Crimson

"Somehow, the conversation mentioned your name. And someone asked if I knew you. Looking away, I thought of all the times we'd had together; sharing laughter, tears, jokes, and tons more. And then, without explanation you were gone."

I couldn't help but look over at her. The funny thing was, every time I looked at her, she always caught me staring. But I felt like I had to keep looking. There was something about her, the way she held herself and the attitude she just exuded with such confidence. But there was something underneath all that, some weak vulnerability beneath the hard exterior she kept attempting to convey.

There were days when everything about her outward appearance just screamed INNOCENT, including the way she rested her head in her hand as her fingers poured over the textbooks spread on the table in front of her. The peasant skirt, the simple make-up, the soft braid that framed her face. It was almost a picture you could believe, until she lost herself in the pages.

Then her tongue would flick out, flashing the FUCK YOU that was on her tongue ring. She'd click it against her teeth, almost completely distracted. But then the sound of the metal clicking would bring her from her reverie, and she'd look around the room, almost as if she was checking to see if anyone had noticed her sign of rebellion.

Sometimes, I would barely be able to pull up my jaw because the sight of her would dislocate it. There was a time I saw her walking out of the theater, and I had to do a double take. It was her stride, but...more. There was a confidence, a saunter, something about the sway of her hips that said, "Yeah, I know you're looking. That's about all you'll get to do." Her tattoo stood out, bold and as in your face as the words on her tongue ring would be if that perfect mouth actually uttered them. Her pirate boots went up to her knees, those pants clung to every curve your could imagine, and then some that you didn't even know were there. Her shoulders were pulled back, accentuating EVERYTHING, and her hair was pulled back to make it impossible to hide behind her hair. She was wearing red lipstick. Bright red. The innocence that was there before was gone now, and I imagined I could hear her thoughts screaming "Screw you!!" when she caught me staring in the library that day. But she kept the gaze, instead of going back to her books like she normally did. There was a challenge, an insult in that look, like she wanted me to try to keep up with her. It reminded me of playing chicken in high school. After I broke her gaze, I could see her shoulders slump in my peripheral. I got the impression that she was very disappointed.

It was a few weeks before we even spoke.

She came into the library, dropped her books on my table, right in front of me. I had been so absorbed in my Calculus homeowork that I hadn't even noticed her, which was not an easy thing to do. She was wearing her pirate boots again. I was watching her lips, seductively red again, when I realized they had stopped moving. Shit.

"Umm...sorry?" I couldn't do anything but stutter out those words, could barely find the ability to breathe with her right there.          
She smiled. Oh God. It was a complete out of body experience. I could feel my mind slipping out of my body, literally. And in the background I could hear the Caesar's "Jerk It Out" and the laugh I thought was just internal actually made it out. She sat down. And the smile on her face wasn't enough. She had to speak.

"I like a guy that can laugh."

I was afraid to speak, afraid that once she heard the falsetto she'd get up and leave. So I just sat there. I could feel the heat creeping up my neck. She leaned over the table, her arms tucked under her boobs so they were almost spilling out of her tube top. Oh my fucking god.

"I'm Cassie."

I had to swallow before I could force the words out.

"Danni."

She extended her hand across, and I took it.

"Nice to meet you, Danni." There was something in her voice, and when I finally looked her right in her eyes, the smirk on her lips made me want to bite them. Then I looked up, into her eyes. It was like I was watching my cat at home, getting ready to pounce on a bird. Predatory. Amused. Her eyes lingered for a minute, then glanced down before meeting my gaze again, this time hooded.

"Whatcha working on?" The words were almost a purr, coming from her crimson lips. I looked down at my book, only just noticing her fingers were caressing the page that I had been so focused on a few moments before. Had it only been that long? God, she was distracting!

I flipped the book closed, marking my page with my pencil.

"Calculus." There was no surprise in her voice, only the words. It was a statement, more than anything else. But just hearing the words still made me swallow before forcing out my sentence.

"Yeah. It's the one class this quarter that's kicking my ass."

"Understandably." She sat back, her eyes calculating. I felt like a snake watching a mongoose that was debating on the best form of attack.

"Yeah."

Silence followed. But it wasn't awkward. She sat there, watching me, this inquisitive look on her face that made me want to keep talking, except I almost couldn't because she was right across the table from me. She pulled out her books, cracked them open and just started to read. And, well, I followed suit. Two of my friends showed up not long afterwards, and she introduced herself.

And that was it. She showed up at my table in the library every day after that. And it was like she belonged. Well, almost. There was always an ethereal feeling that surrounded her, and I wasn't the only one that noticed it. She had this way of making everyone around her feel either end of the spectrum. Cassie was not a girl you could be neutral about. You either hated her or loved her, and it was always with such complete and total passion.