THE FOLLOWING DAY IS A blur. I try to keep myself occupied by doing chores around the house and taking regular trips to the grocery store, I even go as far as visiting my parents' graves - no need to mention that I may be an emotional wreck for the rest of the day, resulting in madness. But, despite everything that I do to distract myself, I always end up thinking about Luke, and what Max said about him the previous night. I still didn't know why Luke acted jealous, perhaps he was jealous. And maybe he was being the way he was with Aubrey because he was trying to make me jealous. Wishful thinking, I know, but in any case I need answers, and that's exactly what I am going to get.
On the way to school on Monday, I know what I am going to ask Luke - I will first confront him about the electricity, and see how it went from there. Hopefully it will be something good, I need it to be something good. The thought that the sparks are a good thing is the only hope I have left. I want Luke to like me, more than what is probably considered healthy. I'm going crazy, I know that, but the thought of him hating me never fails to make me want to sit in a corner and cry because of how perfect he is and how I will never be good enough. To be honest, whenever he randomly popped into my mind, the image of him makes my chest tighten. But then I remember how he looked at me when we first bumped into each other, and how he was seemingly jealous the on Saturday. Seriously, this boy needed to come with a manual because he is incredibly hard to understand.
I groan inwardly, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel in irritation as I try to come up with a logical explanation as to why I'm thinking about him so much. It is very problematic for me, and it must be scientifically proven to be unhealthy for one person to be so attached to another, as I am to Luke. Then again, Luke is so flawless that he himself is beyond explanation. It's frustrating for me, because he can't just walk around and look the way he does, and in the process destroy the lives of every single girl he passes, and perhaps some guys. If there's one word to describe him, it would be...well, there isn't a word in any dictionary because none of them seem to sum up the Australian.
The school soon comes within my line of sight, and my eyes begin to scan the area calmly, though my heart is hardly being 'calm'. I honestly feel like I'm going to faint, because the blood in my veins is being pumped around my body so fast that I can actually hear it circulate through my ears. But I can't help but feel excited, despite my anxiety. It isn't only because there's a chance that I will find out what this 'thing' is, but because I'm going to see him. Stupid, I know, but I am so enthralled in the guy that I'm counting the hours we are apart. God, if Ashton hears me he will definitely think that I belong in an insane asylum. But hey, if Evan Peters is there, who am I to complain?
Turning into the school parking lot, I pull the car into its usual place, and shut off the power. My bags are sitting in the passenger side of the car, so I sling the bricks over my shoulder and pull the keys out of the ignition and open the car door. A cool breeze lick at my face, blowing the hair on my head behind me, leaving me silently regretting not tying it up. Realizing that it's too late to do anything about it, I secure the car and slip the keys into my front pocket. Searching the area once again, I spot the two Australian's occupying a table. Michael is spinning a bottle cap on the wooden creation, seemingly engrossed in the plastic lid and how it spins with such speed. Luke just sits there, staring at...well, I have no idea. It's almost like he's in a world of his own, the obvious stares from the passers-by not bothering him as much as it does Michael, which is probably why he is zoned out on the bottle cap.
Okay, this is it, I say to myself, pulling the bags further up my shoulder, before beginning my trek to their table. I swear, I feel like one of the Alphabet Agents, trying to figure out the most important secret in the world. Okay, I'm weird. Maybe I do belong in an insane asylum.
Due to me not watching where I'm going, I collide with a guy who's walking towards the direction of the entrance of the school. Luckily, he clutches my elbows before I fall to the ground, helping me regain my balance. I glance up at the guy, who grins down at me mischievously. He has large, black eyes, which are set beneath thick, ginger eyebrows. His hair is the same color, though it sits like a nest at the top of his head. His skin is pale, which is to be expected of someone who has such a hair color. But regardless, he's quite beautiful, leaving me feeling stupid and flushed. "Sorry, sorry, ah-sorry!" I quickly apologize, clearing my throat and giving him my best smile.
"No biggie," he assures, his hands still wrapped tightly around my mid-arms.
