One Heart

1. Because you're special

Teenagers experimented. Normal teenagers at least, and Sorah craved normality. Needed it. But the feeling of revulsion never left her. Maybe it was nerves. A normal reaction to a first kiss.

Alyssa's muffled moans only made Sorah feel worse. Guilty for not reciprocating her enjoyment. So she pushed herself to stay in the moment, to stay present, but her mind wandered to the pink and purple streaks that littered Alyssa's messy blonde hair. Only it wasn't purple, it was indigo, and the pink was so bright and lush it had to be fuchsia. But the colour of Alyssa's streaks wasn't—shouldn't be—important, so she shook the thought away and tried to concentrate on the kiss.

Physical attraction was foreign for Sorah. She knew Alyssa was attractive, had seen the proof of it in the way their peers looked at her, but her body refused to respond to her advances. She expected to at least feel something.

The alcohol had filtered into Sorah's system enough that she didn't fight it when Alyssa pushed down the zipper of her jeans, but as her hand slid beneath the fabric of Sorah's underwear, she sat up and pushed her away. "I'm sorry..."

"You're not ready?"

"Yeah," Sorah lied. Except she was ready. Just not for Alyssa. She wanted to experience things. Lust. Sex. Love, eventually. She didn't want to be eighteen and closed-off to the experiences of her peers.

"That's okay." Alyssa's eyes raked Sorah's body, coming to a sudden stop at the mark on her left hip. "What's that?"

A brown, elongated triangle stood out against Sorah's pale skin. "It's a birthmark. I think it's genetic or something because my mother had the exact same one, in the exact same place. Don't you think it looks kinda like a shark tooth?"

Alyssa's harsh expression faded into a smirk. "A shark tooth?" She laughed. "Yeah, maybe."

Alyssa's stare was predatory, igniting within Sorah a desperate need to flee. She made a show of looking at her watch before refastening her jeans and standing, eager to escape the intensity of Alyssa's gaze. "I'd better be getting home, it's late and my aunt is pretty strict."

"You have no idea, do you?" Alyssa reached out and ran her hand through one of Sorah's golden-red curls. "It's okay. I'll help you figure out who you are."

"I have to go." Sorah stumbled around the couch and toward the door.

"Take your time if you need it. Destiny is destiny, no matter what happens in between."

What a strange thing to say—unnerving enough that a shiver crawled up Sorah's spine. She shook her head, forcing herself to keep her eyes in front of her as she escaped out the door and into the night. Her feet hammered into the pavement as she walked, the chill in the air prickling at her skin, reinforcing just how drunk she was.

The city lights were a blur as she turned, making sure Alyssa hadn't followed. Why was she so worried? Alyssa was her friend and yet somehow, after the evening's events, it seemed the warmth of friendship between them had cooled. Now the mere thought of Alyssa evoked feelings of revulsion. Feelings of fear.

It had to be the alcohol. Alyssa hadn't given her reason to worry before now, so Sorah shook away the thought and concentrated on getting home. The streets and buildings all looked the same as Sorah walked. She spun herself in circles trying to gain her bearings, but she'd wandered into an unfamiliar part of the city, too focused on evading Alyssa that she hadn't bothered to retrace her steps from earlier that evening.

Sorah was used to being mobile, but even a month in her new city hadn't been enough to explore the many streets and alleyways. She was too busy—hurrying between her university campus and home—to explore much more.