AN: Hi all! I’m back with a new story! If you’ve read my other stories, you would know that I tend to write about darker themes, but this time I’ll try to make this story more fun! This is my first attempt at a lighter writing style, so please give me some feedback on this. With that said, please enjoy!

EDIT: On an additional note, Dash's piece of continuously growing out ponytail thing has nothing to do with Harry Potter. It was only until Esther Jade pointed that out that I noticed the similarity. Also, Dash has grey hair because of a genetic condition that causes a low amount of pigmentation. His hair is uniformly grey. Another point that came up with the reviewers was the setting of this story. It is not set in the real world although their world is quite similar to ours. It will become more apparent later.

The thud echoed through the grey expanse. His breathing stopped while he opened his mouth to scream, but his voice was muted. Dilated eyes, wide and still, stared at the crimson puddle that rippled under the fallen object.

Two beats of his heart sounded before he realized what was missing…

His arm.

Stolen Flight

Chapter 1 – Heartbeat

He shot up in fear, sweat drenched him so thoroughly that he could feel the dampness in the blanket he clutched with his white fist. His first instinct was to move his right arm, but when it refused to respond, he panicked. He immediately whipped out his left hand and slapped it onto the immobile arm, gripping it tightly. However, the hard grasp only brought a slight sensation to his skin.

“Shit!” he swore to himself. It wasn’t until the alarm’s non-stop ringing brought some common sense into him did he know to shake his right arm repeatedly with his other hand. Sure enough, the familiar tickling feeling confirmed his hypothesis. He must’ve cut off his arm’s circulation during his sleep, nothing more than that.

He emitted a sigh of relief when he could finally move his right hand. Only then did he have time to shut off the annoying alarm clock and walk into the washroom to prepare himself for a new day. It was an important day after all. He couldn’t afford to be late.

He skidded amongst the traffic on his motorcycle, zigzagging down the road so quickly that his engine roar underwent a significant Doppler shift. The wind was nearly ripping his hair out, but what could he say? He was the one not wearing a helmet. He didn’t have time for such insignificant things as he…

“Whoa!” he cried awkwardly as sirens chased after him, red and blue light reflecting off his shiny leather gloves while they flickered from behind. He turned back to see two cops waving their fingers madly at him, yelling for him to stop. He couldn’t, though! He needed to meet an important person right now! Seeing a narrow alley up ahead to his right, he flung his body down while making a sharp turn, causing his shoulder to nearly scrape the ground. He was skillful though. His timing, posture, and momentum were all just right. Using only his muscle strength, he yanked himself and his vehicle upright again so that he wouldn’t crash into the alley walls. While the cops collided into a stop sign up ahead, he sped through the passageway, his speed causing the graffiti to his side to become indistinguishable mingles of color. Rounding another corner, he slid his vehicle into a lot, rubber burning as it came to a stop on a parking spot.

He snorted arrogantly, his fingers adjusting the shades that he wore just because it looked cool (although nobody was watching). He delicately undid the zipper on his backpack and pulled out something important…

…roses.

“Happy Birthday, Mrs. Anderson!” he shouted when he brought those roses into the building that faced the parking lot, moving an old lady to tears by the gift.

Yes, seventeen years old Dash Haserath wasn’t breaking the law for nothing; he was trying to get to the seniors’ home where he volunteered!

“Dhym!” a shout came from the other end of the phone. Although Dash knew that what was said could not be found on the dictionary, the meaning was mutually understood. It stood for “Dash Haserath You Moron” and was just one of many invented words that started with dhy.

“Now what…” came Dash’s tired reply. He was fervently trying to study for a first-aid test tomorrow for his volunteer brigade while he answered the phone call from his childhood friend, Cain.

“You didn’t come to school today!”

“Is that news?”

“I don’t care if you don’t come regularly, but today we were supposed to discuss our project! Where the hell were you?”

“Visiting the seniors’ home? It’s more important than some nerdy project that doesn’t fit my motto…” Dash answered as though it was the most natural thing to say. By the way, his motto was “I’m not a nerd, I’m a hero.”

“Like doing three thousand volunteer hours is being a hero!” Cain’s voice sounded sarcastically from the other end of the line, “I don’t care what you have to do tomorrow, you’re coming to school or else I’ll cook you!”

“Wait, I - ”

“Have a good nightmare!” Cain cut him off and slammed down the phone, nearly deafening Dash.

It had been a while since Dash tied up the deep grey hair on the back of his head. It grew out longer than the rest for some odd reason. He had tried to cut it, as he thought ponytails only looked good on girls, but after it repeatedly grew back out, he just ignored it ever since. However, his school was strict on the dress code, so he knew he had to be careful. Since he didn’t want to have a haircut from the headmaster, he had tied up the strands and tucked it behind the collar of his uniform jacket.

His dress shoes pattered on the polished tiles of the third floor hallway, images of his schoolmates reflecting off his ocean blue irises. A particularly jumpy male student approached him in a sprint, causing him to lower his eyelids slightly.

“Dash!” he shouted while he dashed. The action made Dash twitch his eyebrows since it seemed like he was deliberately mocking his name.

Just while his friend was about to give him a long-awaited bear hug, Dash dodged to the side so that he grabbed the air. Losing his balance, the student tumbled onto the ground.

“Hey!” he yelled at Dash who only shrugged.

“Didn’t touch you, Idiot.”

“It’s not Idiot, it is Elliot! And the problem was because you didn’t touch me!”

“What, you want me to palpate you? Sorry, you are so hairy that I’m afraid I would not identify any injuries on you, Sir,” Dash replied in a tone of first-aid professionalism, which only earned an angry reply from his friend.

“Fine! Be that way! I’m not gonna tell you about the transfer student!”

Dash just made a funny face at the statement. He could care less about a transfer student when he would be away from school most of the time anyway. Besides, Elliot was such a flirt that as long as the transfer student was female, he would be immensely interested.

“Sure, I don’t mind,” Dash answered, walking towards his classroom where he was going to meet Cain. He completely ignored Elliot who was yapping behind him; his eyes just fixed on the opened door in the distance.

He completely missed the pair of brown eyes ahead of his, or the strands of raven hair that tangled with his grey locks for a split second as they passed each other. They were walking in parallel, like railway tracks that never intersected.

But at that moment, his heart skipped a beat; so did hers.

A soft gasp sounded beside him. He turned, seeing that pair of brown eyes and those raven cascades. He saw her, the female transfer student who had all of a sudden collapsed by his side.

End of Chapter

AN: Thanks for reading! Please give me some feedback on this so I can improve in the future. Anything other than flames is greatly appreciated. Until next time!