Melting the Ice

15; penumbra

"penumbra"

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(noun) Astronomy. The sight and sound of penumbra evoke mystery and a celestial beauty. A penumbra occurs during an eclipse, it is the partial shadow between the light (the sun) and the dark (the moon); it is a grey area. It is neither dark or light. Therefore, it is the meeting between illumination and umbra, the shadow. Note, the umbra is a shadow, light ceases to exist here; whereas, a penumbra is a half shadow resulting from the obscuration of light. Like all aspects of life, the universe lingers on the truth of humanity: nothing is black or white, a middle ground, a greyness dwells, and beauty is found there, even in astronomical events out of our reach.

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"Who's this, Ana?"

I don't dare to look at Zach, meanwhile Miles is staring at him with unhidden interest.

I lose Zach's touch, moving so that his arm isn't around my shoulders anymore. I feel him look at the side of my face, but I don't turn to look at him.

"I'm Zach Crawford," Zach introduces himself before I can do it. He doesn't offer Miles his hand, though, he just rather looks at him and keeps his stare on him.

A lot of testosterones in the air tonight ...

The two males are staring at each other like they're both trying to figure something out. And neither of them is willing to break their gaze first.

Miles is the first to break the stare to give me a look with a raised eyebrow. "You've never mentioned you're hanging out with famous people now," he says sarcastically, almost sardonically.

"Miles," I say in a warning, not liking his tone right now. He doesn't even know Zach, so therefore he's got no reason to be rude in front of him.

Miles looks at Zach and scowls before he looks at me. "I came here to offer you a ride home. If you want to, of course." I notice his eyes flying to Zach once again. Even though it's dark, I can clearly see his eyes and his serious expression.

"If you're going to act like an ass, I'm not going anywhere with you." I can practically feel Zach's body tensing at my words. But Miles and I didn't leave it on the right foot the last time we parted and now that I have a chance to fix that, I want to grab it. Even though Zach was kind enough to offer me a ride home.

It's even better that way so he can get rid of me faster and he doesn't have to drive all the way on the other side of the city because of me.

"You know I can't help myself sometimes." Miles sends me a grin.

I have to smile back at him, thankful that he's not holding the grudge. I turn to Zach, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I'll see you ..."

"Tomorrow," Zach says. He's staring at me with a curious expression, although I don't understand what he's really trying to find out.

"Tomorrow," I confirm with a nod. "Goodnight," I tell him quietly, giving him a small smile.

Zach presses his lips together before uttering a quiet 'Goodnight' back. He doesn't smile.

I keep looking at him because I can't turn my eyes elsewhere, or so it seems. It's hard to look away once you get the chance to unlimitedly stare at his attractive face.

"Ana? It's really late and I know you have to get up early tomorrow," Miles calls out, causing me to shift my focus elsewhere. I see Zach clenches his jaw as he looks at Miles.