A Piercing Gaze: Scarlet and Wolf
by Down Iris
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I do not have any rights to nor make any money from the characters in this story.
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Ze'ev, the new kid at high school, has a strange fascination with Scarlet, who's not sure she likes the attention.
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Please read my other Scarlet and Wolf stories, To Protect Her, What He Knows That She Doesn't, Coincidence, A Hasty Escape, and What Was Wolf Thinking?
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Scarlet sat outside her high school eating lunch with her best friend, Cinder. She glanced over at Ze'ev, who sat across the courtyard. He quickly looked away from her when she caught his eye.
"He's looking at me again," Scarlet said, annoyed.
"That's because he likes you," Cinder said.
"Then why doesn't he say anything? He's been looking at me almost since he first transferred here two months ago, but he hardly knows me."
"He's just shy. You need to encourage him. Try smiling when you look over at him."
"But I don't know if I like him back. I barely know him too. The only times we've ever talked are when we're grouped together for discussions in English class."
"Well, maybe if you talk to him more, you would get to know him better."
"He's the one who likes me. He should come to me if he wants to talk. Anyway, he has a bad reputation. They say he was expelled from his last school, but no one knows why. None of the rumors sound good, though. And he keeps starting fights." Scarlet looked over at Ze'ev again, and again he looked away. She could still see the black eye he had gotten two days ago, although even with the bruise he was still viciously hot.
"But it sounds like he was always defending someone who was being picked on, like when he fought Jacin. He'd been picking on Winter," Cinder said.
"I bet that's just an excuse. He probably just likes to fight, and he sees an opportunity when someone's being picked on. He has to have some reason to work out to get so muscular." Scarlet glanced at Ze'ev again. His shirt looked like it was about to burst from containing his muscles.
Every time she looked at him, he would hurriedly look away. She didn't know if that was better or worse than if he continued to stare at her.
"If it bothers you so much, just try to ignore him." The bell rang.
"Fine," she said, gathering her things. "I wonder if anyone else has noticed that he keeps looking at me."
"Who knows?" Cinder said as they went inside. "But I wish Kai would look at me like that," she said, talking about the guy she had a crush on.
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Ze'ev was in three of Scarlet's classes, and she tried to ignore him, but she kept looking over at him against her will. His unnaturally green eyes seemed to captivate her. She was always amazed how he always had the right answer whenever a teacher called on him, since she couldn't understand how he could concentrate on schoolwork when every time she looked at him, he was looking at her.
The next day, Scarlet opened her locker to get her lunch, and an envelope fell out. She picked it up, intrigued. It said simply "Scarlet" on the back, and she hurriedly tore it open. She gaped when she saw a poem that filled almost three pages with small, neat handwriting. Her jaw fell further and further as she read. When she was done, she quickly tucked it away and ran to find Cinder.
"Did you hear about Cress and Thorne's breakup?" Cinder asked as soon as Scarlet sat down.
"No, but I have something important to tell you." Scarlet glanced at Ze'ev. "I got a love poem in my locker just now!" she whispered.
"Oooooh! From who, Ze'ev?"
"It wasn't signed, but who else could it be from?"
"Can I read it?"
"Yeah, but not now. I don't want him to see you reading it."
"Was it any good?"
Scarlet smiled despite herself. "It was wonderful. It had a theme of red, talking about hearts, sunsets, rubies, the edge of the rainbow, and such. It was really long, too. And I realized about halfway through that it was in iambic pentameter, like the poems we read in class last week. Every two lines rhymed." She glanced up at Ze'ev again.
"Wow. That sounds like he put a lot of effort into it. He must really like you."
Scarlet looked at Ze'ev again to see Iko, one of the most popular, and beautiful, girls at school, sit down with him. Scarlet felt a spark of jealousy, although she wouldn't admit that to Cinder. He looked uncomfortable talking with her. Ze'ev was frequently courted by many of the girls at school, but he never seemed interested in any of them. Sometimes she caught his eye over the shoulder of whoever he was talking to, like he would rather be looking at her than talking to the girl in front of him.
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A week later, Scarlet opened her locker to find a wrapped present sitting inside, with no note to indicate who it was from. She was a little concerned that someone could get into her locker, but she was more curious about the present. She tore it open.
Inside were two barrettes with small white cloth roses in a line. There was a thin white ribbon looped around the end of each, with the tails hanging down almost as long as her hair. Scarlet had worn her long curly red hair held back with two barrettes for years. She wrapped the ribbons around the barrettes and carefully put them in her pocket. Then she went to find Cinder.
