Gracie

It was the last night of the summer holiday, and senior year is starting tomorrow—my last year of high school. When this is all over and I leave I will miss it, but I won’t miss this damn town or most of the people that live in it. Everyone from our school year was having a party in the woods, a tradition of this town for many years. It was the one night of the entire year that we all get together before school starts when most of us won’t even look at each other, let alone spend any time together. It was high school after all, what else can anyone expect

The bonfire lit, the music blaring, and the drinks flowing. People were making out, taking photos and acting like they were all friends. This wasn’t my scene. For starters I don’t drink due to personal reasons. When your father is an abusive alcoholic, who takes all of his anger out on you, it puts you off drinking. I have that fear inside that if I do drink, I will act like him, and that is not who I am. I could never imagine hurting anyone or anything. But according to everyone else, alcohol doesn’t agree with me as it makes me sick, which is why I don’t drink.

“Gracie, will you be OK here alone I promise I won’t be too long” Lola, my best friend, said.

“I am a big girl. I am sure I will be fine,” I laughed, “Go and do what you need to,” I added.

I knew where she was going. Someone has caught her eye, and she was going over to him to make sure he knew that. Lola loves boys; she always has. I don’t mean she screws around, I mean, she loves them in more ways than one.

“I will be right back, OK Don’t you move!” she warned, in a slight slur.

My best friend was slightly drunk, just the same as most of the people here except the odd few, including myself. I nodded, waving her away. I knew she wouldn’t be “right back” as she put it, but I know she will come back eventually, once she has had enough.

Lola gave me a quick hug before heading off. I watched her make her way towards Harry, one of the sweetest and quietest guy in our school. I believe she has a massive crush on him, something she will not ever admit to anyone, even me. Lola doesn’t do relationships as they cause too much drama; her words, not mine. I never minded sitting alone for a little while. I like my own company sometimes.

Suddenly I felt like someone was watching me, making me look up. I soon realised that I was being watched by some guy I had never seen before, not at school nor around town. Trust me when I say I would have known if I had seen him before, he stood out from everyone else. This gorgeous and mysterious guy had jeans and a leather jacket on while most of the other guys were in hoodies or their letterman jackets. I could also see he had a tattoo on his neck, but unfortunately he was too far away for me to identify what it was. His hair was dark and slightly messy, it suited him. The way he was looking at me was intense, and he didn’t look like he was pulling away anytime soon. I knew I should but I too couldn’t take my eyes off of him; he was drawing me in, and I have no clue why.

I see a smile slowly creeping onto his lips, or maybe it was a smirk. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but it was something. I decided that it was my cue to turn away from him. I quickly pulled my eyes away from the gorgeous stranger, looking anywhere but to the direction I knew he would be. I could still feel his eyes burning into me. I ignored the feeling, trying my best not to look at him again. It was not an easy thing to do. I stood from where I was sitting, walking away towards the lake. If I were away from him, I wouldn’t need to be careful not to look at him.

I walked down the docks, sitting at the edge of it, letting my feet dangle over the water, thank God for my choice of sensible shoes, or they would be floating around on the water right now.

I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the water. I loved the sound of the waves crashing, it relaxes me. I sometimes wish I could afford a boat to go sailing around the world. That would be amazing! Just me and the ocean, that is perfection to me. At least out there, no one could get me. Running my fingers through my long brown hair, I sighed to myself knowing this fantasy of mine will never happen, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream.

“Why did you run away” I heard from behind me.

I jumped, nearly falling headfirst into the lake, only just managing to stop that from happening. I did not recognise the voice, but still, I knew who it was. It was him, the gorgeous stranger that I was trying to avoid.

“I did not run away,” I said softly, not looking at him.

A part of me is hoping that if I do not look at him and say as few words as possible, he may leave. I heard feet against the dock, silently wishing that it was him turning and walking away, only to be disappointed when a figure sat down next to me.

“I would call that running away,” he said with a chuckle.

