Special

ch.9

It was that Friday when all Hell broke lose. Literally.

It started in class. We has already finished our lessons. Chloe was chatting away to me and the twins, though I was too jittery to fully pay attention. The ball..was tonight, and that meant that I get to see Shadow again. I played with my fingers, excited at the thought.

I had twisted in my chair to reach for something in my bag when I caught Grumpy staring at me, expressionless. He was slumped in his chair, a desk behind me. Glaring back at his seemingly lifeless gray eyes, we silently challenged each other to a staring contest. He was so rude before, I hardly had the chance to study him up close. I started notice little things. Like how he ignored the dress code; black jeans, no tie and left his shirt unbuttoned halfway. Or how his hair flipped carelessly in every direction... Absentmindedly, I reached my hand out to brush it out of his face. That was not a good idea. Chloe tried to stop me, but it was too late. I smelled something burning....

Before I knew it, the ends of my own hair were on fire. I jumped up and screamed, frantically trying to find a way take it out, but the flames only grew larger. The rest of the class looked on, horrified. I was completely terrified of fire, it was one of my greatest fears. Paka was standing by the door, laughing the whole time. Yeah, thanks guardian. So much help. Chloe, on the other hand, sternly looked at Dylan.

"Dylan. That's enough, put it out."

Rolling his eyes, he got up and grabbed a water bottle. Despite the situation, I froze under his gaze. Calmly walking up to me he leaned down, making us face to face. He was so close that our noses were touching. I felt heat rise up my neck, but it wasn't the fire. Suddenly, he raised his hand and held my chin, but then quickly used his other hand to dump water over my head.

Gasping, I cried out and clung to him, trembling violently. Dylan growled and tried to brush me off, but paused for a moment. Fearing, he would do it again, I quickly let go.

"..What. You're afraid of a little sparkle?" He smirked, taking a strand of my hair to show me it hadn't been burned.

"W-why..?" I asked, stricken. "Why do you hate me?"

A sad look crossed his face for a moment, but I wasn't sure if I imagined it or not. Then all the carelessness and smirks wiped off his face and he gave me the most coldest glare.

"I'll never accept you as one of us."

He whispered, his lips brushing my ear with every word, which sent shivers down my spine. Then he left the classroom, slamming the door behind him. Chloe rushed to me with a towel. I thanked her and gingerly patted myself down with it.

"Don't worry about him. I didn't think he'd be that harsh though," She said thoughtfully.

I turned away. That jerk... He was beyond harsh.

"Yeah well. Clearly he hates me."

"..I don't think so."

"What??"

"There's nothing holding him back. If he really did, he would've made the fire real."

***

Lunch was full of surprises. Because of what happened earlier, Chloe finally got the guts to go over to the cafe Drake went to. He and his friends seemed a little surprised, but then he smiled at her and offered a chair.

As we sat down, Paka appeared beside me with an amused expression.

"Yo, Saki." He said in an American accent, making a peace sign to his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Hmph. I don't see why you show up now." I muttered in a low voice. He laughed.

"If it's about earlier, I knew he wouldn't do anything," Paka smirked, his golden eyes glowing in the artificial light. I huffed.