The Boy Who Read Minds

by Veronica Soliman

  As soon as her hand reached for mine, any dizziness and grogginess I had felt immediately went away. In that instant, the world disappeared.

  Chapter 7:\ Making Scenes

  Violet

  It was typical of Aaron to have a crowd form around him wherever he went. He was always one for making scenes and today, he had randomly approached me, and I was flabbergasted. He had fallen dramatically, and that was how the party, that I didn't even want to go to, ended, or at least froze for a couple minutes as everyone seemed concerned that Aaron Paul had fallen.

  A large crowd of people became convinced that it was more important for them to watch Aaron fall than dance and do other party things. Maybe they'd thought he had gotten into a fight, but it didn't matter. I didn't understand people's intrigue with Aaron Paul, he was just an attractive boy. So what? There were plenty of those.

  I wished Stacy hadn't dragged me into this mess. Normally, I would’ve been fine with it, but today, I was dumbstruck and wishing I hadn't agreed. She’d left me alone since we arrived, and I had no clue what I was doing.

  "Help me up," he said, and I just stared at him, mesmerized. His luminous gray eyes were bare, and I felt my cheeks flush. It felt like everyone was looking at us and I wished I could be back home in my cozy bed, reading my Biology textbook or doing next week’s homework early.

  I bent down to sit beside him but changed my mind. I felt anxious, too many eyes were on us. Instead, I reached out a hand to help him up. As soon as our hands touched, a jolt of lightning seemed to pass between us. A surge of adrenaline rushed throughout my body as I stared into the pools of his gray eyes. My heart was accelerating, and I looked at him with a strange feeling overwhelming me. I felt empowered. I was stuck in the trance that was his eyes and I couldn't find my way out. It was as though the earth had swallowed us up and everyone disappeared. I felt connected to him somehow.

  As soon as I pulled my hand away from his, it was like I had been tossed into an erupting volcano. People were chatting loudly, no longer paying attention to our ordeal as the music blasted louder than before.

  I have to find Stacy. I thought, walking past Aaron's tall form and searching the crowd. She was nowhere in sight.

  Maybe she can just go home with whoever she's with now, I hope she isn't mad at me tomorrow. I quietly rushed back to the door where Aaron now stood, frozen in place. I wanted to wave my hands over his eyes and make sure he was conscious, but I decided against it. I silently wormed my way through the crowd and found myself in the cold midnight breeze. At that moment, I realized I hated parties and would never willingly or unwillingly attend one again.

  I made my way to my car and took a deep sigh of relief. I hated crowded places. As soon as I started the engine, I heard a tapping on my window.

  Nobody was there.

  I looked again.

  Nothing.

  The tapping began again, and I began to freak out; I felt like the protagonist of a horror movie. When I turned my head, there Aaron stood. I screamed loudly, pressing the gas pedal and driving quickly until I stopped a few feet away. I panicked when I saw him in my rearview mirror; he laid on the ground hunched over grabbing his foot.

  I quickly rushed out.

  "Oh my god! Did I just drive over your foot?!" I screamed in a moment of panic as I watched him in disbelief. Nothing was going right today and all it took was an accident.

  "Help me up." He whimpered. Those words he had said earlier, I didn't want to touch him, I was afraid of what would happen this time.

  "Somebody help!" I shouted, watching him attempt to take his shoe off.

  "You drove over my foot!" He vociferated and I suddenly felt extremely guilty.

  "You scared me to death!" I proclaimed, "Why were you even by my car?!"

  "Violet, I swear, I will sue you if you don't help me up." He spat; his face contorted with the most painful look as I glared at him.

  "I'll sue you right back!" I sassed with empty threats, I was never one to reply, but he made me angry. I sat on the ground beside him while he lay in the fetal position grasping his leg and biting the insides of his cheeks. I didn’t want to touch him; I was afraid of something I couldn’t understand.

  "Please," he cried.

  "What do you want me to do? Carry you?" I crossed my arms, amused as I sat beside him. For some reason, I really wasn't worried if he was hurt and nor did I care.

