Chapter 1

I have to find that girl!  I have to!  He walked around the school some more, studying every girl’s face.  Where is she?!  He opened the door and walked outside.  He smiled in relief.  There, sitting a lunch table outside was the girl he was looking for.  He silently shrank back into the shadows and observed her.  Finally, he had found who he was looking for.   

*** 

“What are you doing after school today?” Kellie asked.  Adrienne let the wind blow the stray strands of hair off her face before she answered.

“Let’s see…” Adrienne thought.  “Nothing.”  She gave her friend a smile then resumed eating her lunch. 

“Do you have any homework?” Kellie questioned.  Adrienne narrowed her eyes.

“No,” she answered.  “Why?”  Kellie shrugged.

“Just trying to start a conversation,” she told her. 

“Well, don’t.  Let’s just enjoy the sunshine.”  For the first time that year, they were allowed to eat outside.  It was late in April, warm but not humid.  Both Adrienne and Kellie were glad to get out of the stuffy school building for a change.

The girls had lived in Pickway Corners their whole lives.  They went to kindergarten together and became friends.  A couple years before, Adrienne felt they were drifting apart, as Adrienne moved up to honors classes and Kellie stayed behind.  Kellie was captain of the soccer team and Adrienne wasn’t into sports.  The girls got along better when they were younger because they had more in common, which wasn’t much at that.  But now they were in high school and things had changed.  People changed.  They didn’t have to be best friends anymore…and they weren’t.  Since neither of the girls was too popular, they had each other to hang out with when no one else would pay attention to them.  It was nice to see a familiar face at the beginning of every school year.

Adrienne felt different from Kellie in even the way they dressed.  Adrienne was more laid back--a lot of t-shirts and jeans, nothing fancy.  Kellie loved to dress herself up.  Heels, jewelry, makeup, hair, the works.  She was always going and getting her nails done, though where she got the money for that Adrienne didn’t know.  Kellie had a stocky frame; Adrienne’s frame was on the petite side.  The girls could never share each other’s clothes.  All of Kellie’s things were too long and too baggy on Adrienne.  Not that Adrienne was a terribly skinny girl.  She was average, but Kellie out-weighed her by about twenty pounds and was six inches taller.  The girls couldn’t have even shared the same shampoo.  Kellie got her dark blonde hair highlighted every six weeks religiously.  Adrienne had never done anything chemically to her brown hair.  She thought her natural red highlights were just right the way they were.

“Hey, who’s that?” Adrienne suddenly asked looking over Kellie’s left shoulder.  Kellie turned around, her bangles jingling on her wrist.

“Who?” she asked.  “I don’t see anyone.”  She turned back around and began peeling an orange she had brought in her lunch.

Adrienne continued to stare at the stranger.  She hadn’t seen him around school before.  He was dressed nicely, a dark coat over a gray dress shirt, and black pants.  He slowly walked over to Adrienne’s table.  She felt her cheeks get warm.

“Hi,” he said quietly.  She swallowed.

“Hey,” she greeted back.  Kellie raised an eyebrow at her friend.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked, looking back down at her orange.  Adrienne looked up at the guy for a second.  That’s when she noticed his eyes.  Her heart skipped a beat.  One was brown and the other was blue…and they weren’t just your normal brown and blue.  They were deep and as Adrienne stared into them she grew unaware of her surroundings.

“Who are you talking to?” Kellie asked again, looking at Adrienne intently.

“Uh, the guy that’s standing right here,” Adrienne said, gesturing to her left where the guy was standing.  She looked back over.  He was gone.  Kellie let out a laugh.

“Oh really,” she said sarcastically.  “You guys having an interesting conversation?”  She continued to laugh, but Adrienne didn’t find it amusing.

“Ha ha.  He was standing right there…I swear he was…”  Adrienne didn’t persist, though.  She was beginning to wonder herself if she had actually seen the guy.  His eyes…she thought.  I’ve never seen eyes like that before.  Maybe I was imagining it.  Adrienne glanced around at the other lunch tables before finishing her lunch.  She didn’t see the guy anywhere. 

*** 

Adrienne and Kellie put their things in their lockers and got ready to leave school.  Kellie slammed her locker shut.

“So, that mystery boy,” she began.  “Was he cute?”  Adrienne laughed.

“Ooohhh yeah,” she replied.  Kellie raised an eyebrow. 

“So, will you introduce me next time you see him?” she wondered.

“Well, considering that I didn’t get his name, everyone will have to be introduced the next time I see him,” Adrienne explained.  “I wonder if he’ll be at lunch tomorrow.”  She shut her locker and they walked towards the mounds of teenagers all leaving school.

“I’ve got tons of homework,” Adrienne commented, hoisting her backpack further up her shoulder.  “It’s like our teachers assume that we have no life…not that we do.”  Kellie laughed slightly.

“I have to write five poems tonight,” she told Adrienne.  “And a 20 page report.”  The two friends inched forward in the crowd.

“Well, I’m going to take a nap when I get home,” she told Kellie.  “I only got a few hours of sleep last night.”  Kellie nodded and the two finally made it out the door.

“See ya tomorrow!” Kellie called as she hopped onto her bus.  Adrienne waved to her and started off in the direction of her house.  Suddenly, she was overcome with a feeling that she had forgotten something.  She tried to shrug it off...to pretend it wasn’t there, but it still lingered as she walked home. 

