Hope
Nice To Meet You?
ALEC’S P.O.V.
It was approximately 6:32 P.M. when I saw Charlotte Jones willingly standing on the local rusty train tracks, staring straight ahead at the huge, hustling train that was coming around the bend. I was so shocked at the sight of the emotionless beauty, standing there with clenched fists, that all I could do was stand there at the other side of the field, watching her with a dropped jaw. Her dark black hair whipped around harshly in the autumn weather, letting me get a great look at her face, and right then, my heart was racing for an entirely different reason.
How could such a beautiful girl want to…End her life? Either that, or she was sleep walking, which I highly doubted. Even though she was on the other side of the field, I could still see her pale skin that contrasted well with the pinkish sky. It only took me about 10 seconds to react, but even then, it was nearly too late. Breaking into a full sprint so I could make it in time, I was determined to save this girl that I had recognized in school. She always had her face hiding in a novel, avoiding everybody’s gaze, shying away in the shadows. She had always peeked my interest, whether it be her serene, warm chocolate eyes that always darted around nervously when she was noticed, like in English when she was sometimes called on, or the way she never failed to get lower than a 98% on any test.
I struggled to run through the tall grass that reached my waist, but I was determined to reach her in time, which seemed unrealistic by the way the train was barreling towards her. Charlotte, who now had her beautiful eyes clenched shut, had caught the attention of the train, making it honk noisily, which made her slightly jump in surprise. I couldn’t get my mouth to open to scream for her to get the hell out of the way, and I knew that it was a loss cause to scream at her to move anyways. With newfound adrenaline, I found my legs moving so fast, I could barely feel them, until I was only feet away from her, just like the train was.
I could tell she was now taking bated breath, clearly nervous about the train she was seconds away from getting crushed by, and I was sure she couldn’t hear me panting heavily, probably too focused on the fact she was about to die in only a few seconds. Knowing I wasn’t going to reach her on time just by running, at the last second, before my foot even touched the tracks, I leapt forward, wrapping my arms around her slim waist, knocking us both to the floor just as I felt the heavy draft from the speeding train on my arms, making me shiver; Either that, or Charlotte’s intoxicating smell.
Peering into the girl’s captivating eyes, I noticed that we were both panting, me from the run, and her from the adrenaline.
“Are you crazy, Charlotte?!” I demanded, my eyes widened as I propped myself on my elbows so I wasn’t squishing her with my frame. “You could’ve died!” I knew that she knew that, but I was so shocked and slightly angered, that I didn’t even care what I said right now.
“Obviously.” She muttered, before furrowing her eyebrows. “H-How do you know me?” Her soft voice, slightly shaking, was enough to make me inhale deeply, wanting nothing but to hear that voice every day, once I wake up, and right before I go to sleep. Naturally sultry, yet small was what her voice was, and it seemed to echo throughout the empty field that I was once doing my afternoon jog in. Her warm breath fanned my face, and it smelled of cinnamon and mint ice cream, a weird combination that smelled absolutely delicious.
“I-I see you around school, and you’re in some of my classes, but that’s beside the point; what the hell do you think you were doing?!” She flinched at how angry I sounded, uncomfortably squirming which made me realize she was still trapped under me, so I crawled off of her, much to her relief. Sitting up with a huff, she rolled her eyes, avoiding my gaze.
“None of your business; You should’ve just left me.”
“Leave you? Leave you to get run over by a fucking train?! If you think anybody would possibly let a girl get ran over by a train, you’re clearly crazier than I thought.” Okay, I know that was a low blow, but I was just so angry at the thought that she wanted to end her young life; I mean, she was probably only 17! Not even legal yet, and she was ending her life?!
I saw pain flash across her smooth face, and the expression looked so unnatural on such a beautiful face, I instantly felt bad that I inflicted it on her.
“It’s my decision whether I want to end my life; You shouldn’t have interfered.”
