Falling Stars
By Marcus Adams
Chapter 1: The stuff of dreams

Alex stormed into his dorm room, slamming the door behind him, shaking the plaster walls for a moment before settling still once more. Alex hated College. He hated the world and everyone in it. Once again, like every other day ever since he arrived at Gibson College, the class treated him like crap. No, even worse than crap. He was constantly ridiculed and ignored by nearly everyone he had ever met, from his classmates here at the college, to the adults and even his family. It was his Mom and Dad’s flat all over again, he could even picture their little town house back in the west coast of England. They were never even his real parents to begin with, he was adopted. When he was five he truly believed with all his heart that his parents could not have hated him more. He was more wrong than he knew was possible. When he went to the church for his first baptism, the water burned his skin like acid. The priests called him a demon and even suggested an exorcism to his parents. Alex still had deep black scars on his back. Although in reality, the truth was that Alex wanted to be baptized, thinking since his parents were devout Catholics, they might like him better if he got baptized, became a part of something they actually liked to share the same air with. But ever since then, he was deemed a demon, a cursed child, and was constantly beaten brutally when his so called parents had any kind of problems, like money troubles or a bug infestation. Eventually, they just kicked him out of their house altogether and sold all of his belongings for bill money at age 6 except for the clothes he wore that night. And for the rest of his life, Alex lived with his kind and caring Aunt Matilda in America, the only real family he knew, the only person who not only accepted him unquestioningly, but even enjoyed his company. She helped him with school when he needed it, she supported his every decision and supplied him with whatever he needed. She had even taken him on little vacations a few times, like the zoo or the museums that you actually enjoy visiting. Before he left for college, she had given him a family heirloom, a golden locket with the letters TJ

inscribed on it, hung on a thin matching gold chain that used to belong to his real father. Ever since he got it, Alex never parted with it or accepted anyone’s suggestions of trading it or selling it. He never took it off for anything no matter what. At night, he would find himself rolling the golden locket between his fingers in the silence of the night. The strangest thing about it was that there was no latch or button to push to open it, only a small seem to suggest it could be opened. To this day he still didn’t know what was inside. He didn’t care though. Whenever he held the locket in his hands, he felt as if his real mom and dad were right behind him, watching over him like guardian angels. Alex ran up the steps into his dorm bedroom. As he got through the door he examined his dorm room. It was a room meant for two, but since everyone at Gibson College thought he was a freak of nature, no one dared to share the room with him. Now he had two beds, two desks, two lamps, a medium-sized closet, and two dressers, plus one sixteen-inch TV, one of each unused except for the TV and closet.
Alex quickly took of his tee-shirt and threw it onto the ground and lay down on his bed, wanting to quickly end the day. Alex stared at the ceiling from his bed. Moonlight shone through his window pane, casting a silvery glow on the ceiling, signaling it as night. Alex yawned then lazily let his eyes close, sleep overtaking him, shifting his long legs in the bed. It didn’t matter what he did, what he said. No matter what he was thinking of, he had the same dream every night, whether he liked it or not. As he drifted into sleep, the dream he had every single night came once again.

For several moments Alex saw nothing, felt nothing, and heard nothing, engulfed in a thick darkness that surrounded him. Then in an instant, he stood in the middle of an unbelievably beautiful and lush green forest, as if plucked straight out of a fairy tale book. The canopy was high overhead, the tall trees and green leaves around him allowing wisps of sunlight to sift through them. It was silent, but in a good way, as if the whole world itself was at peace, enjoying the tranquility. In front of him was a small clearing of land Alex knew well, the long lush green grass soaking in the sunlight that explored the lack of trees. As far as he could see, no animals frolicked in the forest. All sorts of flowers sprouted out of the ground in multiple colors and shapes Alex didn’t think were possible. A cool breeze blew through the trees, blowing the petals off of a nearby flower, each petal a different color, creating a flurry of colors to float through the air before falling to the ground. Truthfully, Alex enjoyed the scenery. It calmed his nerves and helped him think clearly. Alex turned in a circle, admiring the scenery and the blissful silence. And then he noticed it, and frowned deeply, this was different than before. He could smell the multi colored flowers scattered about, feel the cool breeze and the heat of the sun’s rays on his skin. Every other time he had this dream, he was always unable to move any part of him below the waist, unable to experience the forest's smell and feel. Alex slowly turned once again to face the clearing and saw the sight he saw every time he had this dream that stopped his heart and made him hold his breath.
In front of him stood the girl he saw in every single dream he had since he arrived at Gibson College. She wore only a short t-shirt and skirt made out of thick blades of grass woven together, as she did every time he saw her. Her eyes were a kind yet beautiful glimmering green, beautiful and priceless as emeralds. Her hair was the same green, long and elegant, reaching down to her waist, rippling and shining when the light hit it just right. Her lips were perfectly sized. Her body was magnificently curved and shaped, the closest to perfection anything or anyone could ever hope to be, as if god himself spent an eternity carving her himself. Her face was gentle and innocent yet fierce and daring, all at the same time. She was nearly as tall as Alex, with graceful long slim legs. Her skin was slightly pale, yet mesmerizing, like pale white woven silk. She stood in the tall grass barefoot, as if standing in her living room. Alex couldn’t help but smile at how dazzling she was. In the end, just being able to see her in his dreams was Alex's motivation to get up in the morning. Something seemed different about her this time though. She was smiling a dazzling smile of perfect teeth of peaceful happiness, as if she were sitting next to her oldest and closest friend. And she was closer to where he stood, almost close enough to touch. She was staring into space, as if she saw something no one else could, or as if she shared a small secret with the world. Then she did something she never did, something that made Alex's heart skip a beat. Slowly she turned toward him with her dazzling smile. Alex frowned. What’s going on

