Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch (9 page)

“Hey, you guys up for snacks?” Nick asked
both of us
.

“Sure,” I immediately replied. I was feeling a bit hungry.
Adrien didn’t
answer, though.
I saw that as a lucky sign and smiled to myself.
I turned around to see
that
he was standing right next to my desk
with
that
uncertain
look back on his
features
. I smiled. I found it funny that he was feeling
so
indecisive
about
trivial things as
snacks and was completely confident stomping his way
to
school on his first day.
What a weirdo!

He just looked at me. Nick was outside the room now, trying to contact Anne
and the others on the phone
, and we were both left alone in the room.
He suddenly smiled at me, his eyes throwing me one of those ‘game on’ look.

“Anne said she’ll meet us at Flora’s” Nick came back in.

“Actually, I already have plans. Thanks anyway,” Adrien suddenly said
. He
wav
ed
at us
before
leaving the room.

What now? I frowned. I was so sure that he was coming with us, what with that look he
had on
a minute ago.

The whole drive to Flora’s caf
é was torture. I couldn’t get Adrien’s
face out of my head. He
is
up to something.
I tried my best to join in with what Nick was saying, mostly just nodding at whatever he was
talk
ing
about
. But I couldn’t fully concentrate on anything.

When we arrived at the little café that was just a fifteen-minute drive from school,
Anne, Jessica, and Sandra were already there. As soon as Nick and I were comfortably sat, everyone started with their everyday chitchat. This was how every get together with my friends would start.
Despite seeing each other at school every single day, we still found something to talk about, which was always one of the reasons why I enjoyed their company.

Just when w
e already finished
ordering, I felt that familiar atmosphere surround me again. This time I couldn’t help having an awful feeling about it.
Jessica suddenly squealed like a little girl
,
and I just had to turn back to the direction she was staring.
My eyes widened at the sight of Adrien
parading into the café.

When he saw us, he smiled and immediately went over to our table. I groaned inwardly as I felt my heart race as he was
slowly
approaching
us.
Why does he always have to appear everywhere like this? Just when that thought struck me, I concluded that the world was punishing me
for
reason
s I don’
t
even know.

“Hey,” he smiled at everyone in greeting. When his gaze dropped to me,
he smirked, a clear challenge i
n his eyes.

I felt my blood boil. This was clearly his plan. Damn, Dagger Eyes!

I really couldn’t do anything else with what happened next. My traitorous friends insisted that he sit with us, especially Jessica.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “I really appreciate it,” he said as he sat down right next to me, much to my dismay. He should
ha
ve sat beside Jessica
,
who obviously
looked
disappointed that he didn’t choose the
empty space
beside her.
I immediat
ely felt bad for my friend and
instant
ly
annoye
d
at the guy who was sitting
to my right
.

“Didn’t you say you ha
ve
somewhere else you had to go?” Nick asked, curiosity
evident
on his features. Yes, he did.
Thank you, Nick.
What exactly happened to that
plan
? I thought as I observed him wh
ile
he
explain
ed
himself
.

“Oh, plans changed,” he shrugged, looking at me in the corner of his eye with that satisfied look on his face again.

I gas
ped. Everyone turned to me then, causing me to turn my gasp into a fake cough, which he happily pretended to
tap
my back, a show of mock concern etched on his features.

When everyone was again busy with their conversations,
I turned to glare at him.
You sneaky little rat! He just smirked at me and took a sip of his coffee.

The rest of the afternoon went on like that—me trying to murder Adrien with my eyes, and him just giving me his innocent expression and casual devilish smirks. No one seemed to be bothered by the two of us acting like that. Even Jessica who started talking with Adrien gave up
after he just kept on nodding and giving short replies
, obviously not interested in what she has to say about cheerleading and stuff.

I tried to join in with the conversation, ignoring the disturbing presence sitting right beside me and the constant hammering of my heart.
I managed to do just that, but it only lasted for a few minutes because
by then
I would feel his eyes on me. After that, I would just nod all throughout the rest of the conversation, not being able to digest most of the things that my friends were saying.

