Tick...
Tock...
Tick...
Tock...
"Ay' May... what are you doing?" A voice asked me, interrupting my intent stare on the clock ahead of me. I had noticed this girl enter my room minutes ago, exactly two minutes and twelve seconds ago to be exact, from her heavy aroma of perfume that stained her presence. She was nearly silent, but the soft creak from my door also gave her away. My eyes stayed fixated on the clock.
The long blue hand, the third hand, continued it's round around the circular path as it made a soft 'tap' noise each time it stopped. The minute hand, second longest but also second smallest, made it's way slower in the same path as the other one. The smallest, hour hand, continued the same path as the other two except much slower.
That was pretty much all that I discovered during the past two hours fifty-two minutes and thirty-two seconds of sitting here and staring at it.
I didn't give my friend any gesture to let her know I knew of her presence. Her thin eyebrows knitted together in confusion for my actions, confused as to why I didn't acknowledge her like I usually would when she interrupted me doing something strange. Her light auburn hair shifted ever so lightly on her head, which was held by a hair tie upon her head and fell just above her elbows, as her head tilted to her right in contemplation. She wore a dark blue t-shirt that looked to be just a size too large for her, yet somehow still caught her curves in a way that made her look feminine, even in the also too large baggy pants that reached past her feet and touched the floor. She probably had another outfit underneath that that she wanted to hide from her parents.
Kayla Marnes, best friend since I was five years old, looked between the clock and I. She was probably wondering if I was mentally professing my love for the round ticking object.
"How long have you been sitting here staring at the clock?" She asked, straightening her head and resting her hands on her hips.
I, May Lawyer Pierce, answered curtly and quickly. "Two hours fifty-four minutes and fifty-seven seconds."
I knew that I would pay the consequences later for sitting in this posture for so long. My body ached. My feet, placed firmly in front of me on the fabric I sat on, propped my legs up so that my chin could rest on my knees. My arms wrapped firmly around my folded legs; keeping myself in place and still. Otherwise I would likely be shaking.
My dark crimson hair flowed down my back to just above my elbows, where at the ends are died an almost white blond for about three inches. My Dad used to comment that it didn't meet his "standards" that he set for me and my sister. Neither of us cared though... we did what we wanted. He couldn't ground his "little girls".
A cold grip clutched tighter at my chest.
Letting the air momentarily escape my lungs before I took another deep breath to calm myself.
I had a fairly thin structure and was very limber, for I like to do yoga in my spare time. I'm seventeen years old, like Kayla. I also have light green eyes, but from time to time some people would say that I had brown eyes. At the moment they were probably brown.
They were usually darker when I was concentrating.
Or just in a bad mood.
Most of the time it happened to be both.
"May, what's with you?" Kayla asked, her naturally high pitched voice breaking the air as they spoke to me. She took a few steps towards me, her perfume starting to suffocate me-
I wrinkled up my nose as she blocked my few of my "TV", and looked up at her. "How much perfume did you apply this morning?" I asked her, although I knew she hadn't put on much. It was just my acute sense of smell that made it bother me so much, and I was too used to the smell of the forest from my open window. That probably also worried her, since it was very chilly today and I was wearing a short sleeve green shirt with black shorts.
She glared at me. "Barely any... what's wrong? Why do you look like your watching the countdown to a bomb going off? It's disturbing." She asked, lowering her head so as to be eye level with me. My plump cherry red lips formed into a smile, watching her look at me. Although the smile didn't mirror my emotions, they caused them to form an arrow and stab at my heart. Yes, how very pleasant.
"Me? Disturbing?" I showed my pearly white teeth as my smile widened. Course chuckles erupted from the back of my throat, forming into a crazed laugh as my volume rose. My entire stiff body shook; I looked disturbed! Me, the small, joyous little May, looked disturbed!
