Huldrefolk

Rose kept the book held high so it shielded her face from onlookers. She didn't feel like being disturbed. Not that it was a good book, by any means, no. She had been bored two pages in. That was not the point. The point was, if people thought she was distracted by the earphones she had shoved in her ears and turned up full blast, if they thought she was engaged in this god-awful story, they wouldn't sit next to her. For several stops, this tactic worked, but as the school bus began to fill up, Rose felt the weight of a body next to her. She flinched back, pressing up against the window like a cornered mouse. "Twilight?" This stranger inquired, clearly referring to the name of the book. Rose glanced up at the top of the page. Yes, it was Twilight. He was talking to her. "Yeah. I'm already bored." She stammered, not looking up from the small black print that swirled together to spell out words. Not good words, mind you. "Ha. I can relate. I tried to read it a year back, didn't appeal. It was a recco from a friend. I gave her my own recommendation of acceptable reading material, al-la Lord of the Rings." The boy, she figured, had a nice voice. Melodic and charming. The way he spoke made it seem like he was genuinely engaged in this out-of-the-blue conversation. Rose lowered the book from her face and looked at him for the first time. "I like LotR." Was all she could say as her grey eyes met the earth-shatteringly blue ones across from her. He was lounging on the seat with one knee pulled up to his chest, one hand was gripping the seat in front of him, while the other arm was draped over the top of his seat, his long pale fingers so close to her shoulder she could feel the warmth radiating off them. "Good, I was worried for a second you'd throw bad literature at me for insulting your chick-lit." His mouth curved up in a wide smile that spread across his heavily freckled face, showing a row of vaguely pointed, white teeth. "I can kind of hear your music too... I don't think it's Justin Bieber or anything too edgy, so I think we're good. My name's Kade, by the way." He held out his hand for her to shake, and she hesitated. Her hands were freezing. She'd forgotten her gloves, as usual. She took a chance, afraid of embarrassing herself even more if she didn't do it. She touched his hand, holding it for a firm shake, the way Pa had taught her to when greeting formal guests. Kade smiled at her again, not releasing her hand even after the shake. "You're freezing." "You're... really warm." She felt a bubble of nervous laughter break through the closed gates of her lips, making his smile grow wider. How were his teeth so white? His hands were softer than any man's hands she'd felt. Considering Pa's work colleagues did nothing but write up stupid quotes and type at computers all day, their fingertips were always hard and calloused. "You can borrow my gloves if you want. Wouldn't want you getting frostbite. It's chilly today, even for Canada." "Uh... I just met you." "Yes, and I’m sure my gloves are likely to be poisoned or something." Even the sarcasm in his voice felt utterly friendly, helped along by his grin and the gloves he was offering her with the hand that wasn't entwined around hers. "Thank you." She accepted the offer. "They'll probably be too big." "Big gloves are warmer than no gloves." He shrugged. "You still haven't told me your name..." "Oh. Rose. Rose Martin." "As in Martin Estates? I knew Mr. Martin had a daughter that went to Grove but I didn't know that was you..." His eyes widened and eyebrows raised. She cringed inside. Now he'd take back the gloves, sit somewhere else and tell everyone at the school who she was. Then she'd have to switch schools again and then she'd never see him aga- how could she worry about not seeing him? That shouldn't have been her main concern! "Uh... yeah. Sorry. I don't usually say my last name." She felt sweat break out on her skin and her clothes felt more confining than they were. "Oh, no. It's fine. I'm just surprised, that's all. I won't tell anyone, seeing as you seem like it's something you seem to want to keep on the down low." He smiled again and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks." She was safe. The bus pulled to a stop and she stared out at the snow-dusted red-brick building that was Amber Grove Academy. The pair disembarked, thanking the driver as they stepped out into the snow. Rose pulled out her earphones as she stood and regarded Kade in his entirety. He was tall, taller than even she, one of the taller females at the school. He was thin, too, with a slender waist which she found attractive and slightly feminine. She smiled at him again. "I do promise I was being sarcastic when I said the gloves would be poisoned." He smirked, gesturing to them as they rested in her hands alongside the book. "Oh. Right." She hurriedly shoved them on. He smiled, reaching out to squeeze her free hand. "Warmer already." He whispered as if to himself, before he turned to leave. She heard his feet crunching into the snow as she watched him leave. "Kade?!" She called out, almost involuntarily. He turned to regard her but was still walking. "Where do I find you to umm..." She scrambled for a reason to find him again. "Give these back?" She held up her newly gloved hand. "Where the wild things play, Rose Martin. I promise I'll be the one to find you." He shot her one last, heart-stoppingly beautiful smile, before turning and disappearing into the building.