Beginning of Something

Alec was spreading jam over the toast he had prepared when his cell phone rang. It was almost afternoon; he had the habit of sleeping past 11:00 every morning. He dropped the knife in surprise at the noise. The house had its usual quietness and calmness, so he was rather annoyed at the din his cell phone was making.

“I might murder you if this isn’t important,” he said when he picked up the call. Bending over to pick up the fallen cutlery, he grinned at the laughter of the caller and flung the knife into the sink. “I’m not kidding.”

“I guess that means you are already up,” the other voice said. “Would you like to have a meal together after I end school? It has been awhile.”

“Would you like to have a meal together?” Alec mimicked his friend. He had always found the way he spoke amusing. It made him sound formal, and from a different century. He could never comprehend why girls swooned over his heavy accent so much. “Things, my friend, can happen on the way. Remember that one time when you had to call someone to toll my car away? I even had to make up a story of why my car was in the middle of the road when there was no one in it.” He was mortified at the memory of himself stuttering and stammering in nervousness when that question was posed. “You do know this isn’t a good enough reason for me to travel three quarters of an hour.”

“I do. But I know you will come over regardless.”
__

The dismissal bell rang; sighs of relief and cheers of happiness filled the classroom. Myriad of students filed out rowdily in loud talking. Blythe could hear her classmates’ discussion of their plans for the weekend. She had just exited the doorway of the room when a tap found her shoulder. Whirling around, she noticed that Jude was standing beside her, leaned against the wall like he was waiting for someone.

“Are you looking for somebody?” Blythe asked and smiled awkwardly at him. It had been a week since his transfer to Victoria High. For the first two days, Blythe and Cassie had taken up the responsibility to show him around the school. Oddly afterward, he had stopped showing up at their rendezvous spot at her locker, and it had been the case for three mornings already. She decided he was finally adapting to the new environment and did not need them anymore. It was sort of like a wounded bird being nursed back to health, and then set free into nature once again. “You will have better luck finding them down the hallway though. Almost everyone has left already and—”

Jude looked at her curiously. ““I am here for you. It has been some time since I last saw Cassidy and you.”

She shrugged, glancing down the hallway. The dismissed students had left and it was almost deserted now. This was peculiar, for Cassie would always wait for her near the doorway of her class.

“Oh, I am not too sure where Cassie is now but I am pretty sure she will be here,” she said, digging for her cell phone in her tote bag. “She promised me a ride home today”—there was a message from Cassie, stating that she had signed up for AP Studio Art and she could not get away now—“and she kind of just bailed on me.”

Jude chuckled and took her by the arm politely, guiding her down the hallway with him. “I am having lunch with the close friend I talked about previously. The ex-neighbor, remember?” After a nod of recognition from her, he continued. “You are the first person who has shown me kindness here and I want you to meet him. He is almost like a brother to me.”

Blythe hesitated, slowing her steps to look up at him. “I really appreciate that, but—”

“It will mean a lot to me if you came,” he said in a smaller voice, peering at her sincerely with his gleaming aquatic eyes. It was hard for her to reject him under such a circumstance. “He is not very sociable, but I am sure he will love to meet you. Anyone who has done a good gesture for either of us deserves recognition from the other. He drives too, so I can ask him to drop you off at your place before I go to have lunch with him.”

Blythe bit her lip, and then nodded at him. He looked genuinely pleased as they rounded a second hallway to the staircase leading to the school’s parking lot. He opened the glass door for her and they walked down the steps together. The breeze outside tousled his hair, softening his harsh features, and made him look quite charming, Blythe thought at that moment. There was something about his blue eyes that made her think he would always have his way just by batting his dark eyelashes. But he seemed to be a very honest and true person, and perhaps did not realize the effect his gaze had on the people around him, or at least the effect it had on her.