"M-May?" She asked, placing a hand on both of my shoulders. I continued laughing; a long, heartless and hollow laugh. To someone other than myself I guess it would be quite disturbing to see a young girl sitting in a chair laughing hysterically at almost nothing in particular. On top of that beginning to shake uncontrollably, not only from laughing. "May, calm down! You're scaring me!" Kayla yelled over my "laughter". The sound coming from my mouth suddenly came to a halt, and my dark brown eyes stared into the concerned and frightened blue ones now only inches from them.
"May, what is the matter with you!?" She asked, her voice quavering slightly as she spoke. I kept my smile plastered on my face as our eyes stayed locked. As a gush of wind entered my small cramped room, I saw the female in front of me shiver.
But what do I care?
Why should I care if she's cold?
I'm frozen! My entire body has crashed from the inside, and now my heart is being poked and stabbed at once more. I had become numb by focusing all of my energy on that clock. I couldn't feel anything. The cool wind entering from the wind froze my skin, and from there froze everything else. Now that Kayla was here... it was unfreezing. The prickling sensation of reality once again coming back...
Something soft touched my cheek; flesh. Warm skin from the girl in front of me, that covered her skeletal hand and kept the blood from oozing out of her veins, brought my face to look at her again. I didn't even realize I had looked away.
"Kayla! May! You girls coming or what!?" Someone yelled from downstairs. Their voice, from what I could tell, was deep and very masculine, most likely a man. I didn't bother to figure out who it was though.
"C'mon, they're waiting for us! Get some clothes on and let's go!" The dark haired girl said happily as she jumped to her feet and grabbed my hand in the process. She pulled me up, forcefully, and then ran over to the closet.
"We'll be down in a minute!" Kayla yelled for the man downstairs to hear. "let's see..." She muttered as she started sorting through the various clothing I had in my closet. "We're going to a party, and I intend to make sure that you do NOT leave it alone." She said, looking back to me to give a flirtatious wink before returning to the task in front of her, completely forgetting about what happened only moments ago... actually 36 seconds ago...
"I'm not going." I stated, folding my arms.
"Yes you are! Now let's see... this is perfect!"
Alright... you want to know why I'm all depressed and junk? It's because I found out about three hours ago that my sister and father died in a car crash. The same way my mother died when I was seven. Like hell I'm going to a damn party.
But I never talk about that.
I looked at what the blue eyed girl had picked out for me to wear. "No." I said, but it was no use. She threw the short black dress at me, purposely hitting me in the face. I removed the garment from my face, only to see Kayla pointing at her wrist like there was a watch there, indicating for me to hurry up before closing the door.
Muttering profanities at her, I quickly changed, knowing full well that she would end up winning the argument. She always wins. It's a good thing I know how to hide my emotions fairly well. After pulling the dark dress over my head and fit it around my body, I put on some sandals.
Carefully, I took a steady but shaky breath. I looked in the mirror, at the black dress that ran to just above my knees and clung to my practically non existent curves. 'Kayla I haaaaaate you.' I thought darkly to myself as I sighed.
'I don't have enough energy to fight her...' I thought grimly as I exited my room, and then slowly walked down the stairs.
Music played pleasantly in the background. Few people were dancing, the backyard was filled with freakishly tall guys and other people I didn't know. Most of the freakishly tall guys had girlfriends and clung to them like they were the most precious and valuable thing in the world. The ones that didn't have a girlfriend were standing around and either talking to their friends or flirting with the other girls attending this barbecue. I only knew a few of the people attending this event; Kayla, of course, Embry Call since I once had a class with him when I was a Freshman and he was a Junior, and Emily Uley. But I didn't know Embry or Emily very well... so I doubted that either one would remember me.
Being in the bad mood I was in, I stayed as unnoticeable as possible. Sitting in a chair off to the side. I closed my eyes momentarily and took yet another deep breath; I had to stay in tact. Even if my father and sister were- Don't think about that! "Ugh..." I muttered, entangling my fingers with my hair and slouched in my chair and covered my face.
