Entangled (Entangled Trilogy #1) (4 page)

Judging by his laughter, he was
categorically not a vampire. James’ laughter faded out and he just
sat there staring at me now, which was ten times worse than the
laughter. The intensity of his intent look was too much to bear
that I hastily glanced down at my notebook while he just sat there
now, gazing and smirking at me.

“Any other ideas?” he enquired,
his eyes never leaving my face.

“A superhero? Some kind of god or
something? Just some mind-reading psychopath? A phony?” I sighed,
meeting his gaze which he held for quite a long time.

At last, he came out of his shell
and answered me, still staring at me in that weird type of way that
made me feel like I was in a lot of trouble. What did I get myself
into?

“Absolutely not and no. And
really, you think I would lie to you? Of all people?” he laughed,
leaning in a little closer to me from across the table.

“No you’re not a psychopath or no
that you’re not some sort of a god?” I retorted, my pulse racing by
now as I leaned in closer to him. Just being near James made my
thoughts ambiguous and me lightheaded.

“No, I’m not a psychopath,” James
said as a matter of factly. Then that probably means that he’s a
god or something. Yeah, sure he’s a god, I’m a mermaid, Maddie is
Miss Piggy and Mark is SpongeBob. Maybe we can all go to Heaven and
put on a show.

“That also doesn’t mean that I’m a
god or anything. You thought that I was a superhero, but I’m not.
What if I tell you right now that I am not the good guy in the
picture, not the protagonist and somewhat of an antagonist?” My
head snapped up to meet his gaze once more as he explained. The bad
guy? What is he talking about? So . . . he’s some sort of a devil
if he’s not a god?

“I could be a good guy or the bad
guy, but it’s up to you to decide on that. If you think, with
enough evidence that I’m the bad guy and you want nothing to do
with me, then I promise I’ll keep my distance. If you’re convinced
that I’m the good guy and you want me to be a part of your life,
then I’ll stay and be your friend or something,” James said as if
he was giving me two choices to choose from if I had to die this
exact second. I press my lips into a thin line and looked down,
trying to think things over.

“Please say something, anything.
You can scream at me or get up and about and punch me or just tell
me to go away, I’ll go away. Just say the word, Rosemarie, please,”
he importuned. I’m flabbergasted that he used my name, although, I
desired to be called Rose as an alternative for Rosemarie. I hid my
shock and kept my face void of all emotions.

“So what is it precisely that
you’re offering me?” I managed to say, still a bit shaky. This guy
could be an executioner for as long as I know. Disappointingly, he
had seen my nervousness and how hard it was for me to even manage
to say those words.

“I—,” James managed to say before
Maddie started bellowing at Mark.

“Alright! I can’t take it anymore.
Listen to me Mark; you are a snobbish air head. I don’t know if
anyone told you this, which I’m certain a lot of people did, but I
hate you and you . . . just . . . get the hell out of my life,
okay? And no, it was not very pleasant to meet you. You are very
annoying and I don’t know why on earth I ever agreed to do
this—this . . .,” Maddie droned, while I revolved my attention back
to James who was still ogling at me.

“I am so sor—,” I started, but he
hastily blue-penciled me off.

“We’ll chat later. I promise,”
James reassured me, putting his hand over mine, a gesticulation
that I kind of found consoling despite the happenings going on
nearby us. I nodded before hastily gathering my possessions and
going up to Maddie to tranquil her and get her out of here. If we
remained here one more second, she’d probably try to gag Mark to
bereavement.

“I am so sorry Mark that my blon—
I mean Maddie here has been so harsh on you,” I quickly apologized
to Mark before elbowing Maddie.

“No! I will not apologize to this
arrogant¬—,” I cut her off before she can utter the next few words
she had in mind, grabbing her by the arm, quickly waving a goodbye
to James as he amiably responded to me and bequeathed a demise
glare in Maddie’s direction. Before leaving, I could’ve affirmed
that I saw Mark looking at Maddie in a way which was pervaded with
affection. On the other hand, James still ogled at me, easily
getting on my nerves.

