Look out for the <>!

Stella's POV

"What did you think of Gray?" I asked dad as we biked together the next morning. The icy wind hit my face as we continued to push forward, but as I thought about Gray, it couldn't help but warm my cheeks. "What did you guys talk about?"

I had waited until the privacy of this bike ride to bring this question up, and I could barely wait any longer. I needed to know what he thought about him in order to validate my own thoughts about him. My father was an outside eye, he knew nothing of school drama, so he would give a proper response that I wanted.

"Honestly, we just talked about you. He brought you up right away and told me he respected you and that he would do nothing to hurt you. He was very well mannered, more well mannered than I ever was at his age. Personally, I think he's a great kid. I give him my stamp of approval, if you wanted that."

I smiled, happy that dad liked him. I knew Gray was a good person, and this confirmed it. Gray was good, more good than anyone would realize, but I saw it, and so did my dad. "I know he is."

"So, did he ask you to be his girlfriend yet?"

I frowned as I thought about how he ran off after the dance we had together. I had no time to talk about us or explain that I was falling for him. That conversation would need to be had sometime soon, but I didn't want to wait, fearing I would miss my moment. "No."

"You'll get there. Man, that boy likes you a lot. He will get there, maybe he hasn't worked up the nerve yet."

"You think he likes me?"

"That's obvious Stella," dad said with a chuckle. "So tell me how the dance was last night. I know you got back late."

The dance was nothing I thought it would be. I only had one dance with Gray before he ran off. Shortly after that, I went back into the gym and spent the remaining of my time with Alice and her friends. Alice gave me a lecture about how I shouldn't have even spent any time with Gray, but it was a short-lived conversation and soon I was dancing with all of them as if I was never with Gray to begin with.

My time with Alice was fun, but the one dance with Gray made the dance completely worth it. His hands on my hips were something that I couldn't get out of my mind. He held me with such confidence but concern all at once, as if he was afraid to get close to me. I wish he would just tell me his concerns because I could help ease them, but that was something that would take time.

"It was really fun. I enjoyed it. I never thought I would be one to enjoy a homecoming dance. But for the first one I attended, it was unforgettable."

"This was your first homecoming?" he asked in shock, as if it was hard to believe.

I smirked at him as I pushed forward on the bike. It was cold out, but now that we had been biking for 30 minutes, it didn't feel so frozen. But as snow fell around us, I realized it was more cold than I thought it was. "You may find it hard to believe, but I am not as popular as you were in school."

"I would think otherwise there because it seems like you have so many friends here."

"I have more friends here than I ever did in LA."

"Is that a good thing?"

I was so caught up with my predicable life, but over time the friends I had in LA stopped calling because they knew I wouldn't adjust my schedule on last-minute plans. But here, my life was nothing but predicable and as stressful as it was, it made me realize that I had missed out on a lot in LA. "I think so. I like the friends I have here."

"Good. I am thrilled how you are settling in..... Dang, can you believe that we've been biking for seven miles already?"

I shook my head as the conversation turned back to biking. "No, but time flies when there are wonderful conversations."

"You are superb at keeping up with me."

"Well, practice makes perfect." I never thought I would enjoy biking. I never actually thought I would bike with my father on top of it. But here we are and this was the third time we biked together. It was becoming a habit now, something that I looked forward to, just like our late-night conversations with milk and sweets. For a while, I thought my father would give me no time, but he was changing quickly into something I never foresaw.

"You will be pro in no time."

I chuckled. "I hardly doubt that. But I enjoy doing this with you."

"And I love biking with you, too. This has been too much fun."

"What are we going to do when the snow covers the paths?" It was a good question because I knew that in a matter of a week or two, snow would be so deep here. It would be impossible to bike on the trail in the snow.

"I know you aren't interested in skiing but..."

"I'll try skiing." At this point, I would try anything because I realized that there were a lot of things I thought I hated, but it was because I didn't really try them. I would at least try skiing, as long as I could bond with dad, I would give it a shot.

He smiled. "We can start small."

"That's the best way to do it."

For a moment, we were silent as we continued to bike down the trail. The flurries got heavier and more hit my face, causing me to feel wet. I wanted to tell dad I was about done with this bike ride but stopped when he spoke up.

"I'm really glad you are here with us. You have really added a lot to our lives."