, he thought with a hint of curiosity. Slowly she took a step toward him, then another and another, the soft grass quietly crunching underfoot. Alex stood glued to the spot, unable to move himself from where he stood, his curiosity to see what she would do freezing him in his tracks. Soon her face was only a few inches away from his, her beautiful green eyes looking straight up into his own. Then she spoke in a voice that could have come from an angel. “I’ll see you soon, Alex.” Slowly, Alex reached up his hand to touch her cheek. His long slender fingers an inch from her face, the heat of her cheek warming the tips of his fingers, he reached out…

Alex snapped awake in his bed. His heart pounded painfully fast and hard in his chest like a jackhammer. Alex reached up his hand and grabbed the bare skin of his chest. He was covered in a cold sweat. What was going on?

He thought to himself. Not once in the dream did she acknowledge him, let alone talk to him. And how did she know his name? Slowly his heart slowed down and he looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 3:23 AM. Alex sighed, he would never be able to go back to sleep, no matter how much he might've wanted to return to the dream. As he calmed himself, the girls’ words echoed in his mind over and over again. See you soon, Alex.

As Alex sat in the corner of geometry class, he noticed that once again, everyone was eying him funny from several desks away, leaving him isolated in the corner of the classroom once again. The class buzzed with conversation everywhere. The room had a nauseating scent of cheap perfume and rusted metal. Ever since the dream of the girl in the forest started last semester, everyone started avoiding him. Well, avoiding him more, anyways.
At first, before Alex started having that same dream over and over again, they would simply leave him alone, and every once in a while someone would ask him to help them out with their homework, or ask for his notes. After all, Alex got straight As’ year round in all his classes, and this was only his first year in. Nowadays, they straight out avoided him at all costs, even the teachers, as if he had some killer contagious disease. To them, it was as if he didn’t even exist. Alex examined his reflection in one of the windows to his left for a moment.
He was tall, five feet easy, and had an average build, with long legs. His skin was caramel-colored. His face was slightly angular and elegant, like a hawk. His eyes were as pale as the moonlight, the irises barely visible. His hair was a short, messy natural red color, amazingly, and lay flat against his scalp. He wasn’t ugly, if anything, he was rather handsome. And except for his slightly taller than average stature, he wasn't really different than the other students. So why did every one avoid him like he was an alien or something? Alex attended Gibson College, one of the strangest colleges around, known for its strange policies. For instance, no student was allowed to walk around campus after 8:00, except for those with special conditions and a paper saying so. It was also rumored to once be an infamous military base, filled with an intricate underground maze that laced itself throughout the school campus and even led in and out the campus.
Alex didn’t really care about that stuff though. His mind was still on his dream last night. Ever since, he could not shake a sense of waiting, as if he were waiting for a long lost friend to show up. As Alex awaited the math teacher to show up, he heard some of his classmates whispering to each other and gesturing in his direction. He was tempted to start a fight with one of them just to shut them up, but decided against it.
As he stared out the window, the math teacher, Mr. Serpentine walked into the classroom. All conversation died and heads snapped to look at the teacher. Most teachers and students treated Alex like dirt. Treated him like a freak of nature. But Mr. Serpentine didn’t though. Instead, he treated Alex like a snake treats his meal.
Mr. Serpentine was as pale skinned as milk. He had a full head of gray hair that lay flat on his head and slightly waved over his eyes. He was as long and slim as a starved python. His eyes were a deep green and piercing, resembling a snake's. He surveyed the students. His gaze swept over them all and stopped on Alex. For a moment he bore into Alex's eyes with his own, Alex unable to look away from Mr. Serpentine's dagger-like eyes. Finally after what seemed an eternity, he turned away from Alex and spoke in his usual terror-inducing voice. “Well class, today we have a new… student”
He paused as if 'student' wasn’t the first word to come to mind. Few students dared to smile briefly, so as not gain the teachers’ attention. Mr. Serpentine acknowledged the smiles with a quick glare, then ignored them and continued. “So please welcome our… fellow classmate, Ms. Brookins.”
As he spoke the name, he slurred it a bit, as if the name disgusted him. Slowly Alex turned his head toward the door to see who the new girl was the same as the rest of the class, and for five long seconds, the entire class was held breathless. It felt as if Alex’s heart had stopped. She wore a plain green blouse and casual blue jeans, along with a pair of plant-green Nikes. Her eyes were emerald green, her hair spilled down to her waist in a rippling and thick spill, unbelievably the same color. The entire class stared the same as Alex did, taking in her every detail. Instead of being happy or joyful to have all the attention, she seemed disappointed, as if her birthday was canceled. Slowly her eyes surveyed each and every one of the students, and stopped on Alex. For a moment, the two's eyes locked. Slowly, the tips of her mouth perked up into a dazzling smile, like she'd just won the trillion dollar lottery. Alex couldn’t take his eyes off hers, his brain unable to accept what he saw with his eyes. She was in every sense of the phrase ‘The girl of his dreams’.


