Hourglass (Book 1- Tractatori Series) | Wattys2016

::Chapter Eleven::

Sweat dripped down Colette's forehead, sticking strands of blonde hair to her brow. Perspiration beaded on her upper lip, and she wiped it away with her free hand. Her other hand dribbled a bright orange basketball. Rather clumsily, she noticed.

She really hated sports.

A mean looking girl with pink cheeks glared at her, and a growl rumbled her chest.

"Are you gonna pass the god damn basketball or not?" a girl Colette was fairly sure was on her team yelled.

Cole could feel eyes on her. It caused a chill to brush over her despite the fact she was sweating up a storm. The hair on her arms prickled. A single bead of sweat trailed painfully slow down the side of her neck.

Colette really hated sports.

She glanced towards the bleachers when the ball left her hands. Cole's team erupted into a chorus of groans.

"Great. Of course we get stuck with her," a boy mumbled.

She glared at him. For goodness sake! It was just a stupid game. She took a deep breath and marched off the court.

"Colette? Colette Watterson! Where do you think you're going?" her gym teacher called after her.

"I'm going to switch out my bandages if that's okay with you. And maybe get a drink of water."

Colette was shocked at herself. She never talked to anyone like that, let alone a teacher. But the teacher backed off once Cole whipped out the "I got stabbed" card.

There was no need for the gauze, really, Colette thought. The skin had healed and smoothed over, and all that was left was a white-pink scar. But she kept the gauze on anyway.

She stepped out of the bathroom while tugging down her shirt, and groaned as her shirt clung to her back from the sweat. Sports were plain stupid. And gross.

She bent to get a sip from the water fountain, when a hand grabbed her wrist. Panic flared in her mind and blinded her from logic, and she lashed out. All she could see was the old lady coming closer with a dagger, bloodlust in her eyes.

"Cole! It's just me."

She stilled and blinked. "Hunter?"

He nodded and the panic cleared. Embarrassment filled her instead. Did every time they meet require embarrassment on Colette's part? Her first instinct was to apologize, but why should she?

"What are you doing?" she asked instead.

"I came to ask you something, and I couldn't get to you earlier."

Colette raised an eyebrow. "So you decided to scare the crap out of me instead?"

"That wasn't part of the plan." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was actually wondering if you'd want to go on a date. With me."

Cole peered up at him. "What?"

Hunter grinned, humor tracing the corners of his eyes. "Will you, Colette, go on a date with me?"

"Why me?"

Something in his expression changed, like he was trying to piece together a complex puzzle whose pieces wouldn't fit.

"That seems to be the million dollar question. Why you? What makes you so special?" he murmured, eyes locked on her face with a scientist gaze. She felt strange, less than human, under his inspection.

"And here I thought you were such a charmer," she said to chase of the nagging feeling crawling up her spine.

He blinked once, twice, and then his face cleared. "I am charming, aren't I? So what do you say?"

Colette arched an eyebrow. "I'll think about it."

:||:

Hunter watched her from across the cafeteria. She hesitated at the doors, eyes darting to a dark haired girl. Her friend, What's-Her-Name. Brittany? Brooklyn? Who cares?

Colette gripped her bag tighter, looking like she wanted to go to her friend. But then she spun on her heel and left.

Strange.

Memories from the gym earlier flashed behind his eyelids. She had asked what made her so special, and that very question still haunted him. What did make her so special? She was as harmless as a fly. She hadn't even been able to steal a basketball from someone without apologizing and stumbling. Her records said her grades were a B+ average, she didn't really get in trouble, and she barely had any outside activities.

Hardly anything special. When he first saw her, he'd thought he got the wrong girl. Still. He had his orders and he was to execute them.

He picked apart his hamburger and flicked the bun seeds. Glancing at his meal and determining that he wasn't going to eat, he stood up.

"Where are you going?" a girl asked beside him.

He tried to remember her name, he really did. But all he remembered about her was the flavor of her lipgloss. Cherry.

"I need to go to the library real quick. I'll be back."

She smiled, content with his answer, and went back to talking to her friend.

The hallways were boring and non-descript, probably what all high school hallways looked like: waxen tiles that seemed permanently dirty, metal lockers, and harsh fluorescent lights.

Hunter peeked into the empty classrooms. Where was she? He opened up another door and paused.

Colette's back was to him. She sat curled up on the floor, chin on her knees, and her head tilted downwards.

"Cole?"

She spun around, knuckles white around a pencil. A notebook fell beside her, and Hunter could see scribbled and scratched out words covering the page. She snatched the notebook up and held it to her chest.

"What are you doing here?" She narrowed her eyes. "Are you stalking me?"

"No. I saw you skip lunch earlier."

"Yeah? Well it looks like you're skipping lunch, too." She tucked the pencil on her current page and sat the notebook behind her.

He grinned. "Minor details." He edged closer. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Her voice was clipped, and Hunter knew not to push the subject matter.

"Well if everything is perfectly okay, have you made up your mind on that date?"

"Why should I go on a date with you?"

"Because," he said, fingers itching to touch her. Just to see if there was anything special about her at all. "I want to take you on a date."

She blushed, and he grinned. She was going to say yes. He could feel it.

"When?" she asked.

"Whenever you're free," was his answer. "Unless you and your friend have plans..."

Colette recoiled like she was smacked, and Hunter winced internally. He'd forgotten about their "spiff". He'd meant to be funny, or at least charming, but that failed. He felt sliking smacking himself.

"Look, Cole, I'm--"

Colette cut him off. "I'll go with you.

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said, I'll go with you." Cole grinned and looked away, a pink blush rising up her chest.

Hunter couldn't help but notice the necklace around her neck. The bead looked like a drop of water trailing down her skin, and he found her glad she was wearing it.

He had spent a lot of money on it, after all.

A/N: Alright. What do you think? How do you think the date will go? Let me know in the comments below. :)

-Sophia