“What the fuck is this, The Walking Dead? No, I’m not going to let you kill yourself while I’m watching!” I was now standing, openly lecturing and scolding the girl who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
“You know what?!” I could tell she was losing her cool, and something told me that it was rare for her. “I’m not going to sit here and get yelled at by a fucking stranger! I’ll go kill myself someplace else.” And with that, she scoffed, whirling around and storming away, leaving me there astonished. As I watched her stomp along the dirt road that led to the town, I knew I had to fix what I obviously just fucked up.
Okay, maybe I approached that problem wrong. You think, you fucking idiot?!
“Charlotte, wait!” I didn’t have to try to catch up to her considering she was shorter than me, therefore my strides were shorter, but I still lightly jogged so it was obvious to her I was making an effort. “Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“I don’t care; I don’t know you, and I would love it if you just left me alone.”
“Okay, okay.” I sighed. “My name’s Acel, I go to your school, um.. I’m 18, my hobbies are reading, hanging out with my friends, and basketball. I live with my-“
“I said I didn’t know you, not ask you for a fucking biography.” I knew I was pissing her off, but I honestly didn’t know how else to approach her without making her mad….So much for that.
“Charlotte, I don’t know what’s going on in your life, but I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think-“
“Are you saying I’m exaggerating?” She demanded, stopping in her tracks to glare at me, which was slightly adorable considering she had to look up at me. “Listen, you asshole, you don’t know a thing about me or my life, so don’t you dare fucking make me look like I’m crazy for trying to kick the bucket on my time, when I’m ready! You don’t know what I’ve been through, and you damn sure don’t know what I go home to every day, so butt out and don’t try to talk to me until you know what the fuck is going on. Wait, actually, scratch that; just don’t talk to me at all.” She seemed to be having an internal conflict between slapping me and just storming off, but thankfully, she chose the latter, leaving me standing there stumped.
“I-I didn’t mean it, I swear!” I called after her, but in return, I only got the bird, making my chew my bottom lip, knowing I couldn’t just leave on that note.
“It was nice to meet you!”
“I wish I could say the same to you.” She hollered back, for she was a far distance away. Knowing she was very upset, I didn’t chase after her again.
I was only hoping that she didn’t try to hurt herself again.
It was approximately 6:32 P.M. when I saw Charlotte Jones willingly standing on the local rusty train tracks, staring straight ahead at the huge, hustling train that was coming around the bend. I was so shocked at the sight of the emotionless beauty, standing there with clenched fists, that all I could do was stand there at the other side of the field, watching her with a dropped jaw. Her dark black hair whipped around harshly in the autumn weather, letting me get a great look at her face, and right then, my heart was racing for an entirely different reason.
How could such a beautiful girl want to…End her life? Either that, or she was sleep walking, which I highly doubted. Even though she was on the other side of the field, I could still see her pale skin that contrasted well with the pinkish sky. It only took me about 10 seconds to react, but even then, it was nearly too late. Breaking into a full sprint so I could make it in time, I was determined to save this girl that I had recognized in school. She always had her face hiding in a novel, avoiding everybody’s gaze, shying away in the shadows. She had always peeked my interest, whether it be her serene, warm chocolate eyes that always darted around nervously when she was noticed, like in English when she was sometimes called on, or the way she never failed to get lower than a 98% on any test.
I struggled to run through the tall grass that reached my waist, but I was determined to reach her in time, which seemed unrealistic by the way the train was barreling towards her. Charlotte, who now had her beautiful eyes clenched shut, had caught the attention of the train, making it honk noisily, which made her slightly jump in surprise. I couldn’t get my mouth to open to scream for her to get the hell out of the way, and I knew that it was a loss cause to scream at her to move anyways. With newfound adrenaline, I found my legs moving so fast, I could barely feel them, until I was only feet away from her, just like the train was.
I could tell she was now taking bated breath, clearly nervous about the train she was seconds away from getting crushed by, and I was sure she couldn’t hear me panting heavily, probably too focused on the fact she was about to die in only a few seconds. Knowing I wasn’t going to reach her on time just by running, at the last second, before my foot even touched the tracks, I leapt forward, wrapping my arms around her slim waist, knocking us both to the floor just as I felt the heavy draft from the speeding train on my arms, making me shiver; Either that, or Charlotte’s intoxicating smell.
