At First Sight: Special Edition Page 2

Dale furrowed his brows. “Yesterday, she told me to get lost.”

  “Yeah? Well, she changed her mind,” said Jessica, shrugging.

  He hurriedly stumbled his way back to the party before tripping over a sand pile, spilling his beer. Lola laughed and turned to Jessica. “When did you get here?”

  “I’ve been here for about an hour. It’s already in full swing.” Jessica glanced at Lola’s outfit. “You look great! Though it could be shorter.”

  Lola looked down at her dress. The hem reached the middle of her thigh. “Excuse me? It’s short enough! If I sit down, people could see up my dress.”

  “Maybe they should! We are nearing graduation and you need to get laid,” Jessica said, looking around at the party.

  “Uh, no thank you. You know I want to wait,” explained Lola.

  Jessica was always trying to set Lola up with a guy. Normally, the guys would be horrible and inappropriate. Lola found the guys at her high school to be completely immature. Plus, she wasn’t interested in a hook-up. Regardless of her parents’ marriage, she was interested in love.

  “Surely you aren’t going to wait until marriage.”

  “I don’t know. I want to wait until I’m in love.” Lola shrugged and looked away. “As if that will ever happen.”

  Lola felt a buzz in her head as if it was something dull and incoherent. Like static—an old radio trying to tune in where glimpses of words were trying to break through. She looked over her shoulder cautiously, but saw nobody. She looked back at Jessica, who was still perusing the crowd. She hoped Jessica wouldn’t notice she was in another world in her mind.

  “Jessica, what are you looking for?”

  “I’m going to find you a man so we can…” She looked at Lola for a moment with a slight smirk. “…cure you.”

  “Jessica, wait!” Her best friend was already gone.

  Lola sighed and laughed to herself. At times, it was difficult to handle Jessica. She looked back at the party before deciding to walk by herself. She took off her flats and walked back to her vehicle, placing them inside the front seat before carrying her soda down the beach.

  She needed some alone time.

  Dean slammed the back door behind him in a huff, bunching his fists together. It was bad enough having his mother get on his case about his lack of a soul mate. When his dad got into the mix, it rose to the next level. Luckily his brother, Freddie, wasn’t a part of it. He would just talk about how Dean didn’t deserve it or how Dean was so much better than everybody else.

  Freddie had a major problem with his younger brother. He always believed Dean got the better end of the stick. According to Freddie, Dean had the good looks and the good life ahead of him.

  It got to be very tiring.

  He had heard about some party at the beach earlier so he decided to change into a pair of khaki shorts and a blue polo. He walked off the porch and down to the sand perfectly laid out in his backyard. He kept his hands in his pockets as the moon illuminated his tan skin. He glanced at it as he kept walking, listening to the soft waves crash against the shore lightly. He began to think about the girl he heard earlier.

  Who was she?

  Could she possibly his soul mate?

  Is it possible the magic did still exist?

  Was his family’s gift finally returning?

  It was so confusing, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her voice. It was like an invisible pull was telling him to hunt her down and find her. But, why would his heart keep telling him to stalk some girl he didn’t even know?

  “As if that will ever happen.”

  He stopped and furrowed his brows. It was her again. She sounded pretty dejected. But, why?

  “Who are you?” he murmured to himself.

  This was all driving him crazy.

  “I need to get out of here. Why did I even come to this party?”

  She was at a party? So, she could be a local. Against his better judgment, he decided to head for the party. All he had to do was follow the voice. Hopefully, he would find her.

  Then what?

  He walked along the sand, bypassing drunken teenagers and bodies that were too close for comfort. The thoughts had stopped. He suddenly felt lost, like he didn’t know what direction he needed to go in. He stopped in his tracks and sighed.

  “Hi,” said a small voice.

  He turned around to see a short girl with long red hair and shimmering green eyes. She was holding a beer can and she looked to be about sixteen. He silently hoped this wasn’t her.

