"This is impossible, I can't do it." Michael exclaims, finally having given up.
"Yes you can," I say encouragingly, "Look, come over next week after school and we can practice again."
"I don't know why you picked it up so quickly and I can't." Michael says bitterly, arms crossed as he pouts like a child.
I laugh at his expression and shrug.
"I'm just great at everything." I admit and laugh when Michael throws a pillow my way. I dodge it, raising an eyebrow at how questionable his aim is becoming.
Michael huffs and changes the subject quickly.
"Is your sister here? I swear I heard the door earlier?" Michael says and I frown.
I check my phone and shake my head.
"She's at a friend's house for dinner." I say, wandering into the kitchen and he sighs.
"Good, cause it would have been embarrassing if she'd seen that." Michael says, gesturing to the open space in the living room.
"So, tell me about this girl of yours." Michael says, pecking at the bag of crisps I opened for us to share.
I sigh, not really wanting to open up about my pathetic years of dodging her, so instead I try to describe her.
"She's stunning. Blonde hair, green eyes, about this tall." I say gesturing to just above my elbow. Clara's a little thing.
"She plays the violin and she can dance too, she's an amazing dancer. That's where I first saw her." I add, fiddling with my hands as I lean against the counter.
Michael watches me intensely.
"She's the real deal isn't she. You've never been like this with anyone." He says, frowning to himself.
"I uh, I've known about her for a while now. Once you have that feeling, nothing else really compares." I say with a shrug, trying to explain my lack of interest in other girls over the past few years.
"And she doesn't know about you?" He asks and I nod.
"How does that work?" He asks and I shrug helplessly, not quite knowing the answer.
"Are you...are you happy? Are you happy that you've found her I mean?" He asks tentatively and I can understand why he's asking.
Soulmates are a controversial topic for a lot of people. Some people don't ever want to find them, content with the people they have chosen to spend their lives with. Sometimes it breaks up existing relationships, marriages, families. Some people spend their whole lives searching for them, only to find their whole lives have passed them by.
I ponder the question for a while, trying to put my feelings for Clara aside.
Am I happy to have already found her?
There's only one answer in my mind and I feel it throughout me.
"Yes, I'm happy. She makes me feel crazy, but I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't want anyone else and it's not just because she's my soulmate. I'd want her regardless." I mumble, not willing to say any more.
Michael looks a mixture of grossed out and happy for me. I take it as a win.
The front door clicks unlocked and Michael stands straight, his head snapping towards the sound as his hands simultaneously run through his hair and straighten his shirt. I stay propped on the counter, watching him with a smirk.
He turns and looks at me, noting my expression and flipping me his middle finger in response.
"We're home! Come on in Clara." Saskia says loudly and my face falls. I stand bolt straight and tug Michael so violently that he stumbles.
"Hey, Michael and I are going to be upstairs!" I call back, forever grateful for my sister's forewarning. I essentially carry Michael up the stairs in my haste and once firmly behind my bedroom door, he bursts out laughing.
"And you thought I was bad? Dude! Is that her?" Michael says, trying to peer around the door.
I shut the door, not in the mood for his mocking. Not when I feel like I'm having a heart attack.
"You don't understand." I murmur, my hand not leaving the door in fear that Michael will do something stupid, like profess my undying love down the stairs.
"I can understand man, but that was hilarious. I've never seen you move so fast. You have got to chill out." He says, flopping down on my bed. Michael doesn't get it.
I stand rigid against my door, leaning against it as I anxiously twist my hands.
"Would you quit that? You're making me anxious and I don't even know the girl." He says, gesturing to my hands. I force my hands down to my sides, scrunching up my jeans instead. My mind is running at 100 miles per hour and my breaths come unsteadily, my heart still pounding so loud in my chest I can feel it in every inch of my body.
Michael sits up, frowning slightly.
"I know you aren't great with people, but this is... You look like you're going to pass out." He says, frowning as he looks me up and down.
"I can't do it, I can't, she's..." I breathe, my chest very tight as I struggle to intake any breath at all.
It had been such a close call, and with Michael here the uncertainty was heightened. I can't breathe.
My hands clutch at my chest as I collapse to the floor, desperately gasping for air. My eyes lock with Michaels, scared and confused. He looks wildly out of his depth and dithers for a moment. Probably wondering whether to call for help. I claw at the collar of my shirt, my chest feeling unbearably tight and Michael gets the gist.
His crouches down beside me quickly, helping me get my shirt off.
"It's okay, everything's fine, just listen to me ok? I've got you man, everything's fine." He reiterates, trying to sooth me. My breath comes no easier and I start to panic more. My vision fades in and out of focus as a miserable tear runs down my cheek. Everything is deafened by the rushing sound in my ears, my skin pricking hot and ice cold as I teeter between the lines of consciousness.
Michael stands up, his expression no longer masking his anxiety. He wrenches the door open slightly, looking down at me with apologetic eyes.
"SASKIA! GET UP HERE NOW!" Michael yells and I can hear her footsteps almost immediately. I throw my arm across the door, trying to sob out some sort of refusal.
"It's just Kia, it's ok." Michael murmurs and I reluctantly slump away from the door. Kia enters and automatically shoves Michael away.
"What happened?" She asks, her voice stern and composed but her eyes are frantic.
"I don't know! He just panicked and then he said he couldn't breathe!" Michael exclaims, pacing back and forth as I continue to fight for breath.
Saskia watches me desperately. I want to tell her to relax, that I'll be fine but I'm not fine. Quite clearly, I am not fine.
All of a sudden she darts forwards and engulfs me in the tightest hug I've ever been subjected to. At first, it actually makes things worse and I uselessly struggle against her.
"Get in here and help me." She hisses and Michael leaps to her aid, his arms winding round me and squeezing like a python.
Eventually, I start to relax. Slowly but surely, my breathing returns to normal and I slump in their arms, utterly exhausted. My eyes flutter closed as I relish in the ability to breathe normally, the pure bliss of my chest filling with oxygen. My forehead is lined with perspiration, and I know my skin must look pale and sallow but I don't have it in me to care.
Michael hoists me up and they help me get to my bed. My eyes close of their own accord and I'm helpless to resist the fatigue that overtakes me.
YOU ARE READING
Shy
Teen Fiction-A soulmate story- Kit Taylor keeps to himself. Awkward, reserved and anxious, he doesn't expect to find his soulmate. When he finds her in none other than Clara Evelyn, his twin sister's kind, talented and beautiful best friend, his world just abou...
