Star Bright

The steady beeping of the alarm clock roused Cathleen from her uneasy sleep. For the first time in a very long time, she was relieved to hear the noise that brought her back to the real world. The last two nights had been borderline terrors. Not from fear of death or some bizarre monster intent on eating her, that kind of fear had long since been left behind in her childhood. Now her fear was centered on things that lurked in her dreams that she had no idea what they were, yet felt oddly familiar to her in ways that she couldn’t explain. Most of all, Davis. His mysteriously captivating eyes and that sparkling gem of his were at the front of her nightly adventures into the subconscious of her mind.

Cathleen sat up slightly, her body shivering but not from the cold. No matter how hard she tried, Cathleen just couldn’t seem to escape him. She had hoped after the fight two days ago that she wouldn’t be seeing him for a while. After all, fighting in school was punishable by a week’s suspension. As relieved as she was to not be anywhere near him, some part of her, for few reasons she could understand, yearned to see him again. Cathleen could only guess that she desperately needed answers to the mountain of questions that had been burned into her head by the few hours she had interacted with Davis.

Glancing at the clock again, Cathleen finally grew tired of its no stop beeping. Hitting the off button in frustration, she forced herself to get out of bed. Not that she was really looking forward to yet another day in school, especially not now. The day after Davis had made his dynamic entrance had only served to make her life an even greater hell than she could have ever imagined. Where she had always been tormented more indirectly and ignored, now the gears of her peers had been kicked into high gear. It almost felt like they were trying to double their efforts of torturous amusement to make up for the fact that Davis wasn’t around for the time being. At the top of it all, apparently the girlfriend of the guy Davis had fought now had it out for her. Maude had warned her at lunch the other day to watch her back when she was alone. Cathleen thought that the grudge thing that had suddenly flamed up against her was immensely unfair. As if she had anything to do with the fight that had humiliated that girl’s boyfriend. But that didn’t really seem to matter. Cathleen was, in a very literal sense, guilty by association.

Worrying about all these new problems wasn’t doing anything to help her outlook on life. Strange enough, Cathleen didn’t feel herself overcome with that familiar desire to just end it all. It was still there, but not nearly as strong as it had been before…Davis. Maybe it was the mystery of who he was that surrounded him, or maybe it was just the thought of there being another like her, it gave her something to look forward to. As minute of a reason as it was, it was still something to pull on to rather than the other option.

After getting ready, Cathleen silently went downstairs and engaged in her usual routine of eating breakfast that her mother had made. Neither one of them has spoken since the outburst several days ago. Cathleen had no desire to really talk to her mother, since she knew that there was no way that she could understand her problems. And she took her mother’s silence as acceptance of that. She hadn’t seen her dad in days because Cathleen had made it a point not to see him. She was certain that things would eventually settle back into their natural flow, but for right now she didn’t want to have any interaction with her folks. There were enough problems going on in her mind with Davis alone to fill a house.

Cathleen went out to the bus stop, and made absolutely certain that her eyes were focused on the gravel road. Since the day Davis had shown up, Cathleen hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of eyes upon her. She had tried a couple of times to see if her paranoia was true, but with nothing out of place to catch her eyes, she had finally given up. Settling herself back into the daily routine was the only way that she knew how to get away from the uneasy feeling. There was no way that she could be certain it would work, but she had to give it a try. Forgetting the craziness was the only hope that Cathleen had of getting some semblance of her life back.

When the bus pulled up, Cathleen practically jumped on it and rushed to the back. Sitting in her usual seat, she gazed blankly out the window, blocking out the more intense negative interest of her fellow students towards her. The whole ride to school felt more like a dream than being in the real world, and that was just the way she found herself liking it. Now if she could only get through the rest of the week without any more excitement, Cathleen was sure that she would be in a right enough state of mind to deal with Davis, and all the strange things that his arrival had shoved into Cathleen’s already complicated life.

When the bus pulled into the school’s parking lot, she waited patiently for the other students to file out. Once she was the last one onboard, Cathleen grabbed her bag and headed out. Maude was leaning against the side of the vehicle as she stepped out.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” was the pitiful reply that she gave her best friend.

Maude motioned to their usual spot far away from the rest of the early morning crowd. “Ready to go?”

“There is no ready.” Cathleen stated.

The tension hung so heavily over their heads as they walked over to the bench that it could have formed one of those cartoon like rainstorms. Cathleen certainly hadn’t forgotten the wild rant that she had said to Maude about Davis. After Maude had managed to calm her down, they hadn’t spoken a word about it. Cathleen knew that it had been on the tip of her tongue all yesterday, but Maude knew her well enough to know when it was just best to leave things alone. Cathleen felt that one day reprieve was now over. Maude certainly had questions, but what purpose they would sever was beyond Cathleen. She really didn’t know any more than Maude did.

They each took a seat at the table under the large tree across from each other. Maude silently picked at an orange while Cathleen spaced out staring into the bright morning sky. After a few minutes of the awkward silence between them, things obviously became too much for Maude to handle.

“Cat.”

