CHAPTER TWO.
( the good list. )

SHADOW HAD JUST LEFT the office when she first saw them— when she first saw him.

At first, she'd been too distracted by her locker to notice the group. But, it didn't take long for her gaze to find them. Time itself seemed to freeze at their will, and Shadow immediately fell into stunned silence; a reaction she wasn't quite used to.

However, as rude as her stare was, the group seemed indifferent to everything around them. It was as if they already understood that their presence alone demanded attention, meanwhile their body language left the masses too intimidated to approach.

  They were beautiful without effort and it was captivating. But, beauty wasn't quite the entirety of her fascination, it was everything about them that said, 'we are not like you.'

It was almost impossible for Shadow to look away. In all of her years of living, she had never seen anyone quite like them and she doubted that she ever would again. People like this weren't an every day commodity.

  They drew you in and, in the same moment, their otherness was repelling. What was it about them that made Shadow want to venture closer, and yet run all at once?

Shadow was fully aware that she was gaping, but figured the blame didn't entirely fall on her. This group was meant to be admired. Shadow felt her gaze fall on each member until it landed upon the boy with the soft, golden curls.

At first, she almost looked past him. It was if he didn't want to be seen. But, Shadow's eyes soon found their way back. In every sense of the word, he was beautiful. With just as much allure as the rest of the group, he fit there. Yet, he was all she could see and right then he was something very different.

He was separate and it interested her. From the way he turned his face from the crowds, to the curl of his fists with shoulders set in agitation. Something was wrong, and immediately there was a part of Shadow that wanted to comfort him.

Then he looked at her, and she was caught.

His eyes were honey— warm and light. Once again, Shadow found herself unable to look away as she studied his gaze, full of life and a depth she couldn't name. In an instant, it became apparent that he had seen far more than Shadow could ever know or understand.

His gaze was soft at first, with lips parted in mild shock. Shadow immediately panicked, was her hair that bad? Her heart gave a jolt inside her chest and suddenly the boy's expression changed. Holding her in place with a single stare, she watched as his eyes turned from warm honey to molten gold.

Those few split seconds felt charged with an emotion— a feeling that Shadow couldn't quite place. She couldn't be sure of what it was, but the sensations were as dangerous as they were captivating. It didn't matter how much her human instincts told her to run because in that moment, there was something about him that left the Swan girl powerless.

She was drawn to the boy and his golden crown of hair; a colour matched by none other than his eyes. There was a thrill in not knowing what would happen if she stayed or if she ran. He felt dangerous and unpredictable and Shadow Swan didn't stand a chance.

There was an impulse to draw closer to him then, but Shadow resisted her strange temptation. She tore her gaze away, heat rushing to her cheeks as she realized that she'd been staring too long. Embarrassed, Shadow's slim fingers fumbled against her lock as she slid it into place. She was entirely unravelled.

When her locker was securely shut, Shadow turned to walk away, heading in the opposite direction of the boy. She wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her, but it was almost as if Shadow could still feel his stare. She ignored the notion, cheeks flushing as she hurried passed the group.

  How did other people function around them?

  Shadow risked a glance over her shoulder and her gaze found his once more. Slowly, her eyes trailed his features. Her heart stuttered in her chest. From what she could see in that quick look, he was furious.

His stare had turned from gentle surprise to a glare that struck Shadow with something cold and hard. Her footsteps faltered and her eyes noted his clenched fists. Shadow grimaced, footsteps quickening as she turned and rounded the hall corner.

  Once outside of his range, the atmosphere lost all charge and Shadow was left with her heart pounding in her chest. She was wrong. It wasn't intimidation that drove people away, it was stone-cold fear.

A shiver crawled its way down her spine. Shadow pressed her back against the wall of lockers as if to steady herself. She bit down hard on her lip. He didn't know her, but it was clear that the boy already held a strong dislike for Shadow.

  She frowned, brow furrowed with confusion. What could she have possibly done to set him off? To think that such a thing was possible for a first meeting (if you could even call it that) irritated her.

  Not that her own stare could have been too polite either.

Shadow closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as an ache set firmly between them. She was putting too much thought into the situation. It didn't matter what he thought. If he wanted to hate her, so be it. Shadow refused to let it faze her.

She refused to let it elicit fear from her.