                 ***

Adrienne strolled back down the school hallway later that night.  I can’t believe I forgot my math book! she thought.  Realizing the importance of studying her math, she grabbed her dad’s old key to the school and was just about to reach her locker.

Just then, from another section of the school, she heard a scream.  She gasped with fright and then tried to stay silent to hear for any more noises.  After a few seconds, footsteps charged down the dark hallway towards Adrienne.  They were quick, as if the person was running away from something.  Adrienne panicked.  All sorts of horrible possible situations flashed through her mind.  Suddenly she felt a hand grip her arm.  With a gasp, she was pulled into a dark corner as the hurried footsteps continued down the hallway until they could no longer be heard. 

Whoever had a hold of Adrienne didn’t let go after the footsteps had left.  Adrienne was terrified.  She remembered the scream from the other end of the school.  She tried to look over her shoulder to see who had grabbed her, but it was too dark.

“I think it’s safe now,” the person whispered.  It was a boy.  Adrienne grew hot as he led her out into the hall.  “We have to get out of here.”  He quickly grabbed Adrienne’s hand and pulled her around and up the hallway. 

“Wait!” Adrienne cried.  “I need my math book!”  She was surprised at the words coming out of her mouth.  Her heart was beating so fast and she could hardly catch her breath from terror, yet she managed to remember that she desperately needed to study for her math test.  She would’ve laughed if under different circumstances.  The man turned to look at her and she stopped herself from gasping again.  It was the guy she had seen at lunch the other day.

“This?” he asked, holding out her algebra book.  She blinked.  Her thoughts had to catch up to her mouth.

“Y-yeah…how did you…?”  Before she could even ask how he knew which book was hers, he was dragging her out of the school.  This is not how she wanted her first experience with this guy to go.

“Who are you?” asked Adrienne as she ripped her hand away from his.  He opened the school door and waited for her to exit before him.  Once he got outside Adrienne asked him again.  “Who are you?”  The man stopped walking and looked down at her. 

“I’m Xander,” he informed her.  “How did you get in to the school building?”  Adrienne raised an eyebrow.

“My father used to be the principal, I still have a key,” she answered.  “How did you get into the building?”

“I also have a key,” he told her, very suspiciously.  Adrienne eyed him up.

“Do you even go to this school?”  Adrienne recalled never seeing him in school…ever.  “And why did you grab me?  Did you do something in there?  I heard someone scream.  What was going on?  Are you…”  Xander put his hand over her mouth.

“This is why I had to get you out of there,” he said smartly.  “Nothing was going on…I just played a prank on someone and they took it the wrong way.”  He removed his hand.  Adrienne licked her lips.  She could taste his cologne and a warm feeling rushed over her.

“Ok,” she replied slowly.  For some reason she felt she couldn’t fully trust him.  Xander smiled slightly and started to walk away.

“Thanks!” Adrienne called out.  “…for the math book.  Thanks.”  Xander smiled at her again and then turned the corner.

Adrienne stood outside the school trying to collect her thoughts.  Who was this guy?  Why was he hanging around the school if he didn’t even go there?  How did he know to grab Adrienne’s math book?  She glanced down at the book.  Yep, it was hers.  She opened it up to double check, but there was something that caught her eye.  Something sparkled between the edges of two pages.  She snatched it out and looked at it.  It was a ring…a silver ring with a pink gemstone in it.  She looked around before slipping it on her finger.  It was a perfect fit.  Trying to hold back a smile, she thought she should turn it in to the school’s lost and found.  Or maybe it was Xander’s.  Who knew, but it was Adrienne’s at that moment and she was going to enjoy it.

Chapter 2

The next day at school, Adrienne told Kellie about the strange experience.  Kellie didn’t look as amused with it as Adrienne was.

“What kind of a prank?” she asked.

“He didn’t tell me,” Adrienne replied.  “No one got hurt, so it couldn’t be anything too bad.  Isn’t that weird that he had my math book, though?”  Kellie made a half-frown.

“I guess,” she said.  “I think it’s kinda creepy.  What did you say his name was?”

“Xander.  I think it’s a great name.  It goes with his eyes.”  Kellie began organizing her homework papers from the night before.

“His eyes?” she asked.  “What’s so special about his eyes?”

“One is blue and the other one is brown,” Adrienne answered.  “Isn’t that cool?  I’ve never seen eyes like that before.”  Kellie shut her books. 

“Did you say one blue eye and one brown?” she asked.  Adrienne nodded.  Kellie looked disturbed as she fumbled with her purse.

“What’s wrong?” Adrienne asked.  Kellie grabbed a pen from her pocket book and hoisted her books up on her hip.

“Nothing,” she replied.  “It’s...nothing.  I’ll see you at lunch.”  Then Kellie started to quickly walk towards a classroom.  Adrienne was left to ponder over her friend’s actions.  What was that all about?  She shrugged to herself and began walking towards her class.

“Adrienne!” someone whispered.  Adrienne jumped and whirled around.  “Over here!”

“W-who’s there?” she asked, startled.  Her heart was thundering in her chest.  A face appeared out of the shadows.  It was Xander.  Adrienne gave a sigh of relief.  Xander walked over to her.

“Did I scare you?” he asked smartly.  Adrienne laughed sarcastically.

“You’re quite the prankster,” she told him, then turned around to go to class.  He walked up beside her.

            “What class are you going to?” he asked, genuinely interested.  She glanced up at him.

“English,” she replied.  “What class are you going to?” Adrienne smirked.  She still wanted to find out why she hadn’t seen him around school before.