Cathleen blinked, her mind officially returning to her. She looked at her friend with sadness etched into her face. There was no way she could give Maude the answers she sought, but she was going to ask anyway.

“What did you mean the other day? When you said that Davis wasn’t…human?”

“I….” Cathleen trailed off, trying hard to find a way to form the strange feelings she was experiencing into a coherent answer. “Davis…”

“Ok, Cat, I admit that thing he did with the tray was really creepy. But how can you…”

“It’s a feeling.”

“Is it because of the gem?”

“I…maybe…I don’t know.” Cathleen grasped the side of her head as she fought to make sense of it all. She didn’t know anything dammit! Why was this all happening to her? What had she ever done to deserve this added slice of hell to her existence?

“Cat.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“But you…”

“Just stop it!” Cathleen almost shrieked, slamming her fist into the table. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know anything!”

Her eyes dropped to the table. “Why is this happening to me?”

“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.”

The unknown voice caused Cathleen’s entire body to freeze up. She looked up at Maude, hoping that there would be no recognition in her friend’s face that she had heard the voice too. Maude’s eyes were wide with shock. She had heard it too.

“Wish I may, wish I might…”

Cathleen instantly zeroed in on where the voice was coming from. Feeling her hands grow cold, Cathleen nervously glanced at the dense canopy of branches right above them. The instant her eyes were skyward…he appeared. Clinging to the branches above, he looked down at the two of them.

“Grant the wish I make tonight.” He leaned towards them until his body was in a perfect crouch. Despite almost dangling on a very thin branch, this mystery guy didn’t appear to take the slightest notice in what he was doing. His face was pointed directly at Cathleen.

“She used to sing it to you every night when you were little, didn’t she?”

“W…who?” Cathleen stammered, her mind totally blank except for the stranger standing some twenty feet over her.

“Your mother.” he replied with a faint laugh.

Cathleen felt as if her heart had jumped into her throat. That statement…it was true. Her mother had done that. Every night until she had been about six. But, how the hell had the stranger known that? “How…how the…” she couldn’t even finish the sentence, her mind was reeling from the revelation.

“Because…” the stranger said again. His hands dropped from the branch he was clinging to and he began to fall. Cathleen gasped, a surge of fear going through her that this stranger was about to take a nasty fall. Instead, he grasped the branch he was crouched on and gracefully swung his body upward from the branch, coming to a stop in a perfect handstand. There he stayed for several seconds, his body not once trembling from strain. Before Cathleen could even shout out anything, his body swung forward, his backside falling to the earth. Then he let go.

Cathleen couldn’t take the strain. Bringing her hands over her eyes, she waited for the dreaded sound of his body striking the ground with a sickening crunch. It didn’t come. Instead, all she heard was a faint thump. Nervously peeking out from between her fingers, Cathleen was completely bewildered to see that he had landed in a perfect crouch at the end of their table.

“My mother used to sing it to me too, back when I was little.”

He squatted in a stance that made him appear very much like an animal ready to spring upon prey. It was a very intimidating posture. But the way he held himself wasn’t what caused Cathleen’s throat to tighten so much that she couldn’t breathe. It was his appearance. There wasn’t even a shred of doubt in her mind that this new guy…was exactly like Davis.

The very same sort of pale skin that had once singled her out for verbal torture was tone of his flesh. His body was much bulkier than Davis. He wore the same sort of tight clothing that Davis wore, only his clothes appeared to be straining to contain his immense bulk. Cathleen could easily picture him as a heavy hitter for a football team. Short cropped silver hair that was spiked gleamed on top of his head, the tips clearly dyed a bright blonde color.

As he leaned closer to them, there was one undeniable fact about him that stood about to Cathleen. Just like with Davis…it was his eyes. Only his couldn’t have been more different. Ringing the firm endless black that was the center of his gaze…was a pair of red irises. Not just any red, but deep like that of a ruby. Or blood. Cathleen couldn’t help herself from almost feeling the strength radiating off of this guy, and it was nearly crushing her with intimidation.

“Who the hell are you!” Maude blurted out blindly, leaping out of her seat with her fists up. Though she was trying to sound tough, she was clearly scared out of her wits by this stranger’s devil eyes.

“Feisty, eh?” he said with a smirk. His blood like eyes darted from Maude over to Cathleen, causing her to shudder. “I suppose I should play nice then.”

He rose from his crouched stance, his large body moving with far too much of a fluid grace to be believable. Holding his rock like arms at his sides, he slowly began to pace across the top of the table towards them. He stopped halfway, clearly not wanting to scare them. That simple act brought a slight sense of ease to Cathleen.

“I’m Lance.” he said, puffing out his broad chest.

Lance. Another like her, this was beyond freaky. This was down right insanity. Why were there now not one, but two guys like Cathleen being thrust into her life? Who were these two? And more importantly, what did they want with her?

“Why are you here?” Cathleen demanded, finding a strength she didn’t know she had as she started to stand up.

“To see you.” Lance replied in an evasive voice.

“Me? Why?”

He smiled slightly, showing her his perfect set of teeth. “I think that we both know why.”

