Stranger

My head ached as I rolled down the window of the car, trying to take in as much fresh air as I possibly could. It was raining, of course. You could expect nothing less in Hilo, Hawaii. I closed my eyes, letting the little drops of condensation bead upon my sun kissed skin. My head pounded, no, throbbed as I quite literally banged my head against the headrest of the car. I looked out the window as my world raced by and wondered what I was getting myself into.

I felt a stare burning through the side of my head and turned to meet my father's agonized gaze. "Marli, honey, you don't have to go…" His voice broke off, it sounded like he was fighting back a hoarse sob. Ugh. I would never let myself live this down.

"I do dad, I really do. I'm sixteen. You and mom have made an informed decision about a topic I never agreed to."

Andrew turned back to the lonely road and did not answer me, ending that discussion. I sighed, turning back to my calling window and noticed the sun shining bright, even through the overcast. Ahhh, the sun. I loved the sun. Nothing better in the world. The sun reflected off the charm bracelet around my wrist, scattering tiny spots of light through out the car. I closed my eyes again, just for a second, feeling the warmth of the intense sun on my skin to only thrust them back open again when all I could see were the eyes of that stranger…

Those beautiful sparkling crimson eyes that I saw every time I slept, every time my eyes were hidden beneath my eyelids. It was like they were watching my every move, and even though I have never seen these eyes in my life—despite how badly I did want to see them one day—I was perfectly fine with that. It was nice having someone different watch me for a change. The dreams weren't bad ones, never bad ones. Those eyes . . . And the face that held them . . . How could they ever be bad? The deep crimson that glinted mesmerizingly with small tints of gold when he was happy or an amazing black when he was mad . . . His shaggy black hair that just fell in front of his eyes… None of that could ever be bad…

I could feel the lurch of the car and it threw me out of my daydream. My dread had begun. We were at the airport now, and I knew that I would soon be in Seattle, Washington with my twenty-four year-old sister, Emily. She didn't live in Seattle. In fact, she hated Seattle. Emily lived in La Push and I had to admit to myself, I was not looking forward to my stay there. I was only living with my sister and her husband, Sam, until I graduated, but that felt like an eternity away. Of course, I had my reasons for deciding that even though I might not like La Push, that it was the best place for me to be right now.

My parents lived in Hilo, and it was here where my mother got pregnant two months ago. It now was the beginning of August. Ana Young, my completely careless mother, was due in February. Which let me tell you, is half way through my junior year in high school, and if you think I was just going to sit back and watch casually as they ruined their lives, then you are very wrong. I was not going to let my parents even consider the thought about having me babysit the little thing. As soon as my parents broke the news to me, I was out of Hilo. The only other place that I could ever think of living was with my older sister in La Push.

The place that Emily called home was just as rainy as Hilo, which was fine, but all the sun was gone. My perfect mornings of waking up to the sun shining through my open window . . . I had to say good-bye to those mornings. Hilo, Hawaii is my hometown. I was born there and I lived there for sixteen years of my life. I love Emily so much, but I never visit her. She's the one who would decide to pay a visit to the Young household every now and again. I think I have stepped foot into La Push twice in my lifetime, and that probably hurts my sister.

I needed some confidence before I stepped out of the car. I closed my eyes, and looked straight into the eyes of my stranger. He looked back intensely, his eyes searching for an answer in mine and mine searching for the question in his. All of a sudden, something that never happened, not even in my sleep, did happen. I heard his voice in my head. It was like nothing I've ever heard before. It was gentle, cold, warm, familiar in unfamiliar ways, and most of all it made my heart beat in excitement in a way it never had before. The melody and the sweet tone of his voice mesmerized me as he spoke, "You can do it Marli. Just breathe, and step out of the car. Say your good byes to Hawaii and say hello to Washington. Good luck Marli…" The voice started to drift away and I called for it to come back in my head.

No! Don't go, please. The way he had said my name rang in my ears for what felt like forever but was only a couple seconds.

