Untouched

Chapter One- Scholarship Baby

Although she had attempted to, she could not bring her heart to still for even a moment. The beads of sweat ever present on her honey cream skin made it difficult for her to remain pressed against the wall without succumbing to an inevitable slide. This along with the ache in her feet from having run the entire length of the campus and racing heart had pushed her to remain as a shadow between the pillars she used in this lecture hall as her haven. But as she attempted to press her body further into the length of the faux marble that outlined the entire top portion of the room, her eyes fell witness to the door coming open and the stalker she had managed to escape earlier into her race of cat and mouse, had now found her.

Immediately to the sight of this figure, she quietly clasped her hands over her desperate attempts for air as she closed her eyes and used the wall to slide downwards to the floor, until she was able to crawl between a series of chairs that had held the peers of her psychology class that very morning; and now held the potential as becoming a result of another crime scene.

“Oh Natalie?” A taunting echo found her between the seats as she forced her knees to her chest with a desperate attempt to appear invisible to the eagle eyed foe.

“Do you remember the last time we were here? It wasn’t all that long ago...We were learning things from each other…” As he began to reminisce aloud, her skin crawled with regret. The moment he spoke of had been one she shared with a man she had trusted; arguably more than anyone at the point he was in reference to. But now as she thought of his hands glitching up her skin, she became claustrophobic with fear; knowing the hands of a serial killer were on her amorously just hours prior.

“And yet, you taught me things as well.” He scoffed at the irony of these words as he began to climb the stairs. His continued speech had allowed her the knowledge of his location, as he continued to close in on her with each passing second.

“You would think by now that you would have learned that I always get what I want...And it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you...that I want you.” For a brief second, she brought her head between her knees before hearing the creaking of nearby steps give away to the fresh weight pressed upon them.

“Hmm...I must admit...I’m disappointed...considering the other girls were a little better at hide and seek…” This sinister man left a devilish grin on his expression as he moved to her, taking one step at a time before finally ceasing while the edge of his toes met with her bare feet.

“Get up.” But as he expected his tone of voice or reputation to prove as enough intimidation, all he received in return was a woman with sodden cheeks having now raised her eyes to him in pure hatred.

“I won’t say it again, Natalie…This can be easier than you are making it...I’ll even be quick-just for you…” The constant belittlement he placed upon her shouldn’t have surprised her considering that was the encompassment of their relationship up until now; even when they bantered playfully. But in this instance, she no longer saw a lover, a confidant, or even a friend. Instead, she saw the face of the man who had been tormenting her for the last several months; nearing a year. And just as she climbed to her feet, for a purpose to not appear a coward, she couldn't help but recall the mistakes she had made that led her to this moment….

A HANDFUL OF MONTHS PRIOR...

“It’s going to be a good thing for us, I can feel it…” Natalie’s mother expressed with a forced sense of optimism that was revealed in the overextension of her eyebrows and lack of a genuine smile. But for the sake of her recently renewed maternal figure, she gave a weak grin of her own before giving a gentle nod and slipping out of the passenger side of the car.

“I believe you are in the Chisholm Hall...Which if I can remember...is just beyond the fountain…” Her mother continued, stretching her arm in the direction she spoke, while Natalie moved to the trunk of the car to retrieve her belongings. A single black suitcase present with a pink luggage tag remaining from the flight held everything that she had owned, as she lifted it over the lip of the sidewalk to prepare for this ‘new venture’.

“I know this is a lot...but I truly think it’ll be good for both of us...The scholarship came at the perfect time and that way you can be closer to us...I’m just sorry about Asher-”

“I should probably get going...I have classes in the morning and I...I am already a semester behind…” Her mother’s face fell but rose back in understanding as she extended her arms into a hug, that was given from guilt instead of want. But when the two women, bearing the same blood, parted, a set of eyes fell upon her from across the grounds of the campus. A set of faded green orbs that followed her every movement…

“I love you, Nattie.”

“I love you too, mom…” Although these words had been true, the pain she was forced to endure the last several years had shown in her delivery of them. Yet, she tried to continue forward with a faux smile as she eventually crossed the fountain and into the hall designated for her. But almost immediately, she was judged. If not for the stylish yet affordable clothes that were set on her slender yet curvy physique, than for her having appeared as a novice Freshman, despite the fact that she was already three months into a new college. She did not have the privilege to be submerged in a sea of similar young men and women bouncing around between the wrong numbered rooms, as would be expected on the first day. Instead, she stuck out like a sore thumb; in more ways than one…

“Room 206..” she read to herself before opening the door to find a pair of girls sitting on the bed suddenly hiding something beneath a pillow before laughing amongst themselves. Immediately, Natalie was introduced to the scent of m*******a, but chose to ignore it, as she did not wish to make enemies; especially with someone she was forced to share a space with for the remainder of the year; if not those that followed it until she would be able to graduate with her bachelors. But immediately, even while keeping her lips closed, her gaze to the floor, and her expression light, she was an outsider.

