The Heir

by Eshbaugh Kayla

  “Yes.”

  I tried not to focus on his eyes, but they were too unreal for words. I could not look away it seemed, even if I had wanted to. What is the matter with me? I had seen cute boys before—even that day. Sam was cute, and I noticed, but I didn’t almost hyperventilate or pass out from looking at him. What is it about this boy?

  “Yeah, duh,” the gray-eyed boy said, interrupting my thoughts. "Why else would we not know him?"

  "Oh, don't be a jerk, Tim," Karen smiled.

  "It's just a stupid question,” Tim glared at Karen.

  Shad watched them talk and laughed silently under his breath; then, he looked at me again.

  There it is! There is something about him that calls to me, something familiar. I felt my face grow warm, thinking about the dried out lavender rose on top of my dresser. I wanted to know who he was and why he had gifted me that rose. Did he feel these things, too? I really just wanted to reach out and touch him—

  "So anyways, that is Tim, this is Emma, and I am Karen. Welcome to our school," Karen continued warmly.

  “Thank you, but we've met before,” Shad nodded in my direction, gaze still on me. Everything about Shad seemed very formal. His appearance, while a bit more casual than at the Rose Village the other day, was still incredibly formal for a teenage boy. He wore a white, collared shirt with a silver tie; black pants; a black blazer; and black shoes. “I am Shad,” he smiled at me—his eyes holding my attention yet again. I broke away my gaze just in time to see a look of confusion flush Karen’s face.

  “You've met Emma?” The shock was apparent in her voice. Shad nodded, still looking only at me.

  “Yes, Emma is my neighbor.” The way he said “neighbor” made my heart soar. He said it like it was the highest praise. Praise for randomly living across the street from him? I'll take it. I made an ever conscious effort to avert my eyes and was proud of myself for doing so. My heart raced. A song played in my head which seemed to me to be swirling between us, which was crazy. I am crazy now, I guess. Why did it seem like I could feel his eyes on me—seeing me? I couldn’t help but want to reach out and touch his hand. When he had helped me up off the ground two weeks earlier, and we touched, it was as if magic existed, and the world was not black and white but made of pure brilliant colors. That time seemed so long ago, and I ached for more. I wanted to feel that electric pulse from his touch, wanted to make sure it was real and not just in my imagination. Was he really the one who had made me come alive? It was as if I needed to touch him more than I needed to breathe.

  When the teacher began to talk, and we opened our books and were assigned problems to do in “pairs or groups,” I was hopeful that Shad and I would end up working together, and that I would have an excuse to touch him. Really? Emma? That is creepy. I couldn’t explain the urge, and yes I am no doubt turning into a creeper, but I was going to touch him. I would. Karen turned to Shad and then to me, interrupting my plans.

  “You want to be a pair, Shad?” Karen asked, her voice sultry as if she were asking another question entirely. Ewe—I wanted to gag right there, or perhaps strangle Karen. She really was unbelievable. I was starting to understand even more why we were no longer friends. That’s it—I am turning into a murderer aren’t I, or maybe I am just a very possessive stalker? That sounded better, possessive was better. Let’s stick with that one. Shad turned the book toward me and pointed to the questions we had to finish before responding to her—queen of the school. I felt a sadness wash through me in anticipation, knowing that was the moment Shad and any small interest he had in me would be swallowed up and overtaken by Karen. Her spell seemed overpowering to the boys at Oak High. How I despised her at that moment. Goodbye Shad, it was fun while it lasted. I said in my mind as I looked down at my hands, waiting for his response.

  “Oh, I was planning on being Emma’s partner.”

  I wanted to shout for joy and sing! He wanted to be my partner? I tried not to smile, but it was hard because how could I not smile when all that was wrong in my world—okay so like for thirty seconds I imagined he was a Karen-goner, but for that amount of time I thought he would choose her, I was thinking the worst—but suddenly, because Shad was the exception to Karen and her super power abilities to get whatever she wanted when she wanted it, it seemed like everything in the entire world could be made right. That is the stupidest thing you have ever thought. I told my inner voice to be quiet and then I turned and looked at Karen, and she gave me the dirtiest look possible. I realized that Shad wasn't a normal football playing, wanting to be popular, jock type of guy as I had previously assumed.

