Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series) (3 page)

I stared at
her, my mind blank. I had no idea who it could be. “The president?”

She chuckled,
waving her sandwich at me. “No, dummy. Stephanie.”

Just the sound
of her name gave me the chills. “Lucky you.” I grinned, thinking about the last
time I saw her at the beach. My brown hair was still short after my unwanted
cut, but styled in a cute spiky bob. My friends and I were enjoying a day of
sun. Her mouth popped open in shock when she noticed me. Derrick, who knew
about what had happened, draped his arm around me and whispered in my ear as
though we were a couple. Of course we weren’t—he was my best friend—but she
didn’t have to know that. A few of his buddies were also there, dressed only in
swimsuits, showing off their tanned muscular bodies.

To her, it
looked like I was surrounded by three hunky guys all vying for my attention. So
I wasn’t surprised that she stared at me coldly, shooting daggers in my
direction. I just smiled and waved at her, making her so angry, she stomped off
the beach with her puppets following her.

“Who’s
Stephanie?” Derrick asked, but before I answered, his eyes widened. “Isn’t she
that witch who cut your hair?”

Since he caught
me with my mouth full, I just nodded.

“You really
need to get back at her.” He shook his head, staring down at his soda can.

I swallowed.
“Why, she’s a spoiled rich snob. I don’t care what she thinks.” I took a sip of
my drink. “Besides, wouldn’t that be stooping to her level?”

“Who cares, she
deserves it,” he shot back at me. Emma and I exchanged glances as he creased
his brows in thought. “You know what you should do?”

I chuckled,
never having seen this side of him before. “What?” I asked.

“Dye her hair
green or her skin blue. Hell, a little hair removal in her shampoo bottle would
do her some good.”

Who knew he
could be so vindictive, and utterly girlish? All that was missing from his
suggestions was hair pulling. I raised an eyebrow instead of answering. He
shrugged. “So I watch too many cheesy chick flicks, it’s your fault.”

Emma laughed at
him then turned to me. “So Sarah, what are you going to do about Lucas’ book?”

Derrick glanced
at her and answered for me. “What’s the big deal, just go up and tell him that
you have it. He’s sitting right over there.” He gestured with his hand. I
looked over to where he pointed. Lucas was sitting with Andy and Kyle two
tables away. I hoped he hadn’t heard us talking about him.

Emma was
glaring at Derrick like he’d lost his mind. “She can’t just go over there, he
won’t talk to her.”

“What’s the big
deal?” he asked again, shrugging his shoulders.

“You are such a
guy.” She tossed the crust from her bread down on the table. Emma was the only
seventeen-year-old I knew who still didn’t eat the crust on her sandwich.

I decided to
interrupt them. “Oh my God, it’s not a big deal, I’m going.” They could bicker
back and forth for hours if I let them. I just wished they’d finally kiss and
get it over with.

I stood up and
headed over to where Lucas and his friends were sitting. I could feel Emma and
Derrick’s gazes on my back.

As I approached
their table, Kyle and Andy smiled and nodded to me. Andy asked if I was
finished with my homework for our chemistry class, and I said yes. While we
were talking, Lucas never looked up from the paperback he was reading. “Lucas?”
I couldn’t keep the slight tremble out of my voice. Nothing; he still didn’t
look up. “Lucas!” I said a little louder.

Andy and Kyle
just shrugged. “Dude!” Andy smacked Lucas’ shoulder.

He finally
glanced up at me, his glasses falling forward a bit. He pushed them back then
glared at me with his deep hazel eyes. He was quite good-looking when you were
close enough to notice. He was tanned, and his long brown hair suited him,
giving him a rugged look. He had a strong jaw, and a sprinkle of freckles along
the bridge of his nose.

“What?” he
said, interrupting my thoughts.

I was a little
flustered at his annoyed expression. “Um…I don’t know if you know me? My name
is Sarah”

“I know who you
are,” he interrupted.

“Well, you
dropped your book when I bumped into you this morning. I didn’t bring it with
me, but if you want to meet me at my locker, I can give it to you.”

