Charisma
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: This world belongs to the amazing Tamora Pierce.
Pairings: Sarai/Joren, Sairai/Zaimid, Roald/Shinko, Kally/Faleron, Jason/Dove, and possibly others.
A/N: Enjoy!
Sarai hitched her bag higher on her shoulder, walking through the crowd towards the front door of the huge school. Tortall high was one of the most prestigious private schools in Corus state. A cool fall breeze blew, nipping at her nose and stirring the leaves lining the many walkways. Saraiyu Balitang passed groups of laughing teenagers, mostly talking about where they'd gone for summer vacation.
Before her lay the two large buildings Tortall composed of. One for grades six to eight, and the other larger one for grades nine to twelve. Saraiyu headed for the latter, passing through the huge oak doors. Inside the warmth comforted her. Avoiding curious glances, she made her way to the registration desk. The girl sitting there surveyed her with watery blue eyes.
"Name?" she asked.
"Um, Saraiyu Balitang." The girl's eyes went wide. She quickly swivelled around in her chair, flipping through one of the many file folders behind her. After a few moments she pulled one out.
"Here's your booklist, schedule, and map. Welcome to Tortall." She said, not making eye contact. Sarai nodded briefly,
"Thanks." She said, then walked away.
She made her way past the main hall and down one of the many corridors, looking at her map and schedule.
Saraiyu was sixteen, going into grade twelve, and the daughter of a diplomat. She was tall and slender with a perfect light brown complexion. Her thick wavy hair hung in midnight locks down her back, accentuating her equally dark eyes. She was used to going to new schools and moving around and feeling constantly scrutinized. It had become like a part of her life, and so she wasn't surprised by the girl's reaction.
After looking around the school and pretending to ignore obvious staring, she went outside and found an empty bench to sit on. Puling off her leather side bag she opened it and took out a sandwich. Sarai was just biting into it when a cheery voice called,
"Hey!" Sarai jumped and looked up.
"Um, hi." She said warily to the girl standing above her.
"I'm Isalena Obemaek, you're Saraiyu Balitang right? I saw your picture in the paper."
"Oh ok, nice to meet you."
"Ditto!" the girl said, sitting next to her. Her blonde curls bounced as she pulled her bag onto her lap, regarding Saraiyu with bright green eyes.
"So how do you like the school so far?" Isalena asked. Saraiyu shrugged,
"It's big, but I can't really tell anything without the classes."
"Right. Well I'm sure you'll love it, it's a great school."
"So I've heard." Just then a group of students walked by. Isalena's eyes brightened up and she waved to them.
"Hey Joren!" she called. One boy in the group with an almost girlishly beautiful face turned to look at her, an annoyed look marring his handsome features. Then his eyes settled on Sarai and his expression lightened.
"Hey Is, who's your friend?" he asked, walking over. He had bright blonde hair, and deep blue eyes.
"Oh this is Saraiyu Balitang. Saraiyu, meet Joren Stone."
"Hey." He said.
"Hi." She replied.
"So how was your summer Joren?" Is asked,
"It was good, we spent most of it in St. Martin."
"Oh nice! My family hasn't been there in years." Just then someone from the group called. Joren nodded then turned back to the girls.
"Well I'd better go. See you round Is, nice meeting you Saraiyu." He winked then left.
"Oh my!" Isalena said after a moment.
"What?" Sarai scowled.
"He likes you." She replied, leaning back.
"I don't even know him, how can he like me?" Is shrugged,
"I've known Joren for ages, trust me." Sarai was about to retort but something had caught Isalena's eye. Sarai turned and saw a little ways off under a maple tree sat of group of kids. They all looked slightly alike, dressed in the most expensive clothes.
"Who are they?" Sarai asked.
"The Contest." Is replied, her eyes still fixed on them. Sarai could partially understand why. Firstly, they were all very good looking with sharp defined features that no one could deny. Secondly they simply had a captivating and commanding air about them. There were two girls and three boys. The tallest boy was standing against the tree. He had short ink black hair, the same colour as them all, with brilliant sapphire eyes. He was talking to the youngest boy who had a crop of silky black curls atop his head and livid hazel green eyes. Sitting on the grass the other boy with shaggy hair and another pair of hazel eyes was speaking with the younger girl. She had big loose curls and an interesting shade of dark blue eyes. The last, older girl was the most entrancing of them all. She was propped up on her elbows, dark snaky locks spilling onto the grass behind her. She laughed lighting up her magnificent cerulean eyes as her sensuous red mouth curved upwards. All five of them were tall and slender, with pale complexions, making their sharp features even more prominent.
