Half and half

charlotte's pov chapter1

Chapter I

Charlotte

I walked into the school. Everything was marble and white. It reminded me of the courtyard where I’d told Ash goodbye. I remembered my biting words, my father’s wrath. I shook myself out of the memory before the pain consumed me. Pain. I mused. It hadn’t been quite what I had expected. The darkness was terrifying, but fascinating. That’s why I preferred to do things at night. Then I noticed the stares. They were everywhere. Thousands of eyes digging into me. A tornado of alien emotions clouded my perspective. Everyone was thinking of different things. It almost made me go insane. I realized that most of the emotions from the ones who stared where curious. I looked behind me when a roar sounded. The boys hurried outside and the girls began whispering among themselves, blushing. I headed toward a group of girls in miniskirts- mostly pink- and perfect blond hairdos. They were the loudest. They seized me up as I approached and I knew they approved. My flawless porcelain white skin, my startling blue eyes-fake of course, I’d just draw attention with golden eyes- and my slim body. All the clothes I had on were designer label. They decided they wanted me as an acquaintance. “What is everyone whispering about?” I asked. The tallest, thinnest of the girls answered. The leader, apparently. “Hi. My name is Ashley. Are you new?” nah, I'm just lollygagging. “Yeah. My name’s Charlotte.” A redheaded girl with pigtails squealed. “Omg, I’ve always wanted a Lottie in the group. My name’s Abigail.” She looked like she took three espressos before going to school. She jumped up and down, excitement flushing her pixie-like face. “Abigail. Calm.” A brunette murmured. Abigail quieted immediately. Ashley’s eyes flicked over to the door. “What’s going on?” I asked. It seemed every girl’s eyes were trained on the door. There was the sound of a car squealing to a stop. “Dylan.” Ashley answered. “Dylan?” I repeated. Then I saw him. He came in flanked with a blond guy. Dylan had stark black hair, which looked like mine, a really pale complexion and he was very, very hot. He scanned everything lazily with smoky grey eyes. His stride was easy, controlled, that of a predator. The guy beside him, I didn’t think he was Dylan, so he must be his sidekick or something, was blond, with serious blue eyes and tanned skin. They both looked like Abercrombie models. Ashley gave a little sigh. Dylan didn’t look our way as he passed through the hall, but every eye was trained on him. “Weird. Why do they all stare at him?” I said, even though I was practically gaping at him. Ashley looked at me like I was an idiot. “Well, maybe because he’s hot, rich, popular and inaccessible.” She sounded like a spoiled brat, and I knew those, I mean, even heaven has its bitches. “Inaccessible?” I asked, not that I was interested, just to keep myself from telling her what was on my mind. “Well, yeah, I mean, he could have every girl in the school in a matter of seconds, and he doesn’t. He’s polite and all, but he’s just not interested.” She said with a little sigh. I wondered when he’d turned her down. “Is he gay?” I asked. Ashley looked shocked, and then understanding dawned in her eyes. “No, of course not. I made him sound that way, didn’t I? Nah, he isn’t.” she laughed. “Good.” I murmured. Ashley grabbed my arm, pulling me down the corridor. “Come on, show me your schedule.” She told me. I stumbled along, pulling my satchel open. I took out a rumpled piece of paper. She took it, frowned at it, and didn’t give it back. She veered towards an office marked with the words HEADMISTRESS in large gold letters. The door swung open when she knocked. A secretary with wire-rimmed glasses peered down at us. She had auburn hair tied in a tight knot at the top of her head. She wore a beige pencil skirt and a blazer. “Hello Ashley. Please, come in.” she had a pleasant voice, low and melodious. We entered an office with a large desk guarding the entrance. “What brings you here?” the secretary asked. Ashley sighed and passed her my schedule. “Can you do anything?” she asked in a honey-sweet voice. The secretary studied it for a minute, the nodded and sat down by the computer. For a few minutes, the only noise was of typing. Finally, the secretary got up and printed a sheet. Then she handed it to Ashley with a smile. Ashley studied it nodded, and led me out again. “What was that all about?” I asked her, mystified. “Your classes didn’t match any of mine, and since you have an interest in Dylan, I gave you a chance. See, when I thought I had a chance with him, I pulled some strings and copied his schedule. I just gave you a chance.” She repeated. “Oh.” I said. I didn’t really know how to answer that. “Our first class is Astronomy.” She informed me.  She veered left and entered a large classroom. Immediately, she headed toward the back, where a crowd was whispering. I didn’t feel very comfortable around other people, especially the important, popular crowd I’d tried so hard to avoid in heaven. The crowd quieted, and a moment later, Dylan entered with the blond guy by his side. His aura was troubled, angry, but his outer exterior was totally composed. That made me respect him more. Blond dude chattered with him, without realizing Dylan wasn’t really answering. He stopped walking the moment he saw me and his aura flashed triumphant golden. Then blue, which meant he was surprised with his own reaction. His eyes locked on mine. Then I felt him. My gaze shot past Dylan and fixed on a shadow that leaned against the wall with an amused expression on his handsome face. It couldn’t be… not yet! My eyes widened. Then Dylan turned on his heel and slipped out the door, the shadow by his side. It seemed blond guy was about to follow, but the professor shut the door. “Where do you think you’re going Mr. Royal?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

