Charity didn’t care if she was popular. She had Shane and Hunter, so she was never alone. But it helped to have friends. It helped her to build an imaginary family when her real one didn’t want anything to do with her.
Shane ran a hand through his hair, one of the few traits he had that gave away his nervousness. Otherwise, he looked completely confident, maybe because of the stares he got from every female in the room. Stares that would make Charity completely uncomfortable, but Shane fed off them. Hunter got stares, too, and Charity had to squash the jealousy. Most of Hunter's stares were fear anyway.
No one noticed Charity. She was like a ghost in their shadows.
“Hey son! You play football?” A large man approached, clapping Hunter on the shoulder.
Hunter's golden eyes lit up. “Yeah, I play. We both do.” He motioned to Shane.
The man glanced at Shane, but he wasn't impressed with what he saw. If you only knew, Charity thought with an inward giggle. Shane was super-sorcerer fast and super-sorcerer powerful.
“We're looking into getting a school-sanctioned football team but so far we have a great group of boys playing every Monday. You come check us out. Having someone like you on the team might be just what we need to convince the board.” He clapped Hunter on the shoulder one last time and turned away, yelling at someone across the room. Hunter watched him, one eyebrow raised.
“Looks like you found your niche.” Charity smiled up at him. He shrugged and moved forward with the rest of the line.
It took over a half hour to get them all registered. Without a parent or guardian present, things got… interesting. Charity could see the sparks at Shane’s fingertips as he got more and more frustrated. She poked him in the side and glared pointedly down at his hands.
“Oh.” The sparks died abruptly.
After several long minutes of arguing Hunter finally snapped, “Let me call our Uncle Charles.” Once the woman seemed satisfied that they weren’t homeless hooligans trying to invade her school, she handed over their schedules and a map of the school and buildings.
“Charles made sure you had a room to yourself. In case your eyes start glowing in the middle of the night or something,” Shane told her as he hefted his bags and her backpack over his shoulder. Hunter grabbed her duffel and his bags, and they left the main gymnasium.
The lawns were trimmed with pretty stone paths leading from the large square main building to the outcropping of dorm buildings — four in all. Charity followed Shane as he led them to her dorm room.
The rules posted at the top of the stairs stated that boys were not allowed in the girls’ dormitory. Which meant that after they got her all set up and visiting hours were over, Shane and Hunter wouldn't be allowed in her room anymore. She would be all alone. The thought left Charity cold and frightened, but she didn’t say anything.
“You got the top floor, at least. Sophomores are downstairs, and there are no upper classmen in this building. That's good, right?” Shane seemed to read her mood and was trying to lighten it. Charity gave him her bravest smile.
“We'll be right next door, Charity. If you need anything…” Hunter said gruffly.
“Thanks, Hunter. I'll be fine.”
Shane pushed the door open and went inside, seemingly oblivious to the stares of nearly every girl in the hallway. Hunter glanced at Charity, rolling his eyes heavenward before he followed Shane in.
The room was bigger than her last room, with brightly painted walls, a plain bedspread, a desk, and a closet. Big windows looked out toward the closest building. “Look, that's our dorm, I think.” Shane pointed.
Hunter looked down at Charity, motioning across the lawns to the room directly across from hers. “We’ll be in that room right there. So you’ll always be close, okay?”
She smiled. “How exactly do you know that?” She tipped her head to the side, narrowing her eyes playfully. “Are you stealing my seer power?”
He chuckled, his lips quirking dangerously close to a smile of his own.
Shane, from his other side, raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you really think there’s anyone that’s going to tell him no?” Hunter looked smug. Charity laughed, shaking her head.
“Off you go. I’ve gotta unpack.” She shooed them out, following them into the hallway, trying not to choke on the loneliness as she watched them disappear down the stairs.
The door across the hall opened, just a crack, and a girl who looked like she was much too young to be at a high school peeked out. “Oh. My. Goodness.” She bounced, swinging the door wider. “Are they your brothers? Boyfriends?” She flung the door the rest of the way open and smiled at Charity, bubbling with excitement as she pushed her glasses higher up on her nose.
