I named him Dunkan. With a ‘K’. It means ’dark warrior‘. I was very proud of myself of coming up with such a character. However, this is not the tale I wish to tell. I was walking around the university library when I first saw him. He was staring up at the huge novels about medieval history. He didn’t need to do anything. He just stood there. But I knew he’d never leave my thoughts again.
Piercing blue eyes, jet black hair, pale skin. He was quite tall and lean. Reaching a book down from the top shelf easily, his eyes lit up as he poured over the huge red book. His clothes were as black as his hair, making his skin look iridescent. A piercing adorned his lip; and chains hung silently at his side.
He looked up and our eyes met. I froze under his gaze, like a rabbit does under the glare of headlights from an oncoming car. And then it was like he hit me. His lips turned upwards into a warm smile, a knowing smile, an amused smile.
Suddenly coming to my senses, I turned quickly and almost ran out of the library. My legs managed to carry me outside into the cold January air. The wind blew fiercely around me, slowly blowing my frazzled brain cells into motion. What the hell had just happened? I walked swiftly towards…somewhere…my mind still among the quiet rows of books.
I sat in the cafeteria, cradling a tepid hot chocolate, still almost full. Staring out of the window, the clouds rolled and raced around the grey sky. Small droplets of rain spattered onto the window. The commotion around me was nothing. The mingled mess of chattering din fell into the background. The grey sky illuminated the artificial lighting in the cafeteria, creating a small glow. It fell into the background. All I could see was his eyes.
I sighed and looked down at my blank page. Upon this page was supposed to be a draft of characters for my short story. Character sketches. Is ‘nothing’ a character? Could be if you were a surrealist I suppose. Characters…characters…
Flashes of his blue eyes kept reeling across my vision like a crappy B movie special effect. Sighing I sat back, trying to think of what to write. I had some sort of idea of what my character should be like, have had an idea for a couple of days now. I just hadn’t developed the idea. I decided to go for the ‘ideal’ man. Picking up my pen tentatively, I started to write down what I thought was the ideal man. Generic, stereotype, yes, but it was a start.
I decided for this guy to be 21 years old. Jet black hair, piercing eyes…green. Thin but muscular, and quite tall. A warming smile. Intellectual, a real book worm, a ‘kooky’ sense of humour. I smiled at the progress I was making…finally. He was loving, affectionate and adored his girlfriend above anything else. His name was to be Dunkan.
I sat back and looked at the page. A flash of blue writhed across my face and I jumped slightly.
I looked back at the page again, this time, more closely. I had said my character was to have green eyes. However, written on the page was a scrawled grblue.
“Oh for God’s sake.” I muttered under my breath, another image of his smile flashing across my vision. I couldn’t understand why he had made such an impact on me. Giving up my work as a lost cause, I let my mind switch off as my legs wandered of their own accord.
The automatic doors flew open and I walked inside. The heat of the library hit me in a wave of realisation, and utter annoyance. Sighing, I walked into the main foyer and stood there, looking around in dismay. Even my legs knew where I wanted to go. I walked down the stairs into the many rows of books once more. I roamed the aisles aimlessly for about five minutes and then stopped.
“Oh this is completely stupid.” I swiftly turned and headed for the exit, but a red book caught my eye. On the top shelf was the red book he was looking at. The very book. I stretched up, barely able to reach it. It was quite heavy and the shelves wobbled slightly. I stood still, waiting for the shelf to stop. I looked at the book. It was about the medieval literary history. I smiled. I leant down and opened the book on my lap. I started reading the first page, the world around me melting away into oblivion. I got so engrossed in the book, I didn’t notice anything until I heard the faint sounds of fabric ruffling and the slap of metal on flesh.
I looked up and became a rabbit once more. He was standing above me, his hand outstretched to the bookshelf, which was about to fall on top of me. My eyes widened in shock, and once again, as if my brain became delayed and slow around him, it took me a minute to realise what was happening. SAY SOMETHING!
