(Sing, Skin, by BOY)
I'm looking into a really old mirror. It's all cracked and the sides are rusty. I stand in darkness, not sure where I am and not liking it. I'm afraid of the dark, I always have been. I keep staring into the mirror, unsure of what force holds my gaze. I certainly don't want to look at myself right now; I'm a mess of tangled, bloodied hair, cuts and scrapes. Just as I'm raising my hand to touch the mirror, a man who looks a lot like somebody I know appears...
And I'm jolted awake by the school bell.
"Ugh!" I groan. I must've fallen asleep in French. This is how it goes every time I'm in this class. I just can't stay awake because Madame Belle, her real name Miss Amanda Florence-Belle, just can't speak the language well enough to hold my attention. I think she's actually Russian, or something. My father was born in France, so I speak French fluently. Proper French, that is, not the stuff that they teach in school.
I pick up my things and slowly walk out into the hallway towards my locker. Thank god I get to go home, I think I'm just going to go to bed when I get there.
As I trudge through the hallway, I get the sense that I'm being followed. I turn around and see Lisa, the girl from before, standing behind me with a sheepish look on her cute freckled face.
"I'm sorry to bother you Khiara, it's just...I was wondering...I'm having trouble in French and I see that you just came out of the advanced French classroom and I was wondering if you could tutor me." She says.
I nod my head and reply, "Oh yeah, sure. No problem. Listen, I have to go now. My friend is waiting for me outside so I'll talk to you later okay?"
She smiles and runs off, happily skipping to her locker, but she turns around halfway there and yells a series of numbers at me, which I realize a little too late is her cell number. I'll try to remember it later, or I'll catch up with her and ask for it again.
Once I get outside, I head straight for Cara's car. Much to my chagrin, she's flirting with some boy in the front seat when I get there. I knock on the window of the shiny blue convertible and they both jump ten feet in the air as if being awakened from some sort of spell. Normally Cara is kind of promiscuous. I mean, she's a big flirt and when she dances at parties she gets a little too close and personal with whoever she's dancing with, but she never usually acts on anything. She was looking at him like she was going to devour him though.
Awkwardly, I slide into the front seat as Mystery Boy slides out. He has a look of shame on his face and I can tell he's extremely embarrassed. He's kind of cute, with his giant thick-rimmed black glasses and a mess of red curls on his head.
"Hey, dude. It's no use being embarrassed. Be proud. Being caught with me is an honour, really," says Cara, reapplying her lipstick in the driver's side mirror.
As Mystery Boy runs off, I say, "Cara, you ass. He looks so sweet, and he's got to be a member of the freaking chess club or something." It sounds mean and presumptuous on my part, but pocket protectors, thick glasses and the innocence of Bambi don't lie.
"His name's Paul Virtue. He is indeed in the chess club, the captain of it in fact. Sorry okay? I got bored waiting for you. He was cute though wasn't he? He tried to say no to me, but I'm just so irresistible. He made for a good companion while waiting for you."
"You were only talking right? Nothing else? Cara this isn't like you...well it is, but not this far. You looked like you were going to eat his soul or something..."
Cara turns to me and rolls her eyes but nods her head. "Let's get you home so you can rest up before the party. It's not like I was doing anything wrong, we were just chilling."
Sometimes, I wonder why I'm friends with her at all; we're so different.
As soon as I get home I head straight for bed. I don't bother looking for my parents; they're never home unless it's absolutely necessary, sometimes making me feel like I'm really not important enough to them, which though I know is ridiculous I can't help feeling some days. They're always at work or out at the latest party they don't know they can't afford. It's not really bad though, it just leaves me to take care of Pug and entertain myself.
Pug is curled up on my bed, waiting for me and wagging his little curly tail like crazy. I'm glad we can't communicate with words. If you could talk to your pet like you would with a friend, the bond would be less strong, I think. I depend on him for comfort and company and he depends on me to just take care of him; we don't have to talk. He's not a social little dog and he hates most people. I can see why though, he was beaten and left for dead by his last owners when he was just a newborn puppy. I found him and took him in a couple of years ago.
"Hey, buddy!" I say, patting his head and lightly pulling his tail.
