I barely want to eat the food in front of me that I brought for lunch. I'm sick to my stomach after having seen Kris in the hallways early. Then I had to see Brandon, who easily avoided me, just like I was. It was easier not having to see him, but at the same time, it still hurt.
I pick at my food as the others talk to one another, unaware of my down mood. "Oh yeah, did you hear Brandon threw some vampire kid from the second floor at some party on Friday?" I hear Axel say, and I immediately snap my head up. Please tell me he doesn't know the entire story, or that I was even at that party. "Flung his ass so hard he was unconscious for a few hours."
"Yeah! That's because," Paris adds in and I can see it on her face. No, please don't. She saw me there, she saw Brandon saving me and forcing me out of that house. "Brandon saved poor Rei over there from being assaulted." All eyes go wide at our table, even Dante's.
Dante isn't one for giving reactions. Last week I found out he is a fallen angel. I don't know too much about it besides that they are very down and depressed all the time.
"You went to that party with Brandon." Melody grits her teeth as she stares at me.
"I... no, sort of. Yea." I sit in defeat, picking even more at my yet to be touched food.
"I thought I told you." She grabs my arm and yanks, forcing me to look at her, "To stay away from him." Paris and Axel awkwardly look at one another and Paris gives me an apologetic look. I wish she would have just kept her mouth shut.
The entire table is watching us with uncertain looks. I can feel the embarrassment flooding up my body.
"Melody!" Paris intervenes. "If it wasn't for Brandon, some vampire kid would have devoured her. I don't know the whole story but if my sister was involved with that, I am really sorry by the way." Does she know he tried to drug me? Or does everyone just think Harmony sent Kris after me to make me uncomfortable?
The images flash in my head and my tail tenses up as well as my ears. She is right. If it wasn't for Brandon, who knows what Kris would have done to me. I could have drank whatever was in that cup and have no idea what happened by the time I came to. "Besides," I speak up, finally, "You won't have to worry about us. We are not friends anymore."
"You shouldn't have been friends in the first place." Melody growls under her breath.
Out of frustration, I stab my fork into my sandwich and stand from the table. I'm already mad at myself, I don't need to hear it from Melody as well. I grab my bag, sling it over my shoulder and without hesitation walk away from the table. I would love to skip the rest of my classes right now.
I push open the exit doors and head into the hallway. Of course, Brandon and Harmony are heading straight towards me. I move to the other side of the hall and keep my head down. I don't miss the fact that Brandon looks at me just as we pass. "Rei!" I freeze for a moment, but it's a girl's voice calling for me. Paris runs to my side. "Can we talk for a moment?"
"Sure." I sigh and stop in the hallway. Brandon is heading into the cafeteria area. He glances in my direction and we connect eyes. I'm the one who looks away first.
"I'm not really sure what the complete story is but I can see you're heartbroken and I think Brandon is too." I give a short laugh, not believing her. Heartbroken? Not at all. Only upset at myself. "Melody is wrong for controlling you and telling you who you can and cannot be friends with, and I have tried to talk to her about it all the time. Rei, you deserve to be happy, and I think you're thrilled when you're with Brandon."
I tsk at her, "You haven't seen me with Brandon. You don't know what you're talking about." I'm in denial. How can I be heartbroken over some demon boy I just met?
"I don't have to see you with him to know." Paris gives me a small smile and then heads back into the cafeteria.
I don't follow her.
Now I am on my break and I have decided to walk to the back of the building. I can't find anything to distract myself. All my hatred is like an erupting volcano. If there weren't other students around, I would erupt. Instead, I continue walking towards the back, taking fast steps. My hands ball in and out of fists. I don't know where to go.
Something takes over my mind and I find myself easily climbing a nearby tree. I stop myself and rest on a large branch. My frame fits perfectly, and I lean my back against the tree trunk. I've never climbed a tree before in my life and the realization is slowly kicking in. I don't let it faze me. This magic necklace always surprises me one way or another.
I look out and around. I can see the entire back of the building. Students jogging on the track. Others take in the beautiful sunny day.
On the other side are some of the nearby shops and restaurants. A nearby restaurant called the Fire Grill is filled with people on their outside patio. Each person has a smile on their face, even the servers. I want to smile like them. Be surrounded by people who care... a family who cares. It makes me wish I could have bonded better with my stepmom. Maybe things would have turned out differently had I tried better... At least I tried a little, though, right?
On the other hand, when it was just my biological mother, father and I, we were a cheerful bunch. We were your overly nice, perfect family, perfect neighbors. But that was the problem, we were just too perfect.
I hiss between my teeth, and my fingernails pierce my skin. I flinch and pull my hands out of fists. My nails have grown and are at a perfectly sharp point. Claws. The palm of my hand has four dents on each. I'm lucky I didn't make myself bleed.
I roll out my neck and let the fresh air in. It's soothing, relaxing, and the claws go down and my nails go back to normal. I force them out again, then in, and I do this multiple times. I'm amazed. Too bad I didn't have these when Kris threw himself on me.
I sigh and pull out some of my work. I don't have much, just some reading for English. As I read through section two of our chapter, voices start to come closer to my tree. Go away.
