Chapter 2 - Those eyes

Equinox

Chapter 2

Those eyes

The next week went by, slowly, and it made me nervous, not because it was my first week here, or because the boys couldn't stop looking at me once I got my contacts, or the fact that my Vertigo had caught up with me. No, what made me nervous was the fact the Duin and Edward dissipated the rest of the week. And both Bella and I thought the reason had to be us, since the rest of the Cullen's staid it made sense. But why did I care anyway, Duin was just a boy, that happened to make me want to float on cloud nine, so what? But I did care, and Bella had the same fixation about Edward, although she didn't admit it.

Through the week, Bella, Jessica, Angela, and Mike began to hang out. We sat at the same lunch table and stuff, the only reason I actually sat with them is so every one else would bug off. Bella seemed at ease, but her eyes always moved to the Cullen's table whenever she thought I wasn't looking. Of course I did the same thing, but I was just a little more gracefully. My friends still called every night, telling me what happened and begging me to tell them all about my boring life. Katie wasn't completely satisfied with my explanation that I walked with Duin just to save Bella some gas, I was lucky though, she didn't press me.

The dreams went on, I wandered why, but every time I had the dream, it seemed like I got a little closer to the boy, and the boys eyes got a little darker. I couldn't help but think that maybe it wasnt a dream at all, but an actual memory, something that untilll now I'd been shutting out, and now popped back into my head. But that was ludicrous, the only people there last night were the medics, my grandparents, and who ever pulled me out of the water... Because, I didn't get out my self, and I sure as hell didn't call 911 on my own, I was still drowning in the water when somebody else called and pulled me out. No one found out who it was, but I own him or her my life.

The weekend, was spent doing home work, and getting towed around by Angela across town to shop for anything she could think of. There wasn't much she could think of, so we just looked around a bit. I got signed up to canter at my local Church which wasn't even half the size of my old one, but the parish seemed nice enough. I went to the service alone, and only noticed a few people from my school, though none of them I knew by name.

Today, I got up early so to get my laundry out of the dryer, and wash my hair. The twins woke up later then usual, and so did Angela, so that by the time they were down stairs I had just pulled my jacket on and walked out into the foggy morning. I decided to walk, since it wasn't really that long away and it wasn't going to rain. I was half way to the school when I noticed that I wasn't the only one walking to school that morning.

"Hello Beth, walking today?" The voice surprised me so much that I tripped, and fell into a rose bush, on the corner of some one's house. I felt the thorns stick my hands and clothes, I cursed silently.

"Are you okay?" The voice asked, behind me, and I felt a hand around my arm lift me up.

"Yeah, fine, just a few thorns in my side..." I saw his anxious face abruptly smile at the phrase.

"So, decided to come back to school aiy'?" I said pulling my self up, and picking out the thorns in my hands, when my odd orange colored blood came out, Duin withdrew slightly. Then sniffing the air a few time relaxed, but his brow was still plucked.

"Yes, it seems that Edward and I had caught the flew, and couldn't return to school." He said helping me pull out the thorns caught on my backpack. "You should go to the nurse, she can put some peroxide on these so they'l-"

"I'm allergic, all it will do is swell up my skin." I interrupted, picking the last thorn out on my knee.

"Oh, then how do you treat your cuts?" He asked as we continued walking, I looked up at his face, it seemed lighter, more color seemed to catch in his cheeks, and the shadows under his eyes were nearly gone. And his eyes were a bright, yellow, like Day Lilies, it reminded me of my mother.

"I run water over them and clot it, how else?" I smiled, as a snow flake fell from the sky and landed on my nose.

"Wait, you don't have glasses on today, do you have contacts?" He asked, catching another in his palm.

"Yes, they were late getting here, my grandma had to ship them." I caught clump of snow in my hand, as a flurry ran past us. "I was hoping that today wouldn't be snowy, or wet, and it would just be nice and cloudy. But no, instead I get flurries." I said pulling up my hood.

"We better hurry, how's your cold by the way, did you end up getting Vertigo?" He asked, picking up speed, to match my faster pace.

