.
.
.
"Come, let's show you off," Natalie suddenly changed the topic, and scurried behind me, pushing me out of the kitchen gently, her slender fingers on my back.
When I stepped out of the kitchen, it seemed like time got hit by a bolt of ice. Everyone froze, while Natalie walked towards them backwards, watching me with a smile that seemed to say, 'I created this'.
Damien on the sofa had a chip stuck between his lips; Hayden was sipping a drink from a tumbler, his eyes watching me; Heart and Athie who were checking out dresses halted; Faux and Valen who were speaking had their lips moving absentmindedly, while their eyes feasted on me.
"You're sure she's not some goddess?" Faux asked slowly, his eyes still on mine.
I blushed, my lashes lowering. The attention was way too much. It felt like my body was glass that would crack from pressure.
"Damien, let's see what this looks like," Natalie hooked her arm around Damien's, pulling him from the sofa, before leading him to me.
"Pretend she's your date," she said, pushing me to stand closer to Damien, "You both look like the perfect couple," She said in awe.
"No need to lie. I…" I began with an awkward chuckle.
"Nymphs cannot lie, so she means it," Valen said, a soft smile on his face.
"You both should pretend you've been crowned Mysia King and Queen. Now walk," Natalie ordered.
"Ah, we don't need to…" I was saying awkwardly when Damien hooked his arm round mine.
My heart began to thump slowly.
"Why not? I'd be honored to have a date as beautiful as you are," he drawled, sounding much like Hayden in that moment.
Like an hypnotized person, I nodded slowly, and followed when he took the first step. I felt like royalty.
Should I say it was expected? The girls began to overreact, screaming, and cooing; Valen even shamelessly joined.
"I'm dying!"
"They look so good!"
"Cecilia, you need to accidentally pick Damien tomorrow night!"
Damien smelled like mustard and vanilla. Whatever body mist he was using was definitely doing a great job. He and Hayden smelled worlds apart. There was the pure difference in their scent.
After the awkward, yet satisfying walk down the fake aisle, Damien and I broke apart.
"Athena, they look so good together," Heart mumbled, opening a packet of chips.
"I know, right?" Athie replied, her dark eyes on the chips.
"They make me hungry. What are we having for dinner, folks?" Faux rose, heading straight to the kitchen.
I glanced at Hayden, the one person who wasn't even interested in what was happening. He had a book opened on the table, next to his tumbler from which he'd been drinking, but was currently nonchalantly scrolling on his phone.
I walked gingerly to him, rubbing my fingers, and sat next to him, a chair in between us, while my eyes roamed all around except his face.
"Got something to say?" He asked lazily, without raising his eyes from his phone.
"Uh," I finally looked at him, at his god-damned beautiful face, "I realized I never got to thank you," I said, and he turned to me, his eyes meeting mine.
I held that gaze, even though my cheeks were heating up, and it felt like I was melting inside.
"For?"
I swallowed, "The Selkie thing. You saved me."
"Oh."
He went back to his phone.
Just oh? Only oh??
I bit my lip, my foot tapping the ground continuously as I thought of what to say.
"What are you drinking?" An idea eventually came to mind, and he raised a brow, without looking at me.
"Juice," then he took the tumbler and passed it to me with that same nonchalant air about him, "Try it. Humans have these in litres, don't they?" He kept scrolling.
"Oh, we have it? Is it cranberry? Strawberry, coffee?" I raised it to my lips, rendering endless suggestions until I sipped, and BLEEEEEH!
I shifted the chair backwards with a screeching sound as I spilled the blood out of my mouth, leaving Hayden laughing like the handsome villain in a movie.
I kept spitting, wiping my tongue with my cloth till it felt raw.
"What was that for?" I asked, trying not to focus on the acrid disgusting taste that filled my mouth.
"For being you, Froggie," he said, rising before walking away.
I turned to everyone, who stared at me for seconds, before resuming what they were doing like nothing happened.
<<<
The painted white corridors were washed with rain!
The icy wind blowing through curtains and open doors of the classes in thick gusts. I was in my white night gown walking barefoot, my feet cold and numb, as they moved through the chilly water.
Thunder broke, harsh and heavy, and lightning split the night into day for a second. I saw the trees howling outside, moving recklessly left and right, the rain like silver bullets crashing on the ground, walls, windows.
"Why am I here?" I looked around, as my gown began to get wet, sticking coldly to my goosebump-filled skin.
My vision was all fuzzy. I was moving down the hall, walking to the large double doors, leading out to the wet, and washed school grounds.
My hands settled on the knockers. They seemed to freeze all the blood in my palms. I shuddered, and then with a loud creak, I turned them downwards, pushing them open without restriction.
Cold pellets of rain blew in, icy blasts hitting my face, soaking my nighties, chilling my bones.
However, as I stepped out, my numb feet pulled to a halt. Out there was a drenched girl standing in the howling rain, lightning sparking in the clouds above.
Panic jolted me like a fresh wave hitting the river bank. A huge lump formed in my throat that refused to be swallowed, the dreadful, lonely wind hugging me intensely like an obsessed lover that won't go.
Then, she began to turn…
I took a step back, my eyes glued on her form. She was facing me now, her hair all over her face as her head hung low. I don't know how it happened, but I didn't see her feet move. All I knew was that she kept getting closer and closer. My vision seemed to come and go, blinking between darkness and sight. Each second my sight was restored, she was closer than ever.
Eventually, she was right before me, and my jaw hung open, eyes wide open in horror, as my breath refused to flow.
And then I fell, my heart seeming to turn to stone. Water splashed all around me, my wet hair sticking to my face.
Then I saw her face properly now that she was above me.
Horror seized me.
The girl was…
I WOKE UP.
I only saw darkness at first, but the cold bullets of water alerted me to the world around me. I could see the trees, the dark leaves… I could feel the floor beneath me.
I was outside!
"Cecilia!" I heard sharply, and I turned to see Damien staring down at me in worry.
I looked around once more. I was out on the school grounds in the middle of the night, the rain crashing down us.
This was no dream. The rain was harsh on my back, and my gown was drenched.
What was happening?
"Come here!" Damien lifted me easily like I was an empty sack, while confusion turned me into hey-I-am-deaf-and-dumb.
<<<
"Whatever happened was too fast. Why… why was I outside in the rain? Sleeping on the floor? I mean… I…" My words were falling over themselves as I stared at the smooth counter surface on which a streaming cup of tea lay.
"Calm down, Ceci," Damien said, the candles casting a warm glow in his face in the kitchen.
I stirred uncomfortably in my chair, a towel on my head, and blankets around my shivering body, "I'm afraid I do not understand anything that just happened. If… if someone could just rewind…"
"You walked out there on your own. Into the rain, and you fell asleep. Do you sleepwalk, Ceci?" he asked, his eyes holding genuine concern.
I looked up at him for a while, my lips parted before I replied confused.
"Me? No."
Not once in my life had I ever sleepwalked.