"Look at what I found in my locker!" Scarlet said as she sat down. She pulled the barrettes out of her pocket and handed them to Cinder. She quickly glanced at Ze'ev.
"They're beautiful," Cinder said, turning them around. "I think they're hand-made, too!"
"Really?"
"What if Ze'ev made them himself?"
"I doubt that. He probably got them at a craft fair or something. But you think they're from him?"
"Who else? You should wear them tomorrow, and see how he reacts. If he thinks you like them, maybe he'll say something finally."
Scarlet blushed. "I don't know if I'm ready for that." She glanced at Ze'ev again.
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The next morning, she decided to wear the barrettes after some struggle. When she came in to second period, she was afraid to look at Ze'ev at first. After she took her seat, she glanced over at him, and thought she saw a smile before he looked away.
After third period, she found a note in her locker that said simply, "Front door, lunch." It was in the same handwriting as the poem. Cinder was in her fourth period, so she told her she wouldn't meet her for lunch. Cinder was very excited. Afterwards, she made her way to the front door of the school and waited. A few other students were sitting on the front lawn eating lunch.
Scarlet's heart skipped a beat when she saw Ze'ev walking towards her. He was blushing as well.
He stood for a minute looking at her before finally saying, "Thank you for meeting me here."
She wasn't sure how to respond, so she just nodded. She felt trapped by his sparkling green eyes.
"I'm glad you like the barrettes I made."
So he had made them himself. "They're beautiful," she said, reaching up and touching one.
Ze'ev's arm started to rise, and Scarlet instinctually took a half step back. He quickly dropped his arm and put his hands in his pockets. He looked down. "I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime," he said nervously.
"I don't really know you, though."
He looked back up. "But if you went out with me, you would get to know me."
"True," Scarlet said, thinking. She had thought about him asking her out before many times, thinking that he would likely get around to it eventually, but she still wasn't sure what her answer would be.
Ze'ev started to look uncomfortable as he waited for her response, and Scarlet couldn't help but think that he looked very cute with that expression. "All right," she said finally.
His face lit up with a smile. "How about dinner Saturday? I could pick you up at six maybe?"
"That sounds good. Where do you want to go?"
He smiled mischievously. "How about I surprise you?"
Scarlet thought for a minute, and then said, "I suppose."
Ze'ev paused. "So how did you like my poem?" he asked nervously.
"I was really impressed. You did a wonderful job. It's probably the nicest gift anyone's ever given me." She smiled.
He smiled too. "I'm glad you liked it." Another pause. "So…" he said, as if wondering what to talk about next. "How did you like the story we read for English today?"
They continued talking, the lunch in Scarlet's hand forgotten, until the bell rang. She was surprised by it.
"Can I walk you to fifth hour?" Ze'ev asked.
"Sure."
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Scarlet was bursting to tell Cinder all through fifth hour. She kept looking up at Ze'ev, who held her gaze now with a small smile. She couldn't help but smile back.
Cinder was in Scarlet's sixth period, and as soon as she sat down she said, "Ze'ev asked me out!"
Cinder smiled. "I knew he would get around to it eventually! Where are you going?"
"He said he wanted to surprise me. We're going to dinner on Saturday."
"Lucky you." Cinder looked across the classroom at Kai and sighed.
"You need to encourage Kai, like you were always trying to get me to encourage Ze'ev, rather than just sighing about him behind his back," Scarlet said.
"I know," Cinder said resignedly. Then she turned back to Scarlet and smiled. "But I'm glad Ze'ev finally asked you out. I hope you have fun on your date!"
"Me, too."
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The next day, Friday, Scarlet wore the barrettes again. When she caught Ze'ev's eye in second hour, he smiled and held her gaze, and again she couldn't help but smile back.
She kept expecting him to approach her all day, but he kept his distance, even at lunch. She went home without talking to him once.
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It was Saturday, and six o'clock was fast approaching. Scarlet felt like a nervous wreck. She hadn't expected to be this nervous, but this was her first date, after all. Her grandmother didn't help, making comments about how Scarlet was all grown up and threatening to show Ze'ev her baby pictures.
Finally the doorbell rang. Scarlet grabbed her purse and called out quickly, "Bye, Grandma!" She opened the door to find Ze'ev standing there nervously. She hurriedly closed the door behind her before her grandmother could respond. "Hello," she said anxiously.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked, glancing at the door and seeming surprised that she had rushed out so quickly.
