Chapter Two: Fire and Ice

I woke up, confused by my surroundings. The memories of the previous day hadn't hit me yet, my dream was still fresh in my mind.

"Mommy, why isn't daddy coming home again? Is he mad at us?" Mom was crying so much, I didn't understand why she said Dad wouldn't be coming home again. My brother was crying in his crib and mom just sat in her bed and cried. I thought they got in a bad fight, Mom always cried when they got in a bad fight. She got a phone call and she told me he wasn't coming back.

"Mom what happened to Daddy? Is he okay?" I asked her again, I tugged at her shirt to let her know I wasn't leaving. She shook her head and just started crying more. She grabbed me and hugged me real tight and it kinda hurt. But she was real sad, I didn't know what to do.

"Daddy got in a car accident..."

It had been a long time since I'd had a dream about my father. My dreams were never the same as the real memory though. It took my mom days to tell me what happened. I stayed with my grandmother for almost a week before my mom finally came to see my brother and I. They both sat down with me and told me what happened. My dad went out to the bar after having a fight with my mother and got drunk, and he drove home. He hit another car and he was killed. The other man survived by the skin of his teeth.

I rubbed my eyes and gathered the strength to sit up in my bed. The surroundings were still strange to me and it was a little bit of a shock. After all, I'd slept in the same room for most of my life. I took everything in the same as I did the day before. The cracked cream colored wallpaper had a Victorian style floral pattern that was probably very pretty when it was applied. I came to the conclusion it must have been off white in the past, the color was darker in some areas and lighter in others. It was still strange, but I knew the smell old books and even older wood would eventually feel like home. I couldn't go back, I couldn't put anyone in danger because I missed my family. They deserved to be safe, at least until I learned to control myself. The fear of people finding out what any of us could do was also in the corner of my mind haunting me.

I stretched my arms above my head and let out a sigh of defeat, before brushing aside the fluffy grey comforter and stepping out of bed and looking around the room some more. I decided to look in the dresser to see if there were some new clothes I could change into. I opened the top two drawers and saw there was nothing. I closed them and looked into the lower ones and found there were some black cotton shorts and an over-sized white t-shirt in one of them. There were other clothes in one of the bottom drawers, but I thought the more comfortable ones would suit me best. I changed quickly, then I checked my face and hair in the mirror on top of my dresser.

My hair looked alright, for just waking up. It didn't even appear greasy. I parted it to flatter my face the best. The vibrant blonde color never looking better oddly enough. My eyes were the brightest they'd ever been, the grey color barely present and the blue shining through. I thought maybe it was the fear. I couldn't see much of my own figure without standing back some, my height coming to a disadvantage since the dresser was a little taller than I'd have liked.

I gathered myself and what little bit of sanity I had left and I headed to the living room. I walked through the hallway and opened the door, only to see a strange man sitting in the living room. He turned to look towards the door when I opened it. His eyes caught me and I froze. I couldn't look away. It was the most bizarre feeling in the world. I took in his appearance all at once, everything hit me in an instant. His perfect skin, his black hair that sat perfectly with no strays. His stone cold gaze that held mine, his perfect features. I tried to find words, I tried to say something. I wanted to ask him who he was, but I was paralyzed.

"Hello." He said, his voice reaching my ears, causing a chill to run down my spine. My body felt cold and I couldn't explain why.

"Hi." I forced sounds through my lips and didn't register that I was speaking a word, let alone in English. I saw a half smile form and break the cold stare he gave me, but it didn't last longer than a second. He didn't look away though, he stared the same as I did.

"I hear your name's Carissa" His voice was the same, except it didn't sound cold. It was deep and it resonated within me. I could hear the cold falter and become warm. The feeling reminded me of two magnets being held apart just far enough for the magnetic force to be present. I was being drawn in and couldn't look away.

"Yes." I said, a smile broke out onto my cheeks. "What's yours?"

He continued to stare, I could tell his eyes looked me over in a matter of only a few seconds, and then his gaze returned to meet mine again.

"Derrick" His voice was cold again, but he wore a smile. His eyes were the prettiest hazel I'd ever seen. He seemed to be very tall, though I couldn't tell how tall he was because he was sitting down. He wore a dark grey button down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black dress pants. I was sure he was older than me by quite a few years, he and Chase seemed to be older. It was probably a combination of their posture and how they dressed.

I was startled by the bathroom door opening to my right, Chase stepped out with wet, messy hair and nothing but cotton pajama pants on.

