Dream Catchers - Prologue - Stranger

It was a rainy day. A quiet day. I was making my way home from the music store on the bus. Rain drizzled down the window as I stared out at nothing in particular. 1

No one was talking, there was only the engine and the breaks rumbling and screeching. Then again there were only like ten people on the bus but that was normal for a Sunday afternoon.2

The bus rocked to a stop and lurched forward again sending me slamming back into the seat. 'Oww..' I thought to myself, clutching me head. 'Whatever'. I pulled my red hoody over my damp black curls and resumed my mindless staring.
I was numbly aware of a warmth beside me. I reluctantly tore my eyes off the racing raindrops. The one of the left HAD been winning... 3

I jumped when I saw him. How could I have not heard him sit down to my right? I wasn't even listening to music! Either I was really spaced out or he was really stealthy.
He was gorgeous (and probably had like five girlfriends) with black shaggy hair complete with red and orange streaks. His deep, dark brown eyes were staring at me while I stared at him. His lips twisted into a sympathetic smile.4

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. His face fell a little and he bit his lip at my startled expression.
" I'm good at creeping up on people but, I really didn't mean to scare you like that.." 5

He was smiling again with an almost evil glint in his eyes, probably caused by my now amused face. I then noticed it was he who was so warm that i could feel it through my sweater. I decided not to mention it but I had to break the staring contest. The evil look in his eyes hadn't gone anywhere and was scaring me. I looked down at my lap. Wow who knew jeans were so interesting. My bangs were in my eyes so it was hard to see anyway. A haircut would be nice one of these days. My curly mop needed to be tamed.6

I was surprised I could hear him chuckling it was so quiet but I was very alert now after being super freaked out a minute earlier.
He bravely reached out to fix my bangs but I wasn't as alert as I thought I was so I jumped again throwing myself into the window. I had some interesting bruises after that.7

My eyes were wild and most likely enormous. They were glued once more to his cautious face. He held my gaze fearlessly, which I thought was strange considering he kept freaking me out. Tiny shivers were starting to crawl through my sweater from the cold window. He noticed too- also surprising.
Without breaking his gaze he grabbed one of my small hands. I didn't flinch this time but heat was spreading through me as fast as the confusion. It was starting to burn so I pulled my hand away.
He cursed silently under his breath but i still heard it. I pulled my knees up to my chest. Who ever he was, he was not someone i ever wanted to see again. 8

He slid out of the seat and off the bus as silently as he came. All that I heard was the WHOOSHING of the door and its close. One part of me wanted to grab his hand, keep him here, feel the heat again. It was almost addicting... that was the scary part. He was the scary part. He must have been two years older than my mere 15 at least. A good five inches taller too. Very intimidating. So then why was there ANY part of me that wanted him to stay? Perhaps I was lingering on the edge of insanity? Possible considering its me we're talking about.9

I shook my head to clear the thought. I, Freedom Rose Eastwood would not see this guy ever again. 'Much better,' I thought to myself. The bus was slowing down for about the thirteenth time and I realized this was my stop. I jumped up faster than I would have thought possible, pulled the stupid yellow signal cord and stepped across the aisle to the back door. It hissed open as the bus stopped completely and I wondered out into the miserable mist. 10

The rain and my hair were worst enemies. The frizz I had to deal with after - not pretty, let me tell you. It takes about a week to get the tangles out. To avoid frizz central I scurried home as fast as I could without tripping in my oh-so-practical shoes. They felt a size to big, but the girl at the store said they were perfect...People.11

I must have been two blocks away from my house when the familiar song- my cell ring- went off. A quick look at Caller ID told me I didn't know them. I flipped my phone up to answer. 12

"Hello?" I said hesitantly to the person on the other end.13

"Hi, uh is Freedom there?" it was a guy's voice. One I recognized.. from the bus. How the hell did he get my number?????14

"Ya this is my cell... who the hell are you? I know its the guy from the bus... but " He cut me off before i could say anything else.15

"Ya I'm sorry. I just needed to say that. My name is Blaze by the way..."16

I thought about that for a second. His name seemed ironic to me .It also seemed like he wasn't telling me something.17

"And you got my number how???" I was kind of in shock from the whole thing still.18

" I know your friend, Hope...not from school though. Just the coffee shop. She most willingly surrendered your number. I'm sorry. Look I should let you go now," he said slowly at first, then playfully by the end.19

"I'm not surprised it was her.." I muttered. " And yes going. good idea... please don't call again," I pleaded. With a sigh and a final goodbye, he hung up. Relief flooded me as if it ran in my veins. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and took off running down the street.20

I didn't know the reason for my hurry but, for some reason I really wanted to get off the street. Maybe it was the anxiety swirling in my stomach. These were not just butterflies instead something much less graceful. Like a duckling jumping in a puddle. Not pleasant. 21

As I walked hastily toward the Violet Hill sign, where I would turn onto my street I felt not watched but stalked. This made me trip over my quickly stepping feet multiple times. Stupid shoes...
I managed to get to my front step without falling on my face. Getting my keys out of my pocket was another story. Once my hands were gripped around them, in my hurry to get them in the door I threw them up into the air a little. I caught them as they nearly hit the ground and fidgeted to get them into the lock. Why is getting a thin piece of metal into a bigger piece of metal so hard? 22

The door swung open unexpectedly as i finally got the keys in and turned, making me stumble. I slammed the door behind me and then I felt safe. My shoes made a - THUNK - as they hit the wall. My mother always had a fit when she saw me kick them off like that.
The kitchen seemed like a good place to go next. I opened the fridge, took a quick look around and closed it unsatisfied. There was never any food in this house...
The door bell rang, echoing through the empty house. I jumped of course and tip-toed over to the door. I opened it cautiously to find my neighbour Mr. Kowalski holding up my keys.23

"Ms. Freedom, you seem to have left your keys in the door. Here," he handed me the keys. I tried my best not to snatch them too quickly but I was really creeped out now. Laughing nervously I thanked him quickly and shut the door.
I scampered up the stairs and slipped into the room at the end of the hall. My headphones would keep me company now. Finding them would be fun considering they were lost in the clutter called me desk. Then, I would have to untangle the stupid cords..
Undoing the knots my headphones got into always made me feel stupid. With such a thin cord it was hard to grasp properly. A couple swear words later my headphones were over my ears blasting some heavy metal. I curled into a ball on my bed pulling my covers over my head. Before closing my eyes I shot a glance at my mirror. I could have sworn His face was there. Within a blink the mirror held only my face partially covers by blankets. I sighed and shut my eyes letting the music bring me into unconsciousness. I would regret it the next day but for now i felt safe.