by Lilly Mance
After two steps, I sped up, still unable to break eye contact, and then quickly got lost in the crowd. Cold sweat tingled the back of my neck, accompanied by intense heart beat. Drinks stand was right in front of me, so I hurried over as if it were my refuge. Unaware of my trembling hands, pouring drinks ended up being a disaster. I spilled half of it all over the stand. Luckily, no-one saw my mishap, but I had to steady myself before trying to carry three paper cups through the crowd. I closed my eyes, and took several deep breaths, telling myself everything was okay. He’s not a danger to you—I encouraged myself—so what if he saw you? I felt calm enough, so I opened my eyes. Scanning the crowd showed no sign of him, so I took the drinks, and went to find Helen and Maya.
“What took you so long?” Helen said, tapping her foot impatiently. Was I really gone that long? Didn't seem so.
“Sorry. I got held up at the drinks stand,” I sputtered, handing her a drink.
“Maya finally hooked up with Brad! You should have seen it. He’s so sweet with her,” Helen said grinning, her voice elated.
“Can’t believe it! She was so worried he was into someone else,” I said, but I never really doubted she would win. Once she gathered some courage to talk to him, that is. Maya was beautiful, and eventually got who she wanted, but her shyness got in the way more than a couple of times. I just hoped Brad was worthy of her attention. Hot guys rarely were. Jocks especially.
“Apparently he was into her all this time,” Helen continued, “She whispered it to me just before she left with him.”
“That’s so cool! I guess she’ll be riding home with him?”
“Yeah. She slipped me her car keys,” Helen waved huff'n'puff keys, winking, and smiling, then changed her expression into a worried one. “Are you gonna be okay with Damien being here?”
Little did she know. He wasn't my biggest issue anymore, “Sure. I'm used to it by now. What about you and Darren?”
Helen rolled her eyes, “No luck. He’s all over Queen Bee,” she motioned behind her with disgust. My gaze followed, but instead of spotting the lucky pair, my eyes met an intense stare. The apparition guy was watching me. His green eyes were dissecting me piece by piece. Chills prickled up my neck. I must have turned pale white, because Helen took my hand and said, “You okay? It’s not that big of a deal. Really. Whoever messes with Bee is a jerk.”
“You’re right,” I squeezed through my teeth, “Let’s mingle,” and pulled her far away from the apparition, deep into the crowd. Meeting my gaze was one thing, but following me around was another. Creepy.
~*~
Chapter #2
Morning came all too soon. The sunlight peeking through the drapes hurt my eyes, and I pulled the comforter over my head. It would have been great to sleep in, but the sound of my mom vacuuming meant it wasn’t that much of a morning, more like noonish. Still half asleep, I dragged myself downstairs to have some breakfast.
“Good morning, sleepy,” Mom said, turning off the vacuum cleaner. “Did you have fun last night?”
“Yeah, it was pretty good. Did I wake you when I came home?”
“No, honey. You know I sleep with one eye open until you arrive,” Mom smiled and signaled me to follow her into the kitchen. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Don’t know. I’m not that hungry. Maybe some cereal––”
“So what are you girls up to for the day?” Mom said, placing a bowl of cereal in front of me.
“We’ll take it easy, hang out over ice-cream down by the beach, maybe even catch some sun. Helen and Maya are coming over around two,” slowly, I poured some milk over the cereal, making flakes swirl in the bowl. God, I was so tired.
After breakfast, I took a long shower, and applied some light makeup. Running water must have possessed some powerful energy, because it upgraded my ass from slow motion to turbo speed. At the sound of Maya’s huff’n’puff car in our driveway, I stormed out the door, waving Mom goodbye. She said something, but I was already way out to hear what.
On our way to the beach, Maya told us all about her dream date with Brad. It turned out they had a lot of things in common, and mutual liking since junior high was one of them. Matchmaking aspirations were apparently the other one.
“A blind date? Really, Maya?” Helen was not thrilled at all with the idea. “And what made you think I’d go along?”