"Oh, you're up sweetheart. I see you've met Derrick?" He said with a hint of worry in his voice as he glanced over to Derrick. "Ease up a little, why don't you. She just got here last night, we don't need to scare her away, now." He spoke defensively but I had no idea why, all Derrick had done was introduce himself to me. He wasn't being rude or anything of the sort.

I could hear a silent chuckle as he looked away from me. The feeling was so strange. I'd never felt anything like that by looking into someone's eyes. He stood up and I could see how tall he was. He was one of the tallest people I'd ever seen. He turned to me, looked me up and down again, and then turned to Chase.

"I'll be seeing you." He turned around and walked out the front door. My breath was caught in my throat and I didn't even realize it until he was out of the room. I exhaled and shook the thoughts that were running through my head. I wanted to follow him, to talk to him, but I had more important things to worry about. The sound of his voice was almost haunting though, and I wanted to talk to him again soon.

"I apologize, he isn't much of a talker. If it were up to him he'd be separated from us." I was confused by how apologetic he was.

I shook my head. "What do you mean, he wasn't rude at all. All he did was introduce himself and ask my name." He sort of smiled in a sympathetic way when he saw how I tried to defend him.

"You didn't realize what he was doing, do you?" he asked, his voice sounding somewhat sad.

"What do you mean?" Then I realized I didn't consider what his powers were. They never told me about anyone else's abilities. I thought about how cold I was and that maybe it wasn't because he had an aesthetically pleasing face.

"Well, you see, he's a bit guarded." He began, watching my expressions as he spoke. He seemed to be treading lightly. "He can control water. Now, when he's met anyone new here...he's stopped them dead in their tracks to get a reading on whether or not he thinks they're a threat, thats the best way for me to explain it. He used your blood to keep you still right here."

What he said didn't make any sense, because I didn't even try to move. I knew why I was stuck standing there, because I didn't know what else I could possibly do other than stare. I was still angry, if that what something he was doing and Chase knew. He didn't need to, what could a girl as short as me possibly do to a giant anyway?

"Ok, except I stood here of my own free will." I didn't bother masking my annoyance. It seemed ridiculous to me that a grown man would need to be that cautious around strangers, particularly one a third of his size. Even though I was quick to defend his innocence, what Chase was saying explained why I felt cold. If I had tried to move I would have known for sure.

He sighed. "Well, I don't know then. I can always tell when he's doing that, though. There's a certain look he has in his eyes, it's a little creepy honestly." He said, looking away from me. He ran his hands through his wet hair and went and shut the bathroom light off before heading towards the door to the hallway. "I'm gonna go get dressed, I sent Dahlia out to get you some clothes until one of us can bring you out to get more. I'm sure you don't want to be walking around in silly old pajamas, do you dear?" He said with a playful tone, flashing a friendly smile.

I giggled and looked down at my comfortable, yet unflattering outfit. "Yeah, you're right about that. I don't want to wear this everyday."

"If it isn't too bold to say, ma'am, I don't think you look bad. It is cute"

I felt heat rush to my cheeks and I giggled. "Oh, stop it. You're too nice." He chuckled to himself before leaving the room. I went and sat on the couch and propped my feet up on the arm rest. I couldn't make myself understand what was going through my head a few moments ago and why I could be so intrigued by a persons appearance, let alone their voice. It was his voice more than anything. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't want to follow him either. I figured I'd see him soon if anything.

I ended up falling back asleep on the couch for a little while, I was suddenly woken up by the sound of Dahlia crashing through the door yelling my name.

"Carissa! You've got to see these cute outfits I found for you!" I sat up quickly, startled. I saw her standing in the doorway with a handful of clothes, I could barely see her face, she was carrying so many.

"Oh, right. Sorry I fell asleep I guess..." I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

"I'm sorry, if I knew you were sleeping I wouldn't have charged in here like this. I feel bad for scaring you." She laughed nervously.

"No, no you're fine I was waiting for you." I stretched my arms above my head. "I didn't want to go outside wearing this I-"

"I heard you ran into Derrick?" I wasn't sure how she knew, unless she spoke to Chase on her way down here.

"Yeah...how'd you know?" I asked, definitely curious.

"Well, I saw him on my way here. He asked me if I was bringing these to you." She set everything in her arms down on the couch opposite me. "He asked me if you were planning on coming out this 'miserable hole' actually." This man didn't make any sense, and I surely wasn't going to seek out an explanation.

