Every step that I took echoed down the pristine hall, the tiled walls and floors were bright, almost too bright, it hurt my eyes, so instead I focused on the darkness at the end. It was far from where I stood, but something was calling to me down this long room.
Emilia. It called in a soothing tone, sending a roll of heat across my body, it was almost as though I was hearing not with my ears but with my heart.
I was walking steadily, somehow I knew that no matter how fast I walked or ran, I would reach the end no sooner than I was supposed to. It didn't worry me, the end was in sight, I could feel it drawing closer.
Though the further I went, the harder it was to see. The less the walls gleamed with light, the more the tiles appeared cracked and broken.
Emilia. The voice called out again, this time more urgently. I didn't recognise the voice, but it felt familiar in some way. Like I should have known it. It was almost as though something within me was calling back to it. But I couldn't be sure, it was a man's voice, aged and troubled, yet somehow ringing clearly like a bell.
The more I walked, the more it became apparent that wherever I was headed, was somewhere I probably did not want to be. It was darker here, and cooler. I could feel a chill spreading across my exposed skin.
As though sensing my hesitation the voice called once more. You're so close Emilia, just a little further... the words spread another wave of warmth across my body, luring me in closer.
I knew I must be getting close to the end, because almost all of the light had gone and I was only hoping that my instincts would not lead me astray.
Emilia...
When the voice spoke again, I reached out, as though hoping it's source would appear in front of me and reveal themselves. But instead of grabbing a hand, my fingers were clutched around a cool metal bar.
It was easier to see now, my eyes had adjusted to the darkness. The bars before me were clearly that of a cell, though the inside was still pitch black. I leaned in closer, peering between the bars, scanning the badly lit room, looking for, well, anything.
And then...
Eyes.
So startled by their appearance I sprung back from the bars, but the eyes remained steady behind them, wide and afraid. The iris was a clear, light blue, and covered with flecks of silver.
I gasped as I looked into them, identical to my own eyes. But no, these eyes could not be mine, though they were large and frightened, the edges were too harsh, the lashes thicker and darker.
Emilia! The voice hissed with panic.
I opened my mouth, about to respond, what I was going to say, I don't know. To offer my help? I wasn't sure, for I did not know who this voice belonged to, or who had eyes that were almost exactly like mine.
But before I could, an alarm began blaring out. I whipped around, trying to see where it was coming from. However there was no obvious source, turning back to face the strange eyes, perhaps hoping for some kind of answer, I was shocked to find the bars gone, in its place an even further stretch of hall.
In my surprise, I stumbled forwards, and before I knew what was happening the floor seemed to give way, the tiles ripping apart as I fell.
And then I landed in something soft, it caught me, though had the side effect of knocking the breath out of me.
As I gasped for air, I rolled across onto my back and found myself staring at a ceiling. While waiting for my heart to stop beating so fast, I realised I could still hear the alarm.
Sighing heavily, I reached an arm out to turn off my alarm clock. The silence was a relief.
I'd never had a dream quite so... vivid.
Closing my eyes for a moment, hoping for a few seconds of peace, I was astonished to see the eyes again, so clear in my memory.
Shaking my head in an attempt to scramble my thoughts, I pulled myself up off of the bed, not bothering to wonder why I was laying on top of my bed rather than in it - no doubt I had been moving a lot during my dream.
Well, at least I hadn't slept in today. I didn't need to rush as I got ready, I was able to take my time in the shower, hoping that somehow cleaning my body would help take my mind off of those mysterious eyes. I probably shouldn't pay such attention to dreams, they rarely had any true meaning.
At half past eight on the dot, I slung my school bag onto my shoulder and left my home, thinking of how empty it seemed these days without my mother here. I missed her dearly, but it wasn't as difficult to cope with as I had expected. Perhaps because I was used to her being the only other person present in my life. Now that I had friends I was more occupied, but no doubt it would become much harder once they had found the one and returned home. I was glad for the time I could spend with them before that day comes, regardless.
Starting now, it would seem, judging by the flashy silver car that was currently resting in my driveway. I smiled as I looked down, climbing into the back of the car besides Noah. Jasmine was driving today, with Travis in the passenger seat.
"Good morning." Noah greeted, his mouth twitched up into a smile. I blushed in response, feeling a fluttery feeling in my stomach.
"Morning." I replied, wondering how I had been so lucky as to be the one they chose to help them.
* * *
Jasmine sighed as she placed her tray down on the table besides me with a little more force than was necessary. Looking down at it, I noticed that the only thing she had gotten for lunch was an orange. As with Noah and Travis, they rarely had much to eat, and if they did eat something it was only ever fruit or vegetables.
I closed my textbook as she sat down, sliding it back into my bag. I had a pretty important Biology test tomorrow that I'd been studying for, but suddenly that wasn't a priority.
"What's up?" I asked her, frowning. She had her lips pressed together firmly in a grimace, she sighed again at my question.
