Stargazer

Chapter 5. Happenings.

"You probably shouldn't hang around me, Noah," she said softly, her hair being gently picked up by the wind. Light was beginning to bounce off of her like a mirror. She was so bright.

I chuckled softly, mesmerized and confused as always with her. "And why is that?"

"Because everyone hates me. I have too many issues," she replies blankly.

"So? Everyone has problems, Avers." I say dismissively. She can be so ridiculous sometimes.

"Not like mine."

~

The morning after meeting her, I found myself staring at my ceiling again. My alarm had went off a few minutes before, but I felt as if I never went to sleep...as if I had stared at my ceiling all night long. My stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten. I couldn't even remember the last time I ate. I made a mental note to grab something before I left. My body had a sort of sour smell to it, and I figured it was because I still had on my change of clothes from the day before.

I got up for school like and there was a strange atmosphere that wasn't present the day before. The air seemed almost...electric. Evidently though, I was the only one that felt it because when I asked Kara about it, she didn't understand what I was talking about. But I guess after waking her up with a song by The Black Eyed Peas, I doubt she would've given me any valuable information anyway.

I headed to the bathroom that Kara and I shared. It was further down the hall from Kara's room and had an old knob that was a struggle to open. It was an unspoken rule in the house that the door never be closed. A year ago, after we moved to our current house from our old one, I was chasing Kara around the house and she hid inside the bathroom. She had closed it behind herself and it was four hours before she was able to come out. I got in trouble with my mom for chasing her and Kara developed an acute sense of claustrophobia. After that, we had always left the door cracked slightly.

I pushed open the door and it squeaked on its rusty hinges. I reached for the light switch to flick it on. Slightly blinded by the light, I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes. When the bright spots were gone, I stared at myself in the mirror. My tired reflection stared back at me. I looked a lot worse than I felt. Dark circles that weren't there the day before had formed under my eyes and my short brown hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in years. I personally didn't have a problem with that part, but I knew my mom would have a fit if she knew I went to school with unkempt hair.

I quickly ran my fingers through my hair. Satisfied with how it looked, I turned on my shower. I stripped off the clothes I had on from the day before and waited patiently for the water to heat up. I whistled a tune quietly to myself as I waited. When I felt that it was long enough, I stepped in and washed myself. I shut my eyes and lingered a while under the hot water and almost forgot that it was a school day. AJ's face was imprinted behind my lids and for a moment, I was lost in the beauty of it. She was like no one I ever met before. Then I heard Kara calling from outside the bathroom and I realized I took too long.

Frantically, I shut the water off and grabbed my blue towel from the shower rail. I  wrapped the towel around myself and picked my dirty clothes up from the floor. I opened the door slightly and Kara walked in, fully dressed. Kara was never ready before me so I knew we were really late..

"You know you have about ten minutes to get us both to school, right?" Kara questioned, raising her eyebrow at me. She reached for her Hello Kitty toothbrush and ran it under the water faucet before putting toothpaste on it and brushing her teeth.

"Yeah, Kara, I know," I replied hurriedly. I had already grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste flew out of my mouth as I spoke. "I lost track of time, so we'll probably be late."  

She spat out her toothpaste, rinsed her mouth, and gave me a meaningful look before saying, "You know how Paul will react if you are, Noah. Is this about the girl again?"

"Why do you sound like mom right now?" I reflected, defensively. "You are eight. Not forty."

She crossed her arms, reminding me of the way mom stood when she scolded me.

"Hm. I'll take that as a yes then," she said authoritatively. "Since you'll take forever, I'll be waiting in the car. Where are the keys?"

"Jesus, so bossy....they're where they usually are. On the key ring." She began to walk out but I stopped her, saying, "And do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Go back to being eight."

She shrugged and smiled at me. "Alright." She left and I rinsed my mouth out then headed to my room to get dressed. I took my phone from my dresser. I had seven minutes.

I fumbled through the clothes on the bottom of my closet and picked the first things that stood out at me: a pair of jeans and a purple shirt. I put the pants on and quickly pulled the shirt over my head. The shirt was a little too tight, but I figured it was because I washed it too many times. I grabbed my back pack and my black jacket and headedto the kitchen. I grabbed a banana off the counter and ate it on my way outside to the car.

As I got in, Kara simply said, "Five."

I knew what she meant and I quickly started the car and pulled out of my driveway.

"Put your seat belt on, Kara," I said, reaching for mine also. When we both had ours on, I pushed on the pedal a little more than usual and we sped down the street towards Kara's school. Thankfully, most of the traffic was gone, so I got to her school with two minutes to spare.

Kara jumped out of the car and gave me a quick goodbye before shutting the door and heading to her friends.

As I pulled out of the school's drop-off lane and onto the main street, I felt a chill travel up my spine. The sensation grew stronger as I approached the area where I had the run in with AJ the day before. My palms got sweaty as my eyes scanned the road ahead of me. I took my foot off the gas and let it hover over the brake in case anything came rushing out into the road.

But nothing did. Instead, ahead of me - about a hundred feet up the road -  cars were swerving around an object in the road. As I got closer, I could see glimpses of blue between the cars. My heart sped up. I could practically hear my heart ramming against my ribs.

Under some unknown force, my foot pressed down onto the brake and I slowed my car to a stop. The obstruction the cars were avoiding was ten feet away. I was suddenly scared. Dragging in a deep breath, I put my car in park and pulled out the keys, before getting out to take a closer look. I dodged the angry drivers as I walked on.

When I saw what - or whom - it was diverting the traffic, my heart stopped. It was AJ. She wore the blue dress from the day before. She was huddled in the street with her knees pulled against her chest. She was crying and the tears that ran down her face mingled with the blood coming from her nose.

Shock colored my tone, "What the hell happened?"

~

Hey guys! Here is another chapter! I hope you like it! :D I know it's been a while. I've had high school stuff and now college stuff to attend to. I am so sorry. But I hope that you stay or come back and continue reading this story. I'd be so thankful!

Please tell me what you think and let me know of any errors. Comment, vote, share, etc. I love you all!!

~ <|:3 Mikaila