"I...well, I only introduced myself and he left. I don't know, it was strange." I stared down at my feet, trying to come up with something else to say.

"He didn't try to freeze your blood, did he? That feels awful. He did it to me when I met him and Chase almost beat him senseless." She sounded like a gossipy teenager trying to make conversation. My head snapped up to make eye contact with her before I spoke.

"No, actually. Chase mentioned that he does that and I told him I didn't experience anything like that at all. He told me that he would do that to anyone that he met, but he didn't do a thing to me." It seemed strange to explain this again. I couldn't understand why a man of exceptional height would question the intention of two women under 5 foot and a half tall.

"Really?" She looked at me strangely, as if curious. I nodded, not knowing what else to say. She just smiled. "You should come pick out something to wear, you should come outside with me to get some fresh air." I didn't hesitate one bit, I hopped off the couch straight away and went over to her and began searching the pile. It was mostly t-shirts and jeans, there were a few things that definitely caught my eye. There were a few cute tank tops I knew I'd wear without a second thought. I set things aside I knew I'd never touch, although my judgment wasn't too harsh.

One thing that stood out to me was a black top that resembled a corset. When I picked it up to examine it, I realized it was a corset. Not a piece of lingerie, but it still had boning in it like a corset would. It had thick straps with buckles on the front for decoration. I held it in front of me and stared in amazement, I'd always wanted something like this but my mother would never let me own one.

"Oh I found that and some other things in a box in the church. There's a storage closet that was packed full of all these boxes, so I looked in a few and found some clothes. I thought that was just adorable." She sad excitedly.

I flipped it around to view the back, it was really neat. It had the lacing detail on the back even though it wasn't real. As I viewed the details I smiled in excitement.

"I've always wanted something like this, this is so pretty." I said happily.

I set it down on the back of the couch because I knew I was putting that on no matter what. I began searching for something to match it. All I was really able to find were jeans and jean shorts. There was one pair of dress pants but they weren't a matching shade of black. I pulled aside the pair of jean shorts that I liked the best and scooped up the corset top I'd set aside.

"I am putting these on right this second." I said as I rushed to the bathroom. Dahlia just giggled and sat on the armrest of the couch.

"Ok, just show me what it looks like." she said happily.

I closed the door behind me and stripped off the baggy clothing in an instant. I put the shorts on first, which fit pretty well. I slipped the corset top over my head and forced my arms through the sleeves, the body was pretty tight as I thought it would be. I twisted it around to fit in the right places and I took a good look at it in the mirror.

It fit like a glove, I was ecstatic. I'd never put something like it on my body before then. I always imagined it would be difficult finding a top like this that fit so well, but this thing was perfect. It wasn't too low cut in the front either, it showed off just enough. I pranced out of the bathroom, excited to show see what Dahlia thought of it. I couldn't hide the smile that began to form when her jaw dropped.

"Wow, that looks like it was made for you." She said, sounding almost envious. "I'm about to go looking through those boxes for some clothes for me now, you look so good in that." I smiled and turned around to show her the back. "Okay, I need to go look right now I am so jealous. I want to look that sexy too." She said, laughing a little bit as she spoke.

"Can we go up there? I want to at least be outside for a few minutes, the air here is starting to feel a little stale." I was too excited to go and help Dahlia look through that closet, or maybe even explore the church a little bit on my own. The boost in confidence also picked my mood up quite a bit.

"Yeah, absolutely. I also want to know why Derrick was so interested in your whereabouts. You'll have to fill me in if you talk to him." She seemed like she was genuinely interested in being friends with me, it was a nice change. I never kept too many friends around. I could understand her wanting to have a female friend after living with two guys for who knows how long and the only female contact being a total b***h.

"Oh, don't worry I'm just as confused. I will though." I said with a smile.

When Dahlia opened the door, the sun hit me and my eyes burned. It felt great though, it was a little chilly down below and the warmth felt wonderful. I stepped outside in an instant and took a deep breath.

"This is much better, I didn't think I'd feel this much of difference." Dahlia stepped out and stood next to me, looking around the grounds subtly.

"Yes, people weren't really meant to live in basements after all. We try to spend a lot of time out here so we don't get sick." I heard footsteps in the grass close to us, we both turned to our left in the direction the sound was coming from. Chase's figure came into view from the around the wall.