“Brad suggested it, and I thought it would be cool,” Maya grinned, not at all bothered by Helen’s pouting.
“Oh, and that makes it okay, then? Why not Lyra? Why me?” Helen protested, crossing her arms on her chest defiantly.
“Hold it right there!” I interjected. “You’re not getting me into this one.”
“Because he’s not her type,” Maya explained so as-a-matter-of-factly.
“And he is mine? And you would know this, how?” Helen snorted.
“I’ve met the guy last night,” Maya giggled, and parallel parked huff’n’puff in the shade. Old tin can wasn’t equipped with air conditioning, so I was glad she nailed that spot. At least we wouldn’t be cooked on our way home.
Helen scowled and said, “If this goes bad, you’ll owe me big time! No, scratch that! You already owe me!”
“And if it doesn’t?” Maya snickered, and waved her hand like she always had when Helen was overreacting.
“Come on, Helen. I should be upset, not you. I’m the third wheel here,” I rolled my eyes. “At least you two will have something to do––”
“Aww, you know we won’t neglect you,” Helen pushed out her lower lip.
“That’s what I’m afraid of! Please, present me as your mute cousin. That way I can sit and keep to myself,” I hoped they really would, but they both laughed, dismissing my remark.
Approaching our rendezvous point, we could see a myriad of familiar faces from last night, sipping ice teas, soaking up the sun, hiding tired eyes with dark shades, and nodding our way in recognition. It was our high school’s favorite hangout by the beach during summer. Brad got up from the table wearing a silly grin, and motioned for us to come and sit. Seeing his friend, Helen’s body language revealed she liked what she saw. Mine on the other hand, showed utter terror. I stopped dead in my tracks.
Last night’s apparition guy was standing there, only two feet from our table, staring at me. Unease shot straight to the pit of my stomach. I forced myself to calmly walk over to our table, sit, and not look at him. I decided to act as if everything was perfectly fine––which turned out to be rather difficult. I felt the constant need to squirm. Hell! I wanted to run away that instant. I had to find an excuse to leave, and real soon. My heart pounded so hard, ears buzzed, and I felt quite lightheaded. What does he want from me?
“Earth to Lyra,” I heard Brad say, so I flinched, only to see an annoyed waitress standing, waiting to take my order.
“Oh, sorry. Coke, please,” I felt blood rush to my face, and my company laughed.
“You do that a lot lately,” Maya said, and I sheepishly smiled. Keeping pace with reality was hard enough without a distracting ghost-slash-apparition on my back. I darted a glance at him, and tightness gripped my chest. That stare was disturbing. The guy had no shame!
The entire time we were there, the apparition guy didn’t take his eyes off of me, nor did he move. I tried to participate in the conversation at my table, but failed at it miserably. I was glad more than ever that they were all into each other, and not paying attention to my rambling. Each time I tried to excuse myself, Maya or Helen would beat my arguments––a downside of knowing each other so well.
Every minute that passed seemed like an hour. I dared to look at him a couple of times just to make sure he was really observing me. No doubt, he was. There was something in his appearance that was unnerving and enchanting at the same time. I felt drawn to him, and scared at the same time. His face was beautiful and serene, completely in harmony with his short black hair––kind of odd looking haircut, with several longer strands on his forehead, but it fit him perfe
ctly. His full lips would make Angelina Jolie eat herself. A set of striking green eyes below thick, black lashes made me swallow too many times to keep count. Dark-blue V-neck Tee with embroidered TGA letters revealed muscular arms, and hinted a well defined chest underneath. Long black cargo pants were tucked in a strange looking boots that went hand-in-hand with the haircut strangeness-wise. If I had to choose a personal paranormal stalker, this would have been the one. God, why couldn't he be real? There was nothing boyish about him although he couldn't have been much older than me. Drool-worthy, hot as hell, but damn, it was freaking me out.
Maya, Brad, Helen, and What’s-his-name pushed their chairs back almost in unison, so I took it as a sign we were finally leaving. Maya leaned over and whispered in my ear: “I can see you want to go home, but Helen and Shawn might hit it off, so we’ll go for a walk. Wanna take my car?”
