Flawless: Gazelle [COMPLETE]

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Fate had a cruel way of twisting your plans.

*****

On my way to school, I would pass by dark, cold alleys, with gangsters and drug-possessed teens surrounding every corner. Yet, by some miracle, I fit right in, if not more. They shrank back when I passed, hoodie obscuring their view of my face, yet the authority radiating off of me causing their recognition. Father would never agree to my being here; all the more reason as to why I was.

Today was nothing special, no exception from my usual drills.

Until I saw, or more like heard, something.

Music.

And not just any music.

Swan Lake.

It relit a flame in me that I had thought was dead before. It was like a volcano, erupting to life, and I found myself heading in the direction of the music, three words flooding my mind.

My Little Gazelle.

I had been through hell and back, yet in that exact moment, I couldn't feel more dangerous, vulnerable, but somehow alive. The harmonious melody brought me back to life, though it simultaneously reminded me of all the things I had lost, and would probably never get back. However, most of all, it reminded me of pain. A searing, burning pain, starting from the pit of my stomach to the tip of my toes. It burned, ached, awakened me. And that's when I saw it.

A shiny black Mercedes, with rolled- down windows to exaggerate the volume of the music.

I inched closer, like a tiger eyeing its prey hungrily, drooling, desperate yet careful to hear more of the song, drinking it in like it was water, every note making my skin tingle at its majestic tune.

*****

I followed the car to school, stalking it until it reached the ominous school gates, all the while marveling at how I'd been able to keep up with a motorized vehicle. I was half an hour late.

Slinking into the classroom, the teacher looked at me briefly, debating whether or not he should yell at me, before motioning for me to sit.

Nobody spared so much as a glance my way, for even if they did, they shrank back, shuddering when remembering my eyes that fateful day.

All except one.

Chocolate brown hair, childish, lopsided grin, curious yet determined eyes, broad shoulders, pale skin.

He was the new kid.

The boy I had been following to school.

The Swan Lake boy.

I would recognize that nest of hair anywhere, though it was really his eyes which had lulled me into recognition. I might even go as far as to say this mysterious boy looked... familiar, in some sort of sense.

Maybe it was due to the music, but I was confident that something had sparked some type of connection between us. His blue eyes were murky, holding some unknown secret in the back vault of his mind, but, unlike me, that he chose to hide. Yet his playful demeanor was seen through by no one but myself. However, I could tell that he was seeing into me as much as I was into him while we locked gazes, so, unable to resist my walls weakening, I did the one thing I mastered. I glared at him, my piercing eyes cutting through his curious, searching ones until he broke my stare. Instead of cowering, though, he smiled,

a rosy-cheeked, young and happy smile of a carefree child. The smile I used to own. The same smile that haunted my dreams. My father's smile.

Suddenly, it was all I could do not to look in the direction of Swan boy once more. That look he had given me... it was almost as if he had expected me to recognize him.

I missed those eyes, and lusted greedily to steal glimpses of the pool of blue under his lashes. It reminded me of so much I had been aching to forget, yet dying to remember. It reminded me of a friend I had, whose twin sisters owned the exact same blue eyes, and almost involuntarily, I raised my palm and slowly traced the baby pink scar etched in my otherwise smooth skin.

I kept forgetting. She wasn't a friend I had. She was a friend I used to have.

*****

I did what I always did when the lunch bell rang. Grabbing the paper bag containing my food, I snuck out of school to the top of a little hill. It wasn't really what was considered a meadow, but there was lush greenery surrounding, enveloping me, filling my senses with freshness and humidity. I leaned against the trunk of a lone tree and settled into my own, tedious thoughts.

That was a time when I would finally let down my sturdy, impenetrable walls, my heavy burdens, and allow myself to just breathe and wallow in self-pity while thinking about my dad.

Somehow, though, the only thing on my mind today was the Swan Boy. There was something about him that sparked an interest in me. His eyes, his smile, the choice of song, car... everything, generally. There was genuinely some aura about him that screamed familiar. Yet before I could ponder more on the thought of him, a voice was heard.

'Hi.'

Speak of the devil. I panicked, he had caught me unguarded. Before I could respond though, my hood was pulled back, a hand extended towards me in a warm greeting.

'I'm Liam.'

I hesitated, then settled on a reply.

'I don't do names.'