THESE DECEIVING EYES

[conor declan banks]

Entering the stable, Conor looked around and wrinkled his nose slightly at the mundane smell of horse as he made his way to the back of the stable. Grabbing an apple from a basket in the back, he then proceeded to the middle of the stable to stop in front of a midnight black horse. Resting his arms on the door, he held the apple flat in his hand as he watched the horse eat it up. "Good girl." he whispered quietly, glancing around afterward to check no one was there. After being sure there was no one, Conor opened the latch and stepped inside the stall, placing his hand on the horse's nose to keep it from being anxious.

"How's Morningstar?" Conor whispered quietly to his horse, pulling a brush from a shelf in the stall. Slowly working around the horse, Conor inspected to make sure he got all of the burs out of her fur. While he did so, he thought about what the last half of senior year had been like so far and sighed in resignation. He did like to be class clown, there was no doubting that, but he also had a bitter taste of never being taken seriously. None of the girls would take him serious when he wanted to be serious and move further besides just the awkward dating phase. They always ended up with the jocks in the end, not the class clown who just happened to pass all of his classes at the same time. It was the only reason he hadn't be expelled.

Placing the brush back where it was, Conor reached to the bag he had dropped inside the stable door and pulled out his history book, determined to get some of it done while he had some peace and quiet, away from his rambunctious friends. Stepping to the back of the large stall, Conor shoved the straw around with his foot until he had a nice large pile of untainted straw. Settling down into it, he set his history book in his lap and pulled the cap off of his pen, writing down the notes for the chapter in his notebook.

Attempting, and failing, to read as much as possible, Conor found his attention wavering from the problems of england's monarchy problems and to more pressing issues, such as the disappearances and killings of people he knew. Until that year, he'd never known someone personally who had died. Then teachers he had before in classes were dying, the Dean had died, leaving them with Professor Huntington, who had never been his particular favorite teacher.

With a frustrated sigh, Conor slammed his history book closed and set it beside him. Then he leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the vaulted ceiling, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Christmas Break had caused him to loose any sense of concentration he had beforehand, and it was difficult to convince himself to work on his school work when everything else seemed so pressing. A cough at the door of the stable caused Conor to tense up, and he kept still as he listened to the footsteps grow ever closer.

[emily makyla ellis]

Why had Emily decided to go to the stables? Right, to see Evie. Horses couldn't take care of themselves after all. Which was sort of a down part to owning one. Emily had no time to be dealing with Evie right now. She had too much to catch up on. Not to mention pranks and jokes to come up with, because stupid Conor Banks was so convinced she was stealing his old ones. Which was not true at all. Boy flattered himself too much for his own good.

After all, Emily was obviously better. She was willing to bet it was because he was a boy, and all the girls probably went crazy for him. Stupid mindless drones they were. All they wanted was to sit and look at Conor’s face; they probably didn’t pay any attention to his actual pranks or jokes. That must be how he kept his title of class clown. A title Emily was going to attain. Whether Conor liked it or not.

She ran a hand through her hair as she headed out, books in hand in case she had time to catch up on school. So many odd things were happening. People were actually dying, and they were worrying about Emily getting her assignments in on time? It seemed too trivial. Emily shook her head. They should be worrying about the killings, instead of her work.

Some people just needed to straighten their priorities out, and this time, it wasn’t Emily. She reached the area where the horses were and a small cough escaped her mouth. Was she getting sick? Oh goodness, Emily hoped not. That was the last thing she would need. Though she knew what she was going to blame it on. Her sister Katherine’s cooking. That was enough to make anyone sick. She was surprised she hadn’t gotten sick from it before. Neither had her brother, come to think of it. As odd that was.

Stepping into the stables, she looked around for Evie. But who she saw definitely was not her horse. It was no other than Conor Banks. Of course. That was just her luck. “What are you doing here?” she asked him, a little irritable. After all, wasn’t putting up with him at school enough. He did look good…no, no he did not. Emily couldn’t be thinking these things, they were wrong. He was an annoying boy, and that’s all.

She found Evie’s stable and checked on her water and food. They seemed to be a bit low, so Emily had to get more water. “Why don’t you be useful and help me grab some water?” she asked Conor as she turned to him. There was no way she could lift the stupid water bucket by herself, but her brother had opted not to go with her. Maybe this was all a big set up against Emily. It had to be, “Well?” she persisted, dropping her bag in front of the stall carelessly and waiting for an answer.