Peering into the girl’s captivating eyes, I noticed that we were both panting, me from the run, and her from the adrenaline.
“Are you crazy, Charlotte?!” I demanded, my eyes widened as I propped myself on my elbows so I wasn’t squishing her with my frame. “You could’ve died!” I knew that she knew that, but I was so shocked and slightly angered, that I didn’t even care what I said right now.
“Obviously.” She muttered, before furrowing her eyebrows. “H-How do you know me?” Her soft voice, slightly shaking, was enough to make me inhale deeply, wanting nothing but to hear that voice every day, once I wake up, and right before I go to sleep. Naturally sultry, yet small was what her voice was, and it seemed to echo throughout the empty field that I was once doing my afternoon jog in. Her warm breath fanned my face, and it smelled of cinnamon and mint ice cream, a weird combination that smelled absolutely delicious.
“I-I see you around school, and you’re in some of my classes, but that’s beside the point; what the hell do you think you were doing?!” She flinched at how angry I sounded, uncomfortably squirming which made me realize she was still trapped under me, so I crawled off of her, much to her relief. Sitting up with a huff, she rolled her eyes, avoiding my gaze.
“None of your business; You should’ve just left me.”
“Leave you? Leave you to get run over by a fucking train?! If you think anybody would possibly let a girl get ran over by a train, you’re clearly crazier than I thought.” Okay, I know that was a low blow, but I was just so angry at the thought that she wanted to end her young life; I mean, she was probably only 17! Not even legal yet, and she was ending her life?!
I saw pain flash across her smooth face, and the expression looked so unnatural on such a beautiful face, I instantly felt bad that I inflicted it on her.
“It’s my decision whether I want to end my life; You shouldn’t have interfered.”
“What the fuck is this, The Walking Dead? No, I’m not going to let you kill yourself while I’m watching!” I was now standing, openly lecturing and scolding the girl who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here.
“You know what?!” I could tell she was losing her cool, and something told me that it was rare for her. “I’m not going to sit here and get yelled at by a fucking stranger! I’ll go kill myself someplace else.” And with that, she scoffed, whirling around and storming away, leaving me there astonished. As I watched her stomp along the dirt road that led to the town, I knew I had to fix what I obviously just fucked up.
Okay, maybe I approached that problem wrong. You think, you fucking idiot?!
“Charlotte, wait!” I didn’t have to try to catch up to her considering she was shorter than me, therefore my strides were shorter, but I still lightly jogged so it was obvious to her I was making an effort. “Okay, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“I don’t care; I don’t know you, and I would love it if you just left me alone.”
“Okay, okay.” I sighed. “My name’s Acel, I go to your school, um.. I’m 18, my hobbies are reading, hanging out with my friends, and basketball. I live with my-“
“I said I didn’t know you, not ask you for a fucking biography.” I knew I was pissing her off, but I honestly didn’t know how else to approach her without making her mad….So much for that.
“Charlotte, I don’t know what’s going on in your life, but I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think-“
“Are you saying I’m exaggerating?” She demanded, stopping in her tracks to glare at me, which was slightly adorable considering she had to look up at me. “Listen, you asshole, you don’t know a thing about me or my life, so don’t you dare fucking make me look like I’m crazy for trying to kick the bucket on my time, when I’m ready! You don’t know what I’ve been through, and you damn sure don’t know what I go home to every day, so butt out and don’t try to talk to me until you know what the fuck is going on. Wait, actually, scratch that; just don’t talk to me at all.” She seemed to be having an internal conflict between slapping me and just storming off, but thankfully, she chose the latter, leaving me standing there stumped.
“I-I didn’t mean it, I swear!” I called after her, but in return, I only got the bird, making my chew my bottom lip, knowing I couldn’t just leave on that note.
“It was nice to meet you!”
“I wish I could say the same to you.” She hollered back, for she was a far distance away. Knowing she was very upset, I didn’t chase after her again.
I was only hoping that she didn’t try to hurt herself again.