"Thanks." The voice says and footsteps fade back the way they came. The other person steps right under the branch I am sitting on. My tail flicks as it hangs off the side. I don't have to lean over to tell who it is. His scent reaches my nose, and it's all too familiar. "I know you can hear me." He says softly. Hearing Brandon's voice again gives me chills, and I cringe at my body's reaction. "Can you come down?"
I stare at my school book, debating, and bite down on my lip. What exactly is this going to be about? "I'm not really in the mood to talk to you Brandon."
"Please Rei. I'd like to talk to you."
I dampen my lips and put everything back into my bag. As if I have been doing this my entire life, I roll off the tree branch, my hands easily holding my weight as I hold on to the bark. I drop with no fear, and when my feet hit the ground; I land in a crouched position. Brandon is standing right in front of me. I stand up and flick my hair back. "What can I help you with, Terrion?"
"I came here, to-"
"I don't want your apology, Brandon." Hopefully I am making this clear enough. I don't, I don't need an apology. I caught him. He was more worried about banging someone than the friend he invited. I called him out on it. We're even, I guess.
"You're so damn difficult." He says, rubbing his temples. "Fine, I'll get straight to the point." Good, the faster you speak, the quicker I can leave this situation. He grabs my hands into his warm ones, which catches me off guard. I stare at them, perfectly linked, as if they were meant for one another. Then I see the already faded hickey placed on his neck and my body heats up. "Skip classes with me tomorrow."
I snap my head up at him; I snicker. "Absolutely not." I rip my hands from his and walk past him. Apparently Brandon is losing his mind.
"Rei." He grabs my wrist as I pass him. I should have seen it coming. "It's for the project. I have something to show you." I stare into his eyes. The butterflies fly in my stomach and I should hate myself for it. I should hate myself the most for the way Brandon makes me feel.
I will admit I've still been anxious about this project since I technically backed out. Luckily, Professor Clifford extended the due date, since he isn't going to be here until Wednesday.
When I don't reply right away he continues, "After that we can continue on our separate ways if that is what you want."
"Fine." I reply, "Only for the project though." He's lucky Professor Clifford is not only going to be absent tomorrow, and won't be returning until Wednesday.
All morning I thought I was going to be sick. I'm not the type of student to only do half of a project, and knowing we never got our picture part done had me panicking. Knowing about change helped a little with my anxiety, but until now I thought we weren't going to get it done at all. Unlike some people, I try to keep my grades up.
Brandon gives me his brightest smile yet. I show a non-teeth smile for a split second before heading towards the building. I put an extra sway in my hips as I walk. Brandon deserves the show for something he can't get, and I've never felt so confident in my life.
As I take my seat in my English class, Melody walks in, and my anxiety spikes through the roof. I haven't talked to her since lunch and I have no idea what Paris may have said to her when I walked out. My leg bounces up and down under the table as she approaches her seat, which is next to mine.
"Hey." she says awkwardly as she sits down. I nod my head up to her but say nothing. I don't know what I could say. The more I keep my mouth shut, the less likely a fight will break out. "Are you mad at me?" Class hasn't started yet, but she keeps her voice down.
"I should be asking you that." I mumble as a reply. Why would I be? I'm the one who was demanded to stay away from someone and then did the exact opposite.
"I just want you to know," Melody starts up. "I'm just trying to look out for you. Not only am I worried about," she lowers her voice even more, "Your secret. But I am also worried about you getting your heart broken."
Too late for that, I guess. "I get it."
"Rei, come on." Melody places her hand on my arm, "I don't want us to be mad at each other anymore."
I look at her hand, then at her. "I'm not mad at you." I slightly smile.
"I just want you to be safe... okay?" She says, giving my arm a squeeze. I nod. "So let's just stay away from Brandon." I saw it coming.
"Right." I turn my head to the front just as Professor Cavil floats in. Our English professor is a ghost. She is literally see through and to this day I have yet to get used to it.
I don't have the guts to tell Melody I plan on seeing Brandon tomorrow. It's only for the project. I keep telling myself it is only for the project but deep down; I want it to be more. Why? Why him? I've been denying it all this time, and Melody has been getting in my head, but I think I have fallen. I have fallen very very hard for the demon boy in my history class and I can't stop it. He ditched me for another girl, and yet I still want him. My heart is pulling for him.
Our time together plays through my mind like a movie. His body pressed against mine as hot as a campfire, but still comfortable. The way he not only saved me from Kris, but protected me from everyone. Why did I have to fall so fast? And why to him?
~<I>~
Tuesday morning I wake up and get ready as if it is a normal school day. Melody and I walked to the university building like we always do. My hands are shaking because I am so nervous she is going to find out. If I don't keep myself together, she may just catch a drift that something is up.
Brandon is waiting for me outside of the building's entrance. We walk past him and I pretend not to see him; he tries to reach out to me. I look over my shoulder hoping Melody doesn't notice and mouth to him, "Hold on." He watches me, confused, but stays where he is.
Melody and I walk into the hall like we do every day. "See you at lunch!" She says the same thing almost every day before opening her wings and floating away. I watch her until she turns a corner and then quickly heads out of the building before I run into anyone else I know. Brandon is in the same spot he was in before. As other students walk into the building, I walk out and straight towards demon boy.
In his hands is a biker's helmet. "What are you planning?" I question suspiciously.
