Walking like the Dead [completed]

[.kiki.]

The library was always quiet; Ainslie liked to go there so that she didn't have to look awkward when she chose not to speak to others. Plus, it had books! Books were the best thing she could possibly think of; the fantasies brought her into a better mood and made the pains in her head go away. She liked not having to worry about the pains.

These all seem like children's books, she thought, pursing her lips unsatisfactorily. She hated the typical teen lit. She wanted romance, violence; anything but shining vampires hiding in Washington. A silent sigh passed her lips and she sat in a chair near the bookshelves. The pains were coming back, and she wasn't sure she could handle them.

She was right. Within seconds of the headaches returning, she passed out. Her body fell to the floor with a thud.

[;Griffen;]

Alec
Did someone forget a body...?

I walked into the library, in high hopes of silence and reading. Too bad I had to find a girl on the floor, totally knocked out. I looked around, my hands in my pockets. I coughed a little and looked back at the girl. What if she was dead? I silently snickered at the thought, but it was most unlikely. No one would kill someone, and, on top of that, no one would leave a dead body just laying in the middle of a library. I walked to the girl and crouched down, eyes narrowing. What if she woke up and screamed? Man, that would be bad. She would probably hate my different colored eyes and think I was a freak like everyone else did.

I started to let out a hand, but stopped. What if she was sleeping? I know I hate being disturbed when I 'm sleeping. I ran a hand through my long hair and continued to reach for her. I reached her back and started to shake her lightly. If she didn't wake in, about, oh... two minutes, I'm going to leave her here. Well, I might put her back on the chair, with a book under her arm and her head on it. You never know what I'll do next. I'm so unpredictable that it actually made me smile.

[.kiki.]

Ainslie St. Claire
for i haven't slept a wink since you have been gone...

She felt the movement. She knew someone was there. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, revealing...a boy? She jerked away from his hand with felinesque reflexes, her breathing speeding up. Fainting, and now a panic attack? This wasn't her lucky day. Her light brown hair fell in front of her eyes and she watched him, unable to move herself.

He wasn't a bad looking boy, no it wasn't that at all. She just didn't like males. It had something to do with her past, but she had blocked out most of it from the sheer stress of having it on her mind all the time. He shouldn't be here. YOU shouldn't be here. Why aren't you running?! Leave! Her instincts tried to take over, but still...she wouldn't budge. Her eyes stayed on him, and something tugged inside her chest. A look of surprise came over her face. She was...curious? Her lips tightened into a frown and she pulled her hair over her face more, kicking the ground in irritation at herself. This was not something she was used to. Curiosity wasn't something that passed through her on a daily basis.

[;Griffen;]

Alec
And I thought I overreact....

I stayed there for a moment, registering that she bolted upright and away from me. I stood up, raising an eyebrow at the girl. Okay, either one: she's paranoid, or two: she hates my eyes. Either one. I knew this would happen. I just knew she'd cringe away, or something. She's looks like a nice person, and I felt like asking why she was on the floor, but why break my talking streak now? I mean, seventeen years is great for a streak. I felt like if I broke it now, there would never be going back.

I narrowed my eyes at her and blew a strand of hair out of my face. You could say I had a cocky look on my face, with the smile and all. Wait... The smiles still there... As if someone dropped an anvil on both the sides of my lips, the smile disappeared. I really don't like smiling. Sure, it's warm and comforting, but I'm not anything like that... I hate people who just talk and talk and talk and talk!

[.kiki.]

Ainslie

She watched as his smile fell away. He didn't like her, she had annoyed him in some way. It spun in her head, making the headaches worse than usual. She put her hands to her temples, exhaling silently as she tried to maintain a level of calm that she had been trying to find for the past few hours. Her body slumped from exhaustion and she gave up on the thought of 'escaping' the presence of this boy in front of her. Instead, she managed to get up the courage to shuffle forward on her knees and give a half-smile, her way of saying 'hello' since she couldn't muster up the ability to speak the word. A wave accompanied the smile and she pushed her hair out of her face, finally taking in his full appearance. This boy had two different eyes! She seemed surprised; it was a phenomenon she had never seen before in her short lifetime. The smile seemed to grow a bit bigger as a new emotion pulled into the place of her anxiety...

[;Griffen;]

Alec
And her emotion is...?

She got up to her knees and I could easily feel and see the surprise on her face when she finally saw me. Then something else radiated from her. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and squinted my eyes at her. She's a strange one. And honestly, I don't know how I could feel what she was feeling... And the bad part is, I started to radiate that same emotion. I didn't know how to keep people's emotions away from me. They seemed attracted to me. It was like reading someone's thoughts.

