Dusk

Dusk-Chapter Three

CHAPTER 3: RUN-IN

Oh snap. Who's going to take me home now? Elle's at home and I'm stuck here at school, and my phone's at home. I frown and wander around the school lot when I see a black BMW speeding towards me. Immediately I have a mental panic attack and scream. My mind is racing and I'm scared I'm going to die. The car is just about to hit and crush me, when I hear the tires screech and the car stops. The driver rushes out of the car and over to me. I can see it's a boy my age. He was very handsome with medium brown hair that, if was in the perfect position of the sun, glinted and gleamed a golden color. He had sharp, high cheekbones, and full lips. His skin was also very, very, pale. But when I looked in his eyes, I saw the strange orange eyes, but his were a bit more golden. So it's another Hale. I wonder if I would crash into all of them.

"Are you...okay? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. My mind slipped. Forgive me," he says. His voice was smooth and clear. It felt very hypnotizing to me.

"I-I'm fine, just a bit shaken up. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have wandered around like that. Sorry," I reply.

"Just making sure you're fine. No injuries?" He asks me.

"No, I'm fine," I say.

He looks at me curiously then, stands up and stretches his hand out to me. I take it and he effortlessly pulls me up.

"I'm Alexander Hale. Alex for short," he tells me.

"I'm Felicity Rose. Ellice for short," I introduce myself.

He smiles a warm smile and checks his watch. "I'm afraid I have to leave. But I'll see you on Monday. I hope you enjoyed your first day here at Portland Secondary School," he says. And with one quick, swift movement, he's in his car and driving away.

How did he know it was my first day? I never told him that. Maybe it was intuition. As I'm pondering this, I see Carlos jogging up next to me.

"Hey Ellice! Need a ride home? Did you think about me coming over?" Carlos asks me.

"Oh, I definitely need a ride home, please. And I can talk to Elle about you staying over. Is it okay with your parents?" I ask.

"Sure it's okay. They want me to help you guys settle in, anyway. C'mon, my car's parked over there," he tells me.

I follow Carlos towards his car and he opens the passenger door for me. I get in and breathe in the scent of air freshener. Carlos gets in the driver seat and starts driving out of the school lot. "So your house is that white one that needs some work, right?" He asks me.

I can't help but giggle at his name for my new house. "You got it," I reply, still snorting.

"So you missing Laguna Beach?" He asks me.

"Well, kind of. But I believe there's a new adventure here in Portland for me. Even more exciting than in Laguna Beach," I say.

"I'll have to agree with you there. You're already making friends and got to talk to Alex Hale on your first day," he tells me.

"Wait, you saw me almost die there when he almost hit me with his BMW?" I ask, surprised.

"What? He almost ran you over? I did not see that part! I only saw him talking to you. Are you alright?" He asks worriedly.

"I'm in one piece, Carlos," I say dismissively.

"You might wanna tell Elle, okay?" He suggests.

"What? No! She would freak saying that now people are trying to kill me like they did to my dad!" I say defensively. The moment the words are out, I regret them so bad. How dare I say something so rude to my own mother, and something so horrid about my dad! So I clamp my mouth shut all the ride until we get to my house.

"Thanks for the ride, Carlos," I say plainly. "You can come in if you want."

"No problem. And I'll come in, thanks," he replies with a grin on his face.

We step out of the car and see that Elle is waiting for me outside.

"Carlos Logan? It's been ages! How're you doing?" My mom asks, feeling all happy.

"Great, thanks. Our family's missed you a lot," Carlos says with a smile.

"Ellice, you remember Carlos, right?" Elle asks, turning to me.

"Yeah. He introduced himself to me at school today," I say.

"Good. And how was school?" She asks.

"It was good. I met four new friends: Delilah, Amy, Kelly, and Ellen," I tell her.

"Ellice is quite the friend-maker," Carlos tells Elle.

"Oh, really. Anyways, I have to go to a job interview. Carlos, say hi to your parents for me. Ellice, see you later," Elle tells us both. We watch as she climbs into her SUV and drives away.

"So I think I'm going to do some homework. Want to join, or you wanna go home before I bore you to tears?" I ask.

Carlos laughs. "I'll stay. Let's see if I get any tears by the time I leave," he teases.

"Deal. Just don't tell your parents it was my fault you were crying," I say.

We head into the house and into my room. I secretly smile when I see the desk Aaron made for me in the corner. I set my books and binder down when I see a paper fall out. I frown and pick it up, seeing someone else's handwriting on it. It was a math test by someone named Anastasia Hale. Oh no. It must've got mixed up in the papers I handed her when we crashed into each other in the hall.

"Hey, Ellice? Why you staring so intensely at that paper?" Carlos asks me.

Oh jeez. I forgot he was even here. "I crashed into one of the Hales when I was walking to French class, and our papers must've mixed up. And it's a math test. I gotta get it back to her," I say worriedly.

"Relax and check if you lost any papers first," he suggests.

I frantically search through my binders and books, happy to see that everything was still in place.

"No, everything's here. But I still gotta get this back to her," I repeat.

"Okay, do it on Monday. For now, concentrate on boring me to tears," he says with laughter in his eyes.

I laugh and then got right back to my homework, while Carlos sat on my bed doing absolutely nothing. After an hour or so, he claimed that he had to go.

"Aw. No tears. I guess I really am entertaining," I joke.

"Guess you're right. Anyways, I'll see you on Monday," he says.

He gave me a friendly hug and left.

I smile a little when he's gone because I think I've decided he was a great friend. I was wrong to dislike him earlier today.

When I'm finished my homework, it's seven thirty. I frown because Elle should've gotten home by now. Oh well. I'll make dinner so she won't have to when she gets back.

I walk down the wooden stairs to make some pasta for dinner when Elle walks through the front door. She looked quite worried.

"Elle? Are you okay?" I ask her.

"I'm fine. Someone just slashed the tires on my car," she says, frowning.

"What? Really?" I ask nervously.

"They'll be fine. I took them to the nearest car garage. I'll pick them up tomorrow," she tells me.

So now someone slashed Elle's tires. Tomorrow I would check them out, just to make sure they were okay. But I made dinner first, so it looked like I wasn't that concerned.