by Bryan Cohen
Chapter 20
Erica noticed Ted blush. He attempted to smile, but it just came off looking strained. She could tell he was nervous; after all, she'd seen William make the same face dozens of times. Erica tried to remind herself that the boy she'd loved had died hundreds of years ago.
So why does he make me feel this way?
She ignored the pulsing of her chest and concentrated on the mission at hand. Of all the people she'd been sent to find on this world, he appeared to be the least qualified. The best heroes tended to have a little meanness to them. Some darkness. Ted was the opposite of dark. he had pasty skin and kind eyes. He had muscle tone but suburban hands that were callous-free. She doubted he could even bench press his body weight.
When it could be helped, the light souls would train the living soul years before he or she was called up to duty. Erica knew of a small, secret school in Japan that was dedicated solely to that purpose. She imagined that when Ted was called up, there was a pretty pissed off samurai somewhere waiting for his turn.
"I'm glad you're OK," Ted said. "A lot of people had given up hope."
She hoped he wouldn't sound like William, as well, but there was no such luck. Very few things from her human life had endured the lifetimes she'd spent fighting the dark souls. Seeing William's double all these years later made her realize how many of those memories involved her long-ago fiancé.
Being with Ted alone in the band room reminded her of a night she spent looking up at the stars. She and William held hands and guessed at who had placed the shining balls of light in such a configuration. That was the only time they'd ever kissed. Within a week's time, she had been chosen to guard the world and he was dead.
Erica brought herself back to her present life. Her former inhabitant had been inseparable from Ted. When her father got a promotion and moved them to the wealthy side of town, the first question she asked them was, "Is Ted coming too?"
Ted looked like he was shivering. She put her hand on his arm. It felt like she was touching a ghost.
"Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we were still neighbors?" she asked.
Several months after the move, Erica continued to take the bus to Ted's house every day after school. By the beginning of sixth grade, it became three times a week. In seventh grade, the old Erica's friends convinced her to drop the friendship completely. Being cool topped her new priority list, and staying friends with Ted wasn't on the list of things that would help her achieve that goal.
"All the time," he said. "Losing you as a friend was really hard on me."
Throughout middle school, the old Erica felt guilty every time she ignored Ted or blew him off. Beth, Winny and her other new friends told her she was being ridiculous. She suppressed all her negative feelings on the subject. Erica didn't know it at the time, but she was training herself to be cold and mean. Erica's new inhabitant had tried that skin on earlier in the day, and it felt natural but slimy. Erica knew she was happier before popularity entered into her life.
"I'm sorry," Erica said.
It wasn't the first time she'd apologized for a mistake a former inhabitant had made.
"I guess I thought I couldn’t stay friends and be popular."
Erica felt her tears begin to flow. She knew her makeup couldn't stand much more of this.
"I never understood that," he said.
Erica wiped her face on her sleeve and motioned for the two of them to sit down. After they did, she put her hand on Ted's shoulder.
"I'm not sure I do, either. Not anymore."
As his new protector, Erica was supposed to keep Ted safe. She needed to understand more about why the other side would trust him with the most important task in the world. She also had to question Ted about the thugs to find out more about their halted murder spree and how much he knew about the dark souls. The mission was the last thing on her mind, though.
"All these new friends. All these hangers-on. People outside of school. Despite all of these connections I've made, you were the person I thought about when I died."
Ted didn't say anything for a second. He didn't seem to understand.
"What do you mean when you died?"
Erica took a sharp breath. That wasn't what she meant to say at all.
"I meant, when I left. When I ran away."
"Alright."
"You're the reason I came back, Ted."
Erica realized right after she said it, that it was sort of misleading. If Ted wasn't entrusted with keeping the world safe, she wouldn't have crossed over into Erica's body. But she needed to say something that would bring Ted back to her side.
"I feel like you're trying to trick me," he said. "You don't talk to me for three years and then all of a sudden you say that I was some great regret?"
Ted stood up.
"Is it because I'm a celebrity now? You've got a chance to hitch your wagon to someone in the tabloids? No thanks."
As Ted turned, Erica grasped his arm and moved her hand down to his. She interlocked the fingers and pulled him back.
"I can't lose you again."
Erica didn't know if she was speaking to Ted or to the long-deceased William. She didn't care. Ted turned toward her, looked down and sniffled. She touched his face and let herself linger on his smooth skin. She put her hand under Ted's chin and moved his eyes back to her level.
"Look at us. We used to run around in a field together pretending to be astronauts."
Ted nodded and wiped his eyes. Erica flipped her mind back and forth between her and Ted pretending to float in zero gravity, and her and William warming each other under the night sky.
"I can't believe you remember that."
"Now you're a superhero and I'm a runaway," she said. "It's weird how life works sometimes."
Ted touched her face and Erica held her breath.
"You're here to stay, right? You're not going to run off again? I don't care if you're my friend. I want you to be here and safe and happy."
Erica pulled Ted's face toward hers and kissed him. In more than four centuries of living in various human bodies, Erica had experienced all sorts of kisses. The kiss that served as a first kiss and a second chance left them all behind.
Ted's lips touched hers so gently, it was almost as if he didn't want to hurt himself on them. Erica wondered if that was the case, given how much pain her former inhabitant had caused him. Her lips responded just as gently. Ted's face was warm and she pressed herself against it. Both of them continued to shed tears as they kissed. Erica pulled away briefly and rested her forehead on his. She felt a smile form on his face.
"I think I want to start your fan club."
"For being a superhero?" he asked.
"For being a good kisser," she said, as she moved off his forehead and back down to his lips.
The bell rang and startled the both of them. They looked at each other and laughed.
"Well," Ted said. "That was emotional."
Erica felt another tear go down her face. She took his hand.
"I really didn't expect that. I think we should–"
"Do this again sometime?" Ted asked.
Erica put her free hand to her face and ran it through her hair. She was supposed to be teaching him the ways of her world, not guiding him through the inner contours of her mouth.
"I agree. Tomorrow, after school, find me and we'll walk and talk."
"I like doing both of those things," he said.
Erica looked at him. She knew that fulfilling her mission of protecting Ted would have a lot more weight to it than usual.
"I'm going to leave now, or I'll never leave. Bye, Ted."
She kissed him on the lips one last time, stood up and left the band room. Erica pressed her back against the door. The lives she led felt like they'd all fallen away. She was a teen once more, and she had the opportunity to be in love again. Erica dashed to the ladies room to fix her makeup.
Erica knew she was a warrior bent on keeping the forces of evil at bay. W
hat she saw in the mirror was not how she was supposed to look. She looked too human, and it concerned her.
"What are you doing? This isn't a good idea. Or is it?"
She gave herself another look in the mirror.
"No, it's not."
She took in some oxygen and tried her best to wipe off the stream of eye makeup that had run down her face.
"I'll tell him tomorrow. I'll tell him who I really am, where I was and what's coming next."
She had no idea if Ted would be prepared for his role in the war. Erica knew she should have told him that the old her was dead. But if she had, she may not have ever had a chance to touch his lips. Erica took in another breath.
"One more period and back to work."
Erica thought she heard a sound from a stall, but she peeked under and saw nothing. She returned to the mirror to fix her hair. One more deep breath helped to return her heart to its normal pace, and she resolved to tell Ted the truth tomorrow. That's when the real mission would begin.
"Back to reality," she said.
Erica gave the mirror one last smile before exiting into the hallway.
