Dust Thou Art

Chapter One

Yo! So this is chapter one. It's a little short but...yeah.

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I'm 16 now and still seeing my...friends. I don't have any friends besides them.

Take the third grade up for example. Our playground had woods just behind the fence, which was behind the swings. See my friends like trees a lot and tend to hang around them. Trees whisper to me too. And when I'd talk to my friends or the trees everyone made fun of me. The called me "Tree Talker Freak" Not the most imaginitive bunch are they?

Nobody calls me Tree Talker Freak anymore but that doesn't mean they don't avoid me. But I was alright with that. I had other friends now too. Most of the time I'd help them get through what needed to be gotten through and they left. But sometimes they couldn't get through what they needed to, so they stayed.

It was the beginning of the second trimester. I sat down, drew a little on a picture of Irene, the five-year-old girl who could usually be found in my mother's garden after she followed me home one day. She liked my drawings. And even though she died when she was five, she had the knowledge and wisdom of someone at least a hundred years old. She didn't talk like a baby and understood quite a bit, even things I didn't know.

Then I noticed who sat next to me. He wasn't slouching as you'd expect from a teenage boy. No, he sat straight in his chair and stared at what seemed like the clock. His slightly curling shaggy black hair hung in front of his pale face, in front of those beautiful dark bottle glass blue eyes. His full dark berry tinted lips were set in a natural frown, as I found mine all the time. My eyes traced every bit of him, from his wide strong shoulders under the tight black T-shirt, his capable arms and hands that were corded with muscle, then to his long legs sheathed in dark tinted jeans. Jamis Brack.

Then he noticed my stare. The corner of his mouth quirked up into a small smirk. That was the mystery of Jamis Brack, I thought as I blushed and looked away. As gorgeous and player-like he seemed, he wasn't a player. I doubted he even ever had a girlfriend. Even the "hottest" girls of the grade that asked him out were turned down.

But maybe that only drew girls closer to him. That aura that said "untouchable" and "dangerous" and "mysterious". Girls liked a little dark mystery in a guy. But as Abby would've said, he was like a poison dart frog. All that beauty was just there to cover up the poison he possessed.

Our teacher cleared his throat and I was forced to pay attention. Unfortunately, I kept stealing glances at the boy whom I'd only seen a few times before at lunch.

Once though, I could've sworn I saw him looking at me. But maybe I was imagining things. After all, I did see dead people...

But as I looked out the window, I saw someone. One of my friends, whom I'd known since I was nine. His name was Michael. He was eighteen when he died of pnemonia. He was tall, tan, with short-ish dark brown hair and eyes the color of emeralds. I scowled at him. Michael annoyed me. Not just because he followed me everywhere or that he claimed he was in love with me nearly every day but because he was strong enough that he could physically contact me.

So when I tried to ignore him, he'd tug my hair, pinch my arm or tickle my legs, right above the knee or sometimes give me jumper cables. I blinked and saw Michael no longer stood outside the window.

Nope. He was in the desk next to mine. I nearly jumped when I saw him in the corner of my eye. Okay, ghosts aren't transparent. Just thought I'd get that straight right here and now.

I felt that chilly breeze wash over me every time a friend was near. No matter what I did, it never failed to give me chills. I glared at him from the corner of my eye.

Michael tried talking to me in class, but I ignored him. Guess who's hair got pulled?

On the way out, Jamis brushed past me, just barely touching my arm. Then he called behind him, looking over the black T-shirt-covered shoulder he possesed, "Feeling a little cold Ivy? They say every time you shudder, someone walks on your grave in the future." He smirked and carried on.

I froze. No pun intended. I stared at his retreating muscular figure. Michael was beside me, giving me another chill. Michael got very close to me to avoid people passing through him.

"He knows," I muttered so low only Michael could hear.

He shrugged. "Or it was just a coincidence. And why did you ignore me?" He narrowed his emerald eyes.

"Oh come on! It was class! I was already called Tree Talker Freak. I don't want to be known as Girl That Talks To Herself...Freak."

He raised his eyebrows. "That's the best you can do?"

I shook my head and smiled sadly. "No. But it's the best they can do." I continued staring at Jamis's back until I could no longer see his form. "But Michael, I'm sure he knows."

Michael grinned. "We'll see about that."

"What are you going to do Michael?"

He laughed somewhat evilly. "I'll just test him tomorrow."

I have a bad feeling about this.