Glass Tears

Chapter 1

Dex

I've never felt more nervous around a girl before, even Sophie. When Biana invited me to come over to work on gadgets together, my stomach filled with butterflies. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep my feelings from her. I take a deep breath and step up to the leap master.

"Everglen," I say before I see a flash of light and arrive at the Everglen gates.

"Hey, Dex," Biana says, opening the gates for me, "Is it okay if we work in my room today?"

"Yeah, whatever you want," I reply.

I can't stop looking at her. Everything about Biana is amazing like her smile, her strength, her scars, her hair, everything. It's hard to think about anything else when I'm with her, even with everything that's happened. I don't know where her feelings for me stand. I have a habit of falling in love with girls who wouldn't even look twice in my direction. I've had to remind myself a lot lately that I'm a Dizznee but it's never worked.

Once we get to her room, we empty the gadgets out on her floor and start working. I don't really know what we're making but I don't tell her that. The way she looks at all of the different pieces with confusion but determination is so adorable. I take another deep breath and force my gaze back on the gadgets before she notices.

After about an hour of working, Biana announces, "we should take a break now, my brain is roasted."

"Yeah sure," I smile and gesture to the gadgets, "I'll put these away for now."

I stand up and put them all back in my bag and Biana stands too, looking at me with a contemplative look on her face.

"Biana, I have something I need to tell you," I blurt out before I can stop myself.

"What is it?" Biana asks, looking up at me.

"I'm in love with you, Biana," I say, holding my breath as I wait for her reply.

Biana says nothing, and just looks at me for a second before she puts her hands on my shoulders, leans forward, and kisses me on the lips. She still doesn't say anything back but in this moment I don't care. She kissed me. Biana Vacker kissed me.

My heart pounds in my chest but Biana doesn't kiss me again. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand and mutters something about being busy. She walks me to the door to leave in silence and I don't know what to say. The butterflies in my stomach start to die as she waves goodbye to me and closes the door.

~~~~

I walk into Foxfire with this empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't know how to react to what Biana did and I'm not ready to realize that it means she doesn't like me back. I go to my locker to get my books out for my first class. My goal for today is to avoid Biana and force my emotions away, to avoid even thinking about them.

I should stop liking girls who are just going to reject me, who want a better looking and stronger guy than me. Who wants a guy who manifested with telepathy, conjuring, or flashing. Anything that's not technopathy. She deserves someone better anyways.

As I'm walking to my class, planning in my head on how I was going to tell her it was okay and then move on, I see Tam's black hair down the hallway, around the corner. Then I see Biana. She's in his arms, crying into his tunic. Her lips are moving and I'm pretty far away but I can hear her mention my name.

"I just feel so bad, I don't love him that way and now I've ruined everything," I hear Biana say to him.

I don't hear anything that Tam says because suddenly my heart is pounding but for a different reason. Then I see Tam kiss her on her cheek and she freezes. Then they're kissing and I've stopped breathing.

I remind myself that it's better this way, that Tam is better for her. That I'd never be right for her anyways. I remind myself this until I can breathe again and I force myself to forget what I said to her. Some anger, whether it's directed at her or myself I don't know, simmers on the surface. I hold it all in and get through the day like this.

By the end of the day I feel like I might explode with all of this build up pressure in my chest. As I'm about to leave Foxfire and get to the sanctuary of my home, I bump into Keefe.

"Hey Dexter, where are you going in such a hurry?" Keefe asks, "Hey, are you okay, dude?"

Sophie is standing next to Keefe with a look of concern on her face. We all no longer have bodyguards because of how everything with the Neverseen is done and there are no dangers anymore. Ro and Sandor however are one of the few goblin bodyguards who refused to leave Sophie and Keefe. Right now they're in the shadows somewhere watching them.

"Yeah I'm alright, I'll see you guys later," I say, trying to get the words out as fast as possible so I can leave already.

I rush past them to the leap master and call out "Rimeshire". Then I'm at home and I walk past my parents and siblings to my room. Before I enter my room, Rex steps in front of me.

"Dex?" Rex says, "Can I work on the gadgets you're making with you tomorrow? I promise I'll be good!"

Rex found out recently that he was talentless and it always made me feel an even emptier feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew that Rex would live a life here filled with bullies and a lifetime of working for the council doing thankless jobs.

"Yeah sure Rex, tomorrow," I reply before heading into my room.

I hear Rex's footsteps heading away from my room and I let out a shaky breath. Before everything starts to pour out of me, I hear a noise from somewhere in my room. I ignore it, thinking it's just the wind, and pour out my gadgets on my desk.

Before I can do anything else, I feel a wet cloth being forced on my mouth and nose and everything starts to get dizzy. I panic as my mind goes back to the kidnapping of me and Sophie. I try to scream against the cloth but it comes out as weak muffles. Somebody's back is pressed against mine and their arm and hand are covered in black clothing.

"Stay calm, we aren't going to hurt..."

That's all I hear before I black out with tear stains on my face.