The Five Dimensions Part 1: Shadow World

Chapter 8

It had been a month since the dark figure had started showing up. After a week, Hailey stopped being bothered. The figure didn't seem that threatening to her after a while, it actually had begun to feel like a protective shadow. She always knew that the figure was watching her when she was practicing. Even though that was her sacred ground, she still didn't mind sharing it with this stranger. She'd also stopped trying to catch it. Every time she'd tried, she got deeper into the woods without ever getting near it. Whoever, or whatever, the shadow was, Hailey couldn't catch up with it.

She had also – however unfortunately – been present at all the hockey practices, which got more frequent as Coach got more stressed about the upcoming matches. The Coach didn't get any less annoying, but he was easily tuned out. And even the guys were starting to get bored of picking on Hailey. The only person that continued to unnerve her was Jayson. She often caught him looking at her and it creeped her out.

The temperature had dropped, and the small lake in the forest was frozen over. It was hard enough to walk on it, but only because the lake wasn't really deep. Far from enjoying the beauty of the forest covered in a layer of white, the sight made her quite downcast. For Hailey, it meant that she had to cut on some of her personal practicing sessions in the woods, otherwise she'd turn into a snowman. It also meant that the lovely forest smell was gone, the thin layers of snow and ice trapping it under their weight. She hated this time of year because it took away the things she loved. Maybe it did make the forest look pretty, but Hailey never could put her trust in the snow and ice; it was too cold.

§

Hailey reached the school parking lot. She was in deep thought. She hadn't seen the figure that morning, which surprised her. She had seen the figure every morning with no exception, and she was wondering why not today. She was nearly in the school when something odd happened.

Suddenly she saw people putting their hands in front of their mouths and pointing. She turned around, trying to find the thing that everyone was pointing at. It was a shining red car, a convertible. The driver swiftly parked the car and stepped out. Hailey expected people to laugh at the car ― those kinds of cars were not usually welcome in Pinemarsh ― but then the driver came out.

He's hot! was the first thing that came to Hailey's mind. From this distance, all she could see was that he had dark hair and that he was tall. He was also very powerfully built, but still had a perfect balance. The way he stepped out of the car... Hailey could only describe it as graceful. He held himself with the same kind of arrogance that Jason had, which apparently was a given for any guy that had some slightly trained muscles. Except, Hailey couldn't help but admit that this guy more than deserved the arrogance.

She was clearly not the only one thinking about how good-looking he was. Julia was walking towards the boy. Flipping her hair dramatically when she was close enough for him to see.

He's been here one minute and is already popular. No thank you. She thought, turning around again. Hailey let her mind wander again, not paying attention to her surroundings while walking through the hallway towards her locker. She didn't even notice the stares and gaps that were directed at something behind her.

Hailey was standing in front of her locker, quickly putting her books in it, when she heard someone leaning against the lockers next to hers. She closed her locker with a bang, expecting to see Nolan. But it wasn't Nolan, it was the new guy.

"Hey," he said. Hailey could see his eye color now; it was the very first thing she saw. The bright blue was overwhelming. Breathtaking. It took her a moment to pull her attention from them, but she was determined not to let herself get distracted.

"Hey," she replied with a fake smile, then turning around right after. "And bye."

"Hey, wait." The boy jumped around her in less than a second and blocked her way. The quick movement shocked Hailey, but she didn't show it, not even the slightest indication of surprise. "I saw you looking at me in the parking lot."

"Everyone was looking at you then. What do you want?" she snapped. Try as she might, she couldn't keep her eyes off him. Like she'd seen from a distance, he was very strong. His muscles were easily visible through his tight sweater. Even though Hailey was tall, for girl standards, he was at least a head higher. His dark brown hair, a contrast to his velvety, light skin, waved carelessly down to his ears. His eyes were easily the most prominent feature in his face, but she now saw that he also had a strong jaw. His face was all hard lines, yet there was also a softness to him. Something about his eyes, and his lips...

Hailey had to stop her thoughts right there.

"I'm new, so I guess I just want to be friends. Something wrong with that?" he sounded nice, nothing like all the other popular guys. They did not even try to have a friendly tone. This person did and it almost tricked Hailey into believing he could be a decent guy. That, and the eyes that seemed to have a hypnotizing power. She had just enough discipline to overcome their strange effect.

"I'm not saying it is wrong. I just don't want to be friends with popular people." Hailey tried to walk around the boy, but he didn't let her. She exhaled impatiently, pulling her eyes away from him and looking at the hallway behind him. Partially, because he really was starting to annoy her, and partially because of those eyes.

"I'm not popular, I just got here." He looked a bit confused.

"I saw Julia talking to you. If she talks to you with that kind of smile, then believe me, you're popular." Again, she tried to dodge him, without success. She stubbornly kept her eyes off him.

"If I stop talking to her, would you be my friend?" he proposed, curiously. He seemed to be amused by the opportunity of negotiation. She was slightly surprised by his smirk, and his excitement behind it.

Besides her skills with her bow and her knives, there was one quality that Hailey was particularly proud about. She was exceptionally good at reading people. She could nearly always tell when someone was lying, but more than that, when she was concentrating, she could usually figure out what was going on beneath the surface, people's emotions and intentions. But not in this case. Hailey couldn't even place the boy standing before her. And it greatly annoyed her.

"Let's think." She put her thumb and index finger to her chin. "No. And now, get out of my way."

Perplexed, the boy stepped sideways. As confusing as he made her, at least she could still determine what emotion was showing on his face.

While she marched off, she could very distinctly detect the scent of roses coming off him.