With that final thought in mind, Shadow took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She straightened her posture, held her head a little higher, and made her way towards class with her confidence restored.

→

  One more period, Shadow thought with relief. There was only one more period to get through before the bell would ring for lunch. Which, not only held the tempting promise of food, but also meant a break from the steady stream of introductions.

Shadow wanted to melt in embarrassment. It wasn't that the students were unwelcoming, but Shadow wasn't exactly prepared to feel so many curious eyes on her. She hardly minded stares, but this was something else.

Shadow had been adamant on not meeting anyone's gaze, refusing to draw attention to herself. Having someone mistake her as 'in need of friendship' just wasn't in her best interest. She needed time to recollect herself before she could build a relationship with anyone else.

The ginger drew in a deep breath. This whole first-day ordeal would be over soon anyhow. Comforted by that thought, Shadow pushed aside her hesitancy and entered History class.

Lifting her head, her jade eyes gave the room a quick once-over. Though, just as they did, Shadow found herself faltering. Sitting there— by the only empty seat in the entire room— was none other than the guy who'd managed to kill her three time over with just his eyes.

  What kind of sick joke was the world playing on her?

  Shadow gave a huff. It wasn't enough for her to find him strange, but the whole school had to as well? Shadow was suddenly overcome with the urge to turn and run from the room.

Maybe she could switch classes at the office?

  As if privy to her thoughts, the teacher turned to where Shadow stood at the door. He beckoned her to enter and the Swan girl felt her stomach drop. There was no turning back now.

She pursed her lips. It was ridiculous to stress over someone you hardly knew, Shadow knew that. But, that didn't mean she had to like her current predicament either.

What this boy thought about her had no effect on Shadow's life— not unless she let it. Sure, she may not have been there to make friends, but that didn't mean Shadow wanted enemies either.

  Lips pursed, she walked up to the teacher, taking her time to explain that she was a new student. Fortunately enough, Shadow didn't have to go through another awkward introduction.

  Unfortunately, however, that also meant the Swan girl was now seated next to the boy who seemed to hate her guts.

  "Wonderful," Shadow muttered, making her way to her seat. With every step, it became painstakingly obvious how the boy drew his presence further from her. Shadow felt her lip curl.

By the time she had carefully sat down, her jaw felt tight and he had planted himself firmly at the edge of the table. The furthest he could physically get in his position.

  Of course, that could have easily been exaggeration. After all, the guy had already made a bad impression of himself that morning. Shadow heaved a sigh, trying to focus on anything but the person sitting next to her.

Somehow, he brought out the worst of her anger and she didn't even know him. Though, that in itself seemed to be the problem. What the hell was his deal with her?

  If Shadow had met him before, surely she would have remembered. He didn't exactly have the face of someone you could simply forget. But, for all that it mattered, Shadow couldn't figure out who he was (or what she'd done that had so clearly wronged him.)

Twenty minutes passed and a TV cart was pulled into the room. As the educational DVD began to play, Shadow jumped on the opportunity presented. In the dimmed lights of the classroom, this gave Shadow the perfect chance to confront the seat-mate she'd been stuck with.

  One way or another, she was going to get answers.

Shadow turned in her seat, "Do you have some sort of problem with me? Or have I contracted some sort of disease I don't know about?" Her voice was soft enough to avoid suspicion, but the words still seemed to take him by surprise.

The boy stared at her for a second, obviously shocked that she had opened her mouth. Shadow rose a brow. If he thought she was going to ignore his blatant loathing for her, he was dead wrong.

  Blondie blinked once, then twice. He was clearly flustered by her candour. It was either that or he was just dense. Shadow gave a smug smile, amused by his reaction.

"No," he spoke quietly, "there's no problem at all." Honey eyes met hers, if only for a fleeting moment.

  Shadow found herself stunned. She heard the Southern drawl to his words, but it wasn't the accent that caught her off guard; it was his eyes.

When she'd first seen them, Shadow had chalked up the gold to a trick of the light. But, now she could see that they were truly a rich, honey colour. But, before she could stare any further, he looked away.

  Shadow frowned, shaken out of her stupor by the sudden withdrawal. She couldn't help it, the Swan girl found herself disappointed by the little-to-no effect her confrontation had on him. The boy still kept his distance, though not as much as before.