Brandon smiles, "Follow me."
We walk to the side of the building and before we even get completely over there; I see the bike perfectly standing next to the wall. "Please tell me that's not yours." I whine, but the smirk on his face tells me otherwise.
"Do you trust me?" He asks as we approach the bike. As he says it, he holds the helmet out to me.
I tilt my head lazily, "No, not really."
Brandon only rolls his eyes. "Fair enough. Take it." He shoves the helmet forward again. I reluctantly take it. It's a shiny black color, with large holes in the top, which I assume are for his horns. "Here." He offers to help as I raise it above my head. My breath hitches when his soft hand touches one of my ears. My head twitches, and my eyes roll slightly. It's a chilling sensation, something I've never felt before. No one has touched my ears other than myself. I feel exposed. My ears are so sensitive to his touch as his fingers trace the fur. He pulls my ears through the top and they fit quite right, but it'll do. I'm still frozen. "Everything okay?" Brandon pops the front part open to reveal my face.
I blink, then blink again, "I'm good." The words barely leave my tongue as if they are stuck in the back of my throat.
"Sure." Brandon squints his eyes at me, but doesn't say anything else. Instead, he walks to his bike and sits down. It bounces down with his weight. It's then that I realize it is hovering above the ground. There are no wheels. I stare for a moment, my nervousness kicking me in the butt. Brandon looks at me and notices. "Come on. I won't let anything happen to you." He extends his hand out to me. I take it and slowly straddle myself onto the bike behind him. Just before starting it, Brandon flicks the visor back down for me. I flinch. The engine of this magical bike comes to life and then we are off.
I cling to Brandon, my arms wrapped around his stomach and my chest pressed against his back. We leave the town, taking back roads until the town is out of sight. Beyond the town is just trees on top of trees, the entire town is surrounded by them, which is why I think they called this place Willows Forest.
Brandon takes a sharp right into the forest, creating his own path. I relax slightly and pull my head back. I look around at all the trees, leaves fall all around us and it's a beautiful sight. This place is wonderful. I can't help but smile.
We begin to slow down until we come to a complete stop. Brandon steps off first and offers me his hand to help me. When my feet hit the ground again, Brandon pulls off the helmet and sets it on the seat of his bike. "I have something I want to show you. I think you'll like it." He nods his head to the left and begins walking.
We walk for a while, and Brandon keeps looking around. He is looking for something but I just don't know what yet. "Are we lost?" I teasingly ask him.
"Shh! Do you hear that?" He says suddenly and bends down slightly. I squeeze my eyebrows together but follow his movements. I hear small little taps and branch snaps. "Look." He whispers, pointing forward.
An animal approaches. At first it is hard to tell what it is, but after it gets closer, I see the antlers. A deer, or a buck actually. But this doesn't look like a normal buck where I am from. It has crystals hanging from each of its antlers. They're all different sizes, all different lengths, and they sparkle whenever the sun's rays hit them just right. "Wow..." I am speechless. He is gorgeous. His fur color is more of a white, like an albino deer. He flicks his head up from eating and looks directly at me.
"Go," Brandon pushes my back lightly, "He's scared of me but not of you." Brandon urges for me to stand.
I slowly rise from my crouched position, and the animal makes a huffing noise. I take small and slow steps towards the deer. I've never been this close to one before, let alone a buck. The closest I've been would be when my parents and I would go on trips, and while driving we would pass by some on the side of the road eating or relaxing. There was always a car door between us.
I reach my hand out slowly when I become close enough. He shakes his head as if to shake away a fly and his black and blue crystals jingle. I pull my hand back just to be safe, but he doesn't leave. The deer's eyes sparkle with a tint of purple and approval. I place my hand out, and this time he comes to me. My palm touches just between his eyes. His fur is colder than I expected. His eyes close, which I take as he enjoys the feeling of being touched. The wind kicks up slightly, and the black and clear crystals hanging from his antlers shake and cling against one another. The sound reminds me of wind chimes.
After a little, he nudges my hand and then gallops away. I watch him leave, dancing through the grass and away from us. "That was... amazing." I turn around in the direction Brandon would be. He stands from the ground and joins me.
"Have you really never been back here before?" He asks, guiding me to another place.
I try not to show my tensed expression. For a moment, I want to tell him the truth and release some of the weight that is killing my shoulders. "This is my first time in Willow Forest, Brandon." I tell him as we begin to walk through some taller grass.
"What?" He stops in his tracks and looks at me.
"I'm from another town over." My focus stays on the forest in front of me. I just noticed how the forest is sparkly. I don't even know how to explain it, but the forest air swirls with glitter.
Just from the laugh that leaves his mouth, I know I can't tell him. "I don't understand. You don't live in Willow's Forest?" We move between trees, Brandon once again searching around.
I take a deep breath, "My parents are technically separated..." I don't care to go into more detail, "My dad fell in love with someone new then abandoned me. Coming here was my last resort to get away." I hate to lie, but if it's the only way to protect Melody and my secret, then I have to...
"Damn. What about your mom?" Brandon kicks a rock with his shoe. I look away sadly. I have already told my story once about my mother. It hurts just thinking about it. "Here, I have more to show you. Something that I think will blow your mind." He smiles, grabs my wrist, and we start running.
