Chapter Three: "Patience"

"Karla!"

"Hello "I greet Sara.

"Let's go, I'm in a hurry."

I follow her to the exit. It's certainly been shorter getting out of class than getting in.

"What's wrong with you? "I say when I notice how fast she is leading me to the exit. "I want to go out as much as you do, my friend, but I don't want to twist my ankle trying."

She shakes her head and opens the door to the school exit at the speed of light.

What's wrong with her?

You already know.

"It's a surprise," she says bluntly.

I raise an eyebrow.

"I've run into an old friend and I want you to meet him."

I shrug my shoulders in agreement.

Next to my car is still the Range Rover I hit this morning - which, by the way, seems like an eternity - and leaning against mine is a tall guy staring at his phone screen. I grab my car keys and set off the alarm. The guy jumps away startled and I can't help the smile that forms on my face. My friend, who has also been startled, looks over her shoulder at me with a frown and I hold up my hands apologetically.

When we are only a few feet away from him and my lack of facial recognition from a distance no longer hinders my vision, the eyes looking at me through messy auburn hair I recognize instantly; it's the brother of the lunatic I hit the car this morning.

I can't help but flash a disapproving look at Sara and she gives me the same look. It's not that the boy has caused me any trouble, but his brother has and if my friend starts to get close to the brown one, there will also be a confrontation with the one with different colored eyes.

"Hello," I say politely.

I fold my arms and wait for my friend to finish what she has to do.

"This is Adam," she begins to say. "Adam, this is Karla."

"Yes, I know her. I didn't know her name, though."

Honey, you even know her blood type.

"Oh yeah?" she says, opening her eyes and looking closely at Adam trying to not make it obvious.

Karla, all your friends are stupid, but they can't compete with your ignorance.

"As soon as the dent in the car happened, he told me it was her. I looked her up because I know what he's like and what I could have told her," he explains.

Sara looks at us both with a frown, but soon after comes back to life to direct her gaze to the brunette. A small smile forms on her lips and the words she lets out make her roll her eyes for the thousandth time today. Adam smiles back and I swear even I melt inside at that act.

"Well guys," I break the connection, "I have to go take advantage of the hours I have left before I go to work."

My friend pouts.

"I'm coming! I'll say a thing or two to Adam and I'll be right back."

I nod and head to the trunk of my car. I take off my heavy backpack and grab the packet of cigarettes from it when a chill runs down my spine.

He's back * rolls eyes *. I hope you don't make me put up with this kind of situation for a long time because I'm already tired of you two.

I close my eyes tightly and curse this day. I notice every step he takes, even my stupid mind makes me imagine how he would be smiling right now. I feel the lunatic's heavy breathing and look at my chest in confusion as I feel my heart crash against my ribs. With the same force with which my heart is hammering, I close the trunk and with my eyes on the ground, I make my way to the front of the car. I lean against the hood and pull out a cigar to light it shortly after.

The couple continues talking a few meters from me and I unintentionally look for him. When my eyes meet him, the gaze that receives me is too dense to be able to continue staring at him. Slowly his body approaches mine, he respecting my living space. I take a drag on the cigar to clear my mind and not think about him, exhaling it slowly, as if I'm not nervous. I see out of the corner of my eye that he tilts his head and his gaze is still on me, waiting for him to say something.

Well, wait sitting down.

As much as he wanted to tell me something, I can't. As a last resort, I look at his different colored eyes again. Everything I see, what I feel, what I notice that he is trying to convey with his gaze obstructs my throat more and it is even more difficult for me to speak.

"Do you know that smoking causes death?" He says with a slight nod.

Asshole * rolls her eyes *.

He breaks eye contact by rolling his eyes and when I lose that look of different colors another catches me. I notice Adam looking at me over my friend's shoulder. His eyes get more yellow and I stare at that mesmerizing color. My little heart makes contact against my ribs again without explanation, causing me to frown.

What the fuck? What is this sensation so strange and so familiar at the same time?

A strange warmth spreads through every cell of my body and the pounding of my heart intensifies to the point of having the sensation that it would pierce my rib cage. My eyes are still fixed on his and the intensity with which his amber eyes receive me to overwhelm me and for a strange reason, amuse me.

You weren't expecting it, uh, Adam. Aradia grows closer and closer to you, but keep avoiding the truth.

My gaze doesn't leave Adam's and I bow my head. I focus more on his gaze, without knowing why, and his amber eyes start to blink as if they were a molten light until they return to their hazel color. A frown forms on his face and he searches his brother's eyes with confusion and intrigue. But all that, at this moment, is irrelevant to me. Overwhelming happiness runs through my entire body making me feel powerful at that moment. But it is ephemeral happiness and all those sensations so complex and unknown to my rational mind disappear like cigarette smoke after exhaling it.