A/N: Again, a note from the author before we kick this story off. This story fits nowhere into the scheme of things, it's just a product of my imagination which REALLY needs to get out more.
Christy, Christiana, whichever you choose to call her, is mine, and any family or whatever that make appearances or are mentioned are mine. Anyone you don't recognize is mine. The rest… are not mine. Let's leave it at that.
This will be another work of 'lyric fiction' as I call them, with a song lyric in every chapter. I'm trying to break myself of this habit, but it's hard. Oh well. Enjoy anyway.
Chapter 1 - Hello"And… he fell for it! He actually fell for it! You should have been there!" Ray finally cracked up at the thought of his teacher believing his excuse.
Lily raised a blond eyebrow at him and took another bite out of her apple. "Uh huh. Sure." She glanced down at her watch. "Uh… Ray… don't you have chemistry next?"
"Yeah… why?"
"Oh nothing… I'm just wondering how you're going to get there on time when the bell is ringing in fifteen seconds and the science labs are on the other side of the school, on the second floor."
Ray looked down at his own watch. "Oh shoot… you're right. Why are you just standing here if the bell is going to ring?"
Lily smiled. "Because I was
smart enough to stand right in front of my next class." The bell rang
and she entered the room.
Ray's eyes suddenly widened as the meaning of his friend's words sunk in, and
he ran down the corridor.
"Mr Brennan, you're late. Again." The tall man looked down at Ray. "We have just picked lab partners, but you were – ahem – not present, so your lab partner has been chosen for you." He gestured towards the far bench where a girl with long black hair sat, her back turned.
As he walked over to the bench, Robbie mouthed 'sorry' at him and gestured to the pretty blonde girl beside him. Ray smiled and shook his head at his best friend.
He sat down on the end of the bench and noticed that his new lab partner was singing softly to the song in her CD player, her back still turned. Edging closer, he realized something.
She had an amazing voice. It was soft, but beautiful. He couldn't hear the song that she was playing, but he guessed that it was a ballad from the way she was moving to the rhythm.
He tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned. "What?"
His eyes widened as he took her in. She was wearing thick black eyeliner, lots of black mascara, and dark red lipstick. Her clothes were all black, down to her boots. A necklace with a Celtic cross pendant hung around her neck.
My lab partner… is completely gothic.
"Uh… nothing. I'm Ray Brennan." Go the direct route, why not?
"Christiana Collins, call me Christy." She stuck her hand out for him to shake, and Ray noticed the black nail polish.
"Nice to… meet you. Why were you, as Stephens said, 'chosen'? Did you choose to get the late guy or something?"
She shook her head. "Nobody wants to be my partner, so I figured, why not? Take a chance on whoever walks into the room."
Ray suddenly felt sorry for this girl. She was clearly a loner, preferring to have no friends and simply live by her own rules.
"So… what are you listening to?" Good Brennan… change the subject.
"Evanescence."
Typical.
"Want to listen?" She offered him one earpiece.
He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Ray wasn't as musical as Lily, but he did have an ear for lyrics. The lyrics of the song that was playing scared him to say the least.
It was actually fascinating though. Amy Lee had an incredible voice, and Christy sounded just like her.
He kept listening while they worked on the assigned questions. The song that Christy had been singing came on again, and he recognized it immediately.
Playground school bell rings again
Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing
Hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello
If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry
Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping
Hello I'm still here
All that's left of yesterday
Evanescence – Hello
The song ended and Christy pressed repeat. As the first few bars played, she started to sing along.
She looked so beautiful, sitting there on the lab bench with her eyes closed, singing along to the music only the two of them could hear.
Wait. Why am I thinking of her as… a girl? She's just… my lab partner. Besides I… I like Lily!
But Lily doesn't have as great a voice as her.
What?!? Shut up, Brennan! Quit while you're ahead!
Christy looked over at him. "Did you say something?"
"What?" Ray jumped and realized he'd been thinking out loud. "No… nothing. I was just talking to myself."
"Oh. Ok then."
He looked over at her work and saw a neat little picture of Mr Stephens in the margin of the paper. It was an exact replica of him, down to the weird tuft on top of his head.
So not only is she a singer… she's an artist too.
He tapped Christy on the shoulder. "That's good."
"What? Oh… that? That's just doodling in my spare time."
"It's really good though."
Christy shrugged and added a little book in his hand. "It's ok, I guess."
Ray raised an eyebrow at her and went back to his work.
What can't she do? She sings, she draws… I bet she's a writer too.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she shaded in her picture. She seemed to be able to draw without even having to try, and that fascinated him.
The bell rang a few minutes later, and Christy opened her binder to file her work. As she flipped it open, Ray noticed many other drawings in the margins. Some were of various teachers; some of students. The main thing they all had in common were little speech bubbles or a neat line of writing underneath.
He leaned closer to see, but she snapped the binder shut, not realizing that he was watching her. Ray caught himself staring at her as she left.
Why do I feel this way about Christy? She's just another girl… a beautiful, talented, smart girl. What's wrong with me? I was confused enough when I realized that I liked Lily, but this is too much.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ran off to his next class, still confused about what this all meant.