We run through the forest with no specific destination. We chase one another, swerving in between the different trees. At some point, when we take a break, our breaths heavy, we look at one another and laugh. I haven't had this much fun in a while and I honestly forgot we should be in school right now. This is too nice to even want to think about all the work I could be doing.
As we catch our breath, the small sparkles surround me. I watch them all; they bounce off of my skin and give me a tingly feeling. Brandon watches in amazement. With a simple pop, they all fly away. I giggle and watch them find their places back in the trees. I look at Brandon and he's looking at me, with no expression, just starring. My cheeks heat, and I turn my head away.
"This way." Brandon says, and we continue on our brief journey. On the way to wherever Brandon is leading me, we spot a little creature. "It's a fire fox." Brandon tells me.
The little fox looks exactly like a normal fox but instead of soft fur like I have seen, it has flames as fur. It jumps and swerves through the grass. Each step causes smoke to rise from the grass it burns. I want to follow it for some reason. Just seeing the fox is amazing.
We continue on to a field full of flowers. They're all different, tall or short, multiple colors and many different types. I reach my hand out to touch the petals of a purple flower. "Woah!" Brandon grabs my wrist and pulls me back. The little flower snaps up and then goes back to its normal form. "Those are biters. We don't want to go near those." Brandon laughs while I am sort of in shock. I definitely almost got my fingers bitten off. I guess they're like flytraps.
"Thanks..." I continue to look at the flowers, occasionally checking with Brandon if they are okay to be near. So far they are. I run my fingertips across a blue twisted plant.
"Rei! You'll love this one!" Brandon yells from somewhere to my left. I head to him and find him standing in front of a thick stem with crystal leaves on each side. "Come here." He says in a soft tone. I come closer to them and analyze the leaves. Brandon steps behind me and grabs my wrist. He slowly guides my hand out towards the crystal. When my finger touches the little leaf, it turns to water and pours onto the ground. I pull my hand back and it goes back to its original shape. I smile and reach out again. That should be impossible? It's solid until something comes into contact with it.
"Alright kitten, one last stop." Brandon whispers into my ear. I become aware of how hot his body is pressed against my back. I had forgotten that he was behind me all this time. When Brandon grabs my hand for the second time, he interlocks our fingers. I let him, and my palm warms up.
Brandon leads me to a cliff, where a camera is set up on a stand. "What are we doing?" I speculated.
"For the project." He reminds me.
I examine the camera; it looks exactly like the ones back in my realm. Brandon comes into view, holding pirate hats and swords. "Really?" I grin. He really thought this through. "Can't believe the most popular demon cares about a school project."
"Depends on my partner." He bounces his eyebrows at me. "Now get over here! I want to make sure these fit us." I obey his orders and leave the camera. Brandon hands me this obnoxious captain's hat that is way bigger than my entire body.
I put the hat on my head, and the top pokes my ears, and it falls forward. I laugh and try to get my ears through the obvious too small ear-holes. Finally, I get it on but it doesn't exactly fit right. I look up past the front flap of the hat and find Brandon is having the same problem. "Don't worry." He tells me, "I'll edit them to look right." He tosses me the fake wooden sword that little boys would play with. I just go with it. Brandon planned this all out after all.
I near the edge of the cliff, the sound of waves catching my attention. I don't go too close but I can see the ocean below and the waves hit the rocks of the cliff. "Okay, so," Brandon starts, and I turn to face the camera. He's behind the camera, his face covered by it. He's bent forward, and it looks like he is hitting some different buttons. "I'm going to set the timer for ten seconds. It'll take five photos, ten seconds in between each."
"Okay..." I replied. My nerves creep up and grab me by the shoulders. We haven't exactly planned photo poses. In fact, none of this has been completely planned.
Brandon runs over to me and counts down from ten. I stare at him, my feet stuck to the ground. Then he smiles and gets into a fighting stance, his wooden sword pointed at me. I laugh and easily join, mimicking his stance. The camera flashes, and Brandon quickly moves again. Brandon steps closer and pushes our swords together. We look at each other with fake fighting faces. We're recreating history. This is totally how Kore and Lee fought. I laugh in my head, just at the thought of someone seeing us. Flash.
Brandon grabs my free hand and pulls me into his chest. I gasp, surprised, and look up at him. Brandon is much taller than I am, it's pretty intimidating but then again most guys are taller than me. Time seems to stop around us when he looks down at me. I can easily get lost in his dark eyes. When the camera flashes, we're pulled back into reality. This is only for the project... nothing more.
Brandon, still holding me close to his body, points his sword towards the camera, so I do the same. Now there's only one photo left. For the last one, Brandon tosses his sword to the side and holds his hand out to the camera. I move slightly away from him. I place my hand on his chest and swing my sword over my shoulder. Right as the camera flashes, I give the camera my best badass look that I think Capitan Kore would have had.
I relax and drop the sword as if it was too heavy to be held. Immediately Brandon goes to the camera to review the photos. "Did they turn out?" I ask after a couple of seconds of silence.
"They look fantastic. Do you want to see?" He asks, peeking over the camera.
"No, that's okay." I do want to see them, but the thought of being close to him again is just too much right now. This is just for the project... Remember what he did.