  We wrote out a word problem. I was horrible at math, and add a boy, who was like quite possibly the most attractive man in the universe, who now was my math partner, and we have now stumbled upon my worst nightmare. I wished that I was only jumping off the high dive; that would have seemed less tragic. I had a knack for always getting math problems wrong. He started working on the problem; I watched the way he held his pencil in his hand and wondered for the thousandth time what it would feel like to hold his hand again, and, along with that thought, I felt a warmth rush through my cheeks, as soon as I remembered the electric warmth from before. I shook my head and told myself that I needed to stop thinking about Shad or else I would never get anything done and end up looking even more stupid. I picked up my pencil and started my descent towards death. He looked up at me as I finished.

  “Are you done?” Shad took my paper from my hands without touching me, to my great dismay. He looked at it for a while, and I watched him. “How did you get that?” he audibly wondered.

  I wondered if I could just hide under the table for the rest of class. I wanted to cry again, but I was so mad at myself for even having that emotion, that I didn’t. Thank the heavens. I decided it was better to just spill the truth, so I went with honesty and wanted to scream at my stupid heart for beating so fast.

  “I am not going to lie: I am terrible at math. I think I was just put in a random math class. I am sorry you have me for a partner,”

  I heard Karen laugh, no doubt enjoying my embarrassment.

  “It’s okay. I can help you.” He took the pencil from my hand, and moved his chair so that it was on my side of the table. Our legs brushed against each other, and I looked up at him. “Is this okay?” he asked as his eyes gazed into mine, his voice so low as he leaned in to whisper in my ear. I thought I was about to melt into him.

  “Oh yeah, sure.” But inside I was screaming:

  Yes!

  Yes!

  Yes!

  I heard a grunt from Karen but didn’t bother looking at her. Shad started explaining the problem, and I really tried to listen to him but the song inside of me, the one I made up for him, was so loud and our bodies were so close together, that his bare arm brushed against mine, and I felt that same electric jolt just like the first time we met, and I sucked in my breath. He looked at me with a smile, and I wondered if he felt what I was feeling, too. As much as I wanted to lean into him and smell his cologne and kiss his face, I was proud of myself for my restraint. I tried to merely make sure our legs were touching the entire time. We were done by the bell at the end of the period. I quickly packed up my bag and turned in my paper. Shad was talking to the teacher as I slipped out. I hurried because I was not sure if I could control myself and not run into his arms and beg him to hold me. Yeah—I am a crazy stalker. Despite my efforts, I was the last one out the door, other than Shad.

  As I walked out, Ryker was there at the door, smiling. I tried to calm myself; I had a strange feeling of home but also of irritation warp through me as he approached me. I shook it off. It was Ryker, my best friend. My emotions, mind, and body were really out of sync, and again, I was afraid that I was going crazy. We walked to lunch and ate. The cafeteria was large, and it was completely filled. I saw Shad in the corner, surrounded by girls. I tried to look around, but I kept seeing those golden eyes in the middle of my search. What is it about him that makes me wish that I cou
ld be over there?

  “So how has it been so far? Is operation make-everyone-think-you-are-fine going as planned?” Ryker smiled at me. I usually loved his smile, loved his everything really, but not then, and I tried to shove that thought away into the area of my brain where all my crazy thoughts seemed to be hanging out.

  “Good—except I have math with evil cheer-queen,” I frowned.

  “That sucks,” he said, taking a bite of his cafeteria pizza. “She seems to have found her next love interest,” Ryker said with a laugh. I turned and again looked at Shad, but his eyes were already on me. He looked amazed? Or excited? What the heck? I felt my heart sputter, and I quickly looked away. Ryker looked at me with a strange expression, his lips tight.

  “What’s up with you?” he asked, taking another bite.

