After lunch, I headed to the gym. Physical activity had never been my strong suit. I wasn't good at sports. In none. It is said: my sports skills were as bad as my social skills. Adam led me  to the door of the indoor gym and left. He also had training but outdoors. He apparently was on the soccer team. Maggie was staying with me, so I was about to follow her to her locker room when I saw him.
   Those honey-colored eyes hypnotized me more and more. Damien was just a few feet ahead in the hallway. And for a second his gaze locked onto mine. I started breathing hard. The effect that that young man had on me was extraordinary. I blinked and he looked away from him and headed out of the building.
   Forgetting about gym class, I followed him at a hurried pace. A group of students were leaving through the same door at that moment. If I didn't hurry I would lose sight of him. I quickened my pace but when I managed to leave the building Damien was no longer anywhere. I stood there, like a fool, watching the last stragglers go to their classes.
   I sighed and shook my head. What was he doing? Since when did I go around chasing strangers? Well, Damien wasn't exactly a stranger. He had saved my life. I just wanted to thank you. But hadn't he done it before? Hadn't he already thanked her? Besides, I wasn't like that. He was behaving like an idiot to me once again. And I was forgetting one of my most important personal rules: not to get involved emotionally with anyone. No one could go beyond the category of “mere acquaintance.”
   Well, Damien was a “mere acquaintance.” What did you know about him, besides his name? He knew that he studied at the same institute as me, that he had a girlfriend - a model from a fashion magazine - and that he had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. I tried not to think about those eyes. If I thought about them again, my mind was going to collapse. That's how I felt every time he looked at me.
   But his last glances had not been like the first. They continued to hypnotize me but seemed colder. And of course. How could they not be cold if they didn't know me? And in the only interaction we had had, I had been very childish, crying over a cup. I'm sure what he thought of me was that he was just a stupid girl who had done something stupid. Because it was true. Putting myself in front of that truck had been stupid. Although I didn't regret it. I wouldn't have been able to let the puppy die crushed by those monstrous wheels.
   Still, now that he thought about it, Damien had also done something stupid. He had also thrown himself into the wheels of the truck to prevent me from being run over. Of course he surely would have done it for anyone.
  But I couldn't help but feel grateful. And I was burning with desire to see him again. I wanted to talk to him. Hear his angelic voice. And feel the warmth of his chest...
   "Stop!" I ordered myself. That was already crossing the line. I shook my head as if to shake off those thoughts. I felt dizzy again, as I had when I woke up. And immediately a stab of pain shot through my temple. I closed my eyes and tried not to move, trying to make that sensation pass.
   But my heart suddenly began to beat wildly when I felt a strong hand grab my arm. It was Damien! I didn't need to open my eyes to confirm it. I could feel him, next to me, with his warm and rhythmic breathing. I could even imagine his honey-colored eyes staring at me. I smiled and opened my eyes, searching for that look that I liked so much.
   "Adam?!'
   I felt like a fool saying that name. Adam looked at me worried.
   "Emma, ​​do you feel bad?"
   I felt like I was turning red as a tomato. And I got angry with myself. Damien's nonsense had to end once and for all. Half dragging, half carrying me, Adam carried me to the edge of some anemones beds and sat me there. Then, without letting go, he stood next to me. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he tried to get me back. He seemed really worried to me.
   "I'm fine. It's just dizziness."
   "Does it happen to you frequently?"
   " No, since I woke up…this morning," I answered. "Maybe it's because…yesterday I had an accident, "I made an effort not to think about the moment in which Damien had saved me. "I think I hit my head."
   "Yes of course. You saved that little dog last night."
   "How do you know?!"
   "It's a small town," He smiled and ended up confessing to me. "I was nearby and I saw when everything happened. And I also saw Damien save you..."
   I could not answer. I took my head in my hands again.
   "Has a doctor seen you?" Adam asked me, still worried.
   And without me being able to help it, he checked my head, including my neck and temples, but apparently he found nothing because his tone of voice seemed less tense.
   "It seems like you have nothing. But you should go to the doctor."
   "Thanks, Adam. I'm fine.'
   He looked at me seriously for a few seconds. He bit his lip and not quite sure, he said:
   "Do you want me to take you home? I have my bicycle over there."
