The Evil Within

Well, That Escalated Quickly

Determined to protect Adam, Amanda decided to switch tactics. Instead of being disinterested and avoiding him like a girl playing hard-to-get, she tried acting hostile instead, glaring at Adam whenever their eyes would meet. She would stare at him like he was some worthless insect who wasn't worth any attention or interest, hoping to intimidate him. The chocolate bars she would find in her locker were thrown into the trash bin. Amanda wouldn't even open the letters she received from him. She would immediately shred them. And whenever she would spot Adam trying to catch her reaction to his gifts, she would make sure to maintain eye contact as she threw the chocolate and letters into the trash, then without so much as a blink she'd turn her back on him and walk away as if nothing happened.
One day she found a huge teddy bear sitting against her locker. It was almost as tall as her and she sighed in frustration thinking of all the money Adam kept on wasting. She dragged the teddy bear across the hallway, determined to chuck it in the dumpster behind the school building. With every step she took her anger built. Why wouldn't he give up? Why did he keep on leaving these gifts in her locker knowing that she would only throw them away? Why was he so damn stubborn? Amanda wished he would just stop because she was so sick and tired of constantly rejecting him and constantly lamenting over it every night. Everything would have been easier if he just avoided her like everyone else, but no, he just had to act like a stubborn mule.

Adam spotted her hauling the giant teddy bear across the hallway and figured that since it was too big for the trash bin, she would directly throw it at the dumpster. So, he ran after her.

"Amanda, wait!" He called out to her.

He caught her arm and saw her turn her head but before he could open his mouth to say anything, he received a sharp slap in the face.

The sound of it seemed to silence the crowd like a ripple effect.

"Don't touch me. Don't come anywhere near me and if you so much as look in my direction, I will make you regret it."

Adam was still stunned by the slap and it took him a few seconds to process everything. By the time he recovered himself, Amanda was gone and he was standing in the middle of the hallway surrounded by students who whispered among themselves, not even bothering to be subtle. He didn't know what hurt more: his cheek or his pride.

Amanda fled the scene fast enough, that no one noticed the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. Her palm was still smarting from the sting of the impact when she slapped Adam. Over and over she repeated in her head that it was for the best. She made herself believe the lie, because right now it was the only thing that kept her from losing her sanity.

The slap seemed to shake things into perspective for Adam because he ceased all his efforts afterwards. Although he still would cast pining looks toward her whenever he would see her around campus, at least he kept his distance. It looked like Amanda finally got Adam to leave her alone and things were going back to normal, or as normal as they could be for Amanda. Until that one fateful day.

Amanda was walking on her way home from the convenience store when a small dog ran past her and right onto the busy street. The puppy almost got run over by a car but managed to get away on time, only for it to be hit by a bike. The puppy yelped in pain as the bike ran over it's paw but instead of stopping to help, the biker rushed to flee the scene, leaving Amanda with no choice but to rescue the puppy herself. Luckily there was a vet clinic nearby, so she picked up the poor creature and rushed there.

The nurses on duty contacted the owner and asked Amanda to stay until they arrived which Amanda was more than willing to oblige. But imagine her surprise when the glass door swung open and in walked Adam with his mother looking for a lost puppy.

Amanda almost laughed at how fate loved to play these cruel games.

Handing the leash over to the nearest nurse, Amanda swiftly walked past Adam and stepped out of the clinic. But before she could get far, Adam was already upon her.

"Wait, I haven't thanked you yet," he said as he caught up to her.

"Don't bother," she replied without breaking stride.

"Wait, will you please just stop for one second?"

He grabbed her arm but this time he was prepared for the slap so he was able to catch her wrist before she could inflict any pain on him.

She tried to struggle out of his grasp, "let me go," she warned.

"If I do, will you promise not to run away?"

Amanda thought about lying, but quickly decided against it in the end, "No. Now let me go."

He sighed and she thought that he would remain his hold on her but he surprised her by releasing her. She was so taken aback that she forgot she was trying to get away from him in the first place.

"Is it too much to ask for a chance to get to know you?" He asked without meeting her eyes.

If Amanda had things her way of course she would welcome that chance. But you never really get what you want in life.

"Is it so hard to understand that being around me is dangerous?"

For all she knew she was already signing his death warrant just by having this conversation with him.

"If this is about the curse, I don't believe it Amanda. There's no such thing," he said with such fervor she almost believed him.

"We'll see if your mother would think that way when she reports you missing just because her son was stupid enough to run after a girl surrounded by taboos."

They were both glaring at each other now and for a few heart beats they said nothing before Adam opened his mouth and said, "Fine then. I'll make you a deal."

Well this was new.

"What?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me that there is no chance in hell that you would find yourself attracted to me. Go on," he challenged.

Amanda blinked at how utterly ridiculous this whole situation was.

"If you can look me in the eye and say the words like you mean them then I'll back off for good."

He was crazy. Adam Landon was crazy. And bizarre, Amanda thought. But if Adam would remain true to his word then this was her chance to end this madness.

All it took was one lie. Because she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't the least bit attracted to him.
She could do that. How many lies had she uttered to herself her entire life?

Countless.

Lying should be as easy as breathing. But for some reason, looking into his eyes, she couldn't make herself form the words. She couldn't bring herself to lie to his face.

"This is ridiculous. I'm leavi-"

Amanda didn't manage to finish her sentence because the next thing she knew, Adam had pulled her in for a rough kiss.

It was like her mind was torn into two personalities. The one on the right was screaming at her to do something. Push him away maybe, or slap him again. It was pulling it's hair in frustration because she wouldn't move to do anything but stand there in shock. The other half on her left was caught in a trance. Ah, so this is what a kiss feels like, it thought.

Amanda never got the chance to experience her first kiss with Nick so she never knew what it felt like to be held intimately like this.

And at that moment, Amanda decided that she didn't dislike the thought as much as she should have.