"I needed Stacy to hear it." He muttered, splaying his body across my bed. “And I never explicitly said we were together; you know how rumors have a way of manifesting themselves.”
"Aaron." I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, "Stacy has never done anything to you besides have a crush. I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything." I walked down the stairs with perfect precision and timing for my doorbell to ring. I wondered momentarily who it could be as I headed toward the door and opened it. I was shocked to see Tyler and Amy standing at my front door.
"Hope you don't mind Vy, I invited a few friends over." Aaron said, standing at the bottom of my staircase as he walked over to my front door. I was confused; I didn’t know what he had in mind or when he had even invited them. Tyler and Amy walked in with board games and sodas in their hands. I was beyond confused. I stood staring at the three of them talking. I wondered why they were all here and why Aaron didn’t tell me about this.
"Hey Aaron!" Amy laughed, grabbing Aaron's arm like they were old friends. The thought struck me that they actually are old friends.
"We've all been pretty stressed lately, I thought Amy here could help us all loosen up a little." Aaron said, looking directly at me as he spoke. Tyler stood there with his arms crossed, glaring at Amy, she probably hadn't told him this was where she was going either. Lovely. I looked at Aaron, walking over to him and reaching for his arm. I dragged him to the kitchen as he followed behind me until we were out of sight.
"What do you think you're doing?" I crossed my arms, "this is serious Aaron, we don't have time for games! Tell them to leave."
"Since you don’t want to be just around me, I thought maybe you’d want to be around some other people.” I wondered when he’d invited them, probably way before our conversation just moments ago.
"Aaron, this isn't about us. We don't even know each other. This is about this weird mind reading thing that we need to figure out and get rid of." I felt like I was talking to a child.
"You make it sound so easy." His shoulders slumped as he subconsciously stepped forward. "But Violet, this is about us. There's a purpose for our pain." He spoke, his words were intoxicating, his scent surrounding us. I wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose, but his gaze was staring right into my soul. He was standing so close and I wasn't sure why I didn't step back.
"You're ridiculous." I could only whisper, my mind was foggy, and I could no longer form coherent sentences. He moved closer, nudging my nose with his as his hand held mine. Our lips were centimeters away as he softly pressed his onto mine. I felt a shiver run down my spine as we kissed. Our mouths moved in sync as my heart ran a marathon.
They're so cute. I'm actually happy for him.
What is going on? First, she drags me to this idiot's house and now she has me watching him stick his tongue down some girl’s throat?!
I took a moment to register that those thoughts were not my own. My eyes suddenly widened. I pulled away so quickly that I bumped heads with him and fell to the ground. I needed to get away from Aaron, to clear my head; he was the biggest distraction on the planet.
"Violet, are you okay?" He asked, sitting beside me and mirroring me holding my forehead. He was laughing as he reached for my hand. I glared at him, slapping his hand away.
"We need to stay on track." I heard myself say, hoping that I got the message across. But yet here we were lying ever so close on the ground.
You're so cute. I glanced up to meet his eyes, wondering if he only thought that because he knew I’d hear him. "Stop it."
He shrugged, not sure what to stop. I looked around the room watching Amy and Tyler sit on a couch, I was not about to waste time playing games with people that I hardly knew.
Chapter 29:\ Unethical Woes
Professor Dooley
Aside from the research that this university allowed me to partake in, I was also required to teach a course. It was an annoying requirement. They'd assigned me to teach a class on ethics and another one on astrology.
Ethics, what a great class. I could constantly share my research and test the students about it. I’d had at least ten students approach me to join my lab. I'd always preferred using them as lab rats instead of research assistants, but that was apparently unethical.
I groaned as I put my laptop into my suitcase and drove the five miles to the university. It was hardly seven-thirty in the morning and the sun was already bright in the sky and ready for another day. The streets were uncharacteristically void, and the plants were greener than I'd ever seen them before. I had a feeling that today was going to be a good day.
As I found my parking spot and stepped out, I saw none other than Bailey Bloom running around in the parking lot. I wondered if that girl was even old enough to attend this university. I’m sure she may have been, she’d been to a couple of my classes in the past semester. Nevertheless, I didn't say anything and instead locked my car and left the indoor parking lot.
I couldn't help but feel stalked, but I ignored it as I continued toward my eight-a.m. class. Nothing would stop me from teaching today's lesson: the psychology of mind readers; I'd never met one, but I had done enough research to know that they do in fact exist. I looked up at the giant flight of stairs that I needed to climb before feeling something touch my shoulder. I jumped, turning around to search for what had touched me.
"Bailey! You scared me!" I looked at the girl, she'd lost some weight since I'd last seen her, possibly following her sisters' health regiment. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi Dr. Dooley, I was just looking around; I'm transferring to this school next year." She said, I couldn't help but feel skeptical of her words, like she might’ve just been lying, her eyes kept searching the area behind me before meeting mine.
"Well, good. Now if you don't mind, I have a class to teach." I walked away from her; she was one weird girl.
"Okay, Dr. Dooley, can I come? Can you drive me home afterward?" She followed behind me as I watched her carefully, unsure of what she wanted.
