Splintered Illusion

» fifteen «

The janitor glared at me, but when his gaze landed on Puck, his eyes flew open and he muttered numerous apologies, in a hurry to close the door behind him as he ran for his life.

Turning to look back at Puck, I was surprised to see his expression morphed into one of amusement. Scoffing, I reached out to punch his shoulder and he pulled back, laughing.

"What?"

I rolled my eyes. "You shouldn't do that to people," I scolded.

"Do what?" Puck asked, playing innocent.

I attempted to glare at him. "I'm serious."

"Okay, Serious, I would love to stay and chat with you, but we have to get to class."

I giggled. "Since when do you care about getting to class?"

"You're right," Puck said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "I don't care. You know what? Let's ditch school and hitch a ride to Miami."

"Smart-ass," I muttered, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and getting up, off the ground.

Puck arched a brow, still in a comfortable position on the ground. "What did you say?" I grinned, ignoring him as I turned away to walk back inside the school building. Before I could so much as make it further a step, Puck's arms wrapped around my waist from behind me and pulled me off the ground. I squealed and demanded for him to put him down, to no avail. "Wow, Polly. I didn't think you knew how to curse."

I rolled my eyes. "I know a lot of things."

"Do you, now?"

I sighed. "Yes, I do. And I also know that we should be getting to class now. I've already missed a few."

Puck let out a small, defeated breath, setting me back down on the ground. "You're right. Let's go." He took my hand and led me back inside the building. We descended the staircase in silence.

When we reached the bottom, getting ready to part ways, I finally spoke up. "Thanks for...feeding me, Puck," I told him, my lips curving up into a smile. "I don't feel hungry anymore. And thanks for taking me up to the roof - its beautiful."

For a minute, I swear I saw the slightest tint of red to his cheeks, but then he ducked his head, positioning his body into a mock bow and causing me to giggle. "Thank you for gracing me with your presence," he said teasingly.

And then we parted as something more than just friends. Something...something I couldn't exactly put my finger to. And something my mind wasn't so sure about.

Unfortunately, my heart was all for it.

»« »« »«

When I made it home that day, I visibly relaxed to find that my father wasn't home. Although he would surely be back in a few days, I could still allow myself to enjoy the days of peace of I had left without him.

My now-finished painting of a deer in the woods with its predator sat in the corner of my room, the canvas just small enough to fit in the nook. Somehow...I didn't feel the connection I once had with it when Puck had shown up unannounced at my window. It was as if he wasn't preying on me anymore. Yet, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that soon enough, the predator would attack, for even its not strong enough to resist the temptation of satiating its hunger.

An uneasy feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach at that, but I put it behind me at the moment.

Exhaling, I changed out of my school clothes and into my pajamas, dragging my backpack to my desk with me - which was situated right next to my window. I frowned when I caught sight of a manila envelope on the desk. Picking it up, I opened it curiously, wondering how it got there.

All thoughts of doing a week's worth of homework were gone when the pictures fell out of the envelope and onto my desk.

My eyes widened and tears formed in the corner of my eyes as I stared at the pictures in horror. Me. All me. Me getting ready to take a shower, me getting beaten up by my dad, me sitting at my desk, painting, me... Oh, God. I almost threw up at the last few. Me...walking to school this morning. Me...in the bathroom in nothing but my bra and panties.

Stumbling, I reached for my chair to steady me, suddenly feeling dizzy. Movement outside my window caught my attention.

There, on the side of the street, behind the bushes, a dark figure stood. When they saw that they had my attention, they gave me a mock salute...and disappeared. Just like that.

Fear formed inside me - real and cold and heart-wrenching. For although the person was temporarily gone...there was no denying the existence of the photographs on my table.