Flicker | ✔️

Chapter 24: Cale

As I leave class my eyes move towards Maya. She looks so pure, angelic, as she laughs to one of Gigi's hilarious jokes.

They're seriously not that funny, yet Maya seems completely infatuated by them. She genuinely thinks they're funny and some part of me tells me Gigi wouldn't say these kinds of jokes if it weren't for Maya.

"Cale!" She calls as she turns towards me, her explosive smile now directed towards me, the bright glint in her amber eyes shining brightly. "Do you want to go somewhere after school!" She enthuses as I see Gigi's smile slowly settled to become a fake happy smile as her glare seems to drill holes in my head.

"Yea sure." I reply, my voice monotone.

"One sec, I'll join you at the entrance." She says before turning away and I am left alone with Gigi. Now this will be fun...

"Listen, I don't like you in the slightest at the moment. One wrong move and you're dead meat, got it." She warns her eyebrows knitted so tightly together than it would give any other person chills, but Gigi doesn't intimidate me.

I almost feel sad for her as her eyes betray a more upsetting feeling that I don't quite understand and I choose to ignore.

As Maya springs back towards us Gigi's glare becomes non-existent and her usual perky self seems to return for Maya's presence alone.

Either she's fake or she cares too much about Maya to hurt her feelings. Either way, she should be more honest with both Maya and herself.

"Let's go?" Maya suggests.

"I'll go home today." Gigi tells her, a sorry smile on her face. "I have tests due tomorrow in Spanish."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Nah, it's fine, we'll just go together another time." Gigi replies, as she twirls her blonde hair with her left index finger.

Gigi makes her way towards me before pulling me towards her and whispering in my ear.

"Don't screw this up and upset her again."

I give her a slight nod to dismiss her as she makes her way out.

"What did she tell you?" Maya asks me with wide and curious eyes.

"Nothing."

"Oh really." She replies, her eyes accusingly looking at me.

"What?"

"Nothing." She replies with a rather sunken voice, completely disregarding me.

Well that was unpleasant.

"Let's go." I say grabbing hold of her hand.

Her cheeks go slightly pink and I feel like I know this feeling all to well. I stop to think for a minute. Is this what I want? I know letting her in also means letting her see a part of me that no one else has the privilege of seeing. I also know the more I open up to her, the more she may come to like me if she doesn't already. Do I want that? Do I mind that? Do I like her?

As we walk out of school I realize how small her hand is in mine, and how cold it is compared to mine.

I turn back to look at her and her eyes meet mine in a fraction of a second before she turns them away, her face tinged with a light shade of pink once again.

Even though I know that I'm leading her on when I'm not sure I even want to do anything with her, but she's so cute...

I let go of her hand as an impulse realizing once again that those walls are there to protect and letting her in and letting her like me will only cause more troubles when she'll have to know she can't be with me. And I don't want to hurt her. As we get into the car and she climbs in next to me, I try to come up with an excuse to cancel this outing. I can't keep leading her on forever, and although her interest in me is flattering there's no way she can actually find out anything about me. I can't let her.

"Remember the first time I got into this car?" She asks softly, breaking my chain of thoughts, a nostalgic smile on her face.

I simply turn to look at her.

"That's when I knew that there was more to you than what everyone knew. I knew that inside you weren't a mean person. That something happened and you don't hate women like you say you do. I think, it's not a matter of hate but of trust. You don't trust women, you don't open up to them, date them, let them see through you. Whether you're willing to tell me or not doesn't matter. Either way, I'll still try to change your views."

As she turns to look back into my eyes, her own amber eyes shine brightly with a fire of passion. The light passing through the window makes her silver hair appear as if it is glowing in the amber sun and I am left in awe of her presence.