Safe

Chapter 2 (part 1)

I look down at my hands, crimson liquid dripping from them, and later on the floor. The smell of iron flooded the room, as I took a deep breath in.

A smile creeps onto my face as I notice that I'm not alone. Someone else is here. I turned to face the intruder, and paused.

"Oh, look who it is"

-August 28, 20XX - Manuel-

Waking up is an easy task. Wanting to wake up, though, is extremely difficult. Having the will power to lift yourself up and face the challenges that are out there, waiting. The traps that are ready and set for you to fall into.

But, today was one of those days. The days where I couldn't just sleep all day. Stay under my blankets, where it's safe.

Today was the first day of school.

I made my way to the school library as soon as I got there, everyone's faces crossed out in my vision. Everyone I didn't care about, basically invisible to me. I entered the library and glanced at the rows of computers.

I would only go on these if I could look things up as I please, So I decided to go to the fiction section, which was luckily right near the entrance. I didn't find anything interesting there, so I just wondered about for a while. I eventually found a good psychology book that I could get stuck in for a while, perfect for passing the time. I dreaded every second of being awake. Of being alive. Reading, writing, drawing, singing, drugs. Those were my only distractions. My only escape. I flipped another page. I was on page 430 now, and I was almost done reading the book. It was only 7:50, I had a little less than an hour to kill.

"Hey," I heard a voice speak next to me as the chair immediately besides mine shifted, and somebody sat down on it, "what are you reading?"

"A book," I responded. The response was dry enough for him to get discouraged from speaking to me further.

Go away.

I felt him staring at me, while I never even bothered to spare him a passing glance. He kept staring for a bit and then asked, "what's your name?"
I could hear him getting comfortable in his seat, which was bad news for me. I wanted him gone. I don't need anyone approaching me, just to end up hurting me in the end. I'm tired of it.
"Why do you care?" I said as I turned to look at him.
When I saw him, I had to stop and process what I was looking at. He was that hot. His curly light blond hair was parted to the side, and he had these bright green eyes that seemed to pull me in.

Gorgeous.

I couldn't look away. I didn't want to look away. I just kept staring at him. His eyes were calming. They were distracting. I got so caught up in staring, I stopped feeling the pain in my arms and legs. The pain went away. But then I realized, this would go on until class started if I didn't speak up now.

"Manuel," I introduced myself, looking away.
I heard him sit up besides me, and when I turned back to face him, he was smirking. Not smiling, smirking.

"What's yours?" I asked as he looked back up at me.

"Zen. My name is Zen. Nice to meet you, manuel."

The way he said my name brought chills up my spine. Although I couldn't let it show that something that small shook me up.
We just continued staring at each other. His eyes were so bright. They were beautiful. I could get lost in his eyes. I already was. I was so lost, I barely heard the sound of the bell.
I stood up, getting my stuff, and notized zen still staring at me. He suddenly stood up, and I was surprised that he was actually shorter than me. Sure, I was taller then most sophomore, but with the way Zen spoke, I thought he'd look a little more dominant. I smiled as I looked down on him.

"See you around, shortie," I say as I start to head towards the door. I expected him to follow after me and leave, so I was surprised when I didn't hear him follow behind.

"Wait!" He says, as he almost instinctively brings his hands to his mouth in surprise of his own words.
Is he trying to hide his surprise?
"uh- can I... well, your number- can I have your number?" he said as I noticed he was blushing, probably from fumbling with his words.
So fucking adorable.
I decided that I didn't want to give him my number. I already have Sylvie, Cienna, and Harry. More than three friends is too many. Three is probably already too many. So I turned back to face the entrance, and walked out of the library.