“Oh, I have study hall right now,” he told her.  Adrienne thought he was lying, but she didn’t say anything.  They arrived at her classroom door.  She turned to say goodbye, but he was already walking away from her.

“Bye to you too,” she muttered.  He turned around, smiled, and then waved.  She went to wave back, and then noticed the ring on her hand.  Darn it, I should’ve asked him if he knew who it belonged to.  Figuring she would see him later, she entered her class with a sigh. 

                 *** 

“Guess who I ran into this morning,” Adrienne teased Kellie.  Kellie grabbed her lunch bag and thought a moment.

“Hmm…” she mumbled.  “Don’t tell me it was Xander.”  Adrienne nodded.

“He is so cute!” she exclaimed.  “I hope I see him later today.”  Kellie cleared her throat.
            “Do you want me to save you a seat at the lunch table?” she asked, hardly looking at Adrienne.

“No, I think I’m going to the library to study,” Adrienne answered and Kellie headed in the direction of the cafeteria.

“Adrienne,” a familiar voice called.  Adrienne looked over to where the voice had come from.  Xander was standing in a dark corner again.  Why did it always seem that he just popped out of the shadows all the time?

“I was wondering when I was going to see you again,” Adrienne greeted, shoving a hand into her pocket.  She felt the ring catch on the fabric.

“Hey, is this yours?”  Adrienne held out her left hand to him.  He looked down at her hand and nodded.

“Well, it’s not mine exactly,” he said.  He took her hand to grasp the ring.  Adrienne flushed.  “I bought it for someone a long time ago.”  He looked at the ring again and dropped Adrienne’s hand. 

“Why was it in my math book?” she asked.  Xander looked blankly at her.

“Why do I need a sparkly ring lying around?” he laughed.  “I don’t have many girl friends, so I figured you can just have it.”

“Are you sure?” He smiled warmly at her.

“Yeah.”  There was a pause.  “Hey, what are you doing for lunch?”  Adrienne played with the ring on her finger.  Surprisingly she was already used to it being there.

“Oh I was going to hang out in the library and read or something,” she told him.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked.  Adrienne smiled.

“No, of course not,” she replied and the two of them began walking towards the library.  They found a table and sat down across from each other.  Adrienne opened her English book and began to read.  She could feel Xander’s eyes on her, so she looked up.  He didn’t have any books with him.

“Umm, do you want to get something to study?” Adrienne asked.  Xander shook his head.

“I never study,” he replied.  Adrienne raised an eyebrow.

“Alright,” she stated.  There was silence.  Adrienne tried to read, but she kept feeling Xander’s eyes boring into her head.  Exasperated, she shut the book and looked up at him.

“Ok, what’s the deal?” she asked loudly.  A “shh” came from the librarian.  Xander smiled.

“The deal with what?” he asked.  Adrienne could tell he was playing games with her.  She didn’t know why, though.

“The deal where I don’t think you really go to this school,” she told him.  “And I want to know what kind of prank you were pulling last night.”  He stared at her.

“Your hair looks nice,” he said softly, his mood changing from playful to sincere.  Adrienne blushed and ran a hand through her hair.  A part of her brain was screaming at her that this was just Xander’s way of avoiding her questions.

“Oh…thanks,” she told him.  “I really need to get it trimmed.”  An awkward silence fell over them.  Xander took a deep breath.

“So, um, any brothers or sisters?” he asked, uncomfortably.

“No, I’m an only child,” Adrienne answered.  “What about you?”  Xander looked at the table.

“Oh, I have an older brother,” he told her.  “He went to school here when that fire happened.”  Adrienne felt a rush of memories overcome her.  The fire…  She looked up at Xander with tear-filled eyes.

“My dad...was the principal here…when…and he…”  Xander placed a hand on hers.  She sniffed.

“I know,” he told her.  She looked up at him.  His eyes were filled with compassion.  Suddenly, Adrienne slipped into the memories she had tried to lock away forever. 

Adrienne was sick with a cold and had been lying on the couch when the phone rang. 

“Hello?” her mom answered.  The following seconds were filled with ‘Oh my gosh’s and ‘Oh no’s.  Not that there was anything wrong with those phrases to Adrienne, but the thing that had bothered her was the horror and terror thrown into the individual words.  Adrienne stood up and looked at her mother.  Her mom had started to cry as she hung up the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Adrienne asked.  “What is it?  What’s wrong?!”

“There was a fire...” her mother choked out the words.  “A fire....at the school...”  Adrienne’s heart stopped and she dropped the book she was reading.  “In the....principal’s office.”  Tears brimmed Adrienne’s eyes.

“Was anyone hurt?” Adrienne asked her mom with a shaky voice.  A horrible thought had popped into Adrienne’s head.  Her dad might have been in his office when it happened.  Adrienne’s mom nodded to her daughter.

“Y-your father...” she cried.  “They didn’t find him…”  Adrienne sank into the couch, tears flowing down her cheeks.  Her mom began to sob and so did Adrienne. 

“Are you okay?” Xander asked suddenly. Adrienne jumped back into the present.  Her hand was still wrapped up in Xander’s.  She wiped a stray tear off her nose and sniffed.

“I just try not to remember all of that,” she mumbled, fresh tears springing to her eyes.  Xander took both of her hands into his and brought them close to his body.

“I’m sorry,” he told her.  “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”  Adrienne shook her head, pulling one of her hands away from him to wipe off her cheeks.

