Imagine Me There

Chapter 9

Karma's head was pounding, a side effect of a restless night. She sat in her usual spot in the garden, hoping Amy would come looking for her. It had been two days since Amy had walked out of her room, and they hadn't spoken since. Karma had to watch as Amy went back to her regular seat in the back of their English class, and as she stooped and practically ran in the opposite direction every time they caught each others eye in the hallway. Despite Amy being her Twin Flame, her ultimate soul connection, Karma felt as if the sudden distance between them was causing her own spirit to burn out at a rapid rate.

Hearing the gate squeak open, Karma leapt from the ground. She couldn't hide the disappoint on her face when she saw it was Shane and not Amy that had entered.

"Wow. Do I look that bad today?"

"Of course not. I just…thought it would be Amy."

"Relax, I thought so. She's not speaking to me either."

"Why? What did you do?"

"She worked out you had called me after she left your place. That, and the fact that she didn't like the large dose of home truths I gave her either."

"Please tell me you didn't say anything."

"No, it's not my place. It needs to come from you. But I don't know if she's ready to hear it all, Karma."

Karma pulled Shane to sit down, eyeing him as if the balance of her world hung on what she was about to say.

"Shane…I really like her."

"Wow, déjà vu moment."

Karma was suddenly on her knees grabbing at Shane's arm.

"Wait, you're saying Amy likes me too? Please tell me you mean she does! What do I do, Shane? I've never thought of anyone else like this – mainly because I've never really spoke to anyone – but she makes me feel things I never thought I could feel. And the other night, I kissed her on the cheek, but she was just standing there and all I wanted to do was kiss her properly, and now I just miss her and…"

"Okay," Shane said prying her hands off of him and smoothing the sleeve of his jacket. "First of all, you can pay to get this pressed again. And second, just tell her already! Or if she could tell you, I'd be down with that too. Just get it over with! For all of our sakes!"

"Do you mean tell her how I feel, our tell her how we were destined to defy all concept of space and time to find each other?"

"You know, if I hadn't witnessed this myself, I'd think you were a dangerous stalker."

"Oops." Karma said as she blushed in embarrassment.

"Big oops. That was one of the more romantic yet creepy things I've ever heard."

"So what am I meant to say? How do I tell her how I feel, and then why I feel that way? I thought falling in love was meant to be romantic. Wow - destiny is actually really messy."

Sighing, Shane put an arm around Karma's shoulder and hugged her, trying to calm her down. He wanted to see his best friend and his strange new friend happy, not hyperventilating.

"Karma, you told me on the phone the other night you didn't want to tell her because you didn't want to make her feel like she had to return your feelings because you were – are– meant to be with each other. But I look at both of you and what you do to each other, and know that it was never going to be in a friendly way."

"Could you be there then? When I tell her?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Just in case it all goes badly. At least then she'll have you, if she hates me."

"I don't think that's possible, Karma." Shane said. "But you're still going to need a good plan."

Reclining against the tree and listening to Shane talk, Karma found comfort in what she had believed up until now to be a rare kind of person –the kind she felt she could truly trust.

Shane: Forgive me?

Amy: I suppose… if you forgive me? :(

Shane: Done. Soooo…my place. 8pm. Be there or be straight.

Amy: Another time?

Shane: No time like 8pm!

Amy: Fine.

Shane: ;)

Amy: Shut up.

Standing at Shane's door, Amy wasn't sure whether she should knock, or if now was the time to run away. Shane was terrible at keeping secrets, unless they counted towards his scheming. Whatever he had planned couldn't be good, otherwise she would have known what was going on already. But she had missed him these past couple of days, and being a Friday, she was going to be in for a long lonely weekend if she kept icing him out.

As she went to knock on the door, it swung open in front of her to reveal a grinning Shane.

"Right on time!"

"Shit, Shane! Do you have to do that?"

"It's right on 8. Stop being so predictable."

"I'm not!"

"You so are. That's how I know you've been standing here for the past five minutes deciding whether or not to come in."

Amy rolled her eyes, and punched Shane in the shoulder before crossing the threshold into his house.

"I hate you sometimes."

"And I love you too."

Amy slumped down on to the couch, glad to be around Shane again, but still on edge about what he was up to.

"Uh, were you planning a séance or have I missed something?" Amy asked, as she stopped herself from stretching her legs out onto the coffee table to avoid knocking the two candles flickering in the center of it.

"Just sit tight for a minute. Here - have some light reading whilst you wait."

Shane pulled a book out from behind his back and flung it at Amy. She caught it as he walked out of the room, looking way too proud of himself.

She turned the book over in her hands to read the title. The Twin Flame Theory: Understanding the Soul Mate Connection. Amy scoffed at the title, not believing that Shane would actually be interested in reading something like this. She looked from the book to the two candles and it dawned on her in that moment exactly what Shane had in mind. Of course this was where he was headed – Shane wasn't one for the idea of soul mates himself but clearly he thought she was.

"I get it. Not funny, Shane. You need to buy yourself some better books." she shouted, laughing as she tossed the book aside.

"Actually, he borrowed that one from me."

Amy lost all previous train of thought as she looked up to find Karma standing in the entrance to the living room.

"K..Karma?" Amy stuttered. Staying away from this girl had been a challenge, whilst trying not to think about her had been impossible. Seeing her again pulled all the feelings she had been grappling with to the surface, so hard and fast that she didn't think she could fight them again.

"Hi."

"Uh, hi?"

Karma took a few bold steps towards the couch as Amy stood up to meet her, not knowing what she should expect Karma to say.

"I was hoping we could talk?"

Amy nodded slowly, forgetting the past few days as the sight of Karma standing in front of her left her breathless and hit home her feelings yet again. If Karma wanted her time, she could take as much of it as she wanted. In this moment, Amy felt no hurry to run away from her a second time.

Credits: anoptimisticobserver - Tumblr