Only the moment I take a step in her direction, a body comes out of nowhere, flying into me.
It’s not the size nor the weight of the body which nearly knocks me off my feet and into the sand beneath me, but the intensity with which it hits me.
I recognize her the moment she falls into my arms, now as soft and weightless as a feather. We met only a few months ago, when I first arrived here at the academy, and have seen each other only a handful of times, yet the moment I saw her, I knew she differed from the rest.
There was an innocence about her I’d never seen before. She was a newborn little bird who hadn’t been tainted by life nor damaged by the world around her. She held a secret pain that nobody saw, although it was as plain as day. I felt the urge to protect her, yet I also craved to be the one to break her little wings. To push her to her limit and show her a world like nothing she’d ever seen.
It’s not something I usually thought of when I looked at a girl.
“Woah there, Dollface,” I mutter as I try to steady her on her feet. The decadent scent of her perfume, vanilla, and rose petals with a hint of coconut, hits me like a breath of fresh air. Fuck, it’s intoxicating, but heeds a warning. It sure as fuck isn’t okay for me to enjoy her scent as much as I do.
She shifts in my arms, her feet digging into the sand while my grip on her tightens, my hands finding her hips and pulling her in toward me. It feels so good to have her close to me, to feel her warmth, to imagine what it would be like to indulge in her sweetness. Even for just a second.
Unknowingly, I inhale, sniffing her decadent scent. “I’ve got you,” I whisper huskily, bringing my lips down to her neck, breathing against her, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin as she groans in response. I wrap my arms tighter around her waist, watching as her eyes flutter when she looks up at me, red and glossy, barely able to stay open. She’s drunk, like really fucking wasted.
I hear her mumble something incoherent before almost passing out in my arms. “Oh, no you don’t,” I groan, hoisting her up and moving back to sit on the bench behind us. I hear noise around us, useless conversations and bodies walking about, but the only thing I can focus on at the moment is her.
She’s short in stature, a thin frame, and absolutely no body fat on her figure, but now she feels like dead weight.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs into my neck, as I drag her away. “I just had a little juice,” she giggles, a sound so angelic it makes me smile involuntarily. “I swear I didn’t drink too much of it. I was being careful. I’m always careful.” She rambles on, the end of it so jumbled up I can’t make out what she’s saying.
Clearly, whateverjuiceshe had was spiked with a lot more than just high fructose corn syrup. You don’t get this fucked with just a few drinks. Someone must have spiked her shit.
I run a hand through her hair, a color so unique there’s only one way to describe it. Like the shade of the sky right before the sun is about to set for the night, a mix of red, orange, yellow, and pink hues. “Shhh, it's okay. I’ve got you, but I think we’re done with juice. Maybe take it easy now.”
After setting her down on the bench and sitting beside her to hold her up, I search the beach for any signs of Scarlett, Jade, or even Ruby, but can’t seem to find them anywhere. Just perfect. The three of them are nowhere to be found when I need them the most. I don’t have time to babysit Stella. I had plans tonight, a redhead chick to play with before heading back to the dorms.
However, now I’m stuck here with an unwanted problem. Staring back at the sweet angel in my arms, I catch her breathing slower, her eyes threatening to close again.
“Where’d they run off to and leave you all alone, Dollface?” I catch myself using the term of endearment once again, asking myself where the fuck it came from.
Her eyes open softly, clear gray, almost silver, with specs of a unique shade of violet twinkling as she gazes at me. Her lashes are long and dark, an unnoticeable amount of makeup on her lightly freckled face, and a shiny, sweet smelling gloss on her pretty pink pout.
God, she’s fucking beautiful. So delicate and divine, but even more is the naïve look in her eyes as she stares into mine that has my breath hitching.
I don’t understand why I have this sort of reaction when I’m near her. It’s like everything she does is entrancing. Her hypnotizing pull is a wicked sorcery that doesn’t allow me to look away. I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t want this.
I’ve caught myself watching her on more than one occasion and it’s damn right infuriating. In class when she thinks nobody is watching, and at parties when she thinks no one can see her.
The invisible girl who fades into the shadows, I see in fluorescent sunshine. In the darkness, she is my gleaming light.
“I’m lost,” she whispers in a solemn tone. “I’m lost and alone, so goddamn alone.” And that right there is why I’m pulled to her, because that is exactly how I feel inside.