There were times that I was bothered by
the expression he had on when
I caught him looking at me. He seemed concerned,
confused, angered,
annoyed
,
and bored.
Each of these expressions changed every time I glared at him, skillfully using my eyes to tell him to back off.

Much to my disappointment, everyone was enthralled with him by the end of the night. I
t seemed like everyone acted like
they knew him
a lot
longer than a few days.

H
ours later, Nick received a call from his mom and said he had to leave, too. Jess and Sand
y
already left a few minutes ago, saying that they had to make a quick stop to get supplies for their project.

“Nick, could you give me a lift home?” Anne suddenly said with an expectant look on her face. When Nick nodded, she immediately waved at us and they both left the café. I sighed when I realized Anne purposely planned this.

“I’ll give you a
ride
home,” he s
aid suddenly, which shocked me. I turned to study his expression. He had that flat
, bored
expression
again
, not caring in the least. I just shrugged.
Despite being annoyed with him, I could use a ride home. I
didn’t feel
like walking home
today
.

“Thanks,” I mumbled before standing and gathering my things.

As we walked to the café’s parking lot, I got curious
thinking
what kind of car he drove. I haven’t seen him actually drive to scho
ol before.

o what kind of car he drove. I haven' not caring in the least. I just shrugged.a quick stop to

My eyes popped when I saw
the direction to where we were
head
ing. Directly ahead of us was
a s
ilky black
Jaguar convertible
,
comfortably resting
under a tree at
the
e
nd
of the parking lot. I immediately stopped, causing Adrien to stop and turn back to me, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Oh
m
y God! Your car’s beautiful!” I exclaimed, totally unsure if that was the correct term to describe it.
I
blushed
when I realized
what I just
declared
out loud
.
How could I have not seen this car before? Well, I couldn’t have. We’ve never really been civil to each other since he transferred here.

When he saw my face, he just laugh
ed and
walked
back to
pull me along with him
, making my heart drum at how casually
he
held my hand
.
I didn’t pull my hand back when he touched it even if
it
felt
like
it was
being electrocuted by him.

He still carried that amused expression as he slowly maneuvered the car out of the parking lot.

We didn’t talk as we drove all the way to my house. Somehow, I didn’t mind at all. I was actually comfortable with the silence for some unexplainable reason.
It was unusual how I felt at ease
being alone in a car
with
this guy
. Not to mention how my heart still beat fast at how close
we were in this confined space.

When
the car parked outside
my house, I
turned to him.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, looking straight into his eyes. I immediately made a mental note not to do that
again
at a close distance
. He was easily drawing me in
.

“You’re welcome,” he said as he flashed me
a
crooked smile.
I immediately opened the door before my insides
complete
ly turned into jelly. I frowned as I walked all the way to the
house
. When I was safely inside, I heard the car engine start and speed away.

He’s a damn light switch!
I don’t understand him at all. I sighed as I prepared myself for bed. That night, I slept with a bothered expression on my face.

I felt myself being thrown
somewhere
at
a very fast
pace
. It was so
swift
that I was
terrifi
ed of throwing up.
It almost felt like I was spinning.
I tried to stop myself from moving. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even close my eyes to prevent myself from getting dizzy.

Just when I thought I couldn’t hold it any longer, I stopped.
I
thoroughly
scanned my surroundings, wondering where on earth I was.
The place seemed
painfully familiar.

I couldn’t point out where I was
exactly
. I was standing
on the edge of
a
cliff, looking at the
brilliant
show of lightning in the heavens.

I shuddered when
I suddenly remembered. This was the
cliff in my previous dream. But it somehow felt different.
Why wasn’t I flying?
Better yet, w
hy was I
standing
on the exact spot
where I shouldn’t be?

I panicked when I realized I was exactly on that same
spot
where that hooded figure stood.
I froze at the sudden realization that he was going to be here any moment.

My
breathing increase
d
rapidly as I commanded myself to
start
mov
ing and
run away.
But my body still didn’t allow me
the
freedom
I
badly
needed
. Instead of running away, it stepped further into the edge
of the cliff
and peered down.