Daeva: Black Diamond Chrysalis - Danielle Bolger (essential reading txt) 📗

and since I noticed you in the musical last year I hoped you would be eager to assist."

"I was only in the choir." I admitted. "But yes, I would be very excited to help out!"

"Excellent, I knew I could count on you! I will require a lot of help from you but for the time being you are free. But this is perfect, for now work steadfastly on your major and soon I will be demanding your skills be put towards the musical!" His eyes glistened as his smile stretched from ear to ear. There was even a little chuckle to finish the statement off and the tone did not sound too distant from ominous.

"Um..." I replied after a swallow. "Sure, happy to help..."

I turned to the classroom door and saw Bart there where he noticed me and waved before leaving. Eric had followed him but stopped when he saw me at the front of the classroom. He grabbed his friend, said something before walking across to me.

I had turned from Mr. Merrith, about ready to head back to my desk when Eric had approached me.

"You staying back?"

"Yeah," I answered, "I feel behind since I haven't decided what to do for the stimulus so I want to stay back to work on it."

"You know, I agree with you. I'm at the same point after all. I could do with staying back too, mind if I give you some company?"

"That would be wonderful!" I smiled as we made our way back to the tables. After I slipped back onto my own Eric stood by my bench.

"Hey, Abigail?' He asked, his cheeks filling with colour. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"I would love it if you sat by me!" I stated happily and as I moved across to the far chair to allow Eric a space I froze for a split second as I realised what I had just said. Unfreezing I hurriedly moved my things across and diligently began work at a brand new sketch of paradise.

Eric took a moment himself but then sidled in next to me. Pulling out his art book and pencils and began a new drawing of his own.

After a minute of imprinting graphite to paper in a way that left me dissatisfied I stated abruptly. "So, that new girl sure was pretty, huh?"

"Yeah, she certainly had a different look about her." Eric responded as he gazed at the creation of his own new image.

"Her hair was so pale, a platinum blonde but when it caught the light it kind of looked white. And then there were her eyes, didn't they glisten so brightly? She was so beautiful, but then also sweet, with those pigtails tied with pink ribbons she just looked... well, like a real-life princess. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, she did." Then, after a few moments of pencil scribbling onto paper Eric suddenly corrected himself. "I mean, she didn't! No, she's not a princess! I mean, she's pretty, but not to me! No one's pretty to me! Well, not no one, one person but... ah..."

"Eric?" I asked curiously, my gaze finally deferring from my sketch to the boy beside me. "It's okay to think other people are attractive. After all, I'm a girl and I find Ariel very attractive."

Eric's cheeks blushed redder. "Yeah, I know. I just don't want to say the wrong thing."

I felt heat rise to my cheeks likewise and that forced me to turn away and delve back into the sketch that just wasn't happening.

"Hey, Eric, what are you drawing now?"

"What I'm drawing? Ah, don't worry about it, it's stupid."

"Stupid?" I asked unconvinced as I tried to steal a gaze at his work but his body was shifted aside and wrapped over it so much that I barely viewed an ill-defined corner. "I doubt that. You're so clever so I think that everything you do must be very smart!" I admitted.

Eric's pencil stopped moving. Then, as he replied it was surprisingly sullen. "Thanks, but I'm not smart, not at all. I'm good at school, at most of my subjects but in the real world that means nothing. Being intelligent, being tough, everyone thinks that's what makes someone good but there are other things too. Things that are unique to a person."

Understanding I grasped Eric's right hand, the one with the still pencil. Drawing that hand away the sketch he had been working on was revealed. It showed a boy sitting on the floor as he built a tower from blocks. It didn't depict a scene too awing or special, but the happiness in that child's face was for it bestowed the full embodiment of emotional paradise.

I smiled at Eric. "That's incredible, I love it! You should definitely do that as your major!"

He didn't respond straight away, just smiled as he gazed at his own work. Then he nodded as he turned aside at me. "Yeah, okay then. If you think it's not stupid I'll do it."

"Definitely not stupid!" I affirmed. "If it can be described as anything it is only beautiful!"

With a grin Eric shook his head. "What about yours, care to show me that since you forced me to reveal mine?"

"No, you can't see!" I exclaimed instantly and covered the work with my body.

"Hey!" Eric protested. "You looked at mine without permission so the least you can do is reciprocate!" He lightly grasped at my arm and tried to lift but I was not budging.

"I'm sorry." I apologised. "It's not that I'm hiding it from you it's only that it's a work in progress! I promise I'll show you, just let me finish first, okay?"

Eric released my arm with a sigh. "Fine then, but I'll hold you to that promise."

