Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows (2 page)

Glancing down at my white knuckles, I could barely restrain myself from looking up at him. Here was this drop-dead gorgeous guy taking a seat mere inches from me and I couldn’t stop myself from looking straight into his eyes - not that I could even register their color. All I knew was that he was stunning.

He wore a pair of faded jeans that hugged him just right. A dark, ocean blue button-up shirt hung slack; with the top two buttons undone. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows exposing his muscular arms and well-tanned skin. And he had strong hands. If he wanted to take hold of something, those hands wouldn’t miss. My gaze drifted upward, freezing at his mouth. His smile was soft…almost gentle, slightly pulling up at the right corner of his lips as if exuding self-confidence. Then, we made eye contact. Well, actually, he caught me gawking at him.

Aargh
! (That’s me, mentally screaming). I wanted to slam my head against my desk repeatedly. Gone was my chance of finding out his eye color as I practically sprained my neck to look away. I felt every drop of blood in my body rush to my cheeks. Like Superman had his problems with kryptonite, I had my fair share of problems with blushing. My face turned as red as a ripe tomato. Shifting in my chair, I tried to hide my embarrassment. It wasn’t like I was the only one staring, but I had to go and be the only one to get caught.

Then, to add insult to injury, I got a whiff of his aftershave. It was incredible. He smelled refreshing, crisp, but with a hint of…how could I describe it? He smelled like nature would - fresh and woodsy - with a hint of rain in the air. So now I was sitting there sniffing the new guy, and I had to admit that he’d stunned me senseless. I swear I was one step away from drooling.

I had to stop inhaling him. If someone noticed I would be doomed, and poor Sid would drop dead on the spot.

I could already see the headlines: ‘
Freak Caught Sniffing the New Guy!’
I might as well not come back to school at all.

Annoyed with myself for being so affected by a guy I hardly knew, I busied myself with a drawing I’d been working on over the past few days. It was of the waterfall I’d been dreaming of lately; the one with the man I never get to see.

“That is very imaginative.”

I froze at the sound of his velvet voice. Peeking through the curtain of my hair that so conveniently hung between us, I was shocked to see him looking at me. Maybe I was hearing things. How was it possible this gorgeous being was even speaking to me?

He pointed at my drawing. “Your sketch is imaginative…skillful. You have drawn it with so much definition, as if you have been there.” His voice was deep, with a slightly hoarse tone that possessed a mysterious edge. It was beyond captivating. Heck, even Sid was contemplating being gay right now.

I felt like I’d swallowed a football field of sand. “Thanks. It’s from a dream.” My cheeks were literally on fire.

“Is that so? It must have been quite some dream.” His smile grew wider. “My name is Ryan Eames.”

I shocked myself with how easily I smiled back, while my name slipped through my lips. “I’m Aislinn Calder.”

             
Looking back now, it seems almost amazing that this wasn’t our only conversation.

~*~

Mr. Brady banged his hand against the blackboard to get our attention, making me jump in my seat. “It’s time to suffer, class. We have twenty minutes left for me to try and bore you all to death. So, all eyes up front.”

             
“May I share your book? I did not get a chance to get one.” That gorgeous head was bent towards me as he whispered the words that sent shivers down my spine.

             
I simply nodded. I
had
to get myself together; it wasn’t like me to go all nutty about a guy, even a gorgeous one like Ryan.

I tried desperately to focus on Mr. Brady and what he was saying, but it was no use. The
Titanic
could be sinking right beside me and I wouldn’t even notice the screams right now. All I could hear and feel was my new neighbor’s heart beating steadily.

I had a tendency to hear people’s heartbeats. The closer I got to someone the stronger their heartbeat would get. So I tried not to touch people as a rule, steering clear of them as best I could. Who knew
what
that was about? Probably just another facet of my annoying ‘gift’.

I also had a special connection with nature. I mean, I could actually feel whenever a plant or tree would come alive, or…die, taking a piece of my heart with it. I didn’t know how to explain that either. It was just there; just another part of me.

Relief flooded my system when the bell finally rang. Grabbing my bag, I made a beeline for the door, as if a pair of hellhounds was nipping at my heels.

Racing into the next class, I finally took an easy breath. My books were already out when Molly took a seat in front of me. It wasn’t her normal seat, so she had to have an ulterior motive for what was about to come.

“What happened to you? You took off like a bat out of hell.”

“Nothing.” I snorted at her. Molly kept staring at me with one perfectly groomed eyebrow arching towards Heaven. “I’m just excited about our poem reading today.” Great, now my voice was cracking. Why didn’t I just hand my head to her on a silver platter?

“Uh, huh.” Molly smiled. “And I’m going to believe that from you, the person who avoids all contact with people. I might be blonde but I’m not stupid. Now, spill it! I saw him talking to you. What did he say?” Scooting closer, she leaned across my table, looking like she was about to explode with excitement.

“It was nothing. He just commented on my drawing.” She kept staring at me and I could see she wanted way more information than that. “Really…that’s all.”

“Then why did you run out of class like that?”

Like the Bull Terrier she was, Molly wasn’t about to let this go.

“I just wanted to read over my poem again. I’m nervous. Aren’t you?” 

“Nope. You know me, I love draaamaaa.” Her eyes lit up with mischief. “So? Did you get a good look at him? You must have! You’re so lucky he sat next to you. He is just to die for.” Turning away, she whispered, “I wonder what his story is.” I could hear her slight squeal, as she suddenly froze in place. Molly barely breathed, “Here he comes.”

I had to force my eyes to stay down.

Molly gave a nervous giggle. “He’s heading our way.”

