across the top.
After forcing down most of the pancakes, I raked the rest in the trashbin and placed my plate in the sink, reminding myself to do dishes when I got home from school. Logan wouldn't be here; He had to go to work. He owned a small resteraunt just outside of town called Stardust, where he also worked as chef. Part of why he was able to cook amazing meals at home too - always an advantage.
Claire usually took the bus to school, so I didn't have to drive her - thankfully. Waving to her and kissing Logan on the cheek goodbye, I grabbed my messenger bag at the foot of the stairs that held my schoolbooks and notebooks before grabbing my keys off the peg and heading out the front door. Jogging down the little path to the driveway, I tossed my bag in the passenger's seat of the little green Honda that was my car and climbed in the driver's seat myself, mentally preparing myself for another Monday at school.
Oh yay.
The drive to school took all of ten minutes, not including the small amount of traffic. The town of Warsaw was small - your usual small town where everyone knew who you were whether you wanted to know them or not. I pulled into the parking lot and into my assigned parking space between an old stationwagon and a large pick-up truck in the shade of bright red. I stepped out of the car and grabbed my bag, heading for the school building ahead. Well, the side. Students were required to park in the side parking lot on the opposite side of the building where the teachers parked.
The side of the building looked even better than the front in my opinion. Blue metal picnic tables lined the stone path to the doors where seniors could come outside and eat lunch if they chose to. Students mingled out here before school, but I chose to head straight inside, with plans of getting through today with as little trouble as possible.
As you entered the building through the side, to the left was the two level gym - well, it was really only one level, but it had a second level sort of like a balcony that wrapped around the top with extra bleachers to seat extra students or guests in case there wasn't enough room in the bleachers on the first level.
To the right was the cafeteria, which you had to go through to get to the main part of the building with the classrooms. Two whole walls were made of glass, one of the glass walls facing outside, the other facing the hallway. Round tables that seated up to eight or more dotted the area, where some students were sitting, mingling and eating breakfast. Some students were making their ways through the halls toward classrooms, wanting to get early starts.
I was one of those people.
My first class was the only one I looked forward to everyday - World History. I had a thing for historical things, whether it was artifacts or an actual person. The Victorian Era was always my favorite, but I enjoyed the other periods as well.
Sighing, I took my seat in the middle of the room in the decrepit desk. My school funding was rather low, so we didn't have all that fancy smanchy stuff other schools had. But at least we had desks, secondhand textbooks and all the important stuff. I pulled out my history textbook and a notebook, prepared to take notes if needed. The stragglers of the class began to file in, about two seconds before the bell ring. My gaze was too focused on the doodles I was now making on a corner of my notebook to notice the new student that walked in very last, approaching the desk.
"....glad to have you in class Mr. Weston. Why don't you take a seat next to Miss. Taylor?"
However, my head jerked up when Mr. Lewis mentioned my name. I looked at him for the briefest of moments, then my eyes locked with the new student. I had to force back the gasp that threatened to escape my lips.
He stood at about 5'8, dwarfing Mr. Lewis' 5'2 frame. His skin was deathly pale, as if he had just woken up from being dead. His hair was a shaggy, messy, jetblack in color, contrasting against the color of his skin and his eyes. His eyes were a deep blue, reminding me of sapphires, but as he walked closer to me to take his seat, I noticed that there was strangely a few flecks of red in them. He looked as if he had leapt off the page from the history textbook, on the period of Greek History and the Gods they worshiped. His gaze switched to the dry-erase board up front where Mr. Lewis was beginning to write down note we were supposed to be taking. Forcing myself to look away, I flipped open my notebook and began to write in my chicken scratch that I called writing.
So far, History was the only class I had the mysterious Mr. Weston in. I hadn't learned his first name, but by the way the whispers about the new kid were flying through the halls, I figured his name would get to me soon enough. At lunch, he sat alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, and didn't eat. I tried hard not to look at him and I attempted to engross myself in the conversation I was having with my friend Vanessa, her boyfriend Kyle, and my best friend in the world, Will. However, I felt his gaze on the back of my neck, causing the hairs there to stand on end.
"Something wrong Abby?"
I turned, pulling myself from my thoughts as I realized Will was speaking to me. I shook my head. Will had been my best friend since I had moved here - his dad worked with Logan at the resteraunt as a bartender, so we had met through them. He was extremely nice, and not exactly the worst looking guy. Lightly tanned skin made his dark eyes stand out even more behind his thick lashes, which always made him look like he was wearing eyeliner. I always teased him about it. His hair was rather long and shaggy in the shade of dark brown. He looked like he belonged in a place like Arizona with his 6'3 height and rather large muscles - yet he was here in Warsaw, being my best friend.
The moment I walked into gym class, I groaned, remembering we were due to start dance. Dancing was something our gym teacher was required to teach as well as the regular sports, since we had no dance class or anything along the lines of it. And then, I saw him again, instantly knowing who was going to end up being his partner.
I was always the one who ended up without a partner in the sports, so I knew he was going to end up being my partner.
Awesome.
I dumped my bag on the first row of bleachers along with everyone else's, moving to join where they were all sitting on the gym floor in front of Coach Carter - who also served as dance teacher. I sat between Vanessa and Will, remaining silent as everyone else chattered around us. I was waiting for my name to be called.
"Miss. Taylor!"
I sighed and stood, walking over to where Coach Carter was standing with the greek God, who was staring at me.
"Yeah?"
"This is Nicolas Weston. He's new, so you'll be his dance partnet this unit."