Chapter 2: The unlikeliest of friends.

For the first couple of weeks, the new girl avoided Alex like everyone else. Whenever he happened to be coming by, she would leave. If he was at a restaurant, she wasn’t. She’s probably afraid of being seen anywhere near me,

he thought to himself. Today was Saturday, so Alex had no classes.
Alex made his way into the food court. The room roared deafeningly loud with conversation. He grabbed a burger with fries and sat at an empty table with his tray. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone was walking towards him, a girl. Alex raised an eyebrow, well that’s’ a first. A girl walking toward him in plain sight of her own free will. As she sat down, he realized it was the new girl.
For a moment the two ate in silence. Alex bet she was probably going to pull a prank on him, like most of the other girls in Gibson did. Then she finally spoke, breaking the silence between them. “Shelly.” She said meekly. Alex turned toward her, confused. She turned toward him and reached out her hand to him. “My name I mean, its’ Shelly. I’m sorry for before, for avoiding you and all. You’re Alex, right?’ She said briskly.
Alex had been wondering what her name actually was. Alex eyed her for a moment, his suspicion written all over his face. She did seem rather sorry, and in this crazy college you always needed some friends. Alex sighed, and shook her hand. It was soft and smooth as silk. Alex was tempted to never let her hand go, but released his grip after a moment. He shrugged nonchalantly. “Its’ OK, I’m used to it anyway. What do you need?” he said suspiciously. For a moment she hesitated, as if going over her words in her head, and then spoke. “Well, I’m not doing so well in Geometry, so I was wondering, do you think you could tutor me a little, your place maybe?” Shelly said with a bit of a nervous tone.
Alex sat frozen for a moment, unsure of what to say. Shelly frowned. “Oh, never mind, I’ll leave if you want to be alone.” She said, not bothering to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She quickly started to get up out of her seat, her tray in one hand. Alex snapped out of his trance and reached up, grabbing her free hand. “No, I mean, sure I can tutor you, if you want. But are you sure about this, about hanging out with me and all?” Alex said with a hint of uncertainty. Shelly snapped her head around, with a smile on her face. She nodded, her hair bouncing up and down. Slowly Alex let go of her hand and she darted away.

Alex spent nearly an hour in his dorm tutoring Shelly. He spent every minute he had before she had arrived to clean up his dorm and make it look presentable. Shelly wore a plain white blouse and a light green skirt falling down to her knees. The two agreed to have their tutoring session in Alex’s bedroom, due to the better lighting. As Alex tutored her, he couldn’t help but notice Shelly’s every detail. The curve of her hips, how she so gracefully walked. Alex found himself staring at her for nearly 20 minutes before snapping back into reality.
Once when Shelly climbed on top of one of the tallest chairs to fix a light bulb, she lost her balance and fell, Alex already running to her aid. In an instant Shelly was cradled in Alex’s arms, their eyes lost in one another s. They sat frozen like that for what seemed like several hours. Finally they snapped out of their trance and Alex lowered Shelly to the ground. When she regained her footing, the two studied in silence.
Near the end of their study session Shelly broke the silence. “”Hey Alex, could… could I ask you a question?” she said hesitantly. Alex looked up from the math textbook and nodded his head. At first Shelly gulped, then continued. “What would you think if… if I wasn’t normal?” When Shelly finished, she flinched, closing her eyes, as if expecting to be hit or laughed at. Alex frowned, confused written all over his face. Slowly Shelly opened her eyes and studied Alex’s face. Slowly she nodded as if understanding. She raised her hand toward the math textbook on the table. As she lifted her hand, the book floated up, level to her palm.
Soon the book was several feet in the air. Alex stared at Shelly for a moment in utter amazement, and then shifted his gaze to the book. As Alex returned his gaze back to Shelly, snapping out of his trance, she was already making her way to the door. Alex quickly got up from the table and reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist, she stopped mid-stride. She tugged against his grip, trying to get loose, and then stopped, but didn’t turn around. Alex realized she was shaking vigorously, like a leaf in the wind. When Shelly spoke, her voice was cracked and Alex could tell she was crying. “I shouldn’t have come here. Besides, you probably think I’m a freak anyway. You’re ashamed to know me, aren’t you?” She said, her voice failing her. Alex was stunned. If anything he was proud to be her friend, to even know her. Alex slowly turned her around and smiled sincerely at her. Alex was right, Shelly’s face was streaked with tears, they crawled down her face and splattering on the ground from where they sat on her chin. Alex reached up a hand instinctively and brushed away the tears and spoke in the gentlest tone he could. “I would never be ashamed to be your friend, or to know you. I don’t care what you are, what you can do, where you come from, or even what you look like. I’m proud to meet you, or just having the honor of knowing what a truly magnificent girl you are. To me, you will always be the beautiful and stunning girl named Shelly Brookins.” Alex said sincerely. Shelly stared at him, eyes wide, with her perfect green eyes as if she were staring at an angel. She slowly took a step toward him, then another, and then she charged into him, knocking them both onto the beds, burying her face into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Alex could feel her warm tears seep through his shirt where she laid her head on him. Alex wrapped his arms around her and smiled, his eyes closed, he could have sat like that for an eternity and beyond. “Thank you.” Shelly said in overwhelming relief, half-sobbing. She repeated her words a dozen times over. It was more of a whisper and a question than anything else. She tightened her grip until Alex could barely breathe. He didn’t care though, he was simply happy to be there. Alex understood her pain more than anything else. Understood what it was like to be ridiculed and hated because you were different in some way. He gently hugged her back and replied. “I’ll never hurt you Shelly. Not now, not ever. I swear my life and soul on that.” He said kindly. She repeated her thank you again and then they sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, they slowly loosened their grip on one another. They lay on the beds, now pushed together, still tightly embracing. Shelly’s flow of tears slowly stopping. The two slowly raised their heads and stared at each other, lost in one another's eyes. Slowly Alex reached up and gently cupped her chin in his hand, and pulled her towards him, and Shelly leaned into it. Their lips pressed together and they embraced one another tighter, their skin rubbing against each others drove them both mad. Slowly they deepened their kiss further and pressed even tighter together. They both opened their mouths, their tongues intertwined together. Shelly reached up one of her long graceful legs and wrapped it around Alex’s waist, pulling them even closer. Alex reached up his hands and grabbed both of her legs by the thighs and compressed her into him. They pressed themselves together until the several springs inside of the beds repeatedly screeched loudly, resembling nails on a chalkboard. Neither of them cared or bothered to try and quiet them down though. They were intertwined together in absolute happiness and nothing could have pulled them apart at that moment. Alex couldn’t help but notice Shelly’s breasts rubbing against him. For the entire night they embraced like that, lost in their own private world that no one could pull them out of.


