Flicker by Arreyn Grey

settle himself here and make himself as fascinating to her as she was to him-- the better to keep her nearby until he could solve the puzzle she presented. He didn't like unanswered questions.
                  Alexander didn't think of himself as a completely bad man. He had been called, on more than one occasion, a manipulative bastard; he had certainly, over the years, done things he wasn't proud of. But he did good things, too, when he could. Helping this lovely girl heal from whatever horror was in her past might be a good way to atone for a few of those misdeeds.
                  Besides, he thought with amusement, he was actually a little curious to see what she would come up with for tomorrow night.
     
                  Friday morning dawned with a slight chill and heavy gray clouds, but Elise didn't mind. She actually loved rain: the smell of it on the wind, the way it muted every color except green, which it amplified into a thousand different shades-- and, of course, the age-old sentiment of washing things away.
                  She dressed in anticipation of a rainy day-- dark brown skirts, a deep green shirt with three-quarter sleeves, and boots with slightly higher heels than usual, to keep her from dragging her hems in mud and puddles. But her mind was just barely on her daily routine; she zipped her skirts, applied her minimal makeup, and ate a bowl of cereal on autopilot: all she was thinking about was what to do about her date with Alex tonight.
                  Reflecting during her preparations for the day, she admitted to herself that while she liked him-- a lot-- he also infuriated her. His tendency to make cryptic remarks and to change both subjects and emotions in the blink of an eye left her feeling off balance and unprepared. He could also exert a disconcerting amount of influence over her-- she had realized that all her plans for their interactions went awry if he wanted them to. That scared her more than a little; she didn't trust anyone not to take advantage of a situation where they had control over her, so the fact that she was willing to continue being around him worried her. She wasn't too afraid that he would do more than she actually wanted him to-- on the contrary, she was worried that he would be able to make her want anything he would do. She wasn't sure how he managed it-- maybe it was just the chemistry between them-- but he manipulated her with terrifying ease.
                  At the same point, though, she couldn't deny that they had fun together. She had caught herself laughing more freely than she had in years because of him, at points when she hadn't felt influenced or manipulated at all. Moreover, there were times when he put the arrogance, the games, aside-- those few times, she had seen a seriousness in him that she had never encountered in anyone else her age. Something about his fervent sincerity made her feel almost safe-- a sensation that, even more than carefree happiness, was all but alien to her now.
                  As she strolled through the park on her way to school, Elise caught herself glancing over at the tree he had backed her against and the field where he had flopped comically into the grass, as if she expected to see him there. She felt remarkably calm and centered about everything that had gone on yesterday, as if just organizing the pros and cons of their interactions had given her more control over them. And perhaps it had-- Elise didn't feel nearly so shaken now, walking across the damp grass under the heavy gray sky.
                  A thought came to her, surprising a delighted giggle from her lips. She decided she would chance the rain this afternoon, and see if Alex liked it as much as she did. She'd teach him to put her off balance.
     
                  For a moment, Alexander looked between Elise, the vine-laden wrought iron archway, and back again like