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Note: I don't own Levi but all the original characters are mine. Thanks.
Chapter One: First Encounter
I stepped out into the cold, fresh air. I shivered. It was almost fifty degrees and a little windy. It was overcast. It's not that bad, I tried to convince myself. I've always dreaded the cold and rain (even if it was always cold and rainy here). I loved the sun, everything about it. I liked when it's light and eighty degrees outside. It's a perfect day when there's a light breeze accompanying the sun…but today was far from perfect. It was cold and I had to wear my itchy wool sweater and squeaky snow boots. The weatherman said it could possibly snow later today.
"I hope he's wrong," I mumbled to myself as I turned around to lock the door behind me.
I walked down the driveway and turned right down the sidewalk. A light breeze ruffled my chestnut-colored hair around spinning little waves around my face as I continued walking. I shivered again and began praying that the sun would pop out of those ominous clouds threatening to drown me with rain. That was impossible.
"Emma! Wait up!" A familiar voice called out behind me. I knew that voice too well. It was my overly exuberant neighbor…and my best friend, Melany. We've been best friends since we were in diapers. We knew each other inside and out. We were like sisters. She was just as tall as I was. About 5'4. She had long dark coffee-colored hair. It was parted in the middle and it flowed down her back in little waves. She had an olive complexion. Her face was square and she had prominent cheek bones. Her forehead was a little wide and her lips were a little too thin, yet she was pretty. Beautiful, in fact. When she smiled her dimples were well distinguished. She had big brown eyes, but with a hint of red in it. Like auburn.
I spun around to face her as she came closer and I waited patiently for her to reach me.
"Hi Melany," I finally said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as I could be, despite my bad mood due to this dreadful, cold day.
"Hey. How was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting? I went to Eastridge and went shopping with my older sister. Oh, did you know she's back from Ohio? Yesterday was kind of warm, don't you think? I tried calling you. Kelsey took me to the beach and we went…" blah blah blah, I thought. She continued chattering away about her amazing day at the beach with her older sister, Kelsey, and a few other people I forgot. All I had to do was listen to her, or at least pretend to listen. Too many things were running around in my head for me to follow anything that Melany was saying.
I had a biology test today and I couldn't study these past couple days. My mind kept wandering this weekend and I knew that I was going to fail it miserably. And I couldn't stop daydreaming. Waiting for summer to come was becoming absolutely maddening. I wanted school to end. I wanted to be at the beach everyday with my friends. I wanted to go swimming and soak up all the sun I could get (Hey. A girl could dream…even if that dream was nearly impossible). But summer wasn't in another four months. It was still a little wintery and rainy spring was well on its way.
Aside from the biology test I had to take today and my daydreaming of a warm summer, the reason I could not concentrate was due to the fact that my cousin, Bree, was coming next week. Bree and I never got along and we were subjected to one entire week with each other every summer since we were nine. This year, it was her turn to visit. She was flying into Eastridge Airport from the city that never slept—New York. She was still on her winter break (hers lasted two months, while mine was a mere three weeks) and because she and her friend were going to Paris this summer, my aunt decided to send her here for her last week of vacation.
We turned right onto Main St. and headed west towards our school. I went to West Hills High in the lovely town of West Hills. The closest city, Eastridge, was a 25 minute drive away. And the beach was a grueling one-hour-and-thirty-minute drive. I have lived in this quaint little town my whole life. I knew all the kids I went to school with, their parents, and maybe their grandparents, too. We had a shockingly small population of three thousand nine hundred fifty-five people.
We finally reached the school. We entered the main building and proceeded down the hallway.
"Oooh…who's that?" Melany asked, unknowingly crashing my train of thought.
I looked up, following her gaze, and met the eyes of an extraordinarily gorgeous being. The first thing I noticed was that he was freakishly tall. He looked about 6'5 (he would definitely tower over my much smaller stature of only 5'3). I bet he could be a basketball player, I thought. He was of strong build—muscular, but not too much. And he had glossy black hair, like he just poured grease on it—yet it seemed beautiful in a way. It was in messy disarray. It was like it had been windblown. His copper skin was also very beautiful. His face was oval-shaped with a squared jaw and a wide forehead. When he smiled, his dimples were prominent on his cheeks right beside his lips. His lips were thin and had a pinkish tinge to it. And his teeth were gleaming. But last and definitely not least, his eyes. His beautiful eyes. They were emerald green with the slightest traces of gray and blue. There were gray flecks around the orbs of his eyes and the paleness of the slight hints of aquamarine created an illusion he had eyes the color of asphalt. They looked like clear blue water, yet also like a thick forest. His eyes were unreadable. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but his windows were covered by curtains—thick, heavy drapes.
