Angel's Wings

Chapter Five: Classroom Concerns

"And you can take all the pain away from me. A kiss and I will surrender"- My Chemical Romance

He was attractive, I'll give you that. Alfredo Despacito Jones arrived in full swaggar, a clingy white tank top beneath his studded leather jacket, which undoubtedly cost more than anything I had in my bank account. And it skillfully showed off his six-pack. His light brown hair was gelled up into a kind of perfect disarray and warm blue eyes swept the room almost shyly. With a crooked smile, he raised his hand and smiled, exposing rows of perfect white teeth. "Hey." Half the girls in the room swooned. I could feel Joesephe raising an eyebrow at me, but I had no intention of returning the look or even acknowledging his presence more than I had to.

Mr. Stephens cleared his throat and gestured for Alfredo to come stand beside him. The popstar nearly dwarfed our teacher, and Mr. Stephens was one of the most handsome men in the area. "Right. Everyone," he announced. "I'm sure that you all know who this is, but for the sake of anyone who might not, this is Alfredo, our newest student. Alfredo, tell us a little about yourself."

Alfredo nodded. "Hi, guys. Like Mr. Stephens said, I'm Alfredo Jones. I just wanted to say that while I may be an international popstar, I'm still just like all of you. Sunnysdayle is my hometown, and I returned here to reconnect with a normal life. So, please. Treat me like you would treat any new kid. Get to know me, ask me questions, take me out for dinner." He winked, and then, of all unbelievable things, he looked at me. I expected it to be a glance, but I could have sworn that his eyes widened, and he continued to look. Other classmates started giggling and I glanced down to hide my blush. He looked away after a moment. What. A. Flirt. You are not attracted to that, you're not.

Okay, well maybe a little.

He continued like he hadn't just made my heart stop and stutter. "Anyway, Mr. Stephens, where should I sit?"

"The chair next to me is empty," Delylah called, batting her eyes at Alfredo. He grinned at her.

"Yes, I suppose that's fine," Mr. Stephens relented after scanning the room. Alfredo nodded and began making his way over to my best friend, but then stopped at my desk, laying a hand on it. He bent down and gave the most smouldering, million-dollar smile I've ever seen. I could practically feel my face turn red.

"You seem familiar," he said in his smooth baritone. "Have we met?"

"Have you used that line before?" I said, swallowing back my shock. He chuckled and moved on, releasing his bizarre hold on me. Joesephe made an irritated noise in the back of his throat.

"Keep breathing and you might fool people into believing that you're the only girl here not infatuated with him."

"Shut up." He snorted.

Class continued like normal for a few minutes, with the occasional giggle from a girl who glanced at Alfredo. But then there was a general rustling, the giggles increased, and several moments later, a folded-up note landed on my desk. My name was written on the outside. I glanced up to see Mr. Stephens turned towards the chalkboard and I subtly opened up the paper, ignoring Joesephe looking over my shoulder. In big, loopy scrawl, it said:

Here's a line I've never used: Let's meet up after school ;)

"Vaelyumme!" I snapped my head up to see Mr. Stephens standing over me, a line of disapproval imbedded into his forehead. He took the note from me and read it while embarrassment boiled up inside me. After a moment Mr. Stephens crumbled it up and tossed it into the trash can. He gave me a long, strange look before moving on to the rest of his lesson.

The rest of class passed by in a blur; I still don't know what we were taught that day, and as the bell rang and everyone got up to leave, it took me a moment to even register that it was time to pack up. Joesephe patted my shoulder as he left, smiling so the tips of his teeth pushed against his lip. "See you at the farm," he said mischievously. His burgundy eyes seemed to burn, some dark tumultuous emotion stirring in them; a complete contradiction to his normal expression of aloofness. I rolled my eyes and jerked my shoulder out of his grip.

I began to stand, but Mr. Stephens cleared his throat and looked at me. "Actually, Vaelyumme, can you stick around for a minute?"

Ugh, that note was way more trouble than it was worth.

Mr. Stephens waited until everyone had cleared out of the classroom to approach me, a concerned expression knitting his brow. He sat on the desk across from me with a sigh. "Vaelyumme, I wanted to see if you were alright." I instantly knew what he was talking about, and it instantly brought back flashes of unwelcome, terrifying memories. Flashes of light. A dark figure standing over me. A beckoning. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to scream.

Last year, our school had been attacked. No one was sure what exactly happened, but I remembered vividly my own traumas from it. All the lights had gone out. Voices, so garbled that no one could understand them had come over the intercom. They had sounded...otherworldly. Everyone was scrambling around, looking for answers. But me? A man had approached me while I was in the bathroom, features invisible in the dark. As he walked, shutters from the windows closed on their own and the lights went out so violently that sparks rained down on him. He had come so close to me that I felt a cold, hard fear settle into my chest and I had felt some kind of pulling. But then a light- so bright that I was blinded- flooded the room, and next thing I knew I was sitting alone in the dark. "Vaelyumme?"

"I'm fine." A hand landed on my shoulder and I opened my eyes to see Mr. Stephens standing abnormally close to me, concern and...something else lingering in his chiseled face.

"You know that I'm here to talk if you ever need me." My teacher's eyes glanced down, almost- impossibly- at my lips. I blushed.

"I have to get to class, Mr. Stephens," I said shyly. "But thank you for the offer." Mr. Stephens' expression crumbled but then hardened, the softness disappearing.

"Of course," he said, steely blue eyes roaming my face. "I'll see you tomorrow, Vaelyumme."

Hi! Whew, that was a chapter.  Thanks so much for reading and feel free to let us know your thoughts, feelings, and predictions!