A New Dawn

Chapter 17 - Idris

As I wander down the hallway upstairs, I hear Briar's voice. Not her singing one—unfortunately. More of an angry one. I peek into what must be her room for the summer. She's sitting at the window seat, her knees pulled up to her chest with her phone in her hands.

"Please, Sarina," she begs.

Sarina's voice rings from the phone. "Why are you even asking? The videos are great."

"Yeah, but I just don't want anyone to watch them, okay?"

Sarina scoffs. "Briar, you're great in all of them."

Briar shakes her head. It looks like she's about to argue some more, but she glances towards the door, doing a double-take when she sees me. She sits up, smiling. "Hey."

I wave, stepping into her room to join her. I look at her phone, and Sarina looks back at me with a curious smile. She waves first. "Hi, I'm Sarina."

I smile at her. "Nice to meet you. I'm Idris. I just saw one of your videos. You have a great voice." But I still prefer hearing Briar sing, relishing the high of what feels like fire in my chest, taking up all the oxygen in my lungs.

"Thank you." Her smile dims as she gives Briar a pointed look. "I'm guessing this is why you're asking me to make some of the videos private...?"

Briar nods. "Yeah. Pretty much."

Sarina rolls her eyes. "Idris, what are your thoughts on the video you watched?"

Briar's head snaps to me. "Don't answer that."

I can't help but laugh, and I almost feel bad considering how serious Briar looks. I nudge her with my elbow. "You were great. It makes me want to hear you sing more."

"See," Sarina says, her eyes wide. "I don't understand why you don't want people to see the videos." A crease forms between her eyebrows. "Or why you don't perform anymore." She waves a packet of paper around. "You're pretty much one of the only people I trust to give me advice."

Briar sighs. "I just don't, okay?"

Sarina scrunches up her face. "I still don't get it, but okay, Briar. Whatever you want."

Briar sits up at that. "Does that mean you'll make the videos private?"

Sarina shakes her head. "No. Because they're good and you're talented and people should see that."

"That was the whole point of the talent show video, wasn't it?" I ask.

Briar groans, pressing a hand over her eyes. "You watched that video?"

I have to laugh at how flustered she's getting. It's pretty cute. No wonder why she likes to tease me so much—if that's even why she teases me, that is. Because I could tease her about performing for days if I get to see her blush.

When Briar lowers her hand to glare at me, I make sure to smile at her so she knows I don't mean to hurt her or anything. The crease between her eyebrows almost completely disappears, and her eyes turn a lighter shade of brown. Suddenly, the fire in my chest returns, taking up all my oxygen as I get lost in the color of her eyes. It's like I'm drowning in honey right now. It takes me a second to remember what we're talking about. Even then, my voice comes out as a whisper like my mind is still focused on the mesmerizing color of Briar's eyes and can't multitask.

"Yeah," I say. "We watched it. And you were great."

She blinks, glancing away. "Thanks..."

Her cheeks fill with color again, but for some reason, it feels different this time. Like she's not blushing about me complimenting her talent. Like maybe she's blushing because the compliment is coming from me. And knowing that I can have this effect on her makes me all too aware of the fire inside me.