"Emma? Are you there?" She waved a hand in front of me. I realized I was gawking at his remarkable beauty.
"Huh? Oh yea. Sorry. I don't know who he is at all?" I breathed, still recovering from his dazzling beauty.
Melany snickered. "He's looking at you."
Oh no! I thought. I quickly looked down, trying to hide my face. I watched my feet step one after the other as Melany continued snickering. He probably thinks I'm an idiot for staring at him like that, I continued.
"Is he still watching me?" I asked after a few minutes passed by.
"No. He went into the Attendance Office. I wonder if he's a new student. I've never seen him around before."
"Yea. Maybe he's a new student."
The first bell rang. Melany started walking away. "I'll see you after class. Okay?"
"Sure," I mumbled and waved goodbye.
I headed back into the cold and hugged myself, trying to keep warm. I began walking toward building C and to my dismay, it began drizzling. Ugh. Rain, I thought in disgust. What I'd do for sun right now.
I rounded the corner, scowling. I began watching my feet again, each foot stepping one in front of the other. I was almost to my class when I suddenly knocked into something hard. I fell, landed on my back and hit my head. Ouch!, I thought. I shuffled around, trying to get myself up. Something warm—it must have been very hot because it felt warm through my wool sweater—grabbed my arm and lifted my body up off the ground. I looked up to see who it was. It was him. The gorgeous being with the emerald green eyes. I gazed into his eyes for a prolonged minute and I think I stopped breathing. His beauty—and height—just stunned me. When I realized I was gawking again I shook my head vigorously to clear my mind (probably looking more like an idiot each second).
When I cleared my head, I looked back up at him. He was smiling, almost laughing. His smile made my knees turn to jelly. I thought I would swoon over this surreal perfection in front of me.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going?" He apologized. I tried to say something, but all I could do was continue to gawk.
He laughed. "Did you hit your head?...Hello?"
I shook my head—not so brisk this time—and I tried to reply.
"Er. Just a little hit to the head. It's not bad. I wasn't watching either," I breathed.
"Are you sure? I could help you get yourself to the nurse."
"N-No. No. It's alright. I don't think I'll suffer from a concussion."
He laughed again. "Okay. I'm Peter, by the way. You?"
"Er-E-E-Emma," I manage to let out. You idiot!, I yelled at myself in my head.
"Well, nice to meet you Emma. Er. Not under these circumstances, I might add though."
"N-Nice to meet you, too."
"Do you think you could help me find my class?" He showed me his schedule. I guess he was a new student. I took the paper and read the first line:
Period 1 English 10C4 Mr. Thorne
"Oh," I said to myself, astounded. I resumed. "You're in my first period. You're only a sophomore?" He looked more like a senior, I thought, maybe a senior in college.
"Yes. Well, would you like to show me to our first class?"
"Um. Sure."
We walked down the hallway in silence. When we entered the class, I smiled and took my seat at the back of the room. He went over to speak with Mr. Thorne.
"Hey Emma," Daniel—my other best friend—greeted as he came and sat next to me. I examined my best friend. Through the years, I watched him grow up—we've known each other since we were little. He used to be a little pudgy, but puberty did him good. He had lost all his baby fat after sixth grade. He was lean and tall at 5'10. He had a heart-shaped face—fairly unusual for men—and his jaw was moderately squared. His hair was a chocolate brown and it went just past his ears. His bangs swept from the left across his face. He was exceptionally fair, almost pallid; although, he seemed healthy enough. He had blue eyes and his lips were full.
"Hi Daniel," I greeted.
"Who's that? That boy you walked in with?" He asked curiously. He sounded almost too curious. I could swear I heard the slightest hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Oh, him?" I looked over at Peter. He was still speaking to Mr. Thorne. "That's Peter. He's new here."
"How do you know him?" Surprisingly, his jealousy became more apparent.
"It's a funny story, actually. I was walking to class and we bumped into each other. I fell and he helped me up. We started talking and he asked me to help him find his class." I tried to sound like it was nothing. I continued and tried to soothe Daniel. "It was nothing, Danny. He just needed help finding class and it so happened that we have the same first period. Hey, so how was your weekend?"
I tried to steer the conversation to another topic.
"Oh. My weekend was great. I bet Melany already told you about our beach trip. I went with them." He began. Thankfully, he was distracted. I didn't want to think about Peter, that more than handsome creature. I would've started gawking again and probably started daydreaming. I often daydreamed and it wasn't good to do that. Especially when everyone would see me staring at him—they'd know I was thinking of him. But what girl didn't gawk at his extraordinary handsomeness and height, if not for a few seconds?
