Different.

Chapter 5: Down the rabbit hole

Chapter 5

Down the rabbit hole

"Just Kaylee?" He asked, prying eyes now facing forward as we walked.

Even through his dark black hoodie I could see his massive biceps and broad shoulders as he sauntered cooly ahead of me.

"Kaylee is all you're getting," I mumbled, sticking my hands in my pockets and looking away from him.

He laughed, and I jumped.

I didn't think he had heard me.

"Alright, fair enough." He allowed, the laugh echoing faintly in his warm voice.

He yanked the door to the school open, a piercing creak stabbing at my ear drums and a small cloud of reddish brown rust fluffing up gently as he did so. My brows furrowed, confused, as I found myself quite a bit during this entire encounter. But, I reminded myself, that's why I was going with him. To get myself some answers.

"Why are you going in there?" I protested, hanging back. "Couldn't we go somewhere a little less..." My voice trailed off, uncertainty blatant in every syllable.

"Creepy?" He finished, his grin mocking.

I shivered a little and nodded, wrapping my arms around myself.

He smirked.

"Well I can give you my hoodie and hold your hand if you want," he offered sarcastically, batting his lashes and sticking out his lower lip a little.

"Any minute now I'm gonna hit you," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the ground venomously.

He laughed again, and my face reddened.

I really didn't like this guy.

"Now that would be a sight," he said, still smirking.

Huffing exasperatedly, I shoved past him and stomped into the school.

Inside everything was even colder, the crumbling walls and rotting floors practically icy.

Ignoring the sudden heavy pit in my stomach, I followed Alexander as he slunk confidently through the decaying building.

Crawling hesitantly underneath what had once been a doorway but that was now all but blocked off by miscellaneous debris, I hissed, "Where the hell are you taking me? And why couldn't we just talk outside, or at least in the front room?" I added on irritably, dusting myself off.

I turned around to continue following him, but he was directly in front of me.

I jumped, again.

He smirked, again.

"Because this isn't just 'a talk'," he explained vaguely, wiping the smirk from his face. There was something intense lingering in his gaze as he looked into my eyes, but he then turned on his heel and walked off briskly, leaving me alone.

I took one glance around at the sagging beams and strange bugs crawling around in the walls and knew I didn't want to be left on my own here, so I stumbled blindly after him, catching up just as he turned a corner.

We walked down a long, dimly lit corridor in silence, and I fought back the urge to scoot closer to him.

As much as this Alexander dude pissed me off, it was clear from his slightly bored expression he wasn't bothered at all by this place. Which only made me question his mental health even more. But then again I was the one following him around after I'd just met him, and after he'd chased after me like a mad man, so what did that say about me?