Fire and Ice: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Blood


I opened my eyes and saw nothing but Kai; my best friend supposedly. No, I was his best friend. I will always be his best friend. Kai held my hand and I felt the stabbing pain of coldness coming to me, but it somehow felt enjoyable. As long as I was with Kai, he would protect me. Kai was my protector, my guardian angel, my…hero. But then I opened my eyes and realized it was all a dream. Yet I grasped the fact it was my first dream other than my parents murder. I cried still, tears of joy.


****


"So how do you like school so far?" Henry asked me as we drove to school.

"I…like it," I smiled.

"Very funny," he said thinking it was my usual sarcasm.

"I'm not trying to be funny." I said briefly. Henry looked at me as if I were crazy. Maybe I freaking am.

"Alright then," he paused. "Does this Kai have something to do with this?" he sarcastically smirked.

"Hen, do you really wanna talk about boys? And honestly, he's my friend; I only met him yesterday. Gosh!"

"Okay, okay." He grinned. He pulled into the school and saw the senseless carpool once again. Something did catch my eye once we got closer to the curb: Kai waiting by the adhesive stairs. Kai recognized the Camry and started waving. I blushed.

"Right here's fine," I said to Henry and got out of his car.

"Do you want a ride lat-?"

"Kai said he'll give me a ride. See you later!" I smiled and waved to my brother. I caught up with Kai and started to blush. I told him so many things yesterday. He probably said those things to make me feel like I wasn't a total loser.

"Hey!" he said excitedly.

"Hi," I smiled. We walked into the doors and saw the wandering eyes. Everyone was looking at us. I was mortified. Suddenly, Kai put his arm around me. I felt…cold, but in a good way. Kai exactly wasn't a power source, but he was just a good friend. "Everyone's staring," I whispered to him.

"Yeah, I know." He whispered in my ear. I felt all tingly inside; Kai was only a few inches away from kissing me. But alas, he moved his head and waved to a friend.
"So Kai, about yesterday," I paused and flushed. "All those things we said…"

"I know, it was kinda weird; but in the end, we're friends! Right?"

"Best friends." I said fairly red-faced. Kai smiled and we walked to class. Who knew we had the same homeroom? I guess I didn't notice yesterday. I mean sure, I was a little nervous, but I would have surely seen him. I sat in my seat and he went to the back of the room to do the same. Misty came in and immediately ran up to me.

"Well, what happened?!" she nearly screamed at me. Jennifer's followers ran up to me as well, wanting the four-one-one if Kai and I were really going out.

"Look, Kai and I are not going out. We're just…" I hesitated. "Good friends." I looked down. The followers just went back to their seats, and envied me some more (I could tell). I smiled.

"Good morning class!" Ms. Shay said while walking through the door.


****


A half hour passed by while Ms. Shay talked about how we're going to begin reading Romeo and Juliet. But the worse part about this was I've already read the book. Three times! But the really worse part of all of this, we had another twenty minutes of her lecture.

"Psst!" the boy next to me, Jeremy, said. "Here, it's for you." He whispered. I grabbed the folded piece of paper from him, but wondered who it was from him. Oh wait…duh…

Hey…this is f-ed up! Kai wrote to me.

No duh… I wrote back to him. I folded it back up and kicked it on the floor, aiming for him.

Hey, is it okay if my friend Zeke sits with us at lunch?

I don't see a reason why not…

Cool…this is gonna sound really random, but do you think Misty likes Zeke?

Promise you won't tell…anyone?

Cross my heart, till I die.

Yes! She told me she kinda stalks him…LOL.

Wow, I didn't see that coming.

No one did >

'LOL…' was his final note until the bell rang. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. I walked with Misty to math and waited for lunch. Math was easy and English was a breeze. And before I knew it, it was lunch time. Misty and I sat at the same lunch table from yesterday. I looked around and waited for Kai.

"Looking for someone?" she asked me sarcastically.

"N-no," I gazed down and blushed. "Well…yeah,"

"Kai?"

"And…um…Zeke," I half smiled. Misty looked as if she just saw a ghost. "What, I thought you liked Zeke?"

"I do," she said nervously. "But I didn't think he'd tag along!"

"Oh," I frowned. The cafeteria's doors opened once again, and saw Kai walk with such grace. Zeke was at his side, just walking and talking. Zeke had red hair and brown shinny eyes. No wonder why Misty likes him; Zeke's hot! "I'm really sorry, Misty,"

"It's okay, I'll try to survive." She gulped. Kai recognized me, and literally ran up to me while I was in line for lunch.

"Hi," he said inches away from my mouth…once more.

"H-hi," I nearly chocked just realizing he was there.