Again, awesome.
My attention turned to him and I gave him the best smile I could manage. He replied with a dazzling, almost blinding smile of his own.
We began walking back toward the group, the chattering turning into whispering as we approached, sitting down on the hard, gym wood floor.
"All right!" Coach Carter called for silence and all attention turned to him. "We're starting with ballroom and working up to hip-hop and modern -."
There was a collective groan.
"Look - I don't like it much either, so the faster you learn, the better. But we're starting with the waltz today - anyone want to demonstrate?"
Silence.
No hands were raised.
"We'll dance."
WHAT?!
As Nicolas stood, I stard, slightly open mouthed at him.
"I can't dance!" I hissed as I followed him toward the center of the gym. He just smiled and extended a hand.
Hesitating, I took it.
And suddenly, I wasn't standing in the gym anymore.
Around me, things blurred until I was standing underneath a large maple tree at the top of a hill. The sun was high in the sky, the tree creating a nice-cool, shade from the heat.
I was wearing a victorian dress - what was with all the dresses? - with plenty of lace and frill. It was white and I made a face, as it was heavy and felt like I had a corset on underneath, making my breathing hard.
And I was confused as hell. What was going on?
Then suddenly, Nicolas was beside me, my hand in his. he wore a victorian tuxedo, his pale skin standing out and almost matching my dress color.
I was confused as hell. What was going on?
He said something, but I couldn't hear him no matter how hard I tried. Although, I did hear him saying my name.
"...Abigail..."
I shut my eyes, just listening to his velvet tone saying my name. My fingertips began to tingle, travelling in my hand and up my arms.
My eyes snapped open as I heard my name shouted. Taking a deep gasp of air as if I had been holding my breath, I realized I was staring at the high ceiling of the gym. Nearly everyone was gathered around me, staring as if wondering if I was dead.
Coach Carter was the one directly above me, looking at me a face of concern.
"Can you hear me Abigail?"
I nodded and pushed myself into a sitting position. The tips of my fingers tingled still.
"What happened?" I asked, slightly confused.
"You stood up and passed out. Let's get you to the nurse."
"No! I mean, I'm fine. Just stood too fast, that's all." I muttered, any excuse to keep me from going to the nurse - and having to call Logan, who'd throw a fit.
Coach Carter looked at me skeptically.
"I'm fine, really."
"Abigail...." He warned. "At least go so they can check you out to make sure you're completely all right. You hit the floor pretty hard."
"I'll take her to the nurse."
I looked up at the voice, surprised to see Nicolas, looking slightly flustered - if not livid.
"You know where it is?"
He nodded.
I moved to get up, but Nicolas bent down, slipping his arms under my back and kness, straightening up with me in his arms. My head spun slightly, so I was actually glad he was carrying me, except that he was carrying me to the nurse. I didn't like doctors, even in the nurse form.
He carried me from the gym, through the cafeteria, and up to the front office where the nurse's office was located. It earned a few funny looks from students and teachers, but I didn't care - I was being carried by an extremely good looking, Greek God. I just ignored them.
He set me back down on the bed in the nurse's office before taking a seat in the chair. His gaze never left me, even as I looked everywhere else but at him.
The nurse entered a few moments later.
"What's the problem today?"
Before I could answer, Nicolas did.
"She passed out in gym class."
She jumped slightly, having not noticed him in the room before. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment before turning back to me.
Nicolas kept his smoldering eyes on me, even as the nurse asked me questions - which of course, he would end up answering for me, which made me frown. I was perfectly capable of speaking for myself, thanks.
"Well, it seems you're doing okay now, and you haven't go any injuries that I can find, so I'll let you go back to class. If you begin to feel light headed again, come see me, all right?"
I nodded and she left, allowing me to get to my feet and straightening my uniform.
"What class do you have next?" He suddenly asked as I made for the door.
"Chemistry." I replied and he nodded.
"So do I. If you'll allow it, I'll get your books from the gym and meet you there." He continued.
'Er...okay."
He flashed a smile and left the office quickly, me merely trailing behind as I headed upstairs to Chemistry with Ms. Morgan. The class was just starting when I slipped in - obviously the nurse had called ahead and informed that I would be late.
And somehow, Nicolas was already seated at one of the two-person deskd, my messenger bag hanging on the chair beside of him. I took my seat, trying to figure out how in the hell he had gotten there before me.
We got through Chemistry without me passing out again - though Nicolas stopped me from adding a wrong chemical that would have caused an explosion. Though I felt as though it wasn't me getting up to quickly that made me pass out in gym, so I wasn't really paying attention to begin with.
I had felt perfectly fine until I had touched his hand. It almost made me want to touch him again, just to see what would happen. Though everytime I came close to his hand touching mine, he would abruptly pull away.
I didn't see him the rest of the day until I headed out into the parking lot, where he was getting into a black Honda. He was talking on a cell phone as he did, and there was a look of anger on his face.
"Hey."
I glanced up from where I realized I'd been staring at him to find Will leaning against the hood of my truck. I frowned slightly and he chuckled.
"What?" I questioned.
"Are you sure you're okay from gym?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, opening my door and tossing in my books, rolling down the window for the drive home. Leaning against the door, I turned my attention back to him. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if you'd meet me at the park down by the river later tonight? We haven't hung out in a while...." He said.
"I'd have to ask Logan, but you know he won't care as long as I bring Claire. That all right?"
"Yeah, that's fine. About seven-ish should be good." He grinned and wrapped me in a tight hug. Laughing, I clambered into my truck.