  “Hey.”

  “I’ve never seen you at school before,” she said, sipping her drink like she had done it so many times before.

  “I’m homeschooled,” Dean said. “I live a few houses down.”

  “Oh,” she nodded and took another sip of her drink.

  Dean noticed she was swaying a bit. “How many of those have you had?”

  “This is my third,” she giggled lightly. “You want one? We can talk about your house.”

  Dean cocked a brow and stifled back a laugh. This was starting to get awkward. “Uh, no thanks. I’m actually...meeting someone here so I better go find them.”

  He quickly scurried away before she could stop him, breathing a sigh of relief. He hoped and prayed to God that was not the girl in his mind.

  Jessica looked around, trying to find a suitable boy for her best friend. She always loved playing matchmaker for Lola, even though she was never that interested in it whatsoever. She wasn’t trying to be pushy. She just wanted her friend to have some fun in her life. They were nearing graduation and they were barely making the most of their last few weeks together.

  “Colby!” she exclaimed, rushing over to a boy with short, black hair and dull blue eyes. “I have a girl for you.”

  Colby Waterson was on the tennis team, though he wasn’t particularly known for winning a lot of sets. He was only known for kissing a lot of girls and for having so many stories spread about him. Regardless, the girls still wanted him.

  Colby smiled, taking a sip of his beer. “Oh? What does she look like?”

  “It’s Lola!”

  Colby’s smile lit up. “She’s hot.”

  “Well, come on! She’s over…” Jessica stopped when she turned around. Lola was gone. “Where did she go?”

  Colby simply shrugged and walked away, spotting another girl to talk to. Jessica stayed in her spot, confused as to where her best friend could have gone. Surely she wouldn’t have left the party without telling her, right?

  All she could do now was look.

  Lola stood by the shore, carefully making sure her toes didn’t come near the water. She had an unnatural fear of water, especially the ocean. The fact that it seemed endless and large scared her. At five years old, she and her parents had gone to the beach for a rare “family day”. She had ended up nearly drowning with the lifeguard and other families being concerned about her well being while her parents faked their own concern. Ever since then, she hadn’t let a foot into the ocean.

  She stared at the moon and sighed as the breeze blew through her curls. It was a beautiful night, but she felt uneasy. Something about this night brought a chill over her bones. She couldn’t really decipher what it was, though. She couldn’t tell if it was bad or good.

  Her thoughts started to drift toward the boy in her mind when she felt a presence. She looked over to see Dale stumbling toward her. He was carrying a beer bottle and staring right at her. Was this the uneasy feeling she had?

  “Lulu…” He slurred his words as he sloshed his beer on the sand.

  “Dale, what do you want? I kind of want to be alone.” Lola backed up a few paces.

  “Why would you want to be alone?” Dale got closer to her, tossing his beer bottle on the ground.

  Lola started backing away more quickly. Dale was a pain in the butt, but she didn’t think he had it in him to be like this. “Dale, what are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” he murmured, licking his lips as he touched he
r waist. “You know, you’re kinda cute.”

  “Dale, stop it.” Lola attempted to remove his hands from her waist, but he held a firm grip.

  “Why? I know you like me. That’s why you’re always talking to me, isn’t it? You want me.” His lips descended on to her neck, creating a slobbery kiss.

  “Ew!” Lola pushed him away with as much strength as she could muster. “Dale, quit it! I don’t like you like that.”

  “It’s okay. We don’t have to like each other to have fun,” he said.

  Suddenly, Dale’s lips were on her own as he held her tightly against his body. She struggled against his hold. He was too drunk and stronger than he appeared. His hold was starting to hurt as they collapsed on the sand with a grunt. Lola tried to scream as his hands wandered up her dress and she suddenly regretted wearing the damn thing.

  Without warning, the weight was pulled off her. She covered her eyes as she attempted to get her breath back. She trembled as she heard a few muffled grunts and thuds. Then all was silent except for the waves in the ocean. She heard a voice and time seemed to stop.

