Prologue
"Hello, Elaine and yes... I or we need your help." Glancing at Grey with a scowl, I walk to her. Daisy and Grey follow and we go inside the library's ancient walls. Literally. A cellar door was already open from when she came out to meet...
"What are you doing in here?" I demand from Grey and he turns his head up to face me instead of Eddy. He lazily slouches over Eddie's desk, elbows dug into wood and now that his red and black jacket sleeves are pushed up, his arms are a masterpiece of inked art. Whoa.. His eyes meet mine and a tiny bell starts ringing in my head. They're friends??? No! Absolutely, not!
"He's talking to me. Why; did he do something to hurt you?" I roll my eyes at Eddy and cross my arms as I feel Grey's eyes sinking into me. I glare without meaning to at my ex and anger pours from his features.
"He hasn't done anything to hurt me and I was talking to -him-." Grey's arms slither from the desk in a show of designs. He steps closer to me and Eddy looks at him as if he's going to stab him through the back. Maybe, he is. This is sooo not comfortable. Grey casts a glance back at Eddy and my ex- boyfriend's face becomes a painted on ocean of calm. I regard him with suspicion; he notices my inspection and smiles. I narrow my eyes at him. I don't like that smile. My friends at the other school said his smile is evil. I guess I know which one they mean now. It's just that tiny glint in his eyes that throws it off from sweet.
"Well, now that you're here we can hang out like old friends." Grey slaps his hands together happily and oddly enough my lips twitch in a grin. How does he do that? The teacher chuckles and I peek sideways at her. She's watching us in amusement, and I guess it could be funny. Maybe, she knows about my past with Eddy and suspects something is going on between Grey and I. Hmph. There's nothing going on. This thought is sadly shunned by my conscience as I study his features and my eyes can't help but linger on his smile.
"You do know you can't stay in here all this block, don't you?" Mrs. Edine asks with nothing other than humour. Ahh... I really want him to stay.
"But, I have gym. We just hang out in there, no real work." He argues lightly, a tiny whine to his voice. I giggle on accident and he flashes me a smirk. Eddy grunts and I laugh at him.
"Alright, but you better not get me in trouble." Our teacher says a bit more seriously. Grey nods and turns around to Eddy, moving to sit down in the desk beside his.
"I wish I could be with Daisy." I sigh and Eddy frowns.
"Why?" He questions and it's like he's trying to force guilt on me. I hate how easily he can.
"I want to hang out with my best friend." I shrug. I sit on the table in the back. Mrs. Edine clucks her disapproval, but doesn't tell me to get off it. Crossing my arms I try searching my mind for something, anything to talk about with them. I have guy friends, but mostly we just goof off together. I sort of have the feeling the three of us can't do that and it bothers me. I pick at my shoelace and visit my memories of the day, thinking of all my dreams and a part of me wonders if this is one. It could be and Eddy could just be here in my imagination. Yeah, keep hoping. My heart feels empty when I think of him and yet there's an ache that I can't stand. It's not that I want him to be with me or even in my life, but it's a strong protective feeling that destroys my common sense. I stare at him and gratefully realize he doesn't know. I only see half of his face as he sits still, mumbling something I don't hear to Grey. Whatever he said seems to have not been Grey's taste because the darkened expression is fixated on Eddy. He either doesn't notice the glare or chooses to ignore it, one or the other. Pulling my gaze from them, I inspect the room. Maybe, there's board games.. My eyes land on a Monopoly box sitting on a brown, wooden, ceiling-high shelf and I grin at the rest of the games stacked beneath and on top of it. Hopping up, I slip between desks and my grin widens as I take in the large amount of games just waiting to be played. I turn around to see Grey and Eddy watching me, my head rotates back around quickly; a blush is burning my cheeks. Swallowing my embarrassment, I look back.
"Come help pick out a game to play!" I demand and I'm surprised by the heated tone of my voice. They glance sideways at each other and I tap my foot dramatically. Grey chuckles and Eddy is biting on his lip, so I'm guessing he's fighting a smile.
"Monopoly will take forever and we only have like thirty-five minutes to play." Grey says, scratching out that choice.
"I don't like checkers." Eddy adds and I examine the boxes. Chess!
"How about chess?" I question, hope filled. My hope is immediately shot down as Grey shakes his head.
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"Nah... What about cards?" Eddy asks, picking up a deck that I hadn't seen behind a Yahtzee box. I love playing cards. Daisy got me into it and we play whenever we can, occasionally at lunch, too. I nod at the same time as Grey. We all head to the table I was perched on earlier and drag our chairs out. Grey sits carefully; Eddy plops down like me. I'm not big on lady-like behavior. I have manners, but I don't act like a princess. Eddy begins shuffling the deck, obviously showing off. I refrain from rolling my eyes and settle in, propping my elbows on the table-top. Grey sits back, draping his arm across the chair and waits for Eddy to deal out our hands.
"What are we playing?" He asks curiously. Eddy stops shuffling and grins sheepishly. I guess we were about to play an -anything goes game-.
"I don't know. What do ya'll want to play?" We decide on War and play till the last bell rings and we toss the cards in a pile, promising the teacher that we'll put them away tomorrow afternoon. I grab my backpack and take one last look at the two guys before me. What have I gotten myself into? Grey meets my gaze and at the same exact time I feel Eddy staring at me. A strange tug pulls at my insides and I'm not sure what to make of it..
"Want me to walk you out? I walk home, so I have time." Grey offers to me and I almost say yes, but catching Eddy's death glare I shake my head no.
"It's alright, but thank you though." He smiles, but only halfheartedly. I shouldn't let Eddy control my decisions! It's time to show him that he no longer has any say-so in my life. As Grey turns to go, I put my hand out on his arm and immediately jerk back. My vision blurring to a scene with both of them fighting and Grey's face being slammed into the concrete. As he pivots around to me I can only stand with my mouth hanging open, unable to tear my eyes away from him. Was that a warning?!
"I changed my mind... Can you walk with me to the buses?" His smile stretches across his cheeks and my heart beats frustratingly hard in my chest. I take a deep breath and hope to whatever higher power there is that I'm not making a huge mistake. A loud sound pierces my eardrums beside me and I catch Eddy's retreating figure, his chair flipped over onto it's side. He doesn't bother to come back even when Mrs. Edine hollers at him. In seconds he's gone. I gulp. Great.