“I…”

“Listen,” Lance said. “Do you have a ride home?”

“I take the bus.” Cathleen didn’t know why she just blurted that out, especially to guy that she didn’t even know. But staring into his red eyes, eyes that shined with otherworldly power, it was impossible to resist him.

Lance almost seemed to sense the kind of sway he had over her. Kneeling in front of her, his smile grew wider. He breathed deeply, causing the muscles of his chest to puff out. Cathleen just couldn’t keep herself from looking at them. It caused her own chest to tighten. As crazy as it should have been, Cathleen was stunned to find herself being attracted to this mystery guy.

“Well, that won’t do.” he patted his chest softly. “I can give you a lift.”

“Cat. Are you crazy? You don’t even know this guy.” Maude blurted out.

Lance’s head snapped in Maude’s direction with a speed that caused Cathleen to jump. “Butt out, this doesn’t concern you.”

“She’s my best friend.” Cathleen said to Lance hotly. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

Lance kept his eyes on Maude for a few seconds, then turned back to her. He stood up straight on the top of the bench and stared down at Cathleen. Her body tensed as she waited for whatever it was that Lance was going to do. His next action was the very last thing she could have expected from a guy that seemed as menacing as he was.
He gave them both a polite bow that appeared so dignified he might as well have been in the presence of royalty. “My apologies. That was rude me. I’m not very good at interacting with people.”

That pair of ruby orbs fixated on Cathleen. “But I think you would know all about that. If you’ll let me, I’d like to make it up to you.”
Cathleen eyed Lance suspiciously. “How?”

Lance smirked. “Let me take you home today.”

Cathleen felt her lips begin to tremble. Take a ride home, with a perfect stranger? A stranger that had the same alien appearance from others as she did, and one that appeared to know her too well. What really scared her wasn’t the offer, it was her inability to decide. The rational part of her, the one that knew damn well how dangerous taking Lance up on his offer could be, screamed to tell him no. But the other part, something Cathleen hadn’t known existed, hoped for it. There was something much deeper in Lance, something that just waited for her discovery. And if only she was brave enough, she could unlock the mystery.

“I…well…” she looked behind Lance at Maude. Her friend’s eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

“Hey!” a male voice came from nearby. Cathleen turned her head, and saw a teacher walking their way. He pointed a finger at Lance. “Who are you? I don’t recognize you.”

Lance turned the bulk of his large body at the teacher. “Well, that’s probably because I don’t go to school.”

Hearing that, the teacher folded his arms across his chest. “I want you off of this school’s grounds immediately!”

“Or what?” Lance asked with a sneer. He crouched low again, his body tensing the way a predator did just before it pounced on a helpless prey. The teacher almost instinctively took a step back from Lance’s poised posture. A low hum came from the back of Lance’s throat, and his red eyes seemed to actually brighten as he readied himself to leap from the table. The sight scared Cathleen. She could easily picture Lance pummeling the teacher into a bloody pulp.

“Lance.” Cathleen whispered. Hearing her call his name caused the big pale boy to look at her. “Leave.”

He flashed a toothy smile. “No, not until you agree to let me take you home.”

Cathleen was beginning to panic. She could see the teacher already reaching for his pocket. No doubt going for a cell phone. If he called the police, or worse, if Lance actually attacked him, then it would come down on her. After all, he was talking to her. She needed to get him to leave, before things got any worse.

“Lance, please, just go.” Cathleen begged.

“No.” Lance repeated, not taking his eyes off of the teacher as he pulled out a phone.

“What do you want from me?” Cathleen was becoming desperate. Lance had to go, or she was going to be in deep trouble.

“I already told you. Just say yes, and I’ll be gone till school’s over.”

“Don’t do it, Cat.” Maude pleaded from the other side of the table. Cathleen could see how disturbed her friend was. “You don’t even know this guy!”

“Come on.” Lance said, grabbing the edge of the table with his both his hands. He was about to attack the teacher. “You’re call.”

Cathleen was breathing heavy now. This was crazy, all of it. And the outcome was resting completely on her shoulders. She had to make a choice, right now. Otherwise…

“Ok.” Cathleen blurted out. “You can take me home.”

At long last, Lance broke his eyes off of the teacher. He stared at her with sheer strength radiating from his gaze. “Do you mean that? Is that a promise?”

“Yes!” Cathleen said. “I mean it, just please go.”

His lips curved into that devious smile once again as he stood back up. “Now see, that wasn’t so hard.”

With the eye contact broken, the teacher suddenly became adamant again. “You!” he snapped, pointing a finger at Lance. “I want you off of these grounds, right now!”
Lance folded his broad arms across his chest. “Sure thing pal.” his eyes darted over to Cathleen. “I got what I wanted.”

Lance glanced over his shoulder at Maude and brushed the palm of his hand over his pointed blonde tips. “Nice hair, stripy.”