   I smiled. The mere idea of ​​riding a bicycle pleased me. I didn't know how to walk. I had never had one. And he had always wanted her. But when you travel very often, and have to gather your things - sometimes suddenly and during the night - a bicycle can never be part of your luggage.
   Suddenly, I imagined myself with Adam on a bicycle. Me sitting at the front bar, on a dirt road, with the wind in my face and him telling me funny stories.
Oh! How many funny stories Damien would surely have to tell me!
   It couldn't be possible! Even in my fantasies his name appeared. Why did he have to get into my mind like that? I was walking with Adam not Damien! I looked at Adam, who was still waiting for my answer.
   "No, thanks. Don't worry. I will walk. "I don't live far." I wondered if he remembered how to get to my new house from there. "Also," I said while looking at his uniform: white shorts, with a blue stripe and a matching T-shirt that showed off his muscular torso, "shouldn't you?" be training?
   " Are you sure, Emma? I can take you."
   "Yes. You go train."
   "I had to go look for some sheets that the coach asked me for. “And I didn't get them,” he said, not very sure.
   He looked at me for a few more seconds and seemed to make up his mind.
   "Why don't we do this? Since you can't do gymnastics in that state, come with me to the field. You sit in the stands and watch me train. And when I'm done, I'll take you home. Do you accept?"
   His sweet smile instantly reminded me of little Adam from kindergarten. And before he knew it, he had already agreed. We walked to the stands, always holding my arms, and he left me sitting comfortably behind one of the goals. She ran away, but not before winking at me.
Looks like you have a friend, I said to myself. And immediately a bitter taste filled my mouth.
   "I won't think about goodbyes. Today is my first day," I murmured and looked towards a group of players who were warming up in the center of the playing field. It was blowing a cool breeze. I closed my eyes to enjoy it better and clung to my angel wing. A few minutes later I already felt renewed. I opened my eyes and focused on the game that had already started. I had always liked Soccer football. I found Adam in the forward position. And it seemed to me that he was really enjoying the training. And he was actually very good. He had speed and took off the marks very easily. In less than fifteen minutes he had already scored three goals. And each time he celebrated them the same: he ran towards the arch where I was and made signs to me with his fingers, dedicating them to me, with a wide smile. I celebrated them by applauding and laughing. And he tried not to think about my blushing face.
   By the time the game was over, I had managed to clear my mind, forgetting everything that had happened to me up to that point. And most importantly: I had fun.
   Adam ran towards me, while his colleagues approached him to congratulate him. Apparently he was the star of the team. And he deserved it. He played really very well.
   I was curious: would Damien play as well as Adam did? I bit my lip and smiled. There he was again! And I thought he had already gotten it out of my head!
Adam wanted to keep his promise to take me home. So he asked me to wait for him at the entrance of the first building. He would go to the showers and then get his bike. I sat in the same anemones bed he had been in before. The students were beginning to leave the institute. Most went on foot, in small groups, others on bicycles, a few on motorcycles and a few by car. These last few privileged people had new model sports cars and I also saw a couple of all-terrain pickups. But beyond, a truck, a little old compared to the others, of an intense metallic blue color that caught my attention. She was beautiful. It wasn't of much value. But it seemed to be made for me. I felt an immediate fascination when I saw it. And a few seconds later I thought I understood why. Damien Blanc was walking straight towards her, playing with her keys. He reached the driver's door and leaned on it. He continued playing with the keys while he looked around, looking bored.
   Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Adam appeared from a group of trees, riding his bike at full speed. As soon as he saw me - and he made sure I was looking at him - he did a complicated pirouette, drawing the attention of many female eyes. It was a racing bike, with parts too complicated for me, whose names I didn't even know. You could tell that it had been prepared. He approached, balancing on the back wheel, and braked just inches from my feet.
   "Adam!" I laughed, running my legs to the side.
   "Do you like my bike?"
   “I prefer that truck,” said a voice near me.
   "I asked Emma, ​​not you, Maggie."
   Maggie smiled but gave a cold look at Adam, who didn't notice at all.
   "I would love for Damien Blanc to give me a ride in that truck," Maggie sighed.