He doesn't say anything at first but as he is walking back towards me, "With a little editing I think we'll get an A on this project."
I turn away from him to look out at the ocean again. Waves ripple across the top of the water, and the sun makes the water shine. I get this tugging feeling to get closer to the edge, as if the water is calling to me. I step to the edge, but keep a distance. Just seeing the height makes me queasy. I decide to sit with my legs crossed and look out into the distance. It's nothing but ocean and sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Brandon puts himself in my deep meditation and calming moment.
"Yeah, it is." I say truthfully. How could an ocean not be? I never had these views back home. We had to travel to Florida or South Carolina for this. Mom and Dad did once plan a trip to South Carolina. We stayed for five days, our hotel right on the beach and the view from the windows was stunning. Just thinking about it gives me a mix of emotions. Happy for the moment, sad for the loss but like mother always said, "everything happens for a reason". If that were true, then why exactly did dad choose my step mom over me? That I do not have the answer to. "Do you take all your girls here?" I say bitterly.
Brandon looks at me twice, a surprised look on his face. "Okay, first of all, no. The boys and I come here for cliff diving a lot. And two, clearly you are still upset with me."
"Well, wouldn't you be upset if you were ditched for someone else?" I don't care to look at him. What's the point? To see his apologetic face as he explains how he didn't mean it. Been there, done that, seen it too many times in my high school years.
Brandon sits silently next to me for a while. Many minutes pass by and I think he just has nothing more to say to me. Finally, his voice breaks through the thick silence like a knife, "You were right with what you said after the party." Our conversation flashes through my mind. Which part exactly? I said a lot of things that night that I wished I hadn't. The regret lingered in my dorm room every time I came back from my classes. "Just everything, honestly. I can be an asshole but until then I just never really thought that I was." That part... where exactly is this going though? I look at him and I see his side profile. He's doing what I was doing, staring at the ocean. He's got a nice side profile though, I'm jealous.
My tail slides back and forth against the grass. What is he going to say? The silence is killing me slowly. "I just can be different around certain people." He admits. "And it's hard to be yourself when everyone looks at you as the school champion. I've been doing this for two years now, being a champ, girls jumping at the chance with me, being around my sometimes awful friends. I don't know who I am anymore." Brandon doesn't have to say much for me to understand. He's just being the person everyone expects him to be.
I open my mouth to reply but he continues, "Then you showed up." Brandon glances at me then goes back to admiring the ocean in front of us. I do the same and my tail moves quicker, my nerves getting worse. "You didn't jump at me like everyone else. Which was surprising, I will admit, but you didn't see me as that person. Hell, you didn't know I am that person. I wanted someone to get to know me without seeing me as some champion at a college or a hookup, Ya know?" I nod slowly, listening to his every word. "So I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize to me." I reply and shift my sitting position so I am facing him instead.
"Just hard to find myself these days." Brandon looks at me, but doesn't turn completely. His eyes may only be black but they still show emotion. They show more emotion than anyone else I know.
"I think you already know, Brandon." He basically answered it himself. I didn't see him as the demon he is when with his friends or trying to be the school champion. I saw him with me, the real him. He knows that's the answer. Brandon gives me a pathetic smile, and I give my biggest one back. "You don't have to be who everyone else wants you to be..." Funny that I am the one saying that. "You're the champion either way."
"How do you know how to say just the right things?" Brandon asks me and I just shrug. I've always been the advice giver, the listener and the helper friend of all my friend groups. Guess it's just in my nature. "I need to take this thing off." He randomly laughs and starts to pull off his pirate hat. We got into such a deep conversation I forgot he even had it on.
Brandon groans when he gets the hat almost off, but it's stuck on the curve of one of his horns. "Let me help." I crawl up to him and sit up on my knees. Brandon lets the hat go and tilts his head towards me.
I pull the hat up slowly and try to maneuver over the one horn, but it just seems to keep getting stuck on the fabric. Finally, I just grab the opening in the hat and hold it open. It works and I get the stupid thing off of him. I toss the hat aside and my hand graces his horn. It's rough and rigid. I imagine a bull's horn to feel this way. I can't help myself from running my finger down, following the curve. Each bump, spike, and chiseled edge hits my finger. I've never been this close to him to see how beautiful his horns are. This close I actually see they are dark wood brown with hints of black throughout them. I think they are almost too big for his head. I wonder if they weigh a lot and give him neck pains?
I snap out of my thoughts when Brandon's hand wraps around my wrist and stops me. My jaw tightens in surprise. Was I seriously doing that? "Sorry..." I'm embarrassed and sit back on my legs. He releases my hand and his body relaxes. Did I cause him to tense up? I nibble my bottom lip and stare down at the bright green grass.
"Do you like it here?" Brandon abruptly asks. I look at him funny, not sure what he means. "You said this is the first time you've been in Willow Forest. Do you like it here?"
"Yeah." I reply, trying to ignore the memories from my old home flashing in my mind. "It's a lot different here." It's true. No one seems to have to worry about crimes, hate and all the other problems earth has. At least not that I know of.
