Inspiration: Aqualung -Strange and beautiful (lyrics in bold)
I've been watching your world from afar
I've been trying to be where you are
And I've been secretly falling apart
Unseen
The words drifted through Kim's ears as the music issued from her headphones. The 18 year old had closed her eyes during the song for never had a song spoken so true to her real life situation. Her heart swelled as she listened to the English singer. The melodic tones slowly trailed off into silence and Kim's eyes soon fluttered open in response. Suddenly she came back to reality, only to find herself sitting in her car, with the morning light bathing her face. Hoards of students were passing by as they left the parking lot and headed towards the school. With a sigh Kim quickly grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and clambered out.
Another uneventful day was ahead of her.
Kim drifted silently through the halls. She blended straight into the background and yet this didn't bother her. The yearning to be popular had never been of any interest to her. Who cares?. All Kim needed was a handful of great friends. After all nobody in the real world no one remembers nor cares who was popular at highschool.
Kim finally reached her English class and low and behold she found those special friends of hers. A smile grew across her face as she spotted the duo sitting at the back of the room, next to the open window. The two girls suddenly saw her enter and smiled.
"Life is good," Kim thought as she pulled down her headphones so that they rested around her neck.
Elena shook her head as Kim reached their table, however her short blonde hair barely moved. "You will get into an accident one day Kim. You can't hear the world around you with those headphones." She chided.
Kim grinned as she took her seat. "That's the point."
"Amen to noise cancelling headphones, I say," Melissa added as she tossed her bright red hair over her shoulders and her blue eyes sparkled.
"Settle down class! Settle down!," came the teachers shrill voice.
However the buzz of chatter continued because it was just a substitute teacher and even Kim, who liked to be polite kept on talking.
Suddenly though from the corner of her eye, Kim caught sight of a familiar figure. Her heart sped up as she turned her head. Instantly she froze. There was an odd heat in her heart as her stomach suddenly twisted. Kim found that her eyes were glued to the person standing in the doorway. However the sudden distraction did not go unnoticed by the majority of the girls in the class, who all turned to stare at the well -known heartthrob…
Jared.
He stood there in all, his splendor. Kim felt the raising heat in her face and she was glad that her tanned skin did not betray her blush.
Jared.
What could she say about him?
He was so….handsome, with his strong jawline and thick wind swept hair. He was well built and he was rumored to have a six pack that could make a girl faint. His deep brown eyes looked slightly tired. There was this a air of mystery about him that Kim couldn't quite put her finger on. It was like he knew something everyone else didn't. The mystery around him further heightened when he disappeared from school from two weeks and even more so because he had come back completely transformed.
To me, you're strange and you're beautiful
You'd be so perfect with me
But you just can't see
You turn every head but you don't see me
The overbearing supply teacher ushered Jared to take a seat so that she could start her lesson. Kim watched with some annoyance as all the girls whispered among themselves as he passed. They all gushed about his good looks.
"Stop it Kim!" She chided herself. After all why should she be so bothered if other girls fancied Jared? It wasn't like she was his girlfriend.
Kim's face was now on fire and her heart was thundering for Jared had just walked past her table. He did so without so much as a glance in her direction.
Kim felt so hyper aware of herself and she could not get her body to calm down. Even when Jared had taken a seat and was out of her eye line, she couldn't relax. Kim sighed out in frustration. Why did she feel like this? For a boy she knew little about. How could he get her heart racing by only sitting a row behind her?
Kim had never spoken to him…well perhaps once but that was only when he had asked to borrow something.
Kim found herself getting angry at herself now, mostly due to the fact that she had always felt like her feelings for Jared were only based on a fanciful idea that she had constructed of him….That perhaps she had just built him up in her mind. After all what did she really know about Jared, apart from the fact that he was not at all like all the other boys in school. He was different. Kim knew that there was definitely something deeper about him.
()()()()()()()()
The bell rang out loudly and true enough the day had turned out to be very uneventful. However Kim did not mind so much because, she liked life, whether it was eventful or not. It was great all the same.
Kim bid her friends farewell as she had commitments to tutor a pair of 14 year old boys who were struggling with biology. All too soon she was with the troublesome pair in the library trying to make them have an interest in science.
An hour passed and soon Kim heard the beginnings of a heavy downpour beating down and shock it was when her tutoring lesson had finally come to any end.
