"Yes, take a seat" Mr. Warner shot agitated as he held a hand out towards the class. Jake slowly walked around in search for a safe seat from prowling eyes.
Unfortunately, like a classic cliché, the vacant seat to my left is where he decided would be best. I was ready to detonate, things were far too strange and out of control for my mind to comprehend. The mere presence of him made my skin crawl and my body freeze. Every time he moved, I felt the need to move, every time he glanced even remotely my way, I felt a tickle of voltage run through my skin, and I wasn't the only one. Whitney beside me was gripping her pen tightly, her dark fingers nearly cracking the plastic as I watched with upheaval. Her eyes were hard and angry on Mr. Warner like she was being stabbed under the table with pins and needles. Her body was rigid like mine and every time Jake moved, her eyes would spring towards him. I wasn't sure what her problem was, but I got the feeling it was similar to mine, or maybe it was because of her merciless Egyptian background, her parents were strict when it came to boys, and every time she stepped near one or took an interest in one, she felt the need to run, but this, this was different, worse.
When it came time to copy down notes from Mr. Warner, I found it near impossible to form even a simple sentence while his fresh cologne hung around my head like a dark cloud.
"Are you okay?" His soft humble voice asked as my head tilted in his direction instinctively.
"Yes, why?" I managed out as small chatter around the classroom coated our conversation.
"You seem rigid" He instantly suspected as though he were proud of the reaction he was producing from me
"No" I quickly shot defensively to my disadvantage. I slowly dared to look up at his face, his eyes finding mine the moment my head turned, easily, the images of my dreams came rushing back, only this time, with a clear realistic face. His.
He was even more attractive up close, just as the girls had described. His hair was light brown, almost ash blond as it sat untouched and tousled upon his head, strangely that wasn't what made my breathing halt, nor the carved perfection of his smooth face and jawline, but the deep coal colour of his eyes, empty and soulless. It was somewhat frightening and it made my breathing hitch for a second.
"What's the matter?" He continued, his voice pulling my brain from his entrancing features.
"Nothing" I faltered, looking down at my notes as I attempted to concentrate away from him
"You aren't a good liar" He shook his head as he looked back down at his books, his emotions seemingly pleased at my lack of secrecy.
Carefully through peripheral vision, I noticed the bare muscle along his arms, completely shaped like a Michelangelo statue, the kind people were lucky to touch once it had been complete with its perfection.
His plain black tee was working hard against his toned skin as black ink caught my eye peeking out ever so slightly under his t-shirt's shoulder. I found myself trying hard to identify the small scrawling's despite it being nearly completely hidden, but my effort didn't go unnoticed when a quick hand began to pull at the fabric hiding the ink from any sight. I'd been caught and I suddenly looked up like a puppy would after destroying his owner's shoes.
His eyebrows were raised as he stared at me with a mix of curiosity and arrogance.
"Sorry" I mumbled, feeling my cheeks flush before I turned away to bow my head down completely avoiding his sight. I raised my hand up against my cheek to hide my face, my hair falling to give me as much of a curtain as possible.
For the rest of the lesson, that's the way I remained, I didn't move, I didn't so much as flinch, but Whitney on the other hand, stayed firm and on edge the entire time as I caught her glaring in Jake's direction numerous times.
Once the bell rang, I ran from the class as fast as I could, I didn't want to face him, I didn't want to taste anymore of the strange sandwich I'd been placed in between for much longer than I already had. As soon as I was free of the room, I bumped into Kai who was eagerly waiting for me outside the room, his magnetism and sweet smile soothing me from my now sour mood.
"You okay?" He asked as soon as I reached him, my face probably dripping with disorientation
"Yeah, just a bad lesson" I admitted as we began to walk towards the parking lot.
"A bad lesson?" He repeated the curiosity already tinted in his voice.
"Yeah, it was a bit hard to concentrate with everyone eyeballing that new kid" I smiled, attempting to shrug it off as nothing more
"Ah, I see" He believed with a nod as he slung his arm around my shoulder.
