Flicker by Arreyn Grey Page A

Elise began to tremble from head to toe, and blushed so hard she felt faint.
                  She must have staggered a bit, because Alex reached out and took her by her shoulders, turning her so he could look into her eyes.
                  She met his gaze despite her humiliated terror, desperate for answers.
                  “Alex, what just happened?” She gasped up at him.
                  She felt his breath on her cheek as he sighed. “Are you all right?” He asked. She frowned, nodding automatically, and reached up to grasp his wrists, clutching at him.
                  “What was that?” She repeated deliberately, looking hard into his eyes.
                  He glanced down before he answered, and she instantly knew she wouldn't like whatever he had to say. “Can you forgive me if I say I can't tell you? Not yet,” he amended quickly as she opened her mouth furiously. “There are things I'm not sure of yet, and I dislike that feeling even more than you do. Can you trust me, just for a little while?” Her lip curled into a sneer, and he added, “Please?”
                  The sincerity in his voice gave her pause. She was more off balance than she'd ever been, and her world felt like it had been turned upside down. She wanted nothing more than stability, answers, for him to explain absolutely everything that had just happened, down to the smallest detail. She wanted him to say it had been some sort of fluke, or dream-- something that had never happened.
                  He gripped her shoulders tightly, with her hands on his wrists holding him there, and she suddenly realized he wasn't just steadying her- she could feel him trembling, too. If he felt the same way she did, she couldn't help but be sympathetic; if it was her having to answer hard questions right now, she knew for a fact she'd screw it up. As it was, she was pretty sure she was in shock. Spitting a curse at his feet, frustrated that even this once, she couldn't be selfish and demand everything from him, she nodded sharply. “Soon,” she snapped, meeting his eyes fiercely. “Very soon, you are going to explain everything.”
                  “Thank you,” she heard him whisper as his hands tightened on her shoulders.
                  That reminded her of all the hands on her body, of Lance brushing against her back, and she jerked away from him abruptly, a shudder running through her. “That wasn't me,” she mumbled to the ground, wrapping her arms around her chest as she turned away. “That wasn't normal. I don't do things like that-- I don't touch people, I don't let people touch me-- I don't even want people to look at me!”
                  “I know,” he crooned, his voice soothing. She was grateful that he refrained from touching her again. “Just give me a few days to make sure I understand everything, and on Saturday I'll answer any questions you ask.” Her back to him, she nodded again.
                  They stood in silence for a few minutes, Elise's sense of time ticking away warring with her abject refusal to go back into the school. She could practically feel Alex behind her, wanting very badly to reach out to her, and she appreciated his restraint. She heard him let out a long breath.
                  “So, dare I ask how it went with your parents last night?” His voice was still carefully neutral.
                  “Leave me alone, Alex. I need to think,” she snapped reflexively, but her heart wasn't in the words. She was quickly realizing that no matter how much she thought about the incident, she wouldn't come up with any answers on her own, and the last thing she needed was to be left to the mercy of the criticisms in her mind. He must have caught her uncertainty, because while he didn't move any closer, he didn't leave her,