Free Will

chapter 1

- - -

"Shoes. I need my shoes."

"What are you mumbling about now?"

I dug through the shoe rack hungrily, throwing shoes in all different directions. I didn't have time for this, I was already late as it is. "You moved them again, didn't you? Mom, how many times do I have to tell you not to touch my stuff! I swear to God…"

"I'm sorry, what was that? All I heard was 'wah'." She laughed at her own joke.

I slammed the pair I had in my hand back on the rack and turned to glare at her. "Are you serious?"

Her amused grin faltered. She folded her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows challengingly.

I bit my tongue from continuing my little fit. Snapping and growling at her wouldn't get me anywhere—especially to Sarah's house. And I really wanted to go tonight.

Be nice, be nice, be nice…

I smiled sweetly at her and lightened my tone. "My tan sandals, the ones with the heals. I put them on the rack last night after I came back from Missy's. You were cleaning today and you usually have a tendency to move stuff around when you do that. Did you move them?"

My jaws were locked down in a smile and I tried my best to push impatience away and make room for pleasant. She narrowed her eyes, obviously not buying it. "No, I didn't touch them. Plus," she added, indicating towards my clothes, "you're wearing pajama shorts and a tank top. What would be the point in wearing fancy shoes when you're already dressed down?"

"You don't even understand, mom," I sighed, turning my attention back to the now disoriented rack and continued my hopeless attempt.

"Is it for a boy?" she cooed playfully. I grimaced. There were three ways I could answer that, but each answer would inevitably leak the truth. If I said yes, well…yeah, then she would know. I'm a terrible liar so saying no was out the window. Joking was also out the window—I was terrible at role play. Saying absolutely nothing might work; act like I didn't hear her. But then she'd probably ask again and make it so that I had to answer.

"No," I lied, my voice squeaking a little. I mentally smacked myself.

By her soft chuckle, I knew she got her answer. "Here," she said, walking up next to me and found a pair of black flip flops. "These are cute."

I looked over at the digital clock and sighed. I was running extremely late. They were probably gone by now.

Oh, what the hell…"Yeah, I guess so." I shoved them on my feet and jogged over to my bag, making sure I had everything.

"What's his name?" she asked, playing it cool.

"Mom…"

"Oh, come on Jay. Is he that big a deal?"

Yes. "No," I said, slumping my shoulders. Did she have to ask so many questions? "He's one of Sarah's older brother's friends. Don't worry," I added, looking at her now anxious expression, "they're not going to be there all night. I checked."

"Well, alright," she said. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there? It's pretty dark out."

"I'll be fine," I assured her, gathering my toothbrush and other important things. I stuffed as much as I could into my stay-over bag and struggled to zip it. "She basically lives right down the street, mom. It's not like I haven't done this before."

Before she could object, I kissed her on the cheek, threw my bag over my shoulder and flew out the door.

"Call me when you get there!" she yelled through the screen. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

I scoffed. That wasn't saying much.

I wasn't even five steps out my yard when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I flipped it open without checking the ID.

"Hello?"

"Jay-Jay!" an all too familiar voice said. "Where are you, my love?"

"Hey, Sarah," I smiled. "I'm about a block away."

"Hurry your ass up."

"Trust me, I am."

She laughed then gasped really loud. "Guess who asked about you!"

My stomach did a little flip. I knew who. "Who?" I asked anyway. I wanted to hear her say it.

She started to giggle uncontrollably. "Shaney-Shane-Shane, you sly fox!"

I squealed out loud and did a little hop. Shane asked about me. Shane—me.

"I can't wait to get to your house now," I gushed, unable to stop myself. "I am practically skipping, just to let you know. I can't bel—"

My phone interrupted me with loud and annoying beeping sounds. I pulled it away from my ear to examine it. Low battery. Crap.

Quickly, I put it back to my ear. "Sarah, I'll see you later. My phone is dieing."

"Okay, by lovey-dove. See you s—"

It automatically turned off. I closed it and sighed. That was okay. I was satisfied with what I heard.

I walked in silence for a short while when I saw a dark figure turn the street corner up ahead.

Someone was walking towards my way.

They were wearing a black hoody and had their hands in their jean pockets. The street lights above barely helped to make out the face, but I knew it was a boy. He was tall and bulky and I knew I couldn't take him.

The boy walked extra slow, almost stalking his way towards me. There was no avoiding him; he came from the way I was heading. But I didn't want to cross paths with him so I decided to cross the street.

Trying not to make it obvious, I pulled out my cell phone, popped it open, and put it to my ear.

"Hey, Sarah," I said into the receiver. I paused, then continued my fake conversation. "Uhm…yeah, I'm almost there. I just need to cross the street."

I shuffled across the street and took a timid glance at the boy. My heart skipped a beat. He was crossing the street as well.

I stopped walking and pretended to look up and down the sidewalk. "Oh, shoot. I'm on the wrong street," I mumbled into the phone, loud enough so the boy could hear me—I didn't want to get him suspicious of my plan to avoid him. I paused then let out a laugh, hoping it didn't sound too fake. "I know, I feel like an idiot…No, it won't take long."