"Sure. I have office hours after class and then I have to continue my research later tonight; maybe try calling Amy to drive you home." I crossed my arms, growing slightly frustrated as she continued to walk behind me.
"Okay, Dr. Dooley. How is your daughter?"
"Good."
"What are you teaching today?"
"Science."
"Cool. Is your classroom far?"
"No."
"What is— " She began, but I cut her off.
"Bailey! I'm a very busy man; I don't have time for your useless questions!" That seemed to shut her up. I turned around to look at her, but she was simply stalking behind me. Her eyes were focused on a man that was jogging. I saw her lick her lips before she turned to me.
"I'll see you later, Dr. Dooley." She grinned as she walked away and followed behind the man. Perhaps he was her friend, I didn't know or care. I just needed to get to my class.
I climbed up the death stairs, they were called that because they were five flights of purely misshapen steps, and I entered to find that I was thirty minutes late and only ten students remained. Bailey Bloom had wasted my time and now I had to cancel my class. Nevertheless, I sent out an email in that instant and left, making a special announcement before dismissing the ten that stayed.
"And also, class, outside of this University's teaching requirement, I also do my own research. Stop by my office when you can, and we can discuss. If you'd be willing to participate in my research, I would be willing to participate in boosting your grade." I grinned, winking at a couple of them as I saw their faces light up. My exams were not easy, so this was definitely a win-win for me.
I had been dying to test out my new and improved serum on a human subject.
Chapter 30:\ Admiration
Aaron
The sun was so bright as the light entered my eyes. Oddly enough, I enjoyed the feel of the warm heat on my skin as it bathed me through the small windows of the classroom. The math posters hung al
l around the walls and each desk contained a sleek new seat that the school had added over fall break. And with the new chairs came new seat assignments; I was no longer sitting beside Violet, and I was slightly disappointed.
The classrooms were small, but the light shined so magnificently. I couldn't help but admire it, I looked directly below the window and my admiration of the sunlight turned into admiration of Violet Veowsalot. She was as beautiful as ever, and for once I felt as though I might possibly admire her more than I admired myself. The thought didn't even bother me.
"Pay attention." She mouthed to me as I turned back around to look at our math teacher. I had a stupid grin on my face just as he called on me.
"Aaron, can you answer the question please?" Mr. Salé asked, he pursed his lips, clearly angry as I stared at his newly grown mustache blankly. I wondered how I would look if I could grow a mustache like that man.
"What was the question?" I asked, hearing a few giggles erupt around the classroom.
"It’s on the screen, young man." I turned to look at Violet, who simply rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face as she looked away.
"Look, sir, I don't know."
"The answer is up there too Mr. Paul." Mr. Salé said, his pursed lips turned into a frown. I watched his mustache move with his facial expression and couldn’t help but admire that too. Man, that stach was fantastic.
For the first time since I'd lost my powers, I wanted them back. I felt absolutely stupid as I cluelessly stared at the words on the screen. In a split second, a thought struck me in the sound of Violet's voice. Five to the seventh power divided by the cube root of three.
"Five to the seventh power divided by the cube root of three." I repeated as the teacher looked pleased. I turned around again.
What the heck was happening? I stared at Violet, urging her to look at me. I wondered if I’d gotten my powers back, I tried listening in on Mr. Salé’s thoughts with no success. Could I only hear Violet’s thoughts now? I wouldn’t mind if I could.
Did you just give me the answer? I thought, hoping she would hear me and respond. I turned to look at her from across the classroom, she kept her eyes trained on the screen. I was still staring at her, a small smile formed on her face as she grinned and nodded at me. I hadn’t realized she could see me staring at her.
Weird, right?
I looked back at the teacher as he cleared his throat. He placed his hands on his hips as he glared at the two of us angrily. He looked like a stern mother who was about to punish her children.
"Miss Veowsalot and Mr. Paul, please do not disrupt my class again or you can both spend the rest of the time in the hallway." We both looked at each other, confused at what he meant. We hadn’t said a thing, the most ‘disrupting thing’ that had happened was me looking at Violet, and she didn’t even return my gaze.
"I'll take the hallway." I said immediately, excited to venture out of this boring class as quickly as possible. "Miss Veowsalot, would you care to join me?" A smug smirk enveloped my face as a smile reached from ear to ear. She shook her head, a slight pink tint to her cheeks, as the class laughed. Mr. Salé shook his head, disappointed. I wanted to know what he was thinking. Perhaps, he just wanted to continue talking about derivatives and integrals.
"Detention, Mr. Paul." I turned to Violet. Since I got detention, she would be stuck at school until I was done. It was more of a punishment for her, if we were being honest here.
"You can't do that! We weren't even being disruptive." This time it wasn't me who spoke. Violet had gotten the courage to open her mouth and speak for herself as several shocked gazes turned to face her. She was usually anxious when it came to speaking up during class; I was proud of her, marveling at her bravery.
