Midnight

11

My mother took me to ballet today. She had to run errands and we figured carpooling was the way to go—although she was never much fun to be with. Plus, before my dad came to visit, she thought this would be our last harrah without a man in the house.

I got lectured countless times during class, I could not focus.

At first, I denied the reason I was distracted, but when I constantly messed up the same barre combinations we've been doing for weeks, I knew this wasn't just a bad day.

My head was elsewhere, being extremely occupied by one mysterious boy who captivated my every ounce of attention. I couldn't keep my mind from him, and it was terribly evident.

By the end of class, Ms. Valley asked me to stay behind.

I cringed when I heard her request, but nonetheless stayed.

"Celestine, I know it's the end of the school year, it's heating up, but you cannot let that deter your focus," Her weathered voice was wobbly as she shook her finger.

"Yes," I murmured, peaking around her shoulder to look outside. The other students were leaving, their cars zooming past the glass door.

Where was Everett right now?

Ms. Valley continued to talk, but my mind was so stuck on Everett I wasn't listening. Her words went in one ear and out the other, almost like Charlie Brown's teacher.

I knew Everett, as matured as he was now, was undeniably attractive. God, every girl who went to our high school knew that.

But he was attractive in a way no other boy was. A part of him screamed danger, and it was entrapping.

His hair was always a messy ocean of black waves, his eyes so stark blue they stung when he glared at you with his dark gaze. Even his bone structure, as bizarre as that sounded, was alluring. The way his cheekbones curved, the strong angle of his jaw, the slope of his nose, every aspect of him must've been crafted by the gods. Because such beauty didn't exist in this world, not until it came to Everett.

But it wasn't just his face that amazed me. His body. The way he held himself, from his tense shoulders, the strong, veiny arms that lay below, to his incredible height—he was enchanting.

His body language, his frustrated demeanor, something was so captivating in his actions—even if he was angry, I couldn't deny the attraction I felt.

But Everett was so much more than his looks. Though he was so bipolar I had trouble figuring him out the past week, he was still the gentle boy I once knew, even if he acted angry all the time. I liked to think he could be this way to everyone, but a part of me knew he couldn't. Something had changed in him, everyone knew Everett only for his aggravated behavior, not for the soft things like I did.

And I knew it would stay like this. Maybe Everett was only nice to me out of everyone because of our past. Maybe that was the only way he knew how to treat me, the same way he did when we were children.

"So you must understand when I say tha—Celestine?"

I shook my head, disregarding my raging thoughts as Ms. Valley side-stepped into my view of the door.

"Yeah?" I stuttered, swaying the slightest bit to the side again so I could stare out the door.

Did my mom not get the memo? Dropping me off means you have to pick me up too! Save me, mom!

"Do you understand?" She raised her eyebrows, her frail hands going to her hips.

I opened my mouth to answer, when to my extreme surprise, a midnight purple car rolled next to the sidewalk outside of the studio.