  “I don’t know—something about that new kid. You know him, right? I heard you guys outside this morning,” I said, nodding in Shad’s direction. Something is weird about Ryker, and I cannot put my finger on it. What is it? Okay—that’s it, I am going completely insane. I am obsessed with Shad, want to cry every five seconds, and want to kiss and hug Shad for no reason other than I feel like I just need to—as much as I need to breathe, and now I feel like something is off with Ryker? What is happening? I was so glad that I had kept all that in the crazy area of my brain and that it didn’t spill out of my mouth. You are good at one thing at least, not letting the crazy spill out.

  “Oh yeah, he moved in across the street. I know him.” He took another bite of food.

  “How do you know him?” I asked as I picked up my fork, wondering if he would tell me more about their not so secretive conversation that morning beside our houses.

  “Oh, uh—” He looked embarrassed.

  “Yes?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing.”

  “Doesn’t sound like nothing.”

  “We used to be, uh—friends, but he moved away for a while.” He shrugged. If that was the case, why had I never met him? As far as I knew, I was Ryker’s best friend, and he didn’t have other close friends. So who was Shad to him? It didn’t make sense.

  “Let me just say that that boy is the finest thing I have ever seen, also wearing that? Now, that is classy,” a girl sat down beside me, picking a fry from off my plate and placing it into her mouth as she spoke.

  “Excuse me, but do we know you?” Ryker asked, looking from me to her as I shrugged in confusion.

  “I am new here, and as a new kid, I figured I had my pick of the tables. Good excuse to just sit anywhere and make myself some friends, right? You guys made the top of the list.”

  “Hey, Emma, is this seat taken?” I looked behind me and saw Sam.

  “Oh, hey, Sam. No, it’s all yours,” I answered with a happy smile. He sat down with his cafeteria tray and began eating his slice of pizza. The rest of Ryker’s football team buddies found seats around us.

  “My name is Ashlynn, but I go by Ash,” the new girl said, holding out her hand to Ryker and then to me. Ryker looked at me with wide eyes, and I cracked a smile.

  “We could always use a new friend,” I said, taking Ash’s hand in a firm shake, hearing the dozens of bangle bracelets she wore clank together. She had straight, bright red hair; purple-ish blue eyes; and her smile, which was outlined in a dark purple-brown lipstick, seemed genuine and light. She wore a white T-Shirt with a hole in the collar and one hole on the side, exposing some of her tanned skin, which seemed odd for a natural redhead: Maybe she dyed her hair, I explained to myself and wondered if shirts with holes in them were a popular trend. I noticed, too, that she wore a clear gem around her neck; it looked like some kind of rock but when she moved, it picked up the light and sparkled. She wore a pair of light denim, ripped jeans and double black high-top converse. Holes had to be a trend, I decided after noticing her pants.

  “I am Emma, and this is Ryker, my best friend,” I said as Ryker just stared at me.

  “So what do you guys do here for fun—besides taking in all that hotness over there?” She placed a hot pink backpack, decorated with ink designs in what I assumed had been created by different colored permanent markers on the table and unzipped the largest pocket as I stared at the drawings. I wondered if she drew the pictures herself, if so, she was a really good artist.

  “Did you draw those?” I asked, pointing to her backpack.

  “Yeah, I love to draw—can’t help the impulse, sometimes I just get a marker and draw on things, my backpack was just there, begging me to help it out of its boring shell.” She pulled out a sack lunch, and I decided I should probably stop staring at her. I turned to look at Shad, then at Ryker; Ryker didn’t seem to agree that Shad was a “hottie” as he still scoffed at her comments from earlier. It was then that I noticed while taking a bite of my food, that they both, Shad and Ryker, were looking at me.

  “Hot is a temperature,” Ryker finally spoke, addressing Ash.

  “Yes it is, and he makes my temperature rise,” Ash said with a laugh. “But seriously, what is there to do around here?”

  “You can swim in my pool sometime; it needs more use,” I offered before I even had time to process what I was doing. I took a bite out of my fry. Could Ash be the perfect friend I had been hoping for? Excitement began to rise within me. Maybe making a friend wasn’t as hard as I previously thought.