"Contest?" Sarai asked.
"Yeah. Their father is a senator, and their mother might as well be a celebrity for all the charity work she's done."
"You mean, Senator Jonathon Conte and Thayet Conte?" Is nodded.
"Yup." Then she turned to the group of siblings again. " The oldest one there, standing? That's Roald, he's seventeen. Him and Kalasin, the girl laying down, are twins. The second oldest is Liam, the one with the shag. He's only ten months apart from Roald and Kalasin, so he's in the same grade. Then there's the other girl, Lianne, she's fifteen, a year younger than us, going into grade eleven. And the youngest is Jason, the curly-haired boy. He's going into grade nine.
"Oh." Was all Sarai could say.
"Yeah, and you think they're gorgeous, you should see their parents! I know he's old, but their dad is hot. Like Brad Pit." Sarai laughed lightly,
"Are you friends with any of them?" Is' eyes went wide.
"Pffft! No! They're way to exclusive!" Sarai frowned,
"Have you ever tried talking to them?"
"Of course not! You're new so you don't understand, but the Contest are like royalty here."
"So they have no friends besides themselves?"
"No, no they have friends. But it's not like you can just, go up and talk to them." Sarai laughed at that and stood from the bench.
"I'd better head home, maybe I'll see you in class tomorrow. It was nice meeting you." The blonde girl nodded,
"You too. Bye."
Saraiyu walked into Tortall high on her first day quite wary. She quickly bypassed the curious and sometimes jealous glances and made her way to her locker on the second floor. She placed the books she didn't need inside on the rusty shelf, brushed her hair away from her face, and closed the lock. Her first class of the day was intro to psychology. The large room buzzed with idle chatter of friends and gossips alike. Saraiyu immediately noticed that there were bags or people at every desk except for two in the center of the class. She promptly made her way to them acutely aware of the eyes that followed her. Sarai sat in the chair, looking over at the empty desk connected to hers.
"Um, what are you doing?" Sarai recognized Is's voice a few rows behind her. She turned to look at her.
"What?" she asked not unkindly. Is looked frantic.
"That's where Kalasin sits." Sarai frowned,
"So?" Isalena huffed,
"No one EVER sits with her."
"How on earth would you know, it's the first day of classes."
"Yeah but, every time she has this room, she sits there." Sarai laughed,
"That's ridiculous." Is rolled her eyes,
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
The warning bell rang, letting students know that they had five minutes to get to class. Just then Kalasin walked into the room. She was even lovelier on her own, wearing a fitted sweater, skinny jeans and calf-high boots. She looked oddly like she should be hunting deer in a fairy tale or something. She quickly scanned the classroom and spotted the desk next to Saraiyu's. Making her way over, she smiled.
"Well this is a first." She said in a strong low voice, "You're either new here, or just crazy." Sarai smiled,
"I'm gonna go with new." She concluded, sitting in the desk.
"Yeah, I'm Saraiyu Balitang, I just transferred here this year." Kalasin nodded, her bright sapphire eyes lighting up,
"Ah, the diplomats daughter. I'm Kalasin Conte."
"Oh I know, the senator's daughter." Sarai replied, imitating her tone. Kalasin laughed brightly,
"It's nice to meet you Saraiyu."
"Oh please just call me Sarai. Only my dad calls me that."
"In that case, just call me Kally."
"Alright."
"I really like your shirt." Kally said.
"Oh thanks." Sarai replied, looking down at the navy blue and white polka-dotted wrap shirt she had on, over a thin white long-sleeved shirt.
"No problem. Oh just wanted to warn you now, although I've heard this class is really interesting, Mr. Kennedy can be such a bore sometimes, so just, brace yourself." Sarai laughed,
"Oh boy, I know what that's like. Thanks though." Kally nodded just as the bell rang, and a short man sporting a very itchy looking grey suit walked in.
