Is this really happening to me right now?

I should have shut my mouth. I tried to be sanguine in a situation like this, but I could not help it. Someone needed to tell him the truth, and now I must pay the price for my words. There is no going back after this. The men start to form a circle, preventing me from running. It is like they are playing Little Sally Walker, but they are not dancing.

His shadow broods over me so the sun is not in my eyes anymore. I was expecting screaming and crazy rants, but this time is different. He smiles at me, but I do not return it. Something about his calmness scares me. It does not seem like him.

Suddenly, I am shaking in disquietude. Everything went so fast that I did not notice that he slapped me. He grabs my chin and squeezes it hard into his gloves. My lips are like a suckerfish as I stare into his eyes. They remain the same: cold and dark.

“ I suppose you ought to shut that little trap,” he said.

“ Before I detach it."

He looks down at me like a little bug that he is going to crush. He pulls a sword out of his scabbard, grazing the edge with his finger. Without saying anything, he nods his head. Two of his men follow his command with no questions asked. They pin me to the barbican, making sure that I do not get out of their grasp. They tear my dress apart until I am completely naked.

“ Wait! Don’t do this,” I begged.

I can hear his boots clicking against the ground. He is coming closer and closer... but something crashes on the ground. The two men release me and join the others as they whip out their swords.

“ Well, done. My brother,” he says, spitting blood out of his mouth. “ But my animus for you will never replenish in the afterlife.” His voice becomes weak. “ Mark my words.”

He plummets to the ground. His eyes do not move and a pool of blood drifts on the barbican. A man stands with pride. He has no guilt and no remorse. He does not feel anything for him anymore. It is sad to see their relationship go down like this, but it had to be done.

His eyes are set on the men. “ Now, you boys have two options,” Barnabas says. He points his sword at his brother. “ You move on with your lives now that my other half is gone.”

“ Or... you die with your so-called big shot by my blade.”

“ Never, ” says one of the men.

He has a scar on his cheek but I’m not sure where he got it from. He was always devoted to Severus like he wanted to be him.

“ We fight to the death for our own,” he yells.

The men charge at him, bellowing with rage. Barnabas winks at me but his eyes are narrow on his targets. It is showtime for him. One by one, he cuts and slices every man like meat. The men are toppled in pile but one of them is still alive.

Barnabas rolls his eyes and plunges the sword into his forehead. He is out like a light. It is silence between us. He saunters in my direction, still not a word. I held out my secured hands, looking into his eyes.

He lifts the sword, cutting it in half. The rope loosens, falling into a spiral. Barnabas puts his sword in his sheath and bends down at his waist. I kneel to accept his virtuous gesture. There are no words between us because our eyes converse for themselves.

Barnabas picks me up and I wrap my arms around his neck. His mouth is open but a gray cloud drifts out. I brush smoke away, coughing like crazy. I scrunch my eyes. Smoke?! It is not that hot out here.

“ There’s smoke coming out of your mouth, ” I tried to tell him. He continues his inaudible conversation. “ I can’t hear you,” I pleaded.

BRINGGGG.

BRINGGGG.

The sound of the fire alarm rings in my ears. My head is weary, and I flutter my eyes. My hands are still wrapped around someone's neck. I must have been knocked out for quite some time. The students scurry down the hall like rabbits.

The scent of mint mixed with green apple and lemon fills my nostrils. Versace Eros? There is only one boy that would ever wear that cologne: Barret Davis. I still pretend to be unconscious, so everything is pitch-black. We are still down the hall until I feel the warmth on my skin.

He lays my body on a sharp and soft surface. I reopened my eyes and hovering over me was the boy I guessed from the start. He rubs his hand in his watery eyes like he has been crying for hours but has the courage to smile.

“Are you ok, Jessica?” Barrett asks, concerned. I sat back up and looked dead in his eyes. “Yes, I’m fine.” “What happened?”

I’m still curious because I just woke up from something that I thought was real and Barret was right there with me. He is just my lab partner for 4th period who I kind of have a crush on but he will never know that.

“ Reginald started a fire in chemistry class,” Barret explains.

“ You collapsed on the floor while we were running down the stairs.”

“ So, I scooped you up and here we are. ”

He chuckles, trying to make light of the situation. It is not a laughing matter because we could have died but we made it out in time.

Thankfully, he refreshed my memory. I am not sure why I could not remember what Reginald did because I was sitting in the front.

“ I am so sorry. I should have stayed strong.”

“ Why didn’t you wake me? I could have gotten out by myself. ”

“ No need to worry. ”

“ It was cute holding you.”

“ And you kind of felt soft against my chest, ” he says with a plastered smile.

I start to blush, covering my cheeks. He really liked the way my body felt against his. From elementary to middle school, all we did was make small talk. When we made to high school and given one class together, he thought I was the smartest girl in the class, but it never went any further than this.

Maybe that dream was trying to tell me that in this year, I have a chance of feeling desired by the boy that I never thought I could see myself with.