Locked

Chapter 1

When it happens, I am not prepared.

The bus rolls into the stop and the doors swivel open. I climb the few steps with the other kids that wait at the corner with me. I don't know any of them particularly well. But my best friend, Lilli, and I, take the same bus. It's nice to be able to sit by her every day and just talk with no spectators. We're the only two seniors on a bus of mostly freshmen, so no one really knows us.

But when I get to Lilli, there's a problem. Someone is sitting in my seat. To be specific: a boy. To be more specific: a beautiful boy. Yeah, I know boys aren't exactly supposed to be beautiful, but I'm telling you: this one really is. He has dark brown hair, so dark it almost looks black. But the sun, shining its light through the dirty little bus window, tells me the truth: brown hair, the color of those little dark chocolates that have the cute little messages written on the inside of the wrapper.

And his eyes, they're a true wonder. They are a shining bright blue; it's almost like standing on the shoreline, staring out into the ocean. Then something occurs to me. I've never seen this guy before. He must be a new student, which is surprising; hardly anyone moves into our small town. But it doesn't matter if he's new or old; beautiful or ugly. He's still sitting in my spot next to Lilli.

Since I don't know this guy, I can't just make him get up, and he probably won't see reason and get up if I just ask, either. So, there's only one option left: locking. I concentrate on his face, and focus on the one thing I want him to do: move to a different seat. Then I sort of give him a mental shove, and... nothing. He should have gotten up and moved by now, but he's just sitting there with this invigoratingly cute lopsided smile plastered on his face. I feel a bubble of panic well up in my chest, but I swallow it down. I might be distracted by that smile when I'm trying to lock, so maybe if I focus on his eyes instead...

That's it. I look into his eyes, and it's like staring into a crystal clear lake. I give him the mental shove, harder this time, and he should be getting up by now, but he just sits there, his eyes laughing at me. I really should be freaking out right now; locking has never not worked before. And even though it's impossible, it feels like this guy finds my struggle amusing, which pisses me off. I think the anger is keeping the panic at bay.

Suddenly, my thoughts are interrupted. "Ahem." It was our annoying bus driver, Mr. Morley. "Hayley, if you're done ogling this poor young man over here, please take a seat in the back so that I may start driving."

"I wasn't-- Ugh. Never mind," I grumble, as I drag myself to the back with all the freshmen. I refuse to look at Lilli on my way back. She's gonna get an earful when we get off at school.

I plop down into a seat that's ripped on one side, so no one will sit by me. I lean my head against the dingy old window and sigh. Now that the anger has faded, the panic is taking over. I need to think. It could just be that he was someone I'd never seen before, but that couldn't be it; I'd once locked a guy who was trying to cheat me of a few dollars at the mall, and I'd never seen him before. Could he just be immune? I'd never run into that problem before though, and although it seemed unlikely, it's still technically possible.

Was I just distracted by his smile, and his eyes, and, well, okay, everything about him? Maybe, but it seemed even more unlikely than the immunity thing, since I'd tried twice and concentrated really, really hard the second time especially. There's one more possibility, one I don't even want to acknowledge, but it somehow makes its way to the front of my mind regardless.

Was I broken?