Chapter 3: A paradise for two

When the sky was tinted orange, signaling it as dusk, the two were each on one of the two beds breathing heavily, both grinning ear to ear, facing the ceiling. It was a Sunday, so there were no classes for the day, a day filled with whatever Alex wanted. Both were covered in sweat. The once separate beds were now pushed together. The white bed sheets were loose and hanging halfway onto the floor. The mattresses had deep claw marks next to Shelly had lain.
Alex cracked a smile. Shelly’s got claws

, he thought to himself. As if reading his thoughts, Shelly flushed a light pink and giggled a little. He reached his hand to his chest to grasp his locket in his hand, and realized his chest was bare. Alex laughed a bit, a slight pain in his chest as it rose and fell. Alex didn’t even remember his t-shirt being taken off. Alex turned on his side to look at Shelly. She was staring at the ceiling, not noticing his eyes. Her blouse was gone and underneath she wore a sexy black lace bra. Her skirt was torn at both sides all the way to the tips of her hips, only a few stray strands of fabric holding it together, giving a good view of her matching black lace panties. Alex grinned so wide his mouth hurt. Now that he remembered

, he thought to himself.
Shelly spent nearly an hour explaining as they caught their breath. She was obviously different, Alex knew that much. But truth be told, she wasn’t even human. She was a fairy. “When someone says fairy, they usually think of an unorganized society and race of cute girls with wings, flying around spreading happiness and joy, basically Tinker belle. It is true that most faeries are born, well beautiful, but only a few fairies in the world actually have wings. And a few fairies actually like to travel around and spread misery and pain, manipulating human’s emotions for fun, its rare but it happens. A few faeries can influence the elements, such as wind, air water or fire, like me. I guess you would call it magic. Most like me live in an entire city for fairies in the forests, and don’t even bother to make contact with humans. One thing every single creature in existence has in common is the power of names. Everything in life and death has a certain name that describes them, represents them, embedded deep inside their subconscious. To know any creature’s true name, is to have nearly absolute control over them. So of course, it takes a lot to get any creature to tell you its true name. For instance, if you knew my true name, you could force me to fall in love with you. Not that you’d need it.” Shelly explained briefly. Alex could feel her grinning. When Alex asked if there were other types of magical creatures in the world, Shelly looked like she would die of laughter on the spot. “More than you can even begin to count. You could easily find a city full of mythological beasts, if you knew where to look. To tell the truth, I came from a giant city full of them, only a few days journey from here.” Shelly said happy to answer any of his questions. Alex thought for a moment, and spoke once more. “What about the human ones? You know, vampires and werewolves and wizards. Do they exist too?” He asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shelly nod. “Werewolves and vampires gifts spread through bloodlines and the venom in their nails and teeth. Wizards are different though. The gift rarely flows through bloodlines, in fact its’ quiet common for random humans to end up with the gift of wizardry. The only thing every wizard has in common is a Muse. Every wizard is born with the talent and capability to weave magic, but the Muse is a sort of barrier that stops the magic from randomly spouting out of them. If the Muse was never activated, the wizard would live out his days as a relatively normal human being. The only thing that could find a wizard effectively is other wizards. The more powerful the wizard, or the weaker the muse, the easier it is for other wizards to find him or her.” Shelly paused and gazed at Alex's bare chest.
She slowly looked away, and then continued. “To tell the truth, wizards used to be one of the strongest magical beings a long time ago. They ruled all the magical kingdoms as kings and queens, tragedies occurred in both the magical world and the human world, around the time of that 9/11 event. What made wizards so powerful is that they could use any kind of magic. Wizards are born when a regular human being is exposed to large amounts of raw magic, so they can be created anytime in their lives. But soon the wizard population died out and grew weak, and they were dethroned. To this day, no one is really sure what made them die out like that. Nowadays only a few hundred wizards exist and know of their gift, and those that do are slaves for many years to pay back the large debt they owe for their ancestor’s crimes. Others just aren’t strong enough to be found, or their Muse is too strong and kind of blots them out. Now there is a giant council watching over the magical world, one seat for each general species of magical creatures, theirs demons, fairies, angels, elves, werewolves, vampires and magical beasts. All of them specialize in a different type of magic. Demons can corrupt or turn anything or anyone evil to the core, human or not, with dark magic, also known as Hellish magic. Fairies have the magic of influence, whether its people or nature we influence, like when I lifted that text book without touching it. Elves control the magic of innocence, or in other words defense and healing. They can make a shield so strong, even an atomic bomb wouldn't leave a crack in it. Angels rule in the magic of light. They can create a sphere the size of a golf ball that's as bright as the sun. And some magical beasts can do nature magic, like starting a rock avalanche with a stomp of your foot. All of each is more common than you would think. One of the rarest of the magical species is demigods, the offspring of a mortal and a god. Back in the time of wizard rule, demigods were like phantoms, nearly impossible to find but still plentiful. Now they’re just hard to find because there is so few. They aren’t that much different from humans so their appearance is rarely changed because of their godly heritage. Each one can specialize and master in any type of magic to a level of absolute mastery that would bring a thousand-year old elder wizard to shame.” As Shelly spoke in her angelic voice, Alex instinctively fingered his locket, rolling the familiar smooth surface between his fingers. Shelly slowly sat up. Finally noticing her torn up skirt, she was stuck between a playful grin and a fake pout slash frown. Finally she sighed miserably. “Now I have to walk to my dorm, which is halfway across campus for more clothes, half-naked.” Shelly groaned. She started to stand, when Alex raised his arm in front of her, and sat up himself. She stopped and turned toward Alex with an eyebrow raised as if to say, You got any better ideas?

