02

*Pandora*

Light flutters through my window and shines brightly on my face. I groan before stretching my limbs and peeking an eye open to check the time.

10:30.

It should be around 5th period by the time I get there. Great.

I reluctantly got up and fish through a few of the boxes scattered across my room for something to wear. Finding a box of black fabric I pull out a pair of black jeans and the first black top I can find. Holding the articles of clothing in my hand, I let my eyes scan the bare room for the box labeled underwear. When my eyes finally land on the messy cursive writing I move towards the box and pull out a black bra and thong.

I walk to the bathroom attached to my room and turn on the shower.  While I wait for the shower to heat up, I watch myself in the mirror. Half of my hair sits on the top of my head in a messy bun, the other half falling from the bun from sleeping recklessly. Through some of the fallen strands my eyes land on the deep scar in front of my ear. It feels like I'm staring at it for hours before the mirror fogs up to the point that my reflection gets lost behind it.

I blink back the dark thoughts filling my mind and turn to get in the shower. Letting the hot water relax my body and clear my mind, I let out a relaxed sigh.

That's over now. You're ok.

After floating through my morning routine and drawing on some very precise eyeliner, I grab my bag and car keys. I yell a quick goodbye to my mama and before quickly head in the direction of the only school I'd seen since moving.

Unsurprisingly, the parking lot is full when I pull in close to twelve o'clock and I have to park at the very end of the lot. After parking and leisurely making my way towards the door, I finally step through the double doors of the small school.

When my mama told me we'd be moving from the lively New York City to a small town about forty-five minutes away, my first question was: What the fuck is Ryedale. But apparently the tiny town is filled with expensive, gated communities and I should "be grateful to finally be living so lavish." I'm sure she's just excited at the thought of a big, fancy house. She never felt the same appreciation papa and I had for the comfort of our city apartment.

Just as the heavy doors slam behind me the sound of a shrill bell ringing fills my ears and in the blink of an eye the previously empty hallway is swarming with people. Rolling my eyes at the loud students moving in every direction, I begin my trek to the main office to grab my schedule. Though there are only two class periods left in the day and I'm sure I won't go to either of them today, I know it'd please my mom to see me making some kind of effort.

The shuffling of the hallway only making my annoyance for this place increase and when I feel something clash against me, my irritation bubbles over to anger. But when I turn my head to the root of my anger, my heart slows.

Standing in front of me is a tall, flustered mess of shiny, brown hair and glasses. He looks at me through crooked glasses and for a second I feel the urge to fix them for him. Before I have the chance to act on my impulse, his hand is on his face and his glasses rest properly on his nose again. I let my eyes rack over his appearance for a second, taking in the clean white sneakers, light jeans and dark gray crewneck with the letters "NYU" printed in purple on the front. Slowly, I drag my eyes back up to his green ones. Though his expression remains shocked, likely from the force of which I bumped into him, his wide eyes spark something in me.

Something light. Familiar. Innocent.

When I don't make a move to look away his cheeks grow a light rosy color and I cant stop myself from smirking at my effect on him.

"Watch where you're going, sweetheart." Even after I turn away and am on the other end of the hallway I can feel his eyes on me and I smile at the image of his flustered, pink face watching me walk away.

Eventually, after wandering the empty hallways for what feels like hours, I find myself in the main office waiting for a woman in her thirties to end her phone call. Her hair is tied in a neat bun and her firmly pressed blazer looks itchy, by the way she shifts every few seconds. She quickly ends the call with a polite "have a wonderful day" before smiling up at me.

"And how can I help you today, dear?"

"I'm new. Pandora De la Cruz."

"One moment please." she beams.

Her smile doesn't reach her eyes though and I can tell she'd rather be doing anything other than sifting through paper work to find my schedule. But to anyone else, I'm sure she looked ecstatic to complete the simple task. Humming her way through the file cabinet her fingers stop on a manila folder with my name printed in neat handwriting on the tab. She pulls out the first page of the folder before handing it to me and tucking the folder back into the cabinet. On the page is the classes I've missed today as well as a locker number and combination I'm certain I wouldn't be using.

"Thanks," I glance at the wooden block on her desk, "Ms. Wright"

By now its well into my second to last class and it seems pointless to go to either of them now. So to please my mama I walk around the eerie hallways until I stumble across the library and wait out the rest of the school day.

The last bell rings, pulling me out of the rather interesting book I found laying on a table in the back of the library. Slowly, I stand and pull my bag over my shoulder before walking in the direction I remember the entrance being in. Seeing as I've taken my sweet time getting to my car most of the cars have cleared out the parking lot by now.

~

"La mujer del otro lado de la calle nos invitó. Por favor, ser amable."

translation: "The woman across the street invited us over. Please, be nice."

I internally groan but kiss her on the cheek and smile,

"Anything for you, mama." This puts a warm smile on her face before she's patting my butt and pushing me towards the door.

