Starting Over

Chapter 2

Cameron's POV:

My hands felt like they were on fire with the amount of typing I was doing to try to get everything that the professor was writing down on the whiteboard. I'm never going to be able to get all of this.

I happen to glance over to Theo who was still sitting beside me and when I did, he looked away from me and back at the professor. I swear by the looks of it he was leaning a little closer to me, almost as if he was trying to smell me but he wasn't close enough to smell me, just looked like it. It made me feel a little uneasy but then again, it's not like he was all that close to me. It's probably just my eyes. I wasn't exactly looking right at him, it was just a glance in my peripheral vision. I could have easily seen him wrong. What I know I didn't see wrong, was the fact that he was looking at me and that he looked away as soon as I glanced over at him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him and he looked over at me as if I was disturbing his learning.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" He asked, again, as if he was deep in concentration but I know that he wasn't.

I know that he was looking at me. Looking longer than just a quick glance. I still think he was sniffing me but I can't be certain of it. It's not like I've had someone sniff me before to know what it would look like. He just appeared to inhale quicker and sharper than a normal breath.

"Sorry, I thought maybe you needed something," I told him and he looked down at my laptop as if he was checking over my work.

"Do you need help? We can study after class too if you want." He offered after seeing how little I had because my typing was so slow, and I looked over at my laptop and then up at the professor and I just sighed in defeat.

"I really do need this class and I already feel as if I'm falling behind," I mumbled and he nodded his head.

"We can study in the library if you want if being in public would make you feel more comfortable." He continued with his offer as if I was uncomfortable with being alone with him, which I sort of was, and I looked over at him.

It was probably just my imagination. I'm sure he wasn't sniffing me. That would just be creepy. I just gave him a smile and nodded my head in agreement. I went back to my typing only to feel even more frustrated with it and just shut my laptop...again. I leaned back in my chair and just listened as the professor talked and wrote at the same time, occasionally turning around to speak with the class and ask questions.

Once the class was over, I picked up my laptop and put it in my bag, and threw it over my shoulder. Theo was already out of the row and I wasn't sure where he was but in a way, I wasn't too worried about it. I was almost now too exhausted to bother with studying anymore tonight and just wanted to go back home and crash.

A few of the other students bumped into me as they tried to exit the room. I just waited till they were all out and then headed out myself and into the hallway.

"Hey! Wait up!" I heard Theo and looked behind me.

"I thought we were going to go study in the library tonight before it closes." He said as he caught up to me and was walking beside me.

"I don't know. I'm rather tired now. Could we do it another time?" I asked him.

"By the looks of it, you didn't have enough on your spreadsheet to study and the test is next week. Not to mention we have that essay now to do." He told me and I grumbled to myself over that damn essay that I managed to cause everyone to have to do by Friday.

I looked over at him and he had a hopeful look on his face. I sighed and nodded.

"I guess. I really need to raise my grade in this class. I've never had such a hard time before." I told him and he chuckled.

"Mr. Mansfield isn't the easiest professor but I think you can do it." He told me with a smile.

We changed the direction that we were walking and started towards the library.

"I don't think I've ever caught your name." He told me as he opened the double doors to the library.

"Cameron but most people just call me Cam for short," I told him and he softly nodded.

"Do you have a last name? Or is it just Cameron?" He asked and I chuckled and shook my head.

"No, I have a last name. It's Harper." I told him and his eyes widened just a touch as if something had just occurred to him but quickly shook the thought or feeling from his mind.

I wasn't sure if I read his expression properly or not but it did cause me to question what he was thinking. It appeared as if he knew something or remembered something about me as if he knew me. Maybe he is part of the year I am missing? If that's the case, then shouldn't he have already recognized me?

I walked with him over to one of the tables and I sat down. He sat in a chair across from me and pulled out his laptop and set it on the table as I did the same.

"Why don't we start working on the essay since that is due in a couple of days, while the test isn't till next week." He said and I nodded.

We spent the next hour working on the essay. He seemed as if he had already figured out most of what he was going to write about before we even got in here. On the other hand, I struggled with figuring out what I wanted and sat there with a blank mind most of the time. He did end up helping me come up with a starting point and also threw in a few jokes here and there. I was feeling a little more comfortable around him and I did enjoy his company.

"What do you think of this so far?" I asked him and was in the process of turning my laptop around for him to look at it but instead, he got up and walked around the table.