Alex then faced Shelly. “As a gentleman, it is my duty to help a beautiful woman in need of assistance.” Alex said, impersonating a stuffy Englishman. Shelly giggled a bit, and then lay back down on the pillow. “Make sure you get me something sexy, Alex.” Shelly said playfully, letting the S’s roll off her tongue. Alex handed Shelly the remote to the TV, stood up and made his way to the closet. He quickly threw on a t-shirt, grabbed his empty book bag and made his way to the door. As he opened the door a thought occurred, and he paused, looking back to face Shelly. “What is your true name anyway? You never said.” Alex said thoughtfully, an eyebrow raised. Shelly slipped her finger under one of the panty straps and stretched it out with her finger. “Come back soon and you’ll find out.” She let go of the strap and it lightly snapped against her skin. Alex grinned like a fool and headed out the door and toward Shelly’s dorm in the dusk.

When Alex returned, Shelly quickly got off the bed, took the clothes, flashed him a playful smile and slipped into the bathroom. Alex took the chance and straightened up the bedroom. He threw the clothes scattered on the ground into the hamper, pushed the stray furniture against the walls except for the beds and turned off the TV. Then he set to work on the beds. Alex pushed the two beds tightly together and tightly folded down the sheets. He frowned, knowing that they would just be scraped off by the two’s ‘playing’. He reached into his dresser and pulled out a thick roll of silvery duct tape. He duct-taped the sheets down onto the beds and decided to tape together the beds themselves as well. He lifted the joined beds and placed them closer to the bathroom door. He even took the time to duct tape the legs of the beds onto the floor. As he finished up, nearly ten minutes had passed. She probably can’t decide on an outfit

, Alex thought to himself. Alex had filled his book bag with a dozen different outfits from Shelly's dresser. Most were extremely revealing and made Alex’s mouth water like Niagara Falls at the thought of caressing Shelly in any one of them. He smiled to himself, wondering what she would choose, and continued to ‘prepare’ the bed room. Soon he thought he might have over done it a bit. The lights were still off, so he could barely see the duct tape coating the underside of the beds. It was still early dusk and the curtains were draped across the window, blocking out nearly all of the light. The smell of oak trees and intense ecstasy thinly floated around the room. As Alex finished cleaning the room, he heard the bathroom door slowly opening. Alex smiled to himself, stood up and slowly turned around to face Shelly who leaned against the door frame. “I thought you would never come out.” Alex said. He looked Shelly up and down. Her skin and hair was dripping wet, a thin stream of steam drifting through the bathroom door. Alex slowly realized that she was taking a shower. At first, it seemed sexy and got him a bit excited, then disappointed him when he saw her choice of clothing. She wore nothing more than a plain, white, covering bathrobe that not only killed the mood, it danced on its grave. Slowly, Shelly made her way up to him, and made an obviously fake frown. “What’s wrong Alex, disappointed?” She said sarcastically. Slowly she untied the front of the bathrobe and pulled it open as if she were modeling. Alex thought he might have mauled her on the spot the moment he saw what she wore under the robes, and almost did. Shelly did a pose letting Alex examine her and let the bathrobe sag on her shoulders. If he had at some point died and gone to heaven, it was a trillion times better than he ever thought was possible. Underneath the robe she wore a bra made of nothing more than yarn and carved bark that Alex doubted could hold her breasts. She also wore a long cloth loosely tied around her waist that fell between her knees in the front and back, reaching down to her knees, none of it covering her 'extremities'. A small part of Alex's brain noticed that he never packed that outfit, but the rest of him didn't care. Alex was tempted to do things to her that cannot be printed on paper without being called porn. Shelly grinned deeply, enjoying his obvious 'approval' of her outfit and gestured him forward. “Go for it, Alex.” She said, tempting him, as if reading his thoughts. And he more than gladly did. He didn’t hesitate for a single second. In an instant, Alex had her in his arms and under him on the makeshift double bed. Alex slipped his hands under the bath robe hanging on her shoulders and grabbed her waist. Shelly reached up to him and ripped off his t-shirt in a single motion and loosely wrapped her hands around his neck, the two losing themselves in one another's eyes. Shelly's eyes glanced around for a moment before resting back on Alex's. “Duct tape, good idea. Now lets’ finish where we started, shall we?” Shelly said a deep intensity in her voice. Alex said nothing, but simply grinned and pulled her against him as she did, pressing his lips to hers. They deepened the kiss until they could feel the rise and fall of each others chests. They opened up their mouths, their tongues rolling and sliding over one another. As they melted into each other, letting their desires flow like a river, the air around the two seemed to heat up till it seemed to burn Alex’s skin. He didn’t care though, he was to busy basking in the beauty of the girl he lay with. Soon it seemed as if the bed itself was melting, but they didn’t stop. Shelly stopped him and reached down to her bra. She grasped the cups and slid them over her breasts, perfectly sized, nipples erect. “You are so beautiful Shelly.” He said. Shelly smiled at that and stroked his face with her fingertips. “Call me Saya. I love you Alex.” She said, absolutely unguarded. Alex gazed at Shelly for a moment, and spoke. “And I will love you with all my heart and soul till time itself ends, Saya.” Alex said letting his emotions flow like a river with total abandon. Their eyes met for a moment, an understanding passing between them, and then they did just that, made love.


