Chapter fourteen: I think I'm in love

He was the literal definition of Adonis raised to the power of like a hundred. His eyes were the brightest, clearest spray of blue and his hair, moussed and tousled in long waves that stopped neatly on the small of his neck. A few strands fell into his face… into his eyes actually. Eyes that I couldn't stop staring at. The connection was so strong, all the knots I'd felt deep within right from my first day in Charleston, from the moment I met or rather felt that presence from the reed's porch and the forest, they all came rushing back in waves. Heart pounding, eyes twitching, hands wringing, I could barely move a step towards him. Swirls, colors, flowed through my skin and straight into my heart. My heart pounded beyond rhythm. Beyond reason. It wasn't reasonable was it? Feeling this way over a total stranger? 

 Yet why the peculiar feeling that I'd seen him before? That somehow and someway, I was never going to get him out of my head.

 And the way he stared at me. a stare so deep. So filled with… desire. 

" Miss reeds?" Mr McCoy called, breaking into my deep AND intense reverie " Your seat please" 

" Oh yes… I" I pulled on a forced smile, making my way through the small line dividing the litter of desks in three. I could have watched my back, as well as the ground because as soon as I drew close to the blondie, I tripped over, landing splat to the floor. Right in front of my seat mate. And he was so close, his arms long enough to reach out and catch my fall like in EVERY normal romance story but for some reason he didn't. He just sat there and watched. 

 The entire class erupted into a burning flame of laughter as I slipped into my seat awkwardly, red-faced, humiliated and completely overwhelmed by the evil of mankind. 

 If I come back into this world in my second life this clumsy I'm so asking for a re-fund. 

" That was quite the spectacle" Mr McCoy breathed when he'd finally managed to calm the class. He shot me a glare and grabbed the marker off the board " now which of you was awake while I talked through the Miltionian sonnet?" 

 Finally. Something I could relate to. I took out my bag and slipped off my grasp. I reached down for it and he did too. Our hands touched, sending literal sparks zinging through the air. my heart pounded even harder as he dumped it on my desk and folded his arms in a defiant shrug, barely looking at me. 

" Sorry I…" I gulped, rubbing my sweaty palms against my shirt. I looked down " I'm not usually this clumsy" 

" First time jitters" he whispered in a voice so soft I half drooled. Don't look up Mira, DON'T LOOK UP!

Oh great I'm looking up. 

He gulped a little edging away from me. " Are you from out of state?" 

" Wh… what?" 

" Out of state" 

" Oh. Th… that" I licked my lips, trying to stay hydrated from his intense stare " Yeah I just moved in from Florida" 

" Florida huh?" His full, pouty and down pat sensuous lips curved in a light frown " Why didn't you just stay in Florida?" 

" I'm sorry what?" 

" Why'd you have to move down here?" He asked with a grimace. Ok, weird but…

" Cause I had to" 

" Why?" He persisted and I frowned. What was his deal? I opened my mouth to give him the usual back-off treatment when Mr Mccoy glared right at me. 

 Damn! 

" Could you perhaps give us a rendition of Harold Monroe's 'locked door' Miss Reed?" what? No! I'm a new student for Christ sake! And though I could quote each line of the Shakespearean sonnet word for word, that wasn't the impression I was planing to give. Not on my new day.

 I wrung my hands, wiping the sweat off my brow. everyone sat up in anticipation of my epic failure. The words were on my lips but having everyone stare at me so intensely shot each one to hell. The blondie smirked, tossing her hair aside and casting one glance at the surly boy next to me. God I could feel the hate rushing down my skin already!

" Locked door by Harold Monroe" I began shakily. " l… locked by…"

" We heard it the first time miss reed" Mr McCoy cut in " now, you may proceed" 

I licked my lips and dabbed my palm on my shirt " When you…" 

" And I go down" The boy next to me cut in in the softest lullaby. A hush fell over the class. I turned to stare at him, nearly shot back by the hard intense gaze he fixed on me. Keeping his eyes fixed on me, he went on. 

" When you and I go down, breathless and cold, our faces both worn back to earthly mould,

How lonely we shall be. What shall we do," He paused, his eyes smothering, going liquid soft all over me " You without me" I could feel my heart melt into a thousand pieces " I without you? I cannot bear the thought. You first may die. Nor of how you will weep, should I. We are too much alone; what can we do. To make our bodies one:" The soft tinkle of his bassy raspy velvet melted even deeper into my heart, his eyes boring right into mine, the soft bright blue of his eyes literally sparkling " You, me: I you" swirls. Those swirls of bright gold-red flashed through my heart once more, this time a wide crystal glass, shooting me right out of the room into...

nothingness. 

" I cannot find a way" I said, shocked even at myself. I stared even harder at him, heart pounding, heaving so loud I could hear it throb through the entire room " Through love and through: I cannot reach beyond, body to you." 

" When you or I must go" he said, cutting in " down or ever more" 

" There'll be no more" I whispered. 

" But a locked door" he whispered back. I could feel the silence, eyes burning holes right through my back. But at very moment the only thing I could truly feel…

 Was the soft swirl of his eyes locked hard against mine. 

The class burst into a loud ear-splitting applause. Mr McCoy had tears in his eyes, tears he wiped off with the tip of his handkerchief. everyone was smiling at me. And him. I shot them alien stares though, slightly confused. 

" Wonderful Miss Reed. And Mr Cage" Mr McCoy said, beaming and clapping along " wonderful. This is why you should know your poems by heart- have your seat miss reed-" I plopped down on my seat, extremely relieved. And grateful. Mr McCoy rattled on " as I was saying, poetry is a door we open to know ourselves, each day…"

" Thanks." I whispered to him, leaning close so he could hear me. He tipped even further away from me and I bristled, staring at him. His face, half purpled was contorted in a hard grimace. " hey, I said thank…" 

" I heard you the first time" he spat in a hard whisper that still did crazy things to my heart " what do you want me to do? Give a bow?" 

" No… I… I thought you hadn't heard me the first…" 

" Well I did." He shot, leaning even further away from me, eyes fixed too hard on the board. I glared at him, feeling my heart pump harder in anger and disgust. what was his problem anyway? 

 I swished my hair back in defiance, flipping my book open by ten pages. 

" Well then" I shot back, shooting him a glance. He'd turned a bright beaming blue, gulping and holding back a hard lump in his throat. I gasped and nearly yelled out in panic. was he even breathing? 

I leaned close, clutching his arm. His terribly cold arm " Hey are you ok?" He flinched and turned to stare at my hand on his, eyes a crazy weird blood shot red. What? His eyes were blue before weren't they? 

 He shrugged my hand off, gulping even harder " I… I…" the bell went off and he half ran all the way to the door. I stared after him, tears filling my eyes impulsively. A stab ran through my heart and I knew one thing. 

He hated me. Hated me long and hard. And somehow the thought of that left me,

Devastated.