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This chapter is in Mark's perspective.
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I couldn't move, couldn't stop my legs from shaking. The feeling of his grip on my shoulders caused my legs to freeze in place, my chest to drop into the pit of my stomach, my heart to stop beating. His touch was so reassuring, so impacting, so wonderful that I simply could not catch a breath, forced to stare into his eyes as he looked me over, eyebrows hanging low.
I could tell what he was staring at - his beanie, which I was wearing. I couldn't even begin to explain myself due to his touch, the feeling of his warm hands against my freezing, damp shoulders. I didn't know how to tell him that my father was poor, that my brother had taken our only umbrella to his job as a mechanic, that I was forced to use his beanie (which I'd found stranded on the street, his name written on the inner tag) as my only way of protection from the rain. I tried to explain with my eyes, with my body, for my lips clearly wouldn't part to shape words.
"What the fuck are you doin' with my beanie on your head?" he demanded, snatching it free from my hair, sending it loose in the pouring rain. I could feel it rise up messily, could feel the raindrops gently trickling through it, pouring down slowly onto my forehead. My mouth parted in order to begin my improvised explanation, but he quickly interrupted. "No, scratch that. How did you get my beanie on your head?"
"I... I..."
"You're a buddy of Killian's, aren't you? Yeah, he's already got fuckin' Felix... I wouldn't be shocked that he got into the head of the foreign kid." He heaved a heavy sigh, shifting his feet only the slightest, his hands still gripping onto my shoulders. "What is he givin' you, huh? Is he paying you? What's he givin'? I'll double it if you just stay the fuck away."
Confused, I stuttered, "I-I don't work for anyone. I... I would never..."
"Like hell you wouldn't. You work before and after school - looks to me like you need the money." He cleared his throat, realized how far aback I was taken by his insulting words - surely, he hadn't meant to come off as rude as he had, yet he continued to speak with the same fiery passion, just a little quieter now.
"Just... just leave me alone, alright? Don't talk to me, don't look at me, and don't tell anyone where I live. Only Killian knows, and I'd like for it to stay that way."
He looked me over, his brows furrowed, stumbling upon my name tag. He'd never said my name before, and I would do nearly anything to hear the accent sing it out loud. It was an impeccable sound against my ears, a beautiful melody that I wanted to have in the background every second of every day. His voice was perfect, one that I absolutely adored; his voice was one that would reassure you, that would let you know that everything is okay when the world said otherwise.
He then grunted, staring down my hair, damp from the falling rain. As if it were a tedious chore, he stormed down the walkway into his home, muttering at me to stay where I was as he shut the door behind him, the faint sound of clattering heard behind the door, as if he'd dropped something while in a hurry. Within seconds, he was stepping out the door, a purple umbrella in hand, his frown as straight as a line, not nearly a frown at all, yet noticeably an unhappy expression. He handed the umbrella to me, pushing it into my chest as I failed to retrieve it for fear of being greedy.
"Take it," he said forcefully, still holding it against my chest. I felt the handle press against my lungs just gently, watching his knuckles turn white as they clung to it.
"I..."
"What're you, an echo of your own self? Just fuckin' take it! It's pourin' rain outside, for God's sake."
Slowly, I grabbed onto the handle, feeling my hand just barely touch his, the hand of the man who had been clinging onto my shoulders just moments ago. I could feel the very sense of confidence and protection that he gave off just within that one touch, that feeling that you were at home, that there was nothing to be afraid of. I could feel our energies converge as I slowly pulled away, the umbrella in hand, letting his hand slip free of mine as he placed it in his pocket, looking down at his shoes as I struggled to open the umbrella. Stuttering, he came over and helped me, his hand back on top of mine only for one more, sensational breath in time, one moment that I would never earn back again - just for that one, beautiful moment, I felt his skin caress mine, a moment just as gentle and fragile as a baby's first word. It broke my heart to have to pull away again, and it hurt even more to have to shrug off the moment as if it'd never happened. I just prayed that it meant the same to Jack.
"Thanks," I smiled, hoisting the umbrella up and over my head.
His eyes locked with mine as he ran a hand through his hair, sprinkles of water flying out as he did. "Do you have your own umbrella?"
I shook my head, and his next words terrified me. "Take it," he said softly. "Just keep it for tomorrow. It's supposed to rain all week, y'know."
I smiled as he grunted his way back inside, leaving me and my legs, locked together, out on the front walkway. I was surprised that I'd managed to get them moving after what'd just happened, how I'd been completely frozen in time with this one boy, this one classmate of mine that managed to make every hair on the back of my neck erect.
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Sorry for the short-notice ending! I'm super busy with schoolwork and promise a new chapter tomorrow. I'm so sorry.
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Ever After
Fanfiction"His eyes - oh, God, his eyes - were an entirely different story. Staring into his eyes was like staring into the summer sky just before the sunset came, before the yellow, pink, and purple clouds came to fog up your vision. They were the definition...
