For Everything a Reason
Chapter 6: Eyes on Fire
**WARNING** There is some very strong language at the end of this chapter.
It's a beautiful day today. There's not a cloud in the sky as we all sit on the patio eating our breakfast and chattering about nothing in particular. "What's the plan for today?" Declan asks in between bites of his blueberry pancakes. "Well, we have some things to attend to," my dad answers vaguely. "What kind of things?" Paisley asks obliviously. "Things we can't know about," Declan replies sharply. He isn't a patient boy. "Hey, Declan, what do you say we spend the day together? Do some male bonding?" Holden asks. "Yeah," Declan grins, "sounds great." "Aspen, we should go in to town today!" Paisley suggests eagerly. "Yeah, sure," I reply unenthusiastically. "Oh come on. Would it kill you to be in a good mood about something for once?" Paisley pouts. "Maybe," I say with a mouthful of fruit parfait. "Gross," Paisley shakes her head at me. Holden laughs and gives me a high-five.
"Who wants some chocolate chip waffles?" my mom asks while setting down a plate of fresh waffles. I freaking love waffles. "You're the best," I tell my mom as I pile three waffles on to my plate. I am radiating happiness at this point. "You're seriously more excited over those stupid waffles than going in to town?" Paisley asks incredulously. "Hey, good food is worth being excited about," I retort. "Touché," Holden agrees.
We finish the rest of our meal with idle chit chat. Holden and Declan quickly leave to begin their guys day out. The adults give a vague explanation as to what they're doing and then they're gone, too.
"Looks like it's just you and me," I turn to Paisley.
"Can we go in to town now?" Paisley's brown eyes are hopeful.
"What's in town that you're so eager to see?"
"Nothing in particular. I just want to explore."
"Bull shit. You just wanna meet hot guys."
"That might have something to do with it."
To say that Paisley is boy crazy would be a fair conclusion. She can only go so long withou tmale attention. It's always one guy after another. I'm not saying she's a slut, but she's spent more time under men than all the country's barstools.
The town is quite busy today. Everyone's talking and laughing happily. I spot the guy who gave me directions to the woods the other day. I wonder if he would remember me. Paisley and I find ourselves in a well sized thrift/ trading store. Paisley darts off towards some floral print dresses while I walk around casually. I overhear two guys arguing about whether a squirrel is worth 6 ounces of berries. I've never eaten a squirrel, but it does not sound appealing nor worth 6 ounces of berries. I find a rack of silk scarves and rub the fabric between my fingers gently. I like the feel of silk.
I'm trying to decide if coral is a good color on me when I hear a high-pitched giggle. It's the same annoying giggle Paisley does when she's attempting to flirt. It makes me want to bash her head into a brick wall. My eyes follow the sound of the giggle and I spot Paisley touching the arm of some tall, tan, blonde guy. He has gray eyes, high cheekbones, his hair rests right on the tips of his- oh…
"I can't leave you alone for two seconds can I?" I say to Paisley when I approach them. She rolls her eyes at me. "Leave it to Aspen to kill the mood," Paisley glares at me. "Hey Aspen, find a way to repay me yet?" Tate asks me, his grin as dazzling as the last time I saw him. "Not yet. I'm still working on it," I return the smile. "You two know each other?" Paisley doesn't even try to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, I saved her life," Tate punches me lightly in the arm. "What?" Paisley looks at me like I owe her an explanation. I just shrug. I don't owe her shit. Before Paisley can ask again Tate makes an indignant sound in the back of his throat. I follow his gaze to see a group of teenagers who look to be our age.
There's four of them; two girls two boys. The one girl is tall and slender with pale skin, red wavy hair, and aqua eyes. The other girl is medium height with black curly hair, tan skin, and hazel eyes. The boy with his arm around the red head has shaggy brown hair, lean muscles, tan skin, and brown eyes. It's the boy closest to us that makes me nervous. He's tall and muscular with short black hair, tan skin, and bright amber eyes. The pigmentation and intensity of his stare makes it look like his eyes are on fire.
"Who are they?" I whisper to Tate. "Their parents lived in the Capitol before the rebellion," he explains. "Is that why they look like they'd like to rip off the head of everyone they pass by?" I ask. Tate laughs. "Yeah pretty much. They could've lived a life of luxury. Now they're just regular middle class citizens who, god forbid, will have to get jobs to support themselves." "Sucks for them," Paisley says condescendingly while absentmindedly twirling a piece of hair around her tiny finger. She's really getting on my nerves today. She should be thanking me for every second I haven't punched her in the face yet. "I gotta get going, but I'll see you around," Tate nudges my arm again before taking off. "See ya," Paisley and I say in unison.
I look out the shop doors to see that it's raining outside. Before I can tear my gaze away I make eye contact with the guy with fire pits for eyes. He looks at me like he knows me. Like he knows me and doesn't like me. I look away before he can freak me out any further. "Let's go," I say to Paisley before walking out the side door into the rain. "It's raining!" Paisley whines as she struggles to keep up with my fast pace. "So walk faster," I snap, my patience has run out. "God you're such a bitch," Paisley hisses from behind me. "What?" I whirl around to face her. By this time we're both soaking wet.
"You ruined my conversation with Tate. Nobody asked you to join in."
"Are you fucking kidding me? Obviously he didn't mind. And he's not your type anyway."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh I don't know. You only ever seem to go for the guys who are narcissistic idiots that only want sex."
"Are you saying that's all I'm good for?"
"No. You're probably not even good at that." With that I keep walking.
"Fucking bitch!" Paisley yells from behind me.
"Fucking slut!" I yell back.
"I'm not a slut!" She screams.
"If your vagina had a password it would be password."
I see the driveway to the house and I run up to the door. "Fuck you," Paisley snaps, still a ways behind me. "Fuck off," I hiss venomously before going in to the house. I slam the door behind me not caring if Paisley can get in or not. I run up the stairs two at a time and feel slightly relieved when I'm in my room. I lock the door and pray that Paisley has at least enough brain cells to realize that trying to continue this fight with me right now is a bad idea.
I can hear her angry footsteps against the wood of the stairs. Luckily she goes to straight to her room without trying to talk to me. I sigh and begin to remove my wet clothes. I wrap a white bathrobe around my damp body and look into the mirror. My hair is soaking wet and my skin is coated in a layer of rain. But what startles me the most are my eyes. Despite the fact that they're blue, they look like they're on fire.
A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated this recently! I've been busy and blah blah blah but i'll try to get these chapters up faster! Thanks for reading :) I also saw The Hunger Games movie on friday and it was absolutely amazing! If you haven't seen it yet, you need to get on that asap!