“No, it’s alright,” she mumbled, her nose stuffy.  She raised her teary, red eyes to look up into Xander’s.  They stared at each other for a few moments, unsure of what to say next.  Adrienne felt more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by and she wondered why she felt funny.  Usually, the person not crying feels weird, but Xander didn’t give off any uncomfortable feeling.  He just stared into Adrienne’s eyes understandingly.  Suddenly she didn’t see him as the sneaky prankster he appeared to be earlier.

Unexpectedly, the bell rang, startling both Xander and Adrienne.  Adrienne pulled her hand away from Xander and stood up.  Sniffling, she gathered all her books up into her arms, not looking at Xander.  Xander slowly rose to his feet.

“Do you want me to carry those for you?” he asked her.  She glanced up at him and cleared her throat.

“Uh, no,” she told him.  “Thanks, but, uh, I’ll be fine.”  She was shaking, partly because of the awful memories and partly because of Xander’s touch.  He stepped next to her.

“Do you want me to walk you to your next class?” he asked.  Adrienne could tell that he felt bad about her reaction to his bringing up the fire.  She felt his hand go on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

“Thanks, but I’ll be ok,” she told him, smiling through left-over tears.  He gave her a small smile and a squeeze on the shoulder.  She then turned around and left the library. 

                 *** 

“Are you okay, Adrienne?” Kellie asked her friend.  Adrienne shrugged and threw her homework into her book bag.

“Just a rough day,” Adrienne lied.  She knew the real reason why she was unhappy.  It was all her memories that she had placed in a dark corner of her mind resurfacing.  The ring on her finger glimmered in the hallway light.  Kellie zipped up her book bag and looked up at Adrienne.

“Where’d you get that?” Kellie asked her friend, referring to the ring.  Adrienne smiled.

“Xander gave it to me,” she answered.

“Wow,” Kellie commented.  “Are you guys getting close or what?”  Adrienne laughed, but shook her head.

“It’s not like that,” she told her.  Kellie rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure it’s not,” she said sarcastically.  “Well, I gotta go now.  I’ll see ya tomorrow!”  She gave her friend a wave and then began walking down the hallway.  Adrienne called out a goodbye and then started off in the opposite direction. 

All the other students were gone.  Most of the teachers were gone, too.  A shiver went up Adrienne’s spine as she slowly made her way down the building.  She rarely came down that way, although she knew it well.  She didn’t have any classes in that section.  Her teachers must have done it on purpose.  They knew what had happened.  They knew where that hallway led...right to the spot where the principal’s office used to be.

After the fire, they didn’t try to rebuild the parts that were destroyed.  They just closed up the wall and put a door there leading outside, where they had put plaques to remember all the people who died.  The only plaque Adrienne had ever looked at was her father’s.

Adrienne slowly approached the door and reached her hand forward to open it.  Her arm froze in place.  She couldn’t move it.  Something was holding her arm back.  She turned around to see if she had caught her sleeve on something.  Xander was standing behind her.  She gasped, putting a hand to her racing heart.

“Sorry I scared you,” he said softly.  She narrowed her eyes and looked away.  Xander scares people for a past time, she thought.

“That’s all right,” she replied.  Xander held out his hand to her.  He was holding a flower.  “What’s that for?”

“I thought you’d come here and that you might want to put this on your dad’s plaque,” he answered.  Adrienne was touched by his thoughtfulness, but couldn’t find the words to tell him.  Instead, she mumbled thanks and let Xander lead her out the door.   

The plaques were placed in the ground underneath the flagpole.  Some of the teachers had the idea to plant flowers under the pole to make it seem friendlier.  Adrienne bent down slightly, tossing the flower onto the shiny plaques, too afraid to look at her dad’s.  She looked away from them all and shut her eyes, wishing her tears would just dry up and stop coming.  She felt Xander put his hand on her arm.

“It’s okay to cry, Adrienne,” he told her.  Suddenly, Adrienne grew angry.

“No it’s not!” she cried.  “The fire happened four years ago!  I shouldn’t be crying like this about it still!  My mom, my family, and everyone else don’t still cry about it!  Why should I?!”  Adrienne stared down at the asphalt.

“Because,” he told her.  “You’re different.”  She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she asked angrily.  She crossed her arms over her chest.  Xander stepped forward.

“No, no,” he explained.  “What I meant to say was it’s ok to still be sad that your dad died.  That just shows how special he is—was to you and how special you are.”  Adrienne’s anger slowly dwindled.

“You’re so strange, Xander,” she said abruptly.  He gave her an odd look.  “I mean, at first I had you pegged as a conniving jokester, but then today you are being so sweet.  I just don’t know what to think about you.”  Xander laughed slightly.

“I’m sorry I came off that way,” he told her.  He stepped closer towards her and put his hand on her arm.  Adrienne swallowed hard.  She looked up at him and almost got lost in his eyes.  She could stare into his eyes all day.

“I’m sorry too,” she told him.  “I probably wouldn’t have acted like a jerk towards you.”  They both laughed and for a second, and Adrienne thought he was going to kiss her.  Half of her brain was screaming at Xander, “Kiss me!  Kiss me!” and the other half was ready to throw up with excitement.  Xander lowered his head and Adrienne thought that was going to be the moment…her first kiss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered into her ear and then turned and walked away.  Adrienne’s mouth was dry and she stared at the back of Xander until he turned the corner.  She was half disappointed and half relieved.  There was still something about Xander that was off…but she didn’t care.  He was too good looking.  She took a deep breath, remnants of Xander’s cologne hung in the air.  Smiling, she began her trek home. 

