©Sunrisepainter: September Moon


September Moon

by Sunrisepainter


Chapter Three: A Clearwater's Dedication


"Hold on, start from the beginning", Gloria raised her hand, "what do you have to do with this kind of guy? I mean, look at him! He's different from us."

"How would you know? He wears a helmet."

"Why are you whispering, Shirley?", Anja scoffed, "I don't think he can hear us."

However, I was not quite sure about that as he suddenly got off his moped and pulled off his helmet.

"I don't believe it", Emma grabbed my arm, "that's someone from the reservation, right?"

I nodded without taking my eyes off this strange guy. He was very tall and his skin had a reddish color. His hair was dark and messy from the weight of the helmet. After looking more closely, I noticed that he was just wearing short, torn pants and a baggy white T-Shirt. Up to now, he did not see us, but it seemed like he was looking for someone.

Then he saw our curious stares and spun around in one fell swoop. First, he eyed the others. For a moment he watched Emma more intensively and finally his eyes landed on me. On me!

Our eyes met. It seemed to me as if I had seen those eyes before. They were brown and intensive but also very calm and warm. We just stared at each other and I did not even notice how my face heated up. A warm smile appeared on his lips.

Quickly, I averted my eyes to the ground. Somehow, he was creepy. I did not event want to know what he wanted with us. The way he looked at me was not ordinary at all. As if he looked for something in my eyes and found it. As it this something made him very happy.

"I think he has a thing for you", Gloria giggled. I glared at her. It was so like her to think about stuff like this. Then again, I was afraid that she was actually right? The heat of my skin was beyond all bearing now.

I did not want him to like me. He came from La Push, he was a Qui. Like some other people in Forks, I preferred to stay away from people from the reservation. Moreover, my mother would be very concerned of I would talk to one of them. There was a reason why they lived far away from us. They were different. They had other customs and traditions. And there were some strange rumors about them.

"Wow, here he comes", Shirley squeaked timidly.

My head rocket upwards and I noticed appalled that she was absolutely right. He slowly walked towards us. The other students around us stopped in their tracks and just stared at us. On the one hand, they seemed quite curious and on the other hand, they also looked scared.

His eyes were still fixed on her and his smile was still in place. And he was...nervous?

"What should we do?", I asked from the corner of my mouth.

"Let's just wait and see what he wants from us", Emma suggested without batting an eye.

In panic I nearly bit my bottom lip. She really wanted to talk to him?

I knew that she was a little odd sometime, but this was even out of character for her.
"Count me out!", I hissed.

The moped driver was now about five steps away from us and I saw no other was out. I had to escape!

Without give a word of warning, I spun around and ran. I ran without looking back, although I felt all their eyes on my back. They burned like fire.

"But Maddy!", I heard Emma call me in surprise.

I did not answer, but just went on running. Back to the school building. I dashed trough the hallways and some students alarmingly made way for me. I did not know where my escape would end, but I imagined that I still felt their eyes on me. I withstood the urge to turn around and check if they maybe were following me. I just went on and on. Automatically, my feed brought me straight to the gym.

Not till I stopped in front of the great wooden door, I dared to take a breath and to take a look around. Besides some unknown teachers and students, there was nobody I knew.

So, nobody had followed. This made me feel a little more calm and my breath became steady again.

To tell the truth, it was very childish to run away, but there was no other possibility for me at that moment. Now, that the danger was gone, I could finally clear my mind.

I actually had no clue what this boy who obviously lived in the reservation wanted with me. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe he did not even spy on us, but in fact looking for someone else.

"Nope", I whispered, "that can't be a coincidence."

I needed something to distract myself from these useless thoughts and to forget his face and his eyes which looked so damn familiar to me.

I peered over my shoulder and as I was sure that no one was watching me, I carefully opened the door to the gym.

While still leaving my eyes on the hallway, I pushed myself through the door frame and softly closed the door behind me. Not until then I dared to turn around and was shocked for a second time this day.

"This can't be true!", I though. I stopped in my tracks and did not dare to move or even to breathe.

