Stalked To Be Desired and Damned

“ God, why did he always have to look so hot?” She mumbled under her breath, heat spreading across her cheeks.

Each time he smiled like that, her chest tightened, her breath hitched, and her brain got short-circuited.

If anyone sees her right now, they'd either tag her a creep, or a stalker, or even a pervert.

That's what he'd turned her.

Mantis.

The hottest boy in school.

The one whose presence could make her skin prickle and make her legs press together just by the sound of his laughter.

But she didn't want to hide behind lockers and doors anymore. She didn't want to keep fantasizing about him from a distance.

She clutched tighter at the paper in her hand, crumpling its edges. Her palms were sweaty. Her fingers were trembling.

Ariel could feel her heart beating in her throat, with courage she had no idea how long it'd last.

She'd practiced what she wanted to say all night, whispering to her pillow like a lunatic. ‘ Will you go to prom with me? And maybe…just maybe…tell him how she felt.

But now that she was standing there, a few steps away, the world tilted. She could feel the heat spreading across her cheeks, down to her neck. Her knees were threatening to betray her at any second.

He turned slightly just then, and their eyes met.

Almost.

She panicked and looked away, clutching the letter to her chest like it could stop her heart from bursting out.

Nope.

She couldn't do it. Not yet. Not without her sister. Ava.

She'd been the one who told her to write it down, told her to be brave for once before high school ended.

“ You'll regret it if you don't,” She'd said. But right now, she couldn't even take a step forward without feeling like she'd combust.

So, before he would notice her staring she took to her heels and bolted out of the hallway, praying no one saw her pathetic escape.

Her heart was still racing, her thoughts a chaotic blur of what if he says no? And why can't she just do it?

She needed her sister. She needed her pep talk, her wild grin, the shove that would push her past her fear. Because if she didn't ask him now, before graduation that's just few weeks away, she might never get the chance again.

She headed towards the back of the school store, where a few of Ava's classmates said she'd headed.

“ What's she doing here when I badly need her?” She cried in her mind as she hastened up her steps.

Just then, she sighted her, standing still and looking at something on the ground.

“ Ava!” She shouted and rushed to her. “ Ava I couldn't…”

She froze.

The world stilled.

Her eyes widened.

Her lips parted.

Blood drained down her face.

Her letter fell out of her grip.

On the floor was Ava’s competitor for prom queen. Lying still. Too still.

With blood