Spellbound

chapter 2

See Me

Avery stood in the middle of a virtual sea of people, waiting. She had used her power of silent persuasion on one of the bodyguards and was confident that her gift to Howie was well on its way to him. The lights dimmed, the screams rose and Avery fought to control the slight trembling that threatened to overtake her. As the boys took the stage, Avery moved unnoticed closer to the stage. One row at a time she would find an empty seat and quietly occupy it until she spotted another. By the time the first song had ended she was in the third row, just slightly off center stage. Her eyes never left Howie and she strained to see his hands, looking hopefully for the shimmering silver ring.

Howie danced across the stage, his presence great, his movements fluid and easy. Avery watched as he sang, his voice bright and clear, piercing out beyond the other’s voices. As the second song came to an end, Howie perched on the edge of the stage, his arms thrust upwards in want of the audiences screaming appreciation. It was then that a bright spotlight caught the shining metal and it sparkled, reflecting tiny beams of white light all around him. Avery’s breath caught in her throat and she smiled to herself. From deep within her pants pocket she pulled her own sliver ring and slid it onto her slender finger.

See Me

Howie began to scan the audience, stopping to smile, wave and wink at the screaming girls before him.

See Me

He missed a few dance steps as he continued to look into the audience.

See Me

He stared into the audience, his focus nearing Avery.

See Me

His eyes fell upon hers and he stopped dead in his tracks. It was if a bright light shone down on her and he couldn’t take his eyes from her. The others watched as he stood still, staring out into the mass of people. It was highly unlike Howie to miss a single beat of their routine, let alone stop completely. Absentmindedly he ran his thumb across the ring on his finger and in an instant he knew that she was the giver of the tiny piece of jewelry.

Avery stared at him, focusing all of her energy towards him. Their eyes locked, Avery felt the power of the rings working as a subtle tingle ran up her arm and into her chest. She willed the power of the rings across the people in front of her, up to the stage and into Howie. Howie flinched as the tingling took over his body, like a thousand volts of electricity pulsing up his arm, into his chest and downward into his groin.

Avery smiled seductively at him then turned and faded into the crowd.