"Yes, I did, it's probably a good thing that you came along today, just in case I start getting a dizzy spell, you can toe me to the school." I said only half joking, I was beginning to feel a little light headed, and my cheeks were unusually clammy. I might an hour before I passed out, if I kept going on like this though it might be sooner.

"Okay, but how do you know that I wont end up kidnapping you and leaving you for ransom, I might be a kidnapper..." He said smiling at me, with his impish grin.

"Well, I suppose I'd have to either take those chances, or risk being plowed by a garbage truck." I said, feeling the usual queasiness, that accompanied my dizzy spells, and the side walk just wouldn't keep still!

"Hey, Beth, do you feel okay? Your looking a bit green... Hey!" Duin rushed to my side, as I fell to my knees dropping my books, my legs refused to move any farther. And besides that, black lights were covering the white snow up, it must be night time, and I was just do tiered.

"Beth! Hey, can you hear me?" His anxious voice still managed to penetrate my unconscious state. I tried to speak, but I couldn't open my mouth, and I settled with a nod. I tried really hard to tell him that I had to take my pills, that they were in my purse, and without them I would stay like this all day. But my mouth remained firmly shut, until that is, when cold hands touched my forehead. I moaned, his hands were cold like a pond in winter, and the texture was smooth as glass.

"Beth, please if you hear me, nod or say something!" He was saying franticly, and my eyes fluttered weakly.

"Pills... Bag..." Was all I managed to get out, but he was already digging through my bag, and propping my head up, so wet flakes fell on my face.

"Okay," He took the a round orange container out my bag and examined it. "can you swallow these?" He asked, his eyes were anxious, and his brow was lined, making him look older then he probably was.

"Yes," I answered as he put two yellow pills in my palm. I was able to force them down my throat, and he waited patiently for me to return to my natural color. I sat up on my own in a few minutes, the dizziness was still there, but I had regained the use of my mussels, sadly, I was more tired. The pills made my drowsy, I would fall asleep in class, as soon as I got there.

"Okay, we still wont be late, if we hurry." I said pushing myself to my feet, while Duin watched doubtfully, I staggered on my first step, and Duin caught me before I fell again.

"Maybe I should just carry you, okay, and as for class, I think thats out of the question for you. As soon as we get to school I'm borrowing Edward's keys and driving you to your house." Duin said, slinging my arm across his shoulders and putting his arm around my waist careful not to touch my bare skin. I sneezed, and coughed the whole way there, Duin said he might have to take me back to the hospital if I didn't stop. We didn't talk besides his constant worrying over me.

As soon as we hit the parking lot, Edward was waiting with his keys, looking at me critically. The rest of the students were to absorbed in making it to class, too notice me towed by Duin Cullen, half awake. "What did you do to the poor girl Duin? Leave her out in the cold for three days and drop her from the top of the school?" Edward asked playfully, flinging the keys to him.

"No, she fainted, and couldn't get back up, I gave her some pills, but... Do you think I should take her to the hospital or take her home?" Duin asked, catching the keys expertly, Edward eyed me speculatively and frowned.

"Take her to the hospital, I think she needs to have some one look at the cut on her forehead. The stitches look like they're coming loose..." He said, and the I realized that there was something warm, flowing down my cheek, I reached, up and looked at the odd burgundy that stained my hand.

"Oh, no! I didn't even see that! Is anyone at the house?" Duin asked directing me toward the silver Volvo, that stood out like a bulls eye.

"No, you might want to call them, unless you want to stay with her.." His mouth turned into frown, disapproving.

"Yes, I think I will," Duin said, daring me to object, but just then, my eyes shut, and I was asleep.

Everything felt, numb, and yet I had this weird feeling that something was piercing my arm. That's what must have woken me from my slumber, but why was I sleeping? I tried to open my eye lids, and managed to dislodge them from my cheeks, I blinked at the bright light above me. It wasn't a bright light though, it was a person, a man.

"Ah, coming along now?" I heard the voice but with the bright light I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I felt an icy grip on my right arm, and another slightly warmer one on my other arm.