                 *** 

Later that day, Adrienne got ready to go watch Kellie’s baseball practice.  Kellie did just about every sport imaginable.  Adrienne didn’t really want to go, but it was such a nice day outside she wanted to get out of the house and go do something.  She whipped her hair up into a messy ponytail and turned to glance over her outfit in the full-length mirror.  She had chosen a pink and white striped short sleeve shirt and light blue jeans.  She bought new sneakers the other day and hadn’t gotten a chance to wear them yet, so she figured she’d slip them on today.  They were brown, but had pink accents on them.  She heard Kellie tap her car horn, so she quickly sprayed on perfume and ran out the door.

“What are you all dress up for?” Kellie asked as Adrienne got into the car.  Kellie signaled and pulled out onto the street.  Adrienne looked down at herself.

“I’m not really dressed up,” she told her.  Kellie laughed.

“Adrienne, you are as dressed up as you can get,” she joked.  Adrienne just looked out the window.  She felt somewhat foolish now for worrying so much about what she looked like.  In the back of her mind, she just wanted to look good in case she ran into Xander…which seemed to happen a lot, at school anyway.  She never really got to see him out of school.

The two arrived at the field and Adrienne surveyed the crowd.  She didn’t see Xander anywhere.  Her heart sunk.  The two got out of the car and Kellie walked over to the other players.  Adrienne found a seat on the bleachers and began realizing that going out of the house was a mistake.  There was hardly anyone else there watching.  She felt stupid for thinking that it would be fun.  She sighed and leaned back on her hand.  At least she was getting some sun.

The practice game got started and Kellie’s team was winning.  Every time a new car pulled up, Adrienne had sat up and checked to see if Xander got out.  By the ninth car, she had given up. 

Suddenly, she felt a tugging on her pant leg.  She groaned thinking it was one of the toddlers running loose around the stands.  She sat up and looked under the bleachers and was nicely surprised to see a set of blue and brown eyes staring up at her.

“Xander?” she whispered.  He motioned for her to join him under the stands, so she got up.  She looked around to see if anyone was paying any attention to her, and then walked underneath the seats to where Xander was standing.
            “Why are you under here?” she asked when she reached him.  He motioned her to be quiet and then took her hand and led her away from the field.  They walked past the parking lot and ventured over to the playground area.  No one was around.

“Are you going to talk to me now?” Adrienne asked.  Xander sat down at a picnic table and Adrienne followed.

“Sorry,” he told her, offering no explanation, but Adrienne didn’t expect one.  She took a deep breath and looked down at the table.  Why did she even try to talk to him?

“I like your outfit,” Xander said abruptly.  Adrienne looked at him and then quickly looked away, her face flushing.

“Thanks,” she told him.  Now she was thankful that she had spent so much time on picking out an outfit.  There was a moment of silence.  “So…did you come to watch the practice?”  Xander shook his head.

“No,” he answered.  “I just came.”  Adrienne slowly nodded.  A warm breeze blew around the couple.  Adrienne glanced over.  There was a lake not too far from the area they were at and she could see the sun reflecting off the water.  The sun was on the verge of setting and she could picture herself and Xander, standing on the dock, watching the sun set over the water.  She wanted to just grab his hand and drag him over there, but she restrained herself.

“Did you drive here?” Adrienne asked.  Xander looked up.

“No, I walked.”  Adrienne tapped her fingers on the table.  Their conversation was boring her, she could think of so many more things she wanted to do with Xander than sitting at a dirty picnic table small-talking.

“So, are you planning on scaring me again at school tomorrow?” Adrienne asked.  Xander smiled.

“Maybe,” he answered.  Adrienne kept looking at the water and the sun.  They could still make it over there to watch it set.  Xander noticed her staring.

“Do you want to walk over to the lake?” he asked.  Adrienne flushed again.

“Oh, uh, sure,” she stuttered.  “If you want to.”  Xander smiled and got up and the two of them headed off towards the lake.

“Kellie’s going to wonder what happened to me,” Adrienne remarked.  Xander laughed.

“Oh well,” he said.  “I think she’ll be alright.”  As the two walked, Adrienne thought about how easy it would be to just grab his hand, but she didn’t want to invade his space if that wasn’t welcome.

The couple reached the lake and Adrienne glance around to see if there was a good place to sit.  Xander spotted the bench before she did and they walked over and sat down.  Adrienne noticed that Xander sat down close to her, but not too close.

“Wow, this is really great,” he remarked.  Adrienne nodded, looking over the lake.  No one else was really around.  It wasn’t warm enough to swim yet.  Adrienne looked over at Xander and noticed that he looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t.

“Is there something you want to talk about?” she asked.  He looked over at her.

“No,” he answered.  “Not yet, anyway.”  Adrienne looked out over the lake again.  Why was Xander like that?  There was still a part of her that didn’t want to trust him, and things like that were why.  He always seemed to have something on his mind, but never said what.

So the two sat in silence as the sun started to go down.  Adrienne could hear faint cheering behind her and realized that the practice must be over.  Kellie would come looking for her soon.  Hiding her frustration, she stared at the water in silence for what seemed like ages.  Xander stood up suddenly.  Adrienne looked up at him and stood up herself.

“What is it?” she asked.  He glanced back at the baseball field.