Her whisper carried an undercurrent of electricity and excitement which shouldn’t have been in her voice, seeing as that she was so desperately in love with Robert - the moron. He’d be one unhappy puppy if this ever reached his ears.

Both our desks had open seats, so you could imagine my total surprise when the chair next to mine scraped across the floor. I tried to look casual as I pretended to read over my poem, while my heart beat out against my ribs.

“You forgot your textbook.” Ryan’s voice was kind as he held it out for me to take.

“Thanks.”  I kept my eyes on my poem. I was in no rush to make a total idiot out of myself.

Miss James began to pick us at random to read. That was a bad thing, because there was no way for me to tell when I would be up next. On top of that it was a double period, so the odds of everyone getting their turn were way too good. We started hitting a monotonous tone after a few minutes and I allowed my mind to wander to the seat beside me.
Ryan Eames
. That can easily be a name that I can give the guy from my dreams.

As if he could hear my thoughts, his head turned slightly in my direction. Swallowing the sudden embarrassment, I kept my eyes down. Well…I
forced
them down. I wanted so badly to see the color of his eyes but didn’t have the guts to even try. Thankful that my thoughts were my own, I dropped my head even further and let my hair fall like curtain between us.

~*~

Ryan walked in front of me as we entered the ole’ math room, and it was no surprise he looked just as good from behind. My heart started beating faster when he moved into my aisle, and then it pounded off the charts when he took the seat beside my desk in the corner.

             
Mr. Frost, who everybody called
Freezo
behind his back, began rattling on like he always did, and passed out quizzes. Math was a hated subject by most students. Half the students’ eyes were already glazed over, and the other half’s were confused. Mine were locked on anything ‘Ryan’-related, which made this the first time ever that I actually enjoyed Math. And I wasn’t the only eye-stalker in class. As Mr. Frost’s voice drummed on and on, there were many girls enjoying the ‘Ryan Eames Fantasy Hour’.

When the bell rang it sounded like my favorite song playing; it meant getting the hell out of here. Just one more class and it would be lunchtime - one whole hour of freedom. I checked my watch for confirmation as I walked to my locker to get a book for Social Studies. While engaging the lock, a hand came from out of nowhere and slammed into the metal right next to my damn head. I’m
sure
Sid had heart failure!

“Asswipe!” It was an automatic reaction but if I’d known who it was I would’ve added a whole lot more curses.

“What do we have here?” My heart sank as Robert turned me around and pushed me lightly against the locker.

“I have a class to go to.” I tried to sound as bored as possible. When I attempted to pass by, he stood in front of me, snorting a laugh in my face.

“Why the hurry, Sweetling? I’ve noticed you being friendly with the new guy. Why not spare me some of that kindness?”

I had a bad temper and little control over it when it came to this idiot. “You’re not worth my time, let alone my kindness. Why don’t you go crawl back down that hole you just came out of and leave me the hell alone.” With that, I pushed past him and breathed a sigh of relief when I actually got away.

Still steaming, I made it to class in the nick of time and wasn’t surprised to find Ryan sitting at my table. Frankly, I was too upset to care. My hands were still trembling when Ryan opened the textbook. When I glanced up at him, I looked into a face that held complete concern. Giving him a shaky smile, I focused all my concentration on the book in his hands.

Well…I tried to concentrate.

~*~

The shrill bell finally rang, signaling the long awaited lunch. I needed some alone time so I could recharge my batteries. 

             
I stood up, preoccupied with thoughts of temporary freedom, and moved towards the aisle. Unfortunately, Ryan Eames picked that exact second to step to his left. The next thing I knew, it was just arms and legs as I struggled to find my balance in the very small space between us.

             
“Sorry…um…sorry. Crap!” Muffled words were all I could get out between my nervous breaths. His touch was electric as his arms circled around me to keep me from falling.

             
That’s when it hit me…I was standing in his arms and we were all alone in the classroom. It didn’t take me long to reach the darkest shade of burgundy known to mankind. The dizziness was so overwhelming that every drop of blood I owned must’ve been pulsing in my face at that very moment.

             
“Um.”
What
? That was all I could say? Talk about a Rhodes Scholar.
My ‘inner’ Sid would even have more to say at this moment!

             
Loosening his grip on me just a little at first, Ryan finally let go when he was sure I was able to stand on my own two unstable feet.

             
“Do you need to sit down? You look a bit shaken.” His cool, confident, collected voice reached my ears.

             
“Oh…no.” The words came out in a rush. “I’m okay. Really.” I added a small smile to make my statement more believable, and was relieved to hear that I sounded somewhat normal, even though my nerves had been put through a shredder.

             
Looking up at him I felt the lightning strike. His eyes were unbelievably amazing, a mixture of smoky blue and violet. Was that even a real eye color? I’d never seen eyes more striking in my life, and they suited his black hair perfectly. It was official; Ryan Eames was just too perfect for words and he was talking to me! The ignored, avoided, unnoticeable me!

             
“Would you like to go for a walk outside? Or we could sit… somewhere?”

             
I just gawked at him out of pure shock. However, then reality set in, along with the little IQ that hadn’t fizzled out with his touch. This had to be some sort of sick initiation thing for him, and I was definitely not going to stick around to see the results of his achievement.

             
“No th-thanks. Th-things t-to do…places t-to be. I’m sure your f-friends are waiting f-for you outside. Enjoy lunch.” I didn’t stick around to hear his response. I just shoved past him and made for the door as fast as I could. I was livid with myself for stuttering at the one moment when I’d needed to play it cool.

             
“Aislinn, please wait!” I could hear him following me, but his footsteps stopped when I slipped out the class. “Dammit!”