“Maybe, but what do you expect I had some stranger standing there watching me. What was that even about” I said, finally turning to face the stranger.

Bad idea!

A small squeak fell from my lips when my eyes met his due to the close proximity, and wow, aren’t those beautiful! I found myself getting lost in his almost emerald eyes. I swallowed hard, words unwilling to come from my lips.

“I couldn’t help myself,” he said, “You seem different from all those other girls. Why is that” he added.

“You don’t know me, how could you possibly know I am different from all those other girls” I asked.

“This entire night I have not seen you drink, make out or take anything,” he said without even pausing to formulate his answer.

The entire night How long has he been watching me Should I be creeped out

“How long have you been watching me” I asked.

“You caught my attention the very second you arrived here,” he answered my question again so honestly.

“What Why” I said, confused.

“Because you did, simple as that.” he shrugged.

There was nothing simple about it! Out of all the gorgeous girls here, he happened to notice me! Yeah, I am calling bullshit on that one. I have nothing on most of the girls here tonight. And more to the point, why is he here This is for the students starting senior year tomorrow, and as far as I know, he doesn't even go to our school.

“Who are you” I said, sounding slightly bitchy. That was not the way I intended it to sound, it just came out that way. The handsome stranger laughed.

“You will know me soon enough, Gracie,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Wait! How do you even know my name” I asked.

“You will find out soon enough. See you around, brown eyes,” he smirked before rushing off.

I didn't even get a chance to get up before he disappeared. What just happened Who was he And the biggest question is, how does he even know my name I don’t know if I should be flattered or scared. I sat there, confused and trying to work out what just happened. Right now, I wanted to find out who he was more than anything else in the world.

I jumped to my feet, rushing back to where everyone else was, hoping I would see him. If I never, it would annoy me for the rest of the night. So I looked around, and he was nowhere in sight. How can he vanish He only left the docks a few minutes before me.

“Gracie, who are you looking for” I heard Lola laughing from behind me.

“The strangest thing just happened,” I said, turning to face her.

“What do you mean” she asked.

And I told her what happened and by the time I had reached the end of my story, Lola seemed as confused as I was feeling.

“I don’t know if the full thing should freak me out,” I said.

“I honestly don’t know,” Lola said, “What did he look like” she added.

“He has dark hair, green eyes, there is a tattoo on his neck, and he is wearing jeans and a leather jacket,” I said, “Have you seen him” I added.

“I think I did see him, only a few minutes before you showed up. He drove away in his car, though,” she said.

“Damn it! This is going to annoy me all night,” I said, “I don’t even know who he is. I had not ever seen him around before tonight,” I added.

“Me neither,” Lola said, “This really is an odd situation,” she added.

All I could do was nod in agreement with her. He said I would find out who he is soon enough, seriously, what did he mean by that Ahhh! Who was he

“I guess you will have to wait and see if you run into him again,” Lola said.

“I guess,” I sighed.

I tried to push him and the whole ordeal to the back of my mind, but it wasn’t working. I was both annoyed and intrigued by what happened. Annoyed because he wouldn’t tell me who he was, and intrigued because of the way he acted.

All I can do right now is hope that either I see him again or he disappears out of my head. I am OK with either, but I would prefer the first option, at least that way I could get his name.

“Come on, let’s ask around and see if anyone knows who he is,” Lola suggested.

I was not too keen on that idea, but she insisted. I let her do the asking, but anyone we asked had no clue who he was.

“I swear if you didn't say you saw him, I would be close to thinking he doesn’t exist,” I laughed.

“He might as well not,” Lola said, laughing too.

I groaned, feeling a little frustrated by now. I think I should stop before I frustrate myself further. He is only some guy, and I shouldn’t be this adamant about trying to find out who he is. Maybe he will always be a stranger that I never knew. Who knows, time will tell. For tonight, I am going to try my best to forget about him.

We can be strangers who passed in a night of sorts.