This Is Where I Want To Be

4. They Meet

Chris

After calling the girl a second time, I was joking with my friend about something he had said in the break room. I wasn’t focused and didn’t notice who walked up to us. He pointed towards the aisle, “Here she is.” I was a little ticked off that I had to go all the way there and run after her, entirely forgetting we were in her debt. I swung my shoulder in the direction he was gesturing. Nothing could’ve prepared me for being so close to the… Not a girl, but a woman, standing in front of me. It was her… I stared and speechlessly followed as she walked out the door, glad someone was using their brain.

She kept going while I tried to think of something to say; talking to her about money seemed like the last thing I should do. I don’t know how long we stood there, me staring at her pretty lips, her avoiding my eyes. Again, it seemed like she had to muster up some courage before lifting her head. She finally did, and my breath caught as our eyes locked like magnets, searching, clinging to the moment we had both longed for. She was only an arm’s length, and her icy blue eyes pulled me in as if being close to each other was normal. Her scent had become so familiar to me. I wanted to remember that moment forever. I probably will.

I tried to speak, but everything seemed trivial. I didn’t want to sound like a teacher either or even worse, an elder speaking to a young person. Damn, was I that old that I couldn’t talk to the opposite sex anymore? Nervously, I uttered, “Juliet?” That made her smile. Little mischievous lines formed from her nose to the corners of her mouth. She shouldn’t have done that. It took all my willpower not to fall at her feet, begging her to be mine. The vision of me in the dirt in front of her didn’t bother me. After Sita, I felt I would never beg anyone to love me again. Juliet—I rolled the name around—might make me.

I was hoping for some type of reprieve and consequently clenched my fist around the sheet of paper in my hand; feeling it crinkle, distracted me for a moment. I looked at it again, repeating her name slowly… “Ju…liet Farrow?” My eyes lifted to ensure I needed to ask my girl for money. Repeating her name a second time made the corners of her mouth lift again. I felt stupid only speaking, but then red blotches caught my attention, spreading across her chest and neck. She was blushing. I was not the only one feeling stupid. Our meeting was embarrassing her. The red kept moving deep into her cheeks.

Frowning, I tried to understand the girl. Why was she embarrassed? She folded her arms over her chest. I smiled and chuckled. Embarrassed but still tried to keep face. Her jaw flexed, gritting her teeth. I didn’t want to embarrass her. I wanted to tell her how beautiful she was and that it didn’t matter… It didn’t look stupid or childish. It made her whole face light up. She was cute, biting her bottom lip between her teeth. The gesture fixed my eyes in place. My thoughts moved from kneeling in front of her to kissing her, and the image of me dragging her mouth onto mine made me glance away, clearing my throat. Talking about money was better than lusting, I supposed.

“Juliet, I know we don’t know each other at all, and you haven’t had any classes with me, but I have to talk to you about something.” She said nothing, so I continued, “I oversee the final sports gathering at the end of the term. With that came the responsibility of asking someone for help. Aa… sponsorship. To make the school aesthetics a little better. A lot of schools are coming to participate.”

It was like she wasn’t listening to me, but I had to keep going, “The bleacher on the upper field needs a do-over or even replacement. I hoped you could talk to your dad and get him to help.”

After my speech, I felt horrible. That was not how I imagined our first meeting going. Juliet’s eyes shot up when my words sunk in. Her arms dropped spontaneously. I couldn’t discern what was written on her face, but she seemed to relax. A heavy breath let her shoulders lower even more. “So, you wanted to talk to me about money?” She bobbed her head, answering her own question. Juliet drew in an overdue breath, “I can ask him… My dad. I think he will help.”

“If you could give him this quotation from the supplier,” I stopped talking to remove the paper from my pants pocket. Handing it to her, she took it quickly, grasping only the outer edge of the paper, making sure not to let our fingers touch. That slight reluctance unnerved me. I wasn’t lusting anymore because she wanted nothing to do with me. Avoiding my eyes, then my touch. Avoiding me at the sports grounds. Even some assemblies. Not coming to see me that day. Did I really have this… all wrong?