Danny continued talking about his day at the beach with Melany and Kelsey. Unsurprisingly, I didn't follow anything that he said. I began daydreaming. I looked out the window and watched the menacing gray clouds cover the sky. I wished those clouds would disappear and the sun would finally peek out and shine warmth onto this little town. I closed my eyes and pictured the sun—big, bright, and yellow. I pictured the sky, forever blue and the white wispy clouds, barely covering the vast area the sky covered. I pictured the gentle breeze blowing tendrils around my face. And walking down the beach, barefoot, in a summery dress. Feeling the sand under my feet, smooth and squishy. The water rushing through my legs. The pretty shells, varying in different colors, creating rainbows on the sand. I wanted all of that.
I sighed. Mr. Thorne turned to face me.
"Is this not interesting enough? Would you like more work? Have you even begun your assignment, Emma?"
"Huh?" I came back to reality. I cleared my head. "Er. I think this is sufficient enough. I'll get to work, sir," I assured him. He nodded and strode down the aisle to overlook my classmates' progress.
Daniel and I spent the rest of the period completing our assignment, an essay about Homer's Iliad. We had to explain what Achilles and Hector reveal about their characters through their actions. Every so often I glanced at Peter. I couldn't keep my eyes off him. He was so handsome. More than handsome. He was exceptionally gorgeous. He looked like he just stepped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch ad. He was even better than those models. His beauty was surreal.
When the bell rang, Danny and I got up and placed our essays in a tray on Mr. Thorne's desk at the front of the room. We walked out into the cold and I unwillingly treaded across the quad through the wet, puddle-filled walkways to get to my next class. Building G was near when I felt a burning-hot hand—as if this person were running a fever—on my shoulder. I whirled around to see who it was, only to lose my balance and land in a shallow puddle.
Oh pooh, I thought. I peered up and met those emerald eyes again.
"I'm sorry…again. Are you okay?" He held out his hand. I glowered at him, but I grabbed his scorching hand and he pulled me up. I was definitely in a worse mood than before, now that my bottom was entirely wet. I scowled a little more and then continued to walk, trying to seem oblivious of the fact that Peter was right beside me.
"Look, I'm sorry that your butt's all wet. It's not my fault you're a little clumsy," I knew he was trying to apologize, but he was just insulting.
"I am not clumsy. I am a very poised person," I countered in a matter-of-factly way.
"You're talking to me!" He exclaimed.
"Well, yes. I guess I am talking to you. That doesn't mean I forgive you for startling and making me fall though."
"I didn't make you fall. I guess you could say I did startle you, but I didn't make you fall. It's your amazing gracefulness that made you fall." He retorted sarcastically.
"You're not very good at apologizing. You just end up being fairly insulting." I grimaced and started to walk a little faster. My little legs were no match to his. He took a huge step forward and blocked my way.
"I'm going to be late," I grumbled.
"Just listen. I'm really sorry. Please forgive me. Friends?" He looked down at me with innocent eyes, his eyebrows pulled together and his forehead furrowed. How he pulled that puppy dog face, I don't know, but I couldn't be mad at him.
"Ugh. Fine Peter. I forgive you," I smiled and we headed to our next class.
He walked me to the G building. I smiled and waved goodbye as I enter Biology.
"Get your pencils out. Everything off the desk," Mr. Abrams bellowed in his deep, hoarse voice. My lips pulled down at the corners, I frowned as I began shuffling through my bag and took a pencil out. I suddenly recalled that I had to take that dreaded biology test, I was sure of failing. Stupid daydreams, I thought.
Peter's Point of View
Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! I howled. I sighed and leaned forward. My speed increased as I entered the forest. I listened to the beat of my feet pounding onto the wet soil.
Why can't I control myself? I whined. Why was I subjected to be a…a…a monster?!
Peter, Alpha boy thought.
What? I snarled.
Calm Down. That's enough. He demanded. I know it's hard. It takes practice.
It's still frustrating. One of these days I could hurt mom. I sighed again. The thought of hurting her…
It'll get easier. Get to school. It's your first day; you shouldn't be late.
Sure, sure, I thought and ran back to my house to get new clothes. Do you mind picking up the shreds?
I phased back and sprinted into the house. I heard a loud howl. Matt won't be happy with me when I get home. I opened the door slowly and tip-toed to my bedroom, hoping my mom wouldn't see me in my naked state. I got dressed and tried to quietly exit the house.