Maude looked like she was going to tell him something very nasty, but Lance didn’t wait around to hear what kind of vile words she could hurl at him. Giving her a half wave, Lance leapt off the table and raced across the ground between them and the outlaying fence of the school. Showing very little effort, Lance leapt onto the first lunch table that was in his way and raced on. Staring in shock was all Cathleen could do as Lance cleared one table after another with such speed and grace that it would have seemed impossible. As he cleared the last table, Lance soared through the air, easily making what had to be a ten foot gap between the table and the fence. Cathleen winced when she heard the fence buckle from the force of the impact. For just a moment, she thought that Lance was going to knock the fence down.

Her fear was eased a moment later when she saw that the fence wasn’t going to cave in. Lance didn’t waste a second. Even as far away as she was, Cathleen could still hear him laughing heartily. With just one grab, Lance pulled himself to the top of the fence and perched himself on its edge. Cathleen couldn’t help but give a startled gasp when Lance suddenly flipped head over heels from the top of the fence. Just as she expected, he landed perfectly on his feet and disappeared in seconds.

Maude ran to her side and slapped her hard in the shoulder. “What the hell were you thinking, Cat!”

Cathleen turned to her friend. “What did you want me to do? He wasn’t going to leave.”

“Do you realize what you did was really stupid? You don’t even know this guy! And I mean, Jesus, he’s got red eyes. Red!”

“And I have purple ones. His eye color doesn’t make him…” she stopped talking as the teacher approached them.

He asked them several questions. Such as who that guy was and more importantly what he wanted with them. When they weren’t able to give him a good explanation, he informed them that they needed to keep an eye out from now on. They agreed, and he reluctantly left them, but not before letting them know that he was going to inform the principal of what had just happened.

They waited until he was out of earshot before continuing. Maude put her hands on her hips and stared harshly. “Cat, please tell me you’re not going to go through with this.”
Cathleen looked down at her feet. “Maude, I…I promised him I would.”

“Cat, who gives a shit what you promised? This guy could do anything to you if you go with him. You’re being stupid.”

“I…I don’t think he means me any harm.”

“And how can you possibly know that? You saw the way he was about to attack that teacher? How do you know he won’t just do that to you once you’re alone with him?”
She didn’t. Cathleen was going on pure instinct her. “I just know.”

Maude placed a hand on her shoulder. Cathleen looked up at her friend. There was nothing but complete concern in her friend’s eyes for her. “Cat, please don’t go with him.”

“I have to, Maude.” Cathleen said, pulling away from her. “You wouldn’t understand. There’s…things I need to ask him.”

“Like what?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Cathleen turned on her heels and raced off before Maude had a chance to object. She was standing outside the door to her first class before the bell rang. Before the first chime even finished, Cathleen was nestled quietly in the back corner of the room. That didn’t help her situation at all.
Two days wasn’t nearly enough to make everyone forget about what they had seen. And now that it was quite clear that there was another person like her in their school, the majority of the student population had developed a new interest in the ‘milk girl’. But nothing they said or did caused Cathleen to pay attention. Her thoughts were now focused solely on two boys, particularly Lance.

Through the rest of the day, Cathleen tried to convince herself that she had made the right choice. Lance was quite clearly different from Davis. He was obviously more outgoing, maybe even to the point of being slightly aggressive. But he hadn’t been forceful, at least not physically. Cathleen was torn with her decision, and she kept glancing at the clocks in each room as the day dragged on. Each second that ticked by put her more and more on the edge. Waiting for the final bell felt very much like waiting for judgment in a murder trial, tittering on the edge of salvation or oblivion, and being helpless to affect the outcome.

Even though she could go back on her word and take the bus home, Cathleen just knew deep within herself that it wouldn’t just end like that. Lance didn’t seem like the type to just give up on anything. But then again, she reasoned, what did she really know about him? For that matter, what did she really know about Davis? The answer for both of them came to the same conclusion, not nearly enough to even have a faint hope of trusting them. As the final bell of the day rang, Cathleen weakly slumped in her seat. There was nothing that she could do except hope that she hadn’t just made a terrible mistake.

Tossing her bag over her shoulder, Cathleen took a deep breath and marched out to meet her inevitable fate, whatever it might be. Not surprisingly, Maude intercepted her as she walked out one of the school’s side doors.

“Maude,” Cathleen sighed. “Please don’t start with me.”

“I’m your best friend, Cat.” Maude replied hotly, folding her arms across her chest. “What am I supposed to do except watch out for you?”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“No, I don’t think you do. I think you’re putting yourself through this because you don’t want to be a liar.”

They walked past the small fleet of buses, through the rest of the parking lot, and across the small road that divided school grounds from the rest of the world. On the other side was a small two pump gas station. Cathleen knew that she should have been very nervous when she spotted Lance lazily hanging around the side of the building, but she wasn’t. Nor was she all that surprised to see that Lance had a sleek looking motorbike resting next to him.

It wasn’t the kind of chopper that she had glanced at that Davis had been riding. It looked like one of those fancy crotch rockets, only she had never seen one that had such a bright metallic hue for a body. Lance’s head twisted in their direction, and he gave a half wave at them. Cathleen didn’t even realize that she had picked up her pace until Maude roughly grabbed her arm.

“Cat, this is crazy. You don’t even know him.”

