Under the Sea

Chapter 02.

Seeing him for the first time had hit Scarlet like a brick wall. 

Her and Julia had been circulating amongst their small group of peers, as the island high school was quite small. Perhaps an hour had past? Maybe a bit longer. The truth was after the initial shell shock of the music being incrediably loud and the lights incrediably bright wore off, Scarlet would be lying if she said she wasn't having any fun at all. Maybe she was having just a little bit of fun. A tiny amount of fun.

Though, her dear friend Julia could always be counted upon to stir the pot, or "make things more exciting," as she prefered to call it.

"Someone wants in your pants, Scar," Julia shouted over the bumping music, taking a sip from her punch cup. Knowing Julia, she'd likely spiked it with something strong when no one was looking. 

"In my pants?" Scarlet sounded alarmed, glancing around in confusion. "What...? Who?"

Scarlet snapped back to attention at her friend's blunt comment. In truth, she didn't even quite know what the slang term meant, but it sounded... dirty.

"He's checking you out," Julia replied slowly and impatiently, as if she was talking to an infant.

Scarlet's hazel eyes wandered around to look for the boy Julia was talking about. And then she saw him. Queue the brick wall feeling. 

He was lovely. Absolutely, perfectly lovely. And something about him was... dare she say, familiar? A painful, unexpected twist of emotion settled in her throat and the pit of her stomach as he watched him make his way through the crowd, toward her. Her? Was that right? Why on earth was he coming over to her? 

Her first impression was to act busy. Extremely engaged in conversation, perhaps. She swiveled around in an attempt to find Julia, who had oh-so-conveniently disappeared, leaving her alone in a sea of people. Her eyes immediately shot back to look for the boy, but he was... gone? Relief had flushed through her. Scarlet gathered up her dress in her hands, pulling it up in an effort to make walking easier. Just as she turned around to walk away, Scarlet felt a rough hand grab her wrist and pull her back, underneath the bright, flashing lights over the dance floor. 

The music around them was blaring, but as soon as he pulled her back, the fast, pulsating music was replaced by a slower song. Everyone looked around, slightly surprised by the sudden change in the music selection. Scarlet could only look into the eyes of the young man in front of her, completely oblivious to the teen-aged commotion around them.

His eyes were a stunning shade of grey, as captivating as a storm. He had the faintest freckles and light brown hair, kept at a short and manageable length. His tux hugged his frame perfectly, somewhat unlike the cheap, rented suits most teen-aged boys adopted for prom night.

He looked curious. Intrigued, you could even say, as he stared back at her. An unsettling sense of what she could only assume was deja-vu flooded over her. A feeling she'd never experienced and yet prayed for on a daily basis. This young man's touch and his mere presence brought back some sort of familiarity in this entirely mysterious world of hers.

She felt his grip loosen on her wrist and his arm work its way around her slender waist. A smile tugged at his lips. But upon further speculation, Scarlet realized it wasn't a smile at all. It was a sneer. 

"You're a bit old to be at prom, aren't you, Peia?" the young man mused, pulling them into a graceful dance. 

"Excuse me?" Scarlet gasped, unable to keep her jaw from metaphorically hitting the floor. Wasn't there an unspoken rule against commenting on a woman's age? And what was a 'Peia?' "Who are you? You're not from here." Scarlet surely would have recognized him if he went to her tiny school.

"Observant, sweetheart. I'm not from around here. Though, neither are you," the man chimed with a quiet laugh, leaning in to whisper the last part in her ear. He smelled intoxicating. Scarlet could hardly hold his gaze for a second before feeling the need to blush and turn her cheek away from him, her eyes searching for something or someone to come and save her. However, curiosity overcame her as his smile fell and their waltz slowed to a sad, sorry pace. His grip on her loosened ever so slightly and to be honest, Scarlet wasn't sure if she was excited about that or not. "Shit. You don't remember me at all, do you, Peia?"

"Stop calling me that," Scarlet demanded. Despite the quieter music, she felt as if all her senses were being enchanced. She was hopelessly overwhelmed. Quickly, she remembered her manners. "Please," she added. Better late than never. "Who are you?"

"You used to call me Si," he obliged, his constant sneer/smile never quite fading. "But you're the only one who could get away with it. The name's Silas."

"Silas," Scarlet repeated, trying his name out on her lips. When on earth had she ever been on nickname terms with this man? Despite her frustration and confusion, Scarlet did her absolute best to remain polite, as per usual. "Why do you keep calling me Peia?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, so loudly she was sure he could hear it. Scarlet winced as Silas reached forward to press a brown lock of hair behind her ear. His fingers caressed her head and he looked at her with an interesting sort of sadness. He looked oddly captivated. Sad and captivated, embracing the woman in front of him.

This could be it. The moment she had been waiting for for so long. Yearning for. But then why was she so nervous? Why was part of her absolutely terrified to hear the answer to her question? His fingers made their way down her jawline and lingered at her neck, as if he were contemplating his next move. Scarlet tensed and took a step away from them in their terribly slow, slow-dance. She waited impatiently for his reply, shaking from her nerves. Never, to her knowledge, had she been touched by a man in such a delicate way before. Yet, why then, did it feel like second nature? Why did he feel like second nature? 

"You hit your head very hard, didn't you, Cassiopeia?" Silas whispered, his voice tinged with disappointment. 

Scarlet pulled away from him abruptly, voice shaking. "What? What did you call me?"

"I called you by your given name. Cassiopeia." Silas explained calmly. "Don't you ever want to come home, Peia? Don't you miss the sea?" He looked her over, as if she was something to be studied. "Don't you remember anything?"

Silas glanced around, as if concerned that perhaps they were making a scene. It was then that the pair of them had realized many people were staring at them, whispering and gesturing in curiosity. Silas seemed to want to difuse the situation, but Scarlet was beyond wanting to continue dancing. Silas took a step forward, closing the space between them once again, he reached to pull her in to a dance. On the contrary, Scarlet-- or was it Cassiopeia?-- stumbled backward, putting as much space between as she could within a short amount of time.

"Don't-- don't talk to me," Scarlet demanded, her voice trembling with an unprecedented amount of emotion. Fear, grief, and confusion overcame her and hot tears pooled in her eyes, making their way down her rosy cheeks. "Leave me alone." 

And with that, she had turned on her heel, pushed through the crowd, and bolted out the doors of the yacht club.

What would Scarlet do to fill in the gaps of her clouded memory? Some days, she wouldn't give a damn thing.