The Fire and the Phoenix

FIVE | ROSALIE

"Titan arum. A corpse flower." I started walking towards the locker rooms, turning back over my shoulder with a mischievous grin. "Google it! I'll be back in a few minutes!" I teased.

I trotted towards the locker room and stripped out of my sweaty uniform, grimacing as I peeled the sweaty socks off my feet. I grabbed a couple of towels from the pile next to the shower room and stepped in the shower. I rinsed off and washed and conditioned my hair as quickly as I could.

"Girl, who is that Mr. Gorgeous you've been talking to?" Dani's voice echoed off the tile.

I popped my head out from behind the shower curtain and reached up to ring out my hair. "What?" I called.

Dani's soapy head appeared next to mine. "That guy," she said. She wiped the shampoo off her forehead with a washcloth, grinning. "Tall, dark, and mysterious."

I shrugged and reached in to turn off the water. Wrapping my head and body in the towels I had brought with me, I stepped out of the shower and turned towards Dani. She looked at me expectantly.

I sighed. "Rinse off, and I'll tell you," I said. "You're not going to believe this."

As Dani rinsed off, I dressed and dried my hair as best I could with my towel. I sighed in exasperation as I threw it up in a messy bun and stuck in a couple of chopsticks I found in my bag to hold it in place. Dani walked up behind me, drying her hair with her towel.

"Ugh," I complained.

"Don't you even start," complained Dani. I turned toward her and stifled a giggle. Her extremely curly hair was sticking up all over her head from the vigorous towel drying she had given it. She glared at me as she started parting her hair to braid it. "Ok. Spill."

I sighed as I put a thin coat of tinted moisturizer on my face. "So...remember the guy from MARTA I told you about? The cute firefighter that clocked me in the face with his bookbag?"

Dani stopped braiding her hair and stared at me in the mirror. "What, the one you were obsessing about for like a year back in middle school?"

I nodded.

"No...freaking...way…" she stated. "That's him?"

I nodded again.

Dani narrowed her eyes at me and frowned.

"Wait, what's that look?" I asked.

She sighed and started braiding her hair again. "You don't think that's a bit creepy?" she asked. "Like...pedo creepy? I mean, you were twelve, right?"

I laughed. "No, it's serendipitous."

Dani c****d her head. "Meaning?"

"His sister plays for Crescent Academy."

Her eyes widened. "For real?" she exclaimed. "Wow. That's crazy. What did you call that again?"

I laughed again. "Serendipitous. It means a fortunate accident," I said.

Dani narrowed her eyes at me again. "Why didn't you just say that," she whined. "You are such a nerd."

I grimaced and shook my head. "I prefer geek," I giggled.

"Yeah, whatever," Dani laughed. "Whatever you are, ya got too much book learnin'," she said, poking me with her elbow.

We both laughed.

"Anyway," Dani said, "be careful."

I butted hips with her. "Always," I said. She hugged my shoulder and went back to braiding her hair. "Let me know how it goes," she said.

"It?" I asked.

She winked and I laughed. I grabbed my duffel and headed toward the door.

Shaking my head, I left the locker room and headed back to the basketball court. When I turned the corner, John was staring right at me. His sister and another guy were standing with him. Great, I thought. I swallowed and headed over to him.

"Um, hi again. We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Rosalie," I said. I offered my hand to his sister.

She grinned and took it. "I'm Amy, the i***t's younger sister."

Giggling, I offered my hand to the guy. He was gorgeous too. Was everyone at Crescent this good looking? I might have to transfer. He shook hands with me, smiling. "I'm Nolan, the i***t's best friend," he smirked.

I shook my head and gave John a sidelong glance. "i***t, huh?" I teased.

John frowned and shrugged.

I poked him in the side with my elbow. "Eh, you can't be that much of an i***t. You found me after all this time, right?"

"That was dumb luck," he said with a lopsided grin. "Amy's team just happened to be playing yours tonight."

I smiled back at him. "I don't believe in luck," I said.

John looked me in the eyes and I almost swooned. What was wrong with me?

"Rosie, there's something I need to talk to you about," he said quietly.

"Later," I said as cheerfully as I could. "Right now, I need to introduce you to my parents, so they know I wasn't crazy when I was twelve." I turned and headed towards the exit.

"Guess I'm going with her," John said to his sister. I heard him trotting up behind me. I smiled up at him, suddenly realizing that, except for daddy, he was one of the few guys I had to smile up at. At almost 6 feet, I was taller than most of the guys in my class, other than some of the other athletes. He had to be at least 6 ft 6, maybe taller. My head would fit so perfectly under his chin...

"What?" he asked quizzically.

I suddenly realized that I had been staring, and I looked down and shrugged. "Sorry," I mumbled.

He smiled. "No worries," he said as he took my duffle and reached around to push the door open for me.

As I stepped out, I turned around to thank him and immediately stumbled on the stairs. "Crap!" I yelped as I threw my hands out in front of me to break my fall. John's strong arms were around my waist faster than I thought was humanly possible. He pulled me back onto the landing, leaning me back onto his chest for support.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Are you ok?"

"I think so," I gasped. My heart was racing from the adrenaline rush.

John's arms wrapped around me tightly, and we stood there as I caught my breath.

After a few seconds, I started feeling awkward and tried to move his arms. "I think it's safe for you to let go now," I said uncomfortably.

"Ok," he whispered. He bent his head towards my neck and breathed in deeply. I squirmed a little, trying to loosen his grip.

"Um, John?"

"Yes?"

"You can let go now," I said a little more firmly.

His grip loosened immediately. "Sorry," he muttered. He ran his hands through his hair and grimaced sheepishly.

I turned around and looked at him.

"It's ok," I said hesitantly.

"No, it's not," he disagreed. He sighed and went down the stairs. I followed him down slowly, watching him warily.

He turned towards me when he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Rosie, I'm sorry," he apologized.

I hopped off the bottom stair and looked up at him. "Sorry for what?" I crossed my arms, waiting.

He ran his fingers through his hair again without looking at me and sighed. "This." He grasped my shoulders gently with his hands and looked at me with sad eyes. "I, Johnathan Brandon, Al…I Johnathan..." He swallowed and dropped his head. "I can't…"

I stepped back from him. "What is going on John?"

His arms fell to his side. He looked completely defeated.

My brow furrowed. I was puzzled and a little annoyed. "John!" I huffed.

His eyes snapped up to mine and he smiled wanly. His eyes seemed to have lightened to a honey golden color, and flecks of black seemed to swim through them. "Rosalie," he said huskily. He touched my face gently. "I'm sorry if I made you nervous. It's just...I don't know…" He closed his eyes and shook his head. When he reopened them, I did a double take. His eyes were strangely back to his normal light brown. I dismissed it off as a trick of the light.

"I feel like I've known you forever, and we've only actually spoken twice."

I smiled shyly. "It's weird, right?"

He smiled. "You feel it too?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know what I feel," I responded and looked at him coyly. "But I'd like to find out."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

I shrugged again. "Really."

He enveloped me into a quick hug. "Does that mean I can take you out tonight?"

I pulled back and shook my head. "I always eat out with my parents and uncle after a game." His face fell and I grinned quickly. "But I'm sure they'd be ok with you joining us."