Mr. Kennedy took attendance and then went over what was to be expected for the semester, what his preferences were when handing in work, his late policies, blah blah blah. Sarai nearly fell asleep. She hated this kind of first day nonsense. She'd signed up for the class mostly because she loved debating and picking apart the human psyche. Kally glanced at her a few times making a couple offensive gestures, causing Sarai to snicker. After the third time though, Mr. Kennedy purposefully cleared his throat before taking a long pause, and Kally stopped.
When the hour and fifteen minutes had at last gone by, the class gratefully stood from their desks and got ready to head to their next class.
"Well it was nice meeting you Sarai. Maybe you could sit with me at lunch?"
"Oh that'd be great! I haven't really made much friends yet." Kally waved her hand dismissively,
"Oh don't worry, with your pretty face you'll easily attract company. I'll find you at your locker after next period." Sarai said alright and gave Kally here locked number, then left the room and followed her map to English.
The smell of expensive colognes and perfumes assaulted her when she walked into the room. Girls with manicured nails gave her a once over, quickly turning to chatter with their gaggles. Sarai rolled her eyes, making her way to a desk near the back. Then Joren strolled into the classroom catching the eyes of every single female in the room, and even a few guys. His fitted blue shirt pulled out his eyes dramatically, along with his crisp but simple jeans. Sarai was highly amused by his appearance; he carried himself in a nonchalant way, as though he was completely unaware of his good looks, yet she could tell he knew he was hot.
He lazily glanced around the room and spotted Sarai with yet another empty desk next to her. Sarai glanced out the window on her left, looking down at the beautiful palette of trees in the courtyard below.
"Hey." He said, sitting next to her. She turned to him,
"Hey there." She replied. Joren ran his hand through his hair distractedly, looking at his desk,
"So, how do you like the school so far?" he asked. She smiled absently,
"It's nice, big, but nice." He nodded slowly. Sarai couldn't help but notice how wonderful he smelt. Not strong to the point of suffocating like a lot of guys, just subtly nice.
"Yeah, it is pretty big I guess. I've been going here since grade six though, so I've gotten used to it. You will too."
"You and Isalena have been going here for that long?" Joren looked briefly surprised at the mention of the other girl's name.
"Huh? Oh yeah. We grew up in the same social circle, her parents and mine were friends. You know how it is." Sarai nodded, leaning back in her chair,
"Oh yeah, I know all about that. Are you and her close?" Joren smirked, then shrugged,
"Close enough. She's not like my best friend or anything, but I've known her most of my life."
"Wow," Sarai said wryly, "I wish I had friends like that." Joren gave her a crooked smile,
"Maybe you'll find some here."
"You have Mr. Oberman for an English teacher? He's the best at our school!" Kally said, leaning against the locker next to Sarai. Sarai shrugged,
"Yeah, he was pretty cool. A bit eccentric, but I like him." She closed her locker, turning to Kally. "Shall we?" Kally laughed and nodded, pushing off of the metal door and making her way through the crowd. The corridor was packed with people since the entire school shared one lunch. Sarai lost sight of Kally a couple of times, and bumped into a few people as well. Soon she was making her way down a flight of stairs with yet more people crowding it's edges and talking to one another. At the bottom Kally walked through some double doors, down another hall, and then through the atrium at the end of which was the cafeteria.
"Well that was quite a trek." Sarai said. Kally laughed,
"What? That? That was nothing! Try being late and having to run all the way to the fourth floor from the main hall." Sarai laughed with her, shaking her head.
"At my old school there were too lunches, one for juniors and one for seniors. Plus there were only three floors."
"Well la ti da! You're not your old school any more miss." The pair laughed together, walking into the huge cafeteria. It was crammed with tables, and filled with noise. Off to the right was a line up for the servery where they sold the food.
"I hope you don't mind eating with my siblings." Kally said. Sarai shook her head, looking around to see of she could find her sister anywhere. "Oh hey! I didn't even ask, do you have any siblings?"
"Yup. Two sisters and one brother, all younger. Dove is here actually, in grade nine. Then there are my two step siblings, Elsren and Petranne, their both in elementary school."
"Oh, Dove is in the same grade as my youngest brother, Jason. I'm warning you, there's five of us, all at this school. To be honest we always eat lunch together because….well, not many people hang out with us. It's like there's some velvet rope between my family and the rest of the school, I hate it! I was pretty surprised to see you sitting next to me today, and I can't believe you haven't ditched yet." Sarai laughed at that, loudly. Kally seemed a bit shocked, staring at her. "What?"
