Two

Cai knows beautiful.

She had seen beautiful colors, dresses, scenes, posters, pictures. She had heard beautiful music and poems. She had had a greater fill of beauty than the average person.

But right then, she had seen a beauty she had never known could exist.

The boy standing in front of every awestruck teenager in that room was like a god. It seemed as if he could rule the world, and it wouldn't matter whether he started a World War III or preserved all wildlife, or whether he fixed the economy to perfection or if he let it crash to hopelessness. He was tan. A perfect tan with no strange tan lines like most the pale guys in town that tried too hard. His brown hair stuck up into spikes. His clothes were perfectly fit for his cool air. They fit loosely, but not overly so, and his shirt was nice and un-stained. And he was surprisingly tall, too.

But his face was the most mesmerizing thing about him. Smooth, Asian features and flawless skin. His lips and nose were rather big, but not really bad. A crescent-shaped scar that said, "I might be a bad boy or I might just be protective," was under his right eye. His eyes, though... to Cai, his eyes were unforgiving in a wonderful, enchanting way.

"Well, Michael, how about you take the seat beside Cai?" Cai blushed as he said her name and pointed to her. Then she thought, Wow. He's hot, cool, and he sits at a table full of girls already! Then her thoughts stopped as he walked toward her table, books in hand. She turned back to look at her own spot. All that was there was the little pink case she carried her art supplies around in. She had ripped off all of the sequins and safety-pinned the handle back on. She quickly threw it on her lap, hiding it under the table, and looked down to avoid eye contact. She felt his eyes on her and glanced to the side without moving her head, to make sure her hair was covering her face. She heard the chair right beside her slide across the floor...

"'Kay, guys!" Mr Gardner said. "We're watching a movie today. Get out a piece of paper. I want ten facts about Eastern Asia by the end of the hour!" Most of the class groaned, forgetting about the god that entered the class. Cai tore a piece of paper out of her trapper and unzipped her pencil from her bag. It was an old, gray mechanical pencil that she got last year. The back part was lost (and so was the eraser) and part of it was taped. The gel grip was ripped and she was constantly pushing it back up to it's original place. She also carried a big, cream-colored eraser that was ripped in half (so the two pieces), a blending tool, a big graphite pencil, 0.5 lead, and lip balm in that dirty little bag that was made out of a zipper. She slouched over her paper and looked at the television screen, hiding her face even more from Michael. The video took all hour, and was a real drag, but once Cai had ten facts down, she settled and spaced out.

She wondered about her manga only shortly before the class ended. She threw her things in her locker and quickly ran downstairs to the library. She helped out there all of second hour, and it was almost a free hour for her. She quickly straightened and shelved books in her small section, and then bounced back to the comfy chair behind the counter. She settled herself in and opened her book to read. She could finally read in peace. The library was usually the only place she could really forget her problems and engross herself in a book. She had a hard time reading at home, unless it was one of the best books she had ever read. So she read for about thirty minutes until the librarians interrupted her.

"Cai," Mrs. Draper said. "Mrs. Mahin and I are going to run a few things over to the high school. Can you watch the library for us?"

"Sure," Cai said. They walked out and left Cai all alone. She didn't really mind, though. She liked it being completely quiet. About five minutes later, she heard the door open, but she didn't look up. It's just Isabella. Cai thought. She comes in every day. She kept reading and left bookmark when a copy of Lord of the Flies was pushed in front of her. She looked up and froze. Michael stood there, staring at her with those dark brown eyes. His eyebrows were even, though his eyes showed a challenge. Cai looked down, swallowed her feelings, and scanned the card, the book, and then stamped it. She held it out without looking up. He did not take it. Her eyes flicked up to see if he was still there. She held the book out farther, but he still did not take it. She got annoyed and looked up to say, "Take the freaking book, already!" but ended up choking on her words as she looked into his eyes.

Then, suddenly, Michael was pressing his face into the crook of her neck. Cai was paralyzed. She didn't know what had happened or why he was doing it, and she had no idea how to react, other than to sit there in shock. She tried to say something, but once again only choked on the words. She felt Michael breath deeply through his nose, taking in her scent, and then hot breath over her neck as he let the air out through his mouth. He paused and then slowly withdrew.

Cai still did not know what to say, except for, "W-wha...?" Michael looked into her eyes. She saw the slight happiness and -- something she never thought she'd see -- fear in those deep, dark gems.

"You smell nostalgic." He said so quietly, Cai wasn't sure she heard him right.

Then, he walked away.

One

Miina swung into the car after her sister and brother, plopping herself onto the last seat left. She tapped her foot, hungry as hell. She was obviously eager to get to the Mexican Place (as everyone called it, instead of what it was really called). She looked over at her sister, who was only a year older than her, thirteen. She wore a black and white checkered mini skirt, black leggings, a black, too-big button-up shirt, and an old white belt around her waist. No makeup, though. She's allergic, which pissed her off. She flicked her long, black, silky and straight hair out of her eyes and caught Miina looking. She turned her head and smiled. It was fake, though. A fake smile. Miina stared intently at Cai until she looked down at her sketchbook, tugging on her sleeves. Miina sighed and checked Cai's twin brother, Reizo. He was calm, cool, and collected, just like his name claimed. The only part of his name he didn't follow was the well-groomed part. His brown hair was messy and he wore casual jeans and a white shirt with a black outline of a singer on the front. Their parents sat in the front, looking... well... parent-ly. They chatted for a moment and then their dad clicked a remote, closing the garage door, and pulling out of the driveway.