“I think you’re friend is coming to get you,” he told her.  No sooner were the words out of his mouth when Adrienne saw Kellie coming up over a hill, looking around.  Adrienne looked at the ground.

“Adrienne,” Xander said softly.  Adrienne looked up at him.  “I’m sorry.”  Adrienne was puzzled.

“For what?” she asked.  He put his arm around her and turned her towards the red and orange sky over the lake.  It was the most beautiful thing Adrienne had ever seen.  She was very aware of Xander’s arm around her as well and thought that not all was lost.  She turned back to face Xander.

“I still don’t get what you’re sorry for,” she told him, smiling.  He smiled back at her and then looked in the direction of where Kellie had been.  She was wrapped up in a conversation with a guy of her own.  He looked back down at Adrienne and leaned forward.  Adrienne’s heart skipped a beat as he placed his hand on her chin and lightly kissed her cheek.

“For almost making you miss that beautiful sunset,” he finally answered.  Their faces were almost touching and Adrienne looked into his eyes.  There was still something he wasn’t telling her, but she wasn’t going to reach for it now. 

“Thank you,” she told him.  He smiled.  Just then, Adrienne heard Kellie yelling for her.  “I have to go.”  Xander nodded.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he told her.  She smiled and nodded, then watched him walk away.  Kellie called for her again.

“I’m coming!” she yelled back, rolling her eyes.  She took in a deep breath through her nose before heading back towards the field.  Xander’s cologne was clinging to her shirt.  She got caught up with Kellie and the two headed home.

Chapter 3 

“I completely forgot to do my math homework!” Adrienne yelled, slamming her locker.  Kellie laughed.

“Oh, that’s going to suck,” she remarked.  Adrienne sighed.  Of course she forgot, she was too wrapped up in thinking about Xander and smelling her shirt all night.  As Adrienne turned to walk to her class, the guy Kellie had been talking to the day before walked up to the girls.

“Hey,” Kellie said seductively.  The guy leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“So are we still doing something later tonight?” the guy asked.  Kellie leaned into him and nodded.  After they hugged, they said goodbye and Kellie turned towards Adrienne.

“Wow, are you guys dating?” she asked.  Kellie shrugged.

“I guess,” she answered.  “I mean, if you call that dating, then I’m dating a lot of guys.”  She swiped a strand of hair off her face.  Adrienne was confused.

“But he just kissed you,” she pointed out.  Kellie laughed.

“A lot of guys kiss me,” she explained.  “A kiss on the cheek is nothing.”  Kellie walked away, still laughing at her less-experienced friend.  Adrienne stood in the middle of the hallway absolutely crushed.  A kiss on the cheek meant nothing?  Well, maybe it was different for her and Xander…she hoped.

Adrienne went to her math class and when she didn’t turn in her homework, her teacher didn’t even care.  When she left the class, Kellie wasn’t anywhere to be found and everyone else kept to themselves, which wasn’t usual.  Adrienne felt like she was in the twilight zone.

By lunch time, she hadn’t run into Xander and she was very disappointed.  He was all she thought about, it seemed.  She spent the lunch period in the library sitting alone.  She hadn’t seen Kellie since earlier that morning and she didn’t feel like sitting at a lunch table by herself, since it seemed like no one wanted to have anything to do with her.  What is going on? Adrienne wondered.  

***

Adrienne stood outside of her last class of the day and got her books together.  Thinking she might see Xander again, she popped a mint into her mouth.  Adrienne’s brain was divided amongst itself.  One half was infatuated with Xander and the other half still thought he was up to something…and that Adrienne was acting too much like a school girl around him.

“That’s stupid,” she told her brain out loud.  “I am a school girl.  How else am I supposed to act?”  She swirled the mint around in her mouth and about choked on it when Xander sidled up behind her and placed his hand on her neck.

“Oh!” Xander exclaimed, almost laughing at how much Adrienne jumped.  “Sorry I scared you again.”  He brushed his hand down her arm.  Adrienne coughed and turned to face him.

“It’s ok,” she replied.  “I just almost choked to death…but it’s ok.”  She glanced down at her books.  Which class was she getting ready for?  Being in Xander’s presence made both halves of her brain turn to mush.

“How are you today?” he asked.

“I’m alright,” she answered.  “Kind of confused.  Everyone is acting really strange.”  Xander looked away.  He knew something.  He knew something and he wasn’t going to tell Adrienne.

“Alright, spill it.”  Xander looked down at her. 

“What?” he asked.  She crunched on the remnants of the mint.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she told him.  “I know you know.  You’ve been acting weird ever since I met you.  Tell me why everyone is acting up.”  Xander led her to a bench in the hallway and they sat down. 

“You really want to know?” he asked.  He tried to sound like he was taunting her, but she sensed a seriousness in his voice.

“Yes,” she answered, searching his eyes for a hint.  He took her hand.  She looked down at their hands together and grew worried.

“Is it me?” she asked.  “Do I smell?  Do they all hate me?  Did I sit in something?”  Xander finally cracked a smile and gave her hand a squeeze.

“I’m sorry I’m making you paranoid,” he told her.  “I just want your attention.”  Adrienne nodded to let him know that he had her attention (as always) and he began to explain.

“Everyone is acting strange today because of a school rumor,” he told her.

“What school rumor?” she asked.  Xander glanced down at his lap for a second.

“There’s a rumor that today--the anniversary of the fire--the ghosts of the people who died come back and ‘haunt’ the students.”  Adrienne blinked a few times as she stared at Xander.

