Follow Your Head

The Elemental Cat

A young girl carefully sat down at her desk, knowing that his eyes where on her. She set down her binder, book, and pencil pouch and leaned back, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as a shield. She looked at the ground, her breath quick. She felt him turn and she breathed out a quiet sigh. She always reacted this way to him. The feeling in her stomach, the heat that rushed to her face and cheeks. The teacher stood and rearranged the room, moving him a row in front of her, near one of his friends. She let a small smile escape as the watched him, studying the way he moved and acted, the way his body looked. She shook her head to clear her mind, trying instead to focus on the math work in front of her. She sat there tapping her pencil for a moment and staring at the paper, mind clouded by the thought of him. She set down her pencil loudly in annoyance and dug her binder from her desk. She flipped it open and snatched up the pencil again. The first page was covered in the curls of cursive. She quickly read the first line then flipped it over to the back to continue the writing. She knew it would only end up being burned but she needed to clear her mind and this...helped. She looked up between sentences to think and look at him. He turned to his friend in a failed attempt to hide looking back at her. She felt her heart skip a beat and looked back down at the paper. She strained her ears to hear him speak.
"And Dylan's not talking to me. That dick." She smiled at her own little joke and wrote more. She pressed down her pencil to mark the end of a sentence and looked up to see him turned in his seat and clearly looking at her. She felt embarrassment take over her brain and smiled as he made an odd gesture with his hand then smiled again and turned around. She lowered her head quickly, smiling like a fool. She brushed her hair from her eyes and wrote more, avoiding looking up. The bell rang and she stowed her blank math homework. She stood and rushed out the door, moving to press her back against the wall and wait for him. He walked out of the classroom and past her, grabbing her hand in his and pulling her behind him. Her smile faded as she walked beside him and noticed his pained expression. He flipped his blond hair over his left eye and brought her outside. A cool autumn wind cut through her jacket, causing her to shiver. He broke into a jog and went around the red school building to a place they had found a while ago, out of sight for anyone. She hugged his arm in support as he raised the other to cover his left eye. She heard the bell ring like she was underwater.
"How bad?" She whispered, worried. Without speaking her lifted his hair to show his bleeding eye. She wiped at it with her thumb then put her forehead to his. "It's okay. Let them out" He smiled in thanks and closed his eyes. She felt his hair shift and leaned back. Two white cat ears where pressed against his head in fear. Fear of being discovered, she thought. She lightly stroked one of his soft ears, feeling his pain and fear as if it was her own. He sighed, tired, and laid down with his head in her lap. She smiled slightly and rested her hand on his shoulder as his breathing evened out. He slept soundly and quietly and she leaned back against the outside school wall and looked up as a cloud covered the sun. She scowled in annoyance. Her mind drifted to the other boy. His brown hair, tall stature, fangs. She snarled lowly in annoyance. She couldn't think of him. Never and especially not around the kitten. She lightly pinched one of his ears then continued to pet them. She sighed and rested her head back, closing her eyes and letting the numbing sensation of sleep overcome her,