Chapter 4: Nothing can last forever

The rest of the semester was a blur compared to that night. Slowly everyone treated him better, even the faculty. Shelly had even given him a necklace, a blue crystal shard, identical to the twin blue crystal shard necklace she wore, a memento to commemorate their bond. Ever since Alex never took it off, the blue crystal lying alongside his golden locket. Later on in the semester, Shelly, or rather Saya, had moved into Alex’s dorm. The ceiling was decorated with an illustration of the night sky. Every once in a while they would share a brief kiss on the campus when they passed each other, drawing large clusters of staring eyes. But neither Alex nor Shelly cared about their whispers or rumors, they were happy. They were in love. Alex would always refer to her as Shelly in public, but Saya otherwise. Soon they decided to take their little ‘relationship’ slower, though the only reason was because their beds couldn’t take the stress. But Alex was still happy. Every once in a while he and Shelly lay on their beds, they would embrace each other once more tenderly and share simple heartfelt words, or simply sit in silence sharing sweet brief kisses in the dark. The once strange intensity Shelly had from before had disappeared. For once in his miserable life, Alex understood the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’. Understood what it meant to be truly happy. Soon they were deep in the winter season, early December, the entire college preparing for the Christmas break party inside the gym. Shelly and Alex had signed up to help decorate. For Alex, things just kept getting better and better, at first. He first noticed it before the first snowfall of December. Alex would hear the light tapping of footsteps behind him, but would find no one there when he glanced over his shoulder. Or he would feel someone’s eyes boring into his back when no one else was around. A small part of him knew what was going on. Someone was watching him, spying on him. But Alex dismissed these thoughts as paranoia. Soon it was Shelly's and Alex’s day to help set up the Christmas break party in the gym, only a few days away. The sky was a dark shade of blue, signaling it as night time. As Shelly made her way to the door, she stopped and turned toward Alex. Alex was on the floor, looking for the box of Christmas ornaments. He slowly rose and walked up to Shelly, easily noticing her worried face. Soon Alex was in front of Shelly, only a few inches from her. He set his hand on her shoulder, an act of reassurance, his eyes sayingit will be alright

