Safe and Sound (Watty Awards 2012).

Chapter Four.

Author's Note: Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think! :D

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Chapter Four.
Kyle's Point of View.

I set the poetry anthology down on the table in front of us as I finished reading, and looked at Madeline. She was awfully quiet, and hadn't even looked at me yet. I had to admit that I was incredibly curious. Not to be big headed but, how could she not look at me? I was one of the most popular guys at school as well as one of the hottest. Sure, she had only just joined the school but surely she knew who I was? I was Kyle Gray. The Kyle Gray. The one, the only, the brilliant. 

Everyone knew who I was. Well, everyone except her apparently. I continued to look at her, though I couldn't see much of her face as her blonde hair was in the way, forming a shiny curtain between the both of us. Way to avoid conversation, Madeline.

Normally the girls at school would kill to be sitting next to me. As I scanned the classroom, I saw that as predicted, several other females in the class were sending Madeline envious dirty looks, though she didn't seem to notice; her head remained lowered toward the table as she stared at it. A soft sigh fell from my lips and my gaze flickered from Madeline to the anthology, then back again.

Her head moved slightly, turning in my direction. Her hair moved back from her face as she moved her head, and I had to bite down on my tongue to stop my jaw from dropping. Jesus fucking Christ! Her face! Across her left cheekbone she had a mottled purple and blue bruise, and just below was a paler blue bruise- both of which were clearly recent. On her forehead was a cut. It was small, but looked as though it had been deep.

"What the fuck happened to your face?"

I breathed, leaning slightly closer to get a better look. She immediately moved back slightly, her eyes widening as she looked back down at the table.

"Nothing. Nothing happened to my face."

She mumbled quietly. Nothing? Was she serious? It looked as though she had been hit in the face with a freaking sauce pan. Yet she sat here, saying that nothing had happened. I sunk my teeth into my lower lip, debating with myself.

Half of my brain was telling me to ask again; to make her tell me. However, the other half of my brain was telling me not to pry, that it was her business. So, I came to a compromise. I would let the matter go for now but I would definitely make sure to find out what was going on. Though, why did I even care? To be honest, I didn't. I was just curious. I slowly nodded my head.

"Okay...So ermm...should we discuss the poem?"

Madeline looked at me again, a relieved expression painted over her face. My eyes locked with hers and she cracked a small, shy smile. Her eyes kind of reminded me of Mila Kunis' eyes because they were so big. The only difference was that the colour of Madeline's eyes was hazel.

They were...well, beautiful was the only word that I could think of that could describe them. The light brown irises had flecks of gold and green, and I knew that in certain lights her eyes would either be closer to brown or closer to green. Right now, though, they were in the middle. It was a gorgeous balance of gold and green. I eventually pulled my gaze away from hers, looking down at the anthology as I nodded my head in answer to her question.

"Sure. Umm...Well the nameless state of the men is representational of those whose mental capcity was shattered by what they experienced during the war."

Madeline's eyes shot back up to mine as they filled with an expression of surprise. That's right, I'm more than just a pretty face. I looked at her with a smug smile, and her eyes glittered with amusement. I gestured toward her with one of my hands.

"Beat that."

I challenged, raising my eyebrows as I watched her. She seemed amused, a small smile tugging at her lips as she looked down at the poem.