All My Balloons Are Popping

“Fever’s got me sweating and you know I’m burning up!”

“Cal! Do you have to do that right this minute?” I yelled trying to block the sound of her over ecstatic voice in my head.

“What?” She said unwilling to admit that she was thinking anything inappropriate. A sly smile is plastered across her soft porcelain face.

Today is the one year anniversary of my best friend Callia with her new fiancé Billy. Although they were obviously made to be together, watching them gaze lovingly into each other's eyes is not the ideal way I like to spend my Saturday night.

Billy is a good man. I think he is in a band or something. I like him a lot, even though he could manage to put on a few pounds. Callia on the other hand drives me crazy. She is so…so optimistic sometimes I want to hit her. And she is so fascinated by humans that it’s unhealthy.

“You are the only person I know who can turn a perfectly innocent song into a perverse statement.” I said with amazement. I watched her play with hair, pulling her long turquoise tresses up into different style up dos. Letting the black peek-a-boos fall along her face and neck. I have to give the girl credit. She is the only person I know who can get way with having green hair. She is always doing the strangest things to her hair, and dragging mine along with her. She finally talked me into putting blond streaks in my already naturally unnatural red hair.

“You introduced me to that song so you can only blame yourself. Besides if you don’t like it then stay out of my mind.”

“I wish I could I still don’t have a handle on this mind reading thing.”

“Skylar your making it a lot harder then it needs to be. Just focus your mind. Don’t make me make my mind so disturbing that you…”

The sound of All Time Low’s “ Popping Champagne” started to fill the small bathroom making the sink vibrate at the same time. It took me a whole ten seconds to realize that it was her cell phone ringing and not me picking up the song in her head.

“Hey Baby!” Callia’s voice was so full of love and devotion that even those two simple words had me gagging. “Yeah come on up. Did you bring the movies? Okay I’ll see you in a sec. I love you more. Bye”

Rolling my eyes and sighing I left the bathroom to go unlock the front door of our small studio apartment, then going to sit on the old weathered couch. Thankfully my copy of Sense and Sensibility was waiting for me on the table. That at least could distract me enough to not want to kill myself the moment Billy walks in.

Ah, Speak of the devil.

Almost as though he should have his own theme music Billy came striding in. I’m not sure if I imagined it or not but I swear I saw him flip his shoulder length auburn hair to the side, then put his hands on his hips, thrusting them forward slightly. Okay I admit it! The man looks like he should be on the cover of a fashion magazine. I don’t know how he did it, being as skinny as he is, and baby faced, he still looks like a rock star. The boy has talent.

Interrupting my analysis Callia came galloping into the room, throwing herself into his awaiting arms. Wrapping her legs around him, the two of them stumbled onto the wall nearest them. The show was truly embarrassing to watch.

Clearing my throat loudly, Callia and Billy automatically froze then slowly turned to face me. Callia looked as though she wanted to rip my head off for interrupting. Billy on the other hand had a slight pink tint to his cheeks.

Do rock stars blush?

“Hey Billy” I think I was just as embarrasses as he was. Maybe even more. Luckily he couldn’t hear what his true love was thinking. I unfortunately could, and if I hadn’t interrupted, Callia would have made her intentions known.

“See any good movies lately Sky? I have been so busy with the band lately that I haven’t been out to see any.” Billy asked me still wrapped in C’s arms. The one thing Billy and I had in common was our love for movies.

“Na, the entertainment business is falling flat. Movies are all the same these days” I replied without meeting his gaze. It was hard to look at him normally when Callia’s desires were taking up most of the room

“I beg to differ…” his word was cut of at the end. Cal couldn’t wait any longer her lips were on him so fast lightning would be jealous. Unable to stomach all the lust floating around I had to get away. The good thing about being way from Cal was that my mind reading powers stayed with her. Once I got a certain distance away my mind was once again my own. Having one mind and two bodies wasn’t always the best way to keep a friendship going.

The park seemed like the best place to go. It was nighttime so there wouldn’t be a whole lot of people there and the sounds of the city would keep me from going insane. Grabbing the book off the table I rushed out of the apartment forgetting to snatch my jacket. The park was only a few blocks from my home and it was practically empty when I finally got there; only a bum on the other side of the park going through some trash cans. The street lamps gave me enough light that I could get some reading done.

The night was so a beautiful. The weather was warm; a refreshing interlude between the daytime heat. The moon was full and seemed to have a stunning uncharacteristic glow to it. For hours I read without a break. Even though I known the story well enough to recite it word for word, there always seems to be something new to learn from the characters. The last page crept closer and closer then finally The End. Not quite ready to go home yet to face the two lover in the thralls of passion, I decided to get my butt over to the library.