Brandon goes back to staring at the ocean. Something tells me he regrets admitting everything to me. I take my tail into my hands, "I know what it's like feeling like you need to be someone else for everyone." Brandon turns his attention back to me. "My mom passed away a few years ago. When my father decided to get back into dating, it was always 'be the perfect child'. He didn't want his teenage daughter to be the reason a woman left him. I was exactly that. I pretended to be the perfect daughter that had no problems. All I wanted was for my dad to be happy but I guess he never thought about my health." I try not to beat myself up for telling Brandon all of this.
Brandon lays his hand over mine. "I'm sorry about your mom and everything your dad put you through." I've heard a lot of people tell me that, but from Brandon it seems real.
Brandon changes the subject not too long after. Our conversations go on for hours, Brandon and I taking turns talking, sometimes going off topic. I learned Brandon is an only child, both of his parents are demons as well and that he prefers winter over summer (surprisingly, I know). I, however, am technically an only child, at least until my step mom came into the picture. My dad's new girlfriend has a little boy, making him my step brother and me no longer an only child. Brandon tells me that his favorite activity is driving. He exclaims how he could run off and never stop if he wanted to. I shake my head and laugh, but tell him I'm not that big of a fan of bikes. Never drove one myself, that's for sure. Instead, I tell him I like to sit back and watch tv. I learn so much about Brandon, and he learns some about me.
"What's your opinion on flowers?" He asks to keep our conversation going. Sometime during our conversation we got up, packed his camera up and began heading back the way we came. Though, if you ask me, I'm not sure where we came from. The forest looks all the same to me.
"Flowers?" I repeat back to him.
"Yeah, ya know, like they grow from the ground." He replies to me jokingly.
I roll my eyes but answer, "I don't know. Flowers are flowers. Red Roses are cliché. Everyone buys them. Give the other flowers a chance." I reply honestly. Parents' anniversary: Roses. Funeral: Roses. Date: Roses. School dance: Roses. That's all people buy for each other.
"Right..." Brandon trails off and scratches the back of his head. The way he said it, he's hiding something. There's a slight chance I can be wrong, but I have a feeling I'm not.
The sun has barely gone down when we make it back to Brandon's bike. "Well..." He starts and lifts up the seat. There must be a small storage area there. "Hopefully you still like these then." Brandon swiftly turns back to me with a bouquet of white roses.
"What's this?" I cringe. Whatever this is, it has definitely made my statement a little awkward. I take the roses from his hand and can't help but smell them. It's like it's instinct to do that. Brandon leans forward and blows a puff of air over the flowers. The roses burst into flames and I have to hold them away from me. The petals become flames and the heat hits my face. When the flames dim, the roses are still intact but now they're black. "Not just any roses, burner roses. I thought they'd be more of your style."
I bring the roses back towards me and smile. This world just keeps surprising me. I didn't think Brandon could be this kind. "Is there a specific reason you got me these?" I can't help but ask. What's the true reason this all happened today?
"Maybe," Brandon pushes the roses down from in front of my face to see me, "To apologize but I also wanted to ask you something..."
"Go on?" I push.
"I know that earlier I said after today we could go our separate ways, but I don't think I can do that. I don't think I could ever stay away from you, Rei. I want you to come out to dinner with me."
I giggle and cover the blush forming on my face. Is he wanting to take me out? I want to, yes, but the guilt lurking in my stomach tugs me backwards. Melody's voice and expression is hunting my mind. Brandon, though, stands in front of me with an adorable smile on his face. I can't resist that smile, nor can I ignore the memories we already have made together today. Why did we become so close so quickly? "Do you mean a date, Mister Brandon?"
"Would that make you say yes?" He smirks and leans his head slightly to the right.
"I don't know, would it?"
Brandon takes the bouquet from me and sets them on the seat. He steps closer to me and runs his finger up the side of my face. It happens so quickly my breath hitches. "I think that's a yes." He whispers, and goosebumps run over my arms. He steps back and goes to his bike. But I want him close to me again. Brandon grabs the helmet for me and reaches his hand out for me.
As I take it he says, "It's one of our famous restaurants, The Ruby Pond. You'll need to wear something nice." He winks and helps me onto the bike seat.
Brandon is a flirt. I don't see him physically around other girls but with me, he's kind, funny and just a hint of flirty. I love it all about him. Melody told me to stay away from and somehow I have yet to do so. Without another word, Brandon starts his bike, and he drives me back to the dorms building.
"So?" Brandon asks after parking his bike. He lifts up the seat and hands me back the flowers and throws his camera bag over his shoulder.
"I'll be sure to be there." He never said it'd be a date, but my heart is thinking otherwise. I try to keep my cool and smell the flowers. They smell amazing, there's not even a hint that they were ever on fire.
Brandon's lips curve slightly, like he is trying to hold back his amazing smile. "I made reservations on Friday. After the match, is that okay?"
I have nothing planned ever so, "Yeah it is." We walk towards the building and like the gentleman he is (which I didn't think he was at first) he holds the door open for me.
"So you'll be at the match then? To watch me?" Brandon smirks at me.
"Well yes, I'll be there. Just not only for you." We begin towards the stairs. "Melody and I go to support Axel, mostly. I'll be sure to cheer for you a little though." Brandon looks at me and shakes his head. "I had fun tonight." I tell him, honestly. We're at my floor and I wanted to say it before it was too late. Not only will we have a finished project, but I also got to see some amazing things.