"Same happened in my class too, all the girls wouldn't shut up about it, I swear even Miss Crohn was relishing in the hot topic of treacherous Jake"
"Treacherous Jake?" I smiled, narrowing my eyes on him and his profound new nickname
"Yeah, it's a big word for me, I know" Kai laughed as we continued forward, his arm still in place as I smirked, feeling my mood pick back up, but it was short-lived, and within minutes I caught sight of Jake standing leaned against what I assumed was his Aston Martin Lexus.
For once , the arm of Kai was now comforting and I hoped it would deter Jake and his feeble attempts to create discussions with me. I watched and waited, Kai oblivious as Jake's eyes suddenly shot up from the two blonds standing in front of him. I kept my eyes averted on something else, but kept my peripheral view on his reaction, sure enough, it did something, but that something wasn't' what I was expecting.
I guess what I was expecting was to see him acknowledge it, then go back to flirting without another single glance in my direction, instead, to my further confusion, he nodded simply towards the girls in adieu and got in his car, soon he was speeding off from the lot just as we reached Kai's BMW where Chicago and Melissa were waiting. I shook it off as quickly as I could when Melissa's gaze shot behind me, her mouth gaped as her eyes widened.
"What?" I asked as Kai walked around to the driver's side.
"Hey Haven" Another voice called me from behind, one that I hadn't heard before.
I stumbled as I turned to see her tan face and angelic features "Whitney, hey"
"Can I have a word?" She asked politely as I slowly nodded and took a few steps away to talk to her out of earshot.
"What's up?" I urged curiously as people stared.
"I wanted to say sorry for the way I acted in psychology class" She began, my day getting more and more creepy as it progressed.
"It's fine, I wasn't... I wasn't really myself either" I shrugged honestly.
"I have a feeling why too" She whispered almost embarrassed.
"Yeah? And why's that?" I snickered.
"The new kid, he isn't, there's something about him that you can't quite get out of your mind, isn't there?" She urged with narrow eyes, my attitude falling flat
"How did you -"
"I'm good at reading people" She shrugged assuming my questions end.
"Oh"
"See you" She smiled sympathetically before turning and walking off.
I stood, deranged for a moment. Completely baffled at our short pointless conversation. Why was Whitney as uncomfortable as I had been when around Jake? Had he appeared in her dreams too? What did she know that I apparently didn't?
-
"So what the hell did Whack Whitney want from you earlier?" Melissa urged dramatically towards me while Kai drove us all home, her and Chicago in the back seat as I sat in the front with Kai.
It was hard to find a lie, there was no reason whatsoever that she should or would be talking to me, so I thought of the only lie believable amongst the situation.
"We were paired together for an assignment" I sighed.
"Ew" Chicago snickered as Melissa began taunting me.
"Have fun with that" Kai mumbled as he turned into Chicago's driveway two blocks from school.
-
"Thanks" I smiled to Kai as he parked in my driveway.
"Anytime" He smiled in return "So are you going to Tom's tomorrow night?"
"Yeah, Melissa roped me into it" I rolled my eyes.
"Of course she did" He shook his head as he leaned out his window "Guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then" He waved before pulling out of the drive and leaving.
I watched Kai drive away before letting myself into my home where the silence settled in and the air felt empty and cold. I missed having mum around, I missed having dad around, but I didn't have a choice anymore, this was the way it had to be and sometimes it sucked.
I dumped my bag on the kitchen bench and sighed, things were too quiet, they were always too quiet. I switched the television on and a flash memory of the night a wolf slept on the floorboards beneath the fireplace ran through my mind.
I had only a few pieces of homework to do, so my night would be altogether quiet enough for me to fall asleep on the couch watching cliché movies, hopefully tomorrow would be a better day, but that all depended on Jake and now, Whitney. I had psych classes every day and the mere thought of it made me nervous as hell. I picked my bag back up from the table and tossed around inside for my work when something fell out and landed on the floor with a thud. I leaned down and found the book Melissa had given me, the title sticking out like a man on fire.