"You're free to go,"Kim told the boys even though they hadn't put nearly enough effort as she would have liked. The boys didn't waste any time and were quick to get away. Kim just sighed before she slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way towards the library exit. Maybe the will appreciate my help when they're older. The thing that made Kim smile again was when she reached the school entrance the the janitor gave her a enthusiastic wave She had come to know that he was a very cheerful person.
"See you tomorrow," he said.
Kim reciprocated before she put on her headphones and hit the play button of her ipod. The same song from the morning played.
I've been watching your world from afar
I've been trying to be where you are
And I've been secretly falling apart
Unseen
As soon as Kim left the shelter of the school she felt the rain immediately. It battered down on her and although it was cold she smiled up at the sky and held out her hands. It was wonderful to be caught in such a down pour. Despite her dress and tights becoming soaked and the water now seeping into her boots. Kim's long hair became plastered her face and back and yet she found herself twirling in the rain.
She began mouthing the words to her song.
Suddenly...
Screeeeeeccccchhhhhhh
The sound of squealing tires cut through the beautiful words.
Kim jumped out of her skin. Her bag fell from her shoulders, the content of which spilled onto the road. Kim turned her heard sharply as her hand flew straight to her chest, to ease her thundering heart. A red truck stood barely a few feet away from her. All of a sudden two boys rushed out of the vehicle and they were clearly angry. The rain battered down on them all.
"What the hell!" one of them shouted at her.
Yet Kim just stood rooted to the spot.
She barely registered the sounds as suddenly a third figure emerged.
Jared….
He approached with equal anger and annoyance as the other two yet it quickly faded.
Kim pulled down her headphones but the music stilled issued from them.
I'll put a spell on you
You'll fall asleep
When I put a spell on you
And when I wake you. I'll be the first thing you see
And you'll realize that you love me
Jared just stared at her.
This was the first time they had ever made true eye contact. Before this point it was only passing glances on Kim's part and no acknowledgement what so ever from his.
The other two boys continued to yell some sense into Kim. However she found it hard to break the eye contact which bound both her and Jared's eyes together.
She eventually managed.
The rain was beginning to trickle down her back and Kim felt chills shuddering her body as her summer dress was now sticking to her body.
"'I- I'm sorry," Kim stumbled to apologise.
"You should look where you are goi-" one of them started again until Jared motioned for him to stop.
He never broke eye contact with Kim and this caused her to feel very perturbed. The intensity was unsettling her.
The two boys looked awfully similar to Jared.Are they brothers? They had the same short hair and amazing build. Kim noticed that the pair stared at Jared with puzzled looks, wondering why he was just standing there silently, just staring.
Kim quickly picked up her bag and gathered her thoroughly wet books from the road.
"S-sorry again," She mumbled hastily, "I'll be more careful next time."
These where Kim's parting words as she rushed towards her car. She now found herself shaking from the cold, her near fatal accident and the odd intensity of Jared's attention.
As Kim made her way across the parking lot and through the heavy rain, eyes followed her.
Jared stood there. Who is that girl? Whose face had become burned into his mind.
The words of the music from the stranger's headphones, rang in his ears.
Jared could not forget those captivating wide eyes framed with thick eyelashes. Jared did not register the temperature of the rain lashing down on him but only the sound. He continued to stare after the car that was about to leave the school grounds.
"No…," The words left his mouth in a whisper because the beautiful stranger was leaving.
Jared made a move to follow the girl but two hands came to rest on either shoulder.
"What is up with you man?"
Jared turned to look at Embry, who was gazing at him with concern.
Paul looked equally confused, once his anger eventually faded.
Jared's head was spinning. He was in turmoil. Would he ever see that girl again? He had to! Otherwise Jared felt like he would surely die.
"What's happening to me?" Jared asked himself as he held his head.
Embry and Paul both stared after the car which was speeding out of the parking lot.
The rain continued to flood down on them.
Embry's forehead remained creased. He could not stop frowning at Jared's state. "Come on man we need to get you to Sam," he advised.
Paul made his way back to the car. "Yeah because there's defiantly something wrong with him."
When Paul and Embry had taken their seats, they noticed that they were missing their friend. The pair looked out of the front window only to find that Jared was still standing in the same spot they had left him.
You'll fall asleep
When I put a spell on you
And when I wake you
I'll be the first thing you see. And you'll realize that you love me