  Giving into defeat, Shadow turned away, but not before she could mutter a few Italian profanities.

However, she quickly realized her mistake as she caught a hint of a smile on the boy's lips. Shadow felt her cheeks burn. Who was to say that he didn't understand her proficiency in Italian curse words?

  Christ, I hope not, she thought bitterly.

  Not that she particularly cared. If he wanted to make her an enemy, so be it. Shadow couldn't let herself be bothered anymore as she focused on the TV.

"Ass," Shadow muttered.

Hell, there went pretending to be unbothered. Shadow's cheeks flushed at her own unfiltered response. Her mouth may have worked faster than her brain, but she figured it was best to give the boy a good reason to hate her.

  At a glance, he was clearly unfazed as he kept his eyes on the screen. Shadow felt her jaw work in annoyance. Not that she was deterred as she fastened her gaze on his side profile.

He spared her a momentary acknowledgement, "Why are you glaring at me?" In spite of the inquiry, his tone lacked any real interest in an answer.

  Which, of course, only further annoyed the red-head.

"I'm just returning your warm welcome," Shadow replied and, though her voice was sweet, her smile was bitter. The boy's expression twisted in a grimace.

  Shadow felt her smile fall and the sudden onslaught of guilt left her embarrassed. She gave a huff of disbelief, but heat was rising to her face. She couldn't say she was proud of her own actions.

  She didn't want to feel guilty or sorry for him (especially after his own callousness), but this wasn't like her.

  Since when had the opinion of someone else bothered her so much? The stress of entering a new school was an easy blame, but Shadow knew better than to believe that. She was completely composed before she saw him.

  However, since their first meeting in the hall, the promise Shadow had made to herself was completely falling apart. Her cool facade was cracking and if it scattered, it was Shadow who would have to clean up the mess.

  Shadow blew out a heavy breath and, with that thought in mind, chose to keep her silence. As the class dragged on, they continued to ignore each other. Though, Shadow had to fight the urge to remark on his insistence to lean away.

  But, the Swan girl was exhausted— and not just physically. When she first arrived in Forks, she didn't think the ordeal would be this draining. Yet, the intricate workings of high school were easily dissolving every inch of armour she had so carefully crafted.

The ginger lifted her head as the sound of the bell ringing was heard. In that moment, she swore her relief couldn't have been greater. She'd almost forgotten how close lunch was and the mere thought of food alone was enough to restore her depleted energy.

The Swan girl quickly gathered her things, eager to escape both the classroom and her shame. But, before she could head towards the door, a cold hand reached out to catch her arm.

  "Hey, wait."

For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Shadow froze. She wasn't going to lie; a chill rose on her back at the cold fingers wrapped around her wrist.

Shadow turned to the boy, gently trying to pry her arm back. When she failed, her lips formed a scowl. "Can you let go of me? I'd like to get to lunch— and as far away from you as physically possible."

Shadow wanted to recoil at how horrible she sounded. But, she had to remind herself that she wasn't obligated to treat him with kindness. Yet, Shadow still gave him the time to explain— which very well could've been her first mistake.

"I want to apologize for my behaviour," he said. "I was rude and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give off any wrong impressions." Shadow's immediate reaction was for her lips to part in shock.

For a long moment, she was too stunned to speak. In about ten seconds flat, the golden boy's entire demeanour had changed from indifferent to sorrowful.

And something about that just didn't sit right with Shadow.

The Swan girl fixed a false smile on her lips, "That's really great. But, I think it's a little late for that."

The boy stared, clearly stunned by her abrupt refusal.

  "Forgiveness takes a hell of a lot more than a shitty apology," she finished, unforgiving as she bravely held the boy's eyes.

Then, with a smirk, Shadow turned her back on him. She could feel his gaze following after her as she made her way to the door. At first, she fully intended to leave him in the dust.

But, that was before he spoke up with the words, "I'll buy you lunch."

Shadow immediately paused. She thought it out, weighing her options before a slow smile spread across her lips. The Swan girl turned back around.

"And you are officially on my good list."

Edited 02/09/2016 @1:10 AM
Edited 07/09/2016 @2:30 AM
Edited 09/16/2016 @2:16 AM
Edited 12/19/2016 @12:52 AM