“You must be my new roomie…” The girl spoke behind her, forcing herself off of the bed and immediately moving behind Natalie, who felt overwhelmed by the woman at her back. “I’m El and this is Rachel…”

“Natalie.” She spoke kindly, turning for just a moment, before unzipping her luggage, and finding ‘El’ to sit beside the open suitcase.

“You can NOT wear anything in there! It’s all Sunday school clothes-oh my God, are you mormon or something? I probably shouldn’t have said ‘God” then-s**t!” El’s cocoa eyes widened with regret as Natalie let out a smirk of humor.

“No...I just wasn’t sure what to pack…” She confessed as El held up a series of plain tshirts and jeans that appeared the same, with the expectation of the shade of fade they had consisted of.

“This isn’t Antarctica...nobody is going to look at you wearing a poncho…”

“I don’t want anyone to look at me.” She confessed, wishing to focus exclusively on her studies, in opposition to her previous attempts at nurturing a relationship and forfeiting the thoughts of her future.

“Well I can’t have MY roommate leaving MY room dressed like she is a convent. So after you get all settled and I get my Boba, we are going to do something about your smocks...even if we make a few crop tops or something-just give a little edge or show a little skin because...you definitely have the body for it…” El’s eyes descended her frame in such a way that was confusing for Natalie. She had been hit on in the past, but never by someone quite like “El”-and in a way that was not reciprocated; even though El had an eccentric beauty all her own.

On these words, El left the room and allowed Natalie the chance to get a sense of her new space. At first, she only came upon the sketches hung by thumbtacks on the wall adjacent her own, the display of wrappers having been long forgotten beneath the bed, and decor that appeared like something out a wiccan cult in opposition to a carefree teeanger on the cusp of adulthood. She questioned how they would ever find peace with sparing characters constantly rivaling one another. But eventually, her thoughts began to melt away as she received a reminder on her phone of everything that had to be done before her first official day; which was set to begin in less than twenty four hours.

Swiping the reminder off of her smart watch, she left her unpacked luggage on the bed, and ventured throughout the campus to find a beautiful display of floristry and architecture awaiting her. Although she knew no difference between pillars or columns or roses and carnations, she admired the view nonetheless. So much so that she became distracted in the sudden jolt of a force causing her to fall off kilter.

“Watch where you’re going!” A woman’s voice grunted as she turned to resume her friends, speaking of Natalie as she passed. “I really hope her retailed cotton didn’t get on my cashmere…” The woman spoke, reminding Natalie that high school was not exactly over just because a cap gets thrown into the air and a diploma is handed; or at least, the drama of high school wasn’t.

Continuing forward following a series of signs, she came to the library, where she was set to rent her books for the semester or risk having to ask her new stepfather for a loan. As she did not have a full-time position anywhere yet, she desired to keep everything under a certain amount so she would not have to ask the man her mother decided to marry on a whim for anything. Due to this, she moved to the ‘used’ section of the textbooks in the library labeled with a single paper sign attached to the end of the shelf prior to her disappearing into the stacks.

With a piece of paper aligned with the literature she would need for her first day, she began to finger the bindings with a deep focus; unaware of the attention brought on her by the same emerald eyes that followed her when she arrived a handful of minutes earlier.

“Do you need help?” A deep voice startled her as she turned to find a man at her back. He was her age but wore eyes of great mischief beneath thick black hair curled just before the curve of his brows.

“No thank you.” She was honest, wishing to spend the entire day searching for the textbooks in place of offering a stranger an excuse to bring attention to her.

“I haven’t seen you around before...Did you transfer?” He continued to inquire with her as she tried to remain polite, but found his unwavering relentlessness to cause a sense of aggravation beneath her otherwise collected persona.

“Well if you choose to stop being so stuck up or shy, haven’t figured you out yet, there is a party tonight at Zeta Kai...You should show...I would love to introduce you...maybe to my bedroom…” Her eyes suddenly shot in his direction as the abrupt dissolvement of her sheepish exterior faded at her feet.

“Does that actually work?” His brows rose in surprise.