"Well hello. I was just coming to get you ladies." He smiled and looked to Dahlia. "I didn't want you to be hiding down there all day, now. It's not healthy." Dahlia smiled back at him. He looked to me. "Why don't you two come inside the church, Derrick and I continued looking through that storage closet and we found some things you two might like." I hesitated before deciding not to speak. I decided I'd just follow them there.

"That's perfect, that's where Carissa and I were headed anyway!" Dahlia exclaimed with a huge grin on her face, clapping her hands together and looking like a happy little child. Chase gestured towards the path he had just came from.

"Well now, right this way ladies." he elegantly offered his hand to Dahlia, exaggerated but with a smile. She flashed a half grin and shyly took it. I followed them around and towards the church.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you guys. What objects give you your powers?" I had been wondering, and I was curious about the stories behind their items of importance.

"Well, ma'am. Mine is a pocket watch. My mother gave it to me when I was about ye' tall." He held his free hand out and lowered it to his waist to demonstrate the height of a child. "Inside of it, it had an old saying inscribed behind a picture of her Father. It read 'Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.' My mother was a very wise woman, she taught me a lot before she passed." His face didn't look sad in the slightest. He spoke as if she was still alive and there was no sadness on his part.

"My grandmother gave that watch to her, after my grandfather passed when I was just old enough to hold my head up on my own. She was very close with her father, I could tell it was hard for her to give it to me. I held onto it with my life." He looked down to Dahlia, who was also listening intently, but seemed to be judging his reactions just as I was. "Dahlia dear, why don't you tell her your story?" She smiled a little before nodding her head.

"Well, mine is an ankle bracelet. My childhood best friend and I were playing at a park in our neighborhood and he dug it up while we were playing. We used to dig up sand and dirt and build little mounds and draw doors and windows on them. We'd catch ants and spiders and put them inside of the 'city' and watch. He dug up this bracelet and he said I could have it. He said boys couldn't wear pretty things." She seemed to be picturing everything she was saying, she looked so happy.

"He went missing when we were about 9. His name was Michael. He was one of the only kids I got along with. He was never found, and I was so glad I kept what he gave me. Now, it's a part of me. Just like Chase's mother is always a part of him." She looked around Chase to make eye contact with me. "What about yours? It's a ring, right? Chase told me." I pulled my hand up to look at it again. I still wasn't used to how terrible my finger looked.

"Well, my dad gave this to me when I was really little. He came home from work one night and he got down on one knee and asked me if I'd come to bring your daughter to work day with him. My mom actually cried she thought it was so cute. Thinking back now, I was lucky to have such a great man as a father. It was too big then, it hung off my finger."

"That is so wonderful, I only ever heard about fathers like that secondhand or seeing it in the movies." Dahlia seemed intrigued to say the least. I smiled before continuing my story.

"It wasn't too long after that that he was killed in a car accident. My brother was only six months old, he and my mother were fighting a lot because he was always working and she stayed home with Christian. He went out with a couple of coworkers and got drunk, then he tried to drive home." Dahlia stared for a moment and didn't seem to know what to say.

"I haven't put it down for anything really since he gave it to me." I saw we were about to turn to the front of the church.

I felt the air change a little, it seemed to be a bit more humid all of a sudden.

"Chase, I don't know how it could take you so long to go and find two people that live in the same house you do. It worries me." That voice. "Where is he...I Don't see him anywhere..."

"Well now." Chase stopped walking, taking a deep breath in and appearing more focused as he turned his head around in both directions slowly. "I was enjoying the fresh air. Why don't you clear the air now instead of hiding?" Chase said, he voice didn't convey that he was annoyed but the look in his eyes did. I glanced around and I still didn't see him. A hand touched my shoulder that wasn't Chase's or Dahlia's and it startled me so much I yelped. The earth trembled a little, and in the distance I saw a statue decorating the beginning of the staircase tip over, and I heard it crumble when it hit the pavement. I looked behind me and Derrick was standing there with a smile on his face.

"I forgot you can't control yourself, you'll have to forgive me for being so careless. I'm sorry if I frightened you." His voice suggested he was sincere but his face remained emotionless and cold, the smile had already faded. The look in his eyes was almost dead, It was like he had a permanent poker face.

"If you want to come with us that's fine, Derrick. But please remember she's still getting used to all of this, you probably scared her half to death." Dahlia defended me as if we'd known each other for years. The tone in her voice was that of a protective older sister. Perhaps I recognized it because i'd used it myself many times.