"Today is Macey's turn." She mirrored my frown. "And I've had no classes with her!"
Absentmindedly, I began to doodle on my notepad, "She was held back a year so none of us will be in the same lessons." I told her. "She should be here soon for lunch, though."
She leaned forward, resting her head on her hand as she stared towards the doors with narrowed eyes.
Travis and Noah sat down across from us, but before they had a chance to speak Jasmine had leapt up and was marching off towards the doors.
I shot Noah a bewildered look before turning back to see what exactly she was doing, Noah appeared equally as confused.
"Macey!" She greeted, heading straight over to the small girl with dark orange hair. Macey looked as surprised as I felt, watching Jasmine approach her.
Jasmine beamed at her, and Macey froze in response, though managed to quickly compose herself. "How would you like to come sit with us today?"
To say the least, I was shocked. I hadn't been expecting Jasmine to be so forward about it, I assumed we would be observing from a distance. Clearly she had grown impatient today.
Macey nodded, still somewhat frozen, though she obediently followed Jasmine back to our table. She chose the seat next to Travis, and had another moment of frozen surprise when she looked up at him. The same behaviour followed when she looked at Noah, though it didn't last quite as long as with the other two.
The three of them certainly were something to look at, and it could be unnerving to see them close up for the first time. Ordinarily it was easier to pick out flaws in a persons face when so close, but the three of them didn't appear to actually have any. It could be intimidating to say the least.
"So, Macey." Jasmine was more careful with her smile this time, having observed the effect of her full grin to be a little too much. "I suddenly realised, we haven't had the chance to speak to you yet!"
"Oh," She breathed, seeming entranced.
"So, tell us about yourself!" Jasmine continued, fierce determination on her face. Honestly it was a little scary, Jasmine seemed like the type of person that wasn't going to give up when there was something she wanted.
"Uh..." Macey thought for a while, every second that she didn't answer had Jasmine creeping closer to the edge of her seat. "I'm a libra."
"A libra?" Jasmine echoed, seeming disappointed.
She nodded solemnly. "That should tell you all you need to know about me." Before Jasmine could reply, Macey turned to Travis and sent him her very best smile. "It's Travis, right?"
Jasmine quickly turned to me, leaning across so she could whisper in my ear. "What's a libra?"
"Um..." I replied, "A star sign?"
She frowned, and turned back to face Macey. She looked ready to spring more questions upon her, but she was seemingly preoccupied.
One of Travis' arms was resting on the table, and Macey was now clung to it with both her hands. She was also laughing in a high-pitch, though Travis and Noah both looked confused.
I turned to Jasmine to see her reaction to this development, but she appeared frozen, her eyes looking at Macey's hands on Travis' arm. "Jasmine?" I asked, wondering what was wrong.
She turned to face me for a brief second before pushing herself up from her seat and walking away towards the doors, not even sparing a glance back at us.
"What's that?" Macey asked, turning her nose up. Looking towards her, I noticed her looking towards my hands.
I looked down myself, to where my hand was still randomly scribbling across the page.
Before she could say anything else, I had shoved the notepad back into my bag and was standing up. "I'm going to go find Jasmine."
As I hurried away, I tried not to think about the dark eyes I had just drawn without meaning to, the eyes from my dream that apparently were going to haunt me now.
I'd never been much of an artist, so it surprised me how accurate my drawing had seemed. I decided to banish the thought from my mind, focusing instead on finding Jasmine.
She was only stood in the hallway outside the lunchroom, she wore a stony expression, and it didn't change as she noticed me walk towards her.
"You okay?" I asked as I approached.
"I'm fine." She stated, and then began to look at something over my shoulder.
Travis had followed me out, he frowned as he got close to us. "What was that about?"
She shrugged. "Just needed to think. Travis it is clear that Macey has taken a liking to you, we can use this to our advantage. Go ask her out."
Travis was surprised, that was clear. "But-"
"Go. Now." She commanded. Travis nodded and turned around, and we both watched as he returned to the lunch room and tapped Macey's shoulder. Judging by the expression on her face, he had followed Jasmine's 'request'. It surprised me that he did what she said, and I wondered if Jasmine was the leader of their search.
There was also something else that I wondered, and that was whether Jasmine had some sort of crush on Travis. I hadn't noticed anything like this before, but I felt that it explained why she had gotten up and left like that when Macey grabbed Travis' arm.
Maybe I would find some time to ask her about it later. I didn't want to push it, incase it was a sensitive topic.
Jasmine had walked off in the other direction, and I figured that if I was right about her then it was probably best to leave her alone for now. I sighed, and headed back into the lunchroom, glad to see that Macey had left our table now in favour of the popular crowd she usually hung around with.
I sat back down at the table, hesitating for a moment in the silence before I spoke. "So, I take it she said yes?"
Travis only groaned in response.
I took that as a yes.
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