“Sure. Brad will give you a lift?” I asked, she nodded and added, “Come pick me up tomorrow, and we’ll have a day to ourselves.”
I took her keys, and threw a quick glance at my stalker as I was walking away. He was still there, firmly positioned as a rock, and not following me to huff’n’puff. Physically, that is. His eyes were glued to mine. He watched my every move. I quickened my pace to get far away from him. My hands slightly trembled while unlocking the car, but I managed quickly enough, and locked the door behind me. One more glance at the apparition––he was still in the same spot––good! I sighed with relief. I’ll have to avoid this place for a while, though. Maybe he’s bound to the beach area––I thought. Seeing him two days in a row wasn’t a good thing. Maybe this was all a coincidence and I blew it out of proportions––I told myself.
~*~
For next couple of days, I made a whole lot of half credible excuses to avoid the beach. Yesterday I even faked being sick and stayed in. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep it up without raising any bells, but today I was off the hook. Having new relationships prompted Helen and Maya to go shopping, so they were already at the mall. I said I would meet them there after lunch, although I had no shopping aspirations of my own, but it was far away from the beach.
“Honey, we have to go,” Mom called me, urgency making her voice crack. “I’m gonna be late.”
“Coming!” One quick glance at the mirror, two deep breaths, and I was ready to face the world.
“You look nice, hon,” Mom squeezed me, and gently urged me out the door.
“So do you,” I smiled. White nurse’s attire made her big brown eyes stand out more, emphasizing that always present kindness in her gaze. They say doctors never marry nurses, but whoever said that obviously never met my mom. She could melt an icicle with her soft gaze. She melted Dads, alright. I giggled internally.
Mom dropped me off and hit the gas to get to work, saying bye with two swift honks. Pushing a glass door with one hand, I entered the mall, and dialed Maya’s cell with the other to see where they were. The phone rang a couple of times, and then went to voicemail. I decided to look for them floor-by-floor. They couldn't be far.
The ground floor wasn’t in their range of interest, so I skipped it. The old escalator moved slowly, taking forever to reach the first floor. I browsed around the shops in search of my friends, but it was more than clear they were not there, so I started toward the next floor.
Riding on the escalator, I tapped my fingers on the phone, watching the second floor come into view. A familiar set of strange boots standing on the landing platform caught my attention—hovering to be precise. My heart skipped a couple of beats. Dread washed over me as it dawned on me that it was my apparition stalker. There was no escape; I was being brought straight at him. Served on a plate! Hyperventilating, I locked my gaze on the tip of my sneakers, watching with horror the escalator stairs coming to an end. Against my will, the stairs pushed my feet off of them, nudging me closer to him. Standing at an arm's distance from his chest, fear deafened me, but I dared to look up, and our eyes met. A bolt of electricity shot through me. His face was expressionless, and that pushed my panic button even more. I took pride in reading facial expressions quite well, but now that I depended on it—zilch! His lips slightly parted, but something bumped my back, and I winced.
“Miss, it’s the end of the road,” the man said harshly. I turned around, and smiled apologetically.
“Sorry,” I said and took a step aside, throwing a quick glance at my apparition stalker. He wasn’t there anymore. I looked around, but he had definitely vanished. Further away, Helen was waving me, so I picked up what was left of me, and rushed toward her. My heart raced as if I had ran a desert marathon. My mouth dry just as well.
“Look,” Maya couldn’t wait to show what they bought. She pulled out a glittery top and pressed it against her, “This is for Saturday. Helen got one, too!”
“Wow, it’s beautiful,” I wasn’t a glitter fan, but Maya had a special bond with all things shiny. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when she pulled out a matching pair of earrings, and a set of equally sparkling bracelets, then pranced around like a movie star. I must admit, all that glitter somehow suited her personality, and didn’t look off at all. It looked natural. If I’d put only one of those things, I’d look like a cow in a saddle. “Did I miss a memo? What’s on Saturday?”