“N—no.” Charity felt blood rush to her cheeks. “No, um, the tall one is my cousin. The… the big one is his best friend. My best friend.” The love of my life. Who has no idea I’m female.
A gorgeous black girl stood in the doorway, looking from Charity to Shane and Hunter and back again. “Are you gay?” she asked bluntly.
“No.” Charity couldn’t help but smile. “We grew up together. He’s like a brother. It’d be weird.”
The little brunette came closer, nearly bouncing with every step. Her silky waves were tied up in a ponytail that fell past the middle of her back. She stuck out a small hand. “I’m Olivia. Livi or Liv for short.”
The black girl nodded from the doorway, big brown eyes sparkling as she watched Livi. “I’m Nevaeh. Where are you transferring in from?”
Charity wasn’t used to people being so friendly. She especially wasn’t used to girls being so friendly when Shane wasn’t nearby. She blinked, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. “Umm, New York.”
“Nice! This will be quite a change then. Very quiet, very laid back,” Nevaeh said.
“It’s very pretty,” Charity agreed, her eyes straying to the window over Nevaeh’s shoulder. They had a view of the school and the lawns. Charity’s window overlooked the rising hills beyond the school grounds and the boys’ dorm. “Very green.” The air in the dorms wasn’t as fresh and… moist? Minty? Charity wasn’t sure what the smell was outside, but in here it was all perfume and hairspray. She longed to be in the open air again.
“Can we help you unpack? You’re so lucky that you don’t have to share a room with someone.” Livi skipped past her into her room, grabbing a corner of the bland bedspread and pulling it off.
“Hey. Just what are you implying?” Nevaeh asked with a frown. She glanced at Charity. “I’m the perfect roommate.”
Charity grinned.
“Come on, Nev. I’m not big enough to tuck this in on the other side.” Livi called as she fell sideways on the bed in her attempt to shake out Charity’s pale blue comforter.
“Well, I hope you planned on unpacking right now.” Nev sighed as she grabbed Charity’s hand and dragged her back into the dorm room. They spent the next hour unpacking, and it wasn’t until Charity was standing alone, surveying their work that she caught sight of Hunter across the lawns, leaning against the window frame in his room. He raised a hand in greeting and she couldn’t help but laugh. “You got your room.”
Chapter Four
“I’m hungry. When do they eat in this place?” Hunter asked, staring out the window. Charity had already made new friends, of course. Everyone loved Charity. One day, after the war. She’ll know, Hunter thought, but he had to bury that way down deep because right now, loving Charity could get them all killed. He couldn’t let that happen.
“You’re aweeys hungy,” Shane said around the corner of the pillowcase he held in his mouth. He fought with the pillow for several more seconds before Hunter sighed and yanked it away from him. Shane’s teeth chattered.
“You’re helpless. And I’m not always hungry. It’s dinner time.”
Shane glanced at his watch. “So it is. Should we grab Charity and go find some food?”
Hunter was out the door and halfway down the stairs before Sha
ne got his shoes on. “In a hurry much?” he asked when he finally caught up at the doors.
Hunter shrugged. Picking up a handful of small, hard blackberries, he tossed them at Charity’s window. “She’s a seer, dude,” Shane pointed out.
“Yeah, and she’s surrounded by people. Can’t exactly let those big silver eyes start glowing now, can we?” Hunter said, throwing another berry.
Her window slid up and she poked her head out, shoving her long hair out of the way. “Hey, boys.”
“Guess who realized it’s dinner time?” Shane grinned, dodging out of the way as Hunter swung at him. It wouldn’t have hurt. Much.
“I’m on my way.” Charity disappeared back inside, closing the window. A minute later, she appeared at the doors, followed by the two girls who had been helping her in her room. “Hey, guys. Shane, Hunter, meet Livi and Nev.”
“Wow. Boy, you are hot.” Nev winked at Shane. Hunter had never seen Shane flush before, but there was definitely a pink tint to his cheeks. It amused Hunter, to say the least.