"Peter!" Mom called.
"Yeah, mom?"
"What are you still doing here? I thought you left for school already?"
"Um. I forgot to…to get my backpack," I said.
"Of all things you forget your backpack. Get going. You'll be late."
"Yea, yea. I'm gone. See you later, Ma!"
Honk, honk.
I saw Gabe pull up into my driveway.
"Hey man. Get in. Let's go." Jordan called.
"Hey!" I ran around to the other side of the car and slid into the backseat. Gabe sped off onto the road. I buckled my seat belt and sat quietly.
"So…," Jordan began. "What happened this morning? You lost control again?"
"Yea. Why can't you control your temper?" Freddie interjected.
"Shut up. It sucks having a hard time when you guys have it so easy." I sighed and pursed my lips. I didn't want to go off on them.
They let it go and we drove to school quietly. Freddie was still in Junior High, so we dropped him off first. Gabe, Jordan and I were going to West Hills High, in the little, boring town of West Hills. It was our first day of school.
We used to live in a town near Lake Ontario. We moved here—God knows why—and we were forced to endure this dull, gray, rainy weather. It wasn't like I really cared. It was just so gloomy. S'not that I needed to feel anymore sad and angry.
I looked over to my cousins. They were like my brothers. No. They were my brothers. All we had was each other and my mom. My dad died when I was young. My mom, Lily, took in Matt, Gabe and Freddie when I was two. Fred was just a baby, Matt was six, and Gabe was only 4. My mom took in Jordan a couple years later. I didn't know what happened to their parents, but I knew they were family. We were blood and Ma couldn't leave them. She couldn't let them separate and live with foster families or get adopted.
I loved Lily. She was the sweetest person. She was a great mom. It hurt me so much when she found out. It broke her heart. Freddie changed in front of her. Almost killed her, actually. She told us she never wanted us to go that same path. But how could we have stopped it.
One day, we're packing our bags and off to move to a new town. A few weeks later, BAM!, we're like some kind of freaks. We're still trying to figure out what happened. Matt has all these theories and after Lily told us about my dad, Levi, we're slowly putting things together and finding out new things.
"Peter!" Jordan yelled.
I jumped and snapped out of my deep thinking. "What?? Did something happen?"
"We're at school. Let's go." Gabe informed me.
"Pete."
"Yea?"
"Gabe and I already have our schedules. You need help getting yours?"
"No. No. Just go." I told them both. "I think I can manage. See you at lunch, 'kay?"
"Uh. We're actually going to try out for football during lunch."
"What? Are you crazy? You think you could…" My voice trailed off. It was me who didn't have self-control. I sighed.
"We'll see you later, Pete. Feel better. I know you can do it." Jordan tried to comfort me.
"Yea, Peter. It's alright. If anything bad happens, we're here. We'll help you. Brothers, right?" Gabe joined in. He smiled widely and I waved at both of them.
I made my way to the main building. I had to go to the attendance office to get my schedule. What fun. I didn't know anyone here. Who was I going to hang out with during lunch? How do I make new friends, when I'm such a freak?
I walked down the hall. Every person I passed by, even those far away, stared at me, like I was some alien—some alien or a mass murderer intending on killing the entire human race or something freaky like that.
I stopped in front of the office. I looked over at the bulletin board and saw the honor roll students. Out of the twenty there, my eyes were glued to one girl there.
She was beautiful. Unimaginably beautiful. She had long chestnut hair and big, deep brown eyes. I couldn't explain the feelings that were going through me. I had to meet her. I had to see her in person. To get to know her, to be with her.
I shook my head. What are you talking about? She's just some random girl!, I thought. It was strange. I didn't even know her, yet I just had to be with her. Even just to be in her presence. I looked up and scanned my surroundings. This school was small enough, that it wouldn't be hard to find her, right? I asked myself. Ironically, I spotted her. She was with another girl. The girl looked at me and I saw her speak to the pretty one. The pretty one looked up and our eyes met.
Looking into her eyes, I felt the strangest emotions. It was as if I had known her my whole life. It was like I needed her. Like if I didn't have her, everything would be worthless. She held my eyes for a prolonged time. Her chocolate eyes were wide and wondering. I stared intently at her, until her friend waved a hand in front of her face. She turned to face her and then the other one began giggling. The gorgeous girl dropped her head and stared at her feet.
I wanted to meet her, but I knew there was another time for that. I needed to go into the office. I needed my schedule.
I walked into the warm office. The room was divided by a long counter filled with forms and colored papers. I walked over to the counter and saw a woman sitting at her desk. She was working on paperwork.