He looked at me
like I was speaking a different language. “Why don’t you just bring it with you
to history next period, and give it to me there.”

I was shocked.
“You’re in my history class?”

Now he looked
even more annoyed. “I sit behind you in the back corner, and you probably
didn’t notice me because you’re always talking to Emma.”

I felt a twinge
of guilt, but it was quickly replaced by irritation. Why would it matter to him
if I always talked to Emma? To my knowledge, he didn’t even know I existed
before today. “Fine, I’ll do that.” My voice was cold, but I didn’t care.

I nodded to the
other guys and walked back to our table. “You were right. I shouldn’t have gone
over there. He’s weird.” I told them what happened.

As I knew she
would, Emma gloated with an “I told you so.”

Our history
teacher was Mr. Henderson, but when we arrived, he wasn’t there.

My desk was
next to Emma’s, as Lucas pointed out. I set my books down and walked over to
him.

He was already
there, just where he said he sat, in the back corner behind me, scrunched down
in his chair with his book standing up on the desk, his head behind it. Since
it was only the second week of school, it wasn’t that surprising I had never
noticed him. “Are you hiding from someone?” I asked as I approached.

He looked up,
his face blank. “Just reading. You’ve heard of it, haven’t you?”

“Nope, never,”
I replied dryly. “Here’s your book.” I tossed it, smacking him in the shoulder;
it fell onto his desk with a thud. I didn’t intend for the book to strike him.
However, I wasn’t sorry that it had.

I was about to
walk away when I heard him speak. “You don’t like me, do you?”

I spun around,
extremely surprised that he had spoken. His lips were even curved upward into a
slight smile. “I don’t know you. This is the most you have ever talked to me,
and so far you’ve been kind of a jerk.”

He didn’t
change his expression. I guess he knew he was rude and didn’t care. “I’m not
used to socializing, I like my privacy.” His smile grew wider. My mind went
blank by his sudden uncharacteristic behaviour. “I guess I need some practice?”

“Practice with
what?” I asked dumbly.

“With talking
to people.” He slumped into his chair, arms folded in front of him, mischief
shining in his eyes. “Maybe you can help me with that.”

I stood in
place, not able to speak or move.

“Okay, people,
get to your seats so we can learn something,” Mr. Henderson said as he walked
in. He dropped his books on his desk with a loud thump.

Saved by the
annoying teacher, I gave Lucas a timid smile and hurried back to my desk. When
class was dismissed, Lucas was the first to leave, so there were no more
awkward words between us.

As I stood up
from my chair, Emma wrapped her hand around my arm and pulled me into the hall.
“Talk,” she demanded as I opened my locker to trade my history for my chemistry
book. The door hit another locker with a clang as I flung it open. “He actually
had a conversation with you!” she whispered. “He never speaks to anyone. He
even smiled.” The shock on her face made me smile. And if it was anyone other
than Lucas, the school recluse, we wouldn’t have been so surprised.

“I know. I was
as shocked as you are. I was the one who had trouble talking.”

“What got into
him?” She held her books closer to her chest.

“I have no
idea.” I pulled my books out and slammed the door shut.

“Was he nice?
He’s so cute; he can’t be as bad as Logan.”

“Well, he
didn’t say that much, but as far as I could tell, he’s not much better.”

She frowned.
“Really? So you think being a jerk runs in their family?”

“It must. But
I’ve got to go. Bye!” I called over my shoulder as I rushed off to the
chemistry lab. I didn’t want to be late for another class.

I took my seat
just in time. Mr. Holland was just handing out our assignments. “Okay, class,
pick a partner. I want you to estimate the reactions of the three pairs of
chemicals. Then when we’re finished, we’ll record the actual reactions.”

I looked over
at Jenny Carson, who usually partnered with me, but she smiled apologetically.
Vicky Gray was leaning over her, already chosen to pair up.

“Hey, Sarah, do
you want to be partners? Nick is sick today, so if you don’t, I’ll have to work
alone. You won’t do that to me, will you?” Andy asked, standing beside me,
leaning his arm on my desk.