"Yes. So where are we going?" They started walking to his car.
"You'll find out when we get there," he said, smiling mischievously again.
As they drove, they fell into an easy conversation, just like they had at lunch. Scarlet had meant to watch where Ze'ev was driving, but she was so involved in their conversation that she forgot to.
Finally he parked on the side of a street. She thought it looked familiar, but couldn't place it until they were out of the car. "Rieux Tavern!" she exclaimed. "This is my favorite restaurant! How did you know?"
He smiled but looked uncomfortable. "I'll tell you later."
They sat down. Ze'ev poured over the menu, but Scarlet already knew what she wanted to order. "Have you ever been here before?" she asked.
"No, but it sounded good online," he said, glancing up.
They ordered their meal and talked for a while. During a lull in their conversation, Scarlet suddenly remembered something. "You said you'd tell me how you knew this was my favorite restaurant later."
Ze'ev blushed. "I have a confession to make. I know more about you than you realize. I can read lips, so it was like I was listening in on all of your conversations when I was watching you."
Scarlet's eyes widened and she blushed as well. "What?"
"I'm sorry, but I was just so intrigued by you."
"Wait, so you knew all those times I was talking to Cinder about you?"
He looked sheepish. "Yes."
She took a minute to process that, not sure what to think. "How did you learn to lip read?" she finally asked.
"My younger brother is legally deaf, and I took lip reading classes with him when he was young because he was worried about taking them by himself. I also thought it would be a good skill to have."
Scarlet found herself trying to think back on all of her conversations, tallying up all the things she had said that would be embarrassing for Ze'ev to know. Her blush deepened and she didn't know what to say.
Their food arrived, and she concentrated on eating for a while, trying to arrange her thoughts. Finally she decided to ignore his confession for now.
"So why did you wait so long to ask me out?" she asked instead. "You must have known that I noticed you watching me like two months ago."
"Well, I was embarrassed, and you didn't act very encouragingly."
"No, I guess not."
"I finally got the idea of giving you the barrettes. I thought that if you realized they were from me and still wore them, then I might have a shot."
"I wasn't sure I wanted to wear them. I was embarrassed too. But I decided that it would be best to get you to finally say something, although I still wasn't sure what my answer would be."
Ze'ev smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did."
Scarlet smiled too. "Me, too." They talked for a while about various things.
"So did you really get expelled from your old school?" Scarlet asked eventually.
Ze'ev blushed and looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Was it because you were fighting?"
"Maybe."
"Why do you fight so much? It sounds like you get detention nearly every week for fighting."
Ze'ev looked back at her. "When I was little, I was always picked on. So I started taking martial arts classes and exercising to be able to defend myself. Eventually I was left alone, but I couldn't just stand by while other kids were being picked on. I don't start fights, I just end them. And I don't mind detention. I can get some homework out of the way before I go home."
They talked for a while longer, until Scarlet looked at her watch. It was 9:38. "My grandma said to be home by ten," she said.
"Okay," Ze'ev said, and they paid their bill. They got in his car and talked until he pulled up in front of her house. Scarlet wasn't sure how to say good night, but he quickly said, "I'll walk you to your front door."
When they were on her porch, he asked nervously, "Do you want to go out again sometime?"
"Sure," said Scarlet, smiling.
Ze'ev smiled back. "I guess I'll see you Monday, then," he said. His gaze fell to her lips.
"I guess so," she said, waiting for him to kiss her. He didn't say anything for a minute, just stared at her lips. Finally she became impatient, so she stepped toward him, put her arms around his neck, pulled his head down, and kissed him. He instantly put his arms around her and pulled her toward him. After kissing for a minute, she pulled back, and he reluctantly let her go. "Good night," she said, smiling.
"Good night," he replied, smiling as well. He hesitated for a moment, and then turned and walked back to his car. Still smiling, Scarlet went into her house.
She was startled to find her grandmother peeking out the front window, grinning. "He sure is a looker."
Scarlet's cheeks burned. "Were you standing there watching us?"
"Well, I had to get a look at him since you didn't properly introduce us beforehand. Just be glad I didn't poke my nose out and demand you introduce me immediately. But next time, he has to come in and meet me before you go, or I will have to interrupt your kiss." Ze'ev must have driven off, because he grandmother turned to her. "So, how did it go? Tell me everything!"
"Grandma!" Scarlet said, frustrated. She went to her room to think over the wonderful night she had had. She couldn't wait for Monday.