A Curious Stranger.

     "So, what do you think?" Mom asked as I got in the car and settled in the seat next to her.

We had finally finished checking out the dorms for the boarding students of Bloodstone Academy and we were about to head back home.

I was still mad and not in the mood to speak to her, so I pulled out my headphones, ready to tune her out, but then I sighed and turned to look at her as the driver began reversing the car out of the school's parking lot.

Principal Fernsby was still waving with a grin on her face in the distance even as we drove away.

"It's basic." I shrugged. "Decent. Not too bad. But I think I'd like to commute from home for now and see how things go first,"

Mom nodded slowly, as though she had expected a better response but was trying to work with what I had said.

"Okay, that's...good. That's okay. Mr. Leadsey will drive you down in the morning and come pick you up after school."

I was scrolling through my playlist in search of the perfect song for the ride back home, when she said that, and my head snapped up.

"What?" A frown settled on my forehead, "I'm not a middle schooler, I can drive myself. I passed an online driving test after Mr. Edward coached me for five months, and I got my license two years ago, remember?"

I spread my hands apart to signify the obvious, and Mom was already shaking her head.

"No, Jade. You are not driving yourself all the way down here. It's too risky,"

I scoffed, already tired of the argument I knew was about to ensue. "What's gonna happen on my way to a school that's what? Ten minutes from the house?"

"A lot, okay? You could get into an accident." Mom countered, her voice stern. And I would have laughed, had I not realized she was being serious.

I sighed. "Fine, then I'll walk. It's a ten minute drive and should be no more than a twenty-five minute walk. So I'll just walk then. I never get to walk anyways,"

"No!" Mom snapped, anger flashing in her eyes. I leaned away from her in slight shock and perplexity as my frown deepened.

"You are not walking anywhere, Jade! You will be taken to and fro, and Mr. Leadsey will be your designated driver. He will take you to school every morning and bring you home after! That's it!"

I scoffed in indignation, anger bubbling to life in my stomach.

"You're so unbelievable!" I threw my hands up as a humorless laughter bubbled past my lips.

"You know, you're lucky I even agreed to come check out this trashy, haunted, hell-hole school for snobby, rich brats you enrolled me in without my consent, and now you want to police me around? Why did you even bother enrolling me in the first place if you're still so scared of me leaving the house?!"

I was yelling back at my mother now, tears prickling my irises as anger swelled in my veins. "You should have just left me the fuck alone like you've always done!"

"Jade, you will watch your language with me! I am your mother!"

"Stop the car!" I yelled, unable to hold back the tears any second longer.

God, I hate angry tears so much!

"I said, stop this fucking car right now, Mr. Leadsey!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Mr. Leadsey stammered as the car rolled to a sudden halt, and I threw the door open and was out before I could think twice about my actions.

Mom yelled for me to come back but I was done. I was tired of her bullshit, and I couldn't take one more second of being in the same space as a woman so narcissistic and controlling.

I didn't even know where I was headed. I just veered off the road and ran towards the woods and didn't stop running until I couldn't hear my mom shouting my name anymore.

It couldn't be that hard to get back home. The roads weren't complicated or anything. I'd just walk around the woods for a while until I was calm enough, and then I'd head home.

The tears were unstoppable. I didn't even know why I was crying. We've had worse arguments before and I've managed to stay calm through most of it.

Maybe it was all the moving stress, or the fact that I was still so jet lagged, but I couldn't stay calm any longer.

I was hurt. I was so hurt, and I just needed to allow myself be hurt, instead of constantly being indifferent and pretending like I was unaffected by my parents bullshit.

I stumbled messily through the woods with tears obscuring my vision, until I ran smack dab into something, or rather someone. Again.

"What the fuck is wrong with this cursed place and people constantly standing in my way!" I screamed as I stumbled back and caught myself before I could topple over.

"Oh.." was all the person said, and I looked up as I wiped my tears with the sleeve of my sweater angrily.

I had been so ready to lash out at whoever it was, but the words died in my throat as my eyes met with cool, Tartarean dark ones.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be...standing in your way," he smiled softly, slight apprehension shining in his dark eyes.

"I had lost my ring and was looking through the grass for it, so I didn't see you coming. My apologies," he took a respectable step back, and I just stood there and stared.

I hadn't been expecting an apology, or someone polite at that, so my anger just roiled and toiled around in my throat until it slowly died out.

I cleared my throat. "It's alright. I apologize too. It was pretty dumb of me to be running through the woods. If I hadn't ran into you, I'd have probably ran into a tree or tripped over a branch at some point." I shrugged, realizing how embarrassing this whole thing was, and he laughed softly.

The sound of his laughter warmed my skin in strange, tingly way, and a small frown settled on my forehead.

How weird...

I watched his Tartarean eyes sparkle as he laughed, and a tiny, involuntary smile threatened to pull up the corners of my lips, so I cleared my throat again and prepared to continue on my way.

"I...hope you find your ring," I said and turned away from him, but stopped when he spoke again.

