Bluehour (A Watermagic Novel) (17 page)

Laurent shut my door and walked around the
dark car to the driver seat. “You ready for a ride, Grace?” His
tone was teasing. And before I could answer, he pulled out of the
parking lot with a screech.

I just sat there not knowing what to say. The
situation seemed so surreal and unexpected. Suddenly, the buildings
and palm trees that lined the boulevards seemed new to me. The most
mundane experiences were charmed in Laurent’s presence.

“Welcome to our school,” Brigitte said in her
rosy, musical voice.

I was puzzled by her statement.

“She means welcome to our group of friends.
We call our clan a school,” Laurent explained while he pulled up to
a stoplight.

“Thank you,” I managed to respond as I looked
back at her, admiring her soft skin and long dark eyelashes. Her
hair was so black and shiny with long tresses of curls. It was hard
to look at her up close—the beauty was too enchanting. Quickly, I
turned back around and kept my eyes on the road. I couldn’t believe
I was in the same car as Laurent and his school.

The light turned green and he moved out with
the flow of traffic. He didn’t say anything for some time and when
I looked over at him, I noticed that he was clutching the steering
wheel much too hard. The vein above his temple was raised on his
tight face which gave me the impression that his blood was coursing
fiercely.

“I’m glad you made your way home safely last
night.” Laurent spoke in a controlled rhythm.

“Don’t make Grace feel like she is all
alone,” Marine almost sang the words in her soft, breathy vocals.
“Laurent made us follow that cab you took to make sure you arrived
in one piece. That’s how we know where you live.”

“Oh?” I looked over at Laurent. He held a
blank expression though the skin on his knuckles was so stretched
that you could see the white cartilage beneath from his firm grasp
to the wheel. “You were worried about me?”

The slightest hint of a smile formed on his
face. “I’m not going to allow Sabine to kill you, now. Am I?” He
sat perfectly straight in his seat. My eyes kept shifting to the
gentle rise and fall of his perfectly formed chest. Though he
seemed unaware of it, everything about him was sensual.

“We tried to scare you away,” Marine
interjected.

As I looked back at her perfect smile, I
noticed Pascal and Marcel were cracking something with a nut
cracker and popping the flesh into their mouths. They looked like
they were thoroughly enjoying their morning snack.

“What do you mean?” I asked Marine.

“The fight on the beach…” she blushed at that
memory, “…the threatening looks, the physical intimidations.” She
brushed her blond locks away from her face with her fingers and
puckered her full lips like those exotic kissing fish people keep
in aquariums. “Nothing worked though. You were a stubborn one. Now
all we can do is to try to protect you.”

Marcel lifted his hand in a fluid motion
waving it upwards like a serpentine as he spoke. “It’s probably too
late to turn back now. It’s most likely Sabine and her school
picked up your vibrations when you visited Laurent at the house.
Naughty girl,” he shook his head. “Now you are our
responsibility.”

“Hope you like overprotection,” Pascal
chuckled lightly as he tied his long black hair into a knot.

They made some clicks and squeaks and they
all spoke at once for a moment and then nodded in agreement. I had
no idea what they said, but they all seemed to communicate in a
manner that was entirely foreign to me.

“Poor Mandy Bowers,” Brigitte whispered. The
jewels of many colors around her snow white neck sparkled in the
sunlight as she spoke.

“What happened to Mandy?” I asked.

There was a light hum exchanged between
Brigitte and Pascal before he continued for her. His masculine
voice was melodic as he spoke, “Sabine and her school lured the
child into the ocean, mesmerized her with their songs, and tore her
flesh to pieces. No one who loves Laurent will live in her
presence.”

“The jealous, witch,” Marine sang with a
hiss.

“Stop frightening, Grace,” Laurent said
calmly as he parked the vintage car in the school lot. “I’m not
going to let anything happen to her.”

Everything they were saying was a bit
overwhelming. Just their near presence, unusual mannerisms, and
sounds were a foreign experience that both intrigued and scared me
simultaneously. “I’m fine,” I managed to say to Laurent. I didn’t
want them to know that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with them
yet.

