I know I really shouldn't be starting another new story, but you know what I'm like. Here we go. And the re-write of DYTTM's prologue should be up soon!
- Hannah
. . .
"Oh my God, that has to be him. He's totally hot!"
"You are unbelievable, Meryl. A second ago, you thought he was too nerdy to even consider, you only care because you just saw that load of guys go up to him!"
"Yeah, because they're louder, which captured my attention more than him sitting there under that tree by himself!"
"That is pathetic." Teale shook her head, flipping her bangs out of her eyes. "What about you, Dora? What do you think? You've been staring pretty hard... Wait. Are you still trying to prove that you're an Avenger?"
Isadora Forrester jumped slightly at the sound of Teale's voice, momentarily losing her concentration.
"I have superpowers, ladies." Isadora told Teale and Meryl seriously. "And I will prove it to you. The power of the mind is a magical thing, it's just a matter of time before I break through the mental barrier scientists have indoctrinated us to believe and then you'll feel stupid."
"Whatever." Meryl drawled, tossing back her blonde hair. "The guy under the tree. What do you think? I mean, I could go over there and he'd be my friend or something, right?"
"Not to you." Isadora murmured under her breath, her eyes narrowing at the conversation topic.
He was lying on his back on the grass, his ankles crossed, his long legs stretched against the trunk of the tree. He had one arm behind his head and the other free to check his iPhone, occasionally smirking at whatever the boisterous boys around him yelled out.
He had messy dark hair and the way his T-shirt was riding up slightly, Isadora could see a lean, slender figure from the way his faded blue jeans hung snugly from his hips.
And it was all way too familiar.
It was only the second day of college and the afternoon was just beginning, the campus grounds surrounding the main hall slowly beginning to busy as classes ended and switched. Meryl, Teale and Isadora were settled comfortably on a small, wooden table a comfortable distance from the coffee stand, supposedly studying.
Well. Meryl was stretched out across the table, attempting to catch some "rays" – and Teale was doodling caricatures of nearby couples, while Isadora tried to glare holes into graphite.
"They're coming this way." Meryl murmured, sitting up a little straighter and sticking out her chest. "Okay. We have to come up with a master plan, quickly!"
"Well, count me out." Isadora sighed, picking up a law textbook and flicking through it. "I have prep to do for one of my first classes and I don't want to disappoint."
"Dora, seriously." Teale sighed, putting down her pencil to look at her patronizingly. "You're not going to disappoint any of the staff members! Chill."
Isadora blinked at her.
"I know I'm not going to disappoint any faculty members, I'm just more worried about disappointing myself." Isadora told her factually. "I will not lower my standards to that of my fellow law peasants."
Meryl made a sound of disgust.
"You know, if we were still in high school, you and I would not be friends."
Isadora laughed humourlessly, catching Teale's gaze.
"Now, wouldn't have that been a shame?" Isadora teased, laughing with Teale as Meryl glared.
Isadora returned to her textbook as the babble of young men got closer, Meryl practically drooling.
"If that's who I think it is, he's a god, girls." Meryl whispered. "A total sex god."
"He looks it." Teale agreed mildly.
Dora kept quiet.
"Well, hello there boys." Meryl said seductively, making Dora laugh quietly in disbelief into her textbook. Teale rolled her eyes too, but still looked up in interest as the group stopped at the table. Isadora felt a vibration as Meryl kicked something as she sat up, pretending to gasp. "Oh my God, I am so sorry! I hope that didn't hurt."
Teale shook her head, watching Meryl gaze hungrily at where her sandals had just about missed the important piece of male anatomy by where she'd hit Tree Guy's thigh.
"You can hurt me anywhere you like." One of the guys leered, making Meryl smile smugly, just as...
"Don't worry about it."
Isadora couldn't help but glance up at the sound of his voice, even through the hardcore flirting. Well, not too hardcore. Meryl and Teale were still drooling over him every five seconds.
"Come on guys, we gotta jet if we're going to make it." One of the other voices said, Isadora watching him from the corner of her eye. He was almost right in front of her, tapping away on his cell. "Goodbye, ladies." Isadora raised her eyebrows at the new speaker, as he smiled at Teale in particular – and at the shy, very un-Teale like smile she gave back. "Avery, you coming?"
"Yeah." Avery – his name made Isadora wince – nodded, his bright eyes glancing coolly over to Teale and Meryl. Judging by their expressions, Avery was who they wanted him to be – the reason they needed bibs. "Watch those legs of yours. They're weapons of mass destruction."
Meryl giggled coyly.
"Or so I've been told."
Avery flashed her such a stunning, radiant (according to Teale and Meryl), cocky smile, that Meryl and Teale's breathing audibly hitched.
The group was just beginning to disperse and Isadora was just flashing the other boys with a polite smile when –
"Isadora." Avery said coolly with a simple nod of acknowledgement, his calculating eyes meeting hers.
Dora winced, as Avery and her company stopped in their tracks and stared. And she had been so damn close...
"Avery." Dora muttered, clutching the sides of her textbook so hard, the edges started to cut into her palm.
And just like that, he was gone.
It took a few moments for Meryl and Teale to recover.
"What... Was that?" Teale asked slowly, pulling away the textbook Isadora had been planning to hide behind. "You know him?"
"More importantly, he knows you?" Meryl sounded distraught.
Why, why had she hung around? Like a band aid, Dora thought to herself. Rip it off nice and quick, and deal with the pain later.
"Sure I know Avery Slade." Isadore said nonchalantly, ignoring the gasps of her friends as she confirmed Avery as the already infamous college king. "He saved my life last summer."
Which was exactly why, Isadora thought bitterly as the inquisition began, had her superpowers not failed her – she would have crushed him.