"I'm fine, that was definitely weird but I'm okay. I promise." I lied through my teeth. I had no idea what I was able to do, and if I was startled and caused the earth to rattle, I didn't want to know what would happen if I was angry or terrified to say the least. I turned my head to look at Derrick.

"How were you even hiding? I don't understand how you can appear out of thin air." I tried to hide

"You didn't feel the moisture in the air? I was under the impression humidity was uncomfortable and certainly noticeable. Don't tell me you're the only one who didn't notice the difference." I could see what the other two were talking about now. His tone was almost condescending. As if the the sarcastic smile that appeared didn't hint that he was talking down to me.

"Forgive me for not being up to speed on how to defy all logic and reason by disappearing and reappearing, of course I noticed the change in weather but I didn't assume it was because a human being dissolved into thin air." I wasn't going to be put down for not totally and completely understanding something that was utterly insane and out of the norm. I didn't bother trying to sound kind or friendly about defending myself.

He chuckled a bit to himself and walked around us and headed towards the entrance without another word.

"Don't pay him any mind, he really doesn't like talking to anyone. Sometimes he comes off as rude and doesn't even realize." Dahlia's words were reassuring but I was still angry that he would speak to me as if I should just know everything. He had to have been in my shoes once and that was just unacceptable.

"Yeah, I guess. Let's just get on with our day and forget about it. I'd rather have a good day instead of worry about his inability to communicate." I said jokingly, although I was completely serious. Dahlia nodded and we continued on our way to the church entrance.

The storage closet was down a dingy hallway that started at the back of the sanctuary, it was the strangest layout I'd ever seen in a church before. The scent of damp wood drifted towards me as we opened the door, causing me to crinkle my nose before sneezing. The walls looked newer than the rest of the church, the bare concrete was unpainted. It was full of dusty boxes and empty crates. There were also a few large metal containers that looked almost ancient. I was almost afraid to see what was in some of them. I could see a few boxes that were moved because of the amount of dust in there, it was clear that some of them had been moved and opened.

"You actually went through these?" I said in complete disbelief. I'm sure my face conveyed near disgust.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a little dust, now?" Chase said, winking at me.

"I don't know what's in there, I don't wanna find anything weird. Who knows what's in there." It didn't just look gross, I was honestly afraid there might be bugs or even rats living in there. The building itself was very old so god knew what was living in the dusty corners of an old storage room.

"There's no bugs in here or anything, I was already in here earlier. If that's what you're worried about. I was worried about it at first too but there's nothing in here." Dahlia said with a laugh. Apparently she understood my reason for feeling uneasy.

"Are you sure?" I asked with worried tone. Although I wasn't sure how much I was actually going to participate.

"Yes, it's fine. It smells a little old but that's all." She reached in and picked out an un-opened box. "Here, How about I grab the boxes and you can look through them?" She said while handing the box to liked that much more than myself actually walking into this large, dusty room full of cobwebs and whatever else. I sighed in relief.

"Alright, I can do that" I took the box from her and opened it. This one didn't have much of anything, just some old pieces of junk and a few photos. The pictures were intriguing, one in particular catching my eye. A man that appeared to be dressed as a priest standing next to a little boy with a pale complexion and hair as white as snow. They were standing in front of the large iron gate at the entrance to the property, except the vegetation was absent from the iron bars. It's details were magnificent, even more so then I remembered seeing when i arrived here.

She continued to hand me boxes and Chase helped as well, he took things aside as well. We found some really cool things, and another box full of clothes. I could tell she was saving the metal ones for last, and I couldn't blame her. They looked really creepy and I didn't even want to be there when they were opened. There were a few other bundles of pictures we found, and there some old newspapers that were from the 40's. Everything we found was pretty dated and there were even some really old books with the titles worn off the covers that we set aside to look at later.

We eventually got through most of them, but the dust was so bad we were constantly sneezing. I felt as if I were covered in filth and needed a shower.

"I'm tired of sneezing my brains out, can we continue with this later or tomorrow or something? Maybe we could just go back to the house and look over what we've found for now." I suggested, trying to hide the disgust in my voice. I couldn't stand being covered in dirt and dust like this, I had to clean myself off.

"Yeah, I need to wash my hands and probably change my clothes" Dahlia said laughing, also referring to how bad the dust was. She brushed her hands together and turned here face away from them with her lips and eyes pressed shut. It was similar to how I looked the entire time we were pulling boxes out.