   I looked at the ground, trying not to blush. She though she was sure that she had failed miserably. And I realized that Maggie had also failed in her attempt to make Adam jealous.
   "Adam, your dear and nice cousin is looking at you again," Maggie's voice sounded irritated. It seemed like she was talking to her husband.
   Adam rolled his eyes and looked where Maggie was pointing. The beautiful young blonde that I had seen with Damien in the cafeteria - and also at the scene of the accident - was now standing several meters away from us. She had on a tight-fitting red dress and knee-high boots that made her look even taller than she was. At what point had she changed her clothes? She although she was wearing the same mittens as before. She was very elegant, no matter how you looked at her.I looked for Adam, expecting to see the face of a bewitched man. But I was surprised. Adam was frowning. And he was staring at her. The smile - almost perpetual on him - had disappeared from her youthful face.
   “I'll be back now,” he told me, leaving his bicycle aside. He looked at me for a second and winked.
   He approached her and listened to her, his hands clasped behind her back. At that distance I couldn't see if Adam was still frowning.
   "Did you say she's his cousin?" I asked Maggie, who didn't miss any details.
  " Yes, they are cousins."
   "But…, don't they get along?"
   "They don't get along... But they are forced to see each other at family gatherings," Maggie answered me.
   I observed the body language of both of them. The young Marie seemed to be speaking to him in a low voice. She had a calm expression and I even thought her eyes were shining-although I didn't trust my perception. She was quite far away. Instead, Adam was visibly tense. And now he had his arms crossed at his chest. I stood up and took a few steps forward to see his face better. I was curious to know his reaction. And when I could see it, I was surprised again. He was still frowning. I hadn't realized that Maggie had approached me. She was looking at Adam with a serious expression. He bit his lip almost compulsively.
   I smiled at the clear situation I saw. The cousin seemed to want to please Adam. Everything about her body language gave her away. Adam, for his part, was on the defensive. It seemed like he didn't like having to listen to her. But he behaved very polite. And Maggie was madly in love with Adam. And because she was saturated with that feeling - from head to toe - she didn't realize that Adam didn't even look Marie in the eyes. However, Maggie did not miss any detail of Marie's delicate movements. She exuded seduction and femininity even when she blinked. Maggie gritted her teeth as she watched all that display. But she seemed to see that Adam was getting impatient. I looked at Maggie for a few seconds and said the first thing that came to mind:
   "Hey, Maggie, could you pass me today's math notes?"
   The young woman looked at me without understanding my words too much.
   "What? Notes?"
   "Yes, I couldn't get any and I saw that you could, so..."
   “Yes, yes,” she said, turning her eyes toward Adam and Marie.
   The short girl she had met in the cafeteria approached us.I tried to remember her name but I didn't try and couldn't.
   “Maggie,” she said, “what are those two talking about?”
   "Family matters, sure. What else could they be talking about?"
   They continued with their talk, moving away from me, without realizing it. Neither of them took their eyes off Adam and Marie. I approached the flower bed and sat down with a sigh. I turned my eyes to the blue van, unconsciously searching for Damien. But he was no longer there. I felt dizzy again, so I put my hands on my head and closed my eyes.
  "You feel good?"
   It couldn't be!
   It was that voice. That sweet voice I had heard the previous afternoon. My heart raced suddenly. I opened my eyes and had trouble breathing. There was that honey-colored look that I liked so much! Damien was standing near me and looking at me seriously.
   "Yes, thank you," I managed to pronounce.
   I stood up. I had to take advantage of the opportunity.
   “My name is Emma,” I said, stretching out my hand to greet him. He looked at me but didn't greet me back. I felt my cheeks heat up.
   "I wanted to... thank you for... saving me yesterday," My voice was beginning to fail me.
   He still didn't say anything. He was staring at me but I couldn't see any definite feeling on his face.
   “Are we leaving?” Adam's voice made me jump.
   "Where are you going?" Damien suddenly asked, frowning.
   “Hello, cousin,” Adam said quietly.
   Cousin?!
   I looked at Adam helplessly, surprised by his words.
  " Where are you going?" Damien asked again, "Are you going with him?"
