Nephilim's Fall: Chapter Five

New Point of view. Stella sees a new boy at her school.

Chapter 5

-Stella

I stare up at Riverwood High, a knot of worry settles in my stomach as I consider another year of school stuck here. Not for the first time, I wish I stayed at home in bed. 

Only the thought of having more weird dreams got me out of bed and of course seeing my best friend for the first time after eight long weeks of being separated moves me forward, into the masses of students reuniting after the summer holidays.

I try to tune out my chattering classmates as I search over their heads, looking for his face. It doesn't take me long to spot him towering over the rest of the crowd, and I wonder grumpily if he grew again since I'd seen him last year. His gaze searches the crowd too, scanning the faces of our peers, seeking mine.

Waving my arm over my head, I wish�"not for the first time�"that I am taller than my five feet and four inches, and I grow increasingly impatient as he continues to look in every direction but mine.

After what seems like an age, his gaze finally falls on my waving arm, and his face breaks into a familiar grin. Striding through the crowd, students stumble hurriedly out of his way, clearing a pathway between us. I return his grin enthusiastically, throwing my arms around his neck. Conner hugs me tightly, lifting my feet off the ground and fighting laughter as I struggle against his bear hug. After several long moments he releases me, and I suck in air, wondering if he left bruises across my ribs�"it wouldn't be the first time. Leaning into him, I punch him lightly on the arm.

"Don't think you're ever leaving me again!" I pout; putting on what I imagin is my sternest voice. He laughs, ruffling my hair with his hands.

"You take it up with Matthew next time he feels the need to go on an overseas adventure with me in tow. You know what he's like, Stels. There really wasn't any arguing with him once he'd made up his mind about Europe," he chuckles again, apparently amused by the pout on my face.

"Take me with you next time then," I whine, glaring up at him, fuming. "It's not like I wouldn't have gone with you, you could have at least told me you were leaving. I almost died of boredom home alone all summer!"

Pulling me back into a bear hug, Conner speaks into my ear: "Next time, I promise."

Pushing him away I poke my tongue out insolently, but it isn't long before my cheeks tug the corners of my mouth back into a smile; I didn't realize just how much I missed him.

"Good," I grin, having gotten my way so easily. I'm not really mad at him anyway, not after I haven't seen him for two long months. Linking my arm with his, I drag Conner through the crowd and towards the school. I make it halfway there before I see him, standing alone by the huge double doors into the main foyer, a piece of paper in one hand and a schoolbag in the other.

I glance around me and realize that I'm not the only one who is staring; we don't get a lot of new students to our school. Two girls I've known since preschool are whispering behind their hands to each other, their eyes glued to this new addition to our peer group.

I can certainly see what draws their stares along with the majority of the other students standing around�"he is unlike anyone I’ve ever seen in our tiny town; with skin the color of milk and dark hair that is so perfectly messy it can't possibly be accidental. He is tall and lean, on the verge of looking unhealthy, and dark, bruise like semi-circles sit under his eyes, as if he hasn't slept in weeks. His jaw is sharply angled, and his cheekbones are high and obvious under his perfectly unblemished, pale, almost translucent complexion.

All of these things combined makes him undeniably the most beautiful person I have ever seen, and my breath catches as I survey his elegant features. He stares across the student body with a slight scowl marring his features, as if starting at a new school bores him.

I feel a tugging at my sleeve and I drag my gaze from his angelic perfection to face Conner. I feel irritation cross my face, but quickly suppress it at Conner's expression, his eyes tight as he stares up at the new boy, his brow creased. I only have a moment to wonder what the reason behind his stare is, before the first bell rings, signaling five minutes until the start of classes.

Carefully arranging my features into a blank expression, I link back up with Conner and move forwards past the whispering girls and their sullen looking boyfriends, towards the main doors. Making sure not to look at him, I stride past where the new boy stands and into the main building, pulling Conner with me. As we walk through the doors, I can't help but wonder how this boy with his airbrushed features will impact life at Riverwood High; it is obvious already that the whole school will be talking about him.

Walking to the notice board across the room I quickly check my classes against Conner's and am dismayed to find that we share only two; literature and history.

Dragging my feet I walk alone towards the science building for my physics class, focusing on trying to recall Newton's Third Law and coming up blank.

Arriving at the cramped science room, I peer in to see my least favorite teacher, Mr. Momohara, setting up what looks unmistakably like a slideshow. A disappointed sigh escapes my lips, and I back away from the door, looking for any excuse not to enter the room.

After several minutes of watching my classmates walk past me with identical resigned expressions on their faces, I decide that I’ve stalled long enough, and turn to drag myself into the classroom.

