Evelyn

❇︎ Chapter Three ❇︎

- Harper -

  A raven-haired boy sat beside Harper. He was beautiful, that's all she could say because this boy rendered her speechless at all times. She was pretty sure, she was the one who opened that cautious heart of his which is why he was different now than before. He would talk and smile at her and when he did, the dimples on the corner of his mouth deepened as he talked about the things he loved. That smile eventually would light up his entire face, literally, since he has an adoring face of an angel's. She was so in love with those eyes no matter how dark and burdened they are. She couldn't even seem to figure it all out. Harper yearned to know him more, to know what secrets lay inside him, but the closer she got, the more confused her heart became. They became friends, inseparable, but nothing more than that. 

Because the raven-haired boy found someone who was more special than Harper and that broke her heart.

  Kai's eyes had never just been 'brown' for Harper.  They were more than chocolate, honey, and chestnuts. They were the rocks against the shore that destroyed ships. They were the trees bark that has protected it for hundreds of years. They were the ancient dirt beneath her feet, the colour of cocoa. Yes, she would describe them as brown, but deep down, she knew she called them torture. There was something inside of them she saw that no one else did, but she knew, she'd never be allowed to get close enough to gaze at it. 

  "How about we play a game?" Kai suggested. His angular limbs seemed to flow as he moved towards Harper, kneeling down next to her, looking up at the crescent moon above the large oak tree. Harper looked at Kai's patient face, feeling the usual rush of euphoria as she looked into his eyes. She nodded rapidly, shaking herself out of her Kai daydream. 

 "Please, please, please can we play Hide and Seek?" Harper begged, pulling on Kai's sleeve gently. She forced her body to calm itself, feeling a spark run through her veins as her slim fingers brushed Kai's. Kai's head tilted towards the ink filled sky. The moonlight streamed down upon his wintry pale skin. He pointed to the moon, the shape of his lips reflecting the crescent above.

  "Sure we can." Harper jumped up, finding joy in being able to play Hide in Seek. She gracefully rose from her seat beneath the large, winding roots. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, gently rubbing his arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of his body pressed against hers. He sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. He changed the hug, to one where her head rested on his shoulder and his head was on the top of hers. Harper forced her blush to lessen, feeling Kai's body block out the gentle winds.  

  "I'll count," he said, ending the hug. Harper let go, feeling a sudden chill. She poked her tongue out, running to the left, into the forrest. She heard his quiet breathing and she circled around to climb the large oak tree. Her feet were quiet over the dirt and debris as she ran through the forest. Her feet led her around the tree twice. She was almost completely quiet. Until she tripped over an obtrusive root. She frowned, dusting herself off. Softly, she crawled through the undergrowth towards the tree. Soon she was on the other side of Kai and she could hear the steady pace of his breathing. She scrambled up the bark, clawing her way towards the moon until she could clearly see the clearing and the moon through the thick boughs and leaves. So she waited, yawning, watching Kai count to 100 from down below. 

  It was at least another two to three minutes before Kai's eyes snapped open. Harper frowned, crouching down. A rock had rolled around. It wasn't something rare in the forest, but it wasn't something too common either. It usually meant something was in the forest, or occasionally, someone. Harper let the top of her head peek out from her little nest from the top of the tree to see Kai crouching beneath the winding roots. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was gripping the wooden dagger in his right hand. His fingers were alabaster, though because of the tightness of his fingers around the hilt or because of the moonlight, and gleamed with sweat as he sat beneath the roots. Harper's eyes danced towards the left of the clearing, the one of the main entryways. The familiar noise of footsteps echoed around in the almost silent forest. But these footsteps were likes one Harper had never heard. They were light, graceful. Even the sticks that were being stepped on didn't splinter and break. One onyx hunting boot stepped into the clearing. Then came the right one. A pale, petite hand followed, holding a shimmering Katana. Harper tried to force her curiosity down but couldn't help to look closer. The browns of her hair had so much life to them, not mousey, not like wood chopped and left to dry in summer heat. They were fresh, warm, with hues of sunrise melted into the chocolate strands. Her eyes was of such a blue as Harper had never seen in eyes before, the tint of the sea in the still calm light that follows after a fine sunset; they were as luminous as the stars that came out over the French Castle in the afterglow, and were fringed about with very long soot-black lashes, and arched over by the most delicately pencilled dark eyebrows. Harper used to believe her glacier eyes were ice cold, that they knew no warmth and never shared loved. That's what she used to believe. Now Harper knew, the hottest fires always burn blue. Kai's hands were still tightly wrapped around the dagger. But as he saw the girl, his fingers loosened. Her smile was Angelic and even though her stature was small, Harper knew she had already lost. She had lost to a girl who she didn't even know. In the span of five minutes.

  "You can come out now." Her voice was smooth, flawless. It made Harper's heart twist in agony. Her eyelashes fluttered against her smooth cheeks. Her lips turned upwards in a friendly smile. She watched in agony as Kai put the dagger away. She could still see the sheen of perspiration on his left brow but with a sinking heart, she watched as Kai stepped out from underneath the roots, walking, as if in a trance, towards the girl. He stopped under the boughs, in the shadows. The girl smiled, as if understanding why he stopped. She lay her Katana on the floor, cerulean eyes never leaving Kai's. She curtsied, almost sitting on the floor. Brushing a perfect curl of her mahogany hair out of her flawlessly chiseled face, a beautiful smile was painted onto her face. Harper felt as if her blood had become tar and her heart struggled to keep a steady beat. Her melancholy mood hung over her like a black cloud, raining her personal sorrow down on herself. Even the colours of the spring day were drab to her now. "My name is Evelyn." Harper turned her head away from the exchange, feeling a single tear roll down her now chilled, porcelain cheek. The only thing she could think about was that the raven-haired boy had found someone who was more special than Harper and that broke her heart.