Burned

Chapter Twenty-Six

I moved through the hallway with precision. I ignored the glances and stares from the other students. My stride never broke or wavered. Each step I took was more confident than the last, which enhanced my confidence. I didn't even have to touch the Amulet for assistance, I was already feeling high. One reason was that it was Friday, the weekend was going to be perfect. It was another day closer to Summer, which I wasn't really excited for. It would be nice not to be at school, worrying about being late and taking tests. Other than that, I was actually kind of dreading Summer. 

It was going to be a summer of loneliness.

But, I didn't want to think about that now. I was hyper-focused on the task at hand, which was to find Daniel. I blew past my Science classroom, completely unbothered that I was going to be late. There were too many things to do instead of being on time. This was more important, which sounded cliche once I realized what I was going to do. 

Oh well, my time of being cliche was limited. I wasn't going to worry about something as tedious as that. 

My focus started to wan, but thankfully I saw Daniel in that same moment. He was at his locker, talking to a Football player. I didn't let up and continued to walk straight for him. He saw me before Todd, the guy he was talking to. Our eyes locked and there was no going back. He knew -- sensed it as our iris' dripped into each other. I hardly noticed anything else. It was that feeling that had changed my mind about everything. 

It was like the first time I met him, my legs had a mind of their own, gravitated me forward with no will of my own. In my peripheral vision, it was blurry. My feet brought me right to Daniel, who had a similar expression on his face. I think Todd asked Daniel something, but neither of us reacted. I reached forward, my hands coming into direct contact with Daniel's. Our hands touched palm to palm. My hand was much smaller than his. 

When we touched I felt the familiar spark, like sticking your finger into a light socket. 

We stayed like that for what felt like forever. I'm not sure how much time passed -- it felt irrelevant. Daniel took his free hand and reached forward, touching my cheek softly. I leaned into his touch, mesmerized by the cold touch of his skin. I took a deep breath in as I shut my eyes. At the same time, Daniel kissed me. My mind exploded and I found myself kissing him back. Our kiss intensified, moving from sweet and innocent to sultry and mature. 

Then, everything disappeared. I could feel the time-shifting, moving from Salem in 2020 to something entirely different. It was almost familiar. Daniel and I had experienced this before. My mind almost put it together, but then a wave of darkness flooded me. Daniel's hands moved up and down my body, but I wasn't nervous. I felt oddly warm. I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn't. That's how I knew something was up.

I wasn't in my body.

"Aggy, I want you," Daniel's voice sounded the same, but as my eyes opened I saw it wasn't him. Well, it was him, but he looked different. His hair was black and greasy. We were in a past life. His hands reached for my corset, quickly untying it. 

"But what will our parents think? There are rules and we cannot--

"Agnes, people are dying. The plague will take us all. We might as well enjoy ourselves in our last days," his lips parted and my body moved towards him. What plague were they talking about? I looked at Daniel who wore a dark-colored tunic. We were in a room that smelled like garbage. In the corner, I swear I heard a noise that sounded like a rat.

"Oh, Ivon, I want you as well. I worry of the consequences." My past self was worried about a lot of things, much like I was worried in the present day. Maybe this was something I had in common with all my past lives. I wouldn't be surprised. Daniel, Ivon in this life, took a strand of my hair in between his fingers, smiling from ear to ear. The color of my hair was mousey brown. It had gold hues, but that could have been due to the glow from the candles.