The scent of smoke reached my nostrils, making my nose wrinkle as it burned them. I sat straight in my chair once more, crossing my arms like I had been for most of the evening. From so much noise and so many scents, I didn't notice someone take a seat next to me. The trees that encircled this enclosed area swayed as the wind picked up, making the illusion that they were dancing.
That's how my sister always viewed it, anyway...
"Hey, are you alright?" I jumped slightly at the voice, having it be so close to me and not expect it. I looked at the face that interrupted my thoughts, and froze. My breath got caught in my throat as I stared at her.
She was...
Beautiful.
She, unlike me, wore casual clothing consisting of a tank and light blue capris. Her eyes, a dark brown with a sadness hidden deep under the surface of appearance, captivated me as I stared at her for a moment.
"Oh... um, yeah. I'm fine." I stated after a moment, blushing from staring at her. Her skin was tan, like many of the locals here, and looked very smooth. Her face, devoid of any make up, consisted of high cheek bones and thin lips, and had a sense of bravery and strength. On her head was short dirty blond hair, reaching just past her ears. And... something about her, just made me want to be closer to her...
She didn't seem at all embarrassed by my staring. In fact, the corners of her mouth curved upward in a small smile. She held out her hand, revealing the strong muscles as they flexed slightly from her movement. "I'm Leah Clearwater." Her voice... oh, I could listen to it all day! It was a voice of an angel!
"I-I'm May... Pierce May... I-I mean, May Pierce!" I said, blushing in embarrassment as I shook her hand and looked down. She laughed at my embarrassment, making my cheeks continue to heat up.
"No need to be nervous around me, May." She said, and I looked up at her again. A friendly smile encased her mouth. I could only give a slight smile back, although my face was still warm. The weight on my chest lifting ever so slightly.
We started talking, and within no time I was completely comfortable around her, as I believe she was with me. She took my mind off of... well, what I've been trying to not think of, for the rest of the time I was there! We laughed, told each other stories that we both found hilarious or interesting, and learned more about each other than I thought was possible in one night. She probably knew more about me now than Kayla! She was so easy to talk to, and it felt like we had some kind of connection. It was probably just me, but I felt... like we belonged, in some way.
"Come on," She said, suddenly standing up and extending a hand towards me. I blinked a couple times from the sudden gesture, asking her to where. She smiled, taking my wrists and hoisting me up into a standing position to face her. Again, my face heat up. Causing her to laugh again.
She never told me why she found it so amusing to see me blush.
Guiding me through the crowd of people, some of them still eating from earlier, she led me to the forest. Her eyes darted back to me every few seconds, and helped me over the roots and made sure I didn't trip. It was... strange, to have someone watching out for me so attentively. Leah treated me like a porselen doll, making great care to make sure I didn't break. I knew I was clumsy, but not that clumsy.
I nearly tripped two times, but both times she caught me without a second thought and set me back on our way. Both times I also blushed, making her laugh. By now I was used to it... and learned to just listen to it, because her laugh was just as angelic as her voice. Leah and I didn't walk too far though, it was only a fifteen minute walk.
When we arrived, I found that our destination was the beach. If I remembered correctly, there was a shorter route to the beach from Emily's house... maybe this certain place was special? Away from the crowd of people and music?
I looked out at the ocean, watching as the waves rose and crashed onto the sand. Carefully I took a deep breath, calming myself before I started crying. 'I won't cry. I won't cry now. Not in front of Leah.'
"What's wrong?" She asked, drawing my eyes from the entrancing water to her. Even in the dim light, I could see her face perfectly. Nothing could hide her beauty. Automatically I smiled, purely habit from so many times when people would ask, when I was thinking about my mom.
"Nothing. I'm fine." I replied. She didn't buy it.
