Half and half

charlotte's pov chapterIV

Chapter IV

Charlotte

I rehearsed the words a thousand times in my head.

“Yeah… I'm on medication.”

“Like your hair? Nah, I don’t.”

“Yeah, you had something in your hair, I was being a good friend. Emphasis on friend.”

When I was ready to face Dylan Hunt, I stepped out of the deserted lab class. People where whispering in the halls with the occasional squeal outburst. Some people stared at me, but not as many as I had imagined. I spotted Ashley, who was one of the squealers. I trotted over with my books on my hands, frowning. “What is it?” I asked her. She whirled around, her eyes wide, “you touched Dylan Hunt? What happened?! Never mind, I know that. But WHY?!” I hadn’t expected this. I shrugged blushing, and asked again, “what happened?” Her eyes brightened again with new gossip. “Well, see that Dimitri shoved Dylan into the bathroom? - God, Dimitri is so hot!” I interrupted with an ‘uh-huh’ before she could get on the subject of Dimitri. “Whatever. Well, about three seconds later, there was a loud thump and a girl pushed past everyone and darted into the bathroom! The boy bathroom.” I scowled, “green eyes, blond hair?” I asked suspiciously. She nodded, “how did you- well the thing is, Ethan entered the bathroom, running, and suddenly, someone was shouting and crying, but when the teachers got in, there was no one there!” she looked very excited, bouncing up and down. I blinked, “no one?” and before I knew it, I was sucked into the memories.

“I need to show you something.” It was the first time that Ash had asked me to meet him privately, on the courtyard near the gates. “What?” I asked. I quit inspecting the bulky cast. “This.” He pointed to a stone. “Wow, it’s beautiful.” I said dryly. He glowed; “really?” he looked like an excited puppy. I nodded enthusiastically. His face stopped glowing and he rolled his eyes, “of course it’s not, idiot. It’s not what I came to show you.” He looked amused. I didn’t know whether to be offended he called me an idiot or relieved I didn’t have to grin anymore. “Good. So, are you going to show me some-” my voice trailed of when Ash hopped onto the rock with a flutter of his wings. I frowned. Then he began chanting and spinning. I stared up at him, wondering if he was high-it had happened before, ehem- but I realized he had perfect balance on the small rock. Then he began spinning harder and faster than ever until he was a black blur-because of his massive wings. “Ash-” I started, but his chanting had gotten louder and louder and it drowned me out. Finally, he unexpectedly fell silent. He hopped down from the rock and his knees buckled. I was about to try and catch him, but all he did was open his wings and flap himself into a standing position. His eyelids drooped with tiredness and his head was bowed. “What is it?” I asked, concerned. “Just give me a minute.” He mumbled. Then he sat on the ground and leaned against the rock, his eyes half-closed. He motioned with one hand so I sat opposite, facing him. Despite his obvious tiredness, his eyes were surprisingly alert. Alert and excited. His eyes were blue. I staggered backwards and asked stupidly, “are you wearing contacts?” even if I knew that when I had met him here, his eyes had been golden. He shook his head, looking amused. “Come closer.” He murmured. Increasingly puzzled and wary, I inched closer. He grabbed my arm and dragged me so close our noses were almost touching. I leaned backward. He gave an exasperated sigh. “look, for this to work, and believe me, it’s worth it, you need to be closer, ok?” I stared at him in surprise. He was speaking with a heavy British accent. Then, as I stared at his face, it changed. His face became narrower, his nose lifting up a little at the end. Freckles were spread against his face. His hair lightened until it was light blond. His cheekbones were higher and sharper. His blue eyes were wide with innocence. He became springier and less muscled. His clothes changed too. He had a popped-up collar and rolled up sleeves of an Abercrombie shirt. His face was handsome, but with an arrogant glint in his eyes. He was about 15 years old, tall. And he was holding a very fancy phone. Then he groaned and put his head between his knees, his hands on the back of his neck. “Urgh. I hate doing that.” He drawled. I stared at him. “Ash?” I asked. He glanced at me, looking surprised, as if he’d just remembered I was here. “No, I believe his name is Xander.” I stared harder. “Okay, so where do you live?” I asked, incredibly wary. He smiled lazily, “Bel-air, Los Angeles.” I gaped at him. Then suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed me. I gave a little gasp and shoved him in the chest, separating him from me. “Aw, come on baby, don’t be like that.” He said, smirking. I slapped him on the face. He jerked back and for a moment, Ash’s face flickered on with his black hair and golden eyes. And alarmed expression. But then Xander came back. He blinked. “Why do you have a Brit’s accent?” I asked him. If he lived in Bel-air, wasn’t he supposed to sound American? “School. Parents. Friends. I spent a lot of time in a movie where I had to play a British boy.” He shrugged, “the accent stayed.” He seemed different than the cocky bastard. His forehead was shiny. “Why does your forehead shine?” I blurted out. He looked surprised. He wiped a hand against it and it came away damp. “Do you mean sweating?” he asked in surprise. I frowned. “What is-”

“Kid! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” a guardian yelled. I blinked and when I turned to Xander, he had disappeared. Instead a very tired Ash with a cocky grin loped his arm around me. The guardian was skimming over the ground with his wings outstretched. “Dammit! He’ll call my dad!” Ash stared at me in surprise; I think it was the first time he had heard me swear. Then he grinned and suddenly, I was outside my house. I blinked and staggered. Ash’s strong arms were the only thing that held me upright. I gulped, “what happened?” I asked, my voice shaking. Ash looked paler than usual. “Tell you tomorrow. Same spot, at eight in the evening.” Then he vanished with a puff of dry leaves. I kept staring at the leaves until my mom came out and dragged me inside. No wait, someone was actually dragging me.

“Jeez, snap out of it, we’re going to be late for history.” Ashley whined. I yanked my arm from her grasp and grabbing my satchel, I hurried towards history, muttering a ‘sorry’ that wasn’t even half-hearted. It was like half-a- quartered.