The gym was parted into three different areas. One part was for everyday P.E. lessons. In other words, a space which was suitable for playing soccer, hockey, basketball etc. Another area was decked with a lot of mirrors for dancing lessons. And in the area in the middle of the gym, where I stood right now, someone had spanned some nets for playing volleyball or badminton.

Just across from me was a boy wearing sports clothes and carrying a tennis racket in his hand. He was concentrating on balls coming flying out of a machine.

I pressed my back against the wood paneling and prayed that he would not notice me as the boy was no one else but Daniel Chaines!

My face reddened more than ever and I could not help but stare at him. Who would have though that out of all people I would meet alone with the boy I had a crush on since first day of high school?

Exactly, the odds are a million to one. A lot of girls wished for this sort of fateful encounter with him and I of all people was the one who got the chance to get a hold of him without his friends.

"Do you plan on standing about longer all dressed up and with nowhere to go?"

His voice interrupted my thought and I gawped at him in shock.

He stopped striking balls and was now looking at me with an amused grin on his face. My bottom lip started to tremble. I was keen on replying, but I just could not. Were was my goddamn spontaneity if I really needed it?

I got weak in my knees and I probably would have tumbled if there would not have been the wall behind my back. I completely made a fool out of myself!

"So, if you wish, you're welcome to continue watching me. Or did you come here to train as well?"

He questionably raised an eyebrow. I automatically moved my head from the one side to the other. Shaking my head brought back my common sense and I finally was able to answer him with a croaky voice:

"N-no, I-I..."

I couldn't utter a full sentence at all, but it seemed as if this was enough for him and he got back in place to proceed with whatever he had been doing.

"If I were you I would look for another spot to sit down. A tennis ball can be quite hurtful", he smirked.

I nodded my head in silence and groped my way alongside the wall to sit down on a box with basketballs some meters away from the tennis court.

Suddenly, all my worries seemed to be gone in a flash and my eyes only followed every movement of Daniel in fascination.

"Next week, I have an important match, you know", he said while flailing at the incoming tennis balls, "I'm actually not allowed to be here on my own, but my coach put in a good word for me. I have to train as much as possible, because my opponent is rumored to be quite strong."

He talked a lot more, but I did not listen anymore. I still was too entranced by him darting back and forth and striking every single ball. The smile on his face indicated that he was doing something he loved the most in this world. I nearly let out a sigh as he was more handsome than ever and as I was caught in the moment. Although he did not look at me once, I felt closer to him than ever.

We never talked much to each other these days. In middle school, we had been on good terms, but in high school he suddenly became all popular and I felt strange talking to him so casually.

Solely, his looks made me feel insecure. Of course, he was the athletic type. His hair gleamed like gold and it casually fell into his face. His messy hair usually made him look wild and nonchalant. Now, his hair was all sweaty and glued to his face, but he was still as sexy as ever. The best were obviously his eyes of course. I could have counted the colors for hours: lime, apple, taupe, forest green, cyan...

I had to be careful not to let myself get carried away by these daydreams and instead to pretend I was listening to his monologue carefully.

"And what are you doing in your leisure time?"

I shrieked as he suddenly addressed me and somehow, I felt caught off guard. However, his gaze was neither taunting nor angry. The smile was permanently glued to his face.

I gulped dryly and tried to from the words in my head into a reasonable sentence.

"Dancing. I dance."

Brief, but it was still a beginning and he could understand what I meant.

"Really? And what kind of dancing? Hip hop? Jazz?"

He sounded quite interested which mad me happy. My heart started to flutter like a young butterfly.

"Contemporary. I favor hip hop, but sometimes I also do some break dance, salsa or ballet. It depends on my mood."

"Not bad", he whistled appreciatively, "do you take part in something like competitions?"

I shook my head:

"I did in the past, but today I'm just doing it for show. I'd like to dance in music videos or on Broadway one day."

"I see, so you want to become a professional dancer. Is it a well-payed job?"

He sat down next to me and looked at me questionably. I had already overcome all of my shyness and only sighed:

"Unfortunately, these dancers can keep the wolf off the door. My parents still don't know about my dreams. I think my dad's going to be very disappointed in me."