He sniffs my hand to see if I've got a treat for him, which I usually do. When he sees that I don't, he whimpers, stands up on his hind legs and begins to lick my face until I get up to get him one.
"Okay, okay! I'll get you a treat, Fatty."
Pug barks appreciatively as I get up to get him a biscuit.
***
My head hurts so much. The pain is almost unbearable. I reach out my arms into the darkness that surrounds me and I know that though I can't see anything or anybody, I am not alone. Not by a long shot. I hear a male scream and I begin to run as fast as I can towards him.
The closer I get, the more it sounds like he's screaming my name. Who is this person? What do they want?
"Help me Khiara!" He yells.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I scream, fear taking over every emotion that I possess. The voice that I just heard, I know it...
"Please! Hurry, before it's too late! They want you but I won't let them have you. Please, find me! Hurry!" His voice is hoarse from yelling so loud.
"Okay! Keep yelling so I can find you." I say.
I do not get an answer. Instead, I find myself falling down, deep into the darkness. And there is no way out.
"Khiara get your ass up now!"
Somebody is shaking me. But it doesn't matter. I am encased in the darkness.
"We're gonna be late! Can you wake up already? God, I knew you'd do this to me."
"Ugh, my head. I had the most messed up dream in the history of life." I groan as I finally wake up.
"Good. You're up. You've been screaming for like, fifteen minutes, it was disturbing. Anyway, you got the stuff for the party?"
I nod my head yes. "I got it all beforehand yesterday."
Slowly, I get up and walk to my closet to get a party appropriate dress. I open up the doors of my large closet and stare into it, not sure what to chose. Cara walks over and pulls out a red dress. It's made out of a satiny red fabric with black mesh over it, ripped in just the right places. I didn't even know I had this dress! It's beautiful.
"Wow, when did you get this?" Cara asks me, her eyebrows drawn together in thought.
"I honestly have no idea," I reply. "Maybe my parents bought it for me for, I don't know, being a good daughter or something."
Wherever I got this dress, it's perfect and goes with the black nail polish I've already got on. I'll have to ask my parents later so that I can thank them.
I strip out of my clothes and pull the dress over my head. I struggle to pull my arms through, so Cara, giggling all the while, helps me get it on. When I turn around to face my mirror I can hardly believe that the person in the reflection is me. I gasp and just stare.
The dress fits me like a glove. It accentuates the small curves of my body, making them look rather sexy; a word I've never associated with myself before. Usually that title goes to Cara. It falls just above my knees, which surprises me because I thought it was much longer. The rips in the mesh form a pattern all the way down the dress and it's just so beautiful. My hair doesn't even need to be brushed from the mess of tangles it's in; it looks like I put it that way on purpose.
I grab some hairspray and spray it onto my hair.
"Wow..." Is all Cara manages to say.
"I know. It's eerie right? I wonder when my parents bought this for me." I say.
All of a sudden there's a huge crack of thunder and it begins to pour outside. My window bursts open and everything in that vicinity gets soaked.
"Aww crap!" I yell, "This so can't be happening! I'll take care of it when I get back home, you know change the sheets and stuff."
As always, Cara remains calm, giggles and says, "Yeah. Let's get going!"
When we get to Cara's house, the party is in full bloom. I can't believe she left her own party just to come get me. That's what friends are for I suppose.
There are people dancing in the large living room and so many making out on the five luxurious couches that occupy the middle of the room. There are guys in the kitchen drinking bottles of beer while the girls drink little pre-mixed fruity drinks. I'm the one with the chips and drinks, though drinks seem to have been taken care of. A giant bowl full of red liquid sits on a coffee table, Cara's famous punch, I presume.
"Chips and soda!" Calls out Cara. At hearing this, many people flock towards us and grab for the bags I've brought.
Having decided that I may as well have fun, I walk away from Cara, pass through the throngs of people milling about and out into the backyard where more people are dancing to the throbbing beat of a heavy techno song under a canvass that covers the large patio. I look over to my left and there in a crowd of people, is Damien talking to Vicky. Not my favourite people, but they're about the only people I know besides Cara at this party.