Laurent walked around to the passenger door
and let me out. I wasn’t used to such gentlemanly manners, but I
liked it more than I would have guessed.

There were a lot of people in the parking lot
and in the halls. Everyone who saw me with the très beaux looked
shocked. They seemed to notice that I was walking beside Laurent
and the questions in their eyes and whispers revealed varying
emotions ranging from extreme jealousy to bewilderment.

We walked past a crowd of kids who were
standing before Mandy Bower’s locker where a memorial of flowers,
pictures, and a cross had been erected. The halls were abuzz with
talk about her death which took some, but not enough of the
attention away from Laurent and me. Poor Mandy, I kept thinking,
realizing, maybe for the first time, what danger I was in. Fright
was bitter on my tongue.

What surprised me most was how all five of
the French exchange students escorted me to class. They hovered
over me like they warned. I didn’t know what to think about
that.

Agatha’s eyes nearly popped out of her round
pale face when we walked up to homeroom together. Laurent smiled at
me and said, “I’ll see you after the bell. Try to convince Agatha
to sit with our school at lunch.”

“That will be no problem,” I laughed through
my morbid thoughts as I considered how thrilled she would be to sit
with their escort, Danny.

“OMG,” Agatha giggled when I sat down beside
her in homeroom. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I went to his
house after you gave me his address. It went well. Then, this
morning when I left for school, he was waiting in our parking lot
for me with the other exchange students.”

“Did he drive you to school?” she asked
excitedly.

“Yes!” I was smiling now too. “Can you
believe it?”

“Sorry, but no!” She laughed as quietly as
she was able so to not attract too much attention.

I noticed a lot of people were looking at us,
so I tried to keep a blank expression on my face. “He wants us to
eat lunch with them.”

Her eyes lit up. “That’s great.” She sounded
happy. “I just don’t know if Danny has any interest in me at
all.”

“I think he likes you. He went on that double
date with you, me, and Ashton, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.” She contemplated for a
moment. “Poor Ashton. Has he seen you with Laurent yet?”

My face kind of dropped. I didn’t want to
hurt Ashton. “No, I don’t think so, but I’m not one hundred percent
sure if Laurent likes me romantically like that.”

“Of course he does or he wouldn’t be hanging
around with you. He doesn’t spend time with anyone but the other
French exchange students and Danny. He wouldn’t give you the time
of day if he wasn’t really into you.”

“I wonder.” I looked over at the teacher who
was putting the roll call paper in the envelope at the door. “My
dad and I got in a fight today.”

“Oh, no.” She frowned. “What was it
about?”

“Did you hear about Mandy Bowers?”

She shifted in her seat. “Yes. Isn’t that
scary? Just horrible. I didn’t really know her that well.”

“Me neither, but my dad heard that she was
last seen with some long haired kids with good looks and now he
forbid me to associate with anyone who has long hair and is
attractive.”

She burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t be like this after what happened to Mandy, but your dad
is crazy.”

“That’s how I feel. I can’t just avoid
everyone on the planet, so I told him.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing. I didn’t give him a chance. I just
stormed out and that’s when I saw Laurent in the parking lot.”

“That means that if you start seeing Laurent,
your dad will forbid it.” She looked upset.

“I love my father. I don’t want to hurt
him.”

“You can’t let him know about Laurent.” She
held her finger to her forehead like she was thinking. “Unless you
can get Laurent to cut his hair.”

I knitted my eyebrows together. “I wouldn’t
do that to him. It’s just too weird. My dad is just going to have
to revoke this rule.” The idea of upsetting my father pained my
heart. I felt torn not knowing how to handle his demands. I knew I
was too enamored with Laurent to deny him anything.

The bell rang and we all gathered our stuff.
I swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked, somewhat bothered,
with Agatha to the door. I couldn’t help but worry that Laurent
would forget all about me and neglect meeting me after homeroom
like he promised.

