Taking What's His

Chapter Five

"Delilah...

Delilah...

Del..."

I jolted awake, my entire body shaking and covered in a light perspiration. The eerie voice echoed in my head and I put my hands over my ears, as if I could block it out. I heard the faint sound of the doorbell ringing, and I stared at my clock in confusion, the time blinking 2:43 a.m. as I wondered who could be at the door so early in the morning. I slipped out of bed and wrapped a blanket around myself, quietly creeping down the stairs to the front door. I peaked through the eccentrically designed glass windows on either side, quickly unlocking and opening the door when I saw that it was Ruby standing out there, an expectant expression on her face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, ushering her inside and out of the cold. "I couldn't sleep. And I had a feeling that you couldn't either." she said simply, shrugging as she walked into the foyer. I followed her as she made her way to the kitchen, plopping down on one of the counters as she busied herself with making tea. "So tell me, what woke you up? You looked a bit shaken when you opened the door." she inquired, placing the kettle on the stove. "It was nothing--just a bad dream." I answered, trying to dismiss the issue. Ruby however wouldn't let it go. "It obviously wasn't nothing if you're looking paler than me." she stated with hands on her hips, causing me to laugh quietly.

Ruby's skin was as white as a porcelain doll's, almost completely translucent. If I had turned whiter than her, she would definitely notice it. "Well--I've been having these really weird dreams lately. It kind of started--right after my first week of school." I murmured, chewing on my lower lip in uncertainty. "Since then?! Delilah it's been a month--why haven't you told anyone? No wonder you always look like you're tired--and here I was thinking that was just a normal thing in teenagers. You've probably been having some weird premonition or vision or something if it's the same dream repeating itself over and over again." Ruby rambled, grabbing the teapot just as it began to whistle. She poured two cups of peppermint tea and handed me a cup, and I gave her a nod in thanks.

"I hope not." I muttered, shuddering at the thought of that dream becoming an actual reality. Yes, ever since my first week at school... August had turned to September, and ever since then I had been having the same dream over and over again. Some nights I would be free of it, but it always came back to haunt me. I took a sip of the tea, sighing in contentment as the liquid soothed my throat. "What happens in the dream?" Ruby asked curiously, placing herself besides me. "Ruby, I really don't want to talk about it." I sighed, giving an apologetic shrug of my shoulders. She was silent for a few moments before replying, "Oh, sure. Sorry for asking." I knew she was curious--hell, Ruby was always curious about things pertaining to me. I knew she was just trying to look out for me, but discussing my nightmare and bringing up the dark memories that came along with it was something I wasn't ready for yet.

"Come on--we should get to sleep. We have school tomorrow." I nudged her, draining the rest of my tea before I hopped off the counter top. "Oh yes, we'll definitely need our beauty sleep to deal with Ashton tomorrow." Ruby uttered sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. Ashton had been beyond annoying. He wouldn't seem to leave me alone--no, this is not me being a conceited little bitch who thinks the world revolves around her. I knew he was deliberately hanging around me for my attention. If our group planned to hang out somewhere, he would magically show up. He invaded our lunch table, and where he went, his followers followed. Blaire had returned, her broken hand healed, and she clung to Ashton like a leech. Since he was always lingering around us, she was to, and she did everything she possibly could to make my life hell.

Ruby scared her off most of the time. She had stuck close to me when Ashton started coming around, and I could feel the tension between them whenever they were in close proximity. Anyway--Ashton seemed to do everything he could to purposely piss me off...and the most aggravating thing was that he didn't even seem to realize in. It was little things, and sometimes big scale things that he completely blew out of proportion. He would sometimes just find reasons to touch me--to brush his arm against mine, to wrap an arm around me as he reached over me, to coil a tendril of my hair around his finger as he stared at me with his smoldering gaze...It was unnerving. I'm pretty sure any other girl would have already been putty in his hands, but something just seemed to set me on edge around him.