I watched him as he walked behind me and pulled out a chair next to me and sat down. My chest tightened at the thought of him so close. For some reason, I felt different suddenly around him than I did when I first met him in the classroom. Maybe it's because now I know a little more about him and that we aren't really strangers anymore. Or maybe it's because we are the only ones left in the library besides the librarian.

He leaned close to me and the first thing I noticed was the fact that I didn't feel much in the way of body heat from him even though he was close enough that I should have been able to feel him or even the warmth of his breath but I didn't. If anything, I felt a slight chill spread over my body instead.

"Are you cold?" I asked him out of the blue and he looked over at me.

"That's an odd question to ask." He said with a chuckle and I felt my cheeks redden in embarrassment, causing me to look away from him to hide my face.

My breath hitched in my throat when I suddenly felt his lips so close to my skin. My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest, causing my nerves to go crazy.

"What are you doing?" I asked him nervously, almost too scared to move or look over at him.

"You just...smell so good." He said and I suddenly felt his lips run lightly over the skin of my neck causing me to slide off of my chair and stand up.

"I, ah, I think I should get going," I told him quickly and reached over to grab my laptop to put it back in my bag.

"I'm sorry, Cam." He said as he stood up from his chair.

"I thought you were interested in me like I am you." He said as he stood in front of me, causing me to look up at him.

"I don't know what I feel or think Theo but who gets that close to someone on the same day you meet?" I asked him.

"I guess I didn't really think of it that way since we have other classes together." He told me.

"It's still too fast and it makes me think that you only want one thing and one thing only," I told him sharply and turned to walk away but he quickly got in front of me again, causing me to stop.

"Just because I'm interested, doesn't mean that's all I want." He responded.

"You could have fooled me with how close you got to me so quickly. We were supposed to be studying and working on our essay, not making out." I scolded him and he chuckled softly.

"I know and I'm sorry." He said, apologizing.

"Would you like to work on it again tomorrow night after your classes?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"No, I think maybe it will just be better if I study on my own," I told him and walked around him to head out of the library.

"Can I at least walk you home?" He asked as he came up beside me again.

"No, I would prefer you didn't," I said to him as I looked over at him.

"Thanks anyway," I told him and quickened my pace, and walked out of the building.

I couldn't help but almost sprint down the sidewalk towards the subway station. I thought maybe I was feeling something for him but then suddenly I felt creeped out by him. So many feelings I have gotten already in such a short time. I felt attracted, uneasy, disgusted, scared, and confused all in just a few hours. I almost felt as if there was something about him that wasn't natural. Almost not human but how would that be possible? Why would I get a feeling like that? This isn't a feeling I recall ever feeling before yet my body claims that it has. I'm so confused right now that I just want to get home and lock my doors and windows.

Even on the subway train, I kept looking around. Even though I knew no one was behind me, I still kept glancing over my shoulder as I held on to the handle above my head. Once the train stopped and the doors opened, I was rushing out of there as if someone was chasing or following me even if there was no one on the train with me or at the station, I still felt as if they were there. I couldn't seem to shake the sudden fear that I had that was caused by him as I ran up the stairs and onto the sidewalk just a few blocks from my apartment. It was as if my body was trying to tell me something that I couldn't seem to remember.

I couldn't help but think he followed me even though every time I looked over my shoulder and around me I didn't see him or anyone else for that matter. That still didn't stop me from feeling something off about this entire situation. I don't recall ever feeling like this before that mugging. I'm suddenly scared of the dark, always fearful that someone is not who they claim to be and now I feel that somehow someone is following me without me seeing them. I knew it wasn't possible because they weren't on the subway train but it still didn't stop me from thinking that they somehow had the speed to keep up with me even if that was an impossible thing.

I ran into my building as fast as I could, opened my apartment door, and locked all the locks when I shut it. I ran over to all of the windows and closed the curtains in every room. I only have two rooms that have windows but still, they all got closed and the windows were locked even though I wasn't on the ground floor. Even if there was no way of getting to my window from the outside, I still felt the need to lock it.

I turned off all the lights in my apartment and walked into my bedroom and laid down on my bed. I tried to think back to figure out why this suddenly had me freaked out but I couldn't think of anything. All I got was the start of that damn headache again so I just closed my eyes and stopped thinking about it.

Every little sound that I heard caused me to open my eyes and look around. I couldn't get past the way Theo felt that close to me and that feeling was enough to have me scared out of my skin.