05 ~ Iris | Edited

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     "Hailey!" Was the first thing Naomi said, rushing forward and wrapping her in a hug almost immediately after we were off the stairs. "Jeez," I muttered as Zane came over. "Do you even know who that is?" He asked.
     "Well nice to see you missed me." I replied sarcastically, not answering the question. "Hey! I missed you." He said indignantly, punching me lightly in the shoulder. I chuckled, "Fine. Her name is Hailey and she helped get me here. She needs to talk to Naomi about magic." I replied, avoiding the topic of her curse.
     "Damn! Did you find them yet?" Naomi's voice was suddenly a bit louder, or maybe it was just me. "Huh?" Zane turned around, while Hailey glanced back at me, nodding slowly. Naomi followed her gaze, and her face immediately lit up. "The hell are they talking about?" Zane asked, looking back at me. I had a feeling...but I wasn't quite sure. "I don't know." I lied.
     But before he could say anything, Jackson came in from the other room. "Hey guys!" He said. "Hey." I responded, lifting up a hand in greeting. "What'cha girls talkin' 'bout?" He asked, walking over to Hailey and Naomi. I approached them as well, curious as well. "Hailey's cur-" Hailey slapped a hand over Naomi's mouth. "My, uh, where I'm gonna be sleeping tonight!" She said quickly.
     I knew she was lying. I'd already had that conversation with her. "Hailey, what?" Naomi asked. In response, she whispered something into her ear. "Oh. Yeah, and we decided she'd stay in Grey's room. If it's okay." She added the last part to me. Jackson and Zane looked at me expectantly. Under their gazes, I blushed, but responded anyway with, "Y-Yeah sure."
     "Awww, you have a crush~" Jackson teased me. "Shut up!" Both Hailey and I said indignantly, before staring at each other and bursting out in laughter. I had to admit...her laughter was almost musical, and really cute. "What the?" Zane asked in confusion.
     It took a little for us to stop laughing, and by that point, Naomi had shepherded us into the living room. "Seriously, though, do you have a thing for her? Because I think she's kinda hot." Zane whispered into my ear. "Zane! You have a girlfriend!" I said, flicking his forehead with my finger. "Sorry! Sorry, old habits die hard." He said, sheepishly chuckling. "But she is." He muttered so only I could hear.
     The key thing he was missing was that he hadn't seen her savage side before. But I had...and somehow I still felt I could trust her. "Hey, Grey?" Hailey asked, tapping my right arm. "Yeah?" I asked, turning to her. "Should we-Should I tell everyone? And when should we talk with Naomi?" She asked. I thought for a second, "We should talk with her tomorrow, and as for telling everyone...that's up to you. But they might ask you to prove it." I replied.
"O-okay. Then I think I won't." She replied. I nodded in agreement. "While y'all were talking I made food! Get in here ya lazies!" Zoe suddenly called, making us jump.

     It was pasta. But I guess, knowing my sister, there was little else she could make and have it taste good. It took us about fifty-five minutes to eat, but ten minutes before everyone actually finished, Hailey became unable to breathe well and had excused herself from the table. I was worried as I walked up the stairs towards my room; my mind had already begun running wild with possibilities where she died or went missing, which I...I found myself not wanting to happen.
     I braced myself as I opened the door, expecting worse than what was there. Hailey was alive, and asleep. But she was trembling, and her breathing was unsteady. I walked closer, leaving the door ajar. She was hugging herself, her fingers clutching at her shirt; her nails were probably going to leave marks. She was terrified, which was something I hadn't seen before, except for a few seconds when we first met.
     I found myself looking carefully at her face. At her almond shaped eyes, now tightly shut and flitting behind their lids; her slightly heart shaped face, accented by her widow's peak; her perfectly curved eyebrows and lips, trembling as she dreamed; the lean structure of her face, with her soft skin - probably easily damaged by the sun - stretched over strong, yet delicate bones; the pattern of freckles over her nose and under her eyes, across her cheekbones, like droplets of paint scattered across her face. Even the slight way she pulled away when I made sudden movements didn't escape my notice.
     She's...actually really beautiful.. I thought. OH, NO! THERE IS NO WAY, ARE YOU THINKING THAT, SELF! I gave myself a mental slap in the face. Love was not something I needed. But still, I still had to help her. I hated seeing her so terrified, because it seemed so unlike her, and because she looked so much younger than 17.
     Plus, she'd asked me to help her. I still was unsure of why all this happened to her, but right then, I just wanted to help.
     So I did what I had done the first night. I crawled into bed behind her so she wouldn't wake up, and gently put an arm around her. My heart was racing, and the smokey-flowery smell of her hair wasn't helping either, nor was the soft touch of her newly blow-dried hair. In fact, it only made butterflies flutter in my stomach. Here I was, a normal city boy, comforting and holding a girl with a curse, who already had a guy after her, and who smelled and looked amazing. I gave myself another mental slap when I found myself wondering what her lips tasted like.
     A small wave of relief crashed over me when Hailey stopped trembling and her breathing was back to normal. "Grey," she murmured softly, turning around in her sleep. I blushed when she whispered my name, and blushed harder still when she buried her face in my chest. Why? Why is she doing this, even in her sleep? And why does it send a thrilled shiver down my spine? A-And why is my heart racing? All these questions, and more, spun through my mind. The loudest being, What is happening? But I had no answer. To that one, or the other questions I had.

     But I certainly wish I did know.

This took about two days, and now I'm just gonna yeet it at you! Ya kinda gotta deal with it. And if you're wondering what I'm doing with my other books, I focus on them too. Their chapters are just longer and harder to write. But this one...this one was simple and easy and fun. - 1/3/20

Yep. Another week it took to write the next one. - 1/11/20

Edited! - 09.22.2020

See ya! ✌🏻
~Nevira

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