“Brad called Maya,” Helen said, excitement radiating from her eyes, “and invited three of us to a posh party!”
“Yeah, his parents are off for the weekend,” Maya added, tucking the top in a bag.
“Will he get in trouble for throwing it?” I asked, seizing the chance when they weren’t looking at me to check out the perimeter. No stalker. I sighed with relief.
“They gave him their blessings! Apparently they even encouraged him to do it,” Maya said, proudly. “He said something about it being their family’s tradition. His older brother will come, and so will his frat boys,” Maya and Helen giggled, exchanging significant looks.
“Everyone that matters from our college is gonna be there,” Helen added. “How we present ourselves this weekend is how they’re gonna see us as freshmen.”
“We’re setting our social status,” Maya said, hiding her anxiety with a nervous grin.
“Darn it. That sounds huge. I suppose I’ll have to buy something to fit in, won’t I?” My closet was full of casual, nothing posh, and I knew well how their minds worked. Not going to college wasn’t gonna be accepted as an excuse.
“Yes! And don’t think you’ll get away with inconspicuous. We won’t let you this time,” Helen threatened with her finger.
“Okay, but no skirts,” I pleaded, pursing my lips downward.
“Fine,” Helen sighed, grimacing as if I ruined her girly dream, “But no veto on tight!”
Now I frowned. Tight, short, too revealing—none of it fit my profile. Baggy, sporty, unisex—that was my comfort zone.
Raiding store by store for an hour drained me completely. Partially from all the walking and trying out different clothing combinations handpicked by fashion-military-duo formerly known as my friends, and partially from looking behind my back for any sign of to-die-for-gorgeous paranormal stalkers. It all resulted in a serious neck pain, and zero purchases. I agreed to try one more glove-tight apparel in exchange for a neck massage later on.
Stuffy air spreading from changing booths was getting my stomach upset as I was nearing them. I put the clothes on a chair, and turned around to close the booth door, only to face my stalker up close and personal. Each hair on my body spiked up, and a guttural scream fought to get out, but I pushed it down. The hell with it! I wasn’t gonna be bullied by a freaking ghost!
“Who are you?” He said in a velvety voice before I managed to say anything.
A slightly hysterical giggle escaped my mouth. “Who am I? Really? You stalk me, and now you have the nerve to ask me who I am? Who are you?” I hissed. In an instant, my fear turned into anger.
“Yes,” he remained perfectly calm as if I didn’t throw a temper tantrum at him. “I can’t leave y
our side, and I want to know why,” he demanded, quite arrogantly.
Can’t leave my...what? “That’s it! You’re a psycho! Get away or I’ll scream!” Way to go Lyra, like that'll help—I chided myself.
“Go ahead. I’ll wait till you get it out of your system,” he leaned against the booth frame, casually crossing his ankles.
That calmness he maintained was rather irking me. “What do you want from me?” I snarled, and shot him a stern look.
He tilted his head slightly, and looked at me inquisitively, as if I were some strange, exotic animal whose behavior was out of the ordinary. He cracked a smile, and shook his head, melting my defenses with a set of pearl white teeth. Oh, it was a God damn adorable smile. I grunted in my mind, and bit the inside of my lip. I could feel my facial muscles preparing to smile back. Quickly, I pushed my serious mode on by reminding myself that, hot guy or not, I could be in grave danger with no-one to help me out. No paranormal police to call.
“Maybe I should take a different approach—” He bowed his gaze, and crossed his arms, shifting weight to one foot. All traces of that smile were gone, and just like that, he was back to soldier mode. Gorgeous soldier, but pushy, and scary.
“You think?!” My snarky remark brought his eyes back up. He watched me carefully, occasionally swiping those remarkable forest green eyes with thick lashes, hypnotically making it hard for me to concentrate. Such intense look pierced right through me, causing shortness of breath. I had never seen such peculiar eyes before. Dark green irises, encircled by a dark blue band. Finally, he looked away, and I gasped for air, wishing I had something to fan myself.