Walking through the doorway I can almost feel the weight of the stares of everyone in the room turn to watch me, and I feel hot blood rush to my face. I stare at my feet, instantly regretting waiting so long to come in. I make it halfway to my seat at the back of the classroom before I realize I’m not, in fact, the object of everyone's attention. I turn where I stand to see the boy from earlier standing in the doorway, the same bored expression he'd had outside the school playing across his face as he looks briefly over the classroom before turning to Mr. Momohara, handing him a slip of paper.

"Ah, Mr. DeNine," he says gruffly, his eyes passing over the boy and stopping at his face, his expression slightly taken aback. "I trust you have the necessary literature?" he asks, nodding approvingly at the textbooks the boy pulls from his schoolbag. "Take a seat wherever you like then, and let me know if you're having any trouble with the coursework," he drones, turning his attention to the roll on his desk and proceeding to bark each name down the list.

Realizing that I'm still standing staring at the new boy, I quickly move to take my seat at the back of the classroom. Pulling my books from my bag, I answer my name as it is called, and wait as he moves down the list towards the S's while I watch the new boy out of the corner of my eye.

He walks down the aisle to take the seat in front of mine, and I can't  control the feeling of disappointment as his eyes slide over me without stopping. He sits down and I know that I'm not the only person sneaking glances at him, waiting for Mr. Momohara to read his name off the roll.

Finally, Suzie Ryan's name is read out, and silence falls as everyone in the room listens for the first name of this mysterious boy.

"Sebastian DeNine?"

The classroom is silent as everyone turns to stare at Sebastian, fitting this name to the newest addition to our year level. He looks up from his textbook, the bored expression never leaving his face.

"Present," he answers, in a voice like honey, and I can't stop myself from gaping at the way that one word seems to ring around the room. I glance around, and am relieved to see that I'm not the only one wide eyed and staring.

For several seconds the classroom is silent, then Mr. Momohara calls out the next name on the roll, and the chatter of my classmates start up again slowly, and within a minute it appears that everyone has forgotten about Sebastian. The only giveaway is that every few minutes someone turns in their chair unsubtly to sneak a glance at him. I even see Mr. Momohara staring at him a few times, failing to keep the curiosity out of his expression.

I stare at the back of Sebastian's head, rolling the name around inside my own. Sebastian. I smile to myself, nodding mentally. He definitely looks like a Sebastian. For the rest of the class I can't make myself concentrate on my physics work, I just sit watching him, transfixed.

The bell sounds for the end of the period and I gather my things together, taking my time as I watch Sebastian from the corner of my eye, even pausing by the doorway, shamelessly pretending to search through my bag for something. From the corner of my eye I see Brooke Dawson�"one of the "popular" girls in our grade�"sauntering slowly up to his desk.

Standing in front of him, she brushes a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes, and I can barely suppress a chuckle as I watch her growing impatience, the seconds ticking as he fails to acknowledge her. Clearing her throat she rests her hands on her hips, annoyance flitting across her perfectly balanced�"and in my opinion, perfectly bland�"symmetrical features.

Finally he looks up at her, and I can see her quiet outrage as his bored expression doesn't change in response to her long legs and blonde hair.

"Can I help you?" he asks in that same honeyed tone, one eyebrow raised now as he watches her from where he stands.

"Oh, well, I just wanted to introduce myself, my name's Rachel, Rachel Dawson," she says, her usually confident giggle coming out a squeak. "Um, if you need someone to show you around or anything�"" she trails off, her pale cheeks flushing as she seems to forget what it was she intended to say.

"Bye," she says after a moment, staring at him for a second before turning away. I watch her walk briskly past me out of the classroom and this time don't quite manage to suppress a laugh.

Sebastian turns where he is standing to stare at me, and I am shocked by the color of his eyes: a clear gray, quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. The corners of his mouth twitch up, and I find myself returning his smile. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but stops, his eyes locked behind me, all traces of laughter instantly gone from his face.

I turn and see Conner standing in the doorway. His face is stormy as he stares back at Sebastian, his jaw set at right angles. I look from one to the other, confused at this mutual animosity. I feel my face burning as they turn their stares on me; Conner beckoning me to the doorway and Sebastian with an almost vacant expression that I don't understand.

I pull my schoolbag onto my back and hurry out the doorway after Conner, forcing myself to not look back at Sebastian and his strange gray eyes.

As I walk to lunch with Conner, I can feel his gaze focused intently on me. "What?" I snap, feeling oddly on edge, trying to get the image of Sebastian's staring eyes out of my mind.

"So you met the new student then?" Conner asks casually, casting a quick glance behind us, back towards the classroom. Following his gaze I see Sebastian standing in the hallway, watching us, and a shiver runs through my body. Something about his penetrating gaze is really creepy.