I was erroneous. If I had stayed
one more second, I would’ve attacked James just like Maddie
would’ve done with Mark. As I hauled Maddie away from the library,
parting from all the trepidation, I also, by hook or by crook, left
behind all my chances of ever receiving the real certainties about
James. I didn’t know where I was going until I bumped into a petite
woman.

“Oops, sorry dear,” Mrs. Lauren
apologizes, cutting off Maddie’s protests. “Ah, Rosemarie, where
have you been? Have you chosen yet? Is he here? Oh God, I swear,
you two are going to get your way someday. You and Adr—,” Mrs.
Lauren babbled on and on about something very confusing while I
stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Mrs. Lauren now is not the time.
NO, the Choosing hasn’t happened yet. He hasn’t showed up yet
either. He told me that he had to take care of a few things before
coming here,” Maddie explained while I looked at them both as if
they’d just grown two more heads.

“Okay, what are you two talking
about?” I asked as both of them immediately shut up, Mrs. Lauren
had that look of concern written across her face. Maddie gave her a
look that told her, don’t you dare mention any of this to her or I
will do something that both of us will regret, while Mrs. Lauren
looked at her as if saying, I understand. This is better off for
all three of us if we pretend this never happened.

“Nothing, dear. I thought you were
someone else,” she said quickly before heading off to her library.
Something about the way she spoke told me that she was lying. And
on top of that, she said, Rosemarie, where have you been? I tried
to take my mind off things and continue to walk to my locker, far
away from those freaks, far away from the happy place, far away
from this hellhole. I wish I didn’t have to come back to this place
again and again. And again.

chapter 3

begin again

It’s been over a whole
week since the proceedings in the library. Ever since then, I have
encountered neither James nor Mark. I don’t really care if I never
see Mark again, but I really just want to at least bump into James
once in a while. He wasn’t in Biology today so I was partnered with
Krystal, my arch-nemesis.

Krystallia Janine Diamond
is my blonde arch-nemesis. She was about 5 feet 7 inches with a
head full of blonde hair. I hate being stereotypical because it
reminds me of James, but blonde really complements Krystal. She is
what you may call a very leaden light bulb. She’s not as bright as
a light bulb. Since my initial day in school, she has been
discovering every way there is possible to make me despondent.
Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. I really didn’t know
why Krystal hated me so much. I’ve never done anything to her.
Sticking to her like a clingy bathing suit was her best friend
Kira.

Kiersten Charlotte Ryan,
also known as Kira, was Krystal’s other blonde friend. I swear that
they both would have passed as part of the blonde squad or
something. I’m not trying to insult blondes out there, but Krystal
and Kira were really . . . moronic. Kira was truly really pretty
with her golden blond hair and those dark brown highlights that
camouflaged with the rest of her hair. She had blue eyes and a
purse full of makeup which she applied to her whole face every
second. I wonder if she even has any space for her books. On the
contrary, most of the guys go after Krystal. She has more than two
boyfriends each week. It was even whispered that one of her
boyfriends had lasted three whole months.

The Krystal in Biology
class was kind of contradictory. She wasn’t even mean to me, not
once. When I had asked her why, she had simply replied, “Look kid,
your life is gonna turn upside down in the next couple of days.
There is nothing I can do that would make your life any shoddier.
So I’m just trying to be nice to you while I can.” I can’t believe
she thinks that I’m gonna die in a few more days. Is she going to
try to kill me? What did I do?

When I looked a bit
wounded by that, she had added, “Listen to me, Rose. You’re not who
you think you are. The ones that you think you can trust are truly
the ones you can’t trust, not even the slimmest bit. Soon, someone
will be approaching your life to transform the whole shebang. Any
questions you have about your life will hopefully be
answered.

“
I may have given you
reasons not to trust me in the past but take my advice and never,
ever spontaneously trust anyone who you think you can just because
they gave you ‘sweet talk.’ Everything is not what it seems. First,
think about your decision. If you still can’t decide, go to your
brother or your best friend. You can even come to me. Just . . .
don’t die. We need you. We can’t fail again. This is our moment to
Claim what is rightfully ours and for you to Choose,” Krystal had
said, looking very serious.

