The Breath Of His

5. The future Darth Vader that made me sweat like a turkey at Christmas

The rest of the day just flew by.

I stirred clear of the 'The Wynorrific Princes' or in short TWPs. A nickname I had gotten used to for calling West, Vann and the company.

There were a few classes that we shared but I avoided to even look that way with the fear of them hissing at my sight. I have had enough with their hostile gazes, I wasn't keen to add more to my already full plate of troubles.

The last bell of the day went off and the students buzzed out to the hallways like the hunting dogs left out for a run.

I hobbled my way out behind them. By the time I was out of the door, the hallway had already students departing. Argh! This stupid cast, I always ended up being left alone in the end! I don't know why I was still having the cast on, I swear I couldn't feel any pain. More than the pain, I didn't even feel my leg! Damn...

It took me a good twenty minutes to hobble my way out of a corridor that would have hardly taken half of the time.

And finally, I was out of the front door. There on the other side of the road stood TWPs before their expensive looking jeep.

The entire student body that was present around this area was sneaking glances or outright staring without a care in the world. And among those shameless ones, I too would be counted.

Then he turned to look over his friend, Kai's, shoulder, his golden blond glowed over his head like a halo. His eyes looked darker from my position but I knew how silver they were, like mercury dancing inside the thermometer.

The moment his eyes fell on me, I felt it. My body went haywire with just his gaze that lingered for a tad bit longer than it should have...

But he quickly looked away as if it was a fleeting glance and turned back to face his friends.

Damn... What was about this guy that made me involuntarily let my eyes follow him, no matter how much I tried to look away?

Perhaps it was that captivating features that were out of this planet, and that amazing swimmer's physique, and that deep hypnotic voice and that mysterious aura... What was I doing again? Why was my mind doing this to me? I shook my head to rid myself of his thoughts.

I took a deep breath and focused my wandering eyes on hobbling my way down the few set of stairs and towards the road where a familiar car was about to pull up to the curb.

I had almost made it halfway to towards the awaiting car from where my mother got down, all the time my eyes involuntarily shifting to follow the one person who asked me openly to stay away from him, when I my accident meter went off with a low level magnitude and the next thing I know is I was almost pushed to the ground. But thankfully, whoever it was grabbed my elbow and prevented me from falling face first.

Nevertheless, my crutches were on the ground, at least I wasn't.

"So sorry over there, I didn't see you there," Reed apologized as he helped me stand up straight only to end up being dumbstruck when he actually looked at me, "wow..."

I didn't know whether it was a taunt or he was just speechless at my condition or what but his friends behind him seem to be in a similar condition.

I cleared my throat trying to end this awkwardness making the guys come back to Earth.

"S-so sorry again," I could make out a tint of blush over Reed's cheeks as he picked up my fallen items for me and cleared his own throat soon after.

"Thank you, it would have been difficult for me to pick them up," I thanked him.

"I'm Reed Cooper, by the way. Are you new here? Never seen you here before," I seriously didn't expect to hear that. Agreed that the popular guys lived in a different realm but this town was small and it would be impossible to miss someone who has been living among them for so long... Almost my entire life!

"I know who you are Reed, I'm Snow Priestley. And... I have... been here as long as I can remember," I gave him a tight lipped smile not knowing what to do.

"Snow, you okay darling?" The worried voice of my mother's reached me as she came to stand beside me, taking my things into her arms.

"Yeah, I'm alright," I replied reflexively. On the other side, while my mother went on gushing about how I should be careful and all, I could hear the Reed and his gang discuss among themselves about how they had missed to see someone like me before.

"Come on, sweetie, let's head back," my mom grabbed my hand as she brought my attention to her, wanting to help me hobble the rest of the way to the car.

I turned my eyes to meet Vann's, which I had felt right when I had the collision with Reed. Not a second had went by where his electric gaze had moved away from him. I raised my chin a little with defiance, a small challenge of my own, like asking without a word spoken, "what are you looking at?"

When he didn't turn away even after that, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes and furrow my eyebrows at him. But that insolent jerk just kept staring at me even when no one else was paying any attention me, he continued to stare getting a questioning glare from me. A feeling of embarrassment had taken over my entire being as I hobbled as quickly as my mother could help me towards the car. What was he even staring at? It was a nerve-wrecking feeling when I consider the hostility he and his group had displayed towards me just a few hours ago.

My mother opened the passenger door for me to ride shotgun while she tucked away the crutches in the backseat while I put on the seatbelts and waited impatiently for her to get into the driver seat, feeling the heat of the summer make me swelter, or was it the stare of the future Darth Vader that made me sweat like a turkey at Christmas.

I watched him from the side mirror while he continued to stare. I swear I even saw those beautiful eyes of his darken, or at least it did in my head.

"Alright, all set, ready to go?" Mom asked getting into the driver seat and putting on her seat belt while I hummed in reply raising an eyebrow at the still staring Vann from the mirror. My mom drove the metallic transport as she started with her regular questions about school making me give her the same monotonous routine replies while the last thing I saw on the slowly distancing figure of Vann's was a tiny curl on the side of his lips as he turned away to look at someone in his gang. I don't know if I was the cause of that little smirk of his or someone from the group telling something. But whatever the reason was, I got to admit, damn... he looked so sexy.