"Not exactly," I shrug. "I haven't spoken to him or anything. I saw him reject Rachel Dawson though," I grin, an image of her stricken face flashing through my mind. "What was with the look he was giving you, though?" I ask, tilting my head to look at him. "I mean, you've never met him before, have you?"

Conner's face gives nothing away, and he just shrugs his shoulders. "I don't think so. He didn't seem very friendly though, did he?" He laughs quietly; a strangely dark sound.

We arrive at the large hall where the lunch is and move to our usual table next to the wall. I sit with my back to the rest of the school as they take their own seats, and Conner drops onto the bench across the table from me. I looked around at the laughing groups of our peers and smile to myself; Conner is all the friendship I need.

A familiar piercing giggle comes from behind me, and I turn in my seat, already dreading who I know will be standing there.

"Hi Conner!" Amanda, Brooke's dim Best Friend for Life, grins toothily at Conner, ignoring me entirely.

"Hello Amanda," Conner replies, shifting uncomfortably in his seat under her beaming gaze.

"How were your holidays?"

"Conner went to England with his big brother!" I enthusiastically provide before Conner can so much as open his mouth. Amanda's eyes dart to me momentarily before they settled back on Conner.

"Wow! England? That's super interesting!" she bubbles, directing her words to Conner as if he'd been the one to answer her question. I watch her incredulously; amazed at the way her painted red lips draw back over her teeth as she speaks in an uninterrupted smile. "Anyway," she continues, barely pausing for breath, "I'm throwing this huge party on Saturday, and it'd be so super if you could come!"

"Oh, that's really nice of you Amanda, but I've actually already made plans with Stella for Saturday," Conner splutters, his expression stricken.

"Well, Stella's totally invited too, of course," Amanda says, still managing to ignore me. The pause before she answered barely noticeable, but her eyebrows had drawn slightly lower over her eyes as she said it.

"We'd love to come!" I say, grinning at Conner across the table. He stares back at me, his expression pained. Amanda pouts for a moment at her conversation being interrupted a second time, but then she grins, apparently realizing that she'd gotten her way.

"Super! Umm, I'll see you on Saturday then! Bye Conner!" She turns without a second glance at me, and I poke my tongue out at her back as she runs off to join Brooke. Girls like Amanda are the reason I've hated the first seven years of my schooling. Frizzy dark hair and glasses hadn't exactly made me popular with that crowd in middle school, and it only takes a few people thinking you are a weirdo and before long the whole grade thinks so too. In the past couple of years I've swapped the glasses for contacts and discovered the hair straightener, but by that point I think it had been written too deeply into my genetic makeup to have any real effect.

Conner, on the other hand, is an entirely different case. When I first met him, he was a gangly twelve-year-old with acne and one of the worst bowl-cuts I've ever seen. In the past five years, he'd grown about a foot and filled out in the chest and shoulders. He even found a decent hairdresser who'd managed to tame his golden curls into something that seemed to make most girls swoon. It doesn't make any difference to me of course, he is still the same gawky twelve year old in my eyes, but the rest of the girls in our year seem to have different ideas.

Amanda isn't the only girl who's been coming up to Conner and inviting him to all kinds of things, but whether it is one-on-one movie dates or crowded parties, his reply is always the same. I ask him why he adamantly refuses every girl who asks, even the ones who aren't Barbie dolls, but he just says that he isn't interested. This answer always makes me roll my eyes and insist that he is a boy, so if a pretty girl asks him out then there is no such thing as "not interested". But he just laughs and says that one day I'll understand.

Conner is far from laughing right now though; in fact he looks fairly pissed. I just grin, drawing my lips back over my teeth as far as they'll go and batting my eyelashes at him in my best imitation of Amanda. Apparently he doesn't find it as funny as I do.

"Why'd you do that, Stella?"

"Well she asked me so nicely and all, I just couldn't say no!"

He snorts, rolling his eyes at me. "You know we have to actually go now, don't you?"

"It was worth it," I reply defiantly, but already I am regretting opening my mouth. Just the thought of going to one of Amanda's parties is painful. A sudden idea pops into my head, and I grin unwittingly.

"You're actually smiling? You've just doomed us both to a night in Amanda's company, and you're smiling?"

I wipe the smile off my face, knowing full well that Conner won't approve of the reason behind it.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun, just for the experience of it," I reply lightly, trying to pull him out of his gloom. He is no fun to be around like this.

"Whatever, Stella."

I shrug, rolling my eyes at him. He can be such a drama queen when it comes to girls.

As if he hears my thoughts he looks up from unpacking his lunch and grins widely at me, reminding me of the first time I’d met him, on our first day at Riverwood Middle.

