Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch (11 page)

“You’re so lovely,” she said. I laughed at her comment and hugged her back, reaching my free hand to her twin instead. He gladly took it, smiling at me while he did so. Wow. If Adrien dyed his hair blonde, he could totally look like him.

“I’m Cole,” he said, still shaking my hand. “This overly excited little minx is my twin, Elise,” he said in a teasing tone, his obvious fondness of his sister clear in his voice. I laughed at what he said and how Elise was now jokingly stabbing him on his ribs with her fingers.

She turned back to me and gave me th
e
coffee I didn’t see she was holding.
I smiled my appreciation an
d
gladly took the cup from her. This is exactly what I needed. I saw her giving Adrien one, too, and I was reminded again of how
dog-tired
he looked.

I was still preoccupied with why he looked as tired as I was when Elise grabbed hold of one of my free hands. “This is going to be so much fun. We’ll definitely be seeing more of each other now that we’ve transferred here,” she chirped.
She reminded me so much of Anne except that she was going all out with the energetic vibe, much more than Anne was. I just smiled at her while my brain was
scurrying for a reply
.

“Oh, so you’re attending school here, too.” I started and continued on when they both nodded. “Then why didn’t you transfer here with Adrien? I would
ha
ve liked meeting you both earlier,” I said and smiled at them. I would have actually
enjoyed
meeting them
beforehand
. They probably would have taken my attention away from Adrien’s nastiness.

I felt Elise’s hand stiffen a little as soon as I got that question out, but she quickly smiled so sweetly at me, making me wonder if I just imagined things again.

“We had to deal with some family matters,” Cole answered, sitting next to me on the bench. He smiled broadly and I could clearly see the two of us getting along well. T
he twins were friendly enough,
unlike Adrien who now held that
eternally bored
expression on his face as he was
drink
ing his coffee.

“We
’d
better head on to the Principal’s office now,
S
is,” Cole said. Elise seemed disappointed at having to leave so soon. I just smiled a
t her and waved a bit when she grinn
ed back at me.

When they were gone, I turned to Adrien and smiled at him. He raised his eyebrows, probably wondering what brought this light mood on.
I shrugged. “Your siblings are adorable. I wish I had one or two of my own,” I blurted out without thinking.
I could almost imagine him smirking at me at what I just said.

He just shrugged. “You can borrow Elise. She can be a handful sometimes,” he joked. I blinked back. He was as fond of his sister as Cole was. Wow. He is human after all. I laughed at that thought, not at all minding that he was right in front of me. When I looked back at him, he was staring at me with a shocked expression on his face, which he immediately changed
back
into that flat expression. He wasn’t fast enough this time, because I noticed him clench his hands right after he
sported that
vacant
expression.
I sighed. We’re back at that hatred thing.

I glanced at my watch while finishing the last of my coffee. It was already 7:45. I didn’t realize we’ve been sitting here for that long.

“Let’s go to class,” I said as I stood up and threw my cup into a nearby trash can.

“Are you feeling better?” he suddenly asked, clear uncertainty written on his face.

I was surprised at his question. “Y
u
p
,” I began. “
…
A
nd
you
?”
I hesitantly
continued.

He looked as surprised as I was a minute ago. He just nodded.

I don’t understand him at all, and I feel like giving up on the whole process of understandi
ng how his twisted brain works.

Of course, I didn’t do that. He was far too interesting to just let go
of
.

Throughout the entire morning, he sat right next to me. I don’t know if he was that persistent in driving me mad with his nearness, but he successfully managed to make me forget about that dreadful nightmare. So, in a way I was grateful to him again.

It was now l
unch time
,
and we were at our usual table at the cafeteria
.
By now
,
rumors about the junior transferees have spread like wild fire. The hushed whispers continued on as I spotted Cole and Elise walk through the cafeteria. When I caught their
eye
, I waved
them over to
our table. Elise’s face immediately lit up
,
and I saw Cole roll his eyes as she skipped her way to us. They reminded me so much of Adrien. The
y didn’t mind people talking about them and just continued on walking confidently as if
they didn’t notice anything
.

“Guys, meet Elise and Cole.” I introduced them to everyone on the table. “They’re Adrien’s younger twin siblings,” I explained as I watched my friends’ expressions change from confusion to
understanding
. They must have noticed the similar
ity in the
eye color
, because I saw their eyes lit with amazement the same way mine did this morning
.

I smiled and turned to the twins. “These are my friends. Nick, Anne, Jessica, and Sandra,” I said, motioning for them to sit while introducing my friends in the order that they were seated.

