My Smiling Demon

Chapter 3

After school, I push open the doors to walk outside to the front of the school when Rose calls me.
"Hey, Rosie. What's up?" I answer.
"Hey, Clara. I forgot to tell you that I have a student council meeting right now and practice for the school play after that. I might not get home till late, so that means I can't drive you home. I called Chris to pick you up, though, so don't worry," Rose explains.
As she finished her sentence, Chris drives right in front of me and stops.
"Speak of the devil, he's here already. Thanks, Rose and I hope your meeting and practice go well." Rose and I exchange our goodbyes then hang up.
Chris walks out of his car and opens the door for me. I smile quizzically at him since he's not actually known to be gentleman-like.
"Hey, what's with the sudden good manners?" I joke.
He rolls his eyes and closes the door when he sees that I'm situated in the car. He walks over to the other side and hops in.
"So, how was school?" he asks to make conversation.
"Annoying as always. Hehe. When Rose told me that you were gonna pick me up, I thought I'd have to wait for a couple of hours, but you were actually on time. And then you opened your car door for me?" I place my hand on his forehead and continue, "Are you feeling alright? I think the doctor should take a look at you."
He chuckles sarcastically as he throws my hand away from his face playfully. "I'm fine. I'm just trying something new."
I raise my eyebrows at him. "What does that mean?" I ask, my curiosity piqued.
"I've just grown up, that's all," he responds.
"Christophe Jackson, all grown up. Do you have any tissues? I'm on the verge of tears right now," I comment teasingly.
He actually hands me a Kleenex and shoves it in my face. I gasp and slap the back of his head playfully.
"Ow! Clara, what the hell?!" he exclaims.
"Oh, shut up, you big baby! You know you deserved that."
He turns to look at me with an incredulous but happy grin on his face. "You know, Clara, you're just...you're something else," he says as he shakes his head.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Now look at the road or you're gonna get us killed," I reply, pointing his head towards the front.
When we arrive home, I realize that Dean and Sarah, Rose and Chris' parents, aren't home. I ask Chris where his parents are, and he says that they went out to eat with his dad's boss.
I nod, then start to walk up the stairs when Chris calls out, "Hey, uh Clara. If you want something to eat, I can order pizza or something."
I tell him that I'm fine, then ask what he's going to do.
"Oh, I'm meeting up with a friend. We're gonna go to the movies or something," he replies.
A sudden look of realization appears on his face, then he asks, "Oh, do you wanna go with me? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."
I shake my head and smile politely saying, "No, it's ok, Chris. You go have fun. I have to catch up on homework anyway."
He asks if I'm sure with a bit of a sheepish look on his face. He probably feels embarrassed or something so I answer, "Maybe some other time."
His eyes light up, nods, then he walks out the door, saying goodbye. I notice that he's left his keys on the little table by the front door, so I snatch them and open the door right when he walks in, probably realizing that he stupidly forgot his keys. So, we bump into each other. He catches me by my waist so that I'm practically up against him. We stay like that for a bit, staring into each other's eyes, barely breathing. His eyes are a mix of a warm swirling blue with sophisticated grey specks here and there. I've never actually realized how deeply beautiful they are, and how they make me feel safe, like he's always going to be there to protect me.
The awkward but entrancing silence is broken by Chris' phone. We break away from each other, and suddenly I feel empty and cold, as if all the warmth has left my heart. His enchanting blue eyes dart from me to his phone as he tries to decide what to do.
I say, "Um, you should probably get that."
"What? Oh, yeah thanks," he replies in a daze.
I smile awkwardly at him, grateful that I can't blush, and he returns the grin in the same way except that he looks so dorkishly cute when he does, and we say goodbye. I hand him his keys, walk inside the house, and close the door.
I realize that my heart is beating fast, but I'm not sure why. What even happened? Am I interested in Chris? No, of course not. We're just friends, that's all. And besides, he's like a brother to me, it would be extremely weird for me to like him in that way. Does he like me more than a friend? I furrow my eyebrows as I think about it. Well, he did rush to pick me up and opened the car door for me, but he said that he was just growing up. That didn't mean that he likes me. Or does it?
I sigh and say aloud, "Ugh I'm confused!"
I shudder and shake my head to clear my thoughts as I walk up the stairs to my room.
I open the door and suddenly hear shuffling. I widen my eyes as my breath starts to get faster, my heart pounding in my chest. I hastily turn my light on, but I see nothing. Nothing seems out of place. Wait. I walk to my desk, where a random yearbook is out. I'm pretty sure I didn't leave that there. I try to contain all my nervousness and calm myself down as I call out, "Jeff? Is that you?"
"Why, my dear Clara, how did you guess? Was it my lovely smell? I got a new cologne for my birthday," I hear from behind me, causing me to jump in horror.
I turn around, and there he is, laying on my bed with his hands behind his head, as if he owns this place. My eyes go wide for just a split second, but I manage to hold myself together. I smirk at him and hold up the yearbook.
"Jeff, you know better than to just leave stuff out like this. It's sloppy. Oh, and happy belated birthday."
He chuckles and replies, "Thanks, I'm 18 now, but I don't feel like it. Sorry about the yearbook. I was just looking at the old pictures of you. You were so cute! Not saying that you're not cute now. No...not saying that at all."
He stares hungrily at me with those terrifying unblinking eyes that I see in my nightmares. I don't know if it's because he thinks I'm hot, or if he's thinking about killing me in the most painful way, but I feel uncomfortable anyway. His face is so freakin' creepy that it makes me look away. I wonder how he feels about it when he looks at himself in the mirror. He senses my displeasure and smiles even wider at me. Doesn't his face hurt from grinning all the time? I don't think it's even possible for him to close his mouth.
"I hope you don't mind that I made myself at home," he purrs.
"No, I don't mind. Why would I?" I try to smile at him but it comes out as a grimace.
"Do I make you uncomfortable, Clara?" he asks as he rises from the bed and walks towards me.
For every step he takes closer to me, I take a step back until I reach a dead end, my balcony doors. I can barely breath as his horrid face is a few inches away from mine. I find it annoyingly difficult to keep my eyes trained on his. Every time I try to stare right at him, a creepy sensation runs through me, and I instantly switch my eyes to focus on something else. Something more pleasant.
He pulls out his knife, and I suddenly realize that it's the one I had hidden in my closet.
"We're going to have a lot of fun, Clara. Aren't you excited?" he growls.
His breath smells putrid and makes me want to gag. He starts laughing crazily as my hands frantically search for the knob on the door. I open the door and run out onto the balcony. Now what? I look over the edge and suddenly wish I hadn't because my legs are now locked in fear. I really hate heights.
"Oops!" I hear as I am pushed over.
I screech in fear as my hands grasp the railing so that I don't fall. "Oh don't worry, my sweet little Clara, I won't let you die...yet."
I whimper as he raises his knife over his head, and I know he's going to bring it down and cut my hands off at any second.
Jeff's maniacal laughter is all that I hear besides my piercing shriek as I let go, plummet down, and hit my head when I land. Then, everything suddenly goes black.