[conor declan banks]

Sighing, Conor pinched his arm to ensure that he was actually awake. And he was. It really was Emily standing in front of him and talking to him – so not how he had imagined his perfect day. Standing up and dusting the straw off of him, Conor made to grab all of his stuff. ”I have a horse also, if you care to remember. I like to take care of her personally. You can’t trust the people they hire.” Books in hand, Conor made to exit the stable before she decided to speak again. Wishing the words were different, but knowing that she had asked for his help.

”What, is the matter too complicated for you to do on your own?” Conor turned around slightly and let his books sit idly in his arms, smirking at the girl on the other end of the stable. ”It really isn’t that hard, even you can do it. But for the sake of your horse becoming dehydrated, I shall do it for you.” Conor placed his books by the exit and grabbed an empty bucket, and exited the stable into the bright air. Taking a deep breath, Conor whistled as he headed to the pump on the side of the stables. Setting the bucket down, he proceeded to pump the water himself and moved his foot out of the mud as he did so.

Thinking about the conversation he had been having with his sister, Conor thought briefly about what it would be like to actual….be friends with Emily, or…even further. He was pretty sure that she had some sort of feelings for him – otherwise she wouldn’t harass him as much as she did…but did that mean, deep down, he liked her too since he harassed her also? Or was his just in retaliation? Or was it all just one big confusing situation that he would never figure out. Exasperated, Conor kicked at a tuff of grass and decided to wait and talk to his sister about it.

Looking down at the bucket, Conor cursed as the water was spilling over the edge of the bucket. He quickly stopped the pumping and tried to pick the bucket up and sighed as it merely sloshed over. Tipping it slightly, he proceeded to poor water out of the bucket in order to carry it into the stable.

Minutes later, the bucket was filled and Conor proceeded back into the stable, walking lopsided from the weight of the water in the bucket. Flinching as some of it sloshed down his pants, he cursed the coldness of it all and wondered randomly if he had any clean jeans in his room. Reaching the door to the horse’s stall, Conor stared absently as Emily hustled around the stall. ”Where do I put it now?” Conor set it down and grabbed some clean straw, stuffing it up his pants leg in order to soak up the water. Snorting at the look of his jeans, Conor turned is leg around and looked back at Emily. ”Well?”

[emily makyla ellis]

Emily watched as Conor pinched himself. What did he do that for? Emily shrugged it off as nothing. After all, why was she paying so much attention to the little things he did? It was just a waste of time, wasn’t it? “Sorry…must have slipped my mind” Emily stated simply. Wasn’t her fault if she didn’t remember who had a horse and who didn’t. “That’s why I’m here” she added, not knowing why she had to state the fact. She looked on curiously as he seemed like he was about to leave. Oh well, he could help her with this one small thing first. Couldn’t hurt him.

“No, but the jug is really heavy when it’s full, and I’d appreciate some help, Conor” she retorted. “Evie won’t dehydrate, I wouldn’t let her. And I don’t need you to do it for me, but I’d like some help” she added, glaring at him. Why was he so insufferable? She waited patiently, unsure if he would want her going outside to the pump with her as she patted Evie. “ Don’t worry…you’ll have more water soon. Guess I should get you more hay, too.” She mused as she walked over to the stack and grabbed a handful. Emily threw it over into Evie’s section and went to grab a few more handfuls as her mind went into overdrive.

Why did it seem that everyone thought Emily liked Conor? Surely they were out of their minds. That couldn’t be possible, could it? They would barely be considered friends. So where were people drawing their conclusions from? Was Conor so insufferable toward her because he liked her? Emily tried to remember when Conor first came to the school. She had been mad because the class had belonged to her and then he stole them. Was she jealous, or was it something else? Did she like Conor? Why did everyone else have to be right? Couldn’t Emily make these decisions on her own?

And why did she have no one to talk to about it? Her sister and her weren’t exactly on good terms, though it was likely Emily’s fault. She couldn’t tell her stupid brother anything, and if she told her friends, they would laugh. Wait. What if she talked to Riley and Ian about it? They had randomly made contact with her, and she was sure if she asked nicely, they wouldn’t tell Conor anything.

She watched as Conor seemed to be talking to her. Where did he come from? Oh, right. How long had he been waiting there? “Sorry…I must have…not seen you there” she replied lamely as she noticed the water bucket. “Oh hold on” she said as she placed the chain down so Evie couldn’t escape if the door was opened.

She opened the door carefully and looked at him. “Um, you can put it right there, in front of the stack of hay” she said with a nod. Why did Blair have to be right? He was sort of cute…augh! No! She couldn’t be thinking those things…it just wasn’t right! “So…what are you up to now?” she asked, running a hand through her hair. Oh no. She did not just ask Conor to hang out. Eugh.