“Sure, I’ll be
your partner,” I said with relief, I didn’t want to work alone either.

He sat down at
the empty seat Jenny had vacated.

I began with
estimating the reactions for the first pair.

“I’m sorry about
the way Lucas treated you today. He’s not usually so rude. Not that he has a
chance to be. I’m sure you’ve noticed he’s a little antisocial.”

“Yeah, I’ve
noticed.” I scribbled my estimation and then handed the paper to Andy for him
to do the next one.

“He’s a really
good guy, but he’s had some bad experiences. People aren’t always that friendly
to him.” When I raised an eyebrow, he continued. “Just because he looks like
Logan doesn’t mean he acts like him.” He wrote down his answer, tapping his
finger on the desk.

I was about to
ask him what he meant, but Mr. Holland started asking questions about the
results of our assignment. Andy handed me the paper, and I finished the last
one. I tried to talk to him a few more times, but Mr. Holland seemed to notice
before I opened my mouth, silencing me with a glare.

When I arrived home after school, I went up
to my room where I spent most of my time. Mom and Dad let me redecorate
recently, and I loved it. We painted the previously dark beige walls a nice
cream color, and I added splashes of color with pictures that took me weeks to
find. We put a small couch and TV at one end of the room, and my bed and
dresser on the other. My desk, which held my computer, sat in the center under
the window.

I settled down
on my bed and started my homework. There wasn’t much to do, only a one-page
essay on our favorite poet. I chose Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

I finished
quickly, turned my stereo on, and lay back on my bed to listen to the music
playing softly. My mind drifted to the two conversations I had with Lucas—well,
if you could call them that. He wasn’t what you’d call chatty, but when we did
talk, it felt…I don’t know…nice. No, that was the wrong word, it felt…right.
What was I thinking? He was a total jerk and wouldn’t even speak to me at
lunch. But there was something about his voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

My thoughts
were heading in an unwanted direction, so I turned up the music, and soon fell
asleep.

I woke up to
someone gently shaking me. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” my dad said, smiling down at
me. “Did you have a long day?”

I smiled too.
His brown hair was a bit disheveled, and his dark brown eyes, which looked so
much like mine, looked tired. The gray suit he was wearing was wrinkled from
the long drive, and he smelled of fruit-flavored gum. I was so happy to see
him. He had been gone for a week on a business trip, selling his ideas for a
new video game for a company here in Brownridge.

 “No, just
tired. How was your trip, did they like your ideas?” I asked, sitting up and
leaning against my headboard.

Disappointment
flashed over his face. Oh no, I thought, until he smiled. “Of course they did.
Did you really doubt your old man?”

“Not really.
Like Mom says, you’re an overgrown child who likes to play video games.”

His smiled
vanished as he pretended to be hurt. “Ha-ha. Come on, Mom’s got supper on the
table.”

The next day at lunch, my friends and I ate
in the cafeteria. It was raining, so eating outside at the picnic tables was
out.

While Emma and
Derrick saved me a seat, I waited in line for food, deciding what I wanted to
eat. Everything looked good, but since the pizza smelled so delicious I
couldn't resist. I took a piece off of the warming plate and waited for my turn
to pay. I was about to step up to the cashier when someone slipped in front of
me, and strong cologne burned my nostrils. I saw who it was and wasn’t
surprised. “Excuse me, there’s a line!” I said to Logan.

He glanced at
me and smiled so sweetly that I guess I was supposed to say: “Oh it’s you; of
course you can cut in front of me.” I don’t think so.

“I’ll be really
quick. You don’t mind, right, sweetheart?” He actually winked at me as he
leaned over to grab a slice of pizza.

When he lifted
it off of the tray, a sliver of his piece fell on my hand. The cheese was very
hot. “Ow,” I snapped. Taking a napkin from the canister, I wiped away the gob
of cheese and sauce. It left an orange stain on the back of my hand. “Yes, I
mind, get back to the end of the line,” I growled. But of course he ignored me
and paid for his lunch. The jerk had the nerve to turn around and smile at me.

