Storm Clouds (Crimson Hills Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 3

Kathryn saw Cameron around school at least once a day for the next few weeks, his strange familiar face and mysterious air chipping away at her. She learned that he had transferred from a school in East London, and that his only friend at school was Caden Cline, one of the top students in their year group. Still, she couldn't quite figure him out. One day, while browsing the makeup shelves of the local chemists, Kat sighed, picking a bottle of cheap shampoo out of the bargain basket.

"What's on your mind, Kit-Kat?" Amber asked, swiping a blood-red lipstick across the back of her hand. "You've been sighing all day."

"It's nothing." Kathryn mumbled, tossing the shampoo back into the basket and turning to the eyeshadow display stand.

"Nope." Amber disagreed, putting the lipstick back and picking out another. "I can tell when you're lying. Spill." She suddenly gasped. "Is it Aiden? Oh, it's Aiden isn't it. If he's cheating on you, I'll rip his-"

"It's not Aiden." Kat assured her, rubbing her finger in a tester of bronze eyeshadow and smearing it across her wrist. The colour did nothing for her complexion. "I told you about the new guy in my English class, right?"

"Right." She mumbled, holding her hand up next to her lips, trying to choose a colour. "Blonde, skinny, mysterious...? That one?"

"Yeah." Kat agreed, testing out a darker shade. It suited her skin tone much better than the first. "Well, he seems to be everywhere, to start with. Like, I can't go a day without running into him in the hall – and he just, like, ignores me every time. Très bizarre. Second..." She tried to think of the best way to word it. "Do you think he looks like anyone we know? His face is like...weirdly familiar."

"Not that I can think of." Amber said firmly, wiping her hand with a tissue and taking both lipstick shades from the shelf. "Why has some short boy got your knickers in a twist- oh!" Amber gasped again, a grin creeping across her face. "You liiiike him!"

"Ew, no." Kat snapped. "Besides, I'm taken."

"Ugh, I guess." Amber groaned. She wasn't the biggest fan of Aiden, and refused to tell Kathryn why. "Come on, I'll pay for these then we can get some iced tea from Romeo's."

Kat nodded and followed Amber to the checkout, then they headed out of the chemists and into the coffee shop next door. Romeo's was an independent café on the town square, in one of the original buildings from back when the town was built. They served the best coffee in town, even if it was the most expensive. Most people Kat's age just went to the cheaper chain coffee shop in the new shopping centre, but Kat and Amber preferred Romeo's.

Kat sat at a table while Amber went up the counter and ordered two iced teas, then came back to the table to wait for them to be made.

"Right, so tell me again why you're so interested in this new boy?" Amber drawled, picking at the chipped black polish on her bitten nails.

"Cameron. He just has a familiar face, that's all." Kathryn said finally, fiddling with a strand of her hair. "It's probably nothing."

Just as Amber's name was called for the drinks, the room started to shake.

"Seriously..." Amber groaned as they each got under a table, the rest of the café doing the same. Once the shaking stopped, concerned murmurs passed through the café as people came out from underneath tables. The barista called Amber's name again. She went up and collected their drinks, leaving with a quick wink towards the part-time barista. He was exactly her type, from the shaggy black hair to the ear stretchers, and had a good 6 inches on her. Kat rolled her eyes as they left the coffee shop, sipping their tea as they wandered across the town square.