"So…you a vegetarian or something?" he said as he pointed to my salad. I laughed. He laughed.

"No, no. I didn't wanna die from the food their serving." I chuckled. I paid for lunch, Kai followed me, and we found Misty and Zeke laughing and talking to each other. I smiled.

"Hey guys!" Misty said in enjoyment. Kai pulled out my chair for me and I sat down. I felt like a princess. Kai sat next to me and put his very lite backpack on the table getting his lunch and plastic bag out. I began to eat and noticed Kai putting his things in the plastic bag, on his lunch. They were little circular pill like things. They were red and liquid like; medicine, maybe? Misty and Zeke just kept talking and I felt like I didn't know what was happening. Was Kai a druggy or something?

"So there Kai and I were," Zeke told his story to Misty. "We were just standing in line at Starbucks, and then suddenly-!" Zeke was cutoff because of Kai's cry in pain. He screamed with such agony. We didn't understand. Suddenly, red ooze dripped from Kai's mouth. I felt chills all over. I also felt the miserable cries from my parents. I didn't follow what was happening.

"Kai, what's tha-" I tried to say, but it was too late. Kai ran out of the lunchroom with the red droplets coming from his lips. They left a trail everywhere. I kneeled down on the floor and placed my finger against the red fluid; blood. Zeke looked horrified yet he looked as if he'd seen this before.

"Zeke, do you-"

"I-I better go help him," he grabbed his and Kai's stuff and left in a hurry.

"What was that all about?" Misty said as she came up behind me.

"I'm not sure, Misty, but I'm gonna find out." I whispered.


****


The final bell rang rung before I knew it. But at the same time, all I could think about was Kai. What happened to him? I haven't seen him since lunch. He obviously missed art. And I haven't seen him since; which means I don't have a ride. Damn it!
   
"So what do you think happened to Kai?" Misty asked me as we walked out the doors.

"I'm not sure. It happened so fast." I moped.

"It looked like he bit his tongue,"

"I don't think so; did you see all that blood? It couldn't have."

"So what are you gonna do, a ride that is?" Misty asked me curiously.

"I'm not sure, call my brother, I guess." I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and pressed Henry's number in.

"Hey, Hazel," Misty said anxiously and poked me.

"Hang on, Mist,"

"But, look," she pointed over to Kai standing by his car. What? No, it couldn't be. Where had he been all this time?

"Um…I…uh," I blushed and was completely chaotic. He walked toward me and I almost fainted. I felt a breeze of warmth.

"I'll see you later, Hazel; have a good weekend!" she called out to me as she walked away and saw her ride. Misty! You just had to leave me!

"Hey," Kai said.

"Wh-what happened to you earlier?" I asked without thinking. He smiled.

"Nothing, just a bloody accident." He laughed.

"I'll say," I just stared down at me Vans.

"You still want a ride?" Kai touched my arm and I completely blushed.

"Um…s-sure," I half smiled. He unlocked his car and I got in. I put my stuff down then tried to relax.

"You okay, you seem a lil'…"

"Worried, anxious, flabbergasted? I know, I am." I said tried not to flush.
   
"Hazel, I understand that you might be confused about earlier," Kai started and I looked at him in the corner of my eye. "I…I really wish I could tell you," he squeezed his grip on the steering wheel. I felt another breeze, but this time it was cold. I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to somehow calm him. I really wish he could tell me what was happening.

"I…um, kinda, saw you put some kind of pill, or something on your lunch. Did that have anything to with it, the-the blood?" I put my hand near my mouth.

"…" he started the engine and sighed. "…yeah, it does." He pulled out and got on the road. I felt so weird, like I needed to know what was happening and why.

"So…where were you, after lunch, I mean?" I asked interestedly.
  
"Clinic, like I said, bloody accident." He focused on the road. Something was different with Kai. He seemed…angry.

"Oh, right." I tried to talk to him. Something was very wrong. He didn't seem like himself. I really wished I had other powers; like reading minds for instance. That'd be so awesome!

"Hazel?" Kai asked as we drove.

"Yeah…"

"Could we talk about something else? Something that doesn't involve…" he trailed off still angry.

"Blood?" I asked wondering. Does it bother him?

"Yeah," he kept gripping the wheel. I had to do something; he was so annoyed for some God awful reason. I unbuckled my seatbelt and Kai noticed. "What-what are you doing Hazel?"

"Changing the subject," I moved closer to him, no gaps between us. Score! I rubbed his cheek and kept flushing. I felt him breathe deeply and also felt his heart racing. I hope I wasn't potentially hurting him in some way. After a while, we finally got to my house. But the unbearable part of this whole mess was that it started to rain as soon I got out of his classy car.