"I've only known you for a few hours," 'It's only been that long?' I asked myself. "But I can tell you're in pain." She said, stepping closer to me and resting her hand on the side of my face. My smile faded. She caught a glimpse of the pain in my eyes. Her other hand, which I just realized how warm she was, was placed on the other wide of my face.
I felt so safe...
She could beat away the darkness...
The monsters that shield themselves using the cloak of night, preparing for attack on my weak and battered soul.
Her eyes, still entrancing even in this darkness, stared right into my soul. To the pain... misery... bleeding...
Her arms suddenly encased me, pulling me into a warm embrace that I gladly returned. Since she was so much taller than me, she set her chin on the top of my head. Soothing comforting words to me and stroking my hair... I finally broke down. Sobs overcame me as I trembled in her arms. Tears leaked and flowed uncontrollably from my eyes as I clung to her as if for dear life.
"I'm sorry..." I muttered, shaking my head and trying to pull away, but she pulled me back.
"Sssssshhh..." She shushed, pulling me closer to her. I could feel her heartbeat, thumping steadily in her chest as I tried to calm down my breathing. "Can you tell me what-"
"They're dead." I said between sobs, and sniffed loudly. Her body stiffened under my arms.
"What...? When...?"
"This morning... The last of my family is dead!" I cried out. It hit the blond like a ton of bricks.
Her family DIED and she came here? Why didn't she stay home, mourn for her loss, instead of coming to this stupid barbecue pretending to be having a good time!?How could her so called FRIEND do that to her!?
"C'mon, I'll take you home." She told me, and then carefully picked me up bridal style. I clung to her, trying to stop crying in vain. I stayed clinging to her, like a lost puppy, and breathed in her scent of barbecue and dog. She said she had a dog... My mind was muggy, and I barely noticed that she had started walking, carrying me to her destination.
In the car, she buckled both of us in before putting an arm protectively around me. Vaguely I remembered her stopping and speaking to someone about taking me home, but I didn't care to listen. All the while stealing worried glances at me every few seconds, Leah drove the car onto the road, and then to the direction of my home. I had told her where I lived when we spoke earlier, so it only took a few minutes to get there.
When we arrived in my driveway, she cut the engine and sat for a moment. When she looked at me, guilt and anger engulfed the young woman. She closed her eyes for a moment, shaking with fists clenched on the steering wheel, and took a deep breath.
'It looks as if she's trying to calm down, but why is she mad?' I asked myself. With a trembling hand, I gently touched her arm. Instantly she calmed. Her body stilled. For a brief moment her eyes connected with mine .
"I'm s-sorry Leah... I shouldn't have s-started c-crying l-like that." I stuttered. She looked incredulously surprised.
"You're sorry?" She asked, her tone raising. "You shouldn't have even been there tonight! You're family just died, you should have been home! Comforted by your so called 'friends'!" I started shaking again, but not from being scared... because I made her upset. I looked down at the seat, avoiding her gaze.
Leah's face instantly softened, wrapping me in another bear hug. "I'm sorry for raising my voice..." She said, sincerity deeply embedded in it. "I just... you are such a good person... you shouldn't try and go through this alone..." Leah, beautiful Leah of La Push, consoled to me. To me. A worthless, broken down girl that's now an orphan with no family left. More salty liquid erupted from my tear ducts at the mere thought.
"May." The woman said, pulling me far enough away to look at my face. She brushed the tears staining my cheeks away with her thumbs, staring into my matching dark brown eyes. My sadness made her sad...
Then she kissed me.
An electrical current seemed to course through me. Going through every bone and vein in my body, making my eyes widen suddenly. Her lips against mine, it felt so... right!
She's kissing me!
Earnestly, longing for her touch, I deepened the kiss. After a few moments of much needed air, we broke apart. Breathing heavy, we looked at each other.
In the silence, we came to realize what we really felt...
Her cheeks turned rosy red with mine, and I giggled. Although it was harder to see since her skin was so tan, I could still see it.
"You look cute when you blush."
