The Breeze Trials

Chapter 7

The next few days were a blur. I couldn't focus on anything but that stupid wish. It felt like the end of this whole thing was rushing at me, and I didn't think I was ready. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere now, so what could I choose if I couldn't choose either life?

I blew a stray hair from my face and turned down the hallway to go to English class, smacking right into a very tall  and very sturdy person. I somehow managed to trip over myself and fall onto the hard floors of the school. I sharp pain shot through my bottom and my teeth painfully clacked together. "I'm sorry." I muttered, trying to ignore the disorientation. Figuring that my book wouldn't hold as much of a grudge, I looked up at the boy, who, as I thought, looked pretty pissed off. He had almost orange eyes that blazed through medium length dark brown hair that turned upward at the edges. The boy ran a hand through those exact locks, the hair lightly curling around his fingers. It wasn't the most professional haircut, but it wasn't one that necessarily looked sloppy. 

"What the hell are you doing anyway, vacationing on cloud nine? Do you people not check around a corner before rushing around it?" I didn't get the reference, nor what he meant by "you people", but it made me angry all the same. "Look here Mr. Buff guy, maybe if you weren't walking around like a damned Badger who drank found some booze in the trash, I wouldn't have hit you." Glaring at him, I could that his eyes were orange, and a bright shade at that.

The boy's mouth twitched slightly like he wanted to say something, but it never quite came out. Instead, he took a deep breath and offered me a hand up. "You're a feisty one, aren't you?" I scowled and took his outstretched hand. I didn't expect the force he'd given and ended up standing so close that I could feel his breath brushing away the hair near my ear. It tickled in a weird way. "You might just be really fun." His voice was lower, not threatening, but seductive. I ignored the heat going to my face and and pulled away from this stranger hard. "Oh, I'm dripping with fun." I said bitterly, then continued to class, hoping to get far from that strange atmosphere. I couldn't tell why he changed so quickly, but I had a feeling I didn't want to figure out. 

Luckily, I didn't see that boy at all the rest of the day, and when I told Aaron about it, he told me that he was named Jace and was apparently a new student, starting today. I wondered for a moment if I should tell him about the end of my meeting with Jace, but I knew I'd be causing unnecessary worry. "Have you noticed his eyes, though? They're orange. I didn't know people could have that color." I commented. In response, Aaron raised an eyebrow and kissed my cheek. "I hope that woke you up, because people don't, and he is definitely not some exception." I knew I saw it back then, they were too bright not to notice. But if that's the case, how could I be the only one to have seen it? "He did," I muttered uncertainly. "I swear it."

"Well, while I'd love nothing more than to take my imaginative kitty Princess home, but I've got something to take care of. Are you gonna be okay going home alone for today?" Something to take care of? I searched his face, but I couldn't tell what he meant, but seemed nervous about it. "I will, but, whatever this secret thing is, I hope you'll choose to tell me about it soon." I frowned and he smiled that goofy grin of his, like I hadn't said anything but 'okay', and kissed me goodbye. Aaron had been acting more and more strangely since the first bonfire. He was hiding something very important, I could feel it.

After school, I couldn't stop thinking about Aaron's behavior. I was so focused on, that when I turned toward the empty town park, I tripped over a badly placed sidewalk square. Of course, seeing as though I had the luck of one-eyed cat in a storm, I fell right into a person for the second time. Realizing that whomever it was had caught me this time, I tried to quickly collect myself and murmur an apology. "We've got to stop meeting like this." I looked up and met with light brown, not orange, eyes. Jace had a slight grin on his face. "Yeah, and you've got to stop touching me, but I don't see that happening just yet." I snapped, irritated. I still hadn't forgotten about his statement from before. Jace's mouth twitched, but he stepped back and held up his hands.