Adrien stayed silent the entire lunch hour, much more silent than he was
yesterday.
He wasn’t really joining in on the conversation. I found it strange, especially when I noticed how
exceedingly
watchful he was of me. When I left the table to buy orange juice, I could easily feel his eyes on me, following my every move. And when I was back on my seat, I noticed him let out a ragged breath as if he was relieved or something.

When the cafeteria’s
coffee
machine
suddenly
broke down, I knew something was up with him. The awful
,
loud, crashing noise was enough to make everyone jump in surprise. Not him, though. It was like he expected it to happen. I saw him jump up from his seat beside me with one of his hands instantly on my shoulder. His expression didn’t look surprise
d
at all. It was just filled with intense concentration. As soon as he realized it was just the coffee machine, he dropped his hand from my shoulder and sat right back down.
But
I could still feel him tense up, his eyes still in the direction of the machine.

I was more
perturbed
when I realized that it wasn’t just him. I noticed the twins eyeing the entire cafeteria. It wasn’t the normal calm grazing of the area, too. They were acting like they were surveying the entire cafeteria or something. I sighed
at
the idea that they might be more like him than they led me to believe. I guess it was normal for them to inherit some weird attributes from Adrien. Then
again,
I guess weirdness must run in the entire Fields family.

When school was over, I decided to walk home so I could pass by the cemetery. I continued on pondering
with
my thoughts
,
re
verting back to that nightmare
. Now that Adrien’s
disconcerting
nearness wasn’t around me, the nightmare came back
in
full swing.
As if that still wasn’t enough
, my thoughts kept roaming back to how Adrien and
the twins
acted
during lunch. It was such an odd
display of
behavior
that
I couldn’t take it off my head even if I wanted to. Somehow, the events during lunch
equally matched how the
horrible
nightmare bothered me.

I
have no idea
if I was that
deep
into my thoughts that I wasn’t able to notice anything that happened next. I was instantly stunned when I heard a loud horn not far from where I was standing. It was coming so close and
so
fast
t
owards
me,
the sound of its horn
growing louder each second.

All of a sudden, I felt that familiar, safe presence that has been haunting me. I felt a rush of wind running towards me, and the next thing I knew, I was flying with my heart
running wild
. I vaguely remembered being enveloped by something strong and warm before I was swiftly turned so I was facing downward. Then I felt a thump
,
and the flying stopped.

I blinked at the sound of someone groaning. I gasped when I realized I was lying on top of some
body
. I hurriedly lifted myself up, but that person’s arms wouldn’t let go. I looked up
,
and my eyes widened when I saw Adrien clasping his eyes shut. He seemed like he was in pain.

“Adrien?” I called out to him, unable to keep the fear off my voice. He winced and slowly opened his eyes. “Are you alright?” I didn’t know what just happened
,
and I panicked. I felt him loosen his hold on me so I immediately got off of him, helping him sit as I settled myself on his side.
I skimm
ed
my eyes
all
over him
,
instantly stopp
ing
when I saw both of his arms scraped.

I frowned. What exactly happened? Why was he here anyway?
I turned when I heard footsteps behind me.
The twins
were both running towards a car, Elise slowly signaling the driver to roll down the window to his side.
What are they doing here, too?
I gazed back at Adrien, still confused. I noticed his face suddenly harden when Cole and Elise made their way to us.

“My house is near here. I can clean your wounds for you,” I said to him, my voice was filled with concern.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” His tone was
so harsh that
I was
completely
taken
aback by
it
.
I looked at him to see
that
his
eyes were holding a menacing look,
and h
is hands
were
clenched into fists
.
I felt my own anger flare up. I didn’t tell you to come and rescue me!

“
Adrien, what exactly is your problem? I didn’t do anything to you. Do you honestly have a switch on your emotions
?
B
ecause
y
our mood swings are driving me mad!
”
I blurted out, pausing to catch my breath. “You’re furious at me one moment, teasing me the next, then you’re being nice the
moment after that
,” I continued on. I was looking at him
heatedly
when a sudden idea struck me. “Are you bipolar?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

I broke out of that angry trance when I hear
d someone laugh. I totally forgot that
we weren’t alone. I turned around and blushed
profusely when I saw Elise and Cole double over in laughter. I
gently
bit my
lower
lip and turned my attention back to Adrien. He just stood there, stiff as a board with his jaw dropped. I bit my lip harder when I saw him regain his composure. When he did, his eyes lit with amusement.

Adrien obediently came home with me after that. Cole and Elise came, too, and Nana was more than happy to meet them all. She was particularly fond of Elise
,
who equally returned the affection she
was giving her
.