"Like this'll help" I muttered to myself as I sat on the couch with all my work in front of me, the book on my lap as I stared at its cover before flipping it over.
'Ever wondered what your dreams mean? In this self-explanatory titled book, you may interpret every part of your subconscious mind and what it is trying to portray at the current stage of your life. Alphabetically organized, you may explore the ideas and images of what your sleeping mind is trying to tell you'
It was like something I expected Whitney to be reading as I flipped it back over and opened it wide.
First, I flicked to Forests, which read:
Forests suggest a period of time in your life that is changing, listen to your intuition. You may be feeling burdened by the daily grind of life.
Next I went over 'Dark Figure' which made no sense to me:
To dream about a mysterious figure indicates that you are surrounded by intense mental anguish.
I slammed the book shut and stared at the television which was flashing colours of cartoons. It made me feel better, carefree and like a child again, I wanted that feeling back so bad.
I tossed the book aside and pushed my homework In front of myself, the quicker I got it done the better. But the longer I spent doing it, putting my effort into it, the more it took my mind off of what was going on around me. I had a feeling that's what I needed right now.
-
Throughout my two hours of watching TV and doing a few sentences at a time, I'd fallen asleep on the papers, tossing and turning as the crunching beneath me woke me up. I rubbed my face and smiled a little at the realization I hadn't had any wild dreams. I couldn't handle another one of them at this point in time.
I sat up and tried to flatten my work out as I set it in a pile beside me. I pulled my phone out from my bag and checked its screen to see three missed calls, one from Melissa and two from Kai. I set the phone down beside me as well and chose to ignore it. I headed upstairs, took a long warm shower and changed into my short cotton shorts and blue tank top, I trundled downstairs and let my long brown curls stray to dry off my strawberry scented shampoo as I prepared dinner, thick tomato pasta, my favourite, the first thing my mother ever taught me to cook.
I was stirring the pasta gently through the water on the stovetop when my phone rang, its shrill ringtone causing me to jump sending a splash of boiling hot water out of the saucepan and onto my left hand. I hissed in pain and rushed it under the cold water tap in hopes of dulling down the stinging as my phone continued to ring. It could wait, my hand could not.
After I was sure it would be okay and the pain had subsided, I picked my phone up and examined the number. It was one I hadn't had saved into my phone, a number I didn't know of, my eyebrows crossed and I dialled it back as I continued to stir my pasta.
It rang two times before a male voice picked up.
"Hello" He spoke, formal yet rough.
"Hello, this number just tried to call me" I informed them
"Ah, is this Haven Waters?" The voice guessed.
"Yes, who's calling?" I questioned.
"This is Brad from Redwood Council, I was ringing to let you know we've found your wallet in Redwood Woods this afternoon" He spoke, formal and proud as my lips parted and my eyes crossed confused.
"That's impossible, I haven't been to the woods for about four years" I explained shaking my head.
"Hm, that is strange, a couple of hunters were out there this evening and roamed across it, they brought it in and my son recognized the picture as you inside" He continued confidently.
"Let me just check" I scoffed, turning the stove off to dig through my backpack only to freeze and realize it was in fact missing.
"Oh okay, wow, yeah it is missing, I must have dropped it and somehow it's found its way there" I snickered, deranged.
"That's fine, well we have it here if you want to drop by sometime tomorrow to pick it up" He happily announced.
I tried to remember when I'd last had it, but there was no clear answer. The last time I'd touched my wallet was probably a week ago when I bought groceries. I hadn't even been close to Redwood Woods, despite it being a block away, there was no chance I'd come in any contact with an adjoining street. I rubbed my head even more puzzled, the confusion building up inside my brain enough to drop my IQ. I needed a good night's sleep after a good dinner feed, and I couldn't wait to escape into the darkness in which I hoped would be dreamless.