"They don't seem to thrilled about your dancing, right?"

"They think it's okay as long as it's just a hobby. However, as profession...they don't even want me to think about it..."

"Are they pretty strict?"

"Actually, my dad isn't at all and my mom...well...she's just overprotective, I guess."

"You're an only child?"

"Yeah."

"Me too, but I don't have a mom anymore. I live alone with my dad."

"Oh!", I gave him a concerned look, " may I ask what happened?"

He lowered his eyes and it looked as he was fighting an inner battle before he suddenly sadly smiled at me:

"She committed suicide several years ago. She threw herself in front of a train, as far as I know."

I fiercely gulped. I did not know about that at all, even though everybody knew everybody's biography in Forks.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. I mean, it wasn't you who killed her, right?"

His smirk looked more than forced. I avoided his gaze. I did not want him to see that I was actually pitying him. After all, he must have heard many people express their condolences.

However, he instantly saw trough me.

"Don't worry about it, Maddy. It's all in the past now and you don't have to treat my different than before."

"That's not my intention", she replied honestly, "so...your father...what's his job?"

Of course, I knew the answer, but I absolutely had to change the subject. He also seemed to be relieved and his old, enthusiastic smile came back to him:

"He's forest ranger. I myself think that it's the most exciting job of the world. Sometimes, I accompany him to the woods and he shows me some places which people usually get to see. He knows the woods like the back of his hands. If you feel like it, you may come along some time."

I returned his smile and nodded. Suddenly, there a strange voice in the back of my mind called out to me. It reminded me of things I always tried my hardest to forget for some time now and the next question followed automatically:

"And did you ever come across any unusual animals?"

"Sure. It's hard to believe but there exist quite some rare species around here."

"No, I didn't mean it in the sense of rare but rather like extraordinary huge, like huge wolves or something like this."

He stared at me in astonishment while I angrily bit my bottom lip.

Crap! Just when we were about to getting along better than before I started to ruin our new friendship by asking strange questions.

However, his eyes got all excited instead of him laughing at me. It seemed as if he was really keen on this subject. He fiercely nodded his head which made his hair all messy. If I had not been curious about his answer, my heart would have jumped right out off my chest.

"There actually were some strange incidents lately. You surely heard about tourists claiming to have seen giant wolves hunting in this area. However, don't believe everything you hear. My father always says that they're just mistaking bears for these wolves."

"So, you don't believe these kind of stories either?", I asked further and I could not really suppress the disappointment in my voice.

"Well, as long as it isn't proven that these creatures are really bears, I'm convinced that it isn't just phantasmn."

He took a deep breath and looked deep into her eyes. When his face got closer to hers and his breath softly touched her cheek, she though she was going to faint. Oh, this strong gaze!

His whispers stroke her skin like sandpaper:

"At night, things happen in this woods that not even my father know of. Things which are invisible to human eyes. It's not as peaceful as it seems right now. I've never seen any of these dark creature, but I can tell that they surely linger around somewhere."

Brimming with excitement, I moistened my lips. I was also whispering now:

"What kind of creatures?"

There appeared an occult smirk on his face:

"Vampires, werewolves, spirits and other monster."

This made me speechless with terror. I stared at him with round eyes and did not know whether I should laugh or to be afraid to death.

It sounded ridiculous. However, his look showed that he was deadly serious.

Both of us shrieked as all of sudden the door was forcefully opened.

"Oh, seemed like we're interrupting something good!"

I would have recognized this giggle everywhere. As if I burnt myself, I suddenly jumped onto my feed and brought as much space between Daniel and me as possible.

"There you are, Mad! We were looking for you."

Emmas voice was reproachful. Shirley curiously let her eyes wander between Daniel and me while Gloria's obvious smirk revealed her derisive side. As always, Shirley remained in the background.

"Well...I...um...I just needed some time for myself. Accidentally I...kind of... met Daniel…." I stuttered awkwardly.

"Yea, "accidentally", of course", Gloria taunted me. The boy cleared his throat:

"I think it's time for me to go. My dad's surely waiting for me." He collected his tennis stuff and moved the tennis ball machine back to its regular spot.

