It's lunchtime and I am now half way through the day. Lunch isn't really a place where I can relax because Catherine doesn't have the same lunch wave as I do so yet again I'm alone. I wander into the cafeteria and survey the area where kids I'm not entirely fond of are mingling and having a good time, laughing and flipping their hair over their shoulder. I roll my eyes and walk right back out the way I came because eating outside seems much more appealing then in a overcrowded cafeteria full of kids who aren't my biggest fans.
The quad outside has a few kids crowding around, but they seem harmless compared to the ones overtaking the cafeteria. I find a nice enclave that is surrounded by a variety of flowers in bloom. I go to sit down when I see someone is already sitting down under the shade of a large tree. I'm curious about who it so I take a step forward to see the identity of the person. It's Xavier.
He sees me right as I step forward and he flashes me one of his annoying smirks. My instincts tell me to retreat the area as soon as possible, yet I don't want him to believe I left because I'm intimidated by him because that's the farthest thing from the truth. I walk confidently to where he is sitting and say, "Is that seat taken?" He gestures towards the seat and says," go ahead."
I breathe to calm my inner self from coming to the surface, and lower myself right next to Xavier. We sit in silence for a while, but he breaks it by asking me, "Are you going to eat or just stare at me?" I didn't realize I was staring until he so rudely pointed it out. I clear my throat and avert my eyes from he's face and focus on my lunch bag. I unwrap my sandwich and take a bite. The taste of childhood calms me down and I feel the annoyance starts to leave my body.
I feel Xavier looking at me and as I was going to tell him off for staring he speaks up, "Peanut butter and jelly, good choice." He smiles at me and points at his sandwich," it never get's old." With that he takes the last bite of his sandwich and licks his lips. My eyes are on his lips now and I know I'm staring, but I can't help myself from thinking that he is really good looking and he's not acting like the jerk I know him as. I take another bite of my sandwich and try not to look at him again.
He may be hot, but that doesn't mean he is someone I can trust. He hunts dragons and that's all I need to know to see that he is dangerous and a threat. Before I can stop myself I say, "Why do you do it? Hunt dragons, I mean" He has already finished eating his sandwich so he has nothing to keep him from answering the question. He clears his throat and says, "because they took something from me and I want it back." He then scrunched his paper bag in his hand and throws it at the garbage can as if to say that's the end of this conversation. But I can't just leave it at that. " What did they take?" He shakes his head and says," My brother."
I realize what he said, but can't put two and two together. Or I don't want to because that would mean that my kind did something wrong. I ask him calmly, "What do you mean?" He shakes his head again, as if he is trying to get rid of his thoughts on what is happening. He wipes crumbs from his shirt and stand up. "As much as I want to chat with you about my brother, I have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment." He starts walking off and I stand up about to follow his retreating form.
He looks back and sees me making my way to him so he huffs out a sigh and is in front of me after a few strides. "That was me trying to be nice, but I guess you didn't get the hint." I look at him in confusion, wondering why all of a sudden he is back to the jerk I thought he wasn't. "Get lost. You really shouldn't bother yourself with stuff you don't understand" and with that he is gone, stepping through the school's main doors. I feel heat once again rising into my throat and I curse under my breath. It seems that Xavier is the type of person who has no problems telling someone off for no reason at all.
I mean I may have been treading into uncharted waters, but he didn't have to get overly sensitive about it. All he did was make me more interested in who his brother is and why he gets so touchy when he is mentioned. I wonder why he even mentioned him to me in the first place? I try to think about the answer but before I can come up with any reasonable conclusions, Catherine talking to me. "Huh, I didn't catch that, what did you say?" Catherine pouts her lips and knocks me on the head, "Too much thinking is going on in your head. I mean what are we in school?" She winks after making that remark and tells me I better head in to class because my lunch wave is up and that means I need to return to my English class.
I do as I'm told and head back alone, my mind returning to my previous thought on the mysterious Xavier. I get through the rest of English in a daze; thankful my teacher doesn't pick on me to answer any questions. I hate that the draki hunter is a threat to my learning of Hamlet. I mean that probably is a lot more important than me finding out about Xavier's family tree. The bell rings indicating the end of the period; just two more two go. The rest of the day is over before I know it and I head to the front of the school to wait for my mom to come a pick my sister and I up.
I looks around at the bunches of people, huddled together with their friends as I stand by myself. At times like these, I question myself for shutting people out. Then I see my sister strolling closer to me with the pack of blondes, laughing and then I remember how unentertaining the teenager population truly is. I step out of their view, living up to my sisters wish because even though, it hurt me to be ridiculed by her, I would rather her be happy with friends, then sad and alone, like me at the moment.
I wish I had a watch so I could check the time, but I never wear watches and I mentally make a list in my head about going out and buying one. As I'm calculating how much the watch would be if I bought it used from online someone taps on my shoulder. I whip myself around, my backpack sliding off one shoulder from the force. There is Will stepping out of the way before my backpack collided with his stomach. Will half smiles and steps closer to me and I gulp, but I don't speak or move. He reaches out to rearrange my backpack back on to my shoulder; I stare at him, trying not to be surprise at his boldness.
He steps back and his smile grows wider and my mind seems to snap back out of confusion and back into reality. "Um thanks I guess." Well, not entirely, my mind is having a hard time forming a coherent sentence. He nods and swipes a hand through his hair, "Need a ride?" I look at him and before I answer I take the time to rehearse what I'm going to say in my head. I'm still quite aware of that fact that him and Xavier are too alike for it to be normal. "That's all right, my mom is almost here." I turn away from him and try to look interested in a group of kids who are showing off their unimpressive sense of style.
Will steps back into my view and seems like he's waiting for me to focus my attention on him. I huff out a breath and stare at him. I'm getting agitated and I feel my wings press against my skins, wanting to fly me out of this situation. "What is it?" I'm getting tired and frustrated with him because right now I just want to be alone with me, myself and I. However, Will is oblivious to that no matter how hard I show him that he is unwelcomed in my presence. Right as Will was about to Speak someone yells out his name. It's Xavier and his sidekick of a friend. I should really find out his name, just to make it easier on myself.
They're making their way forward and I look around frantic and flustered by having both Xavier and Will invading my territory. I will my mom with my mind to arrive and to help me escape this dire encounter. My inner draki is trying to flee from the danger and I close my eyes, fighting it because how awful would that be to shift in front of the enemy. I'm easy pray at the moment, but I take slow, steady breathes to calm the inner turmoil brewing inside of me. After feeling my breath return to normal and my pulse goes back to beating like a tick of a clock, I open my eyes to see both Xavier and Will staring at me with their intense eyes.
"You ok, Jacinda?" I look at Will who seems actually worried for me, but as I shirt my sight to Xavier, he seems to be trying to read my mind and to find out the truth. A figure in my peripheral vision catches my eyes and I see my sister walking to the curb of the road. I see my mom's car rounding the corner and I take this as a chance to break free of both Will and Xavier's haunting stares. "Yeah, um got to go!" I hurry away, telling myself not to look back and as I open the door to the car, I feel myself peek towards the direction I just came from.
They're still there, but both have withdrawn their stares from me to their sidekick friend. He took a phone call as the awkward staring contest went on and as he talks to the two with exaggerated motions, both Xavier and Will look at each other and high five. I'm in the car now, my gaze still with them as my mom asks me abut my day, I answer with a fine and just as I buckle my seat belt, they're in their car smiling and pumped over something. I don't have to tell myself twice. They found the dragon that they showed the first day I saw them and they're getting ready to attack.