Still 48 Days Before the First Letter

I was petrified with embarrassment but soon a rush of rage took over me. I quickly wrapped a towel around my waist and stormed out of the bathroom to confront this stupid, scary stranger. 

I stood at a fair distance and squinted at him aggressively. He was still lying on my bed with 'Winter's End' clutched between his fingers. Upon seeing me, he placed the book down and crossed his arms. An amused look clouded his face as he studied me.

"Who are you?!" I yelled." No. What are doing here?!! HOW DID YOU EVEN GET IN?!"

With his hand, he motioned toward the door that led to the balcony.

"You... climbed up to the balcony and sneaked into my room?..." My voice caught in my throat and eventually ended up a squeak. A rush of fear overwhelmed me.

Could he be a rapist... or a robber?... or both?!

I squeezed my hands together, keeping them steady from the possessing tremor. His figure shifted across my bed and he began walking toward me. I moved back slowly, maintaining the gap between us. For a brief moment, his calm face seemed a little concerned. He stopped in his steps.

"Calm down, will you?" The stranger spoke.

"I'm Kiara's friend."

I squinted sceptically.

"My name is Casper Anderson."

Casper...

Oh, the one she talked about...

I felt annoyed again. "We do have a front door you know..."

"Oh... this was a thing. She didn't mind me climbing into her room. We usually hang out during this time of the year." He had a smug look on his face.

"But this is MY room. What are you doing in MY room?"

" ... I forgot which room was hers," he said bluntly.

What a freaking lie!

I sighed in defeat.

"Kiara's not here. She's on a vacation with her boyfriend. Now if you'll please, get out of my room!"

His face turned into a devious smirk. "You're rude and I like that... really like that." He began walking towards me. "Tell you what Miss Pant-less, why don't you put some pants on and I'll let you in on a little treat."

"No thanks." I folded my arms and stood my ground.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know you?!"

"Well you're this close to finding out so..."  he pinched his fingers together and walked closer. I took a few steps back.

"But I don't want to know...you," my voice lowered as he looked down at me. I could smell his cologne.... he was too close.

"It's not like you have other plans," he scanned me up and down.

I took the last few steps back.

"Well yes. I do in fact have....plans," I muttered.

He was too close...way too close. I was pushed up against a wall and although his arms were on either side of me, he wasn't making skin contact.

"Oh really? ...Like what?" He rose a brow up suspiciously, lowering his head to look me in the eyes. It made me feel uneasy.

"I have a book to read..." I whispered.

"Can't hear you," he brought his face closer.

I pushed him off me. "I said I have a book to read!"

We stared stone-faced at each other before he inhaled a great breath.

"Nicholas is Mathew Thorne. Alex's dad had an affair and turns out, Nicholas aka Matthew Thorne is his half-brother. And because of Alex's dad...."

It took me a minute to realize what he was jabbering.

THIS DOLT WAS SPOILING MY BOOK!

"Shuuuutttt upppp!" I screamed.

"ALEX'S dad abandoned Matthew and his mom, so as a DEPRIVED AND mistreated child, Matthew kills for revenge...."

"I will strangle you if you don't shut your pie hole! CUT IT OUT!" I threw a cushion at his face, which he dodged skillfully.

This guy was the biggest idiot I had ever come across.

"Oh and the naked lady, she was...."

I plugged my fingers into my ears. He laughed and took me by my hands, pinning them behind my back. I couldn't breathe.... my heart was sprinting.

Too close...

I thought he smiled for a little bit but then...

"...she was wrapped in plastic and he tied plastic on his shoes so that's why there were no traces of grass! Matthew padded his car seats before slamming into Alex's vehicle before his dad's death and..." he breathed in. "ALEX KILLS NICHOLAS AT THE END!!"

Silence prevailed between us as I stood open-mouthed. He let go of me...

"But... I liked Nicholas," I mumbled to myself, disheartened.