"Miss Veowsalot." The teacher sighed, sympathy clouding his expression. I felt a soft pain in my gut, watching her, but I ignored it. I sat back in my seat, waiting for whatever Mr. Salé decided to do.
You can stay in detention alone. She shot at me, giving me a mean look as I crossed my arms, trying not to laugh.
But I won’t be alone. I responded as she glared at me, she knew she’d be getting a horrible headache either way and accepted her defeat as she looked away.
“For the sake of Ms. Veowsalot, you’re off the hook. Only this time Aaron, this shouldn’t become a regular thing.” Mr. Salé said, sympathetically as he nodded in my direction and continued blabbing about whatever he was supposed to be teaching.
Thank me later. I turned to see a big smile on her face, her pearly white teeth shining as she looked at me, and I couldn’t help but admire her even more.
***
"I feel like we've known each other for a while, but I don't know much about you." I said, sitting on the blanket besides Violet. Since the hospital, we had been inseparable, but I still felt like I knew nothing about her besides how her family was extremely dysfunctional and that she'd been through a traumatic situation with her ex-boyfriend.
I still wanted to know who he was, and I respected her far too much to bring up that situation when I knew it would only make her upset and uncomfortable. It had taken me a while to finally break down some walls and I wasn’t about to ruin that.
"What do you want to know?" She smiled at me, her sharp brown eyes piercing my throat, making me unable to talk. I was shocked that she didn't throw an insult at me, hopeful that we could progress in our odd friendship.
"Everything." I said, sounding like a kid who had just arrived at Disneyland for the first time. I'd lost my cool, but I didn't mind, Violet knew the type of person I was by now, and even if she didn’t, she was stuck with me for the time being.
"Hmm." She said, scooting further away from me on the bed and standing up to take a seat by her desk. "Would it really matter though, Aaron? Soon enough, whatever weird soul-bond, tie, whatever this this is; when it ends, we can just go back to being strangers. I mean, we didn’t really know each other or care to know each other until you found out that you could block out everybody’s thoughts by looking at me.”
Her words actually hurt to hear, and here I was foolishly thinking we were making progress. I cleared my throat, trying to sound unbent. I was upset that she’d so casually disregarded the friendship and connection we had established; but I had no right to feel entitled to a friendship with her. If she wanted to part ways, I’d respect her decision.
"Well, Vy, I don't think we will ever go back to being strangers." I said coolly, leaning forward on her bed and supporting myself with my arms. I stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to understand the weird feeling.
I'm Aaron Paul, I should’ve already known she didn’t like me because I’m supposed to be the boy who reads minds. I’m supposed to know these things ahead of time, I’m supposed to know she doesn’t have feelings for me, and I should’ve guarded myself better.
I waited a couple seconds, hoping she’d say what I wanted to hear. I wanted validation that I wasn’t just a placeholder and an inconvenience to her. She stared right at me as I suddenly sat up. When she didn't respond, I decided to leave. I needed air and space at this moment, I couldn’t understand what I was feeling.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Out for a bit."
"But…”
“Maybe it'll separate us if your headache is strong enough.” I bluffed, knowing I’d probably just sit in the back yard for a while, “I'll be back in an hour." I said, leaving no room for argument as I stepped out of her room.
God, I was hurt.
Chapter 31:\ Earnestly
Ernest
Two months ago…
I walked through the empty campus, the lights were dimmed just enough for people to know this was a school, but that it was closed. I walked around the empty halls, making sure the janitorial staff was on duty at this hour.
Midnight-oh-five. I chuckled at my clever thoughts as a loud sound erupted across the hallway.
"Get off me! Please!" I heard a female voice shout as I rushed over to the room w
here the sound was coming from. “Stop! You’re hurting me! Please!”
I heard her scream loudly once again. I rushed from hallway to hallway, trying to figure out which room the loud sobs and screams were coming from. Suddenly, all the sounds ceased as silence retook the hallways. I hoped the girl was okay. I looked around and heard sobbing.
Where was the room?! I glared at the clock on the wall. This much noise in the middle of the night was ridiculous. I was annoyed and worried all at once.
"Hello?" I called out.
The noise stopped again. It might've been Mr. Andrews classroom. It was the only classroom with the lights turned on. I quickly opened the door to find a girl sobbing in the corner, her head resting on her knees as her entire body was shaking.
"Excuse me, miss? Are you okay?" The thin, pale girl with her dark brown hair looked up at me.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said through heaving breaths, tears streaming down her cheeks. My heart broke just looking at her, she looked so fragile and in pain, her nose had turned pink from the sobbing as tears dropped down her chin.
"What happened? I heard screams." I said, looking for evidence of anything painful. I saw a few spots of blood on the desk and questioningly looked at her.
"He… hurt me." She whispered, barely audible as she started to cry louder this time. I hadn't realized the impact of her words, it felt like I was being jabbed in the heart. “I didn’t want it; I didn’t ask for any of this to happen.” She whispered through heaving breaths; her sobs grew louder by the second.
"Who?"
"My boyfriend." She whispered as her face suddenly went blank. She looked as though she had stopped feeling feelings and that scared me more than her tears.
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