"THIS IS JUST PERFECT!!!" I screamed in fury. My hair was damp and my backpack was soaked. This was the most impeccable day of my whole life. Kai parked his car and jumped out to help me. He grabbed my stuff and we just ran to the door drenched in what I like to call "Henry's ecstasy." He handed my saturated backpack and I got out my keys and unlocked the door.

"Make yourself at home," I smiled. I headed for upstairs to change and let Kai alone. I quickly changed out of my sopping clothes and put on some sweats. How I hated the cold. I headed back downstairs and found Kai looking at an old photo album. It was filled with pictures of my deceased parents. I went into the kitchen and made us something hot to eat. I went back into the living room, with my hands filled with hot chocolate. I sat down and handed Kai his mug.

"Are-are they your…"

"Parents? Yes," I gazed down into my mug feeling the steam, which you I utterly love.

"I am sorry," he put down the album and looked around. He could only see the quantities of boxes everywhere. "I know this is very personal, but, may I ask how they…" he looked at me in inquisitiveness. Why was I the one he had an interest in? What made me so extraordinary, that made him even more interested in me? I sighed and came up with an excuse, like usual.

"They died in a car accident," I sighed once again.

"…" he watched me in amazement. "You're so strong,"

"I know," I looked away. Kai picked the album back up and turned the page. He found an old picture of Henry and I, when were where Scarlet and Jackie.

"What happened to you?" he said in disgust. His face turned white and stroked the picture of Scarlet, a.k.a. me.

"What do you mean?"

"You-you looked so different. What happened?"

"I-I don't know. At the time, I had a whole new perspective, I guess."

"That's cool, it's just, I never imagined you…looking so different." He to some extent blushed. I took his reply as a complement and turned the page. My parents. "What me to turn the page?"

"…" I had to face the fact that they were dead. And I couldn't hide it anymore. "No," I half smiled. In the picture, they were so happy. I remembered when Henry/Jackie took the photo; our usual summer vacation. Kai looked at the picture and looked back at me.

"Hmm…"

"What?" I asked.

"You have her eyes," he blushed as he touched my cheek. I blushed. I gazed at my mother and saw her eyes. I never noticed we had the same color eyes; the cool crisp shade of sapphire. I smiled brightly. But then realized that my color my eyes, were just contacts. Since Henry and I had to change our appearances years ago. I just never paid attention to my mother's eye color. And who would have ever thought I would choose that same shade of blue?
  
"I-I do," I realized. Kai pulled back from me and looked repulsed again.

"I'll be right back!" he called out and ran to the lavatory. I pointed the direction to it just in case. I went back to looking at my mother and noticing my somewhat genetic eyes. I just never really observed. I just gazed at my happy parents. I missed them, obviously. I missed my mother's hippie personality and long flowing golden hair; while on the other hand, I unexploited my father's love for us and his sense of humor.

Cough, cough!

"Huh?" I turned around and heard the deafening coughs. Was it Kai? He had been in the bathroom for a while. Was he okay? I got up and went the bathroom and knocked the door.

"Kai? Are you okay in there?" I asked nicely.

"Yeah…it's all good!" he said happily through the door (the fake kind of happy). I heard him cough up a lung again and I couldn't bare it anymore. "Kai, I-I'm coming in!"

"N-no, don't, Hazel!" he replied and I ignored him. I twisted the knob and found Kai on the bathroom floor looking as if he'd just thrown up. I got on the floor and put my hand on his cheek.

"What-are-I don't understand. You were just fine. What happened? Are you sick?" I stuttered. He was very, very pale.

"I…I…" he trailed off in a slur. I felt his head, he felt fine…but he just looked awful. "I'm fine," he smiled kind of.

"You are not!" I got up and pulled him up. He was a little woozy, but he was fine. I pulled off his jacket and put a damp towel on his face. "This'll cool you off," I tried to grin.

"No!" he swung the cold cloth away. "I don't want…the cold," he said in a chill. I felt horrible for trying to help him; I was only making it worse.

"How does my skin feel to you?" I asked.

"What?" he said confused.

"My skin, is it warm to you?" I said and blushed. He touched my hand and was in total bliss. I'm like the sun. I'm always hot even when I don't feel like it. Kai pulled my hand to his face and stroked it. I felt totally awkward yet entirely flattered.

"How are you so warm?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, I guess that's just a me thing," I smirked. Kai also smiled and pulled me closer. I was suddenly in Kai's arms feeling his cold, cold skin. "Kai, you're so…cold," I said sadly.

"I know, that's just me." He said and drawing me even closer. I was only inches away from Kai's lips again. How I wanted his lips on mine. But unexpectedly, I felt a cold feeling near my neck and only felt Kai's breath…