  “Are you okay?”

  It was him. She recognized that voice. She uncovered her eyes to meet a pair of deep, beautiful blue irises. Instead of thanking him, her entire body and mind seemed to be consumed by another force as they stared at each other. Bright colors like fireworks danced before her eyes. Between the explosions of light, voices trickled in—she swore she heard her own voice echoing in her ears along with his. But, what did it all mean? She could barely think as her heart beat faster.

  Then, she saw darkness.

  3

  Dean stared as he lounged with her against a lone log on the beach. He longed to caress her beautiful, long hair, and he caught himself staring too frequently at her inviting lips. Her brown eyes, deep and captivating, drew him in too. This was her. It had to be. She was the one consuming his thoughts. He had been trying to find her and didn’t even know that he had been saving the same girl from that jerk.

  He clenched his fist and winced at the pain. His knuckles were starting to bruise. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but something inside of him snapped when he saw the attack.

  When their eyes met, he knew what followed had to be the first sight. It was simply amazing. There were colors, fireworks, and voices. He heard their own voices, though they were pretty dull at the moment. Either way, he had found her.

  He had found his soul mate.

  Unfortunately, she had passed out from the experience a few minutes ago. He gently carried her to a more comfortable and private spot and waited for her to wake up. His body and his senses were going crazy. He was dying to touch her. He wanted to caress her cheek, run his fingers through her hair—just hold her. Being close to her made his heart beat wildly.

  She was human, though. They didn’t have that many humans-turned-Manifesters in their family. To make matters even more interesting, she was the first human to bring back the first sight. He knew she wouldn’t take the news lightly, but he wasn’t sure if she would even accept him for who he was. How do you tell someone that you aren’t a part of the human race anymore?

  Her eyes fluttered as she stirred, touching her forehead. He cautiously watched her, trying to keep his hands to himself. Though, it was insanely difficult. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his lips twitching into a smile. “Hey, are you okay?”

  Lola gasped, not expecting to see this boy next to her. She scurried away. “What happened? Who are you?”

  “It’s okay.” Dean touched her hand softly.

  Lola glanced at their hands. She moved closer, but he could tell she was hesitant. He couldn’t blame her, though. He was a complete stranger to her. He watched her cautiously as they looked at each other.

  “My God, his eyes are beautiful.”

  Dean smiled and blushed, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Uh, I don’t know what to say.”

  “Huh?” Lola furrowed her eyebrows, coming out of her reverie.

  “I can kind of hear your thoughts,” said Dean cautiously.

  Lola stifled a laugh. “Sure.”

  Dean sighed and decided to test out the power. “Can you hear me?”

  “Oh my gosh!” She shook her head vehemently. “How did you do that?”

  “It’s part of the first sight.”

  “The what?”

  Dean sighed. “It’s a really long story.”

  Lola chewed on her bottom lip, still shaking her head a bit like she was trying to get water out of her ears. “Uh, okay.”

  He hesitated. “My family isn’t normal. Not what you would consider normal… We’re technically not… human. We call ourselves Manifesters. We can perform spells and when we have the first sight, we gain our own special power called an imprint. We can read each other’s mind, too.”

  “What’s an imprint?”

  “Sometime during the relationship, we both gain an imprint embedded in our hand. Like, my dad’s is the shape of a cross. His imprint allows him to heal people of any disease and any injury,” he explained. “They come in all shapes and all do different things.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  Dean shook his head. “No. You barely feel it.”

  Lola exhaled heavily, looking toward the ocean. “This is crazy.”

  “My parents told me that you feel a great bond with your soul mate,” started Dean. “Your soul mate is somebody that you can always trust and be honest with. Your soul mate protects you from any danger and promises to… love you forever.” He paused. “I know it all sounds pretty forward, but it’s something that is really beautiful in our family.

