I immediately nodded in response to Cleo.
She smiled, and her petite hand wrapped around mine. We walked down the stairs together. The cream colored wedges she was wearing tapped the floors and echoed down the hallway. Her presence was commanding, and it was like everything around bowed down to her existence.
Finally, the angel cleared her throat and spoke, "Would you like to join a club I started?" Her sparkling eyes gazed at me, and my heart shook. My hand slightly fidgeted, and I looked away of course. I couldn't believe I was holding Cleo Sylvester's hand. God's gift to the world...
"To be honest, that's not a good idea." I wanted to tell her I couldn't join any clubs because I wasn't pleasant to be around, but my voice seemed caught in my throat.
"You should really speak up, Val." She stopped walking and stared at me directly. She suddenly grabbed my other hand, and I felt myself melting into the floor. Could she hear my heartbeat? Or feel the pain that was digging through my ribs. What was she doing? Was this normal?
"I'm happy that you think about me a lot," she said.
"What does that mean?"
Cleo leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "I found something of yours. You'd forgive me for taking a peak right?"
She released her grip on my hands and bent down on one knee. Then, proceeded to take off her backpack. She dug through it and pulled out a brown notebook with scribbles on them. My scribbles...
Wait?
"Ahh," the sound escaped my mouth before I expected it. Immediately, I snatched the journal out of her hands... The journal I had lost had somehow managed to get into the possession of the worst person to have it. The focus of my dreams; the girl I didn't know who I stared at in the hallways.
Did I leave it in a class? That didn't make sense because I didn't share any classes with her... My heart was hurting. I wanted to burn this thing. Why did this have to happen? How did this happen?
Oh my god.
My nervously fumbled the book into my backpack. "Thank you so much," I said. I took a step back, and she reached forward but I moved to quickly from her graceful reach. "I'm sorry, my mom is probably worried since I've been here for so long."
I ran away. My breathing hurt along with my anxiety. The world seemed blurry. Was I dying? Maybe I was going to run until I passed out. Oh god, I was gonna die. My heart would give out before I could get home. Why were my eyes burning?
I pushed the doors of the school entrance open and all of sudden I was on the ground. My head hurt, and the world seemed to lose its clarity. I heard a girl's voice, but not Cleo's. It was husky but feminine. A dark figure formed in front of me as my vision began to sharpen.
"...Lo.. Hello? Hello. Are you okay?"
I blinked and nodded. Her hands wrapped around mine, and she pulled me up. I rubbed my eyes and stared at her. A girl with shiny dark shoulder-length brown hair and a black dress stood in front of me.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Did I run into you? I'm so sorry."
"Please, be careful," she blinked, her long eyelashes seemed someone doll-like. "Did someone scare you? You look like someone walked in on you in the bathroom or something."
I rubbed my head. It felt like someone had set off a bomb in my head. "I'm okay," I mumbled, "I'm just.. In a rush. Thank you."
"No problem. Your name is Valerie or something right? You're actually in my chemistry class. I'm Valentina by the way."
I didn't recognize her at all, but then again, I slept through most of my classes. "Thank you," I repeated. My eyes continued to look her up and down. Her shiny black combat boots, her dark mascara, and her molasses colored eyes were almost relaxing. A nice juxtaposition to the soft girl I'd been running run.
"What're you staying after for?" She inquired with a grin.
"I fell asleep..."
She laughed. "Cute. I just wait here. My papa kinda sucks, so I like to hangout on campus for as long as possible," her eyes reminded me of a chocolate milkshake. I wouldn't be surprised if she was one of those Tumblr girls who ran a 15k blog with only pictures of herself on it..
"I was actually.. going home," I said quietly.
I heard the school doors open, and I grew stiff. "There you are, Val. I'm so sorry if I scared you. Perhaps, I should've been more tactful." The angel spoke. Had she followed me here? No, of course not. She was just going home to probably. Three hours is a long time to wait for someone.
"Valentina, Val, you guys are friends. How cute," Cleo said, still smiling.
"Hey Cleo," Valentina waved. "What's the angel of our school still doing here?"
"Attending business," her eyes narrowed in the two of us, "I was hoping to walk Valerie home actually. If you don't mind," her voice still fluttered, and she still had that gracefulness, but her eyes seemed to get it a bit colder.
Valentina laughed. "I'm not intruding," she said. "Sorry, sorry, she just bumped into me, angel. I'll see you tomorrow Valerie. You too Cleo." Valentina walked smiled at me and then walked away, without looking back. Hopefully, I didn't see her tomorrow. Explaining this or having a conversation would've been awkward.
"I'm so sorry Valerie. I was just surprised. I didn't realize any other students were still on campus," her voice interrupted my thoughts, "Please be careful around Valentina. She's not a good person. Anyway, I offered to walk you home so I guess I'll do that. And talk about the club to.. And other things of course. I'm sorry I read your dream journal by the way."
"Where did. . . you find it?"
"I just across it. That reminds me, club meetings are everyday right after school. It's a commitments. I'm sure you're ready for it. After all, you tend to go straight home after school or sleep. Anyway, about the journal, I like you a lot. Would you like to go out sometime?"
I wanted to lie down. Her questions were so intense, and she went about her topics so quickly. I wanted to ask questions, but I just found myself nodding. She'd read my dream journal, so she knew I liked her.
"Great, whats your phone number?" she asked. She handed me her phone and I typed my digits into her contacts list. "I'll text you," she said without looking at me.
"I'm so happy," she said. "I thought I always saw you looking at me, but I always thought I was wrong. When I read your journal, I was so happy seeing some of your dreams," she giggled. "It's so nice to find out that the person you like likes you and thinks about you to the same degree, right?"
My face just burned. Her happiness was kind of scary.
We walked to my house, and she continued talking endlessly I'd never spoken to someone like her. She was definitely optimistic. She continuously called herself an angel. I kind of.. was disillusioned by this situation. Her beauty was lovely. Her personality was pretty too, but it certainly was not what I expected.
I stared at the sky as she spoke and wondered if I was just having an intricate dream that wouldn't end.
I would've thought that, but when we arrived in front of my house, this thought was shattered. Cleo grew quiet and stared at me. "So, Valerie, have you had your first kiss yet?"
I shook my head.
She smiled and leaned forward.
Now, at that moment in time I must explain, I wasn't really grasping the situation that took place. When her lips touched mine for that brief amount of time, I wasn't ready. I didn't expect it. My brain was an flickering on and off as I tried to understand. I didn't kiss back, I didn't close my eyes, I just stood there.
She leaned back and laughed before running her fingers through my tangled hair. "I hope you can tell everyone that your first kiss was with an angel."
Then she walked away, leaving me alone in front of my house. I stared at the ground and felt empty. I hadn't expected so much to happen in a day. She just gave me a kiss. I had to talk to two girls. My love had read my journal.
Emptiness began to transform into confusion.. and then panic... I still couldn't move.
Finally, tears slipped down my face as my eyes burned. The quietness of my life had been interrupted, and I wasn't even sure how to respond. Why did I cry? I wasn't sad, but I was so confused that I couldn't even be happy. I just wasn't sure what to do.
What had I even gotten myself into?