Humming to myself on the way to my favorite building I started to feel a little paranoid, like something was watching me. I hate that feeling. Maybe it’s my past that causes me to feel that way, who knows, but if I can avoid it I do. It seemed to take me forever to walk the three-blocks to the library. Thankful that I had flats on, I couldn’t help but speed up as the library came into my view. All the while I felt a pair of eyes on me. As I entered the building I felt instantly better. Satisfaction and excitement filled my body as I weaved my way through the rows of bookcases till I finally reach the section labeled “Classic Novels”. The people in these stories interested me the most. They are real, or at least to me that is. Their lives were always so tragic, they had to go through suck hardships that should have destroyed them and yet they always seemed to get their happy endings. Maybe it was the humanity in me that attracted me to theses people or maybe it was my want for something I would surely never have. I browsed the selves many times over till I settled on the Vanity Fair. A story about a girl who loses everything in her life and then works her way up till she had everything she had lost. Of course she loses it all again at the end and had to start over, but that’s not the point I read quietly to myself has I huddled in a chair close the back exit. Feeling the eyes on me again I couldn’t help but look up every few minutes or so. Every time I glanced up and saw that no one was watching me I had to remind myself that I was a freak and need to chill out.

Completely involved in the book now I almost forgot that I was suspicious a while back. Captivated by the story and the language I was almost completely relaxed when suddenly the feeling came over me again. I couldn’t help but peek over the cover of my book hoping to give myself a final confirmation that I was going crazy.

Gasp!

There he was, sitting abnormally close to me. His eyes sparkled with a deep curiosity but his face showed nothing but a faint interested. Shocked at his sudden appearance I was unable to speak so I study his features instead. His thick chocolate hair was wild as though it had not been combed in months but its overpowering sent and silky shine suggested otherwise. His jaw was tight like it was locked in place. The lines on his face were strong but kind. There were no blemished or scars that plagued his perfect tan skin. There was no threat in his appearance and yet I felt like I should have run the moment my eyes locked on his. They were green now that I could focus on them, a deep piercing emerald that drew me in before I ever heard his voice.

“My name is Eagan,” he said as though I should have already known it.

“Uh-huh” I was barely able to muster up a response as his angelic voiced echoed in my sensitive ears.

“What’s your name?” all the time he did not move a muscle. Still uncomfortably close.

“Skylar” my voice cracked at the sound of my own name. Suddenly I realized how non-sexy a unisex name really is. Why couldn’t I be named something exotic and famine?

Leaning in closer to me, I flinched as he rested his large rough hand on mine, then he pried my figures way from the book that was still clutched in my dead hands. He removed the book and placed it on the table next to me. He returned his hand to mine stroking my cold skin. Promptly his gentle grip hardened around my wrist and he moved in closer till his lips nearly rested on my ear.

“I know what you are.” He whispered. His soft lips moving along my receptively lucid skin, sending chills down my spine. He then slowly leaned back in his chair. His lips curled up in the corner of his mouth into a half smile.

I was unable to move, unable to speak or even focus for that matter. How could he know? I have never seen him before. I have never done anything that would have tipped him off. What did he know? Was he bluffing and was trying to get something out of me? Was he just some dumb frat boy looking to hook up and this was his way of getting what he wanted? Now I needed to know what he was getting at.

“What are you talking about” I asked in a frustrated tone.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. If you didn’t you wouldn’t have much a guilty look about you.” There was no variation in his voice. He was merely calm and direct.

“I seriously have no idea what your saying.”

“C’mon Skylar, don’t play dumb”

“ Who are you?” confusion rushed through my body. What was he trying to get out of me?

“I told you” he smirked

“You told me nothing! What do you want from me?” anger started to take the place of confusion but I need to stay calm for his sake.

“Shh” the librarian spit at us as her eyes glanced over to the “Quite Please” sign that hung above her head.

“Maybe we should go somewhere and talk?” he insisted. He smiled and for one second I forgot that I was terrified. Slowly I shifted my body so he could no longer see my face. I could feel my expression turn blank. My heart was beating faster then normal. Without thinking I stood up and faced him, still no expression on my face. At almost the same time he stood up also. I looked straight into his eyes with a look that answered his request. I turned toward the exit and started toward it. Eagan then placed his hand on the small of my back as to lead me to the door. Suddenly a pain shot through my body and all my muscles hardened. I was unable to move any farther. I could feel his hand stiffen on my back. He reacted the same time I did as though he felt what I was feeling. My eyes were clamped shut. Images started to flash in my mind.

I saw my face in my head. I was pale, paler then normal. The pure red blood that covered my face and neck contrasted with my white skin. My eyes were no longer my eyes. The gray hazel lenses now glowed a bright eerie yellow. I had no expression. My face was dead , there was no light in my face. Suddenly a small smirk worked its way on my cold features. It was out of place on this face. It looked as though this facade- my face- never smiled before. It was an unnatural expression, an expression of pure evil. As a laugher broke behind its lips, instead of a soft kind giggle and hard shrinking exploded from its mouth.

My eyes flashed open and a tear ran down my red face. I stood there for what felt like a millennia. When I was able to control my body again I grabbed Eagan’s hand and toed him outside. I sprinted down the back ally way till I was sure no one on the street could see me. I smashed Eagan against the wall and grabbed his throat. I lifted his body into the air and held him there. He grabbed my arms trying to keep him self up. He kicked his legs looking for the ground that was now a foot beneath him.

“What the hell was that?”