"Me too."
"See you tomorrow?"
Brandon slumps his shoulders just at the thought of going back to class, "Yeah, of course."
We say our goodbyes, and I can't stop smiling as I head back to my room. It's pretty late, and whether Melody is asleep or not, I'm going to have to explain to her where I've been, eventually.
The lights are off when I open the door, and I can't tell if Melody is sleeping or even in the room. I might regret it, but I slowly shut the door and flip on the light. Not only is Melody awake, but Axel, Dante and Paris are all sitting in the room, looking directly at me.
"Rei." Melody states unhappily.
"Guys..." I can't think of anything to say. "Hi. What is going on?" I don't want to play the stupid game, but I have nothing else to say. Why is our entire group in my dorm right now?
"Well, when you don't show up to lunch, or gym, or English. We get a little nervous." Melody grits her teeth. "But then it's a little suspicious that Brandon also hasn't shown up to his classes either. You care to explain?"
I scan everyone's face, and Melody seems to be the only one actually upset. "Okay so... I was with Brandon today." I lean against the door and pull the flowers closer to me. Not even this can kill the butterflies swarming in my stomach. "But it was for a project, that's it."
"Right..." Melody makes it clear she doesn't believe me. "And the flowers are for what?"
I look at my lovely flowers. "An apology and to get dinner with him sometime..."
"No freaking way! Like a date?" Paris jumps up. I already know she was expecting this.
I try not to giggle, "I don't know if we can call it that just yet." It is, it definitely is, but Paris doesn't care. She shakes her head and smirks.
"Called it." Mumbles Dante.
Paris runs over to me and gives me a tight hug. "I knew he'd come around." She whispers in my ear. I set down my flowers on my desk and sit on my bed, joining Dante. Melody is just staring at her hands with a blank expression. I already know she is not too happy.
"Pay up." Dante speaks, looking at Axel. I look at them both, a little confused. Axel groans and takes three gold coins out of his pocket to give to Dante. "We made a bet on you and Brandon." Dante tells me.
Of course they did.
"Melody..." Paris finally says. Even Axel looks up at her (since he is sitting on the ground) and places his hand on her leg. "She never said they made it a date. Even so you could at least be a little happy for her."
"Right." Melody says in a snippy tone. "Can you guys leave us alone? To talk."
My shoulder blades tense slightly because I already know what talk I am about to get. Everyone moves. Axel gets up from the floor. He even kisses Melody's hair like we're all not here. Dante leaves my bed, causing the weight to shift. Paris is already at the door. She looks at Melody and speaks, "Just remember what I told you, Melody."
When the door clicks shut and a couple of seconds pass I speak first, "Look I-" Well I try to at least.
"Just, no, okay." Melody cuts in and runs her fingers through her hair. I swear glitter falls out when she does it. "I'm not going to be mad. I can't control what you do. However," She says she's not mad but the energy in this room says otherwise, "If he does anything that hurts you or it's some sort of game, I will not only say I told you so but I will personally cast a horrible spell on him." There's a slight smile on her face when she says it. "I just..." Melody exhales loudly, "I don't want you to get hurt or found out... okay?"
"I understand." I admit to her, "And you can tell me you told me so for the rest of my time if it comes down to it but please... let me do this." I smile with excitement. "You should have seen what we did today! The things I saw! Melody, this world is amazing!" Brandon's face flashes in my mind and my smile grows bigger. He was so kind to me today, so gentle, funny, I felt like I haven't had that much fun in years.
Melody finally looks up at me with her big eyes. She sees my smile, and a glimmer appears in my eyes, "I'm glad you had a good time." She says, surprisingly.
I slip off my shoes and sit down on my bed. "Thank you." I whisper under my breath. She doesn't hear me, which I didn't want her to anyway, but she's already laying down, passed out. Her lips are part slightly as she lets out soft breaths. She probably was stressed out and worried that it caused her to be exhausted. If that's the case, I never meant for her to feel that way.
She deserves a thank you, though. I would be in my normal reality, alone, upset and doing who knows what, if Melody didn't give me a chance. I'm genuinely happy here, happier than I have ever been in my old world.
~<I>~
"Next up, Miss Fritz and Mister Terrion." Professor Clifford states, holding up what I would assume to be our typed essay. All of class so far, Professor Clifford has been picking essays to read, and the class guesses the year or any specific event. Something like that. I have enjoyed listening to everyone's essays and seeing their pictures but of course I don't know any of the years. It's just fun to learn about this realm's history.
My nerves kick in the second he says my name. I can feel my tail swinging quicker than normal. Brandon sits next to me today, and he seems perfectly normal. Does he even feel nerves? I mean, he's been fighting in the competition for over two years, maybe he's just used to dealing with things. I set my chin on the palm of my hand after constantly moving. It's not that I don't think we did good, just hate that our writing is being read out loud. Not only that, but a photo of Brandon and I will be shown to everyone. I can already feel the eyes burning holes into my skin. I haven't even seen the picture either! Brandon says he worked all night to get it "perfect". I'm sure it's amazing. I just wish I was able to see it first and not at the same time as the rest of my classmates.