When they descended down the stairs, they paused for a moment while Jude scanned the crowd and cars. He pointed at a shiny black Chrysler. Blythe could make out the dark silhouette of his friend against the glaring sun, propped idly on the hood of the car. Plastering on a friendly smile, she straightened her blouse and they went forward.

The young man got up from his sitting position and spun around as they approached. Blythe’s heart skipped a solid beat as he opened his mouth to speak. She could not make out what he said, for she was not listening. Instead, a single forgotten word pounded rapidly in her ears but she did not know what it was. Her eyes were transfixed on Jude’s friend, and she felt as if all the air in her lungs had been punched out at once. He was breathtaking, with ashen brown hair, and skin as pale as snow; the veins at the sides of his face and the half-moons under his light grey eyes slightly visible. He had the most delicate features she had ever seen. Even though his features were soft, his body was lean with hard muscles and he was slightly taller than Jude. He looked almost otherworldly, beautifully statuesque.

However, those were hardly the main reason why she could not peel her eyes off him: a familiar gold pocket watch was hung around his neck by a silver chain. This one was ticking. She knew immediately what word it was that gnawed at her insides.

Alec.

Alec.

Alec.
__

“Since when did you become so conceited—” Alec’s voice caught at the sentence midway upon laying his eyes on the attractive unknown girl. He had been anticipating Jude eagerly, praying hard he would not Travel before his friend reached him. It would have been a phenomenon—the case of a disappearing boy, Alec thought. He mused of all the attention he would get if he was exposed, and cringed at the contemplation. He loathed attention. “What is this?”

Jude’s smile was woeful when he said, “I think you mean who.” He gestured to the wide-eyed girl beside him. “This is Blythe Miller, Alec, my first friend in this school. I thought you would want to meet her. She has been very kind to me. Blythe, this is Alec Roth.”

Alec frowned. Blythe was staring at him, her unblinking eyes wide with something—fear? It seemed like dismayed recognition, though he highly doubted that. It was not uncommon for girls to gape at him, and he had been approached by them far too many times that he now did not bother to acknowledge their glances. He would never date anyone, or rather, he could not. It would be a burden to his already complicated life.

He swallowed, looking from Blythe to Jude, and then back. This was different. She was not gazing at him the way she ought to—it was not the same kind of admiration the other girls had for him. It was something else that he could not quite put his finger on. Either way, it made him fairly uncomfortable; her face had gone ashen. Alec blinked at her.

“I blinked, so I guess I lost,” Alec shrugged and turned away from Blythe, glancing over to Jude instead. His friend had a puzzled expression on his face. “What? Are we not playing the staring game? Look at her.”

Jude surveyed Blythe, and then rested his hand gently on her shoulder. “Blythe?” He looked worried for her, and Alec knew immediately why he had brought her to meet him. “Are you feeling unwell? You look pale.”

“Pale?” Alec scoffed in mock displeasure, folding his arms across his chest. “She looks as if she’s seen a ghost. I ought to feel insulted!”

Blythe shook her head wildly and peeled her eyes away from him. “I’m sorry,” she muttered almost inaudibly. When no one said anything else, her voice went up several octaves. “I shouldn’t be here. This is— Impossible.”

With that, she jogged in the direction of the school’s front gates, leaving Alec and Jude in perplexity. She turned back once look at them, and when her eyes met Alec’s, they conveyed overwhelming shock and paranoia. He raised his eyebrows questionably.

“You frightened her!” Jude pointed a finger at Alec accusingly when she was out of sight. “Blast it! You never fail to drive away every girl I have good feelings for. I do not fathom why I thought it was a good idea to introduce her to you.”

“She frightened me!” Alec threw his hands up dramatically. He was stunned at Blythe’s behavior too, but he tried not to show it. Walking around his car, he opened the driver’s side door. “Did you see how that girl looked at me? Her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets, literally! I’m not exaggerating when I say I feel violated.”

At that, Jude burst out in laughter inappropriately, but then composed himself quickly. “I am still furious.”

“Undoubtedly.”