I’d been sitting alone at a similar lunch table we are sitting at now, and he’d been driven to sit with me by the overflowing tables surrounding mine, choosing one socially awkward encounter with me over the many he would have faced sitting anywhere else. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

Conner had saved me from another six painful years of drifting alone through each day at school, and only his constant reassurances that I’ve done the same for him keeps me from throwing myself at his feet in gratitude.

Digging through my schoolbag I find a rather squashed ham and cheese sandwich and begin unwrapping it enthusiastically, my stomach rumbling as the aroma hits my nostrils.  

I look back up at Conner and see that he wears the same stormy expression he’d had earlier after physics, and I turn in my seat to see Sebastian walking towards us.  

My stomach somersaults as his eyes catch mine and I swallow the first bite of my sandwich with some difficulty as he smiles at me again, his perfectly aligned features once again taking my breath away.  I can feel my pulse quicken and am horrified to realize that I am blushing again.  

I turn back to Conner, my sandwich left forgotten on the table. Composing myself, I put on what I hope is an indifferent expression and steel myself for his arrival, almost�"but not quite�"managing not to jump when he speaks, his voice ringing in my mind.

“Can I sit here?” he asks, indicating the bench next to me, and I hastily nod a yes, staring ahead at Conners stony expression, confused by his hostility.

I look back at Sebastian and see that he is smiling at Conner now, the vision of politeness. Conner continues to glare at the newcomer to our very selective group, and I kick him under the table, shooting him a warning glance. He grunts as my foot connects with his shin and grimaces at me.  

I am shocked; I’ve never seen Conner acting this way towards anyone, especially without reason. Conner sighs, pouting like a child, but he doesn’t stop glaring at Sebastian.  

I cough awkwardly, looking down at my hands, suddenly overcome with embarrassment at Conner’s behavior, and I wonder if this strange boy will leave if neither of us speak to him.  

After a long minute of silence I look up and see that he is still sitting there, gray eyes staring into mine expectantly, his head tilts to one side as he considers me. It seems that he's forgotten Riley for now, his gaze intent only on me.  

“Hi,” I mumble, keeping my eyes down.  “Um, I’m Stella,” I look up again, and he has that same grin on his face as before, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards, his eyes sparkling.  

“Sebastian,” he replies, reaching his hand out to shake mine. I hesitantly stretch my hand out to meet his, and when our skin touches it is like an electric charge runs through my hand and towards my shoulder; I can feel every hair on my arm as it stands on end, and I can’t stop a quick shiver running through me.  

The grin on his face widens at my reaction, and I pull my hand out of his, rubbing my other hand up and down my arm. I suddenly notice Conner is standing up across from us, fists clenched on the table and eyes narrow as he looks from me to Sebastian

I look up at Sebastian and see him staring intently at me. Something about his gaze makes me feel uncomfortable, and I stand up, stepping backwards.  

Laughing, Sebastian turns, reaching his hand towards Conner. Conner sneers back at him, his eyes flashing.  

“I suppose you’re Conner then,” he says, pulling his hand back and sliding it into his pocket in a fluid movement that makes me wonder if he’d extended it at all in the first place. He tilts his head, the smile never leaving his face. 

Suddenly Conner's hand is on my wrist, and in the other he is holding his bag and my own.  

“We’re going now, Stella,” he says through clenched teeth, pulling me away from Sebastian. I turn angrily to snap at him, but I catch the expression on his face and decide that now isn’t the time to argue with him.

I gently pull my wrist out of his grasp and twin my fingers through his, walking by his side. I can feel him fuming next to me as we stride away hand in hand. I glance up at him; shocked to see his face contorted with rage.  

I can’t even begin to imagine what had brought on his anger, but I trust him, and stop myself from looking back at Sebastian, though I am sure if I do I will see the unwavering grin on his face as he watches us walk away.

Author's Note

This is the start of Stella's POV. I would love to hear what you think of the characters and plot.

Reviews

[TheIlliteratePanda]

Hmm...

It was a nice break to hear things from stellar point of view, and you pulled it off very well! I think Stella might be just little bit too naive if even I can see exactly whats going with Connor. But hey, no one ever said anything was wrong with cliche, and perhaps there's some expectation subversion down the line! This is looking phenomenal so far! Everything flows quite well; nothing is rushed or dragged out. Man, I really have got to take a lesson from you! You seem to be able to perfectly accomplish everything i want to do in my own writing. Keep up the good work!

[DeNine]

Thank you so much for reading this far. I may glad you like it. Yeah haha Stella is kind and naive. You'll find out later why Conner doesn't pursue her like he obviously wants to. I appreciate it! Let me know if you have any ideas for the plot or anything you think would be cool to add. One thing I'm working on right now is writing more Sebastian POV chapters to put in between some of the stella chapters. Let me know what you think of the next chapters you read too :)