Beginning of a New Era

Chapter 5

Everything around me fades and I feel myself start to get lost in those beautiful blue eyes. It feels like I am staring into waves of cold water, but there is a warmth and kindness to them that invites me in. I feel chills run through my body and can't help but shiver. I can see a bit of concern flash in the blue depths of his eyes and I manage to drag my eyes away from him and move to sit up. My surroundings come back and I hear my music still playing in the background which has changed to Photograph by Ed Sheeran. I can hear him move to the side of me and the next thing I know he is sitting next to me on the wet grass.

"Are you ok? I saw you laying out here and I thought something was wrong..." I hear his deep voice rumble out next to me, I try not to melt at the sound of it and glance over to find his eyes focused on me. It takes everything I have not to get lost in them again. I blink a few times before I look down at my lap and mess with the loose string on my hoodie pocket. I feel myself grow nervous and I take a deep breath before I answer him.

"I'm fine, I just like the rain so I came out here to enjoy it more. It didn't rain that often in my hometown and when it did, it never lasted very long." I explain in a smaller voice. I have no clue why I am telling him this stuff. I hardly knew the guy, but here I am. It is peaceful with him here, I get a feeling from him that he will never judge me for what I say. I don't look at him, but I can sort of see the soft smile he has out of the corner of my eye.

"That makes sense! We don't get much rain here, but it is nice when it does decide to. It is great hot chocolate weather." He chuckles and I realize he must have seen my hot cocoa that I forget about. I smile softly to myself and I feel his gaze on my face again. I feel more relaxed around him the more he talks, it's like his voice is the light and I am the moth that is drawn to it. I need to snap out of it...I don't even know the guy's name and I am already forming a slight crush...Okay, not slight.

"You know, I never got to fully introduce myself last night." He says as if he is reading my mind and smiles at me. " I'm Colby, Sam's best friend." He explains and watches me as he waits for me to introduce myself. I glance over at him and get a bit lost as I stare at his bright smile and those gorgeous blue eyes. I quickly blink and smile back at him in hopes of hiding the warm feeling coming to my cheeks.

"Oh! My name is Grace! It is nice to meet you, Lexi has told me some things about you." I answer back, my voice comes out a bit more squeaky than I want it to. I look down shyly, I have no clue why I get so shy around him. I swear I am not usually like this. Back home, I had no problems when it came to talking to boys. Well, for the most part, I would avoid most of them, but the ones I did talk to I didn't act all shy.

"Hopefully it was all good things!" He laughed and I blushed more, I could get used to hearing that laugh..."Well, it is nice to meet you, Grace!" Colby smiles happily at me and pulled me out of my thoughts, before I can respond I catch movement behind him and I see Lexi poking her head out the door with a knowing look. I sighed and raised an eyebrow as she stepped out onto the back porch more.

"Hey! We are about to play some video games and we need extra players!" She exclaimed and waited for us at the door. Colby is up before I can move and holds a hand out to me with a smile.

"Shall we?" He asks and wiggles his fingers slightly as he waits for me to take it. I hesitate a moment before I slip my hand into his and get up. His hand is surprisingly warm and soft. He doesn't let go of my hand until we get closer to the door. I quickly grab my hot chocolate and phone, shutting off the music before I follow them inside the house. As we walk in, I can hear Sam and Caspian's voices coming from the living room, once we walk in I can see both of them playing a round of Mario Kart and it looks like Caspian is currently losing. They are both leaning forward on the couch and have concentrated looks. I smile and move to sit down on the couch near Lexi and Kat. I notice as Colby sits down near Sam and turns his attention to the TV. I try to focus on the video game while we play, but I can't help glancing over at Colby every chance I can. What makes it worse is I catch him looking, but I quickly look away. I don't need him to see the blush that shows on my cheeks every time. We spend the rest of the day playing videos and it isn't until late at night that Colby, Sam, and Kat leave. I quickly say goodbye and disappear upstairs, I fall asleep as soon as I lay down on my bed.