I nodded my agreement.

"Okay, children." Mr. Merrith addressed his two remaining students and with a yawn continued. "I'm beat for the day and have a family to get home to and I think it's high time you two did the same."

Leaving school so late we had long since missed the buses home which was fine since lately I had taken to walking home, only it was with Bethanie so venturing along that track alone gave me pause. That was, of course until Eric smilingly offered to walk me home.

Along the footpath Eric questioned, "Hey, Abigail. I was wondering about why Bethanie wasn't at school today. The girls at lunch said that she must have been sick but then you said that you doubted that and I've been wondering ever since why you thought that."

My eyes widened to take in the concrete footpath at my feet with even more severity. "Oh, right, I forgot I said that."

"Yeah, okay, but still, why did you?" He prodded.

"I... I don't really know." I answered truthfully. I thought I had known but by the time I finally answered that evening I doubted all of what I thought was reality.

"Hey, Abigail?" Eric asked. "Is everything okay? You just seem like you're a bit distracted today. Actually, that's why I thought maybe something was going on with Bethanie."

"Well honestly, I have no idea if there's something going on with Bethanie but if there was then me being her best friend would know first, that I can say with confidence!"

Eric smiled in response. "Good, but, I was hoping that we could have a similar kind of closeness. You know, that if something goes on you would tell me - and I would of course tell you!"

As we walked through the streets that were being littered with more and more trees curb side I grinned. "Well if anything does go on I'll try to talk to you about it but I just can't make any promises. I guess it all depends on how big the secrets are and if they're too large I don't think I'll be capable of sharing."

"You know, Abigail, you're my friend and I respect you and a lot of that comes from your incredible understanding ability. You just get things, but sometimes you can act so naive too." I noticed here his hands were clenched by his sides. "You do know the answer to things but, I don't know whether you do it consciously or not but sometimes you just don't respond."

I couldn't believe the sudden change of tone in his voice. I couldn't believe the harshness to it. I knew Eric, I knew his pains and I thought I had understood his emotions but how he reacted just then I couldn't understand the meaning at all.  I didn't think I said anything too cruel, just the truth and so I couldn't understand the way he was acting so hurt.

We had just entered a T-intersection after twenty or so minutes of walking. There Eric asked, "Are you okay to make the rest of the way by yourself?"

"Eric..." I breathed as I gazed over him. It was night by the time we reached that location and by the way the street-lamps were I couldn't really see his face properly and that was made all the harder by the way he pointed his chin away.

"Eric, did I just say something to hurt you? Because if I did, you know I didn't mean it. I care about you, I really do!"

"I know, Abigail. I get it." He replied but stiffly. "It's fine." Then, he sort of almost laughed. "You're my friend and a good one at that so I don't blame you. Normally... I would walk you the rest of the way to your place but I just remembered something and need to hurry home."

"But... but, Eric." I stammered not for my sake but for the fact that I had unknowingly hurt him.

"It's not far to yours, you'll be safe from here." Then he turned right and walked down the street that led to his own. I watched him for a few moments and heard his footsteps echo against houses on one side and trees on the other as he followed a road that moved away from me and all the while was continually being swallowed by the darkness of the evening.

"Eric..." I whispered. "I might not say it, but surely you know it's true. You have to know how much I care about you so when you do things like this it really, really hurts me."

But because my chaperone faded away I was left to tread the remainder of my path home alone. Eric was right, it wasn't so very far away and I really had no cause for complaint, really I just despaired at the way Eric departed from my side. If I could have had it any way, I would have had him by me always. Eric wasn't particularly strong, wasn't particularly tall, but nor was he meek. He possessed a strong sense of character that gave him the entire outlook of a warrior. But he was sensitive, I had seen that with his brother and that gentility was what made my emotions sway towards him.

I walked down the street alone suddenly feeling the weight within my backpack. It wasn't immense, but I hadn't noticed its severity until then because before everything seemed to be light and easy.

The scenery was dimmer. Maybe it was just the fact that the sun had fully set then and the street lamps provided a lower wattage to what I would have been comfortable with but still, the world felt darker than it should have. I knew it was as bright as it needed to be and as soon as I arrived home I could waste electricity and embrace the full lighting once more, but for the time I could not settle my disquiet. The darkness just felt too heavy that night.

Then I saw something, a flash but as I walked on no thunder ensued.

Step, step, step, my shoes sounded on the footpath. My ears were primed, my sight too. But though I didn't hear any indication of nearby pronounced action I saw another great flare of light to belie that. I stopped then, waited and very