He laughed triumphantly. "I'll give you ten minutes to get dressed. I'm waiting downstairs."

And with that, he left.

I stared at the clock, it was a few minutes to six. Was I going?? No. Hell no. But no matter how hard I tried, there was one thing about him that didn't leave my mind.

I wasn't tongue-tied around this guy.

My first chats always went badly because I usually talked less and nodded more.

What happened this time around?

I was yelling like crazy that's what.

Well, I still hated him but a part of me was intrigued. I wanted to know more about him. All I knew so far was that his name was Casper Anderson, he was tall, pale- extremely pale, he had straight black hair that fell all over his face, light grey eyes, a heavy voice, and he read books at the speed of lightning. To be honest, I was a little nervous. He spoiled my book though, oh how I craved sweet revenge.

I put on my dark blue denim shorts and kept my monstrous tee on. Then, I tied my hair into a messy bun and flopped onto my bed. I read my victimised novel, peeking at the clock now and then.

6 o'clock, 6.10, 6.20.

At almost 6.30 pm I went downstairs.

He may have left by now.

Or so I thought.

"So much for ten minutes," he scoffed.

"I like to dress up."

With my hair messed up like I climbed out of hell, that statement may have sounded a bit exaggerated.

He stood dissatisfied before grabbing my hand and running out the door.

"Uh.. could you maybe... slow down?" I gulped as we ran wildly.

"Uh.. no." He mocked me.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there. By the way... what's your name?" He turned his head around briefly.

"I'm Jasmine, Jasmine McRae."

I had my eyes fixed on the ground which was slipping away all too quickly. Hoping not to trip and fall face down, I gave my all to keep up with him. We were running past rain trees, jumping over enormous roots and racing towards something. What exactly I did not know.

When I glimpsed around I realized it was almost sunset. Also, I had no idea where he was taking me.

"Are you going to..." I cut myself off.

"To what?"

"I don't know, attack me maybe? In the forest?"

With a swift move, he pulled me in front of him. The air shifted uneasily as his eyes pierced mine. I felt uncomfortable so I looked away and stood in awe of what I saw.

It was a lake.

Not a very large one but a decent lake nevertheless. However, at sunset, it was something more. Much more. The colours purple and orange painted the sky above and a similar splatter of hue rippled across the clear lake. The tinted sky changed shades by the second. I had never seen anything like it.

In another moment, the sun sank somewhere into the water and all light vanished. The water turned dark and motionless.

"So beautiful...." I whispered.

"Tell me about it," he whispered back caressing my fingers.

We held hands the whole time?!

I quickly untangled my fingers from his and stepped away. It was getting cold. I should have put more clothes on.

Casper neared me.

"Now that that's done..." he tilted his head and whispered close to me. I could feel his warm breath brush against my cheek and it sent a tingle down my spine. I gulped nervously.

"You can walk back home."

I knew it was blinding dark but I'm sure I saw him smirk.

"Jerk," I spat the word.

I began walking past him when he stopped me and burst into laughter.

"I'm kidding." He caught his breath before laughing a little more. "God, you're adorable. My place is just around the corner. We should go."

"I don't want to," I stated boldly.

"I'm not leaving you with an option here. It's dark and your place is way too far to go back to now."

"I don't like you."

"Ouch. Like I care. Just stay. Kiara's stayed over a dozen times." He emphasised.

"Did she cheat on Josh with you or something? Because that's what you make it sound like...."

"I'm not sure. Did she?" He smiled slyly.

I gasped and he chuckled at that.

"Joshua Brown is a close friend of mine."

That didn't convince me.

"But you'll be taking me back home first thing next morning?" I demanded.

"That's if you still wanted to go. I mean after spending the night with me girls usually don't..."

"BYE." I nearly sprinted away from him when he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, clasping me tightly.

"Calm down," he whispered into my hair as I struggled. "You're not good at taking jokes. Well, if it makes things any better then I should say you are not my type. You're not traditionally attractive either so you're safe."