"Oh man, I've felt that way at all my other schools. Trust me, I would never ditch you, it'd be like ditching myself." Kally smiled a beautiful smile.
"I'm glad to hear that." She shimmied past numerous tables, and then finally waved to Roald who was sitting at a table near the doors leading to the courtyard. He smiled back dazzlingly. Kally made her way over and sat, patting the seat next to hers for Sarai to sit.
"Hey Roald babe, how were you first two classes?" Roald winced briefly,
"I thought I told you not to call me that." He replied. He was wearing a simple fitted long-sleeved shirt, completely unembellished. Just like Kally he didn't quite fit in with the rest of the student body.
"Why?" Kally pouted animatedly, "Shinko likes it." Roald ignored this, turning to Sarai, eyes piercing.
"Kally don't be rude, who's your new friend?" Kally smiled,
"This is Saraiyu, Sarai Balitang, just transferred. Sarai this is my twin brother Roald." Roald smiled at her,
"Nice to meet you Sarai." He said politely. She returned the smile,
"You too Roald."
"I hope my sister hasn't been a bad influence already on you." Sarai grinned as Kally shot him a dark look,
"Yeah, she's already tried to get me to ditch class." Roald tsked, shaking his head.
"I knew it. She just can't be trusted."
"You've got that right." Kally huffed loudly,
"Well if you two are done mocking me, I'm going to eat my lunch."
Just then Liam and Jason came over, sitting next to Roald and Kally.
"Hey." Liam said, shaking his hair out of his eyes. Jason simply nodded and then buried his nose in a book. Kally introduced Sarai to them both.
"Where did you move from Sarai?" Liam asked.
"um, most recently from Dubai."
"Wow, well then London must be quite a change for you." Sarai shrugged,
"As a matter of fact I lived in London for about two years when I was nine." Liam whistled,
"Haha, my, you've seen it all then." Sarai laughed, shaking her head.
"No, no. Just lots of places, there's still a ton of places left I'd like to see." His green eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"Oh really, like where?"
"Like… Venice, Rome, South America, Australia, New Zealand-"
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry I doubted you." He said, laughing. She smiled brightly,
"Not at all."
Not long after Lianne came over and sat, asking Sarai a few questions, and then quickly pulling out some homework. Kally simply rolled her eyes at Jason and Lianne, miming a yawn. Sarai grinned, but shook her head, returning to her meal. She scanned the crowds a few more times for Dove, but couldn't find her. Frowning, she turned to Jason,
"Jason, are you in any classes with my sister?" He looked up from his book with serious "hazel eyes",
"Yeah, Geography, second period."
"Oh, do you know where she is?"
"Mhmm, she said she was going to the library to do some research." Kally's brows shot up,
"Ah, so you and her talk?" she said, teasing. Jason looked blankly at her.
"I thought that since it was her first time here, I'd be friendly and introduce myself."
"oh, riiiiiight." She said, dragging out the second word. The others grinned, even Lianne bent over her textbook. Jason glared at them,
"Sometimes I wonder how I'm related to you miscreants." He said, causing his siblings to burst out laughing. Jason grinned despite himself after a few moments as well, then returned to his book. Sarai almost felt like she was intruding on their familiarity. There was a bond between them that was almost as tangible as the table they were sitting on, like a special tie connecting them. Maybe they'd had to grow close due to their obvious lack of connection with the rest of the student body. During the meal they playfully laughed and talked with one another, Kally teasing often, Jason interjecting his cynical yet charming remarks. Roald and Lianne got in a debate about a certain homework assignment that Roald had to do, and Lianne won triumphantly. Near the end of the meal, a beautiful Chinese girl, Shinkokami, or Shinko, as they called her, joined the table. She was Roald's girlfriend and very quiet, but perceptive.
Then at last lunch was over and Sarai made her way to third period. As she went to her biology room people once more stared as she passed. Sarai picked up her pace half walking half jogging down the hall. She was moving so quickly she bumped right into someone's back getting an eyeful of hair in the process.