"Wh... Where am I..." My voice was low, and quite, and it didn't help that my throat was swollen.

"The hospital, you passed out, and your stitches came loose, Duin brought you here." The voice answered me, I felt sharp pains in my head. But at the mention of Duin's name I was ripped out of my daze. I could see clearly, Dr. Cullen was above me, his arm was pulling something in and out of my head. A nurse was holding my left arm down, while Duin was holding the other.

"Oh... I see." I said, tensing up just a bit, because I could feel pain shooting through my head, and my mouth was suddenly dry, I felt clammy sweat on my cheeks.

"All done, do you want me to call your par- Er... Mr. and Mrs. Webber?" The nurse beside me asked, letting go of my arm and signing a few papers on the edge of the bed.

"No, but I do need a ride, is school out yet?" I asked sitting up, and removing a cloth from he head, it was stained orange and burgundy.

"Oh, hunny, you can't go anywhere quite yet, especially with no one home, you'll have to wait till Mr. or Mrs. Webber get home." The nurse said taking a bandage over the place I guessed the stitches were.

"Okay, then, what do I do?" I asked the nurse, who was signing some more paper work.

"Oh, first you better get something to eat, then you can wait in the lobby, Duin has agreed to stay here with you, isn't that nice?" The nurse said walking out of the room, loftily and at ease. I turned my attention to Duin, who sat in the chair by my bed.

"The good Doctor, told me to tail you, in case you make a run for it, so don't even think of it. How about I take you to the cafeteria instead, my treat." Duin said, standing up, his movement was so fast and graceful I wandered how I didn't notice it before.

"Fine..." My voice was still low, and but not as quite. I tried to sit up, and it made me feel a little dizzy so I stopped for minute before sliding off the hospital bed.

"Where's my bag and crap?" I asked looking around, trying to find my stuff in the little white room.

"Oh, it's in the closet, I'll get for you later, come on I'll help you down the stairs." Duin said, throwing my arm around his shoulders and lugging me, once again, to an elevator. I didn't speak, because it hurt my throat, and Duin didn't bring anything up to talk about either, so it was quite until we hit the cafeteria.

"What would you like?" Duin asked seating me at a bench and smiling pleased by something.

"A... Water and anything without tomatoes." I said, since I had no idea what they had, Duin frowned.

"Okay..." He said, walking to a line of people with trays and green uniforms on, I guessed they were nurses. When he came back his tray had a slice of pizza, a handful of salad, and what looked like stuffing. I laughed, I couldn't help it, the tray looked so ridicules, I wandered if he had ever eaten food.

"What?" He asked, I felt the regular orange blush creep on my face. He laid the tray on the table and stared at me with puzzled eyes. My laugh turned to coughing, in just a few seconds, I took three deep breaths and stopped, returning my calm.

"Never mind..." I said taking the pizza off the tray and picking at it, Duin watched me carefully. Now it was my turn to be annoyed.

"Why do you keep staring?" I asked blushing, nibbling on the end of my pizza.

"Nothing I just, er, never mind." He sighed and looked at something else, but I caught him staring at me a few times. When I was done, I drank the water and reached for the money in my pocket to pay him back.

"Aren't you going to eat," I said handing a ten dollar bill to him, he looked at it puzzled. "here this is for the meal, and you know, taking me up here and stuff, I'm sorry I made you miss school. Thank you." But he continued to look puzzled, and somewhat, behind the puzzlement, he looked angry.

"Beth, are you insulting my hospitality?"

"No..."

"Then why are you offering to pay, for what I said I would? And getting me out of school was a treat, I should be thanking you." He said shoving the money back.

"Okay, fine, but still you should grab something to eat, I feel horrible letting this all go to waist." I said, tucking the money back in my jeans.

"Nah, it's fine, come on, I'll bring you up stairs." He said taking the tray and dumping it in a trashcan. I no longer needed help walking, and I felt better, once at the lobby he left to get my things while I doodled on a magazine. He was back, before I knew it, and the only thing to alert me to his presence was the drop of my bags beside me. I jumped, and I heard the harmonious sound of his laughing behind me.

