Chapter 2: Chapter 2: There He Goes Again
“Anna...”
Who is that?
“Anna...”
Who’s calling my name? A woman?
“Anna…are you…”
She sounds so far away. Who is this?
“Anna! Are you even listening?”
I feel a straw poke at my lip. Glancing below, the strawberry blitz smoothie I ordered from the Sweety’s Juice Bar on campus sits in my hands.
That’s right. The girls and I just finished history and decided to hang out at the tables before we split off to our next classes. How and when did I even order this drink?
A pair of eyes glare down at me. Jessica. She seems to have been talking about something for a while, but I zoned out. That woman’s voice…it definitely wasn’t her, so who was it? I shake my head.
“Sorry, kind of left Earth for a second. What are we talking about?”
Jessica narrows her eyes at me before letting out an exasperated sigh.
“I was saying that Taylor was talking to Adam the whole night. Especially after you vanished on us,” she leans into the table, and I reel back out of instinct. “Where did you even go? I left you for five minutes to tell her about Jacob making out with Beth, and then you’re gone.”
It took me a while to register all the recent drama as of late. It’s honestly become so exhausting to the point I hate having to keep track, but for appearances, I gotta stay in the know. Even though I don’t really see the point of it anymore. I’m not sure how they keep up with it all the time. I guess trying to promote themselves to Taylor’s sidekicks is vital.
“Jacob…that’s Taylor’s boyfriend, right? Oh, so they must’ve broken up.”
My eyes focus on the chunks of strawberry sitting in the pool of red delight. It looks like his blood.
A haunting image of last night flashes past my mind.
I take a quick sip, but the aftertaste is metallic, and the perspiration of the drink feels like blood trickling down my hand.
My heart starts racing, and I feel my body grow hot all over in anxiety.
“Yeah and that’s why she’s talking to Adam,” Jessica swipes my drink, taking a sip out of it. “She’s trying to start drama with you. And we all know she knows you like him.”
I swallow the rising bile in my throat, glancing between the drink and my wet hand. It’s just strawberries. Calm down.
“Oh, yeah. Well y’know how she is…” I feel overly sensitive to everything today. Ever since this morning, certain smells would be too overpowering to bear, like Taylor’s perfume or the eggs I cooked for breakfast. I’ve been trying to power through it, but I find myself covering my nose more often than I’d like to admit.
Could it possibly be an allergy? Some kind of sensory overload?
The girls looked at me as if I should have said more, but I was going through an internal battle, forcing my breakfast down.
It’s all that guy’s fault. Ever since last night, I’ve been in misery. Maybe my body’s still recovering from the shock of it all. Yeah, that has to be it.
“See, Anna, this is why you have such a hard time landing guys,” Claire, Jessica’s best friend, chimes in. “You’re too on the fence about everything. If you’re not assertive, a certain someone is gonna take your man away.”
The thought of Taylor laughing down at me while kissing up to my crush didn’t sit well in my mind, dragging my thoughts back into reality. My head starts to clear up a bit more.
Adam is a 200m runner on our university’s track team. He was the first guy who talked to me, and also liked hearing about my interests and passions in life. I genuinely enjoy our conversations, although they’re sparse since he’s so busy with practice. Sometimes I’d stop by the track to watch him, and I’d feel like I was back in grade school when all a boy had to do to get the girls to like him was being the fastest in class.
And he is indeed a very fast runner. His smile is nice, too.
I feel a pit in my stomach thinking about him, but I brush it aside.
“So, what should I do?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Claire raises a brow, happy to see me come back to my senses. “I heard he’s going to the mall with some guys from track after practice. We should go too and meet up ‘coincidentally’.”
“‘Coincidentally,’ huh?” I trace the pattern on the table. “Alright, sounds good to me.”
“Perfect! But you gotta be willing to talk to him. Remember, be assertive,” Claire points a finger at me to which I nervously laugh and nod.
“Gotta go to class now, but we’ll meet up at the front of the rec center later, okay?” Jessica clutches her purse that couldn’t hold anything for academic purposes and takes off with another girl from our sorority.
As I wave to her back, I spot a figure in the corner of my eye a few yards away. I blink and his appearance becomes clear as day; a beige hoodie sheltering unruly dark brown hair, a structured jawline, fair skin and…black eyes. No way.
The screech of the metal chair sliding against the concrete startles Claire and the other girls. They all look up at me incredulously.
“Anna?”
“Hey, sorry I forgot that I wanted to get help from my professor before class. I’ll see you guys later,” I quickly say and rush towards the retreating figure.
There’s no way that guy studies here. It can’t be.
Yet the closer I get to him, the more I’m convinced, and my body starts to tremble in anticipation. But when I’m just within his reach, I slow to a stop, watching his back grow distance again as he approaches the crosswalk.
Why am I chasing him? There’s no reason to get involved with the guy. Besides, what would happen if I actually got him to see me? He could be dangerous for all I know. A gangster? I mean, he has the build for it.
He stops at the end of the curb, waiting for the signal with a few other students. Shifting his weight onto one foot, he stuffs his hands in his hoodie pocket.
I take a step back, letting people walk around me. A few heads turn with questionable looks wondering why I was in the middle of the walkway.
This is so silly. I have no obligation to talk to him. We only met that one time, and it will stay that way. There’s no reason to get myself involved with him any further if he’s really in a bad situation.
The crosswalk signal turns on. He goes.
I’m just going to turn around, and walk in the opposite direction. Besides, my class is the other way-
“Hey!”
My hand clutches onto the hem of his hoodie. The guy turns around, glaring down at me.
I blink, realizing I stopped him in the middle of the crosswalk as people flock to the other sides. My face grows hot, feeling even more stares.
“Um, can I talk to you for a sec?”
Seeing the signal’s count reaching the end, I don’t bother to wait for a response. Tugging him forward, we reach the other side into the shade outside of the lecture hall.
“So, about last night,” I start, although he looks clearly disinterested in hearing me talk more. “What the h*ll happened? You were bleeding and-”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he interrupts, “sounds like you got the wrong person, miss.”
And like that, he brushes past me, readjusting the bag on his shoulder. He’s pushing for me to drop it, but I can’t let something like that go. I press forward.
“We both know I’m talking to the right person.” Stepping into his path, I block his way, although he’s hauntingly taller than my 5’6” self. He could easily shove me to the side with his shoulder alone, but he doesn’t. He glares down at me, oozing intimidation.
Do I want to run away and never meet this man again? Absolutely. But for some reason I can’t find it in me to flee. I’ve never been like this before. Just like Claire said, I’ve always been on the fence, never committing to anything that could result in a backlash of consequences. Yet here I am, standing in front of a stranger from last night who looks like he could punch a hole in the wall. Or my face. Hopefully the former.
“How are you even able to attend classes? You’re injured, aren’t you? Did someone…attack you?”
He scoffs at that, stirring confusion in me. What’s so funny about being jumped?
“You sure do like to ask a lot of questions,” he says. “Is this something you do with everyone you meet? Set up a whole interview?” He sizes me up and down. “Where’s your pen and paper?”
I roll my eyes, frustration bubbling in my throat.
“I could say the same to you. You asked me just as many questions.”
He leans forward to meet me at eye level. A smug look crosses his face. “Are you going to answer them?”
I stand up a little straighter, now looking slightly above him. I’m not going to let him win here. “What about you?”
His face goes back to its default frown. “It’s a waste of time. I don’t even know you.” He pushes past me with no intention of being stopped a second time.
“Wait a minute-!”
“Sorry,” he yells with a wave, “I don’t do interviews.”
I watch his form disappear behind the building, leaving me both frustrated and curious.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone