A Cold Day in December

A Cold Day in December Chapter Four

A Cold Day in December

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Special thanks to Demi for pushing me to write and type this by threatening to give me a slurpee bath XD

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CHAPTER FOUR

JIGSAW PUZZLE

I did a ton of thinking after Seth dropped me off at my front porch. For a long time, only the sound of my heart going thump thump thump could be heard around the four corners of my dimly lit room. It was pouring outside, again, as I stared behind my glass window facing directly Seth’s room. The taste of rubber invading my mouth was pushed aside at one of the darkest parts of my brain by more important thoughts trying to grasp my full attention. The soft music softly and gently tickling my eardrums was lost in the blur of everything going on in my head. Messing my mind unmercillessly over and over. I sighed, much from mental than physical exhaustion. If brains could do a marathon, mine must have circled the world a dozen times already.

God, why did you give me a brain like this? A cynical, logical, critical, and extremely pessimistic brain. Thoughts after thoughts flooded inside it, waging war against each other. I tore my gaze away from the window and shut my eyes, wishing for a few seconds’ worth of respite. “This isn’t going anywhere,” I grumbled to myself. Defeated, I turned my iPod off, plucked the earphones out my ears and strode to my cluttered desk, shutting the light off of the small lamp. Satisfied with the darkness that enclosed me, covering me with its cold and miserable arms, I walked to the window and leaned my forehead against the much colder surface of glass. The glow escaping from behind Seth’s drawn drapes was still there, conjuring an eerie feeling from deep inside me. I sighed again, a heavier and electrified one. The small crystals of my breath coupled with the hotness of it created a fog- like appearance on the glass from where my lips were. You bloody bugger, my mind yelled before I yanked the drapes closed and forced my distraught self out of consciousness.

I was unsuccessful for the most part of the night. If I’ll add the minutes my eyes closed without being opened to stare at the ceiling, I guess the sum total would be toughly two and a half hours. Half of that time was spent fighting the urge to actually open my eyes. On the bright side, I had a ton more thinking and I’ve come to a conclusion. Well, sort of. The conclusion: no conclusion at all.

“You don’t seem good today,” Ashley stated, her eyebrows were knitted with concern. We were seated around a table inside the packed and noisy cafeteria. It was drizzling outside, lucky for us we even got a vacant space.

 “Hmm…” I stuffed a spoonful of macaroni inside my mouth, way beyond tired to bother answering.

“If it’s about detention-”

“What about it?” I snapped, cutting Seth off in mid-sentence, instantly getting fired up at the mere sound of his voice. Not giving him a smirk was impossible. He opened his mouth slightly as if wanting to say something but closed it nonetheless. Good for you Seth. “Ouch!!” I cried out in pain with a wince. I bend a little to rub at my kicked knee under the table, my eyes trailed at a smirking Chelsea. “What was that for?” I complained, frowning.

“For acting like a total asshole,” she answered proudly. Ashley and Tina snickered while the boys smiled to themselves. They didn’t even try to hide their annoying expressions.

“I am not,” I retorted grudgingly, which was a total lie.

“Tell me if I’m nuts but Eriol, you make evil look really sexy!” Tina giggled flirtatiously.

“You’re an assortment of nuts!!” Chelsea apprehended her with a horrified face. All of us burst out laughing our asses off at their silliness. Although, from across the room, in the middle of my laughter, someone watching us intently caught my attention. My chuckles subsided as I eyed Risto at the corners of my eyes. I think he felt my stare boring into him because he suddenly and openly favored me with a sly smile before exiting the cafeteria. Now what’s he up to?

I was pondering over the probable worst case scenarios that Risto could get me and the others into as I drummed my fingers on my vandalized armchair, waiting for the final bell to ring. Don’t blame me for being afraid or acting like a scaredy cat. I haven’t been involved in a fight before, not as dangerous as this anyway. I was assuming the worst remember? So, my inadequate number of experience at this area of teenage life seemed a terrible liability now. Gee, I should’ve followed my instinct in the first place to stay away from them. Yes I know I sound rude and utterly ungrateful but I didn’t move here to get myself in another trouble. When the bell finally rang, I grabbed my bag and rushed to my locker to get the books I’ll need for homework.

“You’re sighing again,” a familiar voice commented. I turned my head at a dizzying speed and came face to face with Risto sporting a huge grin.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing, just passing by when I heard you sigh.” He came a little closer to me and leaned on the lockers, crossing his arms on his chest. I shrugged him off and hurriedly finished what I was doing.

“Are you following me?” I asked annoyed. I left him still leaning on the lockers when I heard footsteps not too far behind me.

“Maybe,” he answered, smiling widely. His gray eyes sparkling behind the thick lush of his black hair. “You’re flattering me,” he suddenly whispered. I scrunched my eyebrows in question. “You’re staring at me.”

I laughed before answering. “Not because I tend to stare at people I give them a huge compliment. Sometimes I stare at them because I think they’re losers.”

“So you think I’m a loser?” The grin he had faded into nothing but a scowl.

“I thought that was understood.” I expected him to hit me or something but his reaction caught me completely off guard. He laughed without any hint of menace or something dark.

“Then why do you stare at Seth like he’s some kind of a saint?”

Oh crap, what the hell was he talking about? He obviously had a problem with his eyesight I need to point out. I never once in my life stared at Seth longer than ten seconds right? “Why do you care?” I took a step back as he leaned his face closer to mine, piercing me with unmistakable gray solid eyes. Without realizing it, I suddenly felt afraid.

“You’re getting in my way,” he breathed, “but I like it.” I froze. What did he mean by that? He straightened and walked past me as if we didn't speak or recognize each other. I turned around and saw him enter the Discipline Office.

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There you have the next chapter! After a long time lol

As always, thanks for taking the time to read this and please comment and vote XD

The good stuff's on the way lol