"Scared you!" He said still laughing, and pointing at my orange face.

"How did you get back so fast?" I asked, stunned still by his presence, as he gracefully sank into a armchair.

"You'd never guess how fast I am when I'm not towing you around." He said rolling his eyes, I grabbed the sketch pad out of my bag and started drawling, I didn't know what at first, but then I decided to draw an eye, which I did often. I liked eyes, I liked the term you could see the sole through the eye, I liked to look at the different eyes, I liked my eyes.

So drawling eyes, though it didn't make me very popular at school, was my favorite hobbies. I drew my friend's eyes, my family's eyes, and my eyes, I loved drawling them, making them look real, look like they have emotion, that they're not just pictures. I succeeded, most of the time, drawling my sad, eyes sometimes mirroring their sorrows and happy eyes with a white gleam in them. Now I was drawling Duin's eyes, wide with curiosity, and his perfectly shaped eyebrows pulled up.

"What are you drawling?" He asked behind me, not quite scaring me this time, and peering closely at the drawling. "Is that an eye, is that my eye?" He asked, seriously, his eyes hard.

"Yes," I said cautiously, not wanting to think I was some nut case. "I drawl lots of eyes, I drawl all my friend's eyes, do you have a problem with that?" There was an edge to my voice that I didn't mean to put there. Duin rebuked, I continued sketching, I counted him as a friend, but, maybe he didn't count me as one. Once again, why did I care?

We staid silent the rest of the time, until three thirty hit, and Angela, and the twins came in the lobby and asked me rapid questions about what happened. "On the way to school I met Duin, he scared me and made me jump into a rose bush, then I had a dizzy spell and passed out, and at the same time, the stitches on my forehead were pulled loose. So Duin and I walked to the school, and then he drove me here." I said flatly, Duin it seemed had made a speedy escape, damn him.

"Are you okay?" Angela asked, while the twins pouted in disappointment, because, I assumed, they wanted to be part of the action.

"A little light headed, I probably shouldn't walk to school tomorrow." I said as I picked up my bags, I noticed that at some point the snow had melted. Angela helped me into the car and drove home, she helped me get out and we trekked in the house.

When the Webber's got home, fussed all over me, asking why I didn't call them, and making sure I took my pills. Dinner was quite, I ate in silence, picking my meatloaf to pieces, and the twins babbled endlessly away about weather, if in my situation, to go with Duin or call their parents. The latter won, but I didn't have any parents to call so I didn't feel to bad about my choice.

That night, I had the same dream, but something was different, everything was clearer, and when I was the boy, I actually managed to put a hand on his shoulder, he looked up at me and started crying even more. So I pulled my arms around him, tight, and held him while he cried, until there was a sudden shriek. I woke up.

I looked outside, and there was the boy who I'd just hugged, standing in the street, looking up at me with the same eyes. Those treacherous, painfully, agonized eyes. He was in a P.T. cruiser pulled off to the side of the road, and he was looking up at me.

I couldn't understand for a moment, what was going on, until I saw the disturbance that had woken me. There was the car that had slid of the road, it was fine, but the noise had made a shrieking sound that had disturbed me. Back where I lived, there was at least three motor accidents a year, all outside or on just the other side of my house. But here I wasn't expecting it, I got up, forgetting the time, and quietly flying threw the house, and went outside, in my pajamas.

I went across the street where Duin was crouched under his car, with a jack, changing the tire. He didn't notice my presence until I spoke. "Duin, are you okay? Did you pop a tire or something?" I said anxiously, I wasn't even sure why I was worried, I mean he didn't even want to be my friend.

"I'm fine, I must have popped my tire or the turn, you should get back inside, you'll catch a cold..." He said, his mind on his work.

"Are you sure you don't need any help, wait... Why are you out this late?" I asked, stubbornly refusing to move. My question had brought him up short though, and he didn't know what to say.

"I, er... I was... I came... I... I just felt like taking a drive, okay?" He said the edge cut me in his voice, I shuddered involuntarily.

