LIMINAL || 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙚 [1]

𝟠 | 𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤, 𝕒𝕞 𝕀 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥?

We were almost through a full week of tutoring when that thing happened again. And afterwards, I was left with more questions than answers.

It started out with me beating Jasper to the library. I had skipped out on lunch, feeling too apprehensive about our lesson today to eat anything, and was looking for the unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo. Ms. Fields must have been in the cafeteria getting her usual chicken salad. I figured Jasper was there, too, relishing his time away from me.

De, Di, Do......Dumas, I thought while tracing my fingers over the rows of books. It had to be somewhere here, considering most 10th grade English classes included it as part of the curriculum. Finally, I spotted it on the shelf above my head, the thick novel sandwiched between several thinner books. I reached up, stretching out all of my five foot six height to try and grab it. My fingers just barely brushed in front of the spine. If I were an inch taller, I would've been able to reach it. Still I persisted, grunting with the effort to stay on my tiptoes for more than a minute. Just as I was about to give up and use a chair, a pale hand easily surpassed mine and plucked the book from its spot. I fell back on my heels, bumping into the person behind me before whirling around to see who had snuck in. The hair at the back of my neck instantly stood on end.

Towering over me, his hand still resting on the shelf above my head, was Jasper Hale. How he had gotten into the library without me hearing, I didn't know. He must have been silent as a cat on carpet to get so close without me noticing. And now, we were way too close. Close enough that my heart was pounding in my ears, drowning out the sound of my breathing. Close enough that I could see the various shades of gold in his eyes. Close enough to smell the delicious cologne he wore, something with notes of leather, whiskey, and vanilla tobacco. My mind went numb at the scent, and it felt as if time slowed. I had to tilt my head back just to look at his face straight on. For once, he didn't seem completely put out to see me. He didn't look pleasant either, but any improvement in his attitude was always welcome. He held my gaze as he pulled the book off the shelf.

"The Count of Monte Cristo," he read from the front cover, finally breaking our eye contact. His right eyebrow lifted in silent judgment as he continued to examine the cover. "A story of betrayal and revenge."

I noticed a few other things, this close up. His pale skin was flawlessly smooth, much like Alice's. His cheekbones were prominent under that flawless skin, but there was a haunted look to his eyes. Dark shadows were lining the skin underneath, as if he hadn't slept in days. And the color of his eyes was darker than normal, too, more like a dark amber than their usual honey. I grasped onto these facts, trying to gain a more level head despite how loopy I felt.

"Did you eat lunch already?" I chirped, finding it hard to speak normally. He shook his head and pressed the book to my stomach before turning away. I grabbed it just in time, blinking after his retreating figure. The farther away he walked, the clearer my head became. I tentatively followed, placing the book at the circulation desk on the way.

We started as usual, him writing out an explanation of the section material and then me working through a couple of practice problems which he then corrected. We were on the last problem set from the current chapter when it happened. Jasper was passing my notebook so that I could review his feedback. As I reached out to receive it, the very tips of our index fingers touched. My head swam, briefly with too many emotions to nail down, but it wasn't as intense as the last two times. Uncomfortable, yes, but not much different than standing up too fast after laying down for a while. I watched Jasper's face to see if he had felt it, too. We blinked at each other from across the table, both stunned into speechlessness. This was the first time it had happened secluded from other people; maybe it was a good time to talk about it.