“And you. Look at those muscles.” Nev reached out, squeezing Hunter’s bicep. “You two are going to have the girls here in an uproar.”
Hunter felt his eyes widen, completely without his permission. Charity giggled and Livi bounced away, brunette ponytail shimmering in the waning sunlight. “Come on! I’m hungry.” Laughing, Nev abandoned Hunter’s muscles and followed Livi.
Charity grinned, nudging Hunter with her shoulder. “Not used to anyone talking to you that way, are you?”
Hunter grumbled something incoherent and wandered away, slightly dazed. Beside him, Shane threw back his head and laughed, still chuckling as he dropped an arm across Charity’s shoulders. Hunter rolled his eyes at them both as he led them inside. “I think we’re going to like it here, little cousin.” Shane’s eyes sparkled as he looked around. “Important things will happen here, I just know it.”
****
Hunter lay in bed staring at the ceiling. If he sat up, he would be able to see Charity’s window, but he’d been checking on her every five minutes for the last half hour and her light was still off. It was good. She was safe.
“Dude, she’s fine. Stop worrying about her.” Shane’s voice was muffled, probably because of the pillow he was trying to smother himself with. When Hunter didn’t respond, he pulled the pillow away from his face and rolled so that Hunter could just see his metallic eyes glinting in the darkness. “Charity might look small and helpless, but she’s not. She’s the toughest girl I know.”
“Yeah. I know.” Hunter sat up just enough to make sure her light hadn’t come on. Still dark. “It’s just hard. If we’re attacked, Charity has no way to defend herself. No magic, no flames, no spells.”
“We won’t be attacked. Not here. Who would think to look for us here, anyway?” Shane flopped over on his back, making the bed creak and groan under his weight. “You’re just nervous for school tomorrow and you’re projecting your insecurities onto Charity. It will be fine, Hunter. We’ll fit right in.”
Hunter returned to staring at the ceiling. “Yeah. I’m sure it will.”
****
The first day of school dawned clear and beautiful. Hunter wondered if it was ever not beautiful in this place. He swung his bag over his shoulder and left Shane still doing his hair in their room. The dorm seemed to strangle him, and breathing felt difficult, until he escaped outside. He waited within sight of Charity’s building, and his and Shane’s, leaning against a giant boulder and watching the other students stream across the lawns toward the school. He kept a careful eye out for anyone who might be a football player. If they were playing football today, he wanted in.
“You’re such a pretty boy,” he muttered as Shane finally joined him, still finger combing his black hair into place.
“Not all of us can pull off the buzzed military haircut.” Shane laughed as he rubbed his hand across Hunter’s short hair, dodging easily out of the way as Hunter swung half-heartedly at him. He was aware of the stares Shane got, even if Shane wasn’t. It was Hunter’s job to protect him — which meant watching whoever watched Shane — although there was nothing in the job description about protecting him from hordes of teenage girls.
“You’re a pain. You know that?” Hunter sighed, ready to explain to Shane all the reasons why he drove Hunter nuts, but Charity chose that moment to emerge from the dorms with Nev and Livi.
Her long white hair was pulled into a high ponytail, falling around her shoulders. The red and black school uniform looked much better on her than on any of the girls around her, and Hunter couldn’t look away. Her cheeks were flushed, and she laughed at something Livi said. That smile — that was the smile that haunted Hunter when he couldn’t sleep.
“Took you long enough,” he said gruffly when she finally got close enough to hear him. She smiled sweetly, looping her arm through his and dragging him toward the school with her. She caught Shane as they passed him, ensnaring his arm as well.
“If you start skipping and singing songs about wizards, I’m totally out of here.” Hunter glanced down at her.
“No worries, Hunter. I don’t sing. You know that. But I can skip.” She raised an eyebrow at him; there was a challenge in those silver eyes of hers. He wasn’t falling for it though.
“You wanna skip, you’re on your own.”
She lost her chance, though, because they made it through the wide front doors. Shane dropped her arm to shake out his map, twisting it around, trying to make sense of it.