"I-I, I wasn't watching where I was going." My voice quivers, though it isn't in fear. It is because such a gorgeous guy is touching me, though I would prefer it if it was Luke. Dang it, I really need therapy to scrape that boy off of my mind.
The stranger shakes his head, laughing gently. "No, it's my fault."
"No." I giggle. "I sho-"
"Is something wrong?" a terrifyingly familiar voice asks, leaving me unable to control the shivers that are creeping up my spine.
My eyes flicker up to the man of hour, who is having a silent show-down with the person I bumped into. Even if the anger in his stunning blue eyes scares the life out of me, I can't help but feel a little smug because of his reaction. Those alluring orbs of his waver to the boy's hands that still hold onto my elbows, and as quickly as his eyes are there, there is no longer anything keeping me in place. It takes me longer than it should've to realize that Luke is the reason why I'm free from his grasp, and instinctively I step away from the ginger dude and skirt behind the tall Australian. The blond looks over his shoulder at me, an emotion that I can't quite fathom in his eyes. He looks back at the boy, his face out of sight.
"Max, I thought that I told you it was in your best interest to keep your distance," he says, and it's almost like he's trying to control himself. Wait...did he just call him Max? That isn't Max, he looks nothing like him! Does he know another Max? How many Max's does he know? And why is he so angry? So many questions, and so many answers that I most probably won't get.
"And I didn't listen," the so called 'Max' answers matter-of-factly, and all I can think of is how brave he is. "Just like you didn't."
What? What didn't he listen to? Why do I feel like this has something to do with me? Jesus, for one minute, can't my life just be normal? The answer to that is simple. No. It cannot. There is nothing normal about me or my life and there is nothing that I can do about it.
"If you value your life, you'd stay the hell away," are Luke's last words, which causes 'Max' to turn around and continue his journey into the school. Luke spins around, his chest colliding with mine as there isn't much distance between us. I gasp, stumbling backwards but managing to stay on two feet. "For God sake, Ridley, can't you just stay out of trouble?"
I stare at him in disbelief. So it's my fault that I somehow managed to collide with another person who he seems to have a problem with? No, I'm not having that. I don't like the fact that he hates me one minute, then gets all possessive the next. He has no right to act like my personal body guard, I won't allow it until he tells me what the stupid sparks are. Speaking of which, why aren't they present? Like before, they seem to have disappeared, it's almost like they never existed at all. Oh, wait...I begin to feel prickles of heat lick at my finger-tips, soon working its way through my entire body, and in the process making me feel dizzy. I nearly forgot all of the questions that I need answering - nearly. "I...have some questions," I finally say, and the look on his angelic face shows me that he was expecting it, as does the nod that he shoots my way, which I take as an invitation to go on. "Who are you?"
There's a long, exaggerated silence, making the air between us feel heavy because of how awkward it has become. But I stand silently, waiting for him to give me an answer, and he does the same, waiting for...well, I don't know what he's waiting for. After minutes that felt like hours, he releases a breath, the warmth of it and his delicious scent managing to reach me, and fan my face. "Luke Hemmings," he answers, the smirk on his face stating that he's trying to be clever, but I'm not having it.
"That's not the answer that I was looking for." He is going to tell whether he likes it or not, because I can't go on like this, feeling faint because of him and his magical abilities to make me feel all weak and unable to think straight.
"What were you expecting me to say? Gandhi?" he jokes, but I don't find it very amusing because he knows exactly what I was asking, he's just unwilling to tell me.
"I was expecting..." I pause, thinking of the right thing to say. "...you to tell me the truth." Luke then starts to laugh, tugging his bottom lip between his teeth to stop himself from laughing.
After a few minutes have passed, he releases his poor lip and gives me a look that says he's not going to give in. "You asked who I was, so I told you. That's truth. If you wanted to know what I am, then you should've been more specific." The tall boy crosses his arms over his chest, almost like he's daring me to ask him. Well, his scheme seems to work, because I'm desperate to know, so I'm going to ask.
"So, what, then?"