“Oh my gosh,” she mumbled, looking away.  “It is!  It’s the anniversary of the fire!  Oh my gosh, how could I have forgotten?!  I feel so awful!”  Adrienne put her hand up to her face in disbelief.  Even with Xander mentioning the fire the day before, she still didn’t remember.  She felt Xander squeezing her hand.

“It’s ok,” he told her.  “You just blocked it out.”  Adrienne looked up at him.  There was a pause.

“So, is that it?” she asked.
            “Is what it?” Xander asked in return.

“Is that why everyone’s acting so strangely?  Just because of that stupid rumor?”  She started smiling, but Xander put his hand up.

“Well, that’s not all,” he told her.  Her smile faded.

“Oh,” she replied, waiting for him to continue.

“Adrienne, I hate to bring this up again…”  He stopped talking.  Adrienne blinked the tears that were already forming in her eyes.

“It’s fine,” she told him, knowing that he was going to talk about the fire again.  He placed their hands onto his knee and took a breath.

“Do you know who else died in that fire?” he asked.  Adrienne was taken off guard.  She thought a moment.

“I think two teachers did,” she answered.  “I’m sorry; it was hard to think about other people when I had lost my dad.”  Xander nodded and squeezed her hand.

“Did you ever see anyone else’s names on those plaques outside?”  Adrienne shook her head.  “Did you ever count them to see how many people died?”  Adrienne grew slightly annoyed.

“What are you trying to say, Xander?” she asked.  Her face grew hot and she began to get ready to defend herself against anything Xander might say.

“Nothing, nothing!” he assured her.  “I’m just trying to find out how much you know about all this.”

“Why?”  Xander paused again.

“Because…” he answered.  He glanced around and then looked back at Adrienne.  “Like I said, there’s a rumor that the ghosts of the people who died come back today and haunt all the students, and the reason that the ghost come back each year is they take one of the people related to a person who died and ask them to walk through the door that used to go to the old part of the building.”  

“So?” Adrienne asked, bothered by Xander’s dumb story.  “I don’t know why everyone is so afraid of a stupid rumor like that.  I--”  Xander grabbed Adrienne by the shoulders, looking her square in the eye.

“You’re not getting it,” he said.  “When they walk through the door, it takes them back in time…to four years ago when the fire started.  The person the ghosts choose gets a chance to save everyone.”  Adrienne looked at him, being totally confused.

“You say all this like it’s true,” she told him.  “It’s just a stupid rumor and there’s no such thing as ghosts!”  Xander gripped her arms tighter.

“Listen to me!” he yelled.  Adrienne began to grow afraid.  “There are ghosts!  They are real!  And the only people that can see them are people related to someone who died in the fire!  Don’t you see what I’m trying to tell you?!”  Adrienne ripped away from his grasp and stood up.

“You are starting to scare me, Xander,” she told him.  “Are you trying to play a prank on me?  If you are, I swear to God--”  Xander rose to his feet and placed a hand on her arm. 

“Look, I’m sorry,” he said, soothingly.  “You wanted to know why everyone was being weird and I told you.  But, I’m trying to tell you something else.  Don’t you understand?”  Xander grasped Adrienne’s shoulder, but she pulled away.

“The only thing I understand is that you are scaring me and I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she stated, trying to walk away.  A weird feeling was creeping over her, but she tried to ignore it.  Suddenly, Xander grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

“Listen!” he yelled.  Adrienne flinched at the anger in his voice.  Xander’s angry face softened a bit, but he continued.  “Four years ago, on this day, my brother accidentally put his lunch in my book bag.  I walked over to this school, right into the principal’s office to drop off my brother’s lunch for him.”  As Adrienne listened to Xander, she noticed tears coming into his eyes.  Her stomach churned as he continued.  “I set it down on the desk and as I was waiting for the girl they sent to get my brother’s lunch, smoke started coming under the door.  The secretary dialed 9-1-1, but the smoke just kept coming.  Then the flames started to burn through the door.  We ran into the next room, where your dad was.  There weren’t any windows.  We were trapped.  We all just started praying and yelling for help, but we never managed to get out…”

“T-then th-that means...” Adrienne stuttered, suddenly realizing what Xander was trying to tell her.  Xander nodded.  “Y-you’re a...ghost?”  Xander nodded again.  Adrienne felt light headed.  Her knees almost buckled, but Xander grabbed her by the arms and held her steady.   

He put his hand under her chin to get her attention.  She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

“What now?” she asked.  “Go ahead, tell me the rest.  I know there’s more.”  Xander took a deep breath.

“You’re the one who has to go into the past.”  Adrienne’s eyes grew wide.

“What?!” she cried.  “No, no, you’re joking, right?  This is a prank.”  Adrienne began to laugh, but Xander stopped her.

“I’m not joking,” he stated.  “This is all very serious and we’re running out of time.”  He grabbed Adrienne’s arm again and began to lead her down the hall.

“Let go!” Adrienne yelled, suddenly realizing that he was telling the truth.  That’s why he was always popping out of nowhere, and always when no one was around.  That’s why Kellie never saw him that first day they met.  It was all making sense...and Adrienne began to panic.

“Please!” she cried.  “Don’t make me do this!  I can’t!  Let go of me!”  Xander kept walking, dragging Adrienne along with him.  She tried to brace herself with her feet, but Xander kept pulling. 

