Crystal

Present

I was standing, leaning in on the open window of my room, breathing in the fresh air full of ozone right after rain. It was 7am in the morning and I had just woken up when I saw the wonderful 7 color rainbow that stretched across the sunrise sky.  Although it already lost its orange and reddish tan. I just coulden't resist the sparkling in the air from moisture and the view of mountains being engulfed in the clouds that have just past here and are heading west. I took a deep, deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh air I admire so much and clearing my mind. 

It's a Saturday, and I feel like I have all the time in the world right now. I've done all of the choirs, homework and everything else I had to do last night, so I really am kind of free.

As I feel my stomach growl, I decide to go down stairs for breakfast. My parents are probably already up by now, although my older brother and younger sister aren't. They really like sleeping in. 

I slowly walked step after step down the wooden stairs gliding my hand over the railing. A few yawns had escaped me, and with them a few tears ran down my face. I wiped my eyes and scratched the back of my neck. I had a feeling today was going to be a great day.   

When I got to the main floor, I decided to take a quick peek into Marthas room only to find her soundly sleeping.  It was on the same floor as our parents rooms since she was still really young. Noahs and mine were on the floor above. Not wanting to wake her up I just closed the door and continued to the kitchen.

Both my mom and dad were there. They were leisurely chatting while preparing breakfast. the kitchen was somewhat the center of our house since everyone enjoyed preparing at least the simplest of dishes. It was connected to the dining room so there was a lot of space.

"Morning!", I said while taking a seat.

"Morning Alice!", my mom replied and dad did the same.

My gaze shifted to the window and I momentarily got lost in thought. Although it was interrupted by a clatter of the plate hitting the table. 

"Everything alright sweaty?", my mom asked with concern in her eyes.

"Yeah", I replied: "Oh! Almost forgot! Can I go to  Ellies place later?", I asked with a sweet voice so she would let me.

"Sure, just be back by dinner time", she said with a smile on her face.

I finished my food and went back up to my room. I spent a few hours on my phone, reading a small part of a book and listening to music. Finally it was time to get going.

To get to her house I needed to go through the playground. There were always kids there of different ages playing and laughing together, making you smile with them. However, now, it was like it was abandoned, and kinda gave me the creeps. I tried to get to the other side as quickly as possible, when I saw someone going from the other direction. 

He was about a head taller than me. His clothes were completely dyed in black, black jeans, black sneakers and a black hoodie with the hood over his head. 

I could see a few strands of pure black hair making their way to the sunlight so I can see them. His face had  a serious expression on it, well it was more neutral but gloomy. His eye colour was a mystery since they were in the shadow of his hair. 

Even through the thick material it was obvious that he had strong muscles. Not for a second could I take my eyes of him. But there were traces of fear hidden behind all that admiring.

Unconsciously I had slowed down while looking at him, but he was going at a much faster pace than me so we met up almost momentarily. When we were only a few meters apart I noticed his gaze rise to me. At that I blushed and shyly tired to conceal the fact that I was staring at him for some time now. I thought that I heard a quiet giggle but assumed that I was imagining things and dismissed the thought.

I was insensibly shifting to the right so we would miss each other but it seems he had done the same, only he was going to his left in a way so we almost collided.

The admiration was now completely turned to fear of him trying to kidnap me. Some people would probably find that silly but I had an extremely cautious nature. Unless I knew the person well I wouldn't trust him or her with anything.

In the end I had to stop so I wouldn't collide with him and looked up at his face. He was so handsome my jaw just dropped open. He had such black eyes that it was impossible to tell the difference between the pupil and the iris. The smile on his face was a malicious smile.

"Hi there", he said in a deep voice.

My heart skipped a beat.