"I'll put everything in one of these boxes and follow you too, Why don't you go get yourselves cleaned up." Chase said sympathetically. He looked like he was about to burst out laughing at us though, which didn't really bother me.

"Yeah, thanks. I feel so gross right now." Dahlia said, looking down at her clothes. "I almost feel like I am the dust now." She stifled a laugh as she spoke.

"Yeah, same here. I want to shower so bad." Dahlia held back a laugh after I spoke.

"You don't like being dirty, do you?" She said in a friendly tone.

"No, not really honestly. My hands feel so dry right now too, its gross." I said, scrunching my nose to emphasize the word gross. She smiled and shook her head.

"Well, come on then. We'll go through everything once we get cleaned up." She gestured for me to follow her and turned around and headed towards the entrance to the hallway, so I followed. I glances around before we left, taking the room in again. The walls looked just as old, but there was a lot less decoration in here. The walls were bare and dull, only the old dusty windows gave it any life at all. One of the windows had half of a curtain hanging from it, none of the other seemed to have anything hanging from them. It looked like we were the only people to come through here in years.

"How many times have you guys come back here? It looks like it hasn't been touched in 500 years." I said, exaggerating.

"We've only come through a few times. The library is through there as well. We've really only gone in the library. It's got some interesting things in it, but nothing we've been searching for. Nothing totally useful anyway." She pushed the door to the sanctuary open, only to find Alex sitting on one of the pews.

"Just come with me, I don't feel like getting into it right now." She said in a passive aggressive tone. But she was right, I could see why nobody would want to interact with her.

"I'm waiting to talk to Chase, I don't have any business talking to you anyway." Alex said passively, almost uncaring. I just ignored her since she hadn't spoken to me and I didn't particularly want to deal with her again. I followed Dahlia outside.

We were almost approaching the entrance to the house when we saw Derrick leaning against the wall next to fake door. I mentally prepared myself for either being talked down on or not being able to figure out what to say because his appearance made me nervous.

"What are you doing now?" Dahlia asked, annoyed. I couldn't blame her. Especially with the attitude Alex had and Derricks constant cold disposition. It was probably very annoying to deal with a group of people who got along like cats and dogs.

"I just wanted to apologize to Carissa for how I spoke to her earlier, I don't see a problem with that." He said with barely any emotion in his voice. There it was again, that feeling I got when he spoke. I was beginning to dislike it.

Dahlia sighed and shook her head.

"How nice." She continued on inside while I stood there, not sure what to do or say. I wanted to follow her but I didn't want to just leave him standing there. I almost forgot to blink, I was caught in his eyes again. That was another thing I was beginning to dislike, even though I couldn't help but stare.

"I was new here once too, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." His voice was cold as always but there was truth behind what he said, there understanding in what he said and I knew he was sincere. I didn't know really know what to say back, I couldn't find any words. I was stuck looking into his eyes, still.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." I forced myself to speak, I didn't even really mean it. Until he smiled at me of course, then I forgave him. He appeared to be just as focused on me as I was him, and I began to get nervous, since we were alone and I had no idea what to say.

"That's good, I was worried I'd changed your opinion of me." His voice warmed up and it was confusing. It suited him more but it made me even more nervous. "I'm not that scary, you can speak to me you know." He laughed as he spoke, he must have been able to tell from my facial expressions that I was nervous. I still didn't know what to say. There was a painfully awkward silence between us before he spoke again.

"I'll tell you what, anytime you want to talk to me you can come find me. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't put you off." He watched me intently as he waited for me to respond. I had to force something out of my mouth at this point, I was beginning to embarrass myself.

"Okay. Sorry, I just don't know what to say." I tried not to sound stupid, but I probably did. I wanted to talk to him, but I couldn't do that while my heart was racing and I had to focus on not letting heat rush to my cheeks. He smiled again, before pulling his body off the wall and walking towards me.

"It's alright. I hope you come and find me soon, though." He walked right past me without a second glance. I stayed still, trying to remember how to blink. Whatever there was that I felt when I looked at him, it was no actual physical force like others I could see, but it was there and I didn't know what the hell it was. I shook the thoughts of confusion from my head and made my way around the other side of the building. I couldn't even focus on making complete sense of what was going on inside my own head, I didn't need to worry about some pretty man that made my heart race whenever I looked at him.