You can tell a lot from a person's personality. I allowed my head to turn to the side slightly at her smile. I blinked a few times and looked at the floor. The silence was pressing against my eardrums--just the way I liked it. I slowly sank to the floor, mimicking the way she sat. I waved curtly with one hand, eyebrows raising. Well, she hasn't burst with speech yet--I think I like this one.

[.kiki.]

He waved to her, and despite the curt manner, she couldn't help feeling relieved that he was interacting with her. Her heart began to pound in her brain, but not from the pain in her mind. The embarrassment that overcame her seemed to shove the pulsing organ into her throat as she looked around in an attempt to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks. He probably thought she was ignorant; she hadn't introduced herself, or said thank you. She couldn't sign to him, she didn't know if he understood! And her handwriting was atrocious. It would be difficult to communicate with him, but for some reason she didn't want to end their chance meeting. Confusion had pushed the migraine to the back of her mind; all she focused on now was the fact that if she didn't find some way to talk to this boy, she might not have a chance to do it in the future. Who knew when she'd see him? And if he'd remember her? Or if she'd have the courage to walk up to him again? Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out and she shut it again. Her eyes closed and she shook her head, standing and smoothing out her skirt. She was a bit wobbly from her fainting spell, and despite her attempts to stay on her feet, she tripped over herself...and landed on the boy's lap.

[;Griffen;]

Alec
Most ungraceful, this one is.

I watched her and felt everything flowing in her. She opened her mouth to speak, and, really, I was craving it... I don't know why... She got up, probably to leave, so I started to get up. However, she tripped over herself and fell into my lap. Surprise rolled through me in waves as I let out a muted oof!. I cleared my throat and put my hands under her arms. I pulled her up with me and put my arms on her shoulders to keep her steady.

I looked at her, making sure my eyes said, You okay? I'm not a completely rude person, you know. I like to make my figure seem nice and all. I don't like hurting people in any way. I pulled my hands slowly from her shoulders, but I made sure she would stay standing. Maybe she'd freak out over the closeness between us. Maybe...

[.kiki.]

Her face flushed at the realization that she had just fell into him like some sort of clumsy person. She pushed her hair back behind her ear, crossing her arms under her chest and rubbing her shoulders some. She got what he was trying to say, though she tried not to stare at his eyes too much; she wasn't sure if he'd appreciate it. She gave a nod, indicating that she was fine and there wasn't anything to worry about.

Surprisingly to Ainslie, the fact that he had come into physical contact with her didn't bother her like it usually would have. In fact, it was almost comforting for her. Cautiously, she placed a hand on top of his to move it, not realizing the visions she passed onto him. She stepped back, clearing her throat quietly and adjusting the fabric that moved out of place during her spill. Her arms crossed again, lower this time to show she was 'comfortable' with him being near her. She looked to him, and her small smile popped back. Quietly, she disappeared for a moment, returning with a small notebook and a pencil, turning it so he could read what she had written. Despite her poor handwriting, she managed to scribble out a readable sentence.

Hi. My name's Ainslie.

[;Griffen;]

Alec
How lucky am I? Knowing someone who writes instead of talking.

I felt like I should open my mouth in mock awe. She didn't cringe away like I expected her to. But, when she touched me, something odd happened. No, it wasn't a spark, or anything like that. It was a vision. It was the vision of me beating up the jock a few years back. I sucked in a breath and blinked my eyes to get rid of it. Finally, it faded away to show her smiling face. What just happened? I shook my head quickly, as if to rid myself of that horrible memory. She gave me a paper and pen and it said a greeting and her name.

I shakily grabbed the pen and the paper, cursing myself for showing any emotion of regret. Ainslie is a very pretty name. I'm Alexander. But, please, just call me Alec. I wrote. Normally, my handwriting is much better, but every letter looked awkward. I couldn't help my shaking hand at all. I flexed it a few times as I gave her the paper slowly. I put my hands behind my back in a welcome gesture, but in a shy way. I don't come on strong, you know.

[.kiki.]

ainslie
I don't remember these feelings popping up before...

My mind spun with all of this new information. Not only had I managed to stay in the same room with a boy for more than a second, I was now talking to him. Well, talking in a sense. I'm mute, and it doesn't seem like he's willing to cough up any words himself. I noticed that he was shaking as he wrote; was he okay? Did I do something wrong? I'd only seen people shake from anger or the cold, and it wasn't cold in here.