Cathleen turned to her friend. “Maude, please, just trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

“You go off with him, he could do anything to you.”

“Maude, trust me.”

“But…”

“Just trust me.”

Maude looked like she wanted to say something else in protest of her decision, but the expression on her face changed when it became apparent to her that nothing she said would stop Cathleen from going with Lance.

“Fine then.” she said with an angry voice. Maude turned on her heels and began marching back towards the buses. “Let me know how it went tomorrow. If you’re still alive.”
Cathleen wanted to call out to her only friend, but by the menacing way she stormed away from her, she knew that any further words with Maude would be pointless. There was nothing that she could do except watch her friend disappear back across the street. Swallowing hard, she turned back to Lance. He was still leaning against the side of the gas station, apparently not in any hurry. As Cathleen walked towards him, she really hoped that she wasn’t wrong in her belief that Lance wouldn’t hurt her.

When she neared him, Lance finally moved. “Well,” he said, slowly walking over to her, “I really wasn’t expecting you to come.”

“I made a promise.” Cathleen said weakly, unable to hide the unease she was feeling.
Lance smiled. Not the sort of slightly humorous and cocky smiles he had shown earlier that day. It was a genuine smile, of that Cathleen was certain. “You’re very honest. I like that.”

He raised one of his large hands, bringing it towards her face. Cathleen felt her pulse began to quicken, part of it was fear of a repeat experience she had had with Davis. The other part was from a strange sensation that she wasn’t quite sure what it was, nor could she tell if it was good or bad. Before their skin could make contact, the load roar of an engine caused Cathleen to jump.

Looking over her shoulder, Cathleen felt her heart jump into her throat when she spotted a pick up truck pull into the gas station. It was coming right for them. Just as her mind was beginning to process what was happening, she felt Lance’s strong hands grasp her. She only had time to manage a startled gasp before Lance had swung himself between her and the truck. Cathleen nervously peeked over the top of Lance’s shoulder, and was horrified to see that the truck was full of five boys from the school. The one in the passenger seat was obviously the boy Davis had fought with.

“Look at this shit!” he snapped, pointing at them. “Now there’s another one.”
Lance’s arms slowly rose in a sort of blocking motion. It was easy enough for Cathleen to tell that it was his way of shielding her. Without thinking about it, she lightly grasped the back of Lance’s tight shirt and held on.

“Hey, ghost!” the guy called out. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“It’s a free country.” Lance replied in a voice just loud enough for them to hear. “I can be where ever the hell I want to.”

“Well you better get the hell out of here! It’s bad enough that we have to put up with that pasty bitch behind you. We don’t want anymore of you freaks around here.”

“Don’t you call her a bitch.” Lance growled. Cathleen could feel the muscles in his back tightening. “Don’t you ever call her that again.”

“Yeah, or what?”

“You don’t want to know.” Lance growled.

Without warning, one of the guys sitting in the bed of the truck launched a football right at them. Spinning with such a speed it gave Cathleen the impression of an incoming rocket, she hunkered down behind Lance and hoped that it would miss them. Lance was either incredibly brave, or just plain insane, because he didn’t make any attempt to move aside. Just before it hit, an odd feeling surged through Cathleen. She couldn’t explain it other than it felt like pure strength flowing through her. Before she had a chance to even ponder the odd sensation, the ball hit. The football struck him right in the head, bouncing off with a heavy ping. And Lance…

…didn’t even flinch from the impact. It was like the football had hit a marble statue.

Cathleen, as well as all the guys in the truck, was completely dumbfounded. Lance lifted his arm so he could clearly display his hand to the five would be attackers. His index finger slowly rose, the universal signal for one.

“Try again! But only the first one’s free. The next is going to cost you.” To emphasize his point, Lance then tightened his outstretched hand into a fist. Cathleen winced as she heard his knuckles popping from the action. Her mind was still in a state of shock, but she was certain of one thing. If any of those guys did try again, they were going to get hurt, of that she was certain.

The boy in the passenger side stared at them with a gaping mouth very much like a fish out of water. All the anger and confidence had instantly drained from his face. “Who…who the hell are you?”

“Me?” Lance replied with a very hearty laugh. He thumbed his chest, clearly sounding very proud of himself. “I’m her bodyguard.”

“Wha…” one of the guys in the truck bed stammered.

“And no one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to hurt her while I’m around.” Lance roared, his echoing voice making him appear to sound like he was ten feet tall. “Now get the hell out of here. And if you ever bother her again, I’m coming after you. For real.”
Apparently, it was only just then that any of the guys noticed the color of Lance’s eyes.

“Jesus, man. He’s got red eyes.”

“That guy’s a goddamn devil!”

“Let’s get the hell out of here!”

They kicked the truck into a high gear and sped off, much faster than Cathleen thought a truck could possibly do. Lance didn’t move a muscle until they were completely out of sight. When he was sure that they weren’t coming back, he turned around. “Are you alright, Cat.”

“Cat?” she said, backing up a step.

Lance looked puzzled. “It’s what your friend called you.”

“My name…is Cathleen.”

