Fallen Angel

Chapter Two

"Looking into his eyes, it felt as if time stopped."

Opening my eyes, I look up to the baby blue sky where soft white clouds lay, the sun passing through them every few minutes. The grass I lay in was soft against my skin, and mixed within patches of grass were various wildflowers. Butterflies passed by slowly, their delicate wings painted with beautiful designs and colors. Everything was so beautiful. I was really starting to love this place.

"Not staying long are you?" A familiar voice spoke. I slowly sit up and bring my attention to the girl I saw earlier walking towards me.

"What's your name? You never told me and then you disappeared." I questioned and soon she was sitting next to me, staring off into the distance.

"I don't believe I'm allowed to tell you quite yet Iris. You haven't fully reached this world yet, and until you do, I can't answer all the questions circling your mind right now." She says and turns to face me with a sad smile.

"What do you mean? This is all so confusing. I don't even know how I got here. It seems that whenever I close my eyes, sometimes I end up here or other times It's just a normal dream. How do I control it?" I ask, searching every detail of her face in hopes she'll crack and at least answer one of my questions. But she soon turns away and I already know I'm not going to get the answers I want.

"I can't answer that for you, Iris. It's something you'll have to figure out on your own. But it looks like your time here is cut short again. I'll see you soon." She tells me and begins to stand up. I move quickly in hopes of trying to follow her. I can't let her get away again. I needed answers.

"No wait, I'm not leaving. I need your help. Please," I beg but just like before, the beautiful scenery around me began to fade away. Everything disappears right before my eyes.

"Don't go," I pleaded, but it was too late. Everything was gone and I was once again left in a dark abyss.

>< ~ >< ~ ><

"Iris, sweetie, we're here," Dad says softly while gently pushing me awake. Opening my eyes, I looked out the window to see we were indeed at my school.

Looking over at them, Mom was on the phone but was quick to give me a scolding look. She'll probably yell at me later for falling asleep in the car, as she'll think I was up all night and that's the reason I fell asleep. Looking over at Dad, he was giving me a soft smile as he already knew what was going to happen later on, but he could only offer sympathy as there was absolutely nothing else he could do.

"Thank you for taking me," I say softly, quickly grabbing my things before getting out of the car as fast as I possibly could. I could feel Mom's eyes burning into the back of my head, which only pushed me to move faster down the crowded path.

Once I felt I was out of sight, I started making my way towards the school doors. Having to shove my way through crowds of people, receiving a few glares along the way, I kept my head low until I reached the door. Taking a deep breath, I slide past and start making my way towards the front office. Since I missed the open house, I now had to go pick up my schedule.

Not wanting to draw any attention to myself, I stayed off to the side of the hallways, trying my best to stay out of everyone's way. I just had to remember this was my last year and then I could finally escape all of this.

Getting lost in thought, time went by and I was now in front of the school office. Opening the door, it seemed to be empty. An administrator was sitting at the front desk, typing away, and only one other student was in the room. He seemed as if he was waiting on someone, but seemed unfazed with my presence in the room. Walking up the front desk, the lady doesn't seem to notice my presence either. Had I become invisible?

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you, I'm just here for a schedule pick up?" I ask quietly, not wanting to disrupt the quiet atmosphere, but it seems that my being here already seemed to annoy her.

"Name?" Her tone harsh soon followed with a glare.

"Iris Harrison," I speak softly, bringing my gaze to my hands. Anything would be more interesting than having to face the eyes burning into my forehead.

"Do you have your school ID? I can't just give it to you without proof that you're enrolled here." Her voice sounded quite similar to nails on a chalkboard. Not wanting to anger her more, I reach into my backpack and pull out my school ID to give to her.

"Alright, here you go." She says while handing me the paper, but before I could grab it, she takes it back.

"While you're here, would you be a doll and show that boy over there around the school? He's new here and I'm sure he would love it if you could show him around." Giving me a forced grin while pointing in the direction she wanted me to look at with my schedule.

Knowing I didn't have an option, and if I said no, who knows what she would do with my schedule. I also knew that he could hear our conversation as she seemed to speak rather loud to also get his attention as he was now looking at us.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I turn back to face her all while faking a smile.

"Sure, anything to help out," I say, snatching my belongings from her hands and begin walking towards the office doors. I soon notice that I don't hear footsteps following behind me. Turning to the row of chairs on my left, where the boy sat, I gave him a questioning look.

"Are you going to follow me, or are you just going to sit there?" I snap, causing him to stand up quickly, he grabs his things and in seconds he's standing right behind me.

"Sorry," he says softly, his voice deep. Quickly moving out of the office, I wait until I hear the door close before turning to face the stranger behind me.

"Sorry for snapping at you just now, it has nothing to do with you. I'm Iris by the way," I say with a bright smile and reach out my hand for him to shake.

"I figured, I'm Ash," He lets out a light laugh and shakes my hand.

Looking into his eyes, it felt as if time stopped. His eyes, hazel, seemed as if they would change in color with whatever he would wear. A small constellation of freckles dotted his nose along with his cheeks. His dirty blonde hair framed his face in a way that made him look unreal. His facial features and every detail about him made him seem perfect in every way.

His hand holding mine right now and the soft laugh made me feel safe in his presence. His eyes were gentle and seemed as if they held the whole galaxy, but for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that he looked familiar. As if I'd seen him before. But how?