Chapter 2:
We slipped out the back door of the gym and into the back hallway of Freshman Campus as silently as if we were a pair of shadows. Well we would have, if it weren't for my ridiculously high heels which clicked and clacked on the linoleum tiles rather loudly, and then reverberated back to us a couple hundred times off the empty, unlit walls and ceilings of the Cafeteria.
It was really dark, only a slight glow of moonlight reflecting off the polished floor. As such I was unable to see the uneven tile sticking up about a quarter of an inch higher than the rest. My heel caught in the crevice which sent me stumbling to the floor, luckily he was there to catch me before my face made contact with the gleaming surface.
"You alright?" He asked after righting me back onto my feet.
"Yes, thank you." I replied, grateful that he was there.
"You're most welcome, shall we continue?"
"Sure, just a sec." I tell him bending down to unhook the clasp on these deathtraps. I pull them off and run my hands soothingly over the raw spots on the tops of my feet where the burgundy velvet lining rubbed through the first layer of skin. Straitening up I grab them by the ankle straps and dangle them from my fingers to show him the hold up.
"Ryan's idea, so he wouldn't have to bend down so far to kiss me." I say, rolling my eyes at the thought of Ryan. He chuckled, but then fell silent.
"It couldn't be that bad…" He says leaning forward, closing the distance between us. I go stiff, could this really be happening? He freezes millimeters from my eager lips. His eyes still closed, like he wants to travel the distance between us and kiss me, but trying to fight the urge at the same time.
"Edward." He whispered to me instead of moving forwards or back.
My eyes fluttered open, he was staring at me. Since I didn't move or say anything he added, "I'm Edward." I was lost, it was so lame but, "Oh." was all I could manage as a response. He straightened up then and I noticed the way he towered over me without my heels. The difference was incredible I was a cozy little cottage out in the countryside, he was the Empire State Building. I started to feel slightly dizzy, like the moonlight was going to jump off the floor and swallow me whole, then I realized that it was because I had forgotten to breathe. My sudden intake of oxygen not only felt amazing to my rapidly shriveling lungs but also caught Edward's attention, did he miss nothing?
"Are you alright?" He asked, with borderline alarm flavoring his tone.
"Hmm? Oh. Yea, I'm fine, just lost in thought." He nodded.
We made our way through the twisting, turning hallways lined from floor to ceiling with lockers on both sides, save the spaces where there was a doorway into empty classrooms.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked, breaking the silence. I nearly panicked, it would sound creepy if I told him that he was what I was thinking about, so I decided to be a smart ass.
"Global warming, the economy nose diving, politics becoming a group of corrupt, crusty old people. You know, the usual." He looked at me, flabbergasted. His eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline and his mouth beginning to slouch open ever so slightly.
"Please tell me you're just joking." I was a little disappointed, I was almost convinced I would get a laugh from that, if not just a light chuckle.
"Bad joke?" I asked. He shrugged, relaxing the muscles in his face.
"I've heard worse he muttered." We didn't talk again for almost two more hallways. So I sighed and asked, "Where are we going." Edward turned towards me then, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, "Oh, yes! I forgot all about that." He stopped walking and took hold of my wrist, "We're going the wrong way." He said tugging softly on my wrist and motioning with a slight bob of his head.
"The wrong way for what?" I inquired. Winking at me, he said teasingly, "You'll see." I gave him a questioning look.
"I'll show you," he said giving me a large, full faced grin, showing off a full set of perfectly straight, gleaming white teeth. It made me feel under prepared, I should've brought some sunglasses. I stifled a giggle, imagining myself getting sunburned from the glare emanating from his teeth.
"Shall we?" Edward asked, releasing my wrist and offering me his arm. Mockingly, I curtsied and said, "We shall," as I threaded my arm through his own. We walked, in silence mostly, back through a majority of the winding hallways that we had just come through, finally I had to ask,
"What was the point of walking through all these hallways just to come back?" He turned his head to look behind us for a brief moment, and replied, "There wasn't one, you just distracted me, I forgot where I had been planning on taking you." His answer didn't really shock me, but it was somewhat unsettling, "Which is….?" I asked, a little nervous.
"Right here." Edward said, sweeping me through a set of double doors, with tinted glass windows, I had never seen before.