  "Yes! Take me to a hospital. Just at least hold my hand." He glared at me as a disgusted look filled my features. I was never one to think Aaron could pass as a creep, he was always so cool, but today, Aaron was a creep.

  "No." I stood up, getting ready to walk away as he immediately stood up and hobbled behind me. I saw him break out in a pained smile and assumed he thought I was referring to his hand-holding request.

  "The least you can do is drive me home after basically mauling me!" He said as I laughed to myself, keeping my face away from him. I couldn’t feel the guilt from hurting him because I didn’t feel my car hit anything; it had taken me a few seconds to snap out of my daze and think logically again. I stopped quickly and turned around; he was walking perfectly fine.

  "I did not hit you." I announced as a sly smirk appeared on his face.

  "Oh right, you just high-fived my body with your car, then?” He walked over to me, "so, how about that ride home?" I gave him a skeptical look as he stared at me with a mixture of admiration and mischief on his face. His silver eyes bore into mine and it was like we were back in our own little world. This feeling made me uncomfortable, but not in a bad sense.

  Before I could shake my head and tell him to go away, he immediately fell back on the ground. Several people had begun to walk out of the party now and I wasn't one for a big scene.

  "Ow! My leg! My beautiful, beautiful leg got run over by this girl!" He shouted, his expression morphed to one in pain and I couldn't tell if he was joking or being serious as a couple people turned to look at us.

  "Okay. Okay shush, get up. I'll take you home." I hurriedly walked over to him as he stood up like nothing had just happened. He brushed past me, his arm bumping into my shoulder.

  "Great. Let's go." I glared at him, wondering how he was so sober and normal now when he’d been an absolute mess just moments ago. I shook it off, it was unnecessary to think about. This was an added burden to my strange night that seemed to not want to end. I could get rid of him when I dropped him off and continue on normally.

  Never in a million, no— billion, no— trillion, no— bajillion years would I have ever pictured myself anywhere near Aaron Paul, much less driving him home. The calming vibes he gave off were irritating. They were like sharks waiting for a meal or the calm before a very harsh storm or an alligator waiting for its prey to come too close. Silent and patient, but deadly.

  "Which way?" I suddenly asked, not having realized that he had never told me where he lived. I glared at him, confused why he was being so annoying.

  "Just keep driving, Violet." He said, leaning his head against my window and shutting his eyes. I glared at him.

  "My gas tank doesn't have enough gas to just keep driving!" I mimicked his words as I glared ahead angrily. His light laughter filled the car as I turned to mock his contagious smile.

  It was barely the first day of our junior year of high school and I desperately hoped that nobody knew that we had left together. It would, undoubtedly, be the talk of the town; especially now that gossip of his girlfriend, Amy Bloom, and their breakup had rooted its way into our high school and spread like wildfire.

  I couldn't tell if he had randomly chosen me as his rebound or why after the four years that I’d known him, he’d decided to want to spend time with me. It was out of nowhere and made utterly no sense.

  "No, you aren't my rebound, don't flatter yourself." He suddenly said as I turned to look at him; he was so rude.

  "W… What?" I asked confused, wondering if I had spoken that out loud.

  "You're not my rebound." He repeated, glanc
ing at me and readjusting himself in the seat. My heart rate began to rise as I opened a window to let in some cold air in this hot car. "Amy and I weren’t dating."

  "I didn't say anything." I suddenly said, realizing I had never mentioned it at all except for the two seconds that I’d thought it was a possibility. The last thing I had said to him was how annoyed I was with his desire to waste my car’s most valuable resource.

  "You did." He said calmly, but I knew myself well enough to know I would never talk to anyone about something so personal, especially when I hardly knew them "turn right here." Aaron instructed as I turned right at the stop sign. It was dark out and my gaze kept returning to the remaining fuel in my tank, hopeful that it would be enough to drop off Aaron and take me to the nearest gas station.