“I-”

“I just want to find my textbooks...alone…”

“You must be the scholarship girl...that’s why you’re in the ‘used’ section-right?” The man c****d his jaw as she attempted to move beyond him, not wanting him to add a dent to her already bruised and tarnished self esteem. “I wouldn’t feel too special you know...They choose the worst charity cases annually-I don’t know if that makes you lucky or unfortunate.”

“The only unfortunate thing about my arrival so far, is you...so if you’ll excuse me.” pressing one of the books to her chest, she decided to request the others from the front desk, and moved beyond this lustful rival. It would take a total of an hour before she would be able to claim all of the books for the semester within her hands and return to her room, to find El dressed in a skin tight crimson dress cut out at the entire left side of the hip to expose a lengthy dragon tattoo that laid even longer than the garment over it.

“Scholarship Baby...not even here a day and you already have a nickname…” El commented as she turned to the mirror, applying a final shade of deep auburn to her lips, before blotting the excess onto a tissue, and turning to face her roommate. “Do you realize that’s probably not a good thing to walk around stuck up? You aren’t going to make any friends or-”

“I just want to graduate. That’s it…” Natalie spoke rather sharply as El turned with an ‘okay then’ expression, before falling back to her mirror.

“I’m just saying that maybe try to let loose a little bit...College is about expression; both academic and personal. And you haven’t even been here...four hours and you’ve made enemies. Maybe show them that you’re not this stuck up bit-girl...that they think you are.”

“What makes you think that I care?”

“Please...Nobody wants to be an outsider. Even sidekicks need friends...and even though you may not exactly be a Barbara Gordon to my Bruce Wayne...you could settle for...Alfred…” Natalie glared.

“He’s useful and all...but...I would just hate to see your potential go to waste...I mean look at it like this...You’re going to look back on this in five years-ten years-fifty, and you’re going to question why you didn’t take those risks. Like me for example...I could have gone for a tiny wrist tattoo, but I went for this…” El spoke as she exposed her dragon tattoo, the details more prominent for Natalie as she showed her.

“Or I could have chosen a safe little black dress-” Again, she showed off her attire with her hands. “If not for the future you will look back on and kick yourself in the ass...then for that reason you have a stick up it.”

Natalie’s glare softened. “I can recognize daddy issues when I see them...So why don’t you steal something from my closet; nothing from the left side, and let it out with an exchange of hot sweaty frat guys-or girls...and take out a little of that frustration. There is LITERALLY NO HARM in letting loose.” El let out a sigh.

“I hope to see you there, Alfred…” El smirked to herself before leaving the dorm room with a swift sweep of the door coming closed.

“Alfred?’ Natalie scoffed. The only time she had ever truly dressed up for anything was prom, with a boy she had loved since middle school; one who decided to dump her when learning she was moving a few states to the east. But it was not the words of her abrasive roommate that convinced her to ‘try something new’...it was the words of this ex that told her that she was…’plain as paper’-and that was putting it nicely.

And so, she ventured to the closet on the opposite side of the room that did not belong to her, and scrolled through the series of outfits. Mostly reeking of weed, she came upon a rather attractive garment; classic and elegant, and a complete surprise as this was beyond El’s ‘normal’ attire-based on the clothes that surrounded it. But as she slipped into it, looking at her reflection and holding her hair up with the potential updo she would allow, she forfeited any thought of attending this ridiculous event. For starters, she knew no one but those she had apparently pissed off, and secondly, she hadn’t eaten in nearly half a day; making the diner just off campus more appealing than some misogynistic afterparty of trust fund babies and their potential one night stands. Because of this,she returned the dress to its hanger, picked up her cell and wallet into her back pocket, and set off to the diner.

A usual 50s themed diner with red leather seats and waitresses dressed in the era’s best poodle skirts and vintage cat eyes welcomed her gaze as she slid her weight onto a bar stool at the very end of the chrome counter. Immediately, she was approached by one of these throwback servers, as she ordered a plate of fries and a vanilla shake. Taking one of her impromptu literary snatches in the attempt to wait for her textbooks to be tracked and scanned, she cracked the spine of this Thomas Hardy novel before becoming lost in the world of Tess and Angel. For a moment, she could feel the grass as the great author spoke of it and the love or lack thereof between the characters aforementioned. Yet, she would become immersed in this fictional world, dipping the salty potato wedges into the creamy shake, at the intrigue of a man at the end of the bar.