. Shelly's expression of concern relaxed a fraction. Shelly spoke in a protesting, concerned tone, her thin snow-white winter jacket flapping back and forth. "Come on Alex, they don't need the ornaments that badly, even if we had the only box." Shelly oozed concern. The corners of Alex's mouth twitched upward, flashing a faint smile. Alex looked into Shelly's eyes and spoke in a calm tone with a hint of firmness to it, resembling how a father speaks to his complaining teenage daughter. "Shelly...” Shelly's expression changed to one of worrying and pain. This time she spoke more quietly, as though she were pleading. "Alex, please come on. What if something happens to you? Please just come, please." her voice cracked and failed her as she continued. Alex slowly shook his head, his smile withering until it became a deep frown, and leaned toward Saya, and gently kissed her forehead as a sort of blessing, then put his hands around her waist and pulled her into him, her head lying on the arch between his neck and shoulder. Shelly gladly accepted the hug, burying her face into his chest, her arms wrapping themselves tightly around him until it hurt a little to breathe. Alex could feel her silently shaking against him with overwhelming worry of what might be. Alex could feel her warm tears seep through his shirt, brushing against the skin of his chest. Alex's heart ached in his chest to see Shelly this way. More than anything, Alex wanted to make Shelly happy, to see her be her usual playful, caring and hopeful self that he oh so loved. To see her happily smile her perfect smile, and giggle that cute sweet giggle again, to stop her pain. Alex closed his eyes and spoke in a tone of understanding and comfort. "Please don't cry anymore, Saya. It hurts me so much to see you so sad, to see you cry." he said sincerely. He continued. "One of the endless things I love about you is your angelic smile, your heartwarming laughter. It brings me endless happiness to know that you are happy, Shelly. So please, stop crying." Shelly slowly stopped shaking and sat still in Alex's arms, listening intently to his every word. "And if me being around, simply keeping you company, makes you happy, than I promise I will never leave you all alone no matter what happens. I will always do what I can to keep you safe." he said without hesitation. Shelly loosened her grip slightly, still listening. Alex opened his eyes and looked down at her, willing her to meet his eyes. "And do you know why, Saya?" he asked her with a small smile on his face. Slowly, Saya loosened her grip a bit more, and looked up at Alex, her eyes meeting his. Tears welled in her shimmering green eyes, now slightly red and puffy from the tears. Slowly, a small smile of gratitude and playfulness formed on her face. Shelly met his eyes and gazed into them, as he did hers, and spoke. "Why?" she said, her voice slightly raspy from her crying. "Because, I love you, Saya, more than anything else in the world, and because I could never leave you alone, or do anything to make you sad in anyway without hurting myself." Alex said sincerely. Shelly loosened her grip, a look of overwhelming gratitude on her face. Shelly stood on her tiptoes and slowly closed her eyes. Alex bent his head down, pulled Shelly against him and pressed his lips against hers. They kissed in silence for a moment, neither of them daring to move, lest they would awaken them from their trance. Alex knew full well what was causing her so much pain. After the first two weeks of being followed by someone or something, Alex told Shelly, thinking she might know something. He had tried to tell her without scaring her or making her worry. It didn't work. Ever since Alex had told her, Shelly had taken 'precautions'. Alex tried to tell her that it wasn't that big a deal, that maybe it was just some jealous guy at school, envying his relationship with her or something small like that a few times, hoping she would calm down. In the next week of Alex's confession to Shelly, she had begun installing extra and stronger locks on their dorm's windows and doors. Alex tried a few more times to convince Shelly that it wasn't a big deal, but soon stopped and cooperated with her. The two would use every moment of free time together to install the locks after they finished homework or studying until the sun went down and the moon came up. One day, while the two sat resting on the beds after installing three bolt type locks on the windows, Alex asked who would want to hurt them, let alone spy on them, and why? Shelly fell silent for several minutes too long for Alex's comfort. Alex turned to face Shelly, not sure if she would answer at all. Finally Shelly turned and looked at him with a blank expression on her face and spoke in a casual tone. "I don't know, Alex. But I'm scared Alex.” Alex knew that Shelly knew who was following him, or at least had an idea. But Alex didn't push the subject, not wanting to push Shelly to the brink of tears. So Alex didn't ask questions and helped her when she needed it and stayed silent. Alex hoped Saya would be able to calm down and relax when they finished. It didn't work. As Alex pushed Shelly's hair back behind her ear and wiped away the tears on her cheek, the worry and stress tightening her face loosening, her green eyes and small smile on her face whispered a silent thank you. Alex pulled Shelly against him, Shelly already closing her eyes. The two leaned forward and pressed their lips together in a sweet heartfelt kiss, the tension between them melting. Alex could feel the weight on his heart lifting as Shelly's stress and worry faded away. The two sat in silence as they embraced one other, lost in their own private world. Slowly the two pulled away from each other just enough to see each other, their eyes lost in one another's, an understanding passing between them. Instinctively, Alex reached up and gently brushed Shelly's cheek with the back of his hand. Shelly walked up to the door and opened it, pausing for a moment, turning to face Alex, her lips still but her emerald green eyes saying plenty. After a moment Alex sighed, he could never deny Shelly anything. He walked up to closet and threw on his black and purple winter coat and spoke. "I guess the gym decorations could do without the ornaments." he said as he met Shelly at the door. Alex raised his eyes level with Shelly's, and found her staring up at him, a small smile on her lips and a silent thank you in her eyes. Alex gestured Shelly through the door, imitating a hotel usher. Shelly giggled for a moment, walked through the door and into the night air, Alex at her side, closing the door behind them.

As the two made their way across the college campus toward the gymnasium in silence, Shelly leaned against Alex's shoulder. The stars were beautiful that night, but not as stunning as the silvery full moon was, a few stray clouds alongside it. Soon, when the two began walking through the park, Alex could see the gym in the distance, light shining out of the windows. The park was a large piece of land at the outskirts of the campus filled with trees and grass, the tree branches bare and the grass frozen. Alex could barely see anything past the thicket of trees clotting the edges of the park. The ground was dotted with stone benches. In the center of the park stood a large gray fountain, its sides shaped like water waves and the water that lay inside frozen. As he and Shelly made their way through the park, Alex noticed it. Something was wrong. There was a strange scent in the air. A scent that shouldn't be there. At first, Alex ignored it and kept walking. It nagged at the back of his mind, unable to be ignored. Slowly, Alex sniffed the air. It was familiar, like a distant memory. But try as he might, he couldn't quiet remember what the smell was. Alex frowned and focused. He slightly slowed his steps. As Alex concentrated, a childhood memory came to mind. Him and his Aunt Matilda at the zoo looking at the animals. The scent was one from one of the zoo animals, but which stumped him. The scent was a nauseating mixture of dirty fur, blood lust and something rotten, something bloody. Alex stopped walking, Shelly doing the same, the two now next to the fountain. He turned and faced Shelly. "Hey Shelly, what is that smell?" he said. For a moment, Shelly seemed as confused as he was stumped. Then, the blood left her face, her expression one of terror. At that moment Alex remembered what the smell was. It was......
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

As Alex regained consciousness, his nerves were assaulted by pain, his right shoulder covered in a large bloody cut, his ears were ringing so loud they bled and his legs coated in deep bruises. Slowly, Alex began to open his eyes, blinking through the dust and dirt. The only thought that came to mind was, What happened?