After I told my
friends what happened, Emma asked, “Why did you let him get away with that?”

“What was I
supposed to do? Cause a scene?”

“Yes,” she
said. “It would serve him right.”

I glared at
her. “And that would have embarrassed me,” I whispered, trying not to attract
any more attention to myself than I already had. She shrugged her shoulders and
continued to nibble on her sandwich.

While I ate my
pizza, I was lost in thought. What made people like Logan think they were so
special they could get away with anything? His looks? He wasn’t the only one in
the school that was attractive. Actually, Derrick was quite a hottie, with his
tall, solid frame and sun-streaked sandy hair. His gray eyes were so pale they
were almost haunting. A few girls would occasionally come over where we sat and
talk to him. He was always nice but never dated any of them.

He was so into
Emma it was obvious, to me anyway. I could see why; Emma was one of the best
people I knew. She was also one of the prettiest girls in our school. But the
great part about her was that she didn’t know it. For some reason, she was
self-conscious about her looks. She was always complaining about her height, which
was five foot two, and having red hair was horrifying to her. She complained
about it constantly. I loved the color of her hair; it was so vibrant, just
like her personality. And her beautiful curls that flowed down to her back were
the envy of most girls I knew. It was no wonder Derrick liked her so much. I
wondered why he never did anything about it. Maybe he just needed a little
shove in the right direction.

“So guys,” I
said, catching them off guard.

Derrick’s mouth
was stuffed full of sandwich. He looked like a squirrel saving for the winter.
I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering why he had shoved so much into his mouth.

Emma swallowed
the cola she had just taken a drink of. They both turned their attention to me.

“I’m working
Friday night, so I can’t hang out, but why don’t you two come and see a movie?
There’s a good thriller coming out this week.”

For two people
that had been friends as long as the two of them, it was funny to see them
suddenly so nervous. Both of them were afraid to make eye contact with each
other, and Emma’s face had turned a surprising shade of crimson.

“Um, actually,
I was going to hang out with Pete that night. But I could change my plans if
you want to, Emma?” Derrick said, after he swallowed the large mound of bread. Pete
was one of Derrick’s guy friends; he lived next door to him. He and another of
Derrick’s friends, Cory, sat with us at lunch sometimes.

Emma stared
down into her food, hands on her lap. “Sure, sounds fun.”

“Cool, I’ll
pick you up at seven.” Derrick must have had a burst of confidence when she
agreed, because now he smiled at her, trying to meet her eyes. No such luck,
though; her tuna sandwich was apparently more interesting.

 “Great, it’s
settled then,” I said before either of them could back out. The bell rang,
signaling the end of lunch. Emma and I said goodbye to Derrick and headed to
our lockers.

During history, I could feel Emma’s
penetrating glare. “What?” I whispered innocently. Mr. Henderson was giving us
a lecture on the Civil War, and I didn’t want him to hear us. He was pretty
strict, often giving out detentions just for talking in class.

“You know what.
What was that about? Telling us to go to the movies together, just the two of
us, it sounds like a date. He’s even picking me up.” She had her textbook
sitting up on her desk and was leaning behind it so the teacher wouldn’t see or
hear her.

I looked down
at my book and whispered, “Well, it’s about time. Someone had to make the first
move. I guess it had to be me.”

“Do you think I
like Derrick?” she whispered, looking surprised.

“I know you do,
and you’re not alone either.”

Her mouth flew
open, and she sat up in her chair, knocking her book down with a loud smack.
All eyes in the room turned to her. I braced myself for one of Mr. Henderson’s
famous punishments, but he just gave Emma an icy glare to silence her. That was
close. He didn’t usually let people get away with anything, so he must have
been in a good mood, a rarity for him.

While I was
paying attention to the lesson, I glanced back to see if Lucas was in class
today. I hadn’t noticed him. He was there in his seat, listening to Mr.
Henderson. He looked at me and smiled. I whirled around, still unsure why he
was suddenly acknowledging me.

On the way to
my next class, Emma hounded me with questions.

“Emma, I have
to get to chemistry. I’ll call you after work tonight around nine.”