But there was no need to concern myself. When
I stepped out of the room, he was right there, leaning against the
wall with Danny and his friends, waiting for me. A spark of
electricity involuntarily rushed through my body. I tried to mask
my attraction toward him by keeping a blank expression. But when
our eyes met, a secret smile just between us played on his lips. He
must have sensed my ever growing loss of control in his
presence.

Agatha giggled a bit and then said hello to
Danny.

“Hi, Agatha,” he snorted awkwardly as he
pointed at her.

They did some sort of secret handshake that
they must have made up sometime or other. Both of them laughed
because Agatha forgot the last snap and slap. But after a moment of
small talk, they said their goodbyes and Agatha hurried off to her
next class.

Laurent and I walked in silence to English
class, the electricity dancing between us, as the très beaux
followed behind. I reasoned that the energy was too intense to not
be mutual. That idea excited my mind.

It was difficult to notice anyone else but
Laurent, but I did glimpse that Marcel and Pascal were playing some
sort of handheld video game while Brigitte and Marina chatted
quietly between themselves.

As we neared the classroom, Laurent asked me
what my parents were like. I was surprised by the question, but
glad to distract myself from the fireworks going off in my
mind.

“My mom…” I paused trying to figure out how
to describe her. “She works as a cocktail waitress and looks a
little like me, but her hair is shorter. Her personality is pretty
outgoing.” I thought for a second. “We get along.” At that, I
hesitated for another moment, pondering whether I should describe
my dad. Really I was angry at him and I was afraid that would show
in my portrayal.

“And your father?” He looked at me curiously
as we walked into the classroom. “I know you have one because he
answered the phone one of the times that I called.”

“Why did you call that first time?” I asked
sharply. I was happy to turn the conversation on him and still
curious about that original phone call.

We stopped at my desk. As I sat down, he
looked at me with smoldering eyes. We were closer in proximity than
usual. “I don’t know why I called.” He glanced over at the
chalkboard as he placed his long fingers on my desk. When he turned
back to me, his fingers were dancing upon the hard surface. The
taps were rhythmical and pulled at my attention, further increasing
my desire to touch him.

I noticed that other students kept glancing
at us. I think they were surprised to see Laurent talking to anyone
other than the other exchange students. The feeling was a little
like being on a stage, but I didn’t care—my concentration was
focused on him.

“I’m going to sit down now,” he
whispered.

“Okay,” I grumbled, trying to catch my
breath.

His fingers slid across the smooth wood
surface as he turned and I could feel the vibrations of his touch
through the wood on one of my legs that was pressed up against the
desk. My body reacted to that uncontrollably. Tingling sensations
rushed beneath my skin.

To my surprise, he looked back at me and
smiled wickedly. I got the feeling he knew exactly what I was
experiencing.

The rest of the class period I couldn’t
concentrate on anything the teacher was saying. I just felt this
intense energy connecting Laurent and I even though he was across
the room from me. It was all consuming. I had never felt anything
like it.

When the bell rang, I rushed out of the room
with my backpack. I needed fresh air. I needed to touch reality.
Without looking behind, I hurried as fast as I could out to the
parking lot. I wanted to see the sky. I wanted to catch my
breath.

Everything was spinning around me. I felt
like I was falling too hard, too fast. This boy owned me. I would
do anything for him. I would give up my life to save his given the
chance. Did I love him? I must have. Even though I barely knew him,
my feelings were too powerful to be anything other than love. It
was like he was me and I was him. We were one. And it didn’t
matter, as crazy as it seemed, that my feelings were unreasonable
or that he was more beautiful than a Greek god—he was all I wanted.
College didn’t matter; nothing mattered… but
Laurent
.

I looked up at the sky and watched the clouds
pass across the blue expanse. As bizarre as it seemed, I just
started laughing. I must have laughed for nearly a minute straight.
But I was interrupted—I heard a pretty song coming from behind the
trees lining the lawn across the lot. I was so drawn to the music.
The feeling was enchanting. I wanted to take a look.

But then, suddenly, without any warning,
somebody grabbed me by the waist. I swung around. It was a stunning
girl with cherry red hair and an elegant face.