That class passed in a daze for me. That angry, troubled black aura the ‘shadow’ had worn wasn’t very inspiring. But I put it out of my mind.

The day past by in a whirlwind of introductions, classes, stares. But all the time I looked for a smoky gaze. Dylan didn’t appear. I walked out of the school. A black hummer rolled to a stop a few meters in front of me. I heard the sound of dialing. A moment later I heard Dylan’s soft voice murmur something even my ears couldn’t catch. I frowned. The hummer stayed there. I hid behind a bush when the sound of tires reached me. The sky was darkening fast, and I was curious to see whom Dylan had called. A porche stalked around the corner with the blond guy, Ethan, behind the wheel. Ethan leapt out and said something to Dylan, who laughed and started the ignition. Ethan hopped back into his vehicle and both rolled away. I frowned. Where were they going? I wondered. And more importantly, where was Dylan the whole day? I shook these questions out of my head and walked to the Hilton hotel. I slipped inside and headed toward my suite.

That night, I had painful dreams. I dreamt about Ash.

I ran barefoot, the wind making my hair blow backward. I felt the heavy weight of my beautiful new wings. I was so happy. I beat them up and down, not hard enough to fly. Then I heard a familiar flutter. I turned immediately, expecting one of the elders. Instead, a small shape shot around the buildings so fast, it was a blur. My eyes widened. You weren’t supposed to fly that quickly. It was dangerous. I didn’t exactly imagine an elder breaking the rules. Suddenly, the shape hurtled toward me. I took a step back. A massive gust of wind made my outstretched wings lift me into the air. I screamed, my wings yanking me high up into the sky. Finally, I managed to close them. Off course, I didn’t really analyze I was twenty feet from the ground. I began to fall. I screamed again. I could have opened my wings to save me, but I was afraid of the punishment for flying my first day. And so I plummeted down. The wind made my long black hair stream upward as I fell backwards. Then I felt strong arms encircle my waist and I was hoisted into the air. I gasped as the city fell behind. I heard the person holding me laugh. “You okay cupcake?” he asked me. I frowned, twisting in his grip so I faced him. Beautiful yellow eyes met mine. Mine were wide, but his were slightly narrowed, as if in thought. I had never seen eyes as those. Normally, angels had a one-tone yellow. He had thousands upon thousands of flecks of varying shades of gold. He blinked thick black eyelashes. That’s when I noticed his hair. I gasped and jerked back, nearly tearing myself out of his grip. He only gripped my tighter. His hair was jet-black. Like a hunter’s.

 I woke up with tears streaming down my cheeks.