I stumbled to my feet, clutching the book against my body tight. I looked up into his eyes and the subdued lighting made it look like the blue of his eyes were dancing with amusement. A slight smile played upon his lips. SAY SOMETHING! DO IT NOW!
“Uh, thanks. Boy am I clumsy. I suppose I would have been a squished book worm if it wasn’t for you.” Wow, real smooth. Now go for the kill and tell him you haven’t stopped thinking about him since you were staring at him earlier…
“It’s no problem.”
“So do you roam these corridors rescuing said book worms then?” Ok, I’m just gonna go ahead and leave now since you’re mouth doesn’t seem to be attached to me… His lips turned up into an amused smile, his eyes warm and glistening.
“Only the real special ones.” I laughed, even though I didn’t really hear what he was saying. His eyes were entrancing.
“Uh, yeah, so, uh, thanks.” He smiled, nodded, almost as if bowing and turned and walked away. I stared after him; he almost glided down the hall towards the computer room. He looked back at me, his eyes sparkling with mystery. I couldn’t resist but to watch until every little detail about him had disappeared around the dark corner.
I turned slowly away, still clutching the book tight to my chest. I let out a long sigh, realising I had been holding my breath. I wanted to follow him; my mind and body screamed for me to walk towards the computer room. My legs willed me to walk, it was just one foot in front of the other.
I turned and walked out of the library. The air hit my face with a cold awakening. I let my mind wander, and my feet take me. I was being completely irrational; I didn’t understand why he had such a huge effect on me. My brain nerves felt like they had been switched with…well…nothing. I had a disconnected feeling running through my body.
I stopped. I looked around me. Damn it! Sitting in front of me were thirty computers with students doing various non-work related internet surfing. Sat in the farthest corner, away from everybody else was him. He was staring intently at the computer screen in front of him, the monitor casting an eerie bluish glow across his pale face. His eyes reflected against the glow, becoming giant blue orbs of light.
With a very resigned sigh, I realised I wasn’t going to get away with avoiding him. I went over to a ‘very conveniently’ placed empty computer next to him. I sat down tentatively, my whole body tensed against the worn seat. I stared at the screen in front of me, using all of my concentration to try and not to look at him.
I signed onto the computer, the hour glass symbol being ever present on these dinosaur aged monstrosities. I waited. Waited. I felt frustration and impatience grow within me, and a temporary lapse in concentration caused me to move my head, and I looked at him. It was as if his whole presence was suddenly becoming solid in front of me. His features becoming more and more solid the more and more I looked at him. He turned his head and looked at me. I broke out into a cold sweat, his eyes washing over me in a rush of cool nervousness.
“Hello again.” His voice was smooth like velvet and deep with curious intrigue that couldn’t quite be figured out. A smile twitched on the sides of his lips. Say something! I opened my mouth, a soft gurgling sound emitting from my throat. Blushing I turned away, but not quickly enough to miss the grin break out across his face.
I turned back. We sat there staring at each other for what felt like aeons. Say something! I opened my mouth, this time, my brain actually managing to form a coherent sentence.
“Uh, hi. How you doing?” He smiled at me, eyes glistening against the screen like cat’s eyes reflect headlights.
“I’m alright. You?” I blushed even more and giggled slightly in part humour part nerves.
“I’m good. Yeah uh, real good.” He nodded in his half bow half nodding way and smiled, slowly turning his attention back to the computer. We were sat in silence for a while, the quiet mumble of the other students and keyboard clicks fading away into oblivion.
“Lana is a really pretty name.” His voice broke through into my thoughts and confused me.
“How’d you know my name?” Wow, that was fairly coherent and legible. He smiled at me and pointed towards the screen.
“It’s right there.” He pointed at my hotmail account I had just opened up. I laughed out loud and nodded in realisation. I looked at him for a long while, his eyes boring straight into my entire being.
I paused before I asked my question. The question that burned inside of me.
“What’s your name?”
He looked at me and smiled. Unease crawled across his eyes for a millisecond and then it was gone. Replaced by mischief and the unknown once more.
“It’s Dunkan. With a ‘K’.”
