Ravenswynd Legends

Chapter 4. Eye of the Beholder

Eye of the Beholder

We walked into the pub together like matching bookends; Lindy in her full-length black leather coat, jeans, and a red sweater; me in my white leather coat, jeans, and a blue sweater. Okay, not matching. Her hair curled; mine straight. All eyes turned to watch the twins. We smiled at everyone we knew, and they all smiled back. On the other side of the room, we could see Mark as he stood and waved us over to their table. He was more Melinda's friend than mine, but not a boyfriend. In her words: just a guy friend. Although it was easy to see how Mark felt about Lindy. His whole face smiled whenever he saw her. She just didn't feel the same about him. Her excuse was that he was too tall for her. He was at least six feet two, and he did tower over our short slight frames of five feet two. But he was such a sweet guy. And I often told her I thought they'd make such a cute couple. I figured she just wasn't ready to get serious about anyone that seemed too interested.

As I pondered these thoughts while making my way across the pub, a man with long, black hair sitting in a booth a few sections away caught my eye. Oh my God! That had to be the man from the mall! I would recognize his hair anywhere! Goose bumps rushed up and over me, and I shivered. I tried to get a good view of his face, but the room was too dark to make out his features. In the candle-lit dimness, his hair glowed as black as a moonless night, riveting my gaze so that, just as I reached our table, I tripped over someone's purse on the floor. Mark caught me and laughed as he introduced me to his friend, Tyler. I felt like such a klutz. Way to impress new people, Lizzy.

It was so hard to pull my eyes away from the man with the long hair, but I forced myself to look at Mark and then Tyler. When Tyler stood to shake hands, I hid my shock with a smile: he was much shorter than me. I remained cordial and tried desperately to act interested, but from the start of the evening I knew this was all a big mistake: I had sat at the wrong table. Lindy got up to dance a few times; I declined. To me, dancing was a waste of energy. I just couldn't flail myself around the way everyone else did, in part, because of my fear of resembling an idiot. After watching me refuse several offers from Tyler, my sister jumped up and volunteered to dance with him, no doubt in an effort to ease my obvious rejection of him.

We ordered a few beers and then a pizza. The whole time we sat and chatted about school and what the future held, I tried to catch a glimpse of the man with the jet-black hair. Someone or something always got in my way and blocked my view. I even made a trip to the ladies' room when I didn't feel the need, just in hopes of being able to see the face of this mysterious person - though why he seemed mysterious was beyond me. Most likely, all the crazy conversations with Fiona. As I walked past his table, he tilted his head down. Still no view of his face! Was that move on purpose? My frustration level soared to the moon! And when I shoved through the bathroom door in a most reckless manner, I bumped into another woman. I let her pass, saying a quick "sorry" as she left. I just stood there. I stayed in the bathroom for a few moments, staring at myself in the mirror. I needed to calm down; I was on the verge of being ridiculous.

I shook my head, and whispered, "What the flaming hell is wrong with you?" I'd never been so unnerved by anyone before. Especially a complete stranger. I combed through my hair, dabbed at my eye makeup, and smeared on some more lipstick. Straightening my posture, I forced myself to gear back up for the walk past him: so what if he didn't acknowledge me? It wasn't like my life depended on it or anything. I took in a large cleansing breath and blew out slowly. Holding my head high, I left the bathroom.

My gaze immediately fell in his direction – I couldn't help it! He stood at the table, leafed through some bills, then set down a tip. His back was to the room. Again facing away from me! He now wore his long, black trench coat that came nearly to his ankles. I shook off the compulsion to stare like I had at the mall and headed off to my own table. While walking behind him and trying to stay focused on the group I belonged to, he adjusted his coat, pulling his long hair out from under and letting it fall over his shoulders. A few strands flew out in front of me, tickled my right hand and gave me a slight electrical shock on the surface of my skin. Shivers ran down my spine. My legs became lifeless, hollow, drained of blood. Afraid I'd faint again, I hurried to my seat. I didn't look at him again until I had safely planted myself in the chair. And then - he turned. He stared straight at me. The moment our eyes met a seismic disturbance vibrated within me. Deep inside, something shifted. My whole world reeled off its axis - upside down and inside out. All of my ideas, my plans, and my life, now revolved around one thing: this man. The depth of his gaze captured me. I stopped breathing.