"I'm glad I am here too," I said with a smile. Coming to Jackson was never my first choice, but now that I was here, I wouldn't want it any other way. Jackson was home, and I was glad that I left LA to learn that there was more out there.

"Well Stella, the snow is getting bad, so how about we call it quits for today."

"I couldn't have agreed more."

"Ok. I have to run get coffee and have a quick meeting with a coworker. I'll meet you at home?" Dad asked as we passed a small coffee shop.

I nodded with a smile. Home was only a mile away, and I was fine handling this on my own. "That's fine with me."

"Want anything?"

"Nah, I'll see you at home," I said and pedaled away down the bike path as snow covered the trail, making it slick.

The snow continued to hit me in the face, making it harder to see and causing me to get frustrated. I was not prepared when a loud bang startled me, causing me to fall off my bike into the snow beside me.

I looked around for the sound of the bang and saw Grayson opening a small archway gate. On the other side of the gate was a green field with birds chirping, making this snowy scene I sat in look completely different. Like white and black, the sun shined on the other side, but here was only gray. I was never a believer in magic, it never made sense to me, but something told me that this was not earthly. The school was right, Grayson wasn't like everyone else. He was hiding something.

<>

I sat in the snow, not caring that my butt was getting wet as Grayson stumbled out of the gate, then waved his hands. He said something that sounded like Latin, then closed the gate, making less noise than when it opened. He opened the gate again and the sunny side was no longer there, instead it was just an archway to get to the other side of the field here in Jackson.

Gray coughed then fell to the ground, unable to hold himself up any longer. His bare arms showed what looked like were whip marks and his face bloody. He paid no attention to me as he wiped his face of blood, then rubbed his hand in the snow.

Unable to sit and watch any more, I stood up from the ground, making my presences known. "Are you ok?"

He looked at me with a frown as if I just broke into his house. "I'm fine," he said as he got up from the ground with difficulty, confirming that he was not fine, in fact, he was less than fine.

"What is this?" I asked, pointing to the archway gate. I had passed this archway many times before and thought nothing of it, but he made me realize either I was seeing things or it was more than met the eye.

"Stella, you need to leave," he said firmly as he spit blood from his mouth.

Why? I already saw what I wasn't supposed to see, so what was there left to lose. I would never share his secret, I just wanted answers. If he would not answer this simple question, the least he could do is answer why he looked like he was beat up. "What happened to you?"

He turned to face me with a frown, clearly unhappy that I was still around. "Stella, I am serious. Leave."

I shook my head as I watched him pull his black hoody over his injured body carefully, as if everything about himself hurt. He was alone in this field and he wanted me to leave, but he couldn't shoo me away that easily. He had to at least answer one of my questions. "I just watched you come out of nowhere. It looked like another world over there. Where did you go?"

He shook his head as he stared at me as if trying to read my motives. Finally he sighed as he looked at his shoes, then back at me as if trying to figure out what to say. He was trying to hide this from me, but I knew something was going on. "You want to know the truth? You want to know some answers. Fine, you can have them. I killed him. The school was right. I am a killer. In cold blood. He ran through this gate and I let him knowing that the beasts on the other side would kill him. And they did. Within minutes, they got him and killed him. I didn't bother to save him, I didn't even pull his body out for his family. He died, and I watched from this side. Stella, I warned you, I am dangerous. This is dangerous and you need to leave."

He spoke with such spite and hatred as if he really was a bad guy. His words dug into me like a knife in a wound. I thought he was different, I really thought he was a good guy that those were just rumors, but he spoke with such conviction as if he did do what he said he did. I felt my eyes well up with tears as I look my head. "You aren't a killer," I said, trying to give him another chance to get out of his statement. There had to be more to the story, and I needed to find it. I was on his side, I knew he wasn't what the school said. I saw it with my own eyes. Grayson was not a killer.

He looked at me with such curl eyes it caused me to take a step back from him. "You don't know what I am, Stella. Now go, it would be better if we never talked again."

I couldn't move as I stared at him. There was a tone in his voice at the end that made me think he didn't mean it. He couldn't have meant it. I thought we were friends. I thought he liked me.

"Stella, leave. I would hate for you to be killed by me, too. Do us both a favor and stop being my friend," he said firmly.

I nodded, getting the picture. He didn't want to talk to me and I would give him that. Whatever Grayson and I had was over. He was a killer; he killed what we had. And without another word, I left, leaving him alone in the field.