It was a garden! Hidden from everyday view by the rest of the building, I had always wondered why there was a deep dip in the building structure, now I knew. The only opening was brushed up against the thick forest that has always been beside the school ever since it had been originally built, back in the early 70's. There were flowers everywhere, in all different shapes, sizes, and various colors, the smell was positively straight from heaven. Maybe Edward had brought it with him during his own decent, the flowers must have bloomed where his feet first touched the planet earth's surface, forever leaving a reminder of the day he came. I inclined my head and closed my eyes to take in the scent of Edward's secret garden. When I opened my eyes I was face to face with the full moon, beating down from directly over head. This was the most perfect place, truly a little slice of paradise, and I was the one Edward had chosen to share this place with. This thought forced all of the blood back to my cheeks.
"You're blushing?" He observed, as always, missing nothing. Looking at him, as usual, nearly made my heart stop permanently. As beautiful as he was under the psychedelic strobing lights, he was easily quadruple that under the sweet glow of the moonlight, his skin looked soft enough that it would melt if I touched it. He smiled, surely the moment I had laid eyes on him I had died and was now in heaven, there is no way that this was actually happening for real. My heart was about to explode, I had to stop looking at him, so I dropped my eyes and focused on his flawlessly pressed tuxedo instead of the perfection of his face. It was closer to a dressy suit than an actual tux, which was more than most of the other boys at the dance were wearing. It was a deep black, with a metallic on matte silk burgundy striped tie with slivers of silver inlaid on the matte stripes. It were almost as if he had dressed to match me, I looked down at myself. My dress was relatively simple, a shimmering silver fabric that hugged the length of my body all the way to the floor, the back was two crisscrossed straps but was otherwise non-existent. My shoes, which were now laid carelessly on the ground, a metallic silver with velvet burgundy lining. My necklace was a burgundy fabric lace choker with matching beads dangling from the bottom trim and my earrings, nails, and bracelet all matched.
The moon came rolling back out the other side of a cloud and something shiny caught my eye, I looked in the direction of the small gleam of color-the odd apparel coincidence forgotten-and started giggling.
"What's so funny?" He asked me, confused.
"You're sparkling!" I said, releasing another burst of uncontrollable giggles. His eyebrows scrunched together, and he looked up to the moon. I couldn't tell if his face was concerned or confused, maybe a mix of the two, but why? I placed my hand on his shoulder and waved a finger towards my dress.
"My glitter must have rubbed off on you, I just thought it was funny."
"Oh", he said, his face immediately relaxed, but he continued to stare at the moon's pale surface. A mysterious tension lingering in the atmosphere. In a feeble attempt to break the ice I asked, "So, now that you've got me here, what do you plan on doing with me?" He pulled his eyes from the moon then, "Oh! I almost forgot." He exclaimed. He rubbed the back of his fingers across my cheek and said, "You really must stop distracting me."
"Shame on me," I said lightly smacking the back of my hand. He laughed at that.
"Wait here." He instructed me, leaping into the darkened tree line. Willingly I obeyed.
For the first time since Edward had brought me here I heard the familiar sound of trickling water, I turned to see a magnificent stone fountain in the center of Edward's secret garden. I was in awe, how is this possible? I knew the answer to that, it wasn't.
He came bounding out of the same spot he went in, grasped in his hand were some jeans and a dark steely gray t-shirt that was deeply V'ed down the front.
"I'll wait here while you go change, I'd hate for your dress to get ruined." He said handing over the neatly folded garments and pointing back to the double doors with the tinted windows. I had completely forgotten that we were still at the school. I looked at the clothes he had handed me, the shirt was too broad across the shoulders and the pants were sure to slide off. When I didn't move he said, "They're mine." His lip curled up in one corner. My heart stopped for a full four seconds, but this time I couldn't feel it recovering, it was so gradual, it was almost as if it weren't happening at all. Not that I would be at all surprised if the look he gave me had given me heart failure.
I trudged back into the school, taking a final glance at him standing there, waiting on me, afraid that a rogue bolt of lightning would come crashing down from the sky and he would disappear. It didn't, so I reluctantly let go of the cool metallic frame of the door and let it swing closed, barring me from both Edward and his garden.
Once I had locked myself into the safety of the bathroom stall I buried my nose into the breast of his shirt and inhaled deeply, until my nose burned from the sweetness of his smell. After changing I felt obligated to do a small happy dance, to celebrate the pleasant circumstances that had befallen me, where Edward could not see. This resulted in me tripping on the seven or eight extra inches of worn denim and ramming into the wall. After rubbing my sore shoulder, which had been the point of impact, and hauling myself back up onto my feetI balled up my dress until it resembled a small disco-ball and headed back outside. It took what felt like a ridiculously long time because I had to stop periodically to re-roll the hems of Edward's jeans. I had to fight the urge to burst into a sprint with each step, eager to see Edward again. But when the door swung shut with a sharp clang, Edward was gone.