“Forgive me, I have to know...what is the fascination with it?” His strong British accent took her eyes upwards for a moment before she found a posh stranger speaking to her. A brilliant smile was held in full lips that etched to a dimple poorly hidden beneath stubble resting in a sandy hue.

“The shake and the chips…” Her eyes moved down for a moment, before she smirked; something about this man’s kind eyes having made her feel temporarily safe-flirtatious even.

“Do you...want to try one?” She asked with an uneasy laugh as he slowly nodded.

“I am only risking my tongue because a girl who has a taste in Hardy cannot be questionable…” With this, he took the fry from between her fingers, rounded the edge of the mug, before taking it between his lips. For a moment, his expression paused as he took in the thick yet saccharine beverage along with the hints of salt embedded in a rather odd mixture, until his face rose with intrigue. “Hmmm…”

“So? What is the verdict?”

“I think I need a chocolate one…” He motioned for the waitress to make a batch of his own chocolate ice cream, while he turned to offer her a pleasantry in the wait. “Jackson…”

“Natalie.”

“Charmed.” Her heart fluttered at his old-fashioned compliments and overall way of existing. To be honest with herself, he was like a walking romance protagonist-only absent the torn white shirt and noble ivory steed. But he wore an angelic face with sinful eyes; a dangerous combination for girls as virtuous as her…as men like him made girls like her naive.

“There you go…” The waitress explained as she returned, asking if there was anything else she could do, before leaving the couple alone.

“It’s only fair…” He explained, offering her a fry of his own as she brought it to the chocolate shake, finding it to be a less favorite than the vanilla, but a sweet moment with a stranger.

“Tell me...Natalie...What is it about Hardy?” Her lips parted for a moment as she let out a sigh. At first, she wished to give a broad explanation of how she adored Angel’s portrayal not vested until the second half of the book or beyond. She wished she knew a broader vocabulary or could reiterate scenes aloud as she suspected he was capable of, quote on quote, but all she could do was shrug.

“I suppose a better question would be what is a beautiful girl like you reading Hardy in a diner at nearly ten pm?” Her eyes slid over to him, unsure why it was he had come on subtly strong; the same comparison to that of cologne that did not become aromantic until lingering in it too long-by that point, one would be too intoxicated to part from it.

“Forgive me...It has been quite a while since I…” His eyes fell away from her in thought. “In point of fact…” He suddenly lifted his wallet, pressing a handful of fives and two ones onto the counter before turning to her.

“I will stop before I utterly c**k up your night…” He inhaled sharply before holding up his hands in surrender and backing towards the door. However, as she watched his silhouette begin to leave, she felt guilty or even remorseful of him. He was the only person since she arrived in Pennsylvania to actually show her any form of genuine kindness. Due to this, she wished for him to remain at her side; if anything, for just a few more moments.

“I like reading classic romance because they’re the same. They are usually tragic; Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet-Tess of the D’urbervilles...They hold a timid protagonist leading with her mind, forfeiting to her heart, only to sacrifice her life...I like it because it’s expected. And if there are any surprises...it isn’t in the form of a heartbreak...because you already expect it…”

He turned and smiled, leaning against the bar as they continued to speak.

“And here I was thinking that you read them for the male leads…”

“Please...antiheroes or broken love interests are no more than grated down versions of the writer’s real life experiences or fantasies. Everyone who is broken wants to find someone more broken so they don’t feel as…”

“Broken?” He finished her point as she smirked to herself.

“Well then...am I so bold to buy you another shake and ask your opinion on Wuthering Heights then?”

Although she was thrilled at the idea, she looked to the diner of women, some sitting with their dates or long term whatevers and glaring at her with envy. After all, she saw herself as a wallflower; something pretty from afar, but never truly approachable, for her own venomous visual daggers. However, he didn’t seem to pay a single mind to any of them-only focusing on her.

“Surely you have something better to do.” But to her words, his eyes narrowed to his hands as he shook his head.

“Are you kidding? I have been in the states five years and this is probably the first time I’ve had a conversation with someone that didn’t have the words “Starbucks”, “Twitter”, or “Boba” in it.” She smirked to herself.

“Besides...You seem far more interesting...And with that...What are your thoughts with Bronte?” His mouth etched wider into a smile as they continued to speak on an intellectual level. They discussed the difference in romance and erotic literature; the Harlequins and the timeless pieces that spread continents and decades. They began to learn of one another before finding similarities in with themselves and the characters they spoke of. It was a date without a title and an interrogation without the fretting. It acted as a screening for something she never believed she would find; someone like her…

But who knew that those beautiful emerald eyes and entrancing British accent would bring so much trouble...