This time I didn't care if I was obvious or not.

I half-walked half-ran across the street. When I got to the curb I tried to slow down but I was already on a roll. My right foot lifted to overcome the curb and when my left followed its lead, it didn't make it over. I fell forward, palms out to lessen the blow. I squeezed my eyes shut as my chin connected with the ground. Pain rocked my jaw.

I laid there for a few silent moments, hoping the throbbing in my chin would subside. I totally forgot where I was or what I was doing. All that mattered was my sore jaw.

When I felt comfortable enough to open my eyes, I remembered where I was. It was dark out, I was walking alone, there was an unknown male across the street, I was wearing semi-short shorts, and I was lying on my stomach completely defenseless. Quickly, I bounced up and dusted myself off, ignoring the pain coming from my chin. I touched it timidly, and winced. It hurt, but it wasn't broken. I would be screaming if it was broken.

"You dropped this," a low voice said from behind me.

I jumped and let out an 'eep!'. Please don't let it be that guy, I couldn't help but think desperately. Please let it be anyone but that guy. Well…I'd rather it him than someone creepy. But what if he was creepy? I wouldn't know. He could be some big rapist-slash-killer.

Now I was overreacting. It could be possible that he was just a normal guy on his way home after playing a game of cards at a friend's house…or something like that. Don't put him down just because you're scared and you don't know him.

But I can't just put trust into him. He still could be—

"Uh…" His voice woke me from my thoughts. It was then that I realized we were standing there for a while, me with my back turned to him not responding at all and him standing behind me, probably thinking I was crazy. "Are you going to take it, or not? I mean, if you don't want it that's cool…I guess. I don't know, kind of awkward for me but then again," he chuckled, "a free cell phone."

I felt myself relax at his voice. He sounded okay…not creepy at all.

I turned to look at him and felt even more relaxed. His face was shockingly soft for having such a bulky torso that even though it looked slightly off, it seemed…cozy. Like a big teddy bear.

He grinned and held out my phone to me.

I let my gaze drift up to his face. His eyes were a mesmerizing misty blue—it was hard to look away from them. There was a stray strand of brown hair the covered one of those magnifying eyes and it annoyed me so much that I felt compelled to brush it away.

When I didn't take the phone he shifted and started to look around awkwardly. "Uh… are you okay?"

I blushed. He was getting uncomfortable from my ogling. "Sorry," I simpered, taking the phone. Our fingers brushed and for one split second my entire body warmed. I wouldn't have broken contact but he pulled away when I took the phone.

The misty blue flashed and he smiled. My body felt warm again. "It's okay. Just, uh…try to be more careful, alright?"

I slowly nodded. "Of course." Anything you say.

He tentatively smiled and shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Bye."

"Bye," I breathed. I knew I should've stopped staring so openly, but I couldn't help it. There was something about him…

He chuckled and shook his head, turning to leave.

"Wait," I said, not quite wanting him to go. He kept his back to me but stopped walking. If I didn't ask this, I knew I would regret it later on. "What's your name?"

He paused then turned his head slightly that I could just make out his profile. "Dave."

I smiled. Dave. I liked that. "Goodnight, Dave."

He smiled back, but it threw me off. It looked vicious. "Sure."

I furrowed my eyebrows and opened my mouth to say something, but I was drawing blanks. He didn't wait for me. I watched him walk down the dark street nonchalant all up until he turned the corner and disappeared.

Well, at least I got his name…

…and my life.

I freaked out for nothing. He was basically just a normal guy.

Though our ending was a bit…odd.

I shook my head and continued my own way up the street.

I couldn't wait to tell Sarah what just happened—she'd be so jealous. How old was that boy, anyway? He looked like he was in high school, maybe a college student. I've never seen him in school before, but you never know. After her brothers friends left we'd have to get out all the yearbooks and look him up.

One more block to go and I would be at Sarah's.

I felt giddy for two reasons: one, Shane asked about me and two, I met an extremely cute kid named Dave under the most unexpected circumstances.

Crossing the street, I stopped midway when something caught my eye. I looked to my left where the dead-end street was. There was something lying in the middle of the road. I peered into the darkness, but it was useless—damned street lamps sucked.

I moved a little closer and gasped. It wasn't something but someone. A woman.

My adrenaline kicked in and I ran to her side. Her head was turned away from me.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" I asked desperately, looking for any sign of acknowledgment. From the steady rise and falls of her chest I could tell she was breathing. I kneeled down next to her and turned her face towards me. "Are you o —"

I screamed and stumbled backwards.

She looked dead. Her eyes were wide and dilated—almost all black, even the white part. She was as pale as snow, her veins the only visible colors on her body. There were dark purple shadows on her neck, which I could take as bruises. Someone strangled her.

But what scared me most was not her face.

Her shirt was ripped open and there lay, in the area where her belly button was supposed to be, a big empty hole. There was some blood on the pavement, but not a lot. The hole in her stomach was completely hollow, like someone drained her of all her internal parts.

How could she be breathing?

---

A.N- Strange stuff, man. hahaha Uhm... So, yeah. It's going to be really weird later on, also. Reviws? I like 'em.