   He stared at me. And for a moment I forgot everything. I felt like I was starting to lose track of time and space. His voice had made me vibrate. And that look made my heart want to rush out of my chest.
   "House…, bicycle," I stammered.
   Damien raised an eyebrow and looked at Adam's bike.
   "It's punctured. You won't be able to go anywhere,” he said mockingly.
   Adam looked at his bike and pursed his lips. He looked at Damien for a few seconds quite seriously. But he didn't say anything. I thought I saw a shadow of a smile on Damien. Without saying anything else, he headed towards his truck, where Marie was waiting for him with her arms crossed.
   “Sorry,” Adam said, looking at his bike again.
   It had both tires punctured.
   "I'll have to take it in for repairs. I need it to go to training."
  "Relax, Adam, it's okay. I already told you. I live near."
   Adam sighed and as he rode away with the bike he said to me:
   "See you tomorrow?
Of course," I answered smiling. "I have to come to class, right?"
   Adam smiled, although it wasn't one of his usual sweet smiles. He could clearly tell that he was upset.
   I walked with Maggie and the other girl - whose name he couldn't remember - to the end of the school. We reach the route and slow down our pace.
   " So…," I said without really knowing how to talk about the subject without drawing too much attention. "Adam and Damien are…cousins."
   “Yes,” said Maggie, “but they don't seem to be from the same family. Isn't that right, Amber?"
   Amber! That was her name!
   "Yes," Amber answered. "Damien Blanc is the most unfriendly young man I know. He thinks he is superior to the rest of us. Him and his pompous family."
   Damien obviously had a bad reputation. He did not enjoy the good opinion that Adam did in Maggie's eyes.
   "And…, why is it like this?"
   Maggie shrugged.
   "Don't know. And the truth is, I'm not interested in knowing,” she answered seriously, while she walked.
   "The Blancs have lived in this town for generations. But they have never made friends. My father says they think they are a superior race,” Amber commented.
   " And the girl…, what was her name?" I asked as if passing by.
   "Marie."
   "Yes, Marie. She is also Adam and Damien's cousin"
   " But…I thought Damien and Marie were dating. "I stammered confused.
   "Stranger things have been seen in this town," Amber said smiling.
   "The Blancs, The La Croix and the Alexanders own almost everything in this town. But although they have a trunk in common - in their family tree - they live separately. Although before, unions between them, it is said, were quite frequent."
   "Yes, everyone knows that the Blancs and the Alexanders don't get along."
   I wanted to be told more about Damien but I didn't know how to ask without exposing myself. But before I could think of anything, Maggie's voice surprised me:
  "By the way, where do you live?"
   “Over there,” I said, pointing to a fork in the road.
   'Well, then, this is as far as we have come. We have to take the other path,” said Maggie, pointing in the opposite direction. “I'll give you the notes tomorrow. Or if you prefer, take them now," She told me, offering me her notebook.
   I didn't have the brains to look at them so I told him I would ask him for them later. I thanked her and said goodbye to both of them. I stood on the side of the road, watching them walk away. They walked at a slow pace, chatting among themselves. They were probably still talking about Adam. When I lost sight of them, I smiled and tried to get my bearings. I looked at the fork for a few seconds, to be sure it was the right path to my new house. A sudden wind made me shiver. The temperature suddenly seemed to plummet. And the sky turned dark. I looked out at the field ahead of me. Who had come up with the idea of ​​building the institute on the outskirts of town? I didn't see any houses for miles around. Mine was close but couldn't be seen from there. I could only see the buildings of the study center.
    I looked up at the sky, hoping a storm wasn't brewing. I then threatened to cross the road but a sound, similar to a scream, paralyzed me. I strained my ears and looked out of the corner of my eye to where I thought the noise was coming from. The wind began to blow more violently. I stayed still for a few seconds, feeling the tension in my legs. When I realized that it was safe to continue, I took a step towards the road and there I heard it again: a kind of high-pitched and torn scream. And it sounded much closer than the previous one. I got goosebumps. A cold ran down my back and I began to shiver. I turned slowly to my left but saw nothing. Just an empty yellowish grass area. There was nothing else. I looked the other way and there I heard it for the third time. I felt like my legs were going to fail me. My heart was beating so hard that my chest began to hurt. That third howl had been the clearest of all. I shuddered because somehow I knew I didn't belong to any animal. At least none that I knew.