As Alex's ears slowly stopped ringing he heard something. THUD! CRACK!

Alex frowned. What is that?

As his vision cleared, he saw that he was now sitting on the ground leaning against one of the oak trees at the edge of the park, the tree's trunk thick as a couch, several meters away from the fountain and where he once stood. He blinked. How did I get over here?

Slowly, Alex tried to stand, but only managed to fall back onto the same tree, his legs wobbling, barely able to keep him on Alex's own two feet. He turned his gaze toward the center of the park. Where the fountain once stood, was now a deep crater, the air around it layered thickly with dust. The scent from before stronger than ever, coming from something inside the dust cloud. The dust too thick for Alex to see through clearly. As the dust slowly cleared, Alex could make out two shapes. One was a person, almost as tall as him wielding what looked like a samurai's katana with long hair reaching down to the waist. The other was as big as a large black bear and rippled with thick muscles. It stood on two feet like a person, but its legs were bent at a strange angle and its nose was long and round. The two were fighting madly for their lives. The long haired one flipping, kicking and slashing with the katana. The other swiped its palm and tried to bite the long haired one to no avail. Slowly Alex realized that the long haired figure was Shelly. Alex pushed himself off of the tree, and was greeted with blindingly painful agony lancing through him and fell back against the tree. Slowly, Alex remembered what that smell was. Alex's head darted toward the other figure. The other figure fighting Shelly was.... "A bloodthirsty werewolf." a foreign voice said, finishing his thought. The voice was obviously a girls, about his age. It was beautiful like Shelly's, but instead of a heartwarming sweetness, it was laced with a deadly playfulness. Alex's head focused on the figure fighting Shelly, and found he was right. The tall and muscular figure fighting Shelly was coated in gray fur and dry blood. What he thought was a long and thick nose was a wolfish snout. The beast had long black claws and sharp teeth. A figure walked into Alex's field of vision. And his heart stopped. Imagine looking at perfection. At something so alluring and beautiful that at the very sight of it, you immediatley want nothing more than to simply bask in its' glory. That was her. Her lusoius hair, falling down her chest and back, covered half of her face. Alex stared at her face, her figure, overwhelmed by an unbelievable desire. As he stared, everything else seemed to fade away, The air around him thick with an indescribable aroma. He frowned for a moment. What was he doing here again? Where was he? He shook it away and looked back up at the girl. Nothing mattered but her. She wore a bra made of bark, along with a skirt like garment that stopped at her knee, covering the front and back, leaving the sides open. Alex frowned. Where had he seen that before. She regarded his stare with an amused smile, and moved up to him before sitting in his lap, caressing him. Alex sat motionless in utter awe at this goddess, lost in her alluring face, her ever changing hair and her deep shimmering eyes. She laughed at his obvious adoration, a sound faintly similar to a growl, enjoying his obvious disability to form a sentence. If someone had asked him to describe her, he always ended up giving varied responses. At first, Alex could faintly see traits of Samantha Whitney in her appearance, a cute shy cheerleader from high school, with her pale skin, ribbon slim body and helmet of black hair. Then her image seemed to rearrange itself again, now resembling Mrs. Antonio, his alluring Spanish teacher. Then, once more, her appearance changed and shifted. Now she was a beautiful girl about his age, with incredibly long green hair and a pair of captivating green eyes set in a beautiful yet familiar face. As Alex looked closer at the last image, he felt something stir inside him, a voice in his thoughts pestering him relentlessly in the back of his mind. The girl on top of him raised an eyebrow and frowned, obviously displeased that his deep lust for her was wavering. Alex didn't notice her gaze, lost in his thoughts. He felt his awe filled expression melt away. He could hear the voice now Remember!

the voice said. What was he supposed to remember

? He felt the answer somewhere in the back of his mind plain as day, grasping for it, but not catching hold of it

. Remember! You must remember!

the voice persisted. Alex felt the strange aroma around him like a veil lift off him, the answer slowly coming to him. At the same time, a dull yet warm pain somewhere on his neck surface. Yes. It had something to do with that girl he saw. Who was she?

The girl above him put her hand under his chin and lifted his head up, their eyes meeting. He felt the strange aroma on him again even stronger now, as if trying to weigh him down. "Don't tell me you don't like me, do you Alex? Just relax, don't you wanna have some fun with me?"
she said teasingly. Her words washed over him like ocean waters. Alex saw her lean forward, her lips ready to embrace his. He felt his neck crane to the left, but the voice still pestered him. You must remember!

An image of the girl from before seeped into his mind. He turned his head toward the strange booming noises and saw two swirling figures, the flash of metal and claw and tooth.In the swath of the melee he saw a brief image of a girl. He opened his mouth, her name on his lips. Who are you!?

He screamed in his mind. Shelly

a silent whisper answered him. In an instant, he felt the mist dissolve away.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 13.10.2010

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