  The minute that Jim, my boss, had let me off work, Stacy took that opportunity to turn me into a free cab to one of the many parties of the year. I didn't feel comfortable going, but usually when things like this happened, I would usually not regret it. I silently glanced at Aaron who looked like he was about to fall asleep. His head had moved from the window to the headrest of my passenger seat and his eyes were shut.

  "No!" I shouted as his eyes snapped open and his neck turned to me quickly.

  "What?" He yawned, everything about him was contagious and I was annoyed.

  "Where do you live Aaron? I need to take you home."

  "My parents aren't home. Drop me off wherever." He yawned again, stretching as a clever idea sunk into my mind. I stopped randomly, parking on the street and turning toward him.

  "Okay we're here. You can leave now." I said as he unlocked the door and got out. I felt intoxicated as the air seemed to thicken. I was basically dropping him off on the street corner of a random house and hoping he found his own way home. I felt cruel, but I hadn’t asked for this to begin with.

  "Get out," I muttered under my breath and casually leaned back as he shut the door behind him and walked away. I had driven toward the next stop sign as he finally realized I had ditched him in the middle of nowhere. I realized that I was the one being a jerk. He was intolerable, but I was being unfair, realizing that I shouldn't have left him somewhere randomly, especially not in his state. I turned around, considering picking him up.

  For someone who hated scenes, this whole night was pretty much just that. I watched him look around in confusion before he looked at me, and in the middle of the night, when the rest of the world was silent, he shouted.

  "How did you know where I live?"

  Chapter 8:\ ResponsibiliTEA

  Tyler

  I studied my phone, frustrated that Amy hadn't texted me. I had been certain that our kiss had sealed the deal, but now I wasn’t so sure. It was getting dark and staring at my phone was no good. I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. If she didn't like me then that was that. I couldn't change her feelings no matter how hard I tried.

  I sat up in bed wondering what I had done wrong. It wasn't like she had any objection to kissing me, she even nodded when I asked for permission. The time we had spent together this summer made me think she’d be mine by now.

  I felt like a harsh critic as I began to think of Aaron Paul and the grasp, he must've still had on her. Perhaps Aaron had made a booty call and she was all his again. I groaned, tossing my phone aside for a few minutes then turning the light on in order to retrieve it.

  I was growing weary and I felt like an insomniac as I took the phone and stared at it until a knock came at my door. I immediately shut the light off in my room, then automatically felt stupid. Whoever was outside must've seen that. I groaned silently, waiting for whoever was knocking at my door at one in the morning to leave.

  Knock. Knock.

  Knock. Knock.

  The knocking wouldn’t stop; I stifled a groan. My parents were fast asleep and probably snoring as I stood up to go answer the door. In the back of my mind, the thought occurred that it might be Amy, but as soon as I unlocked the door, I knew that was too good to be true.

  "Sorry to rain on your parade, I'm not Amy, but I do need a ride home."

  Speak of the devil…

  Aaron Paul stood in front of my door with his arms crossed and a smug grin on his frat-boy-like face. He reeked of alcohol but seemed completely sober all at once. How did he end up here?

  "I walked, I got lost, I still need a ride home." It was like he knew what I was thinking before I said it. Creepy.

  "Not really." He spoke. I raised an eyebrow; I hadn’t said anything.

  "What?" I asked, completely shocked.

  "I need a ride home or I'm crashing here tonight." He said, pushing past me. Before I could say another word, he threw himself on my couch and fell asleep.

  Are you kidding me? I considered stuffing him into the trunk of my car and driving him home. Or perhaps off a tall cliff. But I didn't know where he lived and there was no cliff within a three-hundred-mile radius.

  I glared at him as his breathing grew uniform. There was no way I was getting rid of him tonight. Perhaps putting him in Jessica's room would teach him a lesson. She wouldn’t mind, she had her boyfriend in there all the time and might not even come home till morning. I dragged him up the stairs slowly, he was heavy, but I tried not to wake him up. I left him on the floor beside my sister's bed.

  That ought to teach him.

  ***

  "Tyler!" An angry cat-like screech shook the entire house, and I knew that Jessica was awake. Clearly, she had walked in on him last night, but may have been too tired to notice. But now, in her more than sober state, her anger was an earthquake. And I wanted to be nowhere near it. Within seconds of her scream, the doorbell rang.

