Jocelyn Waters stared after him as he ran fast and far; probably out of her life forever. Her eyes flashed back toward the fiery-red head girl with sorrow filled forest green eyes. ‘What the hell just happened?’ She wasn’t sure, but she felt it; the heat. It was like a fire coming from within, ready to devour all in sight. She knew she should be scared, all the sapphire-eyed boy had to do was look her way and she felt instant heat, but she wasn’t. She was more excited than she’d ever been about anything. His mysterious eyes were seared into her mind. She would never be able to forget them. “Joce, you okay?” her best friend, Demi said. “Um… yeah”, Jocelyn answered as she scanned the crowd. She started to get dizzy as her ex-boyfriend, Josh, made his way to her. As he talked, she felt as though the beige walls were closing in on her. “I gotta go” she said, in no particular direction. She darted through the sticky crowd, out into the night breeze, and home.
Jocelyn, we’re waiting” Mrs. Hartford said. Jocelyn, who had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, lifted her head to see the entire class turned toward her. “I’m sorry, what?” she replied. “We’re waiting on you to read chapter 16 aloud. Are you feeling okay?” Mrs. Hartford said. Jocelyn tucked her lengthy black hair behind her ear. “Yea… I just need some water”, she replied. Her teacher nodded in consent and sent the girl to the hallway. When Jocelyn was alone with her thoughts, she continued her breakdown of the previous evening. Those mysterious dark eyes had stuck with her all night; long after she had drifted into sleep. She had felt a connection between boys before but what occurred between them was more than a connection. She would describe it as heat… no power and she hadn’t been prepared for it. She was so fascinated with last night’s events, she hadn’t even noticed that the bell had rung and there was a collection of students that had passed her by. She removed herself from the wall and walked back to now deserted classroom. As she pulled the door open, she and Demi almost collided. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting isolated since the party”, Demi said. Jocelyn wasn’t sure how to respond to her best friend, because she wasn’t even sure what was happening to her. “Yeah… I’ll be fine”, she finally said, after she gathered her things. “Are you coming to Jessica Talbert’s party tonight?” Demi asked. Jocelyn felt a little weird about last night so would she be able to attend this party? But there was a chance that she would see the sapphire eyed boy again. “I have to study for trigonometry test on Monday, but I might come later on”, she replied. Demi nodded her head and they walked to their waiting busses.
This didn’t make sense; she didn’t see him at all. Jocelyn thumbed through her sixth grade yearbook and the mystery boy wasn’t there anywhere. She had to know him. The way he looked at her had done something. The feeling she felt… she had to feel it again; moving through her with such force. ‘Maybe he’s new in town’, she thought to herself. She considered this for a moment before pushing it away. She had observed that he seemed very well known at the party. She turned the page and a head full of thick red curls caught her eye. It was the girl from the party who was standing with the mystifying boy. Her forest green eyes sparkled. The light hit her hair perfectly and contrasted with her ghostly white skin for an alluring photo. Her smile was innocent yet sneaky. Jocelyn skimmed over to the names to find out the girl’s; Dakota Lamia. “Joce, I’m going back to the office”, her aunt, Michelle, said. She was standing in her niece’s doorway. “Can you drop me off at Jessica’s party? It’s right on your way”, Jocelyn asked. Her aunt nodded and Jocelyn left the yearbook sitting open on her queen-sized bed.
Jocelyn was in the thick of everything; the sweaty bodies fusing together. She surprisingly hadn’t thought about last night because she was too involved tonight. This party seemed to be wilder than any other one she had ever been to. The guys were all over the girls. As Jocelyn swayed her hips left and right, she just happened to turn around. She gasped when she did. There was a boy, towering over her, with long blonde hair that grazed his shoulders and sepia stained eyes. He had a devious grin plastered to his face. “Wanna dance?” he said; his deep voice escaping his throat. She gave the scrawny boy a look over and replied, “I don’t even know you”. He leaned in toward her ear and replied, “Now you do, I’m Gabe”. A strand of his golden hair danced across her shoulder and made her shiver. She hesitated for a moment and then gave in under his watchful eyes. “Fine, one dance” she said, as she began swaying her hips to the baseline. She could feel his every stomach muscle against her back. Something about him made her uncomfortable. He relaxed his hand on her right hip but, started moving closer to the button on her jean short-shorts. He moved her hair behind her shoulder and she could feel his breath on her neck. “Where do you want me?” he seductively whispered in her ear, before planting a kiss on her neck. She quickly removed his hand, spun around, and slapped him swiftly across the face. He vigorously grabbed her arm and stared deep into her eyes. After awhile, she couldn’t keep up with his stares. She looked away, snatched her arm, and left him staring after her, deep within the wild crowd. As she walked toward the front door, she caught eyes with Josh. She couldn’t take the hurt behind his eyes, and she rushed home.