Lance placed his hands on his hips and smiled at her. “Pretty name. It fits you.”

Cathleen felt her cheeks growing hot under his ruby gaze. Still finding his eyes too scary to look directly into, Cathleen kept her face pointed at the concrete. She was no longer worried about Lance’s intentions. After all, why would he be so protective of her if he only meant her harm? But still, there was a sort of air about him that made her feel very little in his presence. Lance, ever true to the personality he had displayed to her, broke the silence.

“Well, are you ready for that ride?”

“Um…” Cathleen couldn’t think of a good answer to give him. She had never ridden on a motorbike before. She was sure her parents would kill her if they found out she was even thinking about getting on one. Plus, she knew how dangerous they could be. Cathleen glanced up nervously at Lance, who appeared to just be brimming over with confidence.

“You don’t have to be scared, Cathleen. I’m an expert driver. Besides…” she felt his fingers tickle the surface of her cheeks. Unable to help herself, Cathleen looked up at him. Lance’s face appeared…well…protective. “I said you won’t get hurt while I’m around, and I meant it.”

Hearing that also jolted Cathleen’s memory of what had just happened. She jerked back from him. “You, you said that you were my bodyguard. What does that mean?”

Lance lazily rolled his eyes and shrugged. “It means I’m your protector.”

“But, why?”

Lance almost seemed to be getting amused by the question. “Because I am. And that’s the way it is. Now, shall we?”

He offered his hand to her.

Cathleen took it without any real thought of what she was about to do. For someone with such obvious strength, Lance wasn’t forceful at all. He quietly led her over to his bike. Though Cathleen had next to no experience with motorcycles, she found this particular one a stunning piece of machinery. Despite looking like a crash through a tree would not even make a dent, it had a surprisingly smooth surface that gave Cathleen the impression that it would cut right through air. Just as she expect, when Lance climbed onto it, she could see that its frame fit his body perfectly. Looking over his shoulder at her with a smile, he handed Cathleen the only helmet there was.
She felt bad for taking it. If they got into an accident, then Lance would get really hurt, and it would be all her fault. Then she reminded herself that he was offering it to her to keep her safe. Cathleen dropped the thick helmet over her head, and was stunned to feel that it fitted perfectly to her head. That small thing caused an uneasy knot to form in her gut. Lance’s head couldn’t have been exactly the same size as hers, could it?

“What about you?” she asked, concerned for his safety.

Lance grabbed the bike’s throttles. “I won’t get hurt.”

“But…if we crash…”

“I won’t crash. Trust me.”

“Lance…” she really didn’t want something bad to happen to him, not after he had shielded her from those goons.

“Trust me. I’ll be fine.”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to get any further in the discussion, Cathleen sighed and climbed onto the tiny back seat. Straddling what had to be a very powerful machine was certainly not how she had pictured the end of her school day, but she gripped the sleeves of Lance’s shirt.

“Here.” he said, grabbing her hands and forcing them around his broad chest. The motion caused her to press her body up against his. Cathleen instantly felt her heartbeat quicken and the familiar burning sensation return to her cheeks at the feel of Lance’s solid back.

“Just hold on tight.” he told her. “And you’ll be fine.”

After that, he kicked the engine to life. It wasn’t like anything Cathleen had expected. There was no loud explosion or heavy rumbling of an engine. The engine gave off a faint purr, like a happy cat. In fact, the bike hardly vibrated at all. Lance didn’t ask if she was ready, he just gunned the bike. They were out on the street before she knew it. Zooming past the school, Cathleen felt like she had left her stomach somewhere back at the exit to the gas station.

She remained terrified for a few more moments. But as the school disappeared behind them, she felt herself growing accustomed to the feeling of the wind rushing across her body. Nestled against Lance, she actually found herself believing his words. Despite going easily over seventy miles an hour, she felt perfectly safe nestled against him. It was similar to what she had felt that day when Davis had taken her in his arms, but not completely. In Davis’ presence, Cathleen felt all of her pain and suffering just melt away. Davis had an unnatural ability to bring a comfort to her weary spirit. But with Lance, it was completely different. With him, there wasn’t a single trace of fear of anything running through her body being near him. He brought a sense of security that she had never known. Cathleen couldn’t remember the last time she had ever felt so perfectly safe.

Barely realizing it, she tightened her grip around Lance’s thick frame and rested her head on his back. Watching the world blur by them gave her the impression that she was leaving it all behind. Which, Cathleen had come to accept many years ago, was all she had ever wanted. It wasn’t like her, Lance, or Davis really fitted in. Like she had for many times before, Cathleen couldn’t help herself from wondering just why that was.

“Hang on.”

Cathleen snapped out of her attempts at deep thinking and looked ahead. Her eye twitched when she saw them rapidly coming up to the bump in the road that she had gone over a million times on the bus. Only this time, she wasn’t about to go over it at a puny twenty miles an hour. Her fingers dug deeply into Lance.

“Lance.” she said nervously.

“Hold on tight, and I promise you’ll be safe.”

