Nyline
Nyline allowed the throng of people to jostle her towards the lunchroom. Reaching into her pocket she turned the volume up on her mp3 player. Lunch had always been the hardest part of the day for her because almost the entire school was in one large room making all the noise they wanted, inside and out.
Nyline glanced across the cafeteria as she walked towards the line that led into the kitchen. She was wondering where the weird new kid had gone, what had his name been? John? Jake? Jack? Shaking her head, she decided it didn't matter; she just needed to keep an eye on him. There was something about him that wasn't right, and she needed to figure it out before she let Uncle John know.
Stopping at the end of the line she pulled the strap of her bag higher up on her back, her eyes still looking out across the lunchroom. Where had he gone? Something caught her eye and she looked to the side without moving her head to see that Jake was standing in line right in front of her. Observing him out of the corner of her eye before she traced his line of sight to the cheerleader table where he was staring intently at one of them. She was pretty from most people's standards according to people's thoughts with her fair complexion, vibrant red hair, and bright green eyes. She, like every day, was dressed in a short white pleaded skirt that was most defiantly against the dress code, and a faded pink t-shirt, showing her navel. On her right wrist was an assortment of bangles that made a soft tinkling noise whenever she moved. She was currently sitting on the table as one of the football players stood in between her legs. They spoke their faces close, his hands resting softly on her thighs.
Nyline glanced back at Jake for a moment to see that his eyes were still glued to the girl. She reached out with her minds towards him. She wanted to know what he was thinking. To her surprise his thoughts were muffled but as she pushed her mind further, she could hear his desperation break through. He needed to approach this girl and speak with her. Nyline took a moment to wonder why he was having so many problems wondering how to speak to a girl, maybe it was her football boyfriend that was looming over her like a ravenous wolf. She shook her head slightly as she tried to hear more but all she caught was '… cause it wouldn't work on her…' but missed the rest of the thought.
Maybe she could accidentally brush her skin against his and see directly into his mind. She felt her limbs tighten at the thought as she shook her head. No that wasn't an option, that would be rude and an invasion. So, she decided that she was going to do it the old-fashioned way and took a deep breath before she leaned against the wall next to him, brushing his shoulder with her hoody covered one.
"That's Morgan Richman," He took a moment to realize that she was speaking before he turned and eyed her. "She's part of the cheerleader squad, bottom right corner of the pyramid. She only really cares about sports and the guys who play them. The guy that is standing over her is her boyfriend. They've been together since middle school and he's rather overprotective."
"That's interesting," Jake spoke again his voice was quiet and she could barely hear him over the music. Reaching into her pocket she made a bad decision in turning the music down before she promptly turned it back up. The press of all the voices inside her mind made her head throb. "How did you know?"
"You were staring directly at her," She shrugged as the line started to move and she moved forward with everyone else. "I thought that you might want to know more about her." As she reached the food, she grabbed a piece of pizza and a bottle of water. She paused as she saw that Jake was glancing around at the food with a slightly confused look on his face. His eyes only darted towards Nyline's plate for a second before he quickly grabbed the same thing. When they got to the register, the lady rang up her food and they exchanged cash. Turning she walked away but paused and glanced over her shoulder in time to see Jake mimicking the movements of exchanging money before he turned and looked at her with a smile on his face.
"Something wrong?" Jake asked as he stopped next to her, she mentally shook herself before she tried smiling again. Then she turned and started to walk out of the cafeteria and towards the patio.
"No, it's nothing." Nyline spoke over her shoulder as she continued walking.
"Mind if I sit with you?" Jake spoke quickly as he took several steps to keep up with her. He smiled big to a group of kids at a table and waved with the hand he had his water bottle in. "I would like to hear more about Morgan." Nyline looked at him for a moment wondering why if he seemed to know everyone else, why he wouldn't just be able to walk up to Morgan and have no issue.
"I've told you everything that I know about her, but I would like to caution approaching her if you have a crush on her." She glanced sideways at him, but his face stayed calm, "Her boyfriend doesn't take well to other guys hitting on her." Shouldering the door open she headed past all of the people, and then further out away from everyone.
"I don't have a crush on her. A friend of mine has been looking for a childhood friend of his for a very long time. He showed me a photo of her not to long ago and that looks like her only a little more grown up." Jake followed her before she walked over to the small hill that lead to the football field and sat down. Nyline watched him as he walked over and sat next to her.
