For A Star To Fall

Chapter 25: Time Bomb

Chapter 25

Emyle blinked up at him and he wondered, for a second, if she had fully understood him. There was a swirling confusion in her eyes, whirling and twisting and befuddling. Had he said something wrong again? Jordan could not help but wonder. No, that could not be true, or Emyle would have reacted differently. What was wrong now? Emyle seemed to be having trouble understanding the fact that he would not hurt her. Was it that hard to comprehend? Jordan almost frowned. He probably had gone overboard with that whole noble speech thing going on and came off a bit too strong. Hadn’t he told himself that Emyle needed to be exposed to stuff slowly? Idiot, he thought, wanting to whack himself on the head.

Then the confusion cleared, and it was like dark clouds being blown away by the wind, to reveal what lay hidden and obscured by them. Her eyes were lighter now, a brownish colour, and there was a shining quality to them. Jordan searched for a name of the emotion she most likely was feeling. Hope, he decided. But why? “Is it correct for me to conclude that we are now friends?” she asked, and the light in the brown of her eyes grew stronger as she bunched up the fabric of his collar in her hands again. Jordan looked down at her and inside he was screaming: Yes! Of course! But could they be friends? Jordan knew that he needed to be truthful to her. Could they? She was aloof and distant, while he was curious and immature and childish. They were like water and potassium, completely safe when they were separate, but once they were brought together and mixed, they would burn because of the resulting chemical reaction. As Jordan thought, he suddenly became conscious of the song that was playing in the background—his speakers were still playing music. 

It was like a time bomb, set it in motion,

We knew that we were destined to explode

And if I have to pull you out of the wreckage,

You know I’m never gonna let you go.

Jordan frowned. The music was becoming distracting now. He wanted to reach over and switch the speakers off, but he did not want to interrupt this moment. This was important. But the voice of Alex Gaskarth—the lead vocalist in All Time Low, continued to sound out from the speakers. It was the chorus now:

We’re like a time bomb

Gonna lose it. Let’s defuse it.

Baby, we’re like a time bomb, but I need it,

Wouldn’t have it any other way.

How apt for this situation, Jordan thought wryly. I wouldn't have this any other way either. Then he grinned and met the expectant gaze of Emyle. "Duh, of course we're friends, Emyle," he told her, making it sound obvious. 

"I have never had a real friend before," she said. And was true. Father had sent her to school for a period of time, but the children there had not taken a liking to her. They had not spoken like, nor acted like her, nor learnt like her either. She was different from them. They struggled with subjects and learning points that she had learnt as a toddler. Addition and subtraction she had learnt when she was two years old, multiplication and division one year after that. When she was four she had already learnt ratio, decimals and percentage, along with life sciences and some physical science. It had been easy for her in academics. But being friends with the others required playtime too. That had been a nightmare, trying her best to interact with them. In the end, she had simply become content sitting on the sidelines and watching them in solitude. It was simpler that way. 

She had been labelled almost immediately as the "weird kid that sat in the corner" for as long as she could remember, until Father had taken her out of school and back home, where he had taught her things himself. It was called "home-school" and it was conducted in a one-on-one method, with the living room as a classroom. As such, Emyle had no one to learn with her. Every day it was simply her and Father, Father and her. The other children had not been sincere in their interaction with her. Father had been sincere and real, but he was her father, so he could not be her friend. She had no friends because she was different and that made her an outcast.