Recluse

Chapter 3

I continue to watch in horror as the light catches on the sparkling silver knife Rec is currently pulling out of his pocket. Icy, emotionless blue eyes are still staring into mine. I feel so vulnerable and exposed under his penetrating gaze, almost like I'm no more than a mouse and he's a wild jungle cat about to kill me off.

"L-look I'm not here to mess with you or ask you any questions I just.... Your music is beautiful." I squeak fearfully. I want to sprint away as fast as I can but I feel like I'm dealing with a wild beast rather than a human- running will only make it chase you. The rules when encountering a wild animal are to back away slowly and show no fear. I'm doing okay with the slow part, but not the whole "don't show fear" thing. My eyes are wide and my entire body is trembling.

Rec stays frozen in place, continuing to stare at me while gripping his knife. His eyes narrow in the slightest.

I continue to stand there, even though my mind is screaming at me to run. It's almost as if my mind and my body are completely disconnected at the moment. My mind knows this is dangerous, but my heart won't listen or care. My mind is sensible, my heart is an idiot lovestruck by the mystery and beauty of this boy.

We stare eachother down for several moments in complete silence. I wait for him to chase me away with his knife like I know he's going to. I don't know exactly what he's waiting for.

His grip on the knife slowly loosens until it falls into the grass. I stare at it, not knowing whether to be relieved or even more terrified.

Still keeping eye contact with me, Rec picks his guitar back up and strums a chord.

I smile, slightly relaxing and becoming a bit more confident, "You like guitar?"

He nods faintly before playing one chord after another until the notes blend into a tune. I recognize the song this time. It's Positively 4th Street by Bob Dylan.

This is absolutely insane. Two seconds ago, he looked like he was going to murder me, and now he's playing the guitar. Any sane person would run away. But not me.
I hesitantly sing the first line to the song, because it is one of my favorites, "You've got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend. When I was down, you just stood there grinning." I pause to see his reaction.

He's watching me intently, head cocked slightly to the side. It's almost as if he's fascinated by me, as if I'm the first human being he's ever connected with. I wonder if his fascination for me compares to mine for him. He nods at me slightly and I let out a cough before singing another line to the song, "You got a lot of nerve to say you've got a helping hand to lend. You just want to be on the side that's winning"

Rec looks at me the entire time while he plays the entire Bob Dylan song, expecting me to sing along. I do.

Afterwards, I smile, "You're really good at the guitar."

He just stares at me.

I'm starting to wonder why this beautiful creature has no social skills. I wonder if he can talk at all?

My eyes dart around the area before landing on him again. I tentatively ask, "Can I sit with you?"

His piercing blue eyes narrow once again and he tenses up. Shit... I upset him.

I quickly try to recover from whatever I did to make him tense, "U-um never-nevermind. I can... I'll just..." I point a thumb over my shoulder and start to slowly back away, keeping an eye on him the entire time in case he tries to hurt me.... And because he's hard not to look at. He's breath taking.

He frowns and turns back to his guitar, picking it up again and singing an unfamilar song that I'm guessing he wrote. But instead of singing it to the gravestone in front of him, he sings it while watching me.

"I want you here with me, like how I pictured this. So I don't have to keep imagining. Come on jump out at me. Come on bring everything. Is it too much to ask for something great?" He sings, oceanic pools locked on me.

I quietly call to him, "Is that an invitation to stay?"

I think I see his lip twitch up into a small smile but it's gone before I can tell if I imagined it or not. He gives the slightest of shrugs and I take that as a yes. I cautiously walk back to him and seat myself beside him in the grass.

~

Rec can play almost any song on the guitar, I learned. I would request a song, he'd play it, I'd sing it. We sat together for hours. The funny thing is, he didn't talk once. And yet, it didn't feel awkward at all. I kept my promise by not asking him any personal questions. I think the reason he chases other people with his knife is because he doesn't want them to ask questions. I'm starting to think I can definitely help this boy come back to reality, it'll just take some time.

Around 5 pm, I sigh, "I better go home now, Rec. I never told my mom that I left. She's probably gonna be mad at me if I stay out any longer. Maybe I can come back next Sunday?"

Rec's eyes narrow at me and he stiffens. I suddenly realize that he's probably confused by that nickname.

"Oh I-I'm sorry... I don't know your real name, and the entire town seems to call you Rec for some reason." I apologize weakly.

He sighs and raises an eyebrow.

"O-okay I'll just go. Bye... Today was a lot of fun." I give him a forced but wide smile before standing up. When I'm facing away from him I curse under my breathe. Everything was going great until I called him Rec. Why the hell did I do that?

I begin to walk away, frustrated with myself, when I hear a deep voice rasp from behind me, "It's Niall."

I stop in my tracks, turning towards him again. This time, my grin is far from forced, "Niall. I like that name."

His lip twitches up into that small half smile.

"I'll be back next Sunday?" I question softly.

Niall pauses before giving a slight nod.

"Ok. See you next Sunday then."

I walk out of the cemetary but take one last glance at him over my shoulder. He's staring at me as well. I give him a small wave before contining down the road to my house. Even while my mother yells at me for sneaking out, even while my brother sneers at me for getting in trouble, and even when I have to go to my room and finish homework, the grin on my face never wavers.

(Dedicated to @screamharold (or something like that XD) For being a good reader of all of my fanfics! :D)