With nothing left to do but trust him, Cathleen braced herself. When they slammed into the bump, Cathleen got the sensation of what it felt like to have her heart leap into her throat. All the weight under her vanished, giving her a weightless sensation of flying. That single moment stretched out for a lifetime, taking with it everything that had been crushing her mind. She wished for nothing more than for that sense of freedom to remain forever. Reality came crashing back down on her when the bike slammed into the street.

The impact rocked Cathleen. She was knocked completely off guard that she lost her grip and started to fall off of the bike. A cold spike of fear surged through her as she felt her hold failing. As her body began to slip, Lance shot an arm out and pushed her back onto her seat. Shaking from the near fall, Cathleen tightened her grip around Lance’s waist. Almost immediately, the invisible shield fell upon her. Again, Lance had been right. She was perfectly safe with him. Nestled against him, she let the comforting sensation of total protection wash over her. Her fingers almost instinctively caressed over the ridged bumps of the six pack abs that Lance was hiding under his shirt.
That odd feeling only grew as her hands were drawn towards his chest in a very magnetic way. The tips of her fingers brushed against something solid that was beneath Lance’s shirt. A jolt ran up Cathleen’s arm, almost causing her to lose her grip again. The surge was very familiar to the kind she had experienced when Davis had held her, but not entirely. This sensation felt more like raw strength and an unconquerable confidence that she could the entire world head on and win. It was a high of certainty that Cathleen had never before known, and she loved it.

The jolt faded when Lance kicked in the bike’s breaks. Cathleen was brought back to the real world, with all of its hardships and uncertainties. Although she really didn’t want to admit it to herself, she loved the feeling of freedom that she had experienced when riding with Lance. She wished that it didn’t have to end. As Lance’s bike decelerated, Cathleen actually tightened her grip around him. Lance didn’t say anything, and what he was thinking…well, she wasn’t a mind reader. But he did pull the bike to a stop at the beginning of the dirt lane that led to her home, a certain sign that he was a man of his word. Cathleen was so very glad to learn that the trust she had given him wasn’t misplaced.

“Here we go.” he said calmly, killing the bike’s engine.

Cathleen stepped off of the beautiful vehicle with a great deal of hesitation. Her legs were not used to the intense vibration that had run through them during the ride, and she nearly lost her footing. Lance held out a hand for her to brace herself on. Clutching his arm felt very much like trying to hold onto a small tree trunk for Cathleen. Lance’s arm was that solid. She waited a few moments for her body to readjust to standing on solid ground before she tried to hold herself up again. Her legs wobbled slightly after she let go of Lance’s arm, which he continued to hold out for her in case she wasn’t as ready as she thought she was.

Only when he seemed certain that she wouldn’t fall without his aid did Lance climb off of his bike. Stepping back from him, she pulled off the helmet and handed it to him. Lance took it and placed it on one of the handle bars. As his back was turned to her, Cathleen sought to find the courage to ask the questions that were racing through her mind. She couldn’t believe that she suddenly didn’t have any confidence at all that she had been on the bike. Cathleen quickly figured out why that was. She wasn’t touching Lance anymore. Knowing that only created even more questions for her.

How could not one, but two separate guys who appeared very much like her be able to influence her feelings by a mere touch? She needed to find out. And there was only one way to do that. Cathleen cleared her throat and braced herself.

“Lance.”

He turned about sharply and leaned against his bike. “If you’re wondering, I’ve got one too.”

Before Cathleen had the chance to ask what, Lance reached under his tight shirt…and pulled out a ruby red gem that dangled from a necklace. Staring at it, Cathleen could see plain as day that it not only had the exact same color as Lance’s eyes, but it was also formed into a shape that seemed to represent his aggressive personality. It was almost cross like, with each of the four ends narrowing into very sharp looking points. Cathleen was certain that if Lance were to grasp his gem by the top end and hold it like that, he could easily use it as a small dagger. He only let her gawk at it for the space of a soundless gasp before tucking out of sight again.

“Where did you…”

“Same place you likely got yours.” Lance cut her off. “My folks gave it to me.”

Cathleen licked her lips slightly. She was both yearning and dreading the answers she would hopefully get the red eyed stranger. Despite her fear, there was no doubt within her that she had to find out everything that she could.

“Who are you, Lance?” she blurted out.

Lance folded his arms across his chest and smirked at her. “I thought I already told you. I’m your bodyguard.”

Cathleen was growing impatient with his evasive answers. The mounting anger was evident in her next question. “What do you want with me?”

“I want to protect you. That’s all.” he answered. Lance then stepped closer to her. Instinct told Cathleen to back away, but she found herself captured by some unexplainable pull that drew her to him. Especially those eerie red eyes of his. She was frozen where her feet were planted.

“And, I want to get to know you.” Lance paused for a moment, scanning the surrounding foliage as if he were intensely looking for something before turning his gaze back on her. “I’ve…never met a girl like you before. You’re one of a kind, a diamond in the rough. I think…you know exactly what it feels like to not belong, to have people fear you just because of the way you look. You understand how hard that is.”

