Starting Over

Chapter 3

Cameron's POV:

It's been a week since I saw Theo. I remember him telling me that he thought we had other classes together but I don't recall seeing him in any of my other classes the rest of the week or the beginning of the next week. I also don't go out on the weekends like the rest of the students only because I just can't seem to handle the dark. So after my shift at the diner on Saturday and Sunday mornings, I get any groceries I might need for the following week and then I go back to my apartment. I then lock my door and make sure all of my windows are still locked along with closing all the curtains for nightfall.

I feel as if I've become paranoid but I have to do what I can to make myself feel more comfortable. I then find something to have for dinner and then work on my school work. I might watch a movie in the evening but even that doesn't happen too often because of the amount of work I have for each class.

The essay that I caused everyone to have completed by last Friday, I never did get it done. I was surprised he didn't torture me more by forcing me to go first but I lucked out. Instead, he drew names from a hat and I got lucky and my name never got drawn. That doesn't mean I'm out of the woods yet. All it means is all of us who didn't get up and speak in front of the class last Friday, must do so, today which is Wednesday. The other thing I just realized, is that Theo wasn't there on Friday. Maybe he got sick or something and that's why I hadn't seen him the remaining of the week. Maybe I will get lucky and not see him today in class either.

I'm dreading it. I feel that my presentation is crap and I suck at talking in front of people. I have it memorized but I know that I will screw it up because talking in front of other people is not something I'm very good at doing. Stage fright is a real thing even if you aren't on a stage. Regardless, I have my box of items. I chose to do socialization in babies and children for my essay. I chose to talk about an experiment that was done on babies and children that showed their development when they got attention and when they didn't. Writing my version of the study and listing the facts is one thing, but talking about it and showing pictures and graphs is another.

I got on the subway to head to the University and sat down in the first empty seat that I saw that way I didn't have to try to carry my box the entire ride. I leaned back on the seat and closed my eyes to rest a moment before my nightmare began.

I slowly opened my eyes when I felt the train start to come to a stop. Just like everyone else, I got up and headed off the train to my destination. I still had to walk a block to get to the University but there was still some daylight left yet. I'm actually not late this time so I shouldn't get in trouble with the professor when I walk in.

Several other students were walking through the door right before I got to it so I slipped in with them. I kept my head low in hopes that maybe the professor won't see me. I don't know, maybe I thought if he didn't know I was here that my name wouldn't get called. Stupid, I know, but one could only hope.

I quickly walked up the stairs in front of a few others and went all the way to the corner again, hoping to stay out of sight. I took my seat, set my box down and pulled out my laptop, and set it on the table ledge in front of me. I kept looking up in hopes that Theo won't show up again tonight like last Friday afternoon but I wasn't that lucky. Literally seconds before the professor shut the door, he walked in.

I hunched down to try to hide behind my laptop. I know I'm acting a little childish but something about him really made me nervous at the library. I think it's how close he got to me, how cold he appeared to be. I know he was flirting but then it went from innocent flirting to being creepy. I don't know if he would come up and sit with me again if he saw me which is why I tried to stay out of sight.

I peeked around my laptop, just enough to see him and he was chatting with the professor. I watched him while he talked and the moment that the professor walked away, he moved his head slightly as if he noticed something, like a strange scent or sound. My heart was beating like crazy, almost as if it was going to beat out of my chest just at the thought of him looking in my direction. My breath completely stopped when his head slowly turned in my direction. It was almost eerie feeling the way he looked over at me. It was as if he knew exactly where I was and that I was not in this room with 50 or more students.

I slid behind my computer again, trying to stay out of his sight. I thought it had worked until suddenly he was sitting beside me. How did he get up here so fast? I literally just moved out of sight!

"Are you feeling okay Cam?" He asked me and I looked at my screen as if I was busy only to see that it was still turned off.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I asked as I turned it on and started to get my presentation around quickly in hopes that he would get the hint that I was too busy to chat.

"Because of the way you acted at the library and now. It's almost as if you are suddenly trying to avoid me, maybe even a little scared of me?" He asked and I looked over in his direction.

"No, I'm just trying to get my essay ready," I told him.

"Look, I'm sorry about how fast I was moving with you last week. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable around me." He said, trying to apologize to me.

"You didn't make me uncomfortable." I tried to tell him in hopes of just getting off of this subject.

"Yeah, I did. I can tell." He told me and I just sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"Would you like to start over?" He asked me and I looked over at him.

Just about that time the professor started talking, giving me a good reason to not respond to his question and I looked over at the professor.

---

Standing in front of the entire class had my heart racing, my legs were trembling and my breath was uneven. I had different posters to present that had some facts and graphs to go along with my speech. My hands shook and trembled as I fiddled with them in front of me as I tried to keep my voice even but failed miserably. I kept studdering and forgetting what I wanted to say or talk about. I could feel the sweat beading on my skin from the embarrassment of my stage fright. I even felt a little lightheaded a few times as I pointed to different things on my posterboards.

"Thank you, Miss Harper." The professor said, cutting me off from my rambling.

"But, I ah, wasn't done with my speech," I told him.

