A LITTLE INSANE. Rowan Laslow

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A LITTLE INSANE.
Chapter three

The moment they locked eyes, she recognized him immediately. He stood in the bleak rain, hair drenched, and glasses misty. Rowan Laslow. He was in basically every one of her classes—always alone, and always silent.

Where was he coming from? Was he there all this time? Was he a stalker? Her thoughts clouded her mind.

Slowly, Rowan reached down for the object he dropped. His eyes were still directly on hers—she didn't look away either. Perhaps, she was looking for an explanation. She certainly was.

Other than the sound of rain falling on concrete and wind blowing through trees, it was pretty much silent.

"You should try not to scare people who are walking alone... at night." She didn't mean for the words to slip off of her tongue like venom. She had no reason to be ill-mannered, he didn't harm her—just frightened.

He blinked, not knowing how to respond to that. He was sure he wouldn't know how to respond to anything she said. Nonetheless, he apologized.

"I'm sorry about that." His fingers fidgeted with the inhaler he had just gotten a hold of. He could hear his heavy heartbeat, it sounded like her name.

Alice.
Alice.
Alice.
She was his heart now.

"You don't have to apologize. I kind of just thought you were following me, like a creep," she laughed. Her laugh was soft and soothing, Rowan liked it. It sounded even better close-up.

He didn't say anything, he was scared to talk, scared to stutter. The rain soaked him more.

She searched his face. She wanted an explanation. Where was her explanation?

"You seem skittish. Are you alright?" Alice walked closer to him. His uniform was soaked. Why would he walk out in the rain with no umbrella? Her head was tilted to the side.

"I'm not a creep, but I was following you." He hated himself for blurting that out. His lips pressed together as he squeezed his eyes shut.

She furrowed her brows. "Why? You're not trying to murder me, are you? I was forced to study taekwondo this summer—and yes, that was a threat."

He shook his head. "Of course not," he looked at his pocket, and something lustrous and silver came flying toward her. "I found this on your desk yesterday."

The item stopped mid-air. Alice leaned over to grab it, feeling a small smile tug at the corner of her lips. It was her bracelet. "I've been searching everywhere for this," she said brightly.

Rowan swallowed. Alice Ambrose was smiling—she was smiling because of him—he made her smile. His cheeks reddened. "I was going to give it back to you yesterday but...I was busy."

"Well, thank you. This bracelet means a whole lot to me."

He nodded. "Happy to help."

She stared at him. His hair was so doused and it stuck to his forehead slightly. She moved closer to him placing her umbrella above the both of them.

His heart jumped at how close she was to him. He could smell her perfume—floral. He could nearly feel her skin—soft.

"Thanks," Rowan said in a whisper.