Fairy Rings

Chapter 3

The party was still raging when I walked in. The Kid pretending to be a DJ was still playing some old rendition of Katy perry. The truth or dare circle was playing their game. The only difference was Viky wasn't playing anymore. Instead, she was on the dance floor with some of her other friends. She hadn't even glanced at me when I entered the room. In a way, that is what I loved about Vicky; she was the life of the party, even if that sometimes meant that I was left out of her fun sometimes. Sometimes I wished I was that confident or could give a smile as quickly and prettily as Vicky. Even now, people would take time out of their days to get a glimpse of her. There was a reason why every guy had gone out with Vicky, and that was because no matter what, Viky made people feel comfortable. Her goal at the end of the day was to have lived her life having fun.

I was more down-to-earth and reasonable with what I wanted out of life. I took glanced down at my phone, opting to scroll through my social media over actually socializing or trying to dance. The lock screen read 11:30.

'I was out there for over an hour. No one came to look for me.' I realized.

For a second, it stung, knowing that no one even noticed that I had left. Even worse that my best friend hadn't even bothered to come to look for me.

'Maybe she thought that I just went home? We did say that I could go home at 11:00. It's possible, but she should have at least texted me." I thought, turning to leave again, feeling a shiver tickle my spine. that goss feeling that someone was watching you. I had felt it off and on for years really was I right. still, I twisted around trying to catch the perp. That's when I made eye contact with a Stunning man standing in the corner of the room. His chocolatey brown hair and striking green eyes were friendly enough, but it was the wild smile that had my heart skip a beat. Not just because he was most likely the hottest guy in the room but because there was only one person who had that smile that I knew of, and he was dead.

I couldn't scramble out of the room fast enough, any slight that Vicky might have done to me forgotten. I bumped into teens, one of their cups spilling onto my button-up shirt, bathing it with something that smelled like vodka or whisky. I ran out smelling like a bar despite me never even touching the stuff. I couldn't face a family member of Theos knowing that I saw him die that day, even if the way he died was quite likely a hallucination brought on by trauma.

My heart was still pumping adrenaline when my house came into view. I scrambled inside, covered in cuts and scrapes from when I had tripped in the woods. Something that I hadn't even noticed was happening in my panic. I didn't need to see my face to know that I looked closer to a ghost than a person. Even as the continuous bumping of my heart slowed, I could still feel the cold rush of terror sift through my veins. In sted of reading my book that night, I curled up and let myself cry for Theo. For the first friend I lost and betrayed.

***

'I don't know that the person was related to Theo. It could have just been someone who looks a lot like him. I know that when grandma drug me to the superstore two towns over that, I kept thinking that I saw Theo. Besides, I had just visited our play area; it's no surprise that my subconscious would be looking for Theo.' I told myself, sounding like a broken record, the same message echoing for the last two days. My reassurances felt hollow, almost like I was putting a bandage over a bullet wound. I didn't even realize that Vicky had been talking to me when we sat down in math class to busy swimming laps around the same thoughts over and over again.

"Did you hear about the new guy?" Vicky asked, finally saving me from my thoughts.

"New guy?"

"Ya, he moved in on Thursday into old Bill's house." She said. Bill's house had been empty for several years after he passed and, for the most part, was expected to stay that way. Even before Bill's passing, the house was in disrepair, not that he would let anyone help him. There was one thing that house had those others didn't. It was close to the fairy rings.

"Bill's house? Is that a good choice?" I asked.

"That's what I was thinking, but from what I heard is that he was Bill's nephew and is the inheritor of the house."

"How old is the new guy?" I asked.

"that's the funny thing he just turned 18. He has been waiting until he was old enough to come to fix up the old place."

"and how do you know all this?" I asked, finally deciding to end the gossip that my friend always seemed to love.

"That's the thing. He came to say hi to my family this morning. He also told me that he knew you." She said, getting quiet.

"What you know, that I don't leave my house," I said, giving her a little playful shove. Vicky gave me a disapproving look.

"what?" I asked.

"it's just that a girl named Emerald that goes by Emmy is not exactly as common as you might think. He also seemed to be interested in getting to know you more. you would tell me if you got a boyfriend, right?" She said with a sigh fanning her face lightly in her teasing way.

"I have never had a boyfriend; you know that, and I am not too interested in dating anyone here anyway," I said.

"you are avoiding the question."

"Fine, I will tell you IF it happens. "I said.

"you mean when." Vicky winked.

"probably not happening until I move." I couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. Vickys face broke into a crestfallen look for a split second before flashing back to her happy smile. The fact that I was leaving our town had always been a bit of a touchy subject for her.

"Who knows, maybe you will find someone you like," she said in her teasing sing-song voice. I rolled my eyes sitting down in the hard plastic chairs that the school provided just as the bell rang.

"I am pretty sure I am not interested in anyone I have known my whole life."

"Quiet down. We have a new person joining us for class today." the teacher said, quieting us down just as the door began opening up. The man moved with a grace that demanded our attention. When he stood in front of the class, he couldn't look more comfortable. If I could form a thought other than how Rich and velvety his brown hair was, I was sucked into a cocky smile with green eyes to match. Unfortunately, the dim lights of the party did not do him justice.

"Hello, My name is Theo." He said.

"I don't think that you have known him your whole life." Vicky giggled into my ear