Chapter Five: Surprise

As Georgia watched the sights of her town flit past the large window, her mind consumed them on autopilot. Grayston could be a dreary place at times and the gray tinge from the dark clouds above made it seem more lifeless today than usual. Her mind was on her dream from the night before. Hayden had featured in it more prominently than she’d ever admit to anyone. 

No surprise there! 

Her mind was half annoyed and half confused at its relentless obsession with him. The dream itself added a new layer of mystique to him. It started with her being able to see him. He was beautiful and strong, his skin seeming to glow under a moonlit night, the sinew of his arms and chest a million times more desirable because of it. She kept trying to reach him but he kept pushing her away. Even in his rejections of her, she couldn’t help noticing how strong and forceful his touch was. It excited her somehow. 

“Let me in,” she kept pleading with him. 

The more desperate her cries became, the more her conscious self was disgusted by her weakness for him as she thought of it now. In the dream she was submissive at first and initially backed off. The sight of him so close to her was devastating. At first, she thought it was because she needed to be with him. Analyzing the dream now, Georgia realized it was something deeper. In the dream she could sense him somehow. The connection gave her an insight into his deeper self. She could feel his pain, share in the fear and loneliness he felt. It made no sense to her in reality. 

How could he be lonely? He could have any girl he wanted. In the dream it was different. He felt pain and saw himself as an outcast. It only heightened Georgia’s desire to be let in, to help him. Instinctively, she knew that only she could. Her submissiveness was overpowered by her desire to protect him and she became more forceful in the way she pushed herself toward him. Her renewed vigor changed him too. He was soft and gentle when he rebuked her at first. When she refused to stop trying to get to him and became more forceful in her attempts, his gentle manner gave way to a harsher one. 

She watched his eyes darken as that familiar and frightening flash of anger passed through them. Only, in the dream she was unafraid. A low rumbling sound emanated from his chest as he held out a hand and pushed her away, harder this time. 

“You don’t understand,” he said angrily. 

She was deaf to his words, consumed by her desire to help him, to end his loneliness and heal his pain. The low rumble moved up from his chest and passed through his throat in a low growl that eventually escaped his mouth. It was a deeply disturbing sound; an inhuman sound. Georgia shivered slightly as she thought of it now. Hearing it in reality would terrify her. She’d already heard a lower, tamer version of it twice, once on the street and then as he was pinned to the wall by Tyler. In the dream, the sound didn’t scare her. All it did was conjure up a different kind of anger within her until she too felt a rumbling in her chest and actually growled back at him. 

The momentary shock as he heard it was enough for him to drop his guard and as she lunged forward, she finally knew what it meant to be “let in”.After that moment it was as if the pair of them had merged. They were one mind and she could feel everything he did—she was him! Everything changed. As she glared at the moon above them now, it was like she saw it for the first time, a glorious orb of light that pulled at their collective emotions, egging them on. Before Georgia could impose her own will on them, Hayden’s took over and they were running. She saw the grass and trees, and darkened shadows of the woods flash past them, his deep panting breaths pounding out viciously as he ran like the wind, trying everything he could to wrench her free of his mind and be rid of her.  

She wrestled his mind and the ensuing tussle caused the body they were inhabiting to falter. Its steady stride began to lose its footing and slow just as they approached a dark, shimmering lake ahead. The body’s legs tangled and it fell hard and almost rolled its way forward. For a moment, Georgia’s heightened senses were rocked as she saw tumbling views of grass, trees, and then the sky before the body they shared came to a crashing halt at the edge of the lake. 

The water was dark and reflective. It was only then that she saw the body they inhabited. What looked back at her from the water was a terrifying beast, thick with dark gray fur, red eyes, a long snout, pointed ears, and horrific teeth that gnashed and growled in anger as saliva splashed about. 

“Do you see now?” Hayden’s voice echoed through Georgia’s mind.

“Do you see what I really am?” 

The last thing Georgia remembered was the gasp of shock she let out before Hayden wrenched her free of his mind and she was expelled from his conscience and the dream together. She hadn’t been able to get back to sleep since and her tired, weary eyes drooped as she stared out the school bus window. The dream was a weird, surreal one, and yet, at the time, had felt very real to her. Georgia had only just begun concentrating on reality again when the bus reached the last road before it would turn into Beldon High. 

The rain had stopped but the streets were still wet and laden with puddles from the day before. An icy wind whipped about outside and the drone of the other students was a familiar sound. None of them paid attention to Georgia and when the school came into view, she was grateful to escape it. 

Joining the line of students, she exited with a quick “Thank you” to Mr. Jeffries, the aging driver that gave her the same kind smile he’d been flashing her everyday for five years now. 