"Uhmm. Excuse me, miss?"
She looked up. As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened.
"Hi. I'm Peter Uley. I'm new here."
"Hello dear. I'm Mrs. Leigh." She greeted.
I smiled.
"You're new here?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Well, then. We should get you your papers to fill out." She walked back to her desk and rummaged through the drawers. She took out a stack of forms and got a pen. "Dear, I'm going to have you fill these out. Here's your schedule"—she pulled out a blue sheet filled with my classes on it—"and here's a map of the school."
She circled my classes and labeled the fastest routes to get there.
"Bring me these forms during lunch. I think that's it." She wished me good luck and I headed out into the rain. I crossed over the quad towards building C. I took my time walking and tried studying the map. I didn't want to have to carry it around everywhere. I was just at the corner when something bumped into me. It was her. My heart picked up speed. It was fluttering. She fell onto the ground. Damnit, I hurt her.
I pulled her up by her arm. She looked up at me and we stared into each other's eyes again. She blinked once and shook her head. I couldn't help but smile. To save her from embarrassment, I tried to hold back my laugh. It was cute. Say something! Think, think, think, I told myself.
"Are you okay I'm sorry." I apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going?"
She continued to gawk and I couldn't hold it in much longer. I laughed a bit.
"Did you hit your head?...Hello?" It seemed like she wasn't there. Like she was a little out of it.
She shook her head and said, "Er. Just a little hit to the head. It's not bad. I wasn't watching either."
"Are you sure? I could help you get yourself to the nurse."
"N-No. No. It's alright. I don't think I'll suffer from a concussion."
I laughed. I needed something else to say to her. "Okay. I'm Peter, by the way. You?"
"Er-E-E-Emma," She stuttered. Oh no, I thought, she's afraid of me, too. She probably thinks I'm a freak just like everybody else.
I needed a way to sound friendlier. I needed her to like me. "Well, nice to meet you Emma. Er. Not under these circumstances, I might add though." I said.
"N-Nice to meet you, too."
"Do you think you could help me find my class?" I gave her my schedule and she examined it.
"Oh," She breathed. She continued speaking. "You're in my first period. You're only a sophomore?" She looked surprised.
"Yes. Well, would you like to show me to our first class?"
"Um. Sure." She agreed.
We walked together to class in silence. I couldn't think of anything to say. I didn't want to sound stupid. I think she was afraid or very shy. When we entered the classroom, she smiled at me and walked over to her seat. She sat next to a boy with pale skin and dark hair. They started talking. Those strange emotions came back. I felt so much anger. I felt jealous.
I walked over to the teacher, Mr. Thorne. He gave me a seat; unfortunately, it wasn't anywhere near where Emma was. Mr. Thorne gave me the assignment and I quietly sat at my desk and worked on the essay.
When the bell rang, she stood up and walked out the door with that boy. I followed her out the door. I placed my hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She whirled around, but lost her balance. I tried to catch her, but she fell into a small puddle.
"I'm sorry…again. Are you okay?" I held my hand out. Now you've done it. She won't want to be friends with me. Ugh. How retarded could I be?
She grabbed my hand and stood up. She didn't say a word to me. Instead, she continued walking to class and ignored me.
"Look, I'm sorry that your butt's all wet. It's not my fault you're a little clumsy," Her face turned sour. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Oh man. Why did I say that?
"I am not clumsy. I am a very poised person," She informed me.
"You're talking to me!" I exclaimed. At least she wasn't giving me the guilt trip.
"Well, yes. I guess I am talking to you. That doesn't mean I forgive you for startling and making me fall though." She seemed to lighten up a little.
"I didn't make you fall. I guess you could say I did startle you, but I didn't make you fall. It's your amazing gracefulness that made you fall." I tried to sound like myself. My-sarcastic- friendly-sometimes funny-self.
"You're not very good at apologizing. You just end up being fairly insulting." She said. She grimaced and walked a little faster. I couldn't let her be mad at me. I couldn't let her not be friends with me at least. I took two steps forward and blocked her way.
"I'm going to be late," She said through her teeth.
"Just listen. I'm really sorry. Please forgive me." I pleaded. "Friends?" I looked down at her and pulled my face into a frown.
"Ugh. Fine Peter. I forgive you," She gave in and grinned at me widely.
I walked with her towards Building G, to her next class. After she entered her Biology class, I walked to my class.
I sensed something different about her. I knew something good would come out of this and moving to West Hills didn't sound as bad as it used to be. I knew it was going to be good. I smiled and walked into World History.
