Fascinated by Him

Chapter Eighteen - The Realization

** This chapter has been edited.

Banging on my bedroom door wakes me out of my peaceful slumber. I was tempted to freak at whoever was stupid enough to wake me up, but stopped myself, and grumbled under my breath.

          "Come on, Faythe, we have to be at school in fifteen minutes." My brother's angry voice greets me through the door.

          Shit. What time was it anyway? A glance over at my bedside table reveals the time, and I cringe. I was going to have to hurry up if I wanted to make it without being late.

          "I'm up, I'm up," I sigh to myself. "Be ready in five," I say loud enough for Ben to hear me.

          I rush around my room gathering my clothes and nearly kill myself in the process of trying to shimmy into my skinny jeans. Anyone who says they aren't hazardous, are lying. Those things were damn dangerous while trying to pull on.

          It takes me the whole five minutes to get myself finally presentable. I make sure to take a moment in the mirror, making sure everything was situated right. To my satisfaction, everything was how it should be. I even managed to rush enough, so I could get some makeup on. I hated leaving the house without at least a little bit on.

          Making it down the stairs, I glance around, usually Ben was waiting for me by the door, but I didn't see any sight of him. Where the hell did he go to? He better not of left me, or I was going to be pissed.

          "He told me to give you a ride and took off."

          I turn at his voice, taking in the sight of Luke in the early morning light. He wore a boyish grin and was reclined back against the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed over his muscular chest.

          He pushes himself off the wall when I don't speak because I was still too busy checking him over. He stops about two feet away from me, his grin still in place.

          "He was in a hurry. Plus, this gives me a chance to say good morning."

          Taking in the rest of his body - blue denim jeans, and a red shirt, with his jacket spread over his broad shoulders - I return to his face and catch his mossy green eyes with my own.

          "Oh, well, good morning. We better get going though, or we'll be late." I grab my backpack off the floor and pull my boots on quickly.

          The whole time I do this, he doesn't say a word, just watches me in silence. It makes me a little anxious because I didn't know what he was watching me so intently for. I just ignore it and try not to show that he has me squirming on the inside.

          It was always like this with him. It wasn't bad per say. He just always had me hyper-aware when he was around. It was like my body knew it was him and reacted this way. It was like being on a tight wire, adrenaline racing, and heart pumping faster than usual.

          "Come on, we better go." He announces, opening the door, and unlocking his car, getting inside, while I follow behind quietly after locking up the house.

          We listen to the music on the radio and I lip-sync the words to each song. When we finally make it to the school, people are still milling about outside. Luke pulls into his usual parking space next to Ben's baby, before shutting off the engine.

          I'm already out of the vehicle before I even begin to notice the stares of everyone around us. There were groups of girls whispering to each other, heads bent close, and eyes pointed in our direction. Some guys were even talking and staring, openly.