"Oof!:
"What the-" a male voice said, turning to face her. "Oh hey Sarai, you have Bio now too?" She recognized that voice but couldn't see anything through her watery eyes. "Are you ok?" She nodded wiping the tears that'd leaked from her eyes.
"Yeah I'm fine, just got something in my eye." At last she realized it was Liam. "Oh hey! Sorry about that."
"It's ok." He replied, his eyes were bright and warm. HE shook his hair from his face as the bell rang. Just then the teacher, a Mrs. Tanner, came walking briskly into the crowd of students coalesced outside the classroom door to unlock it.
"You'd better get used to this" Liam said out of the side of his mouth to her, "I had her last year for science, I could probably count on my hands how many times she wasn't late." Sarai grinned,
"Thanks for the warning." She replied as they filed through the door. Inside were about a dozen lab tables set up in rows.
"The person you shoes to sit beside will be your lab partner for the rest of the semester, so choose wisely please." Mrs. Tanner informed them in a high throaty voice. She doesn't seem very much like a science teacher, Sarai thought. Suddenly she realized Liam was waiting for her to choose a table.
"Let's go to the back." She said. He nodded and followed her. At the very back of the room on of the tables was occupied by two handsome brown-skinned boys. The one closest to the aisle smiled enthusiastically at Liam.
"Hey man!" Nice to see you." He said in a deep voice.
"Hey!" Liam replied.
"Here, sit in front of us." The guy urged. Liam turned to Sarai who shrugged, before they both sat.
"So how was your summer?" Liam asked him.
"Oh fine, great actually." He had very kind dark wyes and equally dark hair. His face was sculpted in an aristocratic way, and his voice sounded very… cultured, Sarai concluded. "As a matter of fact, my cousin here, Zaimid is living with us now." He nodded to the quiet boy sitting next to him. He had the same perfect brown complexion and dark hair, only his was shorter, and his eyes were much more intense. He nodded, to Liam,
"Hey"
"Hi." Liam replied. "Oh, Kaddar, this is Saraiyu, she just moved here. Sarai this is my friend Kaddar."
"Hi." Sarai replied,
"Hey." Kaddar nodded, smiling briefly, his bright white teeth flashing against his tanned complexion. Liam and Kaddar soon began talking about their summer vacations until Mrs. Tanner at last called the class to order.
It was a pretty standard first day. After she'd dug them out of her briefcase, Mrs. Tanner made them fill out personal information sheets. Then they did a quick activity to learn people's names. Sarai was positive the teacher wouldn't know hers, Kaddar's or Zaimid's offhand for awhile. After that was over, she went to her last class of the day: Calculus. Luckily she shared it with Roald and Zaimid, and even Islena, who waved when she spotted her, then quickly sat at a full table when she saw who Sarai walked in with. Sarai rolled her eyes as Roald sat at one of the tables which was essentially four desks pushed together. Sarai sat next to Roald and urged Zaimid to take the desk opposite her. After they'd been introduced Roald asked,
"So how was Bio?" Sarai made a face and Roald laughed.
"That good?" Zaimid shook his head.
"Mrs. Tanner doesn't really appear to have a handle on Biology." He said in a very smooth voice. His face held a very regal look, with sharp handsome features. He brought to mind an Arabian prince for Sarai.
"Ah, a textbook teacher," Roald said wryly, "That's too bad, Bio was one of my favorite subjects last year. But you need a teacher that's not afraid to get a little messy think outside the box."
"Mhmm, you're right." Sarai said, nodding. Zaimid smiled for a split second like a flash of lightning across a dark sky, and then it was gone.
"I suppose I wouldn't really know, " he said, "as of late, my school experiences haven't been so good." Sarai and Roald wore the same puzzled expression, but before they could ask, the teacher walked in.
"So how was your first day?" Kally asked, once more next to Sarai's locker.
"Fine I guess. NO homework, except one of those, here's a bit about myself, letters for English."
"Oh crap! I almost forgot that! Thanks." She said sourly. Sarai laughed, closing her door.
"Why, you have plans?"
"Yes. Oh! That reminds me, you have to meet him."
"Who?"
"My tutor! Well, actually he's been my friend for a little while now."
"Wait, it's the first day of school, how could you possibly need a tutor already?" Kally giggled slightly, which sounded extremely odd coming from her strong-boned face. Sarai eyed her suspiciously and Kally sighed.
