grace in chains

a short story. I'm working on the second half after this.

        Senior year was supposed to be the perfect year.  Isn't it?  Well then I guess somethings don't happen the way you want them to.  It wasn't anything that I was doing, and my friends were helping me through it as best they could, but up until about my Junior year, I was some what chubby.  I had liked it that way too.  It helped me to know that people were my friends because they liked my personality.  And while I was chubby, I was adopted by the vast majority of my entire grade.  But then, I lost weight like crazy, and I grew into the curse of an hour glass figure , the perfect figure according to my friends that day at lunch.  And now I was the apple in the eye of every guy who had ever been my friend.  But I knew that all guys had at least three girls they were interested in, so I spent my lunch periods hooking friends who were perfect for each other up with friends.  That was how I kept myself safe from losing a good guy friend.  And maybe a girl friend who liked the guy.  It was hard work.  But other then that, it was the perfect year.

        My grades were excellent, i was having the time of my life driving to the beach, the bon-fires by the creek, the all night 'study' parties I had.  It was the time of my teenage life.  The only thing that was missing according to my friends was the perfect guy.  And thats where my story starts.  Seventh Period, on my way to World History.  The second easiest class I have.  It was also the smallest class.  A total of ten students in this end of the day class.  I sat in the second to last row in the back.  Towards the wall.  I set my books down and got ready for another heated debate with Mrs. Boyd.  We spent most days arguing about the issues, who to blame them on and how to solve them.  And that was how we learned.  Angie and Lissa walked into the room, and to my digust, Elijah was inbetween them.  One arm drapped over each of them.  I loved those two girls like sisters.  We had been friends sense I could remember.  And Elijah used to be my friend, until he realized that he had angelic good looks and could have anything and any girl he wanted.  And I wasn't going to be considered a trophy.  Angie had spent a total of ten different occassions sleeping over at my house balling her eyes out because Elijah had said he had found someone else, and that he wanted to stay friends.  Lissa shared a similair number of nights, give or take. 

        I blew a kiss at each girl and then looked up to Elijah who stared down at me with a guarded, very careful gaze.  I lowered my lashes and looked up at him with an indiferent expression.

"Up to breaking some more helpless hearts?" I asked letting the note of a challenge and anger leak into my voice.  He acted as if he didn't hear it and answered me cooly,

"They're just as much my friends as yours Gracie."  He smiled, trying to dazzle me

        His expression shifted to curiosity as he slowly found that his smile had no affect on me.  He walked back to his seat.  Lissa and Angie, to my astonishment seemed greatful for getting him away from them.  They both wrote me a note,

it's almost like he can hypnotize me gracie!  I can't trust myself around him...

        They wrote.  I smiled at them as Mrs. Boyd walked through the door.  And she went to her desk and riffled through it.

"class i need just a few minutes.  I've lost the debate topic for this class."  As she looked for it my mind went to think of Elijah.  He was built well.  Tall, a sculpted body and the face of a stone angel.  I say stone because Elijah has always had a dark aura.  He had stone blue eyes that were surprisingly warm when met.  He had dark brown hair that fell lightly over his forhead and grew out perfectly.  His skin was fair and he was one of the smartest men in the school.  He just didn't let anyone but his teachers see it.  As I came out of my daze Mrs. Boyd wallked up to me and pointed,

"I need you to run an errand." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder and then looked at her watch.  "I need you to run to the cafeteria for me, I think that I may have left it there during lunch period."

"I don't have the key to unlock the door." I said

"I have a set of keys.  Student counsil appointed me with them." Said Elijah plainly. 

"Great, go with her and hurry."

"What?" I asked desperately.  I didn't need an escort

"Get moving!" She said exasperated.

        I hopped out of my seat and walked to the door.  I was about to open it when Elijah's large hand grabbed the door handle and opened it for me.                        

"After you."  I felt his deep voice say behind me.  I turned to look at him, Eye locked on me with a fierce, curious gaze.  How do you react when someone looks at you like that?  Someone you're supposed to hate?  But in that split second I saw good in him.  Good that I could never have seen if I had not been very close to him.  But I also saw the danger.  What was that?  That flash of desicion.  But I blink during that second that seemed to be an eternity and saw the look of a wild cat stalking it's prey, and that was my motivation to get out of the room and as far away from him as possible.  But how can you out run something youi can't see?  You can't.  A pointless battle.

        I controled my steps, steadied my breathing and felt the heat from his body as he fell into equal step beside me.  The butterflies slowly went away and fear and deffiance replaced it.  We walked in silence until we got to the cafeteria.  I stopped beside the door and he unlocked it silently.  I was about to murmur thank you as he made enough room for me to get inbetween him and the door when he grabbed my shoulder and turned me quickly and gently through the door, closed it once we were inside and pushed me agaisnt it.

"Why are you so hostile towards me?" He said, looking down at me his arms folded across his chest casually.

"Hostile?" I managed to say, while trying to hold back a strong of consecutive curses.  "Why do you break every heart you're given?"

"You think I do that on purpose?  Listen if the girls I date and flirt with were smart, they would know they I'm dating them because I know they can't do any damamge on me."

"I act the way I do because you don't make sense?  What are you?  The Killer or the Hero?  You act different around different people.Like pretending to be dumb?" I said.  I shook my head and tried to push past him, feeling ym heart beat race, I had to gaurd myself from him.  I had to be careful.  He pushed my back against the door once more and proped himself up by positioning a hand right beside my neck and leaning in just slightly.

"The Hearts that are worth breaking are the hearts that you can't bare to brake."  He said.  "The girl you couldn't bare to hurt is the only girl who can't be hurt.  The one worth hurting over." He repeated a verse I had writen when we had been friends, so long ago.  He had remembered? "And I don't like hurting much.  So I make them hurt, before I do."  I moved slowly away from him, confused, afraid, dazzled, and somewhat tortured.  Had I done that?  I grabbed the papers that lay on the teachers table, and walked past him quickly, out of the already opened and waiting door.  I saw it now.  That gaurded look he always gave me.  That was me.  That was what I had done.  That was his pain.  The cold tips of his fingers skimmed my arm.  Electric shoot through me.  That was the first encounter that I had with Elijah.  If I had been smart, I wouldn't have wished for just one more.

Because my heart felt like it was a captive

I felt like I was a captive

I chuckled as I drove home that day, after the tears had fallen down my face.  Grace in Chains