I really don't want to accompany my mama to make nice with the neighbors. In fact it's actually the last thing I want to do but I've gotten used to sucking up my negative attitude to appease my gentle mother. I didn't want to give her any more trouble after everything. So I pull a smile onto my face and walk arm and arm with my mama across the large cul de sac to the identical house directly in front of ours.

My mother glances at me briefly before ringing the doorbell and in seconds the door is yanked open to reveal bright green eyes. The same ones I stared into earlier. My eyes widen slightly but I recover from my shock quickly and return her smile.

"Carla! Please come in! Is this your daughter? Oh, She's beautiful! My son should be home any minute." She pulls us inside and begins  chatting up my excited mother.

This continues for several more minutes while I sit back and watch my mama enjoy her new friend. Even through my boredom, I find myself smiling at the sound of my mama's laugh. The smile falls at the sound of the door closing and I bring face back to its usual stoic one.

"Monte! Come in here, there's a few people I want you to meet. They just moved into the house across the street." The bright eyed woman, who I've now learned is named Georgia, shouts in the direction of the front door.

And just like that, the eyes were back, and though he was the spitting image of his mother his eyes glowed in a much different way. A way that sped up even my frozen heart. Something about them was pulling me in and something about the way his cheeks turned pink when he looked at me told me to stay, despite every other part of my mind screaming to keep my guard up. I force myself back into my usual emotionless state and watch his eyes widen at the sight of me in his kitchen.

My eyes roam up his tall frame once again, taking in everything that is the handsome, green-eyed young man. I can't stop the smirk from reappearing on my face once again.

"Monte, this is Carla De la Cruz and her daughter Pandora. They just moved into the house across the street."

Monte stands before the three of us gaping like a fish and my gaze trains down to his mouth. His lips are surprisingly plump, with a cupid bow defined, and a bright pink color. My eyes refocus on the gentle, green ones hiding behind a mop of brown hair just in time to catch him choke out a,

"Hi."

His eyes move from his moms considerably worried face to mine again, and for a second I watch his eyes widen in the slightest at my strong gaze.

"Why don't you take Pandora up to your room, she just started at Ryedale today. Im sure you can help navigate the new school. Carla and I are going to chat before dinner, hun." And those words seem like all it takes for Monte's eyes widen to a scary proportion. If it were possible, I'd be concerned that they'd be spilling out onto the kitchen floor.

"It was lovely to meet you Mrs. Collins. Thank you for having us." I stand up from the table to save him from the awkwardness of this encounter. But not before I make it just a little more awkward. So once I'm standing in front of him I reach my hand up to his jaw, softly closing his mouth, which was still hanging open slightly in shock.

"After you, sweetheart." I wink.

Shocked, he turns in the direction of the grand staircase and slowly makes his way up the stairs. And soon a loud voice comes from the kitchen.

"¡Compórtate, Pandora!" The thick Spanish accent on my mama rings through my ears.

translation: "Behave yourself, Pandora!"

I follow behind him closely, feeling drawn in by the smell pine radiating off of him. He stops outside of a room before rushing to open the door. Once the door opens he backs up and holds his arm out in the direction of the room, gesturing for me to enter. Quickly, I walk towards the room, stopping for a fraction of a second to pat his chest. I hear him let out a breath and I grin slightly as I walk past him.

Before he even has time to enter room fully, I'm moving towards his desk on the other side of the room.

For a few minutes I run my fingers over everything, analyzing the contents of his room. My eyes land on the spine of a familiar book. And upon further inspection, I realize his taste in reading material is actually... good.

"Didn't peg you for Stephen King fan. You scream Star Wars."

He stays quiet and from the corner of my eye I can see him watching my movements.

My fingertips move over the items of his desk before landing on a picture frame that sits neatly on the corner of the desk. The boy in the picture is smiling brightly, water glistening of his bare chest, his hair cleaning to his forehead, and has his arm wrapped around the shoulders of a small woman with an identical face. I had to admit, Monte looked hot. And surprisingly fit for such a seemingly reserved guy.

I turn the frame to him before smirking again.

"You know, I kind of like you shirtless."

For a few seconds I wait for a reply. When he doesn't give one and my smirk is replaced by a small grin. I set the frame back down and move towards him. Despite being several inches shorter than him, I feel in control as I watch him inch backwards into the wall.

"Monte, are you nervous?"

"No." he speaks with a slightly shaky voice.

I see through his lie easily and this only causes my grin to grow into a full blown smile as I continue my path towards him. Soon enough I'm stopped right in front of him, inches from his defined face. The force from before returns and I feel myself being pulled towards him again. Part of me, the cold, guarded part, tells to walk away now. But another part of me, the stronger, much louder part, tells me to give in to the force. Give in to the unreasonable attraction I feel for the ball of nerves standing before me. Slowly, I lift my hand to his cheek and pull his face closer to mine.

I'm so close I can feel his body tense next to mine and it draws me in closer. I press my body gently against his before leaning my lips up to ear.

"I don't bite, sweetheart."