Never Enough Time

Chapter Three: Nathan

Chapter Three: Nathan

“I’ve got a lot on my mind,

It’s always you every time…”

− All That I Know, Collective Soul

 NATHAN

            She was smiling at me. Rika was smiling at me, and my heart was beating so fast and hard I was surprised she couldn’t hear it. When she shook my hand, a jolt of energy went through me, warming my body. I had never felt anything like that before. A new feeling of curiosity spread through me. What did she think of me now? Did she feel the energy transferring from her body to mine? Could she see how it affected me when she said my name? A million questions flooded my mind. Distracted by my thoughts, it took me a minute to become aware of the fact that I was supposed to answer Rika again.

            I was almost afraid to look back at her, afraid to know what her reaction to me was. How peculiar she must think me! I didn’t want to see her face when she stared at me like I was mental – which I was beginning to question. But when I did look, she was watching me with a charming expectant expression on her face, like she didn’t care how long I took to answer her. This made me very, very happy. A tiny bubble of hope welled up inside me. I squashed it before it could completely take over my mind.

            “It’s nice to meet you, too, Rika,” I replied. A thrill went through me when I said her name for the first time. I loved it. Could she tell? Would she see how I felt about her?

Did she hear how my voice wrapped around her name like an embrace?

“So…” she trailed off. “How old are you?” she asked, trying to make casual conversation.

I smiled in relief; I had been afraid of her asking what I was doing here. This question, at least, was an easy one.

“Seventeen,” I answered. “How old are you?” While we were on the subject, I might as well take this opportunity to get to know her better. This was an example of how terrible of a “stalker” – to quote Gabriel – I was. I didn’t even know how old the girl was, and I had only discovered her name a few minutes ago.

“I’m sixteen,” she said. And the way she said it made it seem like she was saying something else; something more. It was almost like she was confessing something, and didn’t care who knew. Once again, I felt the familiar longing to know what she was thinking.

I nodded, trying to think of something else to say. “That’s nice. Sixteen is a good age to be,” I said.

Now she really did look at me oddly. I was immediately worried. Did I say something wrong? I went over our conversation in my head, but couldn’t find anything in it that might have offended her.

“What?” I asked her, working to keep my expression politely interested. Inside, I was panicking. What had I done to make her look at me like that? My heart was on overdrive; I thought it might jump out of my chest.

“Aren’t you going to ask me if I have a Happy Ending?” She looked even more confused.

“Oh,” I said lamely and looked away. Shoot. I had forgotten that I wasn’t supposed to know she didn’t have a Happy Ending. If I had been careful enough, I would have asked about it the minute she told me she was sixteen. It was what any other normal person would do. I wanted to kick myself for not being more mindful. How could I be so careless?

GABRIEL

            How could he be so careless? Nathan was usually so precise, so deliberate in his actions. He knew better. I sighed at the image in the water. I supposed it was the girl – Rika, she had said her name was. She affected him in ways that I’d never seen him affected before. He was acting strange and distracted, not answering immediately or meeting her eyes. He only did that when he was thinking hard about something. The Nathan I knew would never consciously wait until it was too late to answer back; he was the epitome of the perfect gentleman. In other words, he was the complete opposite of me. I flashed one of my most disturbing smiles at nothing.

            Turning my attention back to the water basin, I saw that the conversation had settled into an uncomfortable silence. Unable to keep myself from grinning, I decided to have a little fun and help my brother; I figured he had already messed things up too thoroughly to do any more harm. I shook my head pityingly. The things he did for that girl…

            Allowing the picture in the water to blur slightly, I gathered my thoughts and focused them on the north-westerly wind. It was my favourite of all the winds because it was usually the most obedient – to me, at least. Plus, it was nearest to where Nathan and his companion were standing in the forest, saying nothing. Walking over to the window, I whispered to the wind, murmuring instructions; telling it where to go and what to do. After a moment of contemplation, it consented. I smiled and gave the wind my thanks. It lingered at my window for a second, reviewing my directions, and left.

            I really did like the north-westerly wind.

 RIKA

            The silence was deafening. We stood there for a very, very long time without speaking. It was the most awkward silence I had ever experienced. I was trying desperately to think of something to say that wouldn’t sound strange or make the situation even more awkward.

            Suddenly, I felt a strong, cool breeze sweep through the area of the forest where we were standing. I would’ve ignored it, except it became stronger and stronger, until it started blowing me toward Nathan, whose expression was somewhere between shock and amusement. The wind picked up even further, and seemed to wrap around my body like a blanket. I gasped as I was lifted off my feet and literally crashed into Nathan’s chest. He caught me before I could collapse on the ground.

            I looked up into his perfect face. “What was that?” I gasped, staring around wildly, bewildered. There was no trace of the mysterious whirlwind that had ripped through the area. Except of course, the fact that I was now several feet away from where I was standing a few seconds ago.

            Nathan looked like he was trying not to laugh.

            I shoved at his chest. “It’s not funny!”

            He struggled to compose his face. “I’m sorry – you’re right, it’s not funny, really – it’ just…” he stopped.

            “It’s just what?” I demanded.

            “It’s my brother,” he explained. “He’s incredibly skilled at Magic and sometimes uses it for his own amusement. I would be willing to bet that we’re his entertainment at the moment.”

            Well, that wasn’t an answer I was expecting. Not that I was expecting anything in particular, but his reply still caught me off guard.

            “You have a brother?”

            He smiled at me. “Yes. His name is Gabriel. He’s my best friend,” he said. And the way he talked about his brother made me believe that they had a real bond together. They must care about each other very much.

            I wanted to know more. “Is Gabriel a lot like you?” I asked curiously.

            This time Nathan really laughed. It was a nice laugh; I liked it.

            “No, not at all. In fact, one could say he is my antithesis,” he said, smiling again.

            Now I laughed. “Well, opposites attract, I guess.” I grinned up at him.

            He looked down at me, staring deep into my eyes.

            “Yes,” he agreed. “Yes, they do.”

             I was suddenly very aware of his arms around me.

Author's Note! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey!!! So I just wanted to thank you guys for reading my story. It really means a lot and I hope that you will post some comments because I would really like to know what you think.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, please vote and/or become a fan!

Once again, thank you SO MUCH for reading this! :D

Love you all <3

-- Carine :)