"I think the class will agree with me that you have embarrassed yourself enough. Please, take your seat." He told me, making me feel even worse than I already did.

I grabbed my stuff and took everything back up the steps. I couldn't stop looking at the other students as they sat there and watched me walk up the steps till I got to the last row and made my way to my seat.

"Bastard," I mumbled as I sat down and put some of my project items in the box.

"He shouldn't teach," I grumbled as I shut my laptop while another student stood up there to give their presentation.

"Maybe he needs to be taught a lesson." I heard Theo say and I looked over at him but he didn't look at me.

He just sat there and watched the professor and listened to the student. Something about the way he said that made me question his meaning and what he was planning or thinking of doing.

---

Once our class was dismissed, I quickly stood up and walked past Theo and down the stairs. I picked up my speed more once I got into the hallway. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back, causing my back to hit the wall so hard that the wind was knocked out of my lungs.

"Theo?" I said softly as he stood in front of me, looking down at me.

He grabbed the box and posterboards that I was holding and set them down on the floor.

"What are you doing?" I asked him and looked over to see if there was anyone still here.

There were several still in the hallway and no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with what he was doing. They just chatted with their friends while some were already heading out of the building for the evening.

"You hadn't answered my question." He told me as if he was losing his patience.

"What question was that?" I asked him as I looked up into his gray eyes that seemed rather familiar to me somehow.

I felt as if I've seen eyes like that before but couldn't place where I would have seen them or who had them. I know that Clay has them too but why does it feel like a lot of others have them? The more that I think about it, how common really, are gray eyes?

"I asked if we could start over. You know, before I made you uncomfortable." He asked me again.

"How can we if you are still making me feel that way?" I answered him with a question.

"How so? Because I'm standing in front of you? I'm not doing anything other than standing here." He asked as he took a small step backwards.

"Theo..." I started to say but he quickly came forward and placed his finger over my lips to stop me from talking.

His finger felt chilled. I admit that the professor's office is a little cold but the hallway isn't. It is, after all, late spring and the heat is still on in here so why would his finger feel cold? Does he have a circulation problem that causes his skin to feel cold to the touch?

"I like you, Cam." He said to me in a slightly seductive voice causing my legs to suddenly feel weakened for some unknown reason.

He slowly brought himself closer to me, so close that his lips softly grazed over mine. He felt so cold, almost deathly cold and it made absolutely no sense to me yet felt so familiar at the same time. So many things about him seemed familiar yet I have no idea why. How is any of this possible?

"Let me kiss you." He said softly as he moved his lips across mine softly till they pressed softly in the corner of my mouth for a kiss.

"Please don't. You're scaring me," I told him in such a soft voice that I wasn't sure if he could hear me.

"Don't be. I don't bite...hard." He joked as he smiled but I couldn't find the humor in what he said and it almost sounded as if he wasn't joking at all.

Instead, all he did was cause me to feel more uneasy about him being so close to me. He moved his lips closer to mine again but this time I looked away off to the side. I felt him tilt his head down so his lips ran over the skin of my neck. I could feel him hesitate along with him inhaling my scent as he moved over my neck. I was feeling terrified yet at the same time exhilarated over the feel of his lips running along my neck. Something about it was very arousing even if he did come across as a little strange and borderline creepy. Nothing about the way it was making my body feel made any sense, especially when my brain kept screaming 'red flag' over and over, trying to get me to open my eyes to the dangers in front of me.

I closed my eyes and swallowed hard as he placed a soft kiss that lead to another kiss that was pressed harder into my neck. I let out a harsh breath when I felt something sharp run over my skin before he placed another kiss, causing any arousing feeling that I had to disappear instantly. It was almost as if he ran his teeth along my neck before he used his lips to place another kiss. It was enough for me to listen to my brain and wake up and out of this strange state that I was in!

I lifted my hands and placed them on his chest as if I wanted to push him away but instead his hands grabbed my wrists and pulled them away from him.

"You smell so good. So different." He whispered and the feel of his cooled breath trickled along my neck.

The little hairs on my skin stood up as the goosebumps moved along my body, causing me to shiver.

"It's like nothing else I've ever smelled." He continued and my mind was racing with confusion mixed with fear of what he could be referring to or thinking of.

"Theo, please. It's getting late." I told him, hoping that he would pull away be he didn't.

"So, so different. It's almost intoxicating my senses." He continued and I tried to pull my wrists out of his hands but he just tightened his hold on them.

I felt his mouth open over my neck as he started to suck on my skin. I could feel his tongue run over the area and I felt my body start to tense up. I was getting even more scared of what he might do and I wish for anything to happen that would get him to stop. I couldn't understand what was taking the professor so long in his room and wished for him to come out and see what Theo was doing in hopes that it would get him to stop.

I sucked in a breath when I felt it again. Something sharp grazed over my skin as he moved his lips lower on my neck. I felt it the entire way down till he finally stopped in the crook of my neck. Nothing he was doing was making any sense to me and I was getting scared to the point where I started to feel the tears filling up my eyes and threatening to fall down my cheeks. I felt him kiss the area of my neck some more before he whispered the words that caused me to gasp in fear, forcing the first tear to run down my cheek.

"I want to taste you, can I?"