“I will go now, Sir,” Juliet said, stepping away, suggesting that the conversation was over. She wanted to leave…? I heard myself say that there was something else I needed to discuss with her. There was no way I was letting her go like that. We had been stealing glances and searching for each other for months, and what? Nothing? It was not how that moment would end. Fed up with my life, I dug deep for some courage; I was a man, after all. Thinking about everything brought me back to the fact that I had to go all the way there to talk to her. I was reminded of what Carl had said, “I don’t think she would believe us if we told her you were looking for her.” It kept going around and around in my mind.

“Why didn’t you come and see me earlier today?” I blurted out.

Her posture changed so quickly, folding her arms over her chest in a defensive stance. She looked away and said, “I’m sorry. Carl did tell me, but I forgot. I got so busy, and it slipped my mind. It won’t happen again, sir.”

For crying out loud, the “sir” again. The word went right up my spine. A little too much emphasis there, probably to push me away. Getting back at her, I said, “That is not what Carl said this morning. He said you would not believe him if they told you I wanted to see you. Why is that… Juliet?” I emphasized her name a little more than I should have, closing the gap she was creating between us. Again, red spread over her skin. I jerked my head back in surprise. How could anyone be so easily embarrassed? What was going on?

She cut off my thinking, moving past me, saying, “Oh, he is never serious about anything. Forget about it.”

From, I don’t know where… I grabbed her wrist, feeling even that tiny distance too intensely. The idea of her leaving was too much. Juliet was trying to pull her arm free. Stunned at my own actions, I wanted to let her go. She was yanking her arm. My fingers clasped instinctively over her wrist until she knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She spun around, looking at my hand on her wrist. I was bracing for her death stare. The one that could put anyone in their place. I smiled, thinking about it. I would take it. Anything but letting go. Our eyes met. Instead of disgust, hers were filled with fear. Panic etched on her features. Her head shook slightly, “No, no, no! Not now! Why did you touch me?” Her words packed a punch, and they hurt my feelings. She didn’t want me to touch her. I had violated her space. Pained, I reluctantly let go of her. “That’s not what I meant!” Her words came out exasperated. She grabbed my hand and held it in hers. We stood there like that for a moment. My eyes were on the feeling of her desperately clutching onto me. Whatever was going on had nothing to do with me. She jerked away and disappeared right in front of me. Gone into thin air. In disbelief, I closed my eyes, shaking my head. I stood there and risked a peek. She was still not... there. The space she had occupied moments ago was empty. I had my answer… I was not expecting that. Dumbfounded, I glanced around, and at the class door, fearful someone might have seen what happened. The wall was covered in windows, but they were all high up because it was a science lab. No one could have seen anything.

I turned stupidly in a circle. “What just happened? Where the hell did she go?” The bell rang, and students appeared in the doorway, leaving me standing there, trying to keep my composure yet slowly losing it on the inside, holding on by a thread.

Carl and Charlene came over. “Where is Juliet?” Charlene asked.

I didn’t know. How was I supposed to know? The petrified look on Juliet’s face before disappearing made me shake my head. When I spoke, my voice sounded tight even to me, “She… had to go to the bathroom.” I cleared my throat. Not convincing at all.

Carl and Charlene scrutinized me, “I will take her bag,” Charlene said skeptically, as if she suspected there was more I wasn’t saying. She wasn’t wrong. There was a whole lot I wasn’t saying. “Usually, she meets up with us at the south gate.”

I faked a smile and bobbed my head nervously, “If she comes back to class, I’ll tell her… I’m waiting for Mr. Schneider anyway,” I said quickly to make them move along.

“Thanks, Mr. Rheed.” They both smiled and left with the rest of the crowd.

When all the students were out of sight, I hurried to the side of the building to hide until my friend left for the day. It took a while until I at last heard the key turn in the lock. He took the few steps down from the corridor onto the ground. I rested my head on the wall, peering at the sky, waiting for his footfall to disappear completely. I closed my eyes, contemplating my options. Waiting. Still amazed at what had happened.

I slowly walked over to where we stood earlier, searching the ground for clues… footprints… or dimensional portals that opened in the meantime. I waited some more, hoping Juliet would appear again. Frustrated, I stretched my arm out in front of me, feeling the air like I was searching. All of it felt strangely familiar… I turned slowly in a circle. My palms moved up and down like I would find her if I tried hard enough.

