4. Freak

Ivy

"Any luck finding new friends at School" My mother asks, right after I walk through the door, like she has been waiting for hours to ask me this same question.

"Ugh…" I bite my bottom lip, kind of caught off guard. Why is she not at work right now?

She is supposed to be at work.

As far as I know this entire week she is working the afternoon shift that's how she manages to drop me to school in the morning, I took the bus when coming back, though. The ride was unexpectedly calm, and no fangs appeared in people's teeth.

It is barely 5p.m in the afternoon, and she is wearing her apron, probably cooking something.

"Well?" She presses, her eyes glinting with excitement and a constant smile plastered on her perfect lips.

"Yes. I'm starving, let's talk over dinner, yeah?" I crease my eyebrows, inspecting the kitchen table. A lot of vegetables there. "I will go freshen up real quick" Before she can say another word, I jolt up the stairs to my fortress.

After a long, exhausting day, this is the only place I'd rather be and with that said, I throw myself onto the bed. Though small, it never fails to give me the comfort, I deserve.

Reluctantly draping my body in baggy jeans and a sweater, I make my way to the dining room.

"Is there any beef stew?, I'm craving" I make my presence known and draw a chair for myself, placing both my feet up like a real derelict.

"Sure….guess what?" She brings a rather huge bowl of fried rice and beef stew. The aroma sends me flying to grab a folk and dig in. "Whoa…hold up"

I scowl at her, questionably.

"So remember the guys, our neighbors from across the street?, they are coming over for dinner" she sings the last part, and I'm surprised why she is this excited.

"I can't believe you went through with this dinner thing" I drop the folk loudly, hoping she reads my disinterest. My mother is one delighted, very inviting human being, and I admire her for it. Unlike me, she is open with people and ready to throw smiles here and there. She is a lovable goofball and effortlessly nice.

"Just be pleasant okay…and smile too" She smiles, as an example of what I'm supposed to be doing once the guests arrive. I roll my eyes, I want to protest, but there's a knock on the door.

"That must be them," she announces. "Smile my baby" she whispers and heads to the door.

"Great" I roll my eyes and sit up straight, wiping the little sauce that had spilled onto my sweater—can someone tell me why I'm always messing my clothes with ketchup?

"Hey… Sandy, you look great tonight" my mother's voice echoes from the front door.

"You too, Barbara…is it okay if I call you Barb" Sandy giggles, earning an eye roll from me, of course she can't see me here.

I can feel how my toes curl up when they start making their way here. They are coming, they are getting close, and I have to smile and be nice.

"Hey…uh…um" Barb sighs nervously. Is she having a panic attack?, I'm forced to glance over my shoulder and see what is going on back there.

Can you guess?

There is another boy who is wearing sunglasses—at night. Not another teenager choosing to disobey his parents, are they even his parents because one can tell from his complexion. It is a rich chocolate brown, and he has dark curly hair—wow, again.

From where I'm seated, he appears quite tall, taller than the mom—even when I'm not convinced it's their son. Bill and sandy are both white, but he is not.

As though wearing shades is not enough to shock us all, he is having headphones and I can hear the music from here. Jesus this dude.

Manners.

I smirk a little, knowing I am all sorts of a better child with my manners around people. That is not the case with him, and he doesn't seem to care at all. He needs to be my inspiration, really because he gives off the 'I don't give a shit' vibe but keeps his mouth shut—some of us don't.

"Levi," his Mom—well sandy because I haven't confirmed that yet, taps his shoulder, and he removes the headphones. "His name is Levi, and please do remove those… I'm sorry Barb" Sandy turns to my mother.

"Kids…whole packages" she giggles, and I frown. What does she even mean by that, it's not like I am always extra, like the neighbors' son.

"Please come in" she gestures, and they follow her to the table.

I smile sweetly at the two parents—as per instruction.

I glance at Levi, and I wonder if he can tell I'm looking at him, behind those glasses.

"Please dig in" Barb smiles and gives each one of us a plate and a glass of orange juice.

It is weird. Mom, and the neighbors keep talking, Me, on the other hand, feels stuck here. Levi is on his phone—while eating. I scoff mentally.