"Wait! Are you uh..." he hesitated as I turned back to him, as if he was wondering whether he should ask whatever it was he was about to ask.

"Are you new around here?"

My eyes narrowed as I looked at him properly this time.

We were in the part of the woods where trees towered all around us, blocking out the sun, and a thick veil of fog hung overhead.

He was gracefully tall and slim, but I could see the thick muscle of his biceps contracting underneath the sleeve of his shirt. He had long, dark curly hair that framed his face and curled beautifully around the length of his neck and jawline, and his dark eyes stared at me with a weird curiosity reflected in them.

A pair of headphones, the exact same brand and colour as mine—silver—hung around his neck, and I bit down on my bottom lip as my brows pulled into a small frown.

His skin was so pale, it was almost translucent. His features were so...soft? Or maybe it was his demeanor that was soft. But something about him, the way he looked, the way he stood, was so gentle and soft and graceful, and so...beautiful. I was suddenly being reminded of the ocean at midnight.

We were the exact same height, and I now realized that he was dressed in a white buttoned shirt, with a loosened red stripped tie and crimson red pants—the school's uniform.

"You go to Bloodstone Academy?" I finally spoke, replying his question with a question, and his curls bounced around in a way I thought was awfully cute as he nodded.

"Yeah," He answered. "Are you—"

"I just got enrolled for the fall term," I answered the question he was about to ask, and I watched his dark eyes light up.

The smile on his face was almost instantaneous.

I couldn't stop the smile on my own face now. And we both stood there, smiling at each other like idiots until I realized how acutely idiotic my actions were.

I cleared my throat hastily as my smile dropped.

"Okay, I...uh, I should head home now," I wiped my sweaty palms on my trousers—why the hell were my palms sweaty?!—then I brought my phone out to check the time.

12:30pm

"It's getting late," I clearly lied, then hastily turned away from the dark-haired boy because my stomach was starting to feeling queasy, and I didn't understand why.

"Wait, I didn't get your name," he stopped me again, and I turned around to look at him.

"Jade," I breathed. "Jade Eadwald."

He smiled, his dark eyes twinkling as my name registered in his mind, and then he began walking towards me.

My heart stopped, then started again with a ferocious tempo, and my eyes widened as he walked over. Moist grass squelched underneath his feet as he got closer and closer, until he was standing barely a foot away from me.

What the hell is he doing?!

Then he stopped and stooped to retrieve something at my feet.

"Found it," he smiled as he straightened, and he held up a stony black ring in front of me, before he then slipped it onto one of his index fingers.

"I'm Vasilis." He held a hand out to me. "Vasilis Wang,"

His fingers were long and...cold as they wrapped around mine, but the coldness was strangely comforting.

Vasilis...

He hesitated several moments too long before letting go, and I took a step back. My stomach was still feeling queasy, and I wondered if it was something in the breakfast I had that morning.

"Yeah, I'll...see you around, Vasilis." I managed to speak before I finally turned away from him and began trying to find my way out of the woods.

"See you later, Jade." He called as I walked away, but I didn't respond. I just needed to get away from there.

I didn't like the feeling in my stomach, and I thought I might be sick. And I most definitely didn't want this beautiful stranger to see me vomiting.

But I was walking and walking, and it seemed as though I was walking further into the woods.

I was yet to find the spot I'd entered from, and the small pit of panic in my chest was starting to grow bigger.

I whipped out my phone and opened google maps, but there was no service in the woods and google maps couldn't update my location.

"Hey, is there a problem?" A voice called behind me and I almost jumped in fear, but I turned around and it was Vasilis.

I hesitated before speaking, because I had no idea who he was and for all I know, he could be a spy working for one of my parents opponents, sent here to kill us all.

But he was standing there with his hands in his pockets, and a worried look in his eyes that seemed like endless pits of eternal damnation, and he was so...so beautiful.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to clear my mind of such ridiculous thoughts, and then decided to ask for help.

If he lives around here, then he should be able to help. Right?

"Do you know how to get to Highgate?" I asked, and he nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket as he began walking towards me.

"Yeah, you could take the bus but it doesn't come around until mid-noon. I could call you a taxi, however." He stopped a few feet away from me, scrolling through his phone, and I was glad he did, because my heart had strangely picked up pace again.

"Oh shit, there's no cell service here," he held his phone up and waved it around a bit, before giving up and turning his gaze back to me.

"Do you mind walking?" he asked. "There's no service here in the woods to call a taxi, but I could walk you instead, if that's okay with you?"

I stared at him for a moment too long, mesmerized by the way his dark eyes held mine with such unwavering attention, and the queasy feeling in my stomach intensified.

"You'd walk me home?" I raised a teasing brow. "You don't even know me. I could be a serial killer attempting to lure you to my house so I could kill you."

He burst into laughter at my words, and I watched his curls bounce softly as he stepped closer to me.

"Don't worry, I can defend myself just fine against serial killers,"

"Well, okay then. I'll let you walk me home, and we'll see if you wind up declared missing on the news tomorrow."