"That's interesting. Morgan has gone to this school since kindergarten. She's in my year so we went to elementary school together though I can't say that we were ever really friends." Jake looked at her and smiled.
"Seems like you know a little more about her than you thought?"
"I only know about her as much as being in the same year can offer. I've never actually spoken to her except for the couple of times that we've been put together for a group project, and even then, we didn't talk about our personal lives." Judging the distance that they had gone, she decided that she was far enough away that she could remove her headphones now and the mind chatter wouldn't be a problem.
"Do you normally sit out here?" Jake changed the subject abruptly as he looked back at all the students.
"I do," Nyline took out one of her ear buds and looked at him; like really looked at him. He seemed to be a normal kid on the outside, but she knew that looks could be deceptive. He had medium length brown hair that fell around his well-defined jaw. From this angle she could see that he had a large bump in his nose as if it had been broken once or twice and set but not healed completely right. His light blue eyes seemed to hold permanent sadness as he looked out over the football field.
"Do you wear those all day?" The words pulled Nyline out of her musing and she jumped slightly. She paused before his question came again in his mind and as he opened his mouth to speak but she spoke first.
"I do, the world is very loud, and this makes it a little better." Jake paused for a moment.
"I guess that's true. So, about Morgan. Could you tell me a little more about her?" The air around the two of them suddenly got heavier as if she could taste the ut. Her mind blurred for a moment as she felt as though there was pressure in between her eyes before there was a popping noise and the pressure drained away. The world suddenly snapped back into clarity as her eyes shot to Jake who was chewing his pizza, simply looking out at the football field. She stared at him before he looked at her. "Something wrong?"
"No," She mentally shook herself. Had he just tried to use aether on her? She let out a small breath that wasn't audible before she looked back at him. She needed to tell John about this, nothing about this situation was right. "Like I said Morgan came to our school in Kindergarten. She's been a cheerleader since she was in middle school and I'm assuming that she gets good grades because she's never been suspended." She reached into her pocket and turned the screen on to see that she had a message form her Uncle. She opened it careful to keep the screen facing her.
Are you sure that he doesn't go to your school? Do you need me to come pick you up?
Nyline looked at the message for a moment before she looked at the football field again and let her mind focus on how she was going to word this.
"Do you know anything else about her?" Jake asked and there was that pressure in the air again that made Nyline look at him before she hit the reply button.
"Not really, she's not in many of my classes this year so we don't really have a chance talk. Plus, I am obviously not a cheerleader." Jake laughed at this.
"No, you are not," He agreed as his eyes traveled back towards the doors and people that they had left behind.
Nyline could tell that he was formulating a plan to get more information out of the cheerleaders. He had made a mental note of the other cheerleader's faces and remembered a couple from his morning classes. Thinking that he might be able to catch them after class or make up an excuse to talk to them during…but he couldn't stand out much, he had to remember that. Nyline paused, her thumbs over her keys as she realized that his thoughts were much clearer now.
No. He doesn't have any interest in me. He's sitting me at lunch and asking about Morgan Richman, the red-haired cheerleader. Though I can't say for sure, I think he might have used aether on me. He seems desperate for information on Morgan. If I get called out of class now it might draw attention to me, so I'll just lay low until school is over.
Nyline looked over at Jake as she pressed the send button and shoved her phone back into her pocket. He was eating the crust of his pizza at this point looking back at the students. She also popped the last of her pizza and water.
"So how long have you lived here?" Jake asked off highhandedly. Nyline focused on him feeling her skin prick at the oddity of sending that message to her Uncle and then suddenly he asked about her. She reached out her mind and felt that it was still on Morgan.
"My entire life." She said shortly. He looked at her, his brows creased slightly at her short answer. Nyline cleared her throat. "I moved here to live with my uncle when I was a baby." She elaborated to cover her shortness.
"You live with your uncle?" Jake turned his attention on her as his eyes seemed swept her before he mentally shook his head.
"Yeah," Nyline's voice got soft, "My parents died when I was very young, and my dad's brother took me in." She felt her voice go soft and knew that her face had too. "My uncle raised me like he was my father, he is my father."
"Oh… Well it's good he was able to do that." Jake looked out over the football field as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. "Do you mind if I ask you what happened to them?"