Life was the same, and boring.

Cai stared helplessly down at her sketchbook. She had gotten into a rare fight with Miina. They were normally happy sisters together, but Miina had seen Cai with a knife. Miina knew her sister inside out (disturbing as it sounds), and Miina definitely didn't want Cai cutting herself anymore. Cai stole a glance at Reizo. His eyes flicked to her and then back outside. He was angry, too, though you couldn't tell unless you looked into his eyes, and, well, could read eyes. Cai blushed and stared at her sketchbook again.

Reizo glared through his window. Why does she have to hurt herself? He thought. It annoyed him, because she knew he and Miina worried. Their parents -- amazingly -- didn't know about it. He wished she would learn to deal with her problems so she wouldn't harm anyone -- especially herself.

All three sat in silence as their parents rambled on to each other. Cai kept tapping her finger until Reizo reached over and put his hand on it to stop her. He had acute hearing and it bothered him, sometimes, when she did small things like that. The small noises are the ones that really ring out. Cai bit the inside of her lip and stopped moving her finger. Reizo pulled his hand back into his bubble and continued glaring in silence.

Things stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. Even when they were at the restaurant. The drive home was killing Cai. She was desperate to get back into her own space. Her own room on her laptop and be lost in the world of the internet and her drawings and music. The silence between them was crushing, until their mom yelled, "Look out!" And the car screeched. Everyone gasped as they were flung to the side. Cai caught a flash of white outside the window before she grabbed Miina and hid her under her arm. She heard a small bump! The car spun once more, and then stopped. Everyone was breathing deeply. Miina was shaking under Cai's arm, and Reizo had pinned himself still to where the door met the seat, a shocked look on his face. Their parents looked around quickly.

"Are you guys alright?" They said.

They nodded, though Miina was still shaking.

"What happened?" Reizo asked. His voice was steady.

"There was a white dog in the middle of the road!" Their father said, running a hand through his long black hair. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to compose himself. Their mother closed her hazel eyes and took deep breaths. A few cars beeped as they passed. There would no doubt be rumors the next day. In a town of 5,000, news travels fast. After a few minutes, they were ready to continue home.

* * *

Cai hopped into the hot shower. It felt great. She let her arms hang at her side and let the water run over her for a while, and then set to cleaning herself. She always did it in a certain order. Hair, face, shave, body. When she rubbed her arms with soap, she flinched and gasped. The earlier cuts stung hard. She tried to ignore them. She stepped out of the shower and toweled off. When she sat in front of her computer to check her mail, she thought she heard a wolf howl. She paused her music to listen, but only heard the usual noises from around the house. She replayed the spot in her song to see if she had missed it before, but she didn't hear it again. She finally just passed it as in her head. After all, a lone wolf howling on a full moon night? Too ironic. Too dramatic. Too... random!

* * *

Cai walked into school a bit late. She realized it when she saw that her ex-boyfriend and friend had already gotten there. Their spot was behind the "Pop machines" (which actually only gave water, juice, and gatorade) in the corner. It was nice, because it wasn't really out in the open. (Though there were a few times they really hurt themselves with two walls in the same small space). Willie was sitting on the bench in the corner, as always. Tobi was sitting on the ground where the water machine and the wall met -- as always. Willie looked up and then down at his lap again. He hardly ever talked. Tobi finished the picture she was drawing as Cai swung her bag under the bench.

"Caicai!" Tobi chanted. "Read this!" She shoved a short fan comic into Cai's face. Cai took it and read it eagerly. Tobi always made funny comics that cheered people up on bad days. But the only people that it cheered up were nerds like them. No one else would even get it. Cai smiled as she read and then cried with laughter at the end, falling to her knees. Willie looked down at her with a straight face. May came up behind her and stared down, smiling confusedly.

"Oh... kay... then..." Tobi handed her the comic and she started laughing, too.

"How're your cuts?" Tobi asked. Cai rolled up the sleeves of her faded pink jacket and showed her.

"Still open, but not bleeding." The cuts were red and itchy, but they weren't messy. The bell rang all too soon, and they had to part to head for first hour. Cai stuffed her bag into her locker and reached for her social studies book. She heard the loud popular people talking to each other, and something made her eavesdrop.

"... new kid?" She heard.

"Ooh, is it a guy?"

"Is he hot?"

"Dunno, I just heard about it yesterday while I was getting stuff from the office. They were talking about how the kid lives alone!"

"Alone?"

"Wow! So cool!"

"I hope he's hot!"

So there's a new kid. Woo hoo. Cai thought sarcastically. She altogether didn't care much because, honestly, if they were hot, there was a pretty good chance she would hardly get to know them. Besides, she wasn't interested in love, only something to decorate the room to make it less drab.

She pushed her way through the crowd and stumbled into social studies. She dropped her things on my desk and sat down, head on her arms. Not many people talked to her in social studies, unless Courtney needed help with homework, or something. Cai busied herself putting her things under her desk. While the teacher talked.

"Class, we have a new student today. Please welcome Mr. Michael Wolf." Cai looked up, curious to see if there would be another popular conman.

But no. What she saw, was something unlike anything she imagined.