I just watched him quietly while at the same time, trying to avoid the suspicious looks of my friends.

"So, I guess we see each other tomorrow. It was cool talking to you." He winked at me and left the gym. After he was gone, there was an awkward silence. Gloria was the first to attack me with her nasty comments.

"So it's like that, sweetie. Good to know." She clicked her tongue and her smirk got even wider.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I snapped and tried to look as composed as possible.

"Come on. We all know that you've got the hots for him." Anja rolled her eyes and put her arm around me. Angrily I pushed her away and shot each of them a death glare.

"Believe what you want, but we've just met coincidentally as I escaped from..." I faltered. Escaped? Did I really escape? I didn't know anymore. In fact, I didn't know anything anymore.

"That's another subject we have to talk about." My best friend, who didn't say anything up to now, planted herself in front of me.

"How dare you leave us in the lurch and running away like day?"

I slightly kept my head down. When she saw my guilty expression, her features relaxed a little. She sighed deeply:
"I mean, you're usually not a coward at all. You're usually stand your ground 'til the end."

"Well." I started my explanation. "Didn't you see him? Didn't you see what he looked like?"

"Of course, I did!" She huffed. "His clothes didn't look as cool and new as ours, so what? You never cared about other people's appearances before. You never cared about them being rich or poor, ugly or pretty, ill or healthy. You never judged them at all."
"Until now, I didn't meet anyone from the reservation." I retorted.

For a moment, she only stared at me bewildered. The disappointment about my behavior was clearly visible on her face.

"Madison." She seldom used my full name. "Does it mean that you believe in everything you're parents have told you about La Push?"

She seemed to be seriously shocked. Suddenly, I got defiant. She did not have the right to doubt my parents' words!

"But they're absolutely right! These people are Amerindians. They have another skin color! They aren't like us! They're different!"

"Oh really?" She provocatively raised an eyebrow. "I also have a different skin color than you. Am I different as well?"

"No." I objected and desperately tried to find the right words. "You're my friend. You and you're family live with us in this town. The Quileute however live in isolation. There has to be a reason for that!"

"Yeah of course it does!" Her voice was getting louder now. "Did it ever cross your mind that they just don't want to have anything to do with such narrow-minded people like you!"

She downright screamed the last sentence in my face. I could see how Shirley hid behind Anja. She did not like people fighting, especially not her friends.

I did know how to answer her. She really hit me hard. I did not expect her to think that I am so superficial. And yet, it was not only the appearance of that boy, but his whole aura which had made me quite nervous. However, it was pointless trying to explain Emma while she was that angry at me.

"And I really ask myself now why he was so interested in you. I feel really sorry for that poor guy if he still likes you after all." She just shook her head and wanted to got.

"What else did he say to you?" My voice was quiet, but firm.

She stopped in her tracks and thought about it for a moment whether she should respond to my question. I had no other choice but to take it further:

"Listen, Em. I'm really sorry that I run away then, but I didn't no how to react. And the reason why I dislike Quileute so much might just be, because I have never talked to any of the, before. Since I was a child, my parents have told me that they're bad people, but deep inside, I know that my parents are wrong."

I hesitated before going on:

"Foreign things scare us sometimes. You all know it. When you transferred to our school, Anja, you were really scared as you didn't know anything about everyday life in America.

And you, Shirley, when you was ask to present one of your poems to the whole class a while ago, you nearly died from fear. It had been a pretty new experience for you. First. you refused and if Miss Burne didn't persuade you then, you wouldn't have known how delighted everyone had been to hear your verses.

Maybe, I still need a push in the right direction. Maybe, the Quileute aren't that bad as everyone wants to talk me into believing. Maybe...maybe, I should start to think outside the box."

To tell the truth, this small "speech" was quite corny and quite long, but it was not the first time that words passed my lips this freely. I was known for my spontaneity and eloquence.

"Clearwater."

"Pardon me?" I did not understand what Emma wanted from me. She still faced me with her back.

"That guy's family name is Clearwater."


End of Chapter Three.