It silently communicated his appreciation that at least one student acknowledged his existence. As Georgia made her way up the remainder of the tarred driveway, the usual layabouts were hanging out in the lot to soak up a few last minutes of freedom before the first bell. The buzz of chattering students was quieter and Georgia ignored their monotonous drone. She was almost at the steps to the entrance when a sleek car passed her and pulled into a vacant spot nearby. It was a black BMW, gorgeous and oozing power, an ‘M’ badge with three colored stripes emblazoned on its trunk. 

The car’s appearance grabbed attention and a few groups of students spoke about it excitedly in hushed tones as it passed. The windows were dark but Georgia could already sense who the driver was. As Hayden stepped out, she felt herself stiffen with anxious nerves at the sight of him. His hair was neatly spread out on his head, dark clumps of it falling over his forehead and the sides of his cheeks, blocking some of his face in a sexy way. He seemed like an extension of the car, dressed all in black with skinny jeans and a muscle shirt. 

Georgia was about to turn away to avoid being magnetized by his dazzling looks again when he did something unexpected. He looked straight at her. She wasn’t expecting it, still frazzled by her last memory of him when he shouted at her the day before. After spending all of his first day at Beldon ignoring her completely, it was strange to see him acknowledging her with his stare—even stranger to see a muted, almost soft expression on his face. For a second, it seemed like he even wanted to speak to her. Her dream and the events of the day before still freshly emblazoned into her psyche, Georgia hurriedly looked away and scooted through the entrance. Thankfully, it was less busy this time and she managed to get past Mr. Weaver and the metal detector without hassle. 

Once in the hall she was grateful to see Lisa already there. It wasn’t hard to spot her, all she had to do was follow the wandering eyes of boys that passed her. Lisa Cheng was known for her stylish, outlandish looks at times. Today, her dark, impossibly straight hair was streaked with bright red tint, and her bangs fully covered by it. Against her perfect skin, her green eyes, glossy lips, and full cheeks stood out more than usual. Lisa was slim and tall, a fact augmented today by the blue pleated, check skirt she wore under a white collared shirt, and matching tie. White, thigh-high socks and black boots completed the ensemble. 

The daughter of Korean immigrant parents, she was the perfect blend of westernized K-pop chic. Against her gorgeous skin tone and beautiful features, she was a living embodiment of every man’s asian school girl fantasy and looked like a porcelain doll. 

“Wow. That’s a daring look, even for you,” said Georgia. 

Though she smiled, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy against her friend for the first time.  

“I know right. Thought I’d embrace my roots a little,” Lisa gushed happily.      

“I didn’t know your roots were a slutty school girl.” 

Lisa chuckled and Georgia was glad she didn’t detect the unintended edge of reality that crept into her voice as she said it. Whenever Lisa spoke about her ‘asian culture’, it was clear she always referred to the pop culture aspects of her heritage, more than the traditional ones. 

“Where’s Benny?” Georgia asked. 

“Had to run to the bathroom.” 

“I can’t imagine why,” Georgia replied sarcastically as she looked Lisa up and down again. 

Lisa just laughed and it was clear to Georgia that she was enjoying the banter rather than being offended by it. The more Georgia took in Lisa’s appearance, the worse she felt about her own. She’d planned on avoiding Hayden as much as possible today but now found herself agitated at how invisible she looked in her plain black jeans, mustard sweater vest, and boring ponytail. Next to Lisa, she felt like she looked more plain and ordinary than ever.

As these thoughts dug at her, almost on cue, Lisa asked, “So where’s the hot new guy?” 

“He just pulled into the lot,” Georgia grudgingly answered. 

The friends chatted a bit more and Georgia tried to steer the conversation away from Hayden but it was no use. Benny arrived shortly after and, for once, Georgia was grateful that he seemed to be the only guy at Beldon immune to Lisa’s alluring looks. He chatted to her animatedly. She felt like he almost seemed grateful that she hadn’t also come to school dressed to kill. He recounted the fact that Hayden had been rude to her the day before.

“You should have seen it Lisa. He basically told her to get stuffed,” Benny said, a little too gleefully. 

Lisa seemed annoyed now. 

“Is that so? You never mentioned that part George,” she said.  

Georgia shrugged. “Didn’t bother me.” 

God, when did you learn to lie so much?

“He seems to hate everyone so I didn’t take it personally,” she doubled down. 

“Well I don’t like the idea of someone being rude to my BFF. I don’t care how hot he is. I think it’s time someone gave the jerk a taste of his own medicine,” Lisa said confidently. 

As she said this, Georgia suddenly felt a noticeable shift in the atmosphere of the bustling students around her. Hayden had just strode in and many eyes were on him as usual. Tyler Norton and Joey Swinton eyed him suspiciously from the corner of the hall but then, to Georgia’s relief, Tyler just scoffed and his entourage went back to minding their own business. She was anxious again a second later when Hayden made a beeline straight toward the three of them. As he neared, Georgia expected his eyes to find Lisa. To her surprise, they were trained on her. She felt the air suck out of her chest and had no idea what to expect when Lisa broke the tension. 