-
"So you have no idea how it ended up there?" Kai asked me as we drove towards Redwood Woods to pick up my wandering wallet.
"I haven't even gone close to Redwood" I shook my head.
"That is so creepy Haven, are you sure it wasn't stolen and ransacked then dumped? I mean, did you have any cash in it, what about your dads credit cards?" He mused as I watched the houses and trees pass outside the window at a quick speed.
"No, nothing, I keep all my cards in my room, I mean, I barely use them so I never have them on me" I explained as I thought about it.
"A robber wouldn't know that though, maybe he was watching you and assumed because you live in a big house and have rich fancy friends and go to a good school you had the money"
"Ha, c'mon now, you're saying, one, I have a stalker, two, I have 'fancy' friends and go to a 'good' school" I scoffed as I counted on my fingers.
"Hey, I'm just trying to make sense of it, cause what we got now is nothing, it makes no sense"
"Sometimes things don't have to make sense" I mumbled as we pulled into Redwood Councils driveway, crunch of dirt beneath the tyres as I stared out at the closeness of darkness through the Woods outline.
"Want me to come with you?" He asked as he parked the car outside the small shack.
"Nah, it's okay, I'll be two minutes" I smiled before getting out of the car.
I walked up the wooden stairs as they creaked and pushed open the door as a small bell on the top of the door rang to signal my arrival. Inside the air was cold, brisk and everything smelt of fresh pine wood. I approached the empty desk where it sat unattended and leaned over looking for any sign of life.
"Hello?" I called out softly as I looked around at the framed pictures on the walls, achievements of the council and Woods associates.
Pounding footsteps on the floorboards got closer as I leaned back and waited, then in popped a cheerful face as he wiped a serviette across his lips. I'd clearly interrupted breakfast.
"Sorry" He smiled as he stood behind the desk, shuffling things in an attempt to cover the mess.
"Sorry I came in so early" I mumbled as the older man began opening and closing drawers looking for something "I just came to collect my wallet"
"Haven I presume?" He smiled as he pulled the familiar blue leather from a bottom drawer out.
"How'd you know?" I asked suspiciously.
"The picture inside" He smiled, a small moustache dancing on his top lip as he spoke
"Oh" I stupidly mumbled as he handed it back to me, my fingers instantly opening it to check everything was in order.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it" I smiled towards him as I shoved it into my backpack.
"No problem, it was my son that urged me to hand it back, otherwise most of the lost and found is simply thrown out" He explained as he quickly looked behind himself.
"Your son, he goes to school with me?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, well, he just started, moved here from Parkway" He proudly answered.
"Parkway?" I mumbled my eyes widening.
"You heard of him I suspect?" He snickered.
"Yeah I think I know the one" I scoffed back before a pair of boots sounded and an unwanted face rounded the corner into view.
He froze slightly as he saw me, looking in between me and what I now put together as his father.
"Hey" I broke my trance as fast as I could with a fake small smile.
"Hey" He grumbled as he picked a backpack up from the floor, getting ready to leave for school.
"Well, I better get going" I stumbled before smiling towards Brad and leaving post haste.
"What took you so long?" Kai asked he took in my estranged expression.
"The guy liked to talk" I scoffed as he pulled out from the lot and sped off down the street in time to not see Jake exit the cabin.
"So was everything in there?" Kai asked as we drove towards school.
"Yeah, nothing was touched" I sighed.
"That's good, still doesn't explain what happened though" He smiled.
"Doesn't matter, as long as I don't have a stalker and nothing is missing" I smiled back.
"I think you may have a stalker soon enough though, that new kid Jake, when you left in the corridor yesterday, he was not happy, his conversation didn't seem too welcoming either" Kai suddenly spoke as we neared school.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, now fully invested in the conversation.
"He asked me if we were together, and I kind of said yes, he got.. angry, there was just something about the look in his eyes" He explained as my mouth hung open.
"Why did you say yes?" Were the first words out of my mouth.