"We're just getting together today to discuss a schedule."
"What do you need a tutor for?" Kally sighed again,
"Nothing, actually. But it's the only way I'd get to see him outside of school. Sometimes I think I'm even better at math than him, but then again he's brilliant in Law."
"Who is he?"
"His name's Faleron. We've been friends since grade nine."
"Oh… I see. And when exactly did you realize that you liked him as more than friends?"
"What?" Kally's face went wide in shock, her sapphire eyes innocent, but she couldn't hold it for long till it faded into an embarrassed smile.
"About half a year… though I guess… I always knew, I just didn't want to admit it."
"So what's the problem? Does he like you?" Kally shrugged as they passed through the front doors and into the fall air.
"I honestly don't know. Bit it's more than that. He's not exactly…. Senator's daughter material."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well I-"
"Hey Kally."
"Oh hey Fal." A tall lean guy had come to join them.
"Sarai this is my friend that I was telling you about, Faleron King." The term "tall dark and handsome" came to mind. He was very tall, more than Roald she'd guess, but neither bulky nor lanky, simply lean and in shape. His fairly short hair was only a shade lighter than Kally's like a brown-black. His eyes were a mesmerizing mix of olive-green and gold framed in dark lashes. He also had a long smiling mouth.
"Hey." He said.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Sarai replied.
"You too. So Kally you've been telling your friends about me?" Kally rolled her eyes, once more the strong radiant girl Sarai had first met.
"You wish."
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yup. Hey Sarai, do you have a way home? 'Cause we could give you a lift of you want, or I could ask Roald or Liam."
"Oh no don't worry about it. My step-mum probably sent the driver, and I want to make sure Dove's ok. But thanks."
"Alright, well I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah bye. Nice meeting you Faleron."
"You too." Sarai nodded, then walked off. Kally turned to Fal who began walking towards the parking lot.
"So, was your first day alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's too bad we don't have any classes together."
"Yeah, I was sure there was only one intro to psyche. Class." Kally followed him to his old vintage red corvette. He'd paid for it himself, she could still remember how excited he was to take her out in it the first time. The inside smelt the same way, a mixture of leather and Faleron's cologne.
"So what's your hardest course so far?" He asked as they pulled out of the parking lot, honking at some of his friends when they passed.
"Calc. definitely."
"Ok, hhmm, well I'm free on Tuesday's and Friday's. Rugby's starting early this year, tryouts are on Thursday."
"Oh right! I can't wait to come out and see you guys play."
"Are your brothers trying out?"
"Roald and Liam for sure, but not Jason. He thinks it's too… barbaric." Faleron chuckled lightly, turning off the main road and onto a quieter street. "He'd rather be reading or something."
"There's nothing wrong with that."
"No! There isn't. But Roald and Jason tease him all the time about it. Which is pretty ridiculous because Roald's quite the bookworm himself." she finished hotly. Fal shrugged,
"That's guys for you." Just then they pulled into the driveway of his quaint, average-sized, suburban home. They got out and started up the cement walkway.
"How's your mom?" Kally asked as Fal opened the door and motioned for her to go in.
"She's good, been asking about you already. She's at work right now."
"Aww, she's so sweet." Kally said as they walked past the living room and into the kitchen. Kally knew his house like the back of her hand. She put her bag down on one of the chairs around the dining table.
"Want something to drink?" Faleron asked, bending into the fridge.
"Juice please." Kally replied, trying not to stare at the sinuous lines of his arched back and stretched legs. She shook her head, walking over the sit on the counter next to the fridge.
"Can you grab some glasses Kal?" he asked, closing the fridge. She turned behind her to open the cupboard, ducking so it wouldn't hit her in the head, and pulled down two glasses. When she turned back around he was suddenly very close. A long silence stretched out as sapphire eyes locked on olive.
"Here." She breathed at last.
"Thanks." He mumbled, taking them from her hand, and for a split second their fingers touched and it was like a spark of electricity flew between them.
"How about you grab your stuff and we'll head up to my room."
"Kay." she said, hopping off the counter. She could feel his eyes on her back as they walked up the steps to his room.