Ainslie is a very pretty name. I'm Alexander. But, please, just call me Alec. My eyes scanned the page quickly; after years of reading my novels, I was able to pick through words fast. My name was pretty? I'd never heard that said to me before and I could feel the heat from the blush rising on the bridge of my nose.

I took the pencil and sat down at the table, patting the seat next to me gently to indicate that I wanted him to sit by me. I was tired of standing and my legs hurt. I scratched out another sentence quickly, sliding the paper in front of where I wanted him to sit.

I like the name Alexander. It's nice.

I felt strange complimenting him, but he had complimented me so it was right to do. I tried to keep my smile, but it was hard when my heart was beating in my skull from the sudden rush of anxiety that festered in me. The corners of my lips were having trouble staying upturned. I didn't want to scare him away. Besides my roommates, this was the only contact I'd had in ages.

[;Griffen;]

Alec
It's Alec.

These emotions rolling off of her is giving me a searing headache, I groaned within the confines of my mind. I regained myself and sat next to her, blinking at the paper for a couple of minutes. I reached for the pen, but stopped. I was at lost of what to say. I've heard of guys going speechless when talking to pretty girls, but this was driving me crazy. Writing is easier than talking. You can actually erase what you say.

I pulled the pen into my grasp and wrote neatly and slowly, Thank you. Now, if you will allow me to ask, why were you unconscious on the floor? I just wanted her to explain so I could go grab some aspirin. It's not like I hated her company--it was the emotions changing so quickly. She felt surprised one moment, she felt some warm emotion the next, an embarrassed emotion, a pain emotion, and then back to the warm emotion. I wanted to know what this warm emotion was! It was driving me insane!

To me, people's emotions come off in colors. Like, shy is a dull purple, happy is a neon green, and sad is a baby blue. But this... It was close to a blinding pink that I couldn't stand. I hate pink--no, scratch that--deplore pink. I just hate the dumb color. She was radiating this color like it was no tomorrow. I can't keep but let it engulf me with its hideous pinkness. I sat back in my chair, keeping my eyes off of her.

[.kiki.]

ainslie
I don't know if I remember that...

I studied him while he wrote and what I assumed to be some form of 'affection' morphed back into a stint of embarrassment. I couldn't remember ever seriously studying a guy before. I'm sure the normal girls would say 'checking out', but it wasn't that. I was just curious. I didn't see boys who looked like Alec all the time. Now, if you will allow me to ask, why were you unconscious on the floor? My smile sunk into a pout as I sucked on the insides of my lips and thought of how to phrase it. I didn't want to be too vague, but he didn't need to know about my headaches or the schizophrenia; I didn't want to scare him away when I was enjoying his company. It took a moment to think of the words, and without realizing it, I wasn't writing them. I was speaking.

"I fainted."

It was a simple sentence, and I would be surprised if he heard it. My voice came out weak and quite, since it hadn't been used for years. I started to chew on my nails when I was done with it, surprised at myself for the sudden ability to speak. Apparently I could talk after all these years, or maybe it was just Alec. Who knew.

[;Griffen;]

Alec
She spoke! ZOMG!

I was expecting the paper back with an explanation but she spoke. I looked at her, surprise clear in my eyes. I hadn't really expected her to talk since she brought the paper, but here she was. Her voice was quiet, as if she hadn't used it in a while. Well, I think I'll repeat myself--I like the quiet. I can't stand loud, crowded areas like a cafeteria.

I slowly reached for the paper, feeling foolish not talking myself. If she was brave enough to speak, why couldn't I? I let out a sigh. I never knew what my voice sounded like. I know, it's sad, isn't it? I've never heard myself speak--not once. I put the pen in my left hand and made my eyes move to the white sheet. Fainted, I see... I hope everything is okay. I felt like I was leaving something out of here. Reluctantly, I pushed the sheet to her. Why couldn't I just talk?

[.kiki.]

ainslie
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to talk.

I wasn't disappointed when he began to write, but I could tell he was. Gently, I reached out and patted his back in a sympathetic way, as if to say I understand. I did, being a selective mute myself. I smiled and found myself trying to cheer him up. I took the pencil and jotted down some quick words. I'm fine, but starving. Do you want to grab a snack with me? It was an innocent suggestion; my stomach was on the verge of a massive growl which would embarrass me to no end. I wanted my crackers in my room, but I was too lazy to get them. Instead, I wanted candy. I stood, and cautiously offered him my hand as a way to say come on.