   Suddenly, the adrenaline gave me momentum and I began to walk very quickly, always following the line of the route, without crossing it. As I moved forward, I continued to keep my ear attentive. At any new noise, I was determined to run. But I didn't hear anything else. I walked for about ten minutes, always in a straight line, without paying too much attention to where I was going. By the time I realized that I was moving very quickly through a place I didn't know, I stopped. He had reached a new fork.
   It was almost the same as the first. And that confused me. Now I wasn't sure if that was the way I had to take to get home. I thought for a moment and decided to take one of the branches. I had not taken even two or three steps, crossing the road, when I heard the sound of an approaching engine. I looked up, taking long steps back. And it gave me a chill. The memory of the howls was still fresh. I looked towards the road and there I saw it: a blue truck was coming towards me, at an average speed. I was sure it was Damien's truck, although I was still too far away to see the driver.
   Before my nerves betrayed me, I continued walking as upright as I could, on the side of the road, without realizing that I was passing the fork. When I heard the engine of the vehicle nearby, I looked down and took a deep breath. My mouth felt dry and my heart was beating fast again. I tried to calm myself, while I heard the roar of the engine just a few meters away. After all, she wasn't entirely sure that this was Damien Blanc's truck. And if it was, I had to learn to maintain control since I went to see him every day, since we both attended the same high school. I slowed my pace, hoping the truck would pass me. But, to my surprise, the vehicle approached me. It came at a slow speed.
   I didn't want to look. I didn't want to see it. But I couldn't contain myself for more than a few seconds and finally looked up. His beautiful, piercing eyes were fixed on me. He was driving and the seat next to him was empty.
   "Come up," he told me with a sweet voice. "I'll take you home."
    I wanted to answer no but as soon as I opened my mouth I heard myself agreeing. He reached for the passenger door and opened it from the inside. I sat down and hugged my backpack, trying not to let him see that my hands were shaking.
    "Are you okay?" He asked me.
    I looked at him without being able to control myself. It only took a few seconds for those eyes to calm me down. There was something about them that every time I looked at them, they made me forget about everything else.    "I heard…some screams and…I got lost," I said without taking my eyes off his.
   "Peaceful. I'll take you home." He shifted the gear lever and accelerated.
   "I don't... remember... where it is...," I stammered looking at the road in front of us.
   " I do know where you live," He told me, turning in a U and returning to the route in the direction of the institute. "You should have turned at the first fork."
   "How do you know where I live?"
    Damien looked at me and a slight smile lit up his face. It was the first time I saw him smile. 
   "My mother… She works in the real estate agency that rents the house you live in."
   "Ah…"
   I couldn't say anything else for a few long minutes. And he didn't seem to have anything to say either. Only when we took a dirt road and I recognized some tall trees with strange gray trunks did I calm down. My house was less than five minutes away. I took a deep breath and turned my eyes to Damien. It was then or never. I took courage and said, trying not to show my nerves:
  " I want... to thank you for saving my life yesterday. You risked a lot to save me. I will always be grateful to you."
   Damien looked at me.
   "Are you always out there saving puppies?"

“Not always,” I said and smiled. “Sometimes I just act stupid and push people past me when I walk.”
   "Especially when it is your first day of school…"
"Yes, it's to draw more attention," I said.
  Damien laughed. He was even more beautiful when he laughed, his face lit up and his eyes sparkled more.
   "I'm Damien Blanc," he told me, stretching out a hand towards me. "And I'm sorry for acting so cold towards you this morning."
   I shook his hand. And, as I had wished so many times – and as I did not expect it to happen – a small shock of electricity shook first my fingers and then my entire body. The warmth of his handshake made me suddenly feel completely safe. All the tension and all the fear I felt until that moment disappeared. He slowly let go of my hand and looked back at the road.
  "We're here," he said, stopping in front of the house.
   What a shame! I thought and a sigh escaped me. And immediately I felt him blush for the umpteenth time that day.