"He wanted a no, I know the way a guy looks at a girl Haven" He scoffed as we pulled into the parking lot where crowds of kids scurried into the building in fear of being late.
"I highly doubt it" I mumbled back before I hopped out of the car and began to walk with Kai.
"I don't" He replied hearing my remark as I let it drop.
There was no way. The boy had only been at school for a day and he was already all over the Barbies. He was less than interested in someone like me, and if he were, it would only be for his own amusement at my expense.
-
"I hope you remembered you're coming to my house this afternoon to get ready for Tom's party" Melissa reminded me as we sat amongst our group during lunch.
"Of course" I sarcastically threw as Chicago laughed in my direction.
"You have always been a terrible liar" Melissa shook her head at me as I threw a twisty at her, landing it in her perfectly moulded fishtail plait.
"But she does have the most perfect hair" Deloraine winked towards me as she twisted my curls around her fingers.
"Why thank you" I smiled proudly, swimming in whatever compliments I could get.
"I will totally kidnap your future children if they have hair like yours" Ruby continued as she began to slide her fingers into my hair to tousle the curls at the bottom.
"Not if I have anything to do with it" Kai spoke, causing my heart to stop in my chest. I was only seventeen, still planning my career and education, I didn't want to even remotely think about having children at this point in time, especially with someone I considered a close friend. It made me awkward and I suddenly needed to walk away before my head burst.
"I'm going to grab a soda, you guys want anything?" I asked, placing a fake smile back on my face as Chicago broke the silence with a dibs on Pepsi, soon followed by Ruby with Coke and Melissa with of course flavoured water.
"I'll be right back" I told them, walking off in the direction of the vending machine
I was deep in concentration, my head leaning against the plastic separating me from the schools snacks inside, trapped and released only with money. I had my eyes on a packet of M&M's, my thoughts on an unhealthy chocolate snack.
"You know, I didn't peg him for your type" A familiar voice spoke beside me as I stuck my 5 dollar bill into the machine.
I turned my head to see the tall looming face of Jake beside me, his arm resting on the machine as I rolled my eyes and pressed the numbers to receive my orders.
"Ouch, not even a full week and I've got the eye-roll happening" He grinned as he watched me with full pitch eyes. I avoided his gaze as I pressed another set of numbers for Ruby's order.
"Glad you got the distain then" I threw
"You didn't answer my question"
"I didn't catch a question amongst all that" I smirked back, completely intent on giving him attitude.
"Mordecai, what about him made you go for it?" He adjusted his first sentence as I turned to face him with three drinks tucked in my left arm.
"Nothing, we aren't together, and to be frank, it isn't really your business" I spat with narrow eyes as his mouth twisted upwards.
I tried to walk away, but he was quick to step in front of me.
"Then how come he said you were?" He scoffed, the idea of me gaining a stalker coming to mind.
"To keep nosey people like you away perhaps?" I snapped again as my eyes wandered towards Kai who was well aware of the conversation we were having, his eyes hard and sharp.
His grin grew wider, and his eyes fell on mine with complete focus, I couldn't look away. My palms began to sweat and my heart raced like a runaway train. He leaned his face towards me, his breath strong like peppermint as he stared into me.
"Perhaps" He began with a whisper "You're the one who's dangerous for me" He finished, hitching my breathing before he pulled away and strode off, leaving me motionless, speechless in place.
I stood frozen, his words racing through my head as the invisible puzzle clicked a small piece into the correct spot. Images of him in my dreams came into view like a slow motion slideshow, his words were repeating over and over in my head.
'But I'm dangerous for you'
I stormed towards my lunch table, dumped the drinks and bolted from the room altogether. I aimed to a deserted corridor where I stopped to let my out-of-control breathing out, leaning my hands against a locker to support myself. It didn't make any sense, the man I'd seen in my dreams was in fact the man that was now a student in my school. He had proven that with a simple sentence. It was far too deep to be a coincidence.