The Dare

Chapter 2

Class flies by in a haze, like most of my life, seems to be since the accident. I don't retain any information at all, and when the teacher goes around viewing our work she doesn't say anything about mine which means it was horrid.

My next class is in the same classroom with the same teacher, who strongly resembles Ms. Frizzle to the point where it's uncanny. She seems very kind, but her head is so far up in the clouds that she forgets she lives on planet earth. This time she is teaching us sketching, not painting.

I guess this semester is going to be me learning all art forms that I can take in. That will be fun I guess, more fun than math or biology.

When the bell goes off it brings me back from my fuzzy dazed mindset, my head snaps up and I see Avery already waiting for me across the hall. She waves excitedly, and I raise a hand in response, edging my way to the door and letting all the other people leave first.

"Hey Sage, how were your first few classes?" Avery asks me with a smile, and I just want to please her so much that I give a tight-lipped smile and nod. "Ready for lunch? I texted my friends and they're all pretty pumped to meet you." Oh boy, nothing better than a large group of people analyzing my every move and word.

Anxiety creeps into my system and I feel like there's a lump in my throat, my palms sweat and suddenly my mouth is very dry. I know Avery is chattering away but my mind is far away, deaf to her words through the roaring waves of my anxiety-induced numbness. I'm shocked out of it when I feel a small warm hand touch mine, I flinch so hard that Avery flinches as well.

"Sorry", I mumble, rubbing my hands on my jeans. "I don't like people touching me all that much." Avery shakes her head and smiles as if shaking away what had happened. I'm overwhelmed with the idea of Avery judging me, not because I want to be her friend or anything rather because it would just be evidence supporting my fear that everyone judges me.

"Don't worry Sage, I broke some boundaries. It's my bad," she smiles and I feel better, "let's go eat." I follow her lavender head into the busy cafeteria, keeping my eyes on her swishing hair to keep my focus off of all the people.

My eyes stay trained on her head as we make our way through the line, grabbing our sandwiches and water, and through the cafe to the very corner of the room. I allow my eyes to leave her hair when we reach the table, Avery and I stand before a booth with four people sitting at it. Eight eyes train themselves on me and I feel faint.

"Hey-" I take a big gulp and try to find more words but no more will come out of my throat. After what seems like hours, one of the boys smiles back and scoots over slightly. Avery plops down quickly on the seat, but I stay frozen in my spot.

The boy Avery sat next to, the one she tries to casually lean into, has brown hair that hangs in eyes that seem to be a pretty mix of green and brown. What I notice the most is how nicely he's dressed. For some reason, he's dressed like he's going to a family dinner, with a white button-down under a blue sweater. I also notice that Avery tries to play off her blushing cheeks, but I notice her infatuation from a mile away.

"Sage, this is Mason," Avery explains to me, indicating to the boy who dressed nicely. "The girl next to him is cousin Hazel", her voice drops low and she meets my eyes. "Hazel doesn't talk much so don't get offended if she never speaks to you." I nod in understanding, if anything I like that one of these people won't speak to me. The less talking the better.

Hazel looks up at me, but only meets my eyes for a moment then drops the gaze. Her eyes are a deep brown that looks almost black, she has dark brown hair like her cousin but doesn't dress as nicely.

"Let her sit Avery, damn." Another guy says and Avery laughs in response, motioning for me in the seat next to the un-named guy. I sit down tentatively and keep my thigh on the edge of the seat. He has pale freckled skin, blue eyes, and curly red hair, I'm overtaken by his scent. Black tea, and mint.

"Sage, this is my annoying twin brother Grayson." That explains the similarities in their skin, I bet under Avery's dye job that she also has red hair. They laugh at each other and I feel very out of the loop. Salem and I aren't like that, laughing and joking. I guess we used to be before the accident, or at least we used to be a bit more sisterly before.

"Pleasure", Grayson says, cocking an eyebrow and reaching across the small space between us to take my hand. I stare at his hand like it's poison, and quickly analyze my situation.

Either I could reject holding his hand and look like a total creep in front of these new people who seem nice enough, or I could just deal with a few seconds of holding this stranger's hand.

I smile and grab his hand, he quickly pulls it to his lips and plants a kiss on it. "Charmed, I'm sure." He draws in a cocky tone.Really? I pull my hand back quickly and my cheeks burn hot, embarrassed. He's laughing, what an ass.

"So Sage, what brings you to Lake Side High?" Mason asks, who even holds his slice of pizza like he's out to eat at a fancy restaurant. I shrug and become very interested in a small crack on the table, that's not very cool at all.

"Oh, the scenery," I mumble sarcastically, and shockingly enough the table laughs. It lifts my heart slightly, my friends back home never found me funny.

"Right, yeah the scenery," Avery replies laughing and shaking her head, making the crystals around her neck shake. "There's absolutely nothing to do in this boring town." The others nod in agreement and suddenly I feel like an outsider again, intruding on lives that had already been lived.

"I think that if it weren't for the school fires then I would lose my mind," Grayson says, sighing like being bored is the worst feeling in the world. It's not, I miss feeling bored over feeling numb or afraid.

To keep a conversation going with these people I decide to work up the nerve to ask them what the fires are.

"Oh my gosh, the school fires!" Avery gets excited, her eyes sparkling with her wide grin. " I forgot you've never been to one. They're so great. Every Friday the whole Senior class gets together by the lake and has a big bonfire." Oh boy, social anxiety hell. "You should so come! the next one is tomorrow night." I try to think of an excuse, a way out of it.

Further, a way to say no without seeming rude, or like I'm messed up in the head. There is no way, I could say I'm busy with homework but Avery knows I'm not going to have homework with all my art classes.

"Um, yeah. Sounds fun." Avery claps excitedly and reaches across the table, I back away from her hands and clasp my own tightly in my lap.

"Awesome! Yay, so looking forward to tomorrow now." Avery shrieks, and the other three nod in agreement.

The conversation goes onto the next topic and I allow my mind to drown them out, the edges of my vision growing fuzzy and my head going underwater.

I feel this deep dread in my gut, like a monster growling at my thoughts. This has to be a mistake, allowing these nice people to be nice to me. Letting them close to my toxic tenancies. It seems to be when people get close to me that bad things happen.

I surface my head and I peer at them through a curtain of hair. They chatter happily, a safe and warm glowing in their presence.

I can't just bombard them with my baggage, it's wrong of me to do that when I have sadness and toxic sludge seeping out of my pores.

After the fire, I will have to distance myself from these kind people, who all look so different but all seem to get along so well. It's what I have to do, to keep them safe from my shit.

However, I can feel a small longing in my gut to be a part of their warmth. To not feel cold and numb, or to feel like I'm drowning underwater. I sigh and push those thoughts down, and allow myself to be numb for the remainder of lunch.

It's for the best.

If I don't want everyone around me to die.