It was about half the size of her own room, but still decent. He had the most comfortable queen-sized bed made up with plush navy covers. The walls were a very pale blue sporting old movie posters and some famous art prints. Kally flopped onto the bed while Faleron flicked on the stereo and some upbeat acoustic music started playing. He came and sat on the bed next to her, taking a gulp from his glass. Kally watched his Adams apple bob up and down with the motion.
They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the music, both lost in their own thoughts. Although they could easily be in comfortable silence together, Kally didn't feel so comfortable anymore. She felt fidgety and nervous around him suddenly. He was her best friend, but lately… it was like something had changed between them; they were still closer than close friends, but lately, whenever she saw him with another girl, a bitter taste entered her mouth, and whenever he looked at her, it was like she was the only person around. He was amazing, and kind, and funny, but she felt like something was holding her back. She wasn't an idiot, she knew the effect she had on guys, but he was so hard to read, always friendly with her, but never more. She sighed and he glanced at her, smiling.
"Well, I guess we'd better organize this."
"Mmm, ok." she mumbled, lost in her thoughts still., her eyes on the ceiling.
"Ok, so, what's your schedule like? I mean, what afternoons are you free?"
"Ummm, whenever you are."
"Right. So we can work on calculus and English on Tuesdays, and Law and Bio on Fridays?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
"Or, you know, you could stop bullshitting me." Kally froze, eyes wide. She sat up slowly on the bed, looking at Fal's blank expression.
"Wh-what?"
"Kally, how long have I known you?" she frowned,
"Years, but I don't know why-"
"Exactly. Years. So don't you think I know you better than that?"
"Huh?" He rolled his eyes,
"I know you don't need a tutor, you're way smarter that, in fact you're better than me at some of these subjects." Kally let those words sink in, before looking guiltily at him,
"Fal I…"
"Why'd you do it?" She couldn't tell if he was mad or not, his eyes betrayed nothing.
"Well, I, just, wanted to sped more time with you. I'm sorry." He looked at her long and hard, and she held her breath. Then, finally, he laughed and a wave of relief washed over her.
"Kally you didn't have to lie to spend time with me, we can always hang." She sighed,
"I know, but I was, afraid, that you might get intimidated, that maybe you wouldn't want to just chill with me, since I'm a Conté and all."
"Kal please, there's no way in a million years I'd be intimidated by you." She laughed lightly, then frowned,
"Hey!" she said, grabbing a pillow and smacking him over the head with it,
"Ok, ok!" he said, putting his hands up in defence as she continued to hit him,
"Say you take it back!"
"But it's true!" He said, laughing. She shrieked, tossing the pillow aside and grabbed his shoulders, shoving him onto his back. By this point they were both laughing so hard he couldn't push her off, and she couldn't hold him down.
"Ok, ok.. I take it back." he gasped. She smiled and flopped onto her back next to him. They lay there like that for a few moments, catching their breath.
"So…" he said after a few moments.
"Hmm?" she asked, turning to look at him.
"Why, did you want to spend time with me so badly?" Suddenly the atmosphere changed. His eyes were intent waiting for her answer. Kally swallowed lightly, the tables were turned again.
"Well, ummm, you know, maybe, I…"
"Yeah…..?" He asked, sitting up so he was above her.
"I-I guess." she paused, swallowing again though her mouth was dry. But he smiled, leaning closer to whisper in her ear,
"I really like you too." Her eyes went wide, but she couldn't speak. He pulled back to look at her, she felt like she was drowning in his gaze, it was all so much. Neither knew who kissed who first, only that when their lips met, it was perfect. His mouth was like velvet against hers, and it was sweet and gentle. She breathed him in, pulling him closer till their chests were pressed together. Faleron supported himself on one arm, running his fingers through her hair with the other. Suddenly it became more passionate, as Kally put everything she'd felt for him into that one kiss, and he reciprocated forcefully. Finally he pulled back, both of them breathing hard. He kissed her neck lightly, and then her jaw and her ear. She laughed when he tickled her. Then he met her gaze again. She ran her fingers through his soft, short hair.
"So…. Tuesdays and Fridays are good?" he asked. She laughed, kissing him lightly,
"I'd like more, but if that's the only time you have, then I'll take it."
A/N: Well, there's the first chapter. Tell me what you think, and any suggestions you have, I'm all ears! Till next time!