A knock on the car window brought me back to reality and I opened my emerald eyes. Andrew stared at me with a worried expression. His brow pulled together above his eyes giving him a much older appearance. The corners of his lips were tight and turned down in a grimace. I smiled the most encouraging smile I could. It wasn't convincing. He still stared at me like a lunatic. I didn't mind though; I got that enough. I looked around the car one last time, making the fact absolute that I was indeed the only being there. Great Marli. Now you're hearing voices; this should will be one for the book… Wow, I'm talking to myself too. People go to the Looney bin for this kind of thing! It was time to go now. Once you started to hear voices and talk to yourself, something was seriously wrong with you. Maybe the rainy town of La Push would do me some good; the heat was getting to my head.

My hand was at the handle of the door before I could object myself. I watched my fingers pull the handle down. Andrew did the rest. He opened the door and waited for me to get out. I hesitated. I didn't want to leave my home behind, but I definitely did not want to be here to face what was coming. I was confident that my dislike for my new home would wear off soon enough and I would learn to love La Push.

I slid my feet out of the car and placed them firmly on the ground. My hands helped push the rest of me up. My dark black hair fell past my shoulders as soon as I was able to get a good look around the airport. The air was fresh and pure since it had just rained and that was my favorite part. That fresh smell you got after every rainfall or storm. I breathed in the unsullied scent while I looked at my dad. For once in the last hour, he looked . . . happy. Okay, maybe happy wasn't the write word, but he did look a little more upbeat than he had fifteen minutes ago when we left the house. Wrapping my arms around him was all I could do to stop myself from crying. It was all I could do to comfort my dad as he wept in my arms. I knew that my parents didn't want this child. I felt bad for them and slightly guilty since I was leaving them in their time of need. As soon as we broke apart, though, those little feelings vanished completely.

Right in front of us, were the eyes I only knew all too well. The eyes that were breathtaking, the face of an angel, the melancholy voice that made you melt. It was all standing several feet in front of my dad and me. A strange overwhelming feeling washed over me as I couldn't help but stare on. Would I finally be meeting the familiar stranger that has slipped in and out of my dreams for the last two months? Would I finally get to see him in person, learn about him, talk to him, and maybe even touch his creamy, smooth, wonderful olive pale skin?

I forced myself to look away from him and I concentrated on staring into Andrew's eyes. Just my luck; with Andrew, bawling his eyes out I couldn't look there either. My heart skipped a beat as the stranger locked eyes with mine and I froze in place. His eyes were even more breathtaking in person and my quivering breath caught in my throat. My stomach held a sudden feeling of throwing up, but I obligated it to hold control.

He smiled at my dumbfounded expression and it had to be the most inhuman smile I had ever known. I tried to respond with the same kind gesture, but all I could manage was to pull my jaw up from it's dropped position. Unfortunately, for me, it didn't stay up for long. He laughed very quietly to himself but it was enough for his female friend to notice.

She whipped around, her short black hair billowing in the breeze and captivating her extreme gracefulness even more. Her red liquid eyes met mine and I showed the same curious expression. She was incredibly tiny, almost child like, but still insanely breathtaking. Her face was round and held a naive appearance, though I knew instantly that it most likely wasn't all that innocent. My self-esteem dwindled just by staring at her. She on the other hand, held the most evil look; obviously displeased I distracted my stranger with my gawking. I started to believe that she wanted to kill me. Spinning her body back around to face her companion, I heard her mutter "humans" under her breath. I barely caught him throw her a nasty glare as she stalked away for the airport stairs.

That reminded me of Andrew. I turned quickly to find where my father had run off to and spotted him checking in my bags. I sighed with relief and turned back to gaze at the wondrous man. He wasn't there anymore; he had vanished. I started to freak, was that the first and last time I'd ever see him in person? No, that was not going to be the last time I saw him. I wouldn't let it, I had to find him again.

I started circling, trying to find anything that could lead me to him. My brain racked for any information on what he was wearing but I couldn't remember; I had been to busy staring into his scarlet eyes. I cursed myself, still doing circles. I couldn't find him; he had escaped too fast for me to even get his name. My stomach was piling up with dread; I had lost him. For two measly minutes, I had looked into the eyes of an angel and now, he was gone.

