Unfamiliar by Komal Kant, Erica Cope

follow my lead.”
    “I'm scared.”
    Chase leaned down and for the first time I noticed the depth of color in his eyes. It was like someone had taken a bottle of whiskey and splintered it, letting slivers of amber show through.
    “Your fear is holding you back from becoming who you're really meant to be.”
    I chewed on my bottom lip. “I guess you're right.”
    Chase winked at me. “Of course I'm right. I'm badass.”
    He grabbed my hand and led me back into the noisy room. The crowd seemed to have doubled in size. I felt my steps falter but Chase didn't let go of my hand. He just smiled reassuringly and pulled me right along.
    “Well? Do we have a verdict?” Tessa asked with a teasing lilt in her tone.
    “She'll have to do,” Chase said. One side of his mouth curled up into a half-grin and it made my heart stop for a moment.
    “Gee, thanks.” I tried to seem offended, but couldn't help but smile in return.
    As I joined the band on stage I couldn't believe I was actually going to go through with it. It was so out of character for me but at the same time the adrenaline that surged through my veins felt amazing. I listened to the melody Chase played first, feeling the music inside me. I matched it perfectly on my first try, giving me the confidence I needed to fill in the melody on my own.
    I looked up, wanting to make sure that the added flair was okay with him. The look he gave me encouraged me to go on. Nothing in my whole life had ever made me feel as elated as I did standing on the stage making music with him. It was intoxicating.
    I already knew that Chase was an amazing performer, but I found that being this close to him while he performed intensified that— I couldn't help but watch him. He was completely mesmerizing. I actually had to force myself to look down at the stage or my fingers as I played so that I didn't seem like a pathetic groupie just staring at him. I couldn't quite make myself look out into the crowd though. I had a feeling if I did that I would lose all my nerve.
    One of the few times I allowed myself to glance over at him, he looked up at me quickly, a guilty smile on his face like I’d just caught him doing something wrong. Was he checking out my ass? Oddly enough the idea that someone was checking me out didn't offend me. I actually think I kind of liked it. And THAT'S what bothered me.
    Skeleton tattoo! I reminded myself. He has a freaking huge ass skeleton tattoo on his forearm—I do not find guys with tattoos remotely attractive.
    Nope, not at all.
    Even when said tattooed boy was smiling at me in a way that made my head spin. What was wrong with me?

Chapter Twelve
     
    Chase
     
    So I was staring at Hailey’s ass again.
    Hey, don’t judge me. If you’re gonna put it on display, then I’m gonna look.
    Even though she’d rejected me and I’d been determined to play it cool until we were done with this stupid song writing assignment, it was harder to ignore her now that she’d proved me wrong and rocked out on stage with my band.
    Hailey had pretty much put me in my place. She was just full of surprises and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I was impressed.
    I was especially impressed with the way her ass curved in that short skirt she had on. She was wearing leggings and a t-shirt too, but they didn’t seem nearly as important as that skirt.
    For a second I wondered if she’d put it on just to torture me. Yeah, right. She hated my guts. Well, whatever her reason was for her change in wardrobe, I liked it.
    Hailey turned away from the conversation she’d been having with the professor and began heading toward where I was sitting in my customary seat at the back of the class. I quickly sat up straighter and tried not to look antisocial.
    I even cracked a smile. “Hi, Hailey.”
    Hailey’s cheeks flushed as she took a seat at the desk beside mine. “Hi, Chase.”
    We stared at each other and then glanced away once the staring had reached a level of “we’re staring at