I didn’t know what that
was about, but I didn’t want to know. She sounded as if she was
telling me my prophecy. However, I still felt as if she was right.
Maybe my life will be changed. Maybe the person she was talking
about was James. Or maybe I’ll truly never know.

This whole week in school
has been Regents week, meaning that it was the most important week
in the whole school year. I was excited because all my teachers had
exempted me from class since I knew all the topics we were learning
about in class, to take my test previously. The principal, Mrs.
Paige, had told me that I had to take the test early, so I can
enjoy my surprise. When I had asked her about my surprise, she had
merely replied with a “you’ll see.” I wonder what it’ll be. Will it
be a whole week of vacation? I really, really needed
one.

Now, the day of my
surprise had come. Everyone was taking the test while I was heading
towards Mrs. Paige’s office to redeem my lagniappe. When I had told
Maddie about it, she had smiled a heartwarming smile and said, “You
are one lucky girl. Please don’t go tough on him. He’s a very
exceptional guy. Relish your “gift” while you can Rose. Good luck.
He’s amazing and you’re lucky that he’s yours and yours only,”
patting my cheeks. When Krystal had seen that, she had
instantaneously come over and ruffled my hair as if she was my
older sister, wishing me luck. What was up with these people? They
were acting like they can all foresee the future. And who was
“him”? Since when did they both get so much wiser?

As I angled my way into
Mrs. Paige’s office, I saw her behind her desk and a tall boy
sitting across from her, his back towards me. When she saw me, she
looked up and smiled. Why was everyone so jovial today?

“
Oh, Rosemarie. Why don’t
you come on in and take a seat right beside this lovely young man,”
Mrs. Paige beckoned. I did as I was told, not bothering to look
over at the boy sitting next to me. He was busying himself with
something else.

“
Rosemarie, this is a new
student we’ve got in our school,” she said while I wondered what my
surprise could be.

At last, the boy turned
towards me and I turned towards him. Once I looked up, I thought
that I would swoon. The boy was really tall, which I can tell even
when he was sitting, and he had a slender and muscular figure. He
wasn’t muscular enough to look fat like some guys do. He was
svelte, but not scrawny like me. He had a head full of curly auburn
hair which was absolutely bipolar. He was wearing black skinny
jeans and a long sleeved, pale blue shirt which really bought out
his aquamarine eyes. He was very cheeky and had dimples. Noticing
my gaze, he smiled, which really deepened the dimples. I felt as if
I had died and went to Heaven.

However, that’s not what
made me almost faint. His eyes were the same blue-green as those in
my flashbacks. Now that I looked at his face, he seemed oddly
familiar. His eyes were like a pool of the most beautiful blue and
green mixed together. He was really alluring, but I couldn’t avert
my gaze from those eyes. They seemed to summon me
nearer.

When I gasped, a look of
shock and fear raced each other across those eyes. Despite that, he
extended his hand towards me in a friendly gesture, still a bit
apprehensive. Wait a second, is this my surprise? Did Mrs. Paige
really get me a friend? Did she really think I was that unsocial?
The smile on my face fell, replaced by an angry frown which made
the boy upset.

“
Hello Rosemarie. My name
is—,” he started in his cute British accent, but I cut him off,
knowing that it was rude but I have to do it.

“
Ross, Adrian Ross,” I
said, finishing off his sentence for him. How the heck did I know
that? He appeared just as stunned as me.

“
I’m sorry but have we met
before?” I asked.

“
No! I think I would
remember meeting someone who looks just like a goddess. But, it is
a pleasure to finally meet you. Mrs. Paige here wouldn’t stop
droning on and on about you. She kept telling me how gorgeous you
were,” Adrian smirked as I shook his hand. He held on to it a
little longer than he should have. Slowly, he flipped my hand over
and brushed his lips across my knuckles. This seemed to get some
emotional look out of Mrs. Paige.