Chapter 1

3145 Words
    I can’t tell you where it all began. Do I start with the age-old beginning “Once upon a time...” or “In a land far, far away”? When you think of your life, I do not believe that people typically feel that they are anyone special or that their decisions would shape their world and that of another. But then again, I guess most do not find themselves belonging to two different worlds. I do not mean that figuratively; of course, I learned quite recently that I am literally from another realm, from two domains that were never meant to cross. Not something you expect to find out on the day you graduate from school. The only thing I was thinking about was how excited I was to go to Oxford to study History. I was accepted into my first choice University, and to me, that was the highlight of my life. But I’m getting ahead of myself; let’s start at the end, after graduation.     My best friends and I had just stepped out into the London night after leaving a graduation party put on by another student at our school; being entirely socially drained, I was ready to go. The party was mixed with both students and some of their families from our small village of Braughing. I had gotten tired of the parents congratulating me on getting into Oxford and listening to them wonder why Henry or Olivia was not as lucky to be accepted into their first-choice Uni. Hearing people compare others was annoying, but mostly when it involved me; I was far from perfect and stood out like an exposed nail for as long as I could remember. As if having one eye of cerulean and one similar to green chartreuse would not set me apart enough, my olive skin or copper hair would make it easy to pick me out in a crowd if my short stature did not hinder it. But I guess that could be said about everyone in my group. All four of us were not exactly fitting in with a cookie-cutter crowd, though we liked the uniqueness that set us apart. “Why did we have to leave? The party was starting to get bumpin’.” Nara questioned as she skipped and twirled around us as we walked away from the club to the tubes and headed to our hotel; Black pumps held with her index and middle fingers hooked through the back as she danced around barefoot on the pavement. She was never much for dressing up. Her purple and blue streaked bob swept across her peach tone baby face with a few strands getting stuck on her Romanesque nose once she stopped in front of the three of us, having to look up to all three being the smallest of our group, only slightly shorter than me yet still smaller all around. Looking at her gunmetal blue eyes staring back at us, I thought about the first time I met the spirited American in Year 9 when Nara transferred in. She practically pranced into the room, smiling from ear to ear, a smile that just radiated happiness. A boy tried to take her smile away, in our class, by making some rude comments to her about the burn scarring she had down her left arm. Dace stood up and smacked him right across the cheek; the sound seemingly echoed through the class as I comforted Nara. Since that day, she was glued to Dace and me like a shadow.     Not that I minded, Nara Mink was unique and always had a way to look at the bright side of things. She had a knack for finding the best out of everything by constantly saying, “Even the worse experiences help you grow.” We never knew what happened to her arm, nor did we ask. Nara was an in-the-moment kind of person and never spoke of the past. Heck, we didn’t know where in the US she was from or what brought her family to the UK. Not one of us has even met her parents, I don’t think.     However, Voss and Nara dated a bit when she first moved here, though both deny it. Dace and I knew better, especially considering how secretive they were and how often we caught them sneaking off. So perhaps he had met the parents, but I am not sure, seeing as they never spoke of it. You learn quickly with Nara; she will never lie to you, but she will never answer questions about herself if she doesn’t want to share. The epitome of mystery, that was Nara. All she needed to do was flash that sweet smile, and your curiosity seemed to dissipate.     “You were just complaining about having to dress up and why your cross-trainers were not allowed even though you were in a dress; why would you want to stay?” Dace retorted, “And now you are walking around London with no shoes on…I swear we can’t take you anywhere.” She rolled her soft cognac eyes at our friend, who seemed to brush the comment off and continue her skipping through the streets, getting questioning looks from passersby as we continued on our way but paying them no mind.     Candace “Dace” Alexander met Voss and me in primary school; even then, others were considered one of the school’s prettiest girls. With her sepia skin and long wavy raven hair, the boys were swooning over her quickly and doubled once she hit puberty with her hourglass frame formed. Well, expect Voss, her strong opinions clashed with him from the beginning. Granted, the feeling was mutual; Dace took an immediate dislike of Voss. She viewed him as possessive when it came to me, even at such a young age. Though for as long as I can remember, he was always protective, and perhaps this quality just rubbed her the wrong way. Dace never held back her thoughts, speaking her mind freely, regardless if it was callous. But you could always count on her honesty. Some may have found her bluntness to be lacking tact, but she viewed it as better, to be honest than sugarcoating things.        “She is always off in the clouds if you ask me. I worry about her living here. You know I’m the one who will have to look after her, right? With you two off to Oxford… who else will?” Her mama bear rant seemed to trail off as we walked down the stairs towards the tubes and her eyes flashed vigilance as she watched Nara hop down the steps. Both Dace and Nara were accepted to Unis in London, Nara, to some fashion place that no one knows since she never actually told any of us the name, and Dace to UCL for Education.     Nara had begun to put some distance between her and us before Dace called out to her. “Oi! Nara! Get your scrawny bum back here and for god’s sake, put your shoes back on!”     I let out a small chuckle as Voss scoffed, causing me to glance up at him as he watched our friends take off. Voss Brandt was tall, athletically built, but more lean than muscley. His long strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a half-up pull-through man bun and complemented his golden skin tone. I scanned his side profile for a moment, lost in thought. He was a rather good-looking man with high cheekbones and a slender nose, probably why he was the crush of at least half the girls at our school but utterly oblivious to it. Aside from Nara, who he denies dating, he has never dated anyone else. He has lived next door to me for as long as I can remember; I really can’t recall a single point in my life where Voss was not involved as he spent a lot of time at my house. This was due to his parents traveling a lot for work. Even though I have known him my whole life, I have never met his parents once. I always wonder if he ever felt lonely since it was just him.     These are my friends, the eternal child, the mother hen, and Voss, the stoic protector of us. I was brought back from my memories when he turned his head to face me. His piercing amber eyes peered into me under a single raised thin brow. I smiled softly before stepping forward, racing for Nara after Dace and Voss. We rushed past others heading to the tube, trying to catch Nara, with me calling out apologies to anyone we bumped. I could hear her laughing in glee as she acted like us chasing after her was a game and jumped on through the open doors of the train. Waving, she smiled and posed as if she had won before starting her victory dance.     The three of us joined her in panted breaths just as the doors closed, a look clear on both Dace and Voss’ faces that they didn’t find it amusing. Taking some open seats, we sat together. Dace and I sat on one side while Voss sat next to Nara across from us. “How many stops?” Voss asked as he leaned back, becoming more comfortable, as Nara bounced around hyper-active as ever, drawing his attention. “Too much sugar?” He asked in his somewhat snarky way.     “Three stops.” I shook my head at Nara’s shenanigans with an amused grin as I answered him, though she seemed off in her own world. Paying more attention to her than to the bloke who boarded at the next stop, I didn’t take notice as he took a seat next to Dace, looking her over. His lascivious thoughts were practically screaming in my head, causing my face to scrunch up in disgust as a dry heave forced me to cover my mouth.                             Now that’s a snack. Bet she would look great on my lap.     Voss tilted his head with a furrowed brow as he looked at me, not saying a word as he started glancing between Dace and the guy, seemingly putting it together. He was the only one who knew about this talent of mine; I could sense a person’s intentions for good or bad, and in this case, it was terrible. It wasn’t until the randy fellow spoke up that I looked over in Dace’s direction just in time to see her roll her eyes as he opened his mouth. “Hey, Love, where are you heading tonight?”     “I don’t discuss my travel plans with strangers.” She scoffed though he did not seem to take the hint. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for her, and in truth, I do not think I have ever actually seen her respond to any guy’s advances. Much like myself, Dace had never had a boyfriend; even though they didn’t get along all the time, Voss and Dace never seemed interested in anyone, especially those that throw advances at them. It seemed just to come off as annoying to them, and I could understand it, mainly when it’s unwanted.     “Well then, how’s about you give me your digits? We can meet for some coffee and become less like strangers?” His lips curved into a devious smile as if she was simply playing hard to get. He was licking them as if she would end up his treat in just a matter of time. I covered my mouth as I began dry heaving again as his unscrupulous intentions hit me like a punch in the stomach.                                     She’s feisty. I wonder if she’s just as teasing in the sack.     As Dace handled her current predicament, I could see Voss watching me from across the aisle, his jaw clenching as if he was a hair’s breadth from launching himself from his seat to beat the deviant up.     “How about you f**k Off!” She responded harshly, leaving no doubt of her rejection this time as the train began to come to the second stop. Looking rather distraught, he stood up and exited the train while Dace crossed her legs and arms. “I hate that. It wasn’t my personality he was interested in; he just jumped right on with that ‘Coffee’ s**t. For all, he knew I could have been a total psycho.”     “You are not wrong there, but that was Chav-tastic, Candace,” Voss muttered as he shook his head, relaxing once again now that the guy was gone. She glared back at him as he continued, and I took in a deep breath, the nauseousness from the situation finally subsiding despite the tension between Dace and Voss; that I was used to experiencing. “Careful, he doesn’t come back and throw acid on you. That was a pretty harsh rejection.”     His arms crossed defensively as he seemed to scold her yet again on her bluntness. “You know some guy can’t take it well. I rather not have to worry about Oriel getting hurt from being near you.” He could care less about Dace in general, but if he thought her actions would affect me in some way, he always spoke up.     “Oh, for f**k’s sake,” She glared back so intensely you would practically see the hatred sparking between them. “Like I would do anything to put her in danger.”     Her heels clicked on the floor with her little stomp as she was uncrossing her arms and legs, leaning into me to place an arm over my shoulders while I gave a weary smile. It was difficult having two best friends who hated each other and barely managed to tolerate the other, but I wouldn’t trade either of them. There was no reason for their hatred, but they have been like a fox and hound at each other ever since the two met. Sadly, I was usually stuck in the middle, having to calm them from baring their fangs at each other.     I canted my head as I wondered what it was that drove them against each other. Voss was more apathetic than Dace, for sure, but they both liked being in control, so maybe that is where the clash began. I giggled to myself as I thought how the two of them reminded me of yin and yang right down to their appearance. While Dace had very classic feminine features, Voss’ was more masculine and angular. His high cheekbones, slim straight nose, and close-set amber eyes all seemed to compliment his tall, athletically slenderness but contrasted Dace’s round face, button nose, big honey-like eyes, and a curvy frame that was the envy of most girls we knew. Both sexes seemed to flock to them. However, neither seemed to care about the attention. I have often wondered about their sexualities, considering how many advances they reject.     The robotic female voice announces our stop from overhead, and we all stand up as the train slows down, Voss taking the lead with Nara right behind him, holding on to his hair and occasionally whipping it as if it was a horse’s rein. I smiled at her goofiness as Dace, and I followed suit behind them into the crowded tunnels back up the street.     “This place is so lively!” Nara exclaimed as she pranced around us once we reached the street level. “I can’t wait to move here. Dace! Daaaaaaaaceyy! We are going to have so much fun and so much to do!” Her excitement was obviously wasted on Dace but brought a smile to both Voss’s and my face.     “You see… this is what you are leaving me with….” Dace muttered so low I think I was the only one who heard her.     Getting our bearings, we continued to our hotel to end our night. Nara waved wildly to the front desk clerk wishing them a good evening in her usual bubbly way before we all piled into the lift; you would have thought she knew them. “We should all go change and hit the pool,” Nara suggested as the bell dinged our floor. “I know we don’t have suits, but we don’t need ’em.”     “I am not skinny-dipping, Nara,” Dace stated flatly as she stopped at her door and pulled the key from her purse. “Besides, I am quite exhausted.”     “Aww... you buzz kill. I was talking about swimming in our skivvies, you perv... they’re basically suits anyways.” She shrugged off Dace’s rejection of her idea, used to Dace saying no to most of her shenanigans, and turned towards Voss and me. “What about you guys? A little splish splash to end the night?”     “I think I am going to call it a night too. Sorry, Nara.” I apologized as I reached my door and began to open it. “Maybe tomorrow sometime?”     “Yeah... sure... that works.” Putting on her best pouty face, she turned to Voss to get his answer. Her steely blue eyes grew larger as she worked the puppy dog look on him. Voss was a sucker for this look from Nara; he could never tell her no.     “Yeah, why not.” He answered and smiled softly at her, giving the top of her head a little pat as she squealed happily. I chuckled as I closed my door and heard their conversation fade as they went to their rooms. They still deny ever dating, but come on, it’s so obvious.     With a heavy sigh, I fell back on top of my bed with a thud as I kicked off my heels. Fatigue had begun to take me as I closed my eyes for a brief second, and I realized that I should probably change and do my bedtime routine before I passed out. Groaning as I sat up, I walked to the suite’s bath, unsure if I wanted to get ready for bed or just pass out. “You’re already up and in the bathroom. Suck it up, buttercup, and get it over with.” I spoke to myself in motivation as I grabbed my toothbrush.     Once I finished, I glanced at the clock while settling into the comfy bed.  It was just after midnight, and I shook my head, thinking about how Nara probably convinced Voss to play Marco Polo or some other pool game. I swear time is irrelevant to that girl. If she gets an idea in her head, it does not matter when; she wants to do it right then. Thinking of my friends, I fell asleep rather quickly with a smile on my face. 
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