"Car accident, a semi-truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and hit them head on going sixty. They were having a date night and had left me with my grandmother. I don't really remember them to tell you the truth. I was so young…" She let her voice trail off as she broke the eye contact with him and looked at the ground. This wasn't true at all. She remembers her parents much better than she should be able to see as she had only been around them for a few days before they had died. The memories that she had stolen from uncle John coupled with the small amount of memories that she had of her own had painted a pretty decent photo of who her parents had been. "Well the bell is about to ring," She pointed out to change the subject.
Jake stood suddenly and offered her a hand. She looked at it for a moment before she stood, without taking it and picked up her trash and bag. Jake withdrew his hand and looked her up and down.
"Do you always dress in layers?" Jake cocked his head to the side for a moment as she regarded him.
"I do, you ask a lot of odd questions." He eyebrow rose as he turned his attention towards a group of guys that were throwing a football back and forth.
"I don't think their odd," Jake spoke looking at her sideways, which made Nyline laugh.
"You're funny."
"I am?" Jake seemed confused. "Why?"
"There are very few people who actually notice me at this school. At school most people do not actually speak to me. I'm just part of the background."
"Well you spoke to me first and thank you for telling me about Morgan. It's been helpful." Nyline rose her brow at him.
"Helpful?" Jake seemed to start slightly.
"Yes, remember I said one of my friends is looking for an old friend of his." His words came out quickly which made her look at him from his feet to his head.
"You did mention that," Nyline spoke as she looked forward. She slowed her walk so that she was trailing slightly behind Jake as she pulled out her phone and opened the message from her uncle.
Be careful. I'll pick you up after school so be out front. Don't draw attention to yourself until I can figure out who he is, just avoid him. I'm looking into it now.
Nyline quickly hit the reply button on her phone, not looking at Jake.
I always am. I'll see you after school.
Right when she was about to put her phone back into her pocket it buzzed again making her look down at the screen.
Tell me if anything else happens.
Stay safe. <3
Nyline couldn't help but smile down at the message before she hit the reply button again.
Yes sir <3
She hit send and shoved her phone into her pocket as she looked back at Jake. Once her focus was back on her surroundings and not on her phone, she found that Jake hadn't even noticed that they were talking. His mind was unguarded, and she could hear the thoughts of him wondering if he should speak with Morgan or send a report first. There was a moment when she had opened her mouth to speak but burning pain had shot through her mind, making her stop in her tracks as she cradled her head in her hands. Blinking away the pain when she reopened her eyes, she was no longer at school but in a forest. There were four people in front of her, two girls directly in front of her and two boys who were standing guard. At the current moment, the two girls were holding me upright as they tried to speak to me, but I couldn't hear them. Taking note as she focused at each of them were wearing scouts clothing with their masks up.
Forcing her mind back into her own body, the pain slowly started to recede and when she was able to see the school again. Jake was standing directly in front of her. One hand on her shoulder, his face closer to hers, his mouth moved and her eyes darted to it. She still couldn't hear him due to the ringing, but she could see his question.
"I'm fine," She spoke knowing her voice was shaking as she brushed his hand from her shoulder.
"You looked as if you were going to pass out," Jake spoke his voice full of concern before he paused. "You looked just like when…" His voice trailed off as he took a step backwards and looked her up and down again.
"Looked like what?" Some of her panic leaking into her words. Maybe she should just go home and not deal with any of this today. However, that was when the first bell rang loudly, and everyone stood and started to shuffle away.
"Nothing," Jake shook his head. Nyline reached out her mind and felt that he had seen that vacant look in the eyes before. When someone, she couldn't hear the name, connected with—his inner voice petered out as he focused on her again.
The breath that she inhaled came in sharply and she instantly knew who the boy was that was standing in front of her. Which changed everything. There was no way that she could go home now and had to try to keep her uncle from finding out as well. They needed distance and he needed to keep chasing Morgan. All that mattered is that the prince did not come to the human world and that he did not impact her life.
Turning she walked past him briskly and into the school. "I need to get to my next class." The words tumbled out of her quickly as she held up a hand in farewell and headed away from him quickly.
To her utter dismay, Jake walked into her classroom just a few seconds after her and taken a seat that was a couple chairs over from her. From his inner thoughts, it sounded like he wanted to make sure that she didn't pass out and had decided to come to this class for that exact reason.