  Before this happened, the first sight had been absent in our family for nearly twenty years. I didn’t believe it would happen to me. I didn’t think it was true.” He smiled at her and played with a tendril of her hair. “But, now that I’ve met you, I actually feel something. It’s strange, but my heart’s telling me we were destined to meet each other.”

  “Oh.” Lola looked away from his gaze.

  It was quiet for a moment until Lola broke the silence.

  “I need to tell you something,” said Lola.

  “What is it?” Dean watched her carefully.

  “Lately, I’ve been hearing your thoughts. It’s been all about how you were looking for someone or something,” she explained sheepishly.

  “Oh…” Dean nodded. “Yeah, it’s been a pretty few rough days for me. My family has been badgering me about finding my soul mate. I’ve been hearing your thoughts, too.”

  “Really?” Lola blushed.

  Dean chuckled lightly. He then grew serious. “Honestly, they seemed kind of sad. Almost like you were degrading yourself.”

  Lola sighed and looked away, running a hand through her curls. “Great. Now he thinks I’m insecure.”

  “Hey, hey.” Dean pulled her eyes back to his gaze as he cupped her cheeks. “Do not think like that. You’re beautiful and any guy would be lucky to have you.” He paused and smiled.

  “Isn’t it weird to be so happy after we just met?” asked Lola, confused.

  “It’s the effect of the first sight. It’s not a human feeling,” explained Dean.

  “Human?” Lola paused. “So, I’m not human anymore?”

  Dean sighed, suddenly nervous. “Well, not all the way anymore. Once you develop powers and your imprint, you’ll be considered a Manifester. We like to keep this a secret.”

  “We?”

  “There’s hundreds of us across the globe,” he explained.

  Lola’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at him incredulously. “Are you kidding?”

  “Lola?”

  Dean glanced up at a blond girl standing next to Lola. She stared at the both of them curiously, more so Lola.

  “Jessica!”

  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, but I can see you’re in good hands. Right?” She smirked.

  “I promise she’s in good hands.” Dean stood up. “I’m De
an.”

  “Jessica. I’m Lola’s best friend,” she said, still smirking.

  Lola stood up and looked at Jessica, rubbing the back of her head. “I’m actually going to head home soon. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Yeah. You better,” she said, pointing a finger at her before leaving in a puff of energy.

  Dean cleared his throat, looking at Lola. “So, you’re really leaving?”

  Lola turned to face him and sighed, shaking her head. “Look, I appreciate you saving me back there. But, this is all too much to take in. Whatever we experienced had to be some weird dream. I mean, nothing like that happens in real life. It’s just not possible!”

  Dean furrowed his brows. “You think I just made everything up?”

  “No!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “I just think I’m dreaming. I just… I don’t know.”

  Dean slowly walked towards her, holding out his hands. “I can assure you that you aren’t dreaming. It’s not really common for humans to become like us. We haven’t had the gift in so long and for a human to bring it back? Well, it’s shocking. It’s going to shake things up.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Once people find out and see you face to face, they are going to want everyone to see you and ask you questions,” he explained.

  “Everyone?”

  “Everybody in our family, everybody across the globe, will want to meet you.”

  Lola shook her head. “What is this kid on? Why can’t I wake up?”

  “I don’t want this, Dean. Don’t come near me, okay? I’m going to wake up soon and we’ll have never met. None of this is real.” She started backing up and away from him.

  Dean shook his head frantically. This couldn’t be happening. “Lola, wait.”

  “Just stay away from me!”

  He stood helpless as he watched her run away and out his sight.

  4

  Lola slammed the door behind her once she got home and threw her things to the ground, sighing heavily as she ran her hands aggravatingly through her hair. She wasn’t angry, though. She was feeling sad and she was aching all over. It reminded her of when she got the flu right before junior year. It was the worst case she had ever experienced in her life. She was stuck in bed for an entire week.