Fading

Chapter 2

EDITED!

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Lucas led me to the office, blabbing on about the most random things. I was so busy staring at him I hardly noticed when I almost ran straight into the wall. Shaking my head I followed Lucas into the room.

The office was a small area with desks cutting it into three sections. The walls were a pale grey and a few posters about learning gave them dimension. The carpet beneath my feet was a mixture of navy, grey, and black, dotted with a few stains here and there. There were two doors parallel to each other, which I assumed led to the principle's office and the nurse's office.

"Good morning! How may I help you?" A woman's voice sounded from behind me. I turned around quickly.

"Hi, my name is Brynn Faellan. I need my schedule." I said, resting my elbows on the blue countertop.

"Oh you're the new girl, of course. Just one moment." Ms. Jenaver shuffled through the papers that littered her desk. Some how I wasn't surprised that she knew I was new, it seemed like people didn't move to Fircrest often. As she searched I took a closer look at her. She had short red hair that made her oval-shaped face seem rounder. Her light brown eyes were squinted in concentration, and her gold-framed glassed were perched at the end of her thin nose.

Finally finding it in a small file cabinet beside her desk, she passed it off to me. "Thanks," I said, striding out without a backwards glance. I stopped just outside the door, waiting for Lucas to follow. He walked through the door and stopped beside me.

"Oh you have English first too, come on I'll show you where it is." He started walking down a side hallway and I rushed to catch up.

Clumsy as always, I wasn't paying attention and ran right into someone. I looked up, apology on my lips and saw a Barbie wannabe with coffee running down her shirt. She had a heart shaped face and blonde hair that reached her exposed belly button. Her steely grey-blue eyes were wide in surprise and her makeup was way over done.

She glared daggers at me and started screaming. "Oh my God! You little whore do you know what you just did?"

"It looks like I just spilled coffee on your shirt. And I didn't think it could get any uglier." I flashed a fake smile and place my hands on my hips. She sputtered, shoving her hands out until they collided with my body. I hit the ground hard and gasped for air as the wind had been knocked out of me. The girl took the rest of the Starbucks drink and poured it over my head. It soaked into my new shirt, staining it cream colored. My crisp new jeans were damp and my ponytail snapped, finally giving out. "Screw it!" I muttered angrily.

I pushed myself up, ready to beat the crap out of this bleach-blonde ditz. Standing in front of her I noticed she seemed to be a couple inches shorter than me heels and all. A large hand curled around my own and warm breath stirred my hair as Lucas's voice whispered in my ear, "I wouldn't." It gave me a chill up my spine but I ignored it.

I whirled, coming face to face with him, "Well that's because she didn't cover you with coffee!" I spat in reply. My hair was hanging messily around my face and I brushed it away flustered.

"Don't," his chest rumbled against my shoulder as he tugged me gently, "Let's go get you cleaned up." He was able to persuade me with only a few words which was a bit disconcerting.

"Okay," I relented, "Just one second."

I leaned in close to the girl, whispering in her ear. "If you think he could ever like you, think again."

"Oh? And why's that?" She replied, frowning angrily.

"Because I'm here now, and he is so out of your league." I walked back over to Lucas with a smirk plastered on my face.

"Because you're here now?" He asked me with one brow raised as we walked away together.

"What do you have super hearing?" I looked at him, wondering how he could have possibly heard that.

He shook his head at me, a small smile on his face. We stopped in front of the bathroom and I expected him to stop and let me go in by myself, but I guess I was wrong. He opened the door, for me to go through and followed closely behind.

"You do know this is the girls bathroom, right?" I wondered aloud, directing the question to him. I walked a few steps into the tile covered room.

"Yes," he replied, laughter filling the room.

"Okay..." I said, rolling my eyes at his being outright. Who knew my first day, before the day even really started, would be like this. I stepped into the middle of the room, closely followed by Lucas. His hands were on my waist then, lifting me easily onto the counter. I said nothing, looking at him with wide eyes.

"I have an extra shirt in my bag," I said, pointing at the bag that he had never given me back. He unzipped the pocket on the front that I indicated and pulled out a black shirt; Lucas put it in my hands. He turned around to give me privacy and I blushed, self conscious even though I knew he couldn't see me.

I changed my shirt as quickly as I could, looking down at the stretchy black camisole. I slipped my cardigan back on so I wouldn't get dress coded. "Okay, there." He turned back towards me and I shifted on the counter so I could see myself in the mirror. I groaned internally. Somehow my ponytail hadn't just come out but it had snapped and was tangled in a stand of my hair. My makeup was untouched, except for my eyeliner being a bit smeared on one side. I rubbed at it with my finger until it was fixed.

I pulled some paper towers out of the dispenser hanging by the sink and wet half, scrubbing at the dampness of coffee on my leg. When I was satisfied the coffee was removed, I dabbed at the wet spot with dry towels. It was nearly dry when I tossed the now mangled paper towel into the large trash can underneath the dispenser.

Lucas yanked more paper towels down from the rack and wet the corner in the faucet. He leaned in close to me and I caught my breath in my throat. His fingers untangled the ponytail that was no longer a ponytail and somehow convinced it to lie in long waves down my back. Lucas grabbed up some of it and wiped coffee that I hadn't noticed from it. I let my breath out slowly, meeting his eyes.

"There," he murmured, brown eyes meeting my blue ones. "I think we got it all."

"Yeah. Well thanks, for everything." I replied, smiling at him and running a hand through my hair. Lucas took my hand and I jumped down from the countertop, landing just in front of him. My eyes met his and I looked at my shoes, an embarrassed blush racing through my cheeks.

The monotonous ring of the bell for first period saved me from making this even more awkward. I looked back up at him, smiled apologetically, and walked toward the door. "I'll see you later then."

"We have first period together!" He called after me, jogging out the door behind me. "Brynn."

"Oh right. Let's go then." I looked away and squeezed my eyes shut, hating how stupid I had just sounded. Hopefully English wouldn't totally suck, and hopefully the rest of the day included less drama.