A hand is placed on my knee and gives me a squeeze. I tense slightly, just at the fact that I know Brandon is touching me. I look at him and he tries to give me a reassuring smile. Obviously he sees through me and sees the anxiety shadowing over me. I try to calm myself down before more people start to notice as well.
"Another year, another chance and we are closer than ever." Professor Clifford reads my part. The essay starts with my writing, about two paragraphs of my writing from the point of view of Captain Kore. "I am the female captain of a crew full of drenched, apathetic and troublesome men. We all have the same goal on this ship, find the mystery island and discover any new treasure it may hold for us. Traveling the same blue ocean can get tiring but I refuse to give up on such an incredible opportunity. I can see it now, the future tells the story of: Female pirate Captain discovers an unknown island and more riches than any male before. The image just gives me chills..." Professor Clifford continues to read the rest of my part. He reads the last sentence of my paragraph. "The only thing I ever wanted was to find this island, then another captain sailed into my life." I don't have to look to see the impressed smirk planted on Brandon's face. He's read and heard the essay before and every time he smiles.
"Rumor has it there is a female captain who has been out on sea for a while searching for an island that may not even exist. That's all it took for my crew and I to go out and search ourselves as well. Instead of finding the island first, we found her ship instead. Courageous woman she is, may I say. A black angel captain ruling a crew full of stubborn, greedy men. Must be exhausting. Anyway, we've had many battles but only if I could get close enough to this young woman I'd be able to read those thoughts running through her mind. Maybe I could get some hints on where this island may just be at."
He carries on with Brandon's part and then finally the last paragraph, which is only a couple of sentences, "We found the island together, but most importantly we found each other. My name is planted on the island, just like I had dreamed; Kore Island, as you all know. We helped each other discover more treasure than any other ship has before. All it took was a couple of fights, a little bit of rivalry and love. Love can even bring two very different beings together."
Professor looks up from the paper as he finishes the last sentence. He looks at me with a proud smile and adds a wink. The class begins to clap, and a couple of people turn their heads to look at us. Harmony turns and looks at Brandon. She seems slightly impressed, but her jealousy is showing the most.
"Very impressive you two." Professor Clifford announces and writes something down. "Let's take a look at your photo now, shall we?" With a few clicks on his computer, the photo pulls up on the front projector screen. I don't even try to hold back the gasp. It looks nothing like the original. Brandon went with the photo where I am posed with the sword on my shoulder. He completely edited out my ears and tail and added these beautiful large black wings. I look like this century's Captain Kore. He also edited his own horns out and added a blur effect near his hand as if to represent Captain Lee's mind controlling power. Then there's the background: a wave hitting the cliff, high behind us. It almost looks real.
"Do you like it?" Brandon whispers to me.
"How- I- It's amazing Brandon. How did you do it?" I can't help but ask. Not because at first I presumed he'd be a lazy worker but because this seems like it took hours on end to do. I like to work hard but even this is too much for me.
"I've thought about majoring in photography." Brandon says it like it is nothing. Photography? That's interesting. I would have never guessed.
"Anyone have any guesses on what year this is?" Professor Clifford says, after letting everyone pretty much awe over the photo.
Harmony is leaned back in her chair, and I can see her arms tightly crossed over her chest. I could care less if she is mad or jealous because in the end, he's taking me out to dinner. The thought of that coming up soon gives me butterflies and my tail swings again.
No one speaks or raises their hands. Everyone just seems to either not know or they are too invested in the photo. "No one? Brandon, Rei, do you care to tell us?"
Brandon looks at me and nods, allowing me to be the one who answers, "It's the seventeen hundreds, Sir. Seventeen twenty three to be exact."
"Thank you very much." He nods at me.
Professor Clifford pulls the next essay and takes down our photo. He was able to do about three more until he released the class. I collect my things as Brandon patiently waits for me. We start towards the door together. "Reighlynn, Brandon, Can I speak to you two for a moment?"
I turn back towards Professor Clifford's desk, and then I look at Brandon. "Of course." What is this about? Our project? Did we do something wrong? Brandon and I stand next to one another and wait for Mr. Clifford to speak.
"I just wanted to tell the both of you personally, that you are the only two who got the highest score, which is a one hundred percent on this project. Well done. I very much liked the interpretation you two took on the project. Splitting it between the two Captains. Again, amazing job."
My heart flutters with happiness. Brandon and I look at one another proudly. After all, Brandon did say we'd get an A. "Thank you so much Professor." Brandon says for the both of us.
We leave the class, and as soon as we do, Brandon grabs my waist and lifts me into the air. "Brandon!" I laugh. "What are you doing?"
"We got a hundred percent! We did it!" Clearly Brandon is pretty happy about this. I wonder if it's his first every hundred percent for a project like that one.
Brandon admires me for a second, and honestly I do too, but then he puts me down. My hands are still on his shoulders when my feet touch the ground again. Just behind him, I see the angry face that belongs to Harmony.. I quickly take my hands off of him. Is there a reason she is waiting outside of class? "Thank you for everything. For helping, for being my partner."
"Actually," I start, "I should be the one thanking you. You picked me to be your partner after all." Brandon gives me a cute, you're right type of look.
"Can I walk you to your next class, Capitan Kore?" Brandon sneaks in the question.
"Of course." I reply and tighten my grip on my bag straps.