Hunted

Act 20; On

Noah should feel in heaven.

Or at least, he should feel relieved, maybe even elated, that a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He should be stepping up to Zack and thanking him for giving him a reprieve, that he was now only responsible in name only. Now he could focus on his more mundane problems, like the next event he had to plan for his Gaming Club where he was president on. Or History class's reporting come Wednesday where his turn was due. Maybe he could even try to beat that boss level he'd been having trouble with lately.

The problem was that, he didn't feel grateful, or even the slightest bit relieved. He was worried and sad and angry for reasons he couldn't comprehend, maybe even reasons he didn't want to comprehend.

He stopped by a street light, the sound of students' steps ebbing away from him like he was far, somewhere else, like the end of a cave farthest from the mouth. The streets were coated in a golden orange from the sunset, the trees rustling with a gust of wind he couldn't feel the cold of yet his feet froze where he stood.

It was those brown eyes of hers, how they spoke volumes louder than her tone of voice and blank expression. At first glance, anyone would think of her as a doll. He sure did, when he saw her dancing on the stage.

He mentally shook his head. She wasn't dancing. She was flying.

Looking at her from afar, as a spectator merely wanting to see a show, he would have compared her to a perfectly crafted animatronic. Her movements were so out of this world that she felt inhuman. Like a ghost. Or an angel.

But maybe it was because of that outside perspective that he felt attracted to her.

There, he said it!

Foxy was worlds of different from Amelia, but they were the same level of trouble for him. It was the best that he was apart from her, that he'd have no hand in anything but bringing her to school. He should be contented with just having met her and exchanged a few words with her, no matter how trivial.

So why wasn't he?

He leaned on the street light, breathed in, then out.

He trudged forward.