Heathen Heaven

Flashbacks

Hello, my few lovely readers! I'll try to make this chapter longer, but I don't know how this will turn out.

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The chest might as well been a goddamn brick wall. Or a really springy mattress. Ara went flying backwards, and threw her arms out her behind her, squeezing her eyes closed to brace herself for the impact of colliding with cold tile.

It never came, and she found herself with a firm, muscled arm wrapped around her waist. she slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring into the green-blue eyes of a slightly irritated, very attractive blond guy. 

Ara flushed, embarrassed at her own obliviousness.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't watch-"

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he interrupted.

Ara blinked, a bit startled, and scrambled for an intelligent answer. Before she could respond to the spontaneous question, the brick wall spoke again.

"Yeah, I think I do know you. I'd recognize those eyes anywhere! Ara Deston. It's been awhile." he smirked down at her.

Ara, baffled, felt her cheeks slide from pink to a red. She cleared her throat and forced herself not to stutter.

"I'm sorry. I'm not sure I-"

"You've changed a lot since 5th grade." the male raked his eyes over her form, and she realized with another flush of heat that his arm was still supporting her weight, his hand on her hip.

She shoved away from him, ignoring the warmth that flared between her palms and his chest, and stumbled backwards, realization dawning in her wide, slightly mismatched eyes.

"Luke? Luke Kingston?" she flinched at the raised pitch of her own voice. 

"Miss me?" he smirked.

Ara spluttered. She could not believe that she was standing face to face with her childhood tormentor. After he and his parents had picked up and left for unknown reasons after 5th grade, she had happily assumed that she would never see him again.

Her incoherent blabber was interrupted by the second bell.

Shit. I'm going to be late!

No! Stay and talk to the hot guy! Screamed some part of her consciousness.

Socialize with my elementary school bully and get a detention? Yeah, right. 

But he's cuuuuute, whined the obnoxious voice.

AND maybe he teased you because he liked youuu... it cooed.

Nope. He was just a jerk, and for all I know, he still is.

But he saved you from falling!

Well, I-

"You're not worried about being late?" Luke arched an eyebrow, unintentionally interrupting her for the third time.

Ara was snapped back to reality. "No, I mean yes, I mean - I was just talking to the voice inside of my head." Ara automatically flinched and mentally smacked herself. Seriously? The last thing she needed was Luke thinking she was not only a freak, but a weird, mentally disturbed one. She had been hoping for an problem-free high school experience.

But... wasn't this what she wanted? A change in the ocean of boring, stagnant water she had been drowning in?

Ara was sure her face was crimson now as she spun on her heel and made a mad dash for her homeroom class.