Nev sighed, closing her fist over the map. “These things are worthless. I could draw a better map than this.” She shook her head in disgust, black curls dancing. “What’s your first class?”
With Nev’s help, they all made it to their first classes on time. Charity’s class was clear across campus, but Shane’s was just a couple doors down. It’s your job to protect Shane. It’s your job to protect Shane. Charity will be fine. Hunter played the words over and over, hoping to get his brain to accept them.
His brain ignored him.
Class was nearly over when the kid next to him leaned closer. “You’re Hunter Millen?”
Hunter nodded, eyeing the kid warily.
“I’m Conner. I’m one of the freshmen captains for our rec football team. You wanna play tonight?”
Hunter’s day suddenly got infinitely better. “Yeah, I do. Can I bring my boy Shane?”
Conner glanced nervously at Mr. Greene, their history teacher, a retired marine, who seemed distracted by the sheer number of questions a girl in the front was firing at him. “Can he play?”
“Oh yeah, he can play.” Hunter suppressed a grin. Shane was fast and powerful. And he loved football almost as much as Hunter did.
The bell rang and Conner sighed, clearly relieved that he could speak above a whisper without getting in trouble. “Mr. Greene is an ornery one, or so I’ve been told.” Conner edged past the teacher who stood military style at the front of the room, and escaped into the hall. Hunter glanced at the man, who nodded politely but didn’t say a word. He certainly didn’t appear to be angry at the world. Or even all that ornery.
They joined the mass of student humanity in the hall. “So we meet in the big field to the south of the dorms after school. It’s just touch football, no tackle until we have uniforms,” Conner explained as he dodged people stampeding in the opposite direction. Shane waited for them in the hall, leaning against the lockers, already surrounded by girls.
He nodded at Hunter and fought his way free. “Girls here are very… goal-oriented,” Shane said, rubbing the back of his neck. Conner chuckled.
“Shane, Conner. Conner, Shane. We’re playing football with him after school.” Hunter introduced them and let Shane take over. Shane was friendly, he was easygoing, and he liked to talk. Hunter did not.
****
The rest of the day passed in a blur of classes that were a lot the same. Shane was in two of them. Charity was only in one. He tried to ignore the ache in his c
hest when she walked away after lunch, already surrounded by new friends. Shane, too, was enveloped by groups of people, and the perfume stench was more than Hunter could handle. He retreated, looking on from a distance for the rest of the day.
He had a headache, and between watching Charity leave him and watching hordes of girls fawn all over Shane, he was in a bad mood and he sort of wanted to pummel someone into the ground. When Conner fell into step beside him, Hunter nearly wept with joy. He refrained, since that would be a completely ridiculous thing to do. Beside the fact that this sudden onslaught of wild mood swings worried him a bit.
“Ready to play?” Conner’s sandy hair fell into his green eyes and he brushed it away with an annoyed flick of his wrist.
“So ready. Just gotta find Shane.”
Conner smirked. “From the rumors I’ve heard, just follow the flock of girls.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. Shane was already making a reputation for himself, and it was their first day. Awesome. “We can play without him if it’s too hard to drag him away.”
Hunter jogged to his dorm room to drop his books off and change his clothes. He shoved through the double doors, escaping back onto the lawns as quickly as he could. For some reason, he felt all claustrophobic and panicky whenever he was inside. In his relief to suck in fresh lungfuls of air, he nearly ran over Charity, who stood in the middle of the path. Just standing there, like she somehow knew he was coming. Oh, right. Seer.
“Football?” she asked with a slow smile. His heart melted.
“Yeah.”
“Can I watch?”
He swallowed hard. The thought of her watching him play did weird things to his blood pressure, making the flames roar and tie themselves in knots. “Yeah. Sure.”
She fell into step next to him. She didn’t say a word — Charity had always been able to read his moods and knew when the noise was about to drive him insane. She was one of the few people in the world who didn’t feel the need to chatter constantly. It was one of the reasons he loved her.
Feudlings in Sight Page 3
