Palpable | Latent 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dustin

"Target acquired," I said, looking at the girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that reminded me of the sky. A white beanie rested on her head and covered his ears, protecting the, from the cold weather. She wore black jeans, something that came in handy from the snow considering I lost count of how many times she slipped and landed in the fluffy, yet wet blanket covering the ground.

Cole Acres frowned, his lips in a straight line. "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded, grabbing a chunk of snow and shaping it into a ball. "I thought you of all people would go along with it," I said.

Cole sighed. "I know, but if she gets mad at you, don't say I didn't warn you."

"You didn't," I said before throwing the ball at the blue eyed girl. With my impeccable aim, it landed exactly where I wanted; right on her light blue jacket.

She looked up, trying to find the source of the snowball. I quickly ducked behind the bush, pulling Cole down with me. "You think she saw?" Cole asked.

A snowball suddenly hit the bush, causing it to shake. I slowly looked over the plant, looking at the girl who obviously threw the ball judging by the way she was wiping the snow of her gloves and she was looking in my direction. "Hey!" I called. "It's not nice to throw snow at plants!"

"Why are you behind a bush?" she asked.

"Um..." I hesitated, looking at my friend. He shrugged, crawling out of the way, knowing he was going to be caught in the middle. "I was inspecting the bush because...It looked dry."

"Dustin, you realize it's been snowing for a while now, right?" she asked. "How can it be dry?"

I shrugged, discretely reaching down and grabbing a handful of snow. "Don't ask me, I'm not a plant expert." Before she could reply, I threw the snow at her, hitting the same spot as last time.

Instead of having a look of anger, she smiled challenging at me. "Oh, it is on!"

Hearing that, I stood up from my spot and ran passed the front doors of the school where she stood. She attempted to chase me, but like always, she slipped on the snow landed on the ground. I hurried back to her, kneeling down. "Soph, are you okay?"

Sophronia Millar smiled and before I could react, she grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it right in my face. I wiped off the freezing powder, shaking my head. How did I not see that coming.

"I'm okay now," she said. "I'm used to it."

I held out my hand for her and she accepted, so I pulled her up with me and led her to the wooden bench beside the school doors. We still had time for the bell to ring.

"I got you something," Sophronia said, opening her bag and pulling out a rectangular box. "I was going to wait for tonight, but I honestly couldn't."

I gently took the box, opening it and seeing sketching pencils. I looked at the brand name, smiling. It was the best brand there was and my favourite to use when I sketched.

I saw something red underneath it, so I pulled it out. It was a guitar pick with gold lettering saying You'll always have a special place in my heart. I smiled wider at the words we uttered to each other on a very emotional day. Not only that, but I chose those exact words, too.

"Thanks, Soph, I love it," I said as I pulled a square box out of my jacket pocket. "I guess I shouldn't wait either. You're lucky I had it with me."