Little Redhead (#OnceUponNow)

full moon

"There's no denying it now. I am hopeless – and he knows it."

– Charlotte's Journal

August 30, 2016

~*~

On the first day of school, I see Zev among the crowded hallways.

I spot him right after first period, on my way to Pre-Calculus. At first I think my eyes have played a trick on me, because earlier I simply assumed Zev was older than me and had graduated high school.

But he's still there even after I blink, walking leisurely beside a pretty blonde girl – Natalie, I think, who's a junior. They're heading in my direction as I head in their's, though neither of them have glanced my way yet.

I pick at my textbook's frayed cover as I approach them, wondering if Zev will stop to talk with me. We hung out for over an hour in the closed park last Monday; surely he's still interested in me now.

Zev's dark gaze wanders to mine when I'm mere feet from them. I smile shyly and give a small wave. "Hey, Zev."

I watch as he does nothing but nod coolly, and the girl – Natalie, I'm sure of it now – stares at me blankly. We pass by each other, and Zev doesn't say a single word to me.

The apples of my cheeks color with heat. Gripping the book tighter, I duck my head low. I continue down the hall without a glance back, all the while wondering how I could be so stupid. Why did I ever think Zev feels the same way toward me as I do toward him? With coldness in my chest, I slip into the Pre-Calc room and do my best to forget.

I run into Zev again after lunch. Or rather, he runs into me.

I'm bumping and shouldering my way through the crowds of students. Since I tend to keep to the sides of the rush, closest to the wall, Zev has an easier time of pulling me to the side.

In fact, he practically drags me out of the way. I feel someone grip the sleeve of my cardigan, and I'm suddenly stumbling off into some sort of supply closet. I realize who it is before I cry out a protest – though my heart pounds in my chest from the surprise.

My back is pressed against a metal shelf, stocked with cardboard boxes of printer paper, as Zev quickly shuts the door. The only source of light is a tiny fluorescent bulb above our heads, hanging from a metal wire. We only have about a four-foot square to stand in.

"What's this about?" I snap, glaring heatedly at his smirk. Does he ever stop grinning like that? After what happened this morning, I'm in no mood to deal with him.

Zev shrugs, leaning against the shelf opposite me. "I wanted to see you. What? You didn't want to see me?"

I'm still a little hurt over him ignoring me after first period, but I think this will sound stupid if I say so out loud. Instead, I roll my eyes and gesture to the closet around us. "Why are we in a supply closet? Aren't these usually locked?"

"Not if you jiggle the handle a few times," he grins. "I wanted some privacy."

"Oh yeah?" I ask, somewhat bitterly.

Zev must notice something's off, because he suddenly steps closer to me. In this tiny space, only a few inches separate us. It catches me off guard to be this close to him, and even up close, Zev's irises still appear to be black as ink.

"You seem upset," he muses.

Outside, I hear the minute-warning bell sound through the wooden door. I use this as a distraction, since I don't really want to say why I'm annoyed. "I'll talk to you later. I have class."

I try to shuffle around him toward the door, but he doesn't budge. In fact, he shifts his weight to the side so he leans against packages of staples, blocking my exit.

"Class can wait," Zev says, like school is the last thing on his mind.

With that, he reaches out and grasps a curl of my hair between his thumb and forefinger. I hold my breath, pulse hot and quick beneath my skin, as he stretches it out to inspect the strands in the light. He lets go after a moment of ringing silence, the curl springing back to join the rest.

"You wanna know something, Braith?"

I stare up at him, breathless, because he holds my entire attention in the palm of his hands.

"I think you'd look even better with dark hair," Zev tells me, casual as ever. "You know, like black or something. It'd be hot."

I think my heart has melted into a puddle between our feet, along with my rationale. The idea of losing the red color of my hair is dizzying and unimaginable, and I can't think straight. This seems to be my constant state of mind whenever Zev is near: blurred, unimportant thoughts swirling around with him in clear focus.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" I blurt suddenly, the words falling out before I can stop them. "When you were with that girl. Why didn't you say anything to me?"

The final bell rings, cutting the silence between us. I know I have to leave now, to run to class before I'm more than a minute late, but I'm still frozen in place. Zev's expression is oddly blank, and I think he might be angry.

He reaches up, and I flinch without meaning to. But Zev grasps the thin chain above our heads, attached to the single light bulb that illuminates the supply closet. He pulls and, with a metallic click, the light flickers out.

We are drenched in darkness. I can only hear the sound of my breathing, shallow and quick from nerves, but there is nothing but black air before me. There must be an entire minute where I stand in complete darkness, a mixture of anxiety and anticipation burning in the back of my throat.

And then, out of the blackness, I feel his lips press against mine. His mouth moves against my own and my cheeks flush, my nerve endings flare, and my mind shortcuts. But despite how hot my blood has become, every part of Zev that touches me – his lips, and the tips of his fingers that skim the base of my neck – feels impossibly cool.

As he kisses me in the darkness, I melt to nothing in his hands.