***

Juliet

I had mixed feelings when Chris began speaking to me about the sponsorship. I was relieved he didn’t foolishly start flirting with me or making advances. His reaction to seeing me was as visceral as mine. Things between us had built up so much. We were already invested… Both of us didn’t really know what to do. I could feel myself wanting to manifest and disappear. I had to do all I could to keep myself under control. I tried to leave. Escape and get space from the situation. I felt stupid, blushing like a child…

Then he told me what Carl had done. I faltered at saying anything coherent after that. I had never been so angry at my best friend in the years we had known each other. Why would Carl say that to Chris? He could’ve been more specific. Idiot, I might have listened to them.

Done with the embarrassment! Done with the emotions! Knowing my vampire limitation, I needed to get out of there fast. Decided, I stomped off no matter what. Whether he had something to say or if he was my superior, I was leaving. It had been a long time since something like that had happened, and it was a very long time since I felt that out of control. I almost manifested when he grabbed my wrist. The touch of his skin on mine kindled every feeling it had to. Honed my senses to every movement of his fingers. It took all my faculties not to turn into a vampire. Something was going to happen, so I chose my ability rather than Chris seeing me like—that.

My back was turned to him, and I reacted by fighting to get loose. He didn’t let go, no matter how hard I tried. I was stuck… How could I explain it to him? When he let go, his eyes were full of hurt. I grabbed onto his hand, wanting the confusion between us gone… It was all a mess! We both disappear at the same time… Geeze! What the hell. I totally forgot I could do that… I yanked my hand away from him. The look on his face changed from confusion to… wtf. He couldn’t see me anymore. I was gone, and he was back in the real world.

Would Chris see the wonder in all of it? Or would he be disgusted when I tell him what I am? The fear was there that Chris would tell his wife or friend? But... he didn’t leave or freak out, pretending the best he could. I was holding my breath… I didn’t know him… Or how he would react to something supernatural. My whole life could have changed if I hadn’t handled it correctly. Carl and Charlene walked past. My two best friends didn’t even know about my ability, and I was scared about what they would say! The two most open-minded people I knew. We had been friends for so long, but it could all blow up with one simple manifestation. With his hands in his pockets and eyes cast to the ground, Chris waited for all the kids to disappear. He hid around the corner, resting his head against the wall, moving from side to side, muttering to himself. I wanted to put my head on his shoulder and tell him everything was okay… Like I did that day at the stream. He wasn’t freaked out then. It was maybe why I had faith in him… I couldn’t. I needed to wait. To see what he was going to come up with.

What he did next surprised me. He walked around the area where we were standing earlier, searching for clues. I didn’t understand what he thought he would see there. After that yielded no results, he took another moment to think. He stretched his arm out, moving it up and down and in a circle around him. A bark of laughter escaped me. He looked like a fool, feeling the air like that. Crazy even.

“Juliet, are you there?” He whispered.

I laughed even louder. My head suddenly snapped at a noise I heard in the distance... There was someone around the corner; leaves and twigs were snapping under feet. Seeing a movement, I hurried over to flush out whoever was there, spying on us. The spot was empty. I could clearly pick up a scent and in which direction they had gone. It even seemed vaguely familiar. I could’ve followed the person, but when I looked back at the useless human still feeling around like a crazy person, it pulled on my heartstrings. I felt terrible for laughing at him. He was worried about me, and I was concerned about him. He’s not going to say anything. Whoever was spying on us, though… either saw us vanishing or just Chris doing weird stuff.

Resigned, I disappeared and walked back over to him. With my emotions back under control, I had to decide if I would appear in front of him again or leave, waiting for another time to explain. I went to stand really close to him. His fingers raked through his hair, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Who would?”

It happened so fast. Chris stretched out one last time to see if he could find me. It resulted in his fingers touching my arm. He gasped, wide-eyed, quickly taking a firm hold of me, squeezing my flesh. His face lit up, “I knew it!”

“What the hell?” I yelled. I tried to get out of his grip—again. He didn’t let me go until I relaxed. Slowly, he slid his hand down my arm, “Juliet… I don’t know what’s going on….” Chris was going for my hand. My breath quickened. Too fast for him, I jumped away. It was getting way too real. Not only could I touch him, but he could find me, and he knew it.