Chapter Three

Aidan walked hurriedly along the corridors of Melrose High to his class. The bell had rung five minutes ago, just as he had alighted from his mum's car. If he didn't make it to class before Mrs. Newman did, that would mean detention for e rest of the term. And he didn't want to spend his afternoons with Mrs. Newman and a bunch of other losers. With such motivation spurring him on, Aidan quickened his pace.

He had woken up late again, the fourth time this week. And all because of the same dream he had of this girl with blonde hair, creating a protective field around him and standing in front of him, using her bare hands to block the onslaught of arrows coming at them. She would fail, an arrow would lodge itself in her shoulders and the force field around him would fade away. The girl would fall onto the ground, blood seeping out from her wound as he made his way towards her. Just as he was about to turn her over to see her face, a shrill scream sounded. And he'd always wake up to his alarm and realize he was late. He had never gotten to see that girl's face and he as hell didn't know what that dream meant. But his gut feeling told him that it meant something, and that he knew that girl. But no girl he knew fitted the back view of that girl in his dream.

Deeply in thought, Aidan didn't see the girl walking towards him as he rounded the corner, and crashed into her. Both of them fell to the floor, their books clattered on the cement ground. Aidan snapped out of his daze and looked at the person that he had crashed into. And for a brief moment, something in the back of his mind clicked, as he gaze fixated on the girl on the floor in front of him. He couldn't seem to move, he wanted to get on his feet and help her up, apologise to her. But he couldn't make his limbs move. She looked like a fallen angel, dressed in a white sleeveless sundress that had tiny gold ribbons on the shoulders and a one at the sides of her waist; her hair a golden brown, falling all over her shoulders; and her face: if Aidan didn't know better, he would have thought she was a porcelain doll, with her complexion so fair and translucent. And her eyes so wide and clear, were the colour of the sky. He would have longed to stare at her more, but he realized that she had asked him a question and was now looking at him questioningly.

"What?"

"I asked, if you were all right," the girl repeated.

Aidan blinked several times before getting to his feet and extending his hand towards her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Aidan replied as she took his hand and got to her feet. "You?"

"No harm done," she answered, flashing Aidan a smile.

Danielle was just rushing to class when she crashed into this guy. He had been sitting on the ground and staring at her for the longest time. What he didn't know was that she had been staring at him as well. A strange feeling rose within her chest the moment she saw him. Those blond hair, and blue eyes—Danielle had remembered seeing something similar but she couldn't pin down a name to go with that familiarity. What Danielle had felt afterwards, was a sense of overwhelming sadness coupled with a tinge of happiness that was altogether too familiar for her comfort. Danielle couldn't understand what she was feeling, but she felt as if she had known this guy for centuries yet never seen him before in her life.

"Your life? You wouldn't even have remembered everyone you've met so far in your life." Danielle mocked herself.

Shaking the strange feeling off, Danielle spoke, asking if he was fine. He only replied moments later, as if he'd realized that he had been staring. Danielle dusted her dress after he'd helped her to her feet, all the while knowing that he's still staring at her. She proceeded to pick her things up.

Aidan couldn't seem to stop staring at this girl. It was as if he was trying to make up for lost time. His attention snapped back into place when he saw her bend down to gather her things. He bent down and started picking up her things for her before picking his things up.

"Here," Aidan said, as he handed her her books. "I'm sorry for crashing into you. I wasn't paying attention."

"Its no big deal. Don't worry about it too much. I wasn't paying that much of attention myself either," Danielle replied, shifting her books from one arm to the other.

Silence filled the air as they stared at each other, each not sure of what to say and both not willing to walk away just yet. They stood there, for what felt like an eternity, staring at one another, not saying a word, as if they were in a trance. Finally, the second bell rang, breaking the silence between them.

"Uh, I guess I better head to class now," Danielle said, moving slowly past him. She gave him one final smile before hurrying off to her class, her hair bouncing behind her.

"Yeah, me too," Aidan replied as he watched her walk off in the other direction. He stood there still, watching her walk away, even though he knew he ought to be moving as well. Finally, when he couldn't see her anymore, he turned and ran to his class, with her face in his mind still.