[OLD] Shimmer (Counterpart to Tides)

Chapter Two

Well, there went that perfect moment. The other men rode over and started laughing at the person on the ground. How sympathetic. Since no one else seemed willing to, I ran forward to help the young man on the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, kneeling on the ground next to the young man. I couldn't help but stare for a moment; he was absolutely beautiful. He had jet black hair, and golden eyes that shone in the sunlight as he blinked at me.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine," he stated, his eyes slightly glazed from the shock.

The aqua was suddenly standing there, laughing and helping the ignis up. Startled, I whirled around to look at him, stumbling. I shut my eyes and readied myself for the impact of the pavement, but the pain never came. Instead, there was a gentle pressure on my waist.

"Careful, there," the aqua said, his sandy blonde hair nearly covering his eyes. He had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. Sure, the golden eyes of the ignis were beautiful, but that was nothing compared to the eyes of this aqua. He had gorgeous ocean blue eyes, and I could almost imagine gentle waves and the sounds of seagulls...

"Hey, you okay there?" the aqua asked, smirking. Damn it. He had caught me staring.

"Uh... y-yeah..." I stammered. Pull yourself together! It's just a boy! A gorgeous, jaw-dropping boy... I cut my thoughts off there. "Sorry," I said aloud. "I'm fine."

The ignis cleared his throat, standing awkwardly on the side, and I jumped. I had forgotten he was there. He held out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Kevin, and this is my friend, Joshua," he said, gesturing to the aqua.

Joshua... so that's his name... It's gorgeous, just like him... I looked up to see Kevin and Joshua staring at me expectantly. "Oh, sorry," I said, embarrassed, "I'm Alaina."

Joshua opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but he was cut off by the man, who was still on his horse. "Boys, stop gawking at the chick and get over here right now!"

Both boys sighed, obviously used to this. "Fine, just a moment!" Joshua shouted back.

Joshua turned around, annoyed, and stalked back to his horse. Wow, he was so handsome, especially when he was angry...

"Hey," Kevin said, bringing me back to reality. "You're really pretty," he blurted out. He blinked a few times, almost as if he hadn't meant to say that.

I blushed, my face turning beet red. "T-thank you," I stammered, not used to such compliments.

"Truly, you are. How about you let me prove to you I'm not a creep. Would you meet me here tomorrow night?"

I twirled a few strands of hair around my finger. "Su–"

Joshua interrupted our awkward conversation. "Kevin. We should get going," he said. To an outsider, he would seem perfectly calm, but his sea-blue eyes were anything but. I could see the storms in them brewing as he glared at Kevin.

Kevin glared back, but went over to Joshua. Looking over his shoulder, he mouthed see you there.

Their teacher whispered angrily to them, but I got the point—I wasn't welcome there anymore. As quietly as I could, I turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

A/N: so... the cover contest winner is... @marissa_319!!! congrats!!! thanks to everyone who participated, it really meant a lot to us! For anyone reading this, please make sure to check out the book Tides by @forever_writing_26! (it's the other half of this story... and about/"by" none other than... Joshua!!! so... what do you all think will happen next???)