Xander stopped when they arrived at the end of the hall.  He placed his hands on Adrienne’s shoulders and looked at her.

“Are you going to be ok?” he asked.  Adrienne laughed sarcastically.

“No I’m not going to be ok!” she yelled.  “I’m not ok with any of this!  You spring all this on me all at once and now I have to…to…go back in time and save a bunch of people?!”  Xander sighed.

“I know it’s a lot and I’m sorry,” he told her.  “But you have to do this.  You have to fix everything so I can survive!  So your dad can survive.”  Xander slowly rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to reassure her of everything.

“But I don’t understand,” Adrienne said, her voice quiet and shaking.  “I can really save all those people?  Make all of them live again?  It sounds too unreal, Xander.”  Xander sighed and looked at the ground.  

“I know it does,” he said.  “I don’t understand it either.  First I was in your dad’s office, then it was on fire, and the next thing I know I’m wandering around the school.  No one could see me...until I ran into a niece of a teacher who died.  She saw me and flipped out.  Ever since then, on this day, I always find myself back in that office...”

“What if I can’t get out?” Adrienne asked.

“Then everything stays as it is,” he told her.  “You’ll go back to your normal life, no memory of me or of going back in the past and I’ll have to come back next year and find someone else.”  Adrienne didn’t like the thought of forgetting about Xander.  She wanted to get to know him more, become friends…maybe even more.  Adrienne’s cheeks flushed at that idea and she was filled with confidence.  She looked up at Xander.  Before she knew what she was doing, she had her arms around his torso and her lips against his.  She opened her eyes and he was looking down at her with surprise.

“Just in case I screw this up and lose you,” she explained, feeling slightly foolish.  He smiled, but then put a hand on the door.

“Good luck,” he whispered into her ear as she stepped through the opening and into complete darkness.

“What’s going on?” someone cried.  Adrienne looked around.  The darkness was being replaced with gray smoke.  The school’s walls and floors came into view and she began to cough.  The smoke was billowing out of an empty classroom.  On the brink of panic, Adrienne made her way towards the principal’s office.

“Adrienne, it’s going to be ok,” she heard Xander whisper.  She turned around, but he wasn’t there.  Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked around the sharp turn in the hallway just as the younger Xander entered the building.

“Oh, uh, hi,” he greeted her.  “What are you doing here?”  Adrienne realized that she must look like she did when the fire happened--like a sixth grader.  She took a step forward, towards the principal’s office and replied,

“Uh, I just, um, came to see my dad.  He’s the principal.”  Xander nodded.

“Oh, me too,” he said.  “I have to drop off my brother’s lunch.”  Xander smiled at her and then walked inside the office.  Adrienne followed him, but felt tears come to her eyes when she looked around.

“Adrienne!” her dad exclaimed.  Adrienne looked over towards her dad’s office.  “What are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be at home?  I thought you were sick.”  Adrienne opened her mouth to explain, but then someone else walked into the room.

“I’m supposed to take Drew’s lunch to him,” the girl said.  Adrienne looked over.  A short blonde girl was standing in the doorway, with tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” the secretary asked. 

“There’s a lot of smoke in the hallway,” the girl replied.  “I think there’s a fire.” 

“Daddy, she’s right!” Adrienne cried.  “There is a fire!  You have to get out now!”  Her dad looked down at her with a questioning look.  “I saw the smoke!  Get everyone out of here!”  The secretary got up and walked out of the office to see if Adrienne and the other student were telling the truth.  She rushed back in.

“They’re right!” she exclaimed.  “There is a fire!”  Adrienne grabbed the girl and Xander by the hands and pulled them out the door.  Her dad was right behind them, followed by the secretary.

“Wait!” her dad cried.  “I have to tell the other teachers!  Adrienne, pull the fire alarm!”

“Maybe I should help them…” Xander wondered.  Adrienne grabbed a hold of both of his arms and twisted him around the other way.

“You’re not going anywhere!” she told him.  “No matter what, you’re not going to get away from me!”  Xander looked funnily at her, but didn’t say anything.  Adrienne looked down the smoke filled hallway.  She spotted a fire alarm and pulled.  A loud ringing echoed in the school halls.

“Dad!” Adrienne yelled.  “Come on!  The door is this way!”  She saw some people running up the hallway towards her.

“Keep yelling!” her dad replied.  “We can’t see anything!”

“Come on!” Adrienne screamed.  “I’m right next to the door!”  Adrienne whirled around and pushed open the door, throwing Xander and the other girl outside and letting some smoke out.  Suddenly, her dad appeared along with several teachers and they all filed out the door.  Adrienne followed them and soon they were safely outside.  

***  

Darkness engulfed Adrienne.  Her head began to pound.  She could hear someone saying something to her somewhere in the distance, but she felt like she couldn’t move.  The smell of smoke lingered in her nose.  The memories slowly came back to her.

“Adrienne?  Adrienne?!”  Adrienne coughed and opened her eyes.

“W-what…?” she mumbled.  “What’s going on?”  She looked up and saw Xander and a blonde teenage girl looking down at her.  Slowly the memory of what happened came into her head. 

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed.  Xander smiled and helped her stand up.  “That was weird…did that all just happen?”

“I guess it did,” he told her, still smiling.  He kept hold of her hand and he held it close to him.

“You mean...” she mumbled.  “My dad...and you...”  Xander nodded with a huge grin.  Adrienne screamed with happiness and reached up and hugged Xander.

“You did it!” he cried.  “You saved everyone!”