Love Storm Read Free

reproachfully at me when I cut in. "Fine," she said. As we neared the Spanish classroom, she suddenly grabbed my arm.
    "Look!" she hissed, pulling on my arm. "Now he's taken to stalking you to Spanish class!"
    I looked at where she was pointing, and when I saw the person she was glaring furiously at, I laughed.
    "I fail to see what's so funny, Eva," Winter sniffed frostily, shifting her books to her other arm.
    "That's just Zack," I smiled and waved at him.
    Winter looked appalled. "Don't wave! For all we know, he could be some serial killer who takes a sadistic pleasure in stalking and scaring his victims before he tortures them to death!"
    I rolled my eyes. "Don't you remember Zack?"
    "No," she said immediately.
    "Oh come on, of course you remember him. Woodshop? Sixth grade?"
    No recognition dawned on my best friend's face. "No, I don't remember. That was five years ago."
    I sighed and gave a friendly smile to Zack, who was looking at Winter in mild amusement.
    "Hi," I said to him, as Winter gave him one last icy glance and stalked into the classroom.
    He nodded at me. "Apparently I'm a serial killer who takes a sadistic pleasure in stalking and scaring my victims before I torture them to death this morning."
    I laughed. "Don't mind her. She's got a lot to deal with right now."
    He gave me one last nod, then departed without a word. Weird. I shrugged it off and joined Winter inside the classroom.
    Her chocolate eyes flashed as I slid into the seat next to her. "Done fraternizing with the man who will ultimately be your downfall?"
    "Oh, stop being dramatic, Win," I said, smiling. The simple gesture seemed enough to melt her indignation.
    She sighed. "What did he want?"
    "Nothing. I don't know. I didn't ask," I replied.
    "That is so weird," she muttered. After a pause, she said, "He probably likes you, you know, if he's stalking you."
    "Zack? Nah, I'd never go out with someone like him anyway."
    "What do you mean, someone like him?" Winter asked curiously.
    This caught me. What did I mean by that?
    Zackary Crowne was a mystery to most people, including me. He was deemed cool by the jocks and would occasionally hang out with them, but at other times he chose to talk to skaters, or spend afternoons going over school work with teachers. Detention was one after school pastime he had been assigned more than once as well. I had seen him all over the school. He never seemed to hang out with one single group of people, he simply… drifted. He was accepted by everybody, amiable to all, hated by none, which was the most unusual thing of all. Branner High was your typical high school, and everyone held at least one or two grudges and knew of a couple people they disliked – but no one seemed to dislike Zack. He was quiet, reserved – almost removed from the world around him. That had to be it. He was always in a world of his own.
    Little did I know that that day would be the beginning of many which would include him in our own worlds.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three: Games
    -Winter-
    "Hey Winter."
    I closed my eyes. "Hi, Zack," I said as amiably as I could through clenched teeth.
    "Mind if I sit here?"
    "Apparently not… seeing as you've already sat yourself down," I muttered the last bit, opening my eyes, still aiming for a friendly tone of voice. My eyes were met with a brilliance beyond comprehension. His eyes of liquid gold, flecked with solid metallic flints, never failed to shock and secretly thrill me. They had to be the one outstanding feature of Zackary Crowne. A girl could get pulled into those eyes, lost to the world, if she weren't paying attention. Not that I would ever tell anyone that.
    "Where's Eva?" Zack asked, without even looking around.
    I gave him the answer I had supplied all week. "Chemistry. She has a project she has to work on. With Brock Davis," I added this time.
    He gave me a thoughtful look. "Brock Davis and Eva Westley. Now there's an interesting combination."
    "You would know," I