I continued to spin in tiny little circles and I ignored the accusing stares of those around me. I was so focused on what I was looking for, I wasn't paying any attention to where I was heading. I ran into something quite hard, it felt like a brick wall but I knew it was alive and moving. The impact was so strong it repelled me down to the ground. I waited for the bone-crushing hit to the polished floor; it never came. I cranked my eyes open slowly and gasped loudly.

There he was, my stranger. He was looking down at me, holding me in his arms. His face was smiling at me, his white teeth reflecting the lights above us. "Hi there," he breathed into my face.

"H—Hi."

"Are you okay?"

I opened my mouth to answer his concerned question but I could not utter a sound. My breathing had become heavy and blood rushed into my cheeks, as I happened to be embarrassed by my lack of speech. I nodded to at least give some response.

He chuckled softly, "I'm glad."

Using his legs, he pushed himself to a standing position. He set me down gently, making sure my feet were set firmly upon the ground before slowly, almost reluctantly, letting go of my waist.

Right at that moment, Andrew had appeared out of nowhere. He looked between me and my strange new friend, confusion erupting from all sides of his face. "Marli, honey, do you know this young man?"

I had begun to shake my head no, but stopped when the stranger started talking.

"Excuse me sir, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Demetri." He held out his hand for my dad to shake it.

Of course, I knew my dad better than that. If he ever saw me with a boy, he immediately became all protective and interrogated first before anything else. I took this as my chance.

"It's nice to meet you Demetri," I said shaking his hand. My eyes widened as I felt his skin beneath my fingers. It was paper thin, almost brittle. I forgot the words leaving my mouth as I gaped at his bizarre chalky hand. "I'm Marli Young but everyone calls me Mars. Oh, and by the way, thank you for catching me."

"He what?"

Ah, crap.

"I tripped; you know how clumsy I am. Thanks to Demetri though, I didn't hit the ground. He caught me before I could fall all the way."

I stifled a laugh at my father's flabbergasted face.

"Uh, I guess I should thank you… So thanks." He held up his hand in farewell, "Bye now."

"Dad, could you show a little courtesy? He just saved me; I could have hurt myself," I said with a serious face, even though behind that, I was dying of laughter.

Demetri coughed into his hand, probably trying to hide his own beautiful laugh. "I'm sorry, but I should catch my plane. It was nice meeting you both."

I stopped smiling and froze "What!" The word slipped out of my mouth like a screech more so than a question.

"My plane leaves in less than an hour. I should go find my friend and board the plane."

"Oh. Where are you heading?"

He didn't seem to mind my twenty questions, "La Push, Washington."

It felt like a million pounds were just lifted from my shoulders, "Really? What a coincidence, that's where I'm heading."

"Great, I guess I'll see you on the plane then. Bye Mars, good-bye sir." Demetri nodded to my father and winked at me before turning around to leave.

After I was done staring after him, I looked up at Andrew. He was looking sternly at me. I shrugged turning to walk in the direction of my plane. He caught me by the shoulder and pulled me back.

"Marli, will you please tell me what you were doing with that young man?"

"Sheesh dad, calm down. He was just being friendly."

"Sweetie—"

"Dad!" I laughed cheerfully at him and started dragging him to my terminal.

When we arrived outside the gate Andrew turned to me with an agonizing expression played across his features. "Well, baby, I guess I'll see you at Christmas."

I forced a smile to appear on my face.

"You don't have to go," he said for the thousandth time.

I didn't want to hear it again. "Please, don't start. I'm going dad. I want to go." That wasn't much of a lie anymore than it was an hour ago. My feelings for La Push lightened ever since I found out Demetri would be there too.

I hugged Andrew one more time, almost suffocating as he squeezed me to death. Pulling away, I gave him an apologetic look and then handed my ticket to the flight attendant. Once I had the other half of my ticket in my shaky hand, I looked over my shoulder at Andrew one last time and mouthed, "I love you."

He smiled at me and then gestured for me to leave. I waved briefly and then walked through the doors, hoping that Demetri waited on the other side.