The Crush [ON HOLD]

Chapter 14: Greyson

The fire alarm went off.

I closed my eyes, squeezing the turtle tight in my hand. I got out of my seat and walked towards the line, wondering where I should be standing. An arm pulled me into the line and then the whole line moved forward. I turned to see that James had pulled me in. "Thank you." My voice sounded weak.

The touch sent a shiver down my back and made me forget the slight fear creeping into my mind. I squeeze the turtle tighter, "Let it remind you of me, beautiful." I could hear Damons voice vibrating through my head. 

We all stop once we are out of the school building and I feel James breath fan my ear, making me shiver, "Hey Greyson." He whispers. 

I turn my head a little to look at his face. His blond hair is spilling into his eyes and the sight takes my breath away. "Hey James." I saw, my voice sounding more plain than I intended it to be.

James sees the worry in my features, "Are you alright?" He asks.

I turn my head back to face the front, "Ummm...not really." 

"Its just a drill." James says.

I snap, "That's what Ayden said!" a couple students' head turn to see the commotion. They quickly go back to their own business, "Sorry. I just don't like fire. Bad experiences." I remember the fire and I squeeze the turtle tighter, making its little head dig into my palm. 

"What's in your palm?" James asks and I contemplate whether or not it is a good idea to show him. Before I can stop myself I turn around and open my palm to reveal the little silver turtle with its beautiful green back. He looks up from my hand and smiles at me. his blue eyes are like an ocean that make me feel a if I could be lost at see for hours.

Woah. That sounded really cheesy. Maybe you should shut up, brain. I think I'm going crazy.

A hand taps my shoulder and I turn around. Ingrid stands in front of me with a big smile. Her smile fades a little once she sees my worried face. 

"Are you okay, Greyson." Ingrid says and I can see the empathy scratched onto her olive skin face.  I sigh.

"No. Not at all." I look down and close my eyes, trying to hold in a tear that wants to escape.

I'm not very good at fighting emotions, so when a tear falls down my face I know that Ingrid will go all sweet talk on me, making me feel weak. "Tell me about it."

I look up and suck on my bottom lip, "In fourth grade...back in my old school...I had this friend, Maya. She was the nicest girl in our grade. And...we had a fire in the science lab up in the seventh grade lab. The fire alarm took a while to go off and then when it did we were already engulfed with smoke." I wipe away the fallen tear and clear my throat before continuing, "I passed out while everybody was evacuating and Maya tried to wake me up. People told me that she grabbed my arm and lifted me up. She dragged my outside the school. Maya even rippped off a peice of clothing to cover my mouth." Another weak tear scittered out of my eye. Ingrid wiped it away, "I...survived and Maya...she..." I closed my eyes and ingrid took another step towards me and I was engulfed by her. I felt pathetic.

"It's okay." She hugged me and I hugged her back. Ingrid is one of the greatest friends I could ever have. So was Maya. I hope that Maya wasn't mad at me before she... I just miss her so much. It was all my fault.

All my fault.

I cry harder into Ingrid's shoulder. I then let go and wipe away the tears. I straighten my back and clear my throat. No more feeling sorry for myself.

I put a smile on my face, "Thank you, Ingrid. You're a great friend." She smirks.

"I know it!" Ingrid changes the subject fast. "Oh...look at that." She whispers. Her eyes flick from me to something behind me.