Red Moon Rising

Nora couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. It started with a furtive glance across the cafeteria, and then another. Rex was almost as beautiful as his sister, but in a different way. His sandy blonde hair was always mussed and unruly, falling into his piercing blue eyes.

His strong jawline made her heart skip a beat. He seemed to be constantly chewing gum, even though Nora wasn’t sure he ever bought it from the school store.

His lips were pink and full, and when he smiled, she swore she could see every one of his perfect teeth. His body was lean and muscular, not bulky like some of the boys at their high school.

Nora felt herself blushing as she watched him walk across the cafeteria to sit down with his friends, laughing at something one of them said. She turned back to her own lunch tray, suddenly very hungry again.

* * *

Rex had noticed her right away as soon as he walked into the cafeteria that day. She was wearing a light blue tank top and white shorts; her thick black curls were piled on top of her head in what he guessed was supposed to be a messy bun but which looked more like an explosion of dark hair from where he stood at the salad bar.

He tried not to stare too hard when she caught his eye and looked away quickly, but out of the corner of his vision he saw her turn back towards him. He pushed up his glasses with two fingers and smiled at her before walking over to the table where his friends were sitting.

* * *

From that day on, Nora couldn’t stop thinking about Rex Stanforth.

* * *

Rex couldn’t get Nora McLeod out of his head after he first saw her in the cafeteria that day. He knew who she was -- everyone did -- but he couldn’t help himself from staring at her whenever he happened to come across her in the halls between classes or outside smoking on break or sitting alone at lunchtime with just a book for company.

* * *

Nora usually sat by herself at lunch these days because most people didn’t really know what to say to someone whose sister had died only months earlier in a car accident that left her father crippled and permanently disfigured from extensive burns over half of his body. Most people knew who Nora was because they had seen her on television news reports and on local talk shows talking about how terrible it had been to lose Amanda so suddenly while also trying to raise money for Amanda’s two children who were now orphans since their father had abandoned them shortly after their mother’s death by leaving town and cutting all ties with everyone he knew there except for Rex who still lived in their hometown with their father despite being estranged from both men since they blamed him for Amanda dying in the crash that took nearly all three of their lives since it was caused by an intoxicated driver who had been caught several times driving drunk before finally killing Amanda and injuring them all but getting off without any real punishment besides probation for about six months before being caught again doing the same thing again which resulted in Mayor McLeod losing his temper live on national television during an interview when asked why it wasn't illegal for people who had been arrested multiple times for DUI's to keep driving around freely without supervision until they killed someone or got caught again so long as they weren't actually incarcerated which is what happened with this particular repeat offender who served less than a year for killing Amanda and permanently injuring both her dad and brother before disappearing without punishment altogether once again but this time for good which is what really drove Rex's dad crazy enough to start self-mutilating himself since he felt like no one would punish him for anything anymore since this killer got away free once again due to lack of evidence or witnesses so Rex just decided not to stay home anymore after all this happened since he would show up there every day hoping things might change while also blaming himself for it all happening because if he hadn't gotten angry at Amanda yelling at him earlier that day while they were fighting over something stupid over whether or not Rex should drop out of college classes since he hadn't shown up to any recently due to partying too much then none of this would have happened anyway since she wouldn't have driven away upset about whatever childish argument they'd gotten into earlier but she ended up being cut off by another driver who had probably been drinking too much at a bar before getting behind the wheel which is why Rex has spent most nights ever since drinking heavily even though neither one of them drank much before this happened except that Amanda did take sips from people's drinks sometimes so maybe she didn't realize how dangerous it was to drive drunk even if it was just a little bit but Rex drank way too much lately either way because otherwise he didn't feel like going home knowing what would be waiting for him there but now that both parents have basically given up on life since they blame themselves so much for everything that happened then Rex doesn't think anyone should go home anymore if they don't want to end up killing themselves like Mayor McLeod has been doing lately because neither parent wants to witness any more pain or suffering so they're just trying their best not to be alive anymore even if it means ruining everyone else's lives including theirs since all their loved ones are now afraid what will happen next since this town used to be so peaceful until Mayor McLeod started acting strange after his wife died so suddenly then Chief Windall even went missing last week only nobody knows where he went which is making everyone think that somebody did something bad now that everything seems pretty fucked up here lately especially given how nervous Mayor McLeod has been acting lately according to some people who saw him today but nobody really knows why except maybe because Mayor McLeod might have gone crazy or might have done something really bad like kill himself even though no one is sure about anything anymore except that maybe Rex should visit his sister's grave today after school instead of staying home alone trying not to think about anything or drink himself unconscious tonight like usual which is why Nora starts wondering why Rex hasn't approached her yet although perhaps it's better this way because she needs time alone right now without distractions especially given how hard everything has been lately so she gets up from her lunch table and walks outside while putting sunglasses on against the bright sunlight shining through the clouds overhead

* * *

Rex finished eating and threw away his trash before heading outside during recess where Nora was standing near the edge of the playground smoking under a large oak tree shading several benches located beneath its branches. As soon as she saw him approaching, she pulled out another cigarette from somewhere deep within her baggy cargo shorts and lit it using a lighter she must've kept hidden inside nearby until now because she never let anyone see such things except maybe herself when no one else was paying attention.

"Hey," said Nora after taking a long drag on her cigarette while looking away from him shyly while exhaling smoke into the sky overhead before turning back towards him once more after finding courage thanks mostly likely to her nicotine addiction. "What's up?"

"Not much," replied Rex casually while shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly although nervously inside as well considering how gorgeous Nora looked today partly due perhaps to how short those shorts looked today when paired with those thick black tights covering nearly every inch of skin between where those shorts stopped above those perfectly round thighs covered in freckles -- especially around those knees -- which made Rex wonder if other parts might look equally tempting once exposed to sunlight outdoors without any protection aside from whatever clothing Nora chose today along with those sneakers covered in dust kicked up by passing cars along with various amounts of dirt stuck underneath nails belonging deniably (or possibly) exclusively (to either) absolutely (only) probably (possibly) definitely [written / drawn] by ) one hundred percent (of) someone's / someone's [written / drawn] choice [written / drawn] voluntarily or involuntarily depending upon whichever details are important enough among many possible considerations presented as relevant data collected based on observation(s).

"You okay?" asked Nora when she noticed Rex staring intently at something near her feet while appearing hypnotized somehow by whatever invisible thing he seemed fixated upon seeing -- perhaps some kind of small bug crawling slowly along nearby leaves? "That dress looks great on you."

 "Th-thanks," said Nora awkwardly while pulling lightly at one side of her outfit self-consciously while pretending not notice how closely Rex seemed studying whatever object caught his attention earlier despite rather obviously noticing something else entirely: namely, Nora herself dressed in clothing clearly intended more for casual wear than anything formal although obviously chosen carefully enough given how well received such clothing looked providing ample opportunity for additional scrutiny regarding other potentially provocative details thereof including attire worn beneath aforementioned attire itself presenting additional details collectively useful enough perhaps despite lacking additional information necessary toward definitive explanation absent additional data creating hypothetical scenario(s) imagined only within mind(s) therefore unknown without further investigation requiring new information acquisition potentially available thru interaction(s) currently impossible thus theoretical examination leading toward potential discovery(s) depends upon theory(ies) supported / unsupported by likelihood thereof therefore theoretical approach unnecessary thus unlikely unless actual interaction occurs therefore unlikely unless theoretical examination remains impractical thus unlikely unless prior assessment proves relevant leading toward discovery beyond prior hypothesis therefore unlikely unless --