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Alex lay staring at me. Feeling ashamed and small suddenly, I looked down at the sleeping bag, tracing its seam. “He, um…hasn’t really figured that part out for himself yet. I think that’s why he’s being so rude to—”
“What the hell was that about?” Alex interrupted. He gripped my bare shoulder. “Let me get this straight: you’re telling me nothing else happened, because you’re still in love with me. ”
I swallowed. “That’s…pretty much what I’m saying, yes. ”
“Great – so was there a particular reason you had to tell me that the two of you were all over each other? What a romantic setting it was?”
“I thought you’d want to know,” I said levelly.
Alex snorted. “Yeah, I’m overjoyed – thanks for sharing. Jesus, Willow! Seb’s my friend, and right now I want to—” He stopped abruptly; finally he let out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face.
“Look,” he said. “I don’t even know where any of this came from. I don’t want to argue, all right? I get that you must be upset over what’s happened, but—”
Something like a laugh choked out of me. “Upset? You told me to trust you and I thought you were dead for a year. But hey, you’re back now, so it’s all good. ”
“I had to go. I didn’t tell you the truth because—” Alex cut himself off, looking frustrated. “Oh, what’s the point? You already know all of this. It doesn’t seem to make any difference. ”
He glanced at my angel’s gleaming form, his jaw tight. “Do you mind? I’ve got to get some sleep. Unless you’ve got any more revelations you’d like to throw at me. Hey, throw them really hard, all right? Bonus points if you knock me out. ”
I didn’t tell him about the base. At least I didn’t do that: I didn’t use it as a weapon against him, even though I was so angry and hurt myself that I was trembling.
“No,” I said finally. “No more revelations. ” And I brought my angel back to me, and the stage fell into darkness.
“I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE really Alex Kylar. ” Scott stood propped against the sink next to Alex; he’d just come into the school on his break. It was nearly dawn – a lantern lit the shadowy boy’s bathroom.
“Yeah, I really am,” Alex said dryly. He stood clad in his jeans as he quickly shaved. The second it was light enough, he, Willow and Seb would start searching for the gate.
“Man, you must have seen so much action. How many angels have you brought down?”
“I stopped keeping track. ”
“What was your last count?”
Would this guy never shut up? “Over a thousand. ” Alex’s tone was terse.
His reflection looked back steadily from the mirror as if the argument with Willow hadn’t happened. But when he’d woken up, her stiffness had brought it back in excruciating detail. They’d dressed in silence.
Scott whistled. “That is just…epic. ”
“Not epic enough – they’re still around,” Alex said curtly. There were other guys in the restroom too; to Alex’s annoyance, they were listening. Great, just what he needed.
He glanced up as Seb walked in.
The other sinks were in use; Scott reluctantly stood up. Seb poured a bucket of steaming water into the basin and hastily stripped off his T-shirt. “Morning,” he said to Alex.
“Morning,” Alex muttered back. He knew he didn’t have much right to mind about the kiss – Christ, they’d both thought he was dead. But leaping straight to acceptance was a little beyond him. He had to fight the urge to slam Seb up against a wall.
Scott was eyeing the AK on Alex’s bicep. “I am seriously getting one of those tattoos if we survive this thing. And, dude, is that a bullet wound?”
Alex didn’t bother answering. After a few more attempts, Scott gave up and left. One by one the others filtered out too, until only Seb was there. Alex glanced at him as he swiped his face dry.
“Willow told me,” he said.
Seb had been frowning as if there was something on his mind. He glanced up. “Told you what?”
Alex looked at him without speaking.
“Oh. ” Slowly, Seb rinsed the soap from under his arms. “Amigo, it wasn’t anything,” he said, sounding tired. “It was a mistake; we both knew it right away. ”
“Yeah, she told me that too. ”
“Did she tell you the rest?” Seb pulled his T-shirt back on; his loose curls appeared. “I’m not in love with her any more,” he said quietly. “I care about her as a friend – that’s all. ”
Any other time, the news would have been welcome. Now Alex’s muscles stayed tight; he snapped on his own T-shirt. “No, she kept that one to herself. But, hey, it’s good to go out on a high – I heard you couldn’t get enough of each other. ”
Seb looked taken aback. “She said that?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve got a lot to compete with, apparently. Even if you’re not in the running any more. ”
Seb’s high-cheekboned face looked conflicted. “This last year has been very bad for her,” he said finally. “But I know she still loves you. The kiss meant nothing, I promise. ”
Deep down, Alex knew it wasn’t really the kiss that bothered him. Well, okay, it did, but he’d get over it.
What hurt was how much Willow had wanted to cause him pain.
It was easier to snap back, “Yeah? So why don’t I go make out with Meghan for a while, and you can see how meaningless you think that is. ”
Seb stiffened. “What does she have to do with this?”
“She’s the one you’re in love with, right?”
Seb’s expression had turned murderous. “I said it was nothing, and I meant it,” he said with icy control. “Do you want me to make up something different? Or are we finished?”
“Yeah, we’re finished,” Alex said in a low voice. He glanced at the window. “It’s almost dawn. Outside in five minutes. ”
That day and the next passed in a daze of scanning. Taking the southern side of town, Alex searched for the gate to the angels’ world everywhere he could think of. As he worked, he kept passing people hammering up on roofs – and even if he wasn’t psychic, he could feel the tension gripping the town. He worked as fast as he could, urgency pounding through him. But by late afternoon of the second day, he’d only covered about ten blocks.
It wasn’t nearly enough.
“Any luck?” called a voice. Jonah, standing on a ladder built against the side of a house. Alex went over, and Jonah hopped to the frosty ground.
“Not yet,” Alex said. “I don’t know how the others are doing today, though. ” It wasn’t true – if either had found something, he was sure they’d have come to tell him.
Jonah’s brown eyes didn’t look as if they missed much. “You don’t think you’re going to find it in time now, do you?” he asked after a beat.
The air bit coldly at Alex’s face. “No,” he admitted.
Jonah nodded slowly as he took in what this meant. Finally he let out a breath and glanced up the home-made ladder. “Want to come take a look? This one’s done; I was just checking it. ”
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