As he got near Lisa said, “Hey new guy,” in an obnoxious but serious tone. 

Hayden looked at her and she continued. 

“I heard you were a jerk to my friend yesterday,” she added with a nod in Georgia’s direction. 

Georgia cringed and expected Hayden to become abrasive again. 

To her surprise, he looked at her with a calm, almost gentle expression and said, “You’re right, I was. I actually came over to apologize for that.” 

Georgia could almost feel the return of Benny’s envy next to her. 

“I’m sorry I was rude to you. I was just…having a bad day,” he said, directly to Georgia this time. 

Georgia felt her face flush with embarrassment, or gratitude, or excitement, she had no idea which. 

“It’s okay,” she mumbled, barely able to hold his smoldering gaze up close. 

“There, that wasn’t so hard,” Lisa chimed in, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Hayden was still concentrating on Georgia alone. 

“Now since that’s over with, I’ve got a spot free next to me if you wanna join us for lunch,” she said seductively with a wink.  

Hayden turned to her now. 

He looked her over and, to Georgia and Lisa’s collective surprise, wore an expression of distaste rather than admiration. 

“Uh…no thanks, I’m okay,” he said  somewhat diplomatically. 

Without another word, he turned and walked toward class just as the first bell rang out. Lisa looked stunned and Georgia couldn’t help but feel happy as she allowed her mind to ponder a secretly thrilling possibility. 

Was he actually more interested in me than Lisa?

Lisa was temporarily stunned but recovered quickly as other guys began fawning over her as they walked to class. Benny seemed to pick up the same vibe from Hayden that Georgia had. He wore a scowl and basically ignored Georgia for the rest of the day. The day itself passed Georgia by like another surreal dream. From class to class, and even during the break, she couldn’t kick the feeling that Hayden seemed drawn to her

today and not the other way round. Lisa droned on in the background. She put Hayden out of her mind since his rejection of her and spent the day being flirtier than usual with other guys that paid her attention. She seemed intent on proving a point to herself—that Hayden’s brush off didn’t matter because there were lines of other boys dying to take his place. 

Hayden’s warmer attitude toward Georgia made her day pass in stark contrast to the previous one. Instead of spending it secretly staring at Hayden, she spent it trying to avoid his gaze. A couple of times it felt like he wanted to talk to her some more but the opportunity never presented itself and he just stuck to himself again, avoiding everyone else beside Georgia who he regularly glanced at. Whenever she noticed, her cheeks flushed and she automatically looked away. She felt confused, and a little overwhelmed by it all, more so since her dream. 

By the time the day ended, she found herself packing her bag. Hayden had disappeared somewhere in the rush. Georgia walked out with her friends and they parted ways as usual. Benny jumped into Lisa’s Volkswagen GTI and Georgia decided to skip the bus ride and walk home to clear her head. She looked for Hayden’s car and was grateful when she didn’t spot it anywhere. As she walked home, her backpack bounced behind her and the sky began to darken once more. She was consumed with thoughts of Hayden’s strange behavior again. 

Yesterday had been weird, today even more so. She couldn’t decide which was worse, thinking he hated her, or feeling constantly uncomfortable at him staring at her throughout the day. She’d just turned the corner and entered a chilly and desolate looking Warbler Street when she heard a car approach. As it slowed beside her, she drew in a breath when she realized it was Hayden’s car. 

The driver’s window came down and he kept one hand on the steering as he asked, “Can I give you a ride?” 

One part of Georgia was elated and ached to jump in and be close to him but another was weary. His change in behavior over the last day made her feel uneasy and like she had no idea which version of him she would get now. The unpredictability of it all worried her. 

“Uh…I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she replied. 

The street was conspicuously empty and she felt a little exposed and vulnerable. Hayden’s eyes and expression were softer than she’d ever seen them and he sighed. “Look, I apologized for yesterday. Can you please get in? I just want to talk.” 

Georgia’s mind was racing with so many unanswered questions and yet, she still felt defensive. “What do you want to talk about?” 

“Get in and I’ll explain.” 

“I don’t get it. Yesterday you seemed to hate me and today, you want me to jump into your car with you?” 

“It’s…complicated,” he said after some thought. 

“I’m a bright girl, I’m sure I can keep up.” 

His car crawled alongside her and Georgia felt weird at what it would look like to passing pedestrians. Another car pulled up behind them and began to honk. 

“Come on, please just get in,” Hayden pleaded now. 

“First just tell me, what’s so complicated?” 

Hayden sighed, and seemed a little annoyed at her stubbornness but when he did speak, she gasped at the words.

“Last night, I dreamt of you too,” he said.