I'm Yours

Chapter One

Anna's P.O.V.

"Anna... Anna!" My best friend yells as she roughly shakes me to consciousness. "Today is Digifest Slaybells!"

Keep your eyes closed, even your breath out. Do not move. Relax.

Maybe if I pretend to sleep she'll go away...

"Anna, we've been best friends for how long? I know you're awake."

Damnit. I can't believe I actually thought that would work.

I grumble as I roll over. I mumble out random curse words as she rips the blanket off me. Why now? What did I ever do to deserve this? Chilly air seeps over me, taunting me to get up. It's December and I'm pretty sure it's one of the coldest days the month has had to offer up yet. It makes me instantly want to curl up again and sleep for one hundred years.

"Poppy give it back."

Even as I say it I reluctantly get up. I wouldn't win that argument anyway. She's too crazy.

Too in love she would say.

Oh right, you don't know that yet. You see my bestie, Poppy, has been in love with a certain YouTuber for as long as I can remember. He's all she talks about nowadays. To say I miss the old days would be an understatement. Especially our werewolf ones. The ones where we'd spend hours together dreaming up mates with foreign accents and even more exotic intentions. Those days were fun. Anyway, it just so happens that today is Digifest... the one day she can meet him and, as my duty as a best friend, I got dragged into this giant mess.

I slowly walk to my closet, avoiding anything potentially dangerous, like my paint bottles scattered everywhere, to pick out an outfit. Poppy is already dressed in hers, which doesn't surprise me. She's had it picked out since she got the tickets, five months ago. She's wearing a white tank top, ripped black pants and a black and grey cardigan. Her curly red hair is pulled up, probably for safety. Those curls go everywhere.

At my closet I finally decide what I want to wear. I pick out a black dress with little pink flowers, green tights and a fuzzy maroon sweater. I slip on the same beat up, red shoes that I've been wearing for four years and smile down at them. They were a present from my oldest brother. I still remember walking into the overly bright store to pick out one pair of new shoes. The lady greeted us, fake smile and all, and tried to direct my prepubescent, twelve year old self to the pink, flowery sandals. Lex just laughed in her face and pushed me forward to go find some shoes for myself. I wound up in the boys section, holding the coolest red vinyl shoes ever. Lex ruffled my hair and told me the shoes were awesome and we were on our way, once again laughing at the confused sales lady.

My focus soon shifts from the hole ridden shoes to what today could possibly hold. I really don't know who will be there. I only know who Sebastian Olzanski is and that's because of Poppy's obsession. The others are all new to me. To be completely honest, Sebastian kind of scares me. He's 6'3 and Poppy would kill me if I so much as look at him too long. Not that I'd want to. I'm more interested in my career. I know that's a long way away but it's something I'd like to start as soon as possible. I just want out of this house. Away from the memories clinging to the walls. I know, deep down, that everything from the past is gone, but I still want out. There's so much world to see beyond this suffocating enclosure they call a home.

All of a sudden a wave of something comes over me, cutting me from my incessant thoughts in the process. My heart beats faster and my throat swells. My head gets dizzy and I grab my bookshelf to steady my shaking form. Ice water creeps up my veins, towards my head. It feels as though something, no, someone, is trying to break through. Trying to tell me something, lead me somewhere. My head buzzes. Thoughts swarm like bees in a hive, each one more determined than the next to make itself known. I'm drowning in my mind, trying to wade through each one but the tide is rising.

And then it all stops. The world quiets and I finally release the death grip on the cool metal.

This has been happening a lot lately. I don't know why, it's probably just nerves for today. Although they have been going on since my birthday. I remember blowing out candles, my present wrapped in gold paper was sitting in my lap, when it struck. The bees stung at my mind, causing me to drop my fork to the ground, echoing the sound of crashing metal through the air. My vision had fogged and my fingers desperately clawed at the wooden table, trying to comprehend what was happening. And then it ended, just like it had today.

Poppy returns from the bathroom. I hadn't even realized she left but I'm glad she didn't see my little fiasco just now. I'm not sure how well she would take learning that her best friend is crazy.

We leave around noon. I doubt Poppy could wait any longer without exploding. For weeks she's been talking about nothing but how totally awesome Digi is going to be. I, myself, am on the fence. Meeting new people has always set me on edge.

We stop to get food on the way. That was my agreement to come on this trip; food. Lots of it. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how I can manage to eat the amount of food I do considering I only stand at around 5'2, and that's on a good day. We end up getting bagels. Despite my joking, I don't think I could stomach much more at the moment.

Thoughts weave through my mind, setting me off ease, occasionally escaping. My run off mouth leads to random conversation about colourful bra stores and those weird people in world record books with their nails grown to lengths that rival Olympic swimming pools. What can I say, we have an easy relationship. We can talk about anything and everything.

At some point we quiet down. Probably after we make it into the city. That's when the reality sets in. She's excited but I'm nervous. The bees drone in the stillness of the car. The bounce off the corners of my mind, alerting me that something is going to happen today. Something I can't stop. I know that whatever it is, it will change my life.

"Hey Anna, do you even know the people that are going to be there?" Poppy asks, smirking a little bit and breaking the silence.

Laughing, I don't bother lying to her as I respond with a blatant "No."

I play with my fingers, toying with a paintbrush I found in the bottom of my ominous bag. Its depths hide lost treasures, those such as lost brushes and discarded jewelry. I never can wear it for more than a couple minutes at a time.

"Yay," she squeals, "that means I get to show you who'll be there."

Oh. Joy. Maybe I should have lied. I plaster a fake smile on my lips, a butterfly ring now replaces the paintbrush. She starts showing me pictures of random people, mostly guys, and I mindlessly stare at them, not really paying any attention to any of their names. Generic features grace them. Gelled hair and expensive clothes that are probably worth more than all my possessions combined adorn them. They all seem to display the same characteristics; loud personalities and confident gates. They're sought after and they know it.

I'm slowly losing all interest in the gathering of these overly made-up people when Poppy comes across the next guy. His hair is golden, like the foil that covers chocolate pirate coins at Halloween. His eyes are a deep blue, unlike anything I've ever seen before. The kind of blue you'd imagine the waters of hidden coves would be. His clothes are modest and I don't see any gel in his hair. My heart beats faster just looking at him. There's something about him that I can't explain. I'm drawn to him.

The butterflies erupt in my stomach, matching the speed of the bees in my head.

"Poppy, who is that?"

The question falls out of my lips as quickly as it entered my brain.

She smiles at me like she knows something I don't, which I guess she does.

"That, my dear Anna, is Reed... Reed Deming."