That did not make things any better. This stupid jerk offended me, but he did have a point.

I squeezed out of his grasp. "Great let's go then," I replied angrily.

We walked quietly and soon reached his house. It was warm inside and not a soul wandered in sight.

"Where's the house caretaker?" I asked him.

"She has a family. She goes back before dusk."

"Mrs Edmund stays with us," I told him.

He smiled. "I know."

He lead me into a cabin-like room and as I sat Indian-style on the bed, he flopped onto his lazy boy.

"So tell me about yourself." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

And with that, I started reciting my very structured introduction, which I had prepared almost ten years ago. It had been the same ever since with a few adjustments here and there.

"I'm Jasmine McRae. Seventeen currently, but that will change next month on Jan 12. I live in Ricc City, here for the holidays. I stay with my elder brother, Cheyne. My parents died when I was four. I'm multi-talented. I sing, draw, write, and I'm an all-rounder nerd. I love reading. I hate talking to new people, I actually can't... it's a thing. I'm anti-social in most cases and I'm a happy introvert." At that, my face twitched into a frown but I shook it off immediately. "I like pop-punk and pop-rock. My favourite bands are Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and Paramore. Kiara and Cheyne are my closest friends. I can be very dramatic. I talk a lot once I'm comfortable around someone but that seldom happens. And I'm single since the day I was born. The end."

His jaw dropped.

"So you defined everything, huh? Okay, question time. Why single?"

"None of your business."

"Very well then." He straightened his back. "But I'll only tell you what I think you should know about me. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Casper Anderson, turning 19 this Christmas. I live in Vamp City. That's very far from your hometown. I'm studying Civil Engineering, first year. Umm, I love Linkin Park too and a lot of other bands and artists. It'll take forever to list them so I'll skip that. I read too, I'm a huge fan of Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum and an Australian writer Matthew Rielly. I'm an action lover. Also, I'm probably the most awesome person in all of human existence. That would be all."

"Male- ego." I pointed out.

"I prefer alpha male."

"Yeah, my butt."

"We don't want to talk about that now, or do we?" He winked playfully.

I played deaf and blind to that.

"Can we watch a movie or something?" I suggested.

He nodded in agreement and smiled warmly. All awkwardness somehow melted away.

He led me into the home theatre room. A huge mattress looking couch lay on the floor. Correction, there was no floor. Just bed all around. In another moment, I sat bouncing on the innerspring mattress. Casper threw a stack of videos beside me and told me to pick a movie while he heated popcorn.

His house was more spacious than Kiara's and very different. I supposed it was mostly unoccupied, so the family feel was missing but it felt comfortable nonetheless.

He came back shortly with a huge bowl of popcorn in one hand and a set of bedding in the other. Then he tossed the blankets and pillows at my face.

"What... what's this?" I asked nervously.

"It gets cold at night."

"I'm not sleeping here.... with you." I protested firmly.

"It's for the movie."

"Oh."

Embarrassing.

He sat down beside me and offered me popcorn.

"So what are we watching?" He asked, peeking at the few CDs I had in my hand.

"How about Harry Potter? The first one?"

"Sure." He set it up in no time. We snuggled into our blankets and watched the movie.

"They all look so cute." I giggled.

"Voldemort too?"

"Nah, he looks like you." I let out a little laugh.

"If by that you mean hot, I do agree," he scoffed.

"Ugly. I meant ugly," I deadpanned.

"Is that a new word for sexy?" He fixed his eyes to me.

I laughed. "You could use a dictionary."

"And you could use glasses."

"Excuse me? I see just fine!"

"Oh, I'm just fine alright." He smirked.

"You define obnoxious!"

"And you arrogant!"

I rolled my eyes at him but smiled right after.

We resumed watching the movie. The night was getting cold and my eyelids grew heavier with each passing minute. Eventually, I dozed off.