Cathleen didn’t know whether to laugh or feel embarrassed by Lance’s words. To see such a big, and in many ways scary, looking guy showing such sensitivity almost seemed unreal to her. She reached out a hand and placed it softly on his large shoulder. She knew exactly what he was feeling. “I’m sorry, Lance.”

He looked at her, surprised. “For what?”

“For being scared of you earlier. For not trusting you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lance said, his voice becoming defensive once again. He pointed at his red eyes. “Everyone thinks the worst the first time they meet me.”

Cathleen felt her heart going out for this poor guy. To be thought of as evil, just because of the way he looked, didn’t strike her as very fair. It also served to remind her that maybe things weren’t so bad as she had thought they were with herself.
She was going to say something else to him, but he cut her off. Without any warning, Lance wrapped his large arms around Cathleen and pulled her into him. She was taken completely by surprise and was unable to even try to resist him. “What are you…”

“You can’t get a ride for free.” he whispered, lowering his face towards her.

It only took a single heartbeat for Cathleen to realize what it was that Lance was trying to do. She felt tricked, betrayed even. Her entire body tensed at the thought, made only worse by the fact that she couldn’t hope to resist him. “Lance…” she hissed, weakly pushing against his rock hard chest.

Lance’s bright red eyes bore into her, as if he were piercing her very soul. “Say stop.” he said, drawing so close that she could smell his breath, which was amazingly aromatic. “And I will.”

Cathleen almost wanted to scream that single word out so loud that it would echo into the heavens above. Almost. Despite her surprise and fear, she couldn’t bring herself to stop what was about to happen. She opened her mouth slightly as he drew closer. Whether it was to actually say stop, or to make herself appear more willing, for the life of her Cathleen couldn’t say which. She blinked, and time itself seemed to just jump forward, because the next thing Cathleen was aware of was Lance’s lips pressed firmly against her own.

Her stomach did a flip and her heart jack hammered inside her chest. An intense tingling exploded along every tiny stretch of her mouth and radiated almost instantly throughout her whole body, causing her legs to feel like they had turned into jello. Cathleen had never experienced anything this intense and amazing. And it wasn’t just the kiss, it was the way Lance was doing it. She could feel so much strength in his touch, yet there was no true force in what he was doing. It was comforting in so many ways. She had found a blanket of complete safety in Lance’s arms.

Against what should have been her better judgment, Cathleen’s eyes slid shut and she pushed back against Lance’s kiss. She didn’t know what to make of any of this. But one thing was certain with her. She didn’t want this otherworldly feeling to end. Ever.
When Lance finally broke their unexpected intimate moment, Cathleen felt like she had been dragged out of a perfect dream. Her lips pursed, straining to connect again with that amazing sensation once more. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw Lance’s red rims encompassing her. They were so strong and beautiful in their unique way, that she understood why it was so easy to be captivated by them. With her body’s heat rapidly rising, Cathleen stepped back from Lance and sheepishly sighed.

Lance didn’t do anything as she continued to back away from him except stare at her. Then, a broad smile came over his pale face. The sun’s light was out in full force, causing his hair to give off a stunning shimmer. It really helped to extenuate the blonde tips of his spikes. His massive arms folded across his chest, and he looked very proud of himself. “Well?”

Cathleen couldn’t say anything to him. She looked away as her face grew hotter. Her mind was still trying to make sense of the fact that she had just been kissed. She had never given it much thought, and suddenly was wondering why she hadn’t. It was a simply magical thing.

Seeing that she wasn’t able to give him any kind of coherent answer, Lance grinned at her and climbed back on his bike. Throwing his helmet on, he peered through the visor at her. “You may find this hard to believe,” she could hear the giddiness in his voice, “but it was my first kiss too.”

Cathleen’s heart was slamming into her chest. She definitely hadn’t expected that. A shared first kiss, that was the kind of thing that only happened in a little girl’s dream. That wasn’t the kind of thing that happed to some one like her. Wasn’t it? Staring at Lance and feeling the immense security she got from being around him, Cathleen couldn’t help but think that she was in dream. The faint sound of Lance’s bike coming to life knocked Cathleen back into reality.

“Lance, wait!” she rushed over to the front of the bike. “You can’t just leave. I’ve…I’ve got so much that I need…”

“If you’re looking for answers,” Lance said, backing his bike up enough to get around her, “you should try asking Davis.”

Cathleen’s eyes became as wide as dinner plates and her jaw simply dropped. “You know Davis?”

Lance threw his head back and laughed heartily. “I should hope so! We’ve only been best friends since we were in diapers.”

“But, he…”

“You’ll need to talk to him, Cat.” Lance said. “He’s much better at wording things than I am. I’ll be seeing you around. Till next time.”

Before Cathleen could protest, Lance gunned his bike and shot off. Then he was gone just like that. Cathleen, left all to herself, could only stare down the road. Her head was spinning from so many things. The coming of Lance, his proclamation of being her guardian, his strong yet tender kiss, and his revelation of knowing Davis. At the core of the confusing mass that had become Cathleen’s mind, she had only one true question that she would never stop until she had discovered the truth. What was Davis trying to hide?