The Unseen

Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

As Quinn stared at me, I began to feel very stupid. How come it hadn't been so obvious as it seemed at this moment? His eyes were an amazing shade of green. Maybe like a fresh leaf in a deep forest, or a gorgeous emerald. I had, of course, been impressed by his eyes before, but whenever I saw him he was mostly always with Hunter - and my infatuation over Hunter's looks had sort of blocked out any other simpler beauty around.

And then Quinn's words echoed in my mind. It isn't obvious? The moron finally realized the lifelong crush you've had on him and took a little interest in you. How could that be true? How could he have possibly noticed me suddenly after years and years of knowing each other with hardly any words, like the occasional "hey"?

Quinn stood, frozen, looming over me. I noticed the small tear in his shirt caused by my pen. It must have drawn a little bit of blood to make him change into a human, which I regretted, even if he was trying to kill me.

We stood, staring directly into each other's eyes. His emeralds transfixed me.

Another sudden thought came to my head: What had Quinn meant by saying 'Love you'? Of course, he had written that on the note that he had left in the shack, but I hadn't taken a stranger very seriously. Now that I knew who he was, my crush's best friend, it just seemed more clear.

I swallowed. He took a step back, his eyes never leaving mine. "You will regret this." He turned around, and I was surprised he even turned his back on me. He must've known I didn't have the actual courage to pick up the knife and insert it in his back.

"Wait," I said, my voice still trembling. I wished that this obvious nervousness would pass. Quinn paused, his head tilted towards me. "Y-you love m-me?"

Quinn turned around again, his green eyes suddenly blazing. "Yes, Nikkia!" he said, almost shouting, pain written clear across his face. "How could I not? I had such a crush on you since so long, and then it developed into something more."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I was speechless.

Everything I'd known my whole life seemed so fake. He had loved me for so long, yet I had been oblivious. Love seemed like such a strong word. We hadn't even had a real conversation. Now that I thought about it, neither had Hunter and I... so did I really love him, or was it just a lot of confused feelings in me? How could Quinn ever feel that way about me? I couldn't imagine anybody thinking of me the way I thought of Hunter. I couldn't imagine him saying my name in his head, thinking of me before he fell asleep. It was impossible to think of all the times he probably stared at me with admiration and I never noticed. I hadn't ever thought anybody could think of me like that just because of who I was, not because I did anything to earn it. Now every memory with him seemed rewritten as I remembered his red face and lingering looks that I had so carelessly written off.

"Nikkia, you don't know how much it hurt me to see you staring at Hunter all day long. You didn't seem to realize I was there. You're the reason I'm The Wolf. I hate this inferiority that I feel everywhere. At school, it's always Hunter. At home, it's always Brenden, my brother, who gets the attention of my parents. I hate being ignored like this! As if I'm second-rate all the time." I had never heard so much desperation in one person's voice. He sounded trapped, as if he was shut inside this tiny little box created by his parents and I. I had helped trap him, and I didn't even know it at the time.

As he stopped speaking, I gathered up the courage to whisper, "Why didn't you just tell me?" I couldn't even imagine the different scenario that could be happening right now if he had told me.