I begin to walk toward them when somebody catches my eye and smiles at me. He's got curly black hair and beautiful blue eyes. He's got on a pair of ripped jeans and a Beatles t-shirt. Nobody is talking to him at all and I get the feeling that it's not because he's not dressed appropriately (it's kind of a come dressed like a fancy-pants party, as Cara would say.) He's emanating this strange vibe that I can't quite put my finger on, but I feel the sudden urge to speak to him.
I walk over to him- he's standing by the stairs that lead to the yard and where the patio ends- a little awkwardly and say, "Hey, do you go to school with us?" I don't really think that he does- he looks a little older, college or even university age, but you can never be so sure these days.
He shakes his head. "No, I don't go to school. I've never gone to school in my life, to be honest." He's got a slight Irish accent that makes the sides of my lips turn up, ever so slightly into a smile. They're after my lucky charms, and all that. But still, never gone to school? What a strange thing. Maybe he was home schooled. He looks to be about nineteen years old, give or take.
"Were you home schooled?" I ask.
"Kind of. History and current affairs were always my least favourite subjects to learn about. Until recently that is. Now both are very important to me." He replies quite fervently.
"Okaay..." I say, unsure of how to reply to that.
He blushes and ducks his head, "Yeah, sorry I sounded strange there. It's just, I really enjoy those subjects?" His voice goes up at the end like a question, and I get the distinct impression that he's trying to cover something up.
I mentally smack myself for sounding like such an ass, though; he's probably really shy. "Hey, I mean, I kind of get it. I love English a lot. I'm Khiara Banning by the way, Cara's my best friend." I extend my hand towards him.
He shakes my hand, his grip strong and his hand warm. "Cael. Just Cael."
"So, how do you know Cara?" I ask, smiling at him.
"I don't," he says, "I came here with a friend, but she seems to have left me to my own devices."
I frown, "Ugh, I know the feeling of being ditched at a party you totally don't want to be at. I actually didn't really want to come tonight, but hey, if I didn't come we wouldn't be talking to each other right?"
He nods his head, "Aye."
Strange as he may be, I feel a pull towards him that I've never felt with anybody else. I feel safe with him and I've only known the guy for like, ten minutes. I admit that this feels almost sparkly vampire-esque, but I'm ignoring that in favour of the real world. I decide that after looking him over, he could be dangerous; I very much get that vibe from him. Though he's wearing a baggy shirt, judging by the toned muscles of his arms I'd say he's probably rather strong- but I don't at all feel threatened by him. He's different, and I like different.
All of a sudden, the lights go out, interrupting the moment. We're still holding hands, and I'm not letting go. It's way too dark and I'm not comfortable with that at all. And okay, I kind of admit, I like the feel of his hand in mine and I don't want to have to think about what that means.
In second grade, I was just getting over my fear of the dark when it was reinforced all the more by the fact that I was kidnapped. I can't remember the details of how it happened, what led up to it, but I remember waking up, being engulfed by darkness and being tied to a chair, crying and crying until finally the police came for me.
"I've got a problem with the dark..." I say very quietly.
"So do I," he squeezes my hand, but I have a feeling he doesn't mean it the same as I do, "I think you should go inside now."
"Can you come?" I ask, not wanting to go by myself.
"No. I think it's better if I stay here." He says. And then, almost to himself he says, "It's safer that way."
This confuses me. "What do you mean it would be safer?" I ask letting go of his hand.
He smiles a sad smile that makes my heart break for him. "I'm not even supposed to be talking to you."
"What do you mean?"
He just shakes his head. I guess it's because he's not from our school or something.
"I wasn't even invited by the main hostess. I shouldn't be here. I just wanted to see..." He pauses, as if he's putting himself in check, "I just don't really go to many parties, and haven't really ever been to a High School party before." It sounds like a weak excuse, but the way he says it makes me feel...something.
I smile at him and reach out my hand and unexpectedly cup his cheek. I don't know why I'm doing this to a guy I just met, but whatever it is that he's making me feel, I like it. "Well," I say, "you're at one now, and you might as well enjoy it I think."
He closes his eyes in appreciation and I'm surprised when he takes my hand and just holds it there, on his cheek.
"Thank you." He says softly.