"Okay... just checking, sorry I disturbed you." My voice shook, and I walked away, he didn't move to go after me, did I expect him to? Why did I keep thinking he cared about me? Why did I care about him? Why was I so fixated on him, that he haunted my dreams? Why was he so damn perfect, nice, and caring?

I sunk back into the house quietly, and managed to get to my room without the tears of rejection flooding down my face. But as soon as I was back in my room, and I turned to see that Duin's car was already gone, I couldn't hold them back any longer. And I only realized then, that the boy wasn't similar to Duin, it was Duin. The real reason I was crying, was because my dreams, of the last week were just a fascination, nothing more, nothing less. No matter how bad I want it to be more, for my life to have some secret meaning, it just wasn't.

The next morning was regular, I acted normal, I didn't even think about last night. When we got to school through the snow laced streets, I ignored the whispers that carried in the air and went to Bella's truck, and began to ask her what she was staring at. Because she was staring at the bottom of her truck were chains were put there, to stop her from sliding I guessed.

"Hey Bella, whatch'a staring at?" I asked, as a shriek echoed through the parking lot. I turned and saw Tyler Crawly, a nice boy in my gym class, had just lost control of his car and was sliding toward us. I heard everyone gasp around us, and I looked around, at the same time as Bella, and locked eyes with Duin. He was grinding his teeth and his eyes were wide and terrified, at the same time, Edward disappeared.

Me and Bella were knocked over suddenly, I heard a sickening crack and I went sliding into a car. There was a thud and a flurry of movement in which I saw Duin sliding me and Bella out of the way, before the car collided with us again. And Edward lifted the car to stop it from going any farther, it stopped abruptly, and I heard the glass crack and shatter, around us. It went so fast the I barely had time to finalize their movements.

"Are you alright?" I head Duin question me, as Edward asked Bella the same question on the other side of the confined space.

"Sure, we'll go with that, I'm alright..." I said flatly, struggling to get free of his icy grip, when he saw my aggravated face, he let go of me at once and stood up..Bella was still on the ground Edward pinned her to his body I crouched beside her.

"...but you were over there..." She was saying, dazed idly, but I knew she was right, how had they gotten over here so quickly?

"No, I was standing right beside you, and so was Duin, right Duin?" Edward said, his voice was cold.

"Yep," Duin said distracted, he looked down at my arm, it was red and black from sliding on the asphalt.

"No you were over their, with your... Family." I said stubbornly, turning to Duin, who looked wary.

"No, we were standing beside you, and we pulled you out of the way..." Duin said through gritted teeth, he stared at me like he was trying to tell me something behind the words.

"Fine... But you two will explain to us later what this is all about, deal?" I said over Bella's frantic ranting and complaining.

"Deal," They both seethed and we waited patiently for the cars to move out of the way, my arm I noticed was scraped, and it stung a little, the shirt that I wore was torn, from where I had slid. Bella had hit the ground with her head, and had to be taken to the hospital, with Edward.

Duin and I staid at school and continued ignoring each other the rest of the day, Edward eventually came back, but not Bella. I did the same thing that I had the first day of school, ignoring the questions and people confronting me. Angela, Jessica or Mike tailed me where ever I went, and refused to let me sit down alone. At the last period I tracked him down to Edward's car and confronted him, he looked warily as I approached.

"Well," I said grimacing. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know how to explain it, okay? I can't tell you," He sounded frustrated, and he sighed in aggravation. "can't you just thank me for saving you life and... Leave me alone!" He said slamming the door of his car, I frowned too, but didn't press him.

"Thank you, for saving my life, twice, tell Edward I said thank you too." I got out of his way and headed to Angela's car, I was already half asleep when we pulled in the drive.

This the second, unbelievably long chapter I have written, by the way, for those still interested in writing about Duin, just so you know... I will E-mail you the next chapter before I post it on the Internet, and I will explain to you a brief summery of Duin's past. I would appreciate your help. If you do not agree to these terms, I will adjust them as I see fit to meet your expectations.

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