Chapter Nineteen

It was like time had frozen, and everything around us had disappeared. I couldn't look away from his eyes, and he didn't seem like he had the intention of looking away either. My hand had frozen in mid-air to grab the pen, and he still held his hand out to meet mine. The tips of my fingers urged to reach out and touch his, feel his skin.

I mentally slapped myself. What the hell is wrong with me? This is a complete stranger!

But was he? I knew those eyes. I kept seeing them every time I closed my eyes and in my dreams when I went to sleep. Could it be a coincidence then? There had to be cases where people had similar eyes, and weren't even related. There were so many colors in the world, and maybe they were the eyes of an actor or someone famous that I had idolized a lot before the accident.

Even I had no idea where the image of those memorizing eyes had come from.

All I knew, was that I was captivated by the stranger's eyes.

I finally snapped myself out of it, and reached for the pen. I was careful not to touch his skin at all, and shoved it in my bag.

"Thank you," I muttered, and tried to stand up from my seat. I was so focused on just leaving, I hadn't realized I forgot to zip up my bag. The instant I stood up, all the contents had come spilling out, and dumped themselves on the floor.

I didn't bother to hold back the groan of frustration and dropped to the ground to pick everything up. I had expected the stranger to lose interest and walk away, but to my surprise, he dropped down in front of me and helped pick up my scattered books.

"Thanks, but you don't have to help me," I said. I spotted a bit of a smile under his dark, ruffled brown hair, as he continued to pick everything up. He stacked my books together, and handed them to me. I didn't want to look into his eyes again, but another bigger part of me wanted too. I knew the moment I did, I was going to get lose again, and look like a complete idiot then.

I cleared my throat and took the books from his hands. I shoved them back in my bag, and made extra sure that it was closed this time. We both stood up at the same time, and I wasn't sure what to do next. I wanted to run out the door, but I felt like I should at least introduce myself, since he had stayed and helped me clean up. I chewed my bottom lip and casted my eyes downward.

"My name is Adam, it's nice to meet you," he said, and stuck his hand out. I looked at it, like I had never seen a hand, before I slowly lifted my hand to grasp his. I couldn't help the gasp the escaped my lips, when the same electric current that had hit me before, did again the instant my skin touched his.

My heart started to flutter, and it felt like I was having a hard time breathing. How did this guy have such an effect on me?

"A-ava, my name is Ava." I sounded like such a loser. I probably looked like one too.

He smiled softly, and it banished all my worries. His bright blue eyes had lit up as the corners of his mouth creased. He was beyond gorgeous, it almost knocked the wind out of me.

"Is this your first year here?" he asked casually, even though my heart felt like it was going to explode, and I knew for a fact that my face was beat red.

"Uh, yeah, I just moved here last week." I wasn't sure why I had told him that. My father warned me that whoever had kidnapped me, might still be after me. I wasn't to give away any personal information about myself. The fact that I moved here from somewhere else, a place I didn't want people to know, was a pretty personal fact.

"It's my first year here too." I was relieved when he didn't seem interested in my personal life. "I do know this school well, so if you ever need any help getting around, let me know. We are going to have a lot of the same classes for the next semester, I'm the perfect person to help," he grinned, and I melted. I felt like such a school girl with a crush on the cute, popular boy.

"Thank you, that would be nice." The response was out of my mouth before I comprehended it. I practically agreed to let him show me around. I didn't know why, but after I had thought about it a little, it was what I wanted. I wanted to spend more time with Adam, even though I had just met him, I liked his presence.

It felt familiar.

***

"Would you like me to help you to your next class? Or…" Adam started to ask, but trailed off. I wasn't sure if he was implying that I might know my way around – or I might have someone else showing me. I didn't want to tell him that I had to wait a half-hour for Sebastian's class to end. I was afraid it would give him the wrong impression, though I wasn't entirely sure why I cared.

Who was I kidding. I knew exactly why; he was extremely attractive, and I didn't want him to think I had a boyfriend.

"I do have a friend that is here with me, I have to wait for him to get out of class, before I can really go anywhere. He doesn't know where he is going, either." I inwardly cringed and hoped that was enough to make it seem like I was still available.

I wasn't sure, but I swore a brief look of anger flashed across his face. It had to be my imagination. I would expect him to maybe be disappointed with the news, but not angry.

"A friend, huh?" he muttered. I couldn't tell how he was felling by his deep tone. He frowned and looked away from me. "Not a problem," he continued, and flashed another dazzling smile at me, that left me breathless again. He walked closer to me, which only caused the lack of air in my throat to escape.

He stopped, his chest inches away from mine. I felt his hair tickle the side of my face as he leaned down towards my ear, his warm breath flew across my cheeks and sent heat to them instantly.

"I know where to find you if you need me," he whispered, a hidden emotion in his tone. He was out the door, before I could process what he had said. My heart was racing a mile a minute, and I had to grasp the edge of the desk to keep myself upright on my jelly legs.

After I had calmed myself and my breathing, I gathered my bag and rushed out the door. I checked the halls, but was a little disappointed to see that Adam was nowhere to be seen. The halls were almost empty, with a few stray students that ran down the halls to make their classes.

I walked over to the far wall and slumped down on a small bench. I touched the side of my face, where Adam's lips had been inches away from seconds ago. I could still feel his breath on my face, and the tickle of his hair on my skin. Just the thought of it, sent my heart into a frenzy again. While I sat and waited for Sebastian, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

As I thought about it, I remembered what he had said, just before he flew out the door and disappeared. I was finally able to process what he whispered, and it sent a bad chill through my body.

I know where to find you if you need me.

He knew where to find me?

Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Everything in me was on high alert. I was so scared and wrapped up in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed the time pass, or when Sebastian called out to me as he approached.

"Hey, Ava, you alright?" He waved his hand in front of my face, before he shook my shoulder and snapped me out of it.

"Uh, yeah, I'm alright," I tried to say, but I could hear the quiver in my voice.

"What happened? Did someone do something to you in class?" Sebastian asked, the anger rising on his face. I had to calm him down, or he was just going to get me riled up.

"No, it was just a little overwhelming. I hadn't expected the class to be so big, with so many people. I guess I'm not as ready as I thought I was, it's going to take some getting used to." I managed to smile at him and put my hand on his shoulder to assure him.

He took a few breaths, before he calmed down, but still looked concerned. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

"I'm sure, let's just get to my next class before I'm late. I couldn't handle being around other people, I don't want to get yelled at on my first day."

Sebastian nodded and we headed down the hall before it had become crowded again. I sent a quick text to Alex along the way, to let him know that I had made it to my first class alright, and was now headed to my next. He had asked I checked in with him every few hours, to make sure he knew what areas to check if anything went wrong inside.

I had told him he was overreacting, but as Sebastian and I had navigated our way through the halls, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched.

It was the same feeling I got in the hospital, and at the park back home.

For some reason, the image of the bright blue eyes flashed in my mind, and I suddenly thought of the strange guy, Adam. I took a quick look around the halls, but didn't see Adam, or anyone who looked suspicious. I shook off the feeling and continued to follow Sebastian.

The feeling of being watched, as well.