He Who Weaves Nightmares | PUBLISHED (Available in Print and eBook Format)

Chapter 2 - Teen Gaspard

Chapter 2 - Teen Gaspard

Dreamer

I decided to go to Dawn's Diner instead of the popular café at the mall because I wanted to avoid the in-crowd. Yvonne, my best friend, suggested the smaller café located inside the village.

From outside, the place looked fine. It looked small and cozy and Yvonne assured me that there was free WiFi. Not that I needed the internet. Often times, it was an unnecessary distraction. I'd need a power outlet to plug my device though.

I stepped in the café and appreciated the whiff of coffee and cinnamon that greeted me. I didn't appreciate the group of cheerleaders loudly giggling at one table. Weren't they supposed to be practicing with their pompoms? The diner was small and the girls' laughter filled the area.

Obviously, I wasn't a fan of cheerleaders.

Oh well. I could ignore the tittering, but I wasn't prepared for the look-what's her name-Dana gave me when she took my order.

What could I do? I was starving. I skipped breakfast in my hurry to get to this café and record my dream from last night before I completely forgot the details. I didn't need the look. I bet Dana wouldn't be so judgmental whatever I requested if I had looked like the typical 15-year old blonde wearing skimpy shorts and heavy makeup. As it was, I was yet to fill out my training bra.

I could feel Dana's eyes following me as I walked to my table. I guessed I wouldn't be returning here tomorrow.

She should quit it. Nothing interesting here. Except that I had to pass by the Pompoms' table. Ugh.

They stopped giggling and followed the leader... I meant the server.

Ignore me. I'm invisible.

I sucked it in and tried hard not to shake my head or roll my eyes. I just needed to get to an empty table, appease my grumbling gut and write about the beast I dreamt last night while its features were still vivid in my mind.

I placed my tray on the table and my bag on the couch. Nice pillows. I got settled and comfortable... because they'd finally dropped it. Yay! The girls finally lost interest and resumed their chatter. I tried to block out the mindless topics about the hottest nail colors and how one of them was worried because she missed her period.

Ooh. Which one?

Wait. I almost forgot I didn't care. Even though I also forgot to bring my earphones, it was time to block out the gibberish and plunge into my story. I wasn't an artist like my best friend so I tried to paint the best I could with words.

The creature from last night was so beautiful and massive. It was unlike anything I'd encountered in fact or fiction. The mere thought of it gave me goose bumps and I could imagine the tips of my fingers touching its coarse pelt if only it existed in my world. For now, these fingertips would touch the keys and hopefully do the memory justice.

Sometimes I wished I could stay in my dreams forever. They were definitely more fascinating than reality. And even though there were nightmares, there were no pompoms.

And they were staring again. I could sense it. They probably thought I was weird. I pushed the feeling away and continued typing, but they'd been staring for over five minutes now and I was getting awfully distracted. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand.

I didn't want to start a stupid argument. I could still remember how one ended a few months ago-the batch sweetheart and her entire clique cornered me and enumerated all my "defects." That wasn't fun at all.

Not that I cared. The girls now had little roles in my story.

Okay, maybe I was more hurt than I'd like to admit.

Anyway, they were still watching me and it was starting to get on my nerves. Here's what I'd do. I'd just look up, raise an eyebrow and slightly shake my head to deliver a "you-don't-want-to-waste-your-time-on-me" message and pray that it would work. I read that move in one of those leaflets from the bookstore-time to try it out.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and raised my head.

The table was empty. The cheerleaders had already left and I didn't even notice. Did they leave the moment I closed my eyes and inhaled?

Wow! It worked. I should go back to the store and tell them their meditative trick was effective.

I cracked my knuckles and prepared to resume typing when I heard someone say, "I wonder what she's writing."

I frowned and turned my head... and forgot to breathe when I saw the three boys sitting at the next table.

Make that two boys and one god.

I knew I switched from cold to hot-pale to flushed-in a matter of seconds, but that didn't stop me from chronicling what I saw. I blamed the wannabe writer in me.

The smallest of the three had spun around and I didn't get to clearly see his face. He was fair-haired and slender and he seemed to be several years younger than his friends. The other two were seated facing me.

One of them had an angular face and brown hair that reached his wide shoulders. His eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. Ugh. That was one of my pet peeves. I couldn't understand why people had to wear sunglasses indoors unless they were blind or they had sore eyes. And if they had sore eyes, they should be staying at home to prevent spreading infection.

He probably had ugly mismatched eyes.

And on to the reason I was sure I was blushing. The man sitting next to Sore Eyes made it extremely difficult to breathe. His eyes weren't simply grey. They appeared silver and seemed to be reflecting light. He had thick, jet-black hair and a widow's peak that gave him a mysterious look. There were slight grooves on his cheeks that I bet turned into deep dimples when he smiled. He was lean and gorgeous. He looked like Gaspard Ulliel's better-looking younger brother. I couldn't wrap my mind around how that was even possible.

And Teen Gaspard was staring at me!

I could hear my heart thumping against my ribcage. I ducked and realized how stupid it was to hide behind my netbook. My monitor's no bigger than my head.

Okay. Act normal. Act cool. Ack! I don't know how to act cool.

I tried to focus on my story. I'd completely lost my train of thought. I tried to read what I'd written, but the words seemed to blend into each other. I tried to get back to describing my beast.

Type. Backspace. Type. Backspace.

I took another deep breath and subtly peered over my monitor. He's still staring! Why did I wear my rattiest clothes today?! He's probably laughing at me.

Type an entire paragraph. Highlight the recent text. Press Ctrl+x.

And now he was squinting. Maybe he had poor eyesight and couldn't really see me?

Type. Type. Type. The. Delete. He. Delete. I. Delete.

I tried to get my momentum back. I shouldn't waste this morning. It was one of those rare occasions I had spare time to get some writing done. Mom brought my sisters with her to work today and I had no other chores before class. But damn it, I couldn't focus anymore.

God, my hair's a mess! I hadn't bothered washing it this morning.

Be cool. I'll just finish my breakfast then I'll go. They shouldn't think I'm leaving because of them.

I was about to grab what's left of my sandwich, but I was horrified to see there were only crumbs left on my plate.

No!!! Had he seen me demolish the sandwich in seconds?? Did he see me eating like a pig?

I caught my reflection on my screen and saw mayonnaise smudged on my chin. Amazing. I grabbed a paper napkin and wiped my face.

It was time to accept defeat. As much as I loved my latest character, I was too distracted and embarrassed to stay. I took out my phone, pretended to receive a call-admitted to myself that it was the lamest escape-packed my things and left.