  For a minute, I wondered why my parents hadn't woken up yet. They couldn't possibly sleep through the tornado that was about to strike our home. I remained in my bed, pretending to be sound asleep as Jessica made her way to my room and pushed the door open with such force that a gust of wind made my blanket fly up and land on the floor. I prayed that I would die peacefully and go straight to heaven. But that was not the case. Jessica grabbed my pillow and tossed it aside as my fear grew.

  "Go away." I muttered. Even though I was taller and definitely stronger than her, she was my older sister, and I didn't really know why I was afraid when I could easily overpower her.

  "Not until you tell me why there’s a random guy sleeping on my bedroom floor!" She pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and impatiently tapped her foot as the doorbell rang again.

  "Okay!” I held my arms up in surrender, unsure of what to do, “But stop yelling, mom and dad are asleep."

  "No, nitwit! Mom and Dad went on a trip yesterday evening. They're coming back tomorrow so I can yell all I want!" She was loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood, and she just kept getting louder with each word. I hoped the neighbors wouldn’t file a noise complaint.

  "Your nails look great Jessica," I sat up now, attempting and failing to divert the conversation and I yawned, then flinched when she spoke again.

  "You're ridiculous!" She shouted before slamming my bedroom door shut and leaving. A huge sigh of relief escaped my mouth, and I picked my pillow up and stood up. I walked out a few minutes later and headed for her room to make sure the yelling had woken up the unwanted company in my house.

  Aaron Paul lay soundlessly on her floor. Maybe his eardrums had ruptured, and he’d gone deaf from her screaming.

  Good, he deserved it.

  "Why do I deserve what?" His eyes slowly opened as he sat up and wiped them. "Do you people not know how to have a conversation without yelling?”

  I wondered how he’d known what I was thinking, but I didn't ask, I might've said it aloud anyway. I rolled my eyes as the events of last night replayed in my mind.

  "Maybe you should go home." I sneered as a small smile formed on his mouth. I couldn't figure this cocky bastard out, nor did I want to.

  "I'll have you know my father is alive and well." He stood up now, towering ever so slightly over me and I gl
ared at him. I could take him if he fought me, any day.

  "What?" I asked, extremely confused.

  "You called me a bastard," He declared, rubbing his temples as he took a seat on Jessica’s bed. I assumed she’d gone to the bathroom or something; but she’d certainly have a field day if she saw someone sitting on her sheets.

  "I did no such thing." I replied, I had only thought about it and this idiot…

  "Don't call me an idiot, I get better grades than you ever will." He shot back and I groaned. I wondered if I was saying these things out loud. For a second, I thought he could hear my thoughts, but that was physically impossible. Maybe I was just saying everything out loud. I wondered where my filter had gone.

  I crossed my arms by the door of Jessica’s room, "you need to leave."

  "Thanks for the comfy floor, man." He randomly said, standing up and patting my shoulder as he headed downstairs. I looked at him in disbelief.

  Don’t touch me. I wanted to punch this intruder, but I abstained and instead followed him downstairs. He’d be out of here in no time. I unlocked the front door and held it wide open, waiting for him to leave, but I was met with elegant blue eyes and dazzling blonde hair instead.

  Amy.

  "I thought you already told him you would date him." Aaron interjected, rubbing his fingers against his temples.

  "I told you that because I wanted to see your reaction." She blushed, "and since you're fine with it," she turned to me, "I will take you up on that offer, Tyler." I grinned, a giddy happiness, that even Aaron couldn't remove, began filling me up as I smiled broadly.

  The snake has lost his rattle. I thought as Aaron turned to me with a smirk.

  "That's a terrible analogy. It doesn’t even make sense.”

  I glared at him, wondering what part of Amy's sentence was even remotely close to an analogy. "What?" I asked him, more annoyed than ever and wanting nothing more than for him to leave my house so I could be alone with the sensational Amy Bloom.