[conor declan banks]

Conor snorted mildly and raised his eyebrows at Emily. ”This must be a first for you not realizing I’m here.” Conor smiled sweetly and waited for her to open the gate, not missing the way her hair released the scent of her shampoo when she flicked it while moving. Shaking the thought, Conor gripped the bucket and lifted it up as the gate swung open towards him. Wrinkling his nose as more water slid down his leg, Conor shook his leg. ”Blarg.” Conor made a strange noise as straw fell out of his pants leg, causing the coldness of the water to freeze his leg.

Setting the water down in front of the horse, Conor jumped out of the way as the horse nosed its way to the water bucket. Muttering under his breath, Conor left the stall quickly, grabbing more straw from the stall on his way out. Stuffing his leg, Conor smiled in victory as the water began to soak in the straw. Walking backwards and looking down at his feet, Conor failed to see the saddle someone had left on the ground and fell over it, landing on his butt on the other side. Closing his eyes, Conor cursed the clumsy aspects of his life and wish they had stayed in New York City – they had always been part of his problem in getting girls. Just right when everything was going so good, he would do something so stupid that would piss them off.

But then…Emily wouldn’t hate him just because he happened to look like an idiot – in fact she would enjoy it. But these thoughts were ridiculous – he would have to tell his sister that she was planting ideas in his head that wouldn’t leave him alone anymore. He hadn’t ever really thought about Emily like that until Riley began to talk about it; at least, not as much as he was now. Sighing again, Conor ran a hand through his hair and let it fall back on the ground behind his head.

Doubting his ears, Conor looked up and made sure it was still Emily in front of him. ”I am, hadn’t made any immediate plans. I typically don’t do much of anything on the weekends.” Scratching his nose, Conor adjusted his body until he was leaned back on his elbows, his legs crossed in front of him comfortably. Was Emily really asking him, Conor Declan Banks, to hang out? The surely must be coming to an end if that was the fact…unless Riley had always been right. Maybe Emily really did have…emotions for him that neither was willing to admit.

”What are you doing?” Conor quickly asked, not sure if he wanted to know what was going to come from this conversation. Oh how the New Year always brought surprises, even when everyone is perfectly content with what they have. Nothing ever stays so simple, at least, in Conor’s opinion.

[emily makyla ellis]

Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Oh yeah…definitely a first” she retorted as she waited for him to walk through to the stall. She watched to make sure he was putting the water in the right place. As she was watching, she noticed water spill out onto his legs and tried her best not to laugh. After all, according to Riley, civility was the key here. But why did she want to be civil? Right. The same reason she somehow found him desirable. Which was still beyond her. Maybe she would figure it out soon. If he weren’t so damn attractive, she wouldn’t be having this issue.

Her hands subconsciously raised to her head as she ran her hand through her hair to make sure it was half decent. It felt okay, so maybe it looked okay too. Oh, god. There she went caring about how she looked for him again. This just had to stop. Emily could find a way to stop it, right? Her thoughts were disrupted as Conor stuffed his pants with straw. What was he doing? “What the hell?” she asked as she pointed to his pants and then realized why he had to be doing that. “There’s an extra towel from swimming team I have in my bag, don’t worry, I’ll give you the spare one that I didn’t use.” She explained to him as she pulled out her bag and searched through her swim gear. Where was it? Pulling her bikini and towel out, she looked into her bag further. There it was. It was purple…so Conor might not like it. But whatever, Emily was being helpful so he could can it. She was trying to be civil, so he could to. She stuffed her other towel and bikini back into the bag and tossed him the spare. “Here it is…it’s purple…but it’ll probably work faster than straw” she told him briefly as she looked back toward Evie.

Evie wasn’t due for another run until next week, so she could hold it off. Turning to Conor as he spoke again, she nodded. “Really? Huh..” she mused aloud as she looked down at the ground. Oh, she just had to pull herself together. She could be civil, that part wasn’t hard…but why the hell did she like him? It still made no sense, no matter how many people tried to explain it to her.

She knew he would ask her the same question. Just perfect. She supposed she would have to ask him to hang out now, it was inevitable. But what would happen next time they hung out? Hopefully Emily wouldn’t make an idiot of herself. She bit her lip and quickly shook her head before speaking. “Um…nothing really. Er, did you want to maybe hang out tonight?” she blurted out, mentally smacking herself. God, why did she have to sound so eager?

It was absolutely horrifying.