Hearts of Fire

Chapter 2

 Ameena's P.O.V.

I glanced anxiously at the clock.  Twelve forty-three; three more minutes of listening to one of Mrs. Matic’s rare lectures about the importance of art.  Three more minutes until I could get food in my empty stomach– three more minutes until I was going to eat lunch with Fayt.

Fayt…. Why did I feel like he was like me?  It seemed like he was different in the same way that I was.  Click.  Two more minutes left.  The clocks at Redwing High School were quite loud; then again, they were ancient.  The school looked new, due to the recent renovations, however, they had not taken the time to install new clocks.  The building itself had been here in Kazira, a town just an hour away from the Silver Falls State Park, for well over a hundred years. 

Click.  There was only one minute left.  I inconspicuously packed up my books– Mrs. Matic hated it when kids packed up early.  In fact, the only time that Mrs. Matic gave a kid a detention was when some idiotic freshman decided to try to sneak out of her class early while she was helping another student with a project.

“Ameena?” My head snapped up– Mrs. Matic had called on me.  So much for being inconspicuous; it was like Mrs. Matic had the eyes of a hawk.

I opened my mouth to admit that I had not been paying attention when I heard the clock click, and the loud ring of the bell.  Talk about saved by the bell.  As the class hurried out of the room, Mrs. Matic happily chirped a, “See you all tomorrow!”

I rushed out of the room as fast as possible, but someone grabbed my arm.  I gasped– their touch sent tingles down my spine– and then I turned around.

“I’m sorry; did I startle you?”

I sighed in relief. “Oh, Fayt– yeah; just a little bit.”

He gave me a small smile. “So…. Off to lunch?”

“Yeah,” I could not resist grinning back at him.

Fortunately, we got to the cafeteria before most of the students, which meant less attention.  After we got our food in the lunch line, Fayt led me out the semi-hidden door that led to the wooden tables outside.  We sat at the table farthest from the school in the hopes of staying away from the rest of the student body.

“So… is there any particular reason why you moved here?” I asked lightly; trying to start conversation for once in my life.

“Well… I was sort of… it sounds kind of weird….” He trailed off.

I laughed without humor, “I’m the definition of weird; try me.”

He frowned. “You aren’t weird, Ameena.”

For some reason it was extremely soothing to hear those words from him. Nonetheless, I urged him to continue.

“I was looking for someone… someone like me.”

“I’m confused; what do you mean someone like you?” I asked.

Fayt sighed. “Forget about it.”

“Fayt–”

“You seem relatively new here yourself,” he cut me off in a way that somehow still made him seem like a gentleman.

I shifted in my seat across from him– my past was a sensitive subject. “I used to live in North Carolina, but my parents got divorced three years ago, and my mom finally decided to move out here in Oregon just last school year.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, noticing that he had made me uncomfortable.

“For what?” I asked sarcastically, “I pried into your past; you pried into mine; I think that we’re even.”

Fayt gave me a look that could not be deciphered. Nevertheless, he changed the subject again. “So…. You seem rather, for lack of a better word, quiet, like me.  Why is that?  I saw you with your friends earlier and you barely talk to them either.”

I looked away, trying to think of how to tell him how I felt– or why I wanted to talk to him and tell him all my issues so much.  This was not normal for me– I could not seem to uncover the reason why I felt so connected to him.  There was a small possibility that I was simply getting more and more insane by the second.  You’re not going insane, you idiot.  Maybe if you had enough intelligence, then you would figure that out.

I mentally shook my head– what was with that voice?

“If it is personal, please don’t feel like you have to tell me.” Fayt’s voice brought me back to reality; he had mistaken my silence.

“No… it’s fine.  If you really want to know; I just feel… well… for lack of a better word, different.  I don’t feel like I am the same as the other students, or any other teenagers for that matter.  Does that seem odd?”

Fayt appeared to be thinking carefully before he answered.  “No; it is not odd.  I have often felt the very same way.”

"Really?" I asked in disbelief.

"Does it seem like I have any reason to lie to you?" he countered while avoiding my question.

"No..." I murmured.

For the shortest moment, I saw a flash of depression cross his face, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.  I decided that I had imagined it.  Good grief, first I was hearing voices, and now I was hallucinating– maybe I had a fever.

"So... what class do you have next?"

-----------------------------

Fifteen minutes later...

"R-r-rrrring!"

We were both a little surprised when the bell for sixth period rang.  The two of us had been so into the conversation that we had not been paying attention to the time.  We stood up, prepared to leave, but before he even moved I had grabbed the edge of his shirt.  He turned to look at me.

"Can we do this again tomorrow?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He smiled brightly, "Of course;  I was about to ask you the same question."

"Well, I'll see you... later?"

"Yes, Ameena."

At that I walked to my Algebra II class.  As I took my seat in the back corner I remembered; Rose was in this class, and she would be here any second.  Three... two... one... zero...

" 'Meena!" Rose practically squealed as she rushed over to my desk.  I did not answer her.  Maybe I was hallucinating again.  She poked me in the arm with a pen.  So much for hallucinations...  "Tell me what happened between you and... what was his name?"

"His name is Fayt," I answered quietly, even though I wanted her to leave me alone, "and nothing happened."

"But you talked to him during art class, and you two sat together at lunch."

Ugh, how many other people had seen us?  I really did not want the 'popular' crowd drilling me with questions like the ones Rose was asking. "Your point?"

"What do you mean, 'your point?'  I thought you weren't interested in dating?"

"I'm not."

"Ugh, you're impossible," she muttered before going to her own desk.

I sighed in relief once she was gone and the rest of the class slowly drifted into the room.  As the annoying bell rang, I looked out the window and pulled out my Algebra book.  I swore that I saw something black fly across the sky; something that was larger than a bird.  Damn those hallucinations.......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Vote and/or Comment if you like =) Next chapter might be up by next week... if I continue it.

                                                                        *~Amaterasu2772~*