"Why don't we sit and watch some TV? Dawny, please do the dishes, will you?" She turns to me and I nod. It's the least I can do, considering I did not play any part in the preparation of this wonderful meal.

She smiles and leads the way out of the dinning room, I take out the dishes and start up the sink when Levi appears out of nowhere and stands next to me.

I look at him and smile awkwardly, what is he doing here? It is already hard to talk to him with those shades on. I can't help but feel stupid on his behalf. I can't stop myself from laughing each time I look at him. He looks ridiculous, really.

"Your Mom told you to stay?" I finally break the silence.

"No… It's-" he turns to me without removing the glasses. "It's manners, order, appreciation. Your mom sure does know how to cook"

"Oh yes, she does" I roll my eyes and turn to him. "Manners?"

"Yes. Why?" He shrugs and pours some soap onto the sponge.

"The glasses?, The headphones?" I point out.

"Oh…uh, I am a music freak, It's Therapy and for the glasses… Something about my eyes" he explains in a direct and serious tone.

"Okay?" I lean over the sink after wiping a plate.

"My eyes are the blood shot eyes…and most people, freak out when they see them" he passes me a plate.

"Oh, well, can I see ?" The impulsive side of me is curious. He only stays quiet for a moment.

"Are you scared?" I continue, it's shocking how fast we finish with the dishes. If I was doing this alone, I'd probably be on the second plate.

He lets out a silly laugh before wiping his hands over his shirt.

I pass him a towel. "It's funny?" I ask.

"No. Do you have a room?" He asks, and my jaw drops immediately, I want to say something but no words come out. "I'm not a zombie you know, so you don't have to worry about being eaten or something" he chuckles.

Are you not?

"Is my room okay?" I ask, this feels weird. I almost shrink to the floor, but where else am I supposed to take him? The bathroom? It's either my room or here.

He shrugs and I cock my head to the staircase. "Mom, is it okay if I can show Levi…" I wonder why I'm getting excited over this, my room is my private place, not even my Mom is allowed sometimes.

"Show him some of my music collections?" It's funny how I came up with that just now.

She looks at Levi and the neighbors sitting on the other couch. "Why not" Bill shrugs.

"Okay Dawny, don't do funny stuff" Barb concludes.

"Mom!" I scream, my cheeks burning with embarrassment, while they laugh it away. I scoff and lead Levi to my room.

"So the eyes, show me"I turn to him as soon as we get to my room.

"Whoa, relax there Rihanna" he smirks, inspecting the room. I can tell he is concealing just how shocked he is.

"She's my favorite alright", I make a face, and he laughs, his voice is deep and intimidating, so is his height.

"Okay here goes freaky" he states before removing his sunglasses. For a moment he is unable to face me, he keeps his eyes down.

"Don't be shy now" I joke.

"I'm everything and shy is not on the list" he says and looks up.

My heart slams against my chest, but I can't stop staring. I have seen a lot of people with bloodshot eyes, but his are just remarkable. Different. Amazing as well as shocking. I must admit, it is not what I expected: half of the left eye is covered, while for the right one, only a small part at the corner is covered.

"Scared yet?" He asks, he brings his glasses to his eyes and like a mad person, I hold him back. His forearm feels warm, and it has little hairs which are ticklish, but I don't focus on that now.

"They are beautiful" I whisper, breath taken.

He aches his eyebrows, clearly perplexed. But he manages a smile. I don't even realize I'm this close to him, I can feel his warm breath fanning my nose. And oh my god, he looks freaking—beautiful, that is why I can't look away. Like the universe hates me, his mom calls and I snap out of it.

"Oops…show is over…which school do you go to?" He asks, putting the glasses back.

"Vamps Academy. You?"

He raises a brow. "Me too. Uh, pick you up tomorrow?" Of course, it's the only fancy school here.

I shrug. "Okay"

"I will stalk your Instagram, you must be a freak to like my eyes" he winks and walks out.

I find myself smiling like an idiot—or maybe a freak he says I am.

For once, since I moved here, I'm eagerly awaiting tomorrow.