  “You have a pool?! Yes, that sounds awesome. Would you, Ryker, be joining us?” she asked, batting her eyes at him. Ryker looked at her, then at me, as if he did not know what to do.

  “Where Emma is, I am,” he shrugged, and I beamed from the inside as I watched him stuff his mouth full of Pizza. Ryker was the best person in my life.

  “So—pool party then?” Ash added, her eyes lighting up.

  “I mean, Sure,” I said, not wanting to admit that I had no other friends to invite. You don’t want to lose this girl as a potential friend, Emma.

  “Did someone say pool party?” Sam turned to me. Before I could say anything, Ash spoke.

  “Yeah, just a few people at Emma’s pool,” she answered with a smile. “That’s okay, right?” She looked to me for confirmation; she looked worried for a moment, but I smiled and nodded. I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea, but I knew Mary would be.

  “We are in,” Sam said before nodding to his friends beside him. A few more of his friends said they would come, too.

  What have you gotten yourself into?

  “Should we say tomorrow, after school?” Ash asked me, anxious to set a date.

  “Sure, sounds good. I am sure my aunt won’t mind.”

  “Awesome! Oh, I am so excited! I have been so bored all summer—you have no idea.”

  I looked over to Ryker who was looking at me with a look I could not read, which honestly was rare. I always seemed to know his looks. I turned my gaze to Shad, and then, he suddenly got up. Ryker moved his eyes from me to shoot a glare at Shad as he walked over to us. I tried not to blush as all the feelings that Shad seemed to make me feel came flooding through me, and I held back the need to jump him or give him a hug or attack him with a kiss. What on Earth is wrong with you, Emma? Hormones—it’s just hormones. Please body—control yourself! I demanded myself, silently.

  “Hi, Emma,” Shad said, placing his hands behind his back; I was beginning to grow incredibly fond of that little habit of his, placing his hands behind his back. His hair looked like it had been tussled from a gust of wind, and I wondered: What would feel like to touch his hair, his face, to kiss his everything—Stop it, stop it. What would it feel like to kiss his neck? Well, that one just slipped on through, didn’t it? I could not stop looking at his neck then, and at the Adam’s apple just there—I cleared my throat: it would be so easy to stand up and kiss him right there—

  He smiled at me, amusement in his eyes.

  Did I say any of that out loud?

  “Hey, Shad. This is Sam, Ash, and of course, you know Ryker,” I said, pointing to each person; my voice sounded more like a squeak than actual words. Ryk
er shot me a strange look.

  “Hello,” he said, quickly to everyone at the table before returning his gaze back to me. Shad gave me a wink, and I just about became a puddle.

  “Hello there, hot stuff. I would be happy to sing your song sometime,” Ash added playfully to her introduction.

  I laughed, Ash was very bold, unique, funny, and there was just something else about her that I liked. I looked to Shad who held her gaze for a few moments then nodded at her sideways as he turned to look back at me. I cleared my throat again: ugh.

  “Shad and I have math together,” I explained to Ryker and Ash, trying to keep a conversation flowing to distract my weird urges of jumping him and kissing every inch of his face. Man, I am so in trouble.

  “Oh, is that right?” Ryker asked.

  “Yeah, I also have it with Karen, too.”

  “Karen, yes. That is her name. Karen is very interesting. She doesn’t really take no for an answer, does she?” Shad spoke softly near my ear, bending down.

  “It would seem you have that in common with her then,” Ryker responded with a scowl darkening his face.

  What was that about?

  “You know, I am so sorry to inform you of this, Shad,” attempting to keep the conversation light. “But she has her sights set on you, and once she has her eyes set on her prey, you bet she doesn’t give up until she catches it.” I smiled and took a drink of my water. Sam chuckled beside me.

  “It is true, dude; she really is a piece of work.”

  “Well, I am not interested.” He stood to his full height. I looked up at him. His eyes were still set on mine.

  “Well, she will hate that,” I responded with a smile. Why on earth was he looking at me like that? And why on earth was I not scared? Shouldn’t I be afraid? I looked at Ryker, and he was looking at me strangely again, and I wanted to ask him what was wrong, wanted to take the worry from his face.