"What 'what'?" A grin spreads across his lips, his chin lifting up defiantly, because he knows that soon I will crack and give in. Which happens a lot. I'm not very good at interrogations, as I soon grow bored and change the subject to something that I would have more success with.
"What are you?" I manage to choke out, gritting my teeth because I'm getting fed up of his ridiculous answers, when he knows as well as I do what I want to know and that I really need to know.
Luke swings his body from side to side, as if he's planning what he is going to say. "I don't know, some people would call me a boy, others a man, and some would classify me as one of the male species. But you take your pick," he tells me, his approach to the subject obviously not what I was hoping it would be, which irritates the hell out of me. Why can't he just tell me what I want to hear, instead of trying to outsmart me? Does he want me to explode? It seems like that's the only way I'm going to get proper answers, so I have to turn to pouring my heart out to him. Ugh.
"Look, I know that you think your smart and witty answers are gonna make me give up and talk about rainbows, unicorns, and all of that nice stuff, but let me tell you, Mister I'm-gonna-pretend-to-be-all-mysterious, it's not happening. I want one thing, and one thing only, and that's the answers, real answers, that I can work from and make sense of this...thing that's going on between us. So why don't you stop trying to be funny, and tell the God damn truth." I'm pretty damn proud of my small declaration, feeling as if a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
"Why can't you just believe that you're better off not knowing?" It's almost like he's talking to himself rather than talking to me, so I don't answer, I just stay silent and hoped that he'll finally give in and tell me. Yeah, hoping never really works out for me.
"Why can't you just tell me what's going on? Because I can't cope anymore," I say quietly, though loud enough so that he can hear what I said. The blond sighs, kicking a pebble that lay by his feet as if there's nothing more interesting than that.
Realizing that he's too stubborn and too quick with his words, I huffed and skid past him, tripping towards the entrance of the school. I have another idea. Maybe 'Max' will tell me what Luke is and why he can't just tell me himself. Knowing that the odds of finding him in the swarms of students is zero to none, it feels like I'm trying to do an impossible task. However, something is drawing me towards the library, so I go with my instincts and wind myself through the countless bodies, until I manage to stumble into the school library.
The place is full of people who have their heads stuck in books, minding their own business, which means that if he, somehow, is hiding in there, no one will hear our conversation. Not that it matters. The pupils here don't pay any attention to people like me - not anymore, anyway. I used to be headline news when I dated Chace. I wait for some stinging pain to burn my heart, but nothing came. No pain, no harmful memories, just...nothing. I sourly admit to myself that Luke is responsible for that, and block my mind from thinking as I search hastily for the guy in question. Much to my delighted surprise, he's planted on a bean bag in the corner of the room, a large Chemistry book in his hands. Clutching my bags, I make my way over to him and stop right in front him, clearing my throat again so that I have his attention.
He clasps the book shut, and smiles pleasantly at me, placing the boulder on the table next to him, and intertwining his hands. "Hello, there," he greets, inviting me to take the bean bag beside him. I do, and turned to face him once I'm comfortable. "So, what is it?"
I inhale a long, deep breath, before answering him. "I need answers," I start, and after to seeing him nod in acknowledgement, I continue. "And you might be the only one who can give me them."
~*~
Hey guysss!
Okay, Okay, I know this is a very, very, very late update, and I am so, so sorry. I don't really have an excuse, I guess I just kepy on post-poning updating, and eventually forgot about this book. But I recently logged on because of some emails, and I saw that this book has 1.1k reads! That's literally amazing, guys, I was not expecting it and I love you all for taking your time to read this book.
I do hope that you haven't given up on me, but I promise you that I will try and update as regularly as I can, but I start college soon, so I will try my very best.
Also, please tell me what you thought of this chapter! I'm not sure if it's short, a disappointment, or whatever, but do be honest because then I know what I need to improve on and what my strong points are. Feedback is something that I really do take into consideration, so please do tell me your thoughts, theories, and how you think this book is doing. Also, what do you think of 'Max'? Tell me your thoughts! :-)
Thank you, thank you, thank youuuu for 1.1k!! I love you.
See yaaa,
- Shan xx