Hunter started. He didn’t have her vision but apparently he was supposed to be doing something. Down the field, Shane leaped, knocking the ball out of the air. He came down with it clutched tight to his chest, and he started running. Oh. Right.
Hunter cut across the field, knocking boys — his team and the other team, out of his way. He turned sharply in front of Shane, matching his pace, protecting him. “Thanks, man,” he heard Shane pant behind him.
The other team attacked. “Run!” Charity screamed and Hunter lengthened his stride, knowing Shane did the same. His muscles coiled, ready, as he threw his shoulder into the first kid to hit him. He smashed his palm into the next guy, pushing him out of the way. Over and over again Hunter knocked boys out of the way, feeling Shane right on his heels.
The flames screamed in his blood, begging to be set free. He felt them strengthen him, push him forward and a crazy grin split his face. And then the senior’s big captain exploded into action, sprinting across the field. Jack dove and Hunter lowered his head and barreled into him. Jack flew backward, landing hard. Shane didn’t even hesitate, leaping over him like a professional hurdler.
They fought their way clear down the field, but there were four boys from Jack’s team who stood between them and the end zone. “I got this. Go, go, go!” Hunter bellowed. He vaulted through the air, smashing into all four boys at once. They went down in a tangle of sweat and bodies and dirt and a little blood. Shane leaped, dove over them and landed in a roll on the other side. Free, he sprinted the last few yards to the end zone.
Charity, Nev, and Livi screeched from the sidelines, their own personal cheerleaders. Hunter untangled himself from the other boys, pulling his exhausted body into a sitting position. A shadow blocked the sun threatening to blind him, and he squinted. “That was quite a hit.” Jack glared down at him.
Hunter shrugged. “That’s football.”
They scowled at each other for several seconds before Jack’s face split into a grin. “That it is. Welcome to the field.” He extended a hand and pulled Hunter to his feet. “I’m just glad we’ll be on the same team from now on.”
Chapter Five
“I’m on the dance planning committee.” Shane dropped his tray next to Charity’s. His apple leaped free of its compartment and rolled across the table.
She raised an eyebrow, looking up at him. “Why would you do that?”
Hunter thunked his tray down on her other side, spinning his chair around backward before he sat down. “Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.”
Charity wrinkled her nose. “Really, Shane? You signed up to help plan dances because of a girl?”
Shane’s lip quirked and he winked.
“So, details boy. Spill,” Nev commanded, waving her spoon at Shane. He grimaced, wiping yogurt off his black polo.
Hunter nodded at Nev. “You’re a menace. Put that thing away.”
The past several weeks had been interesting. Charity had never fallen into such a comfortable routine before. Hunter and Nev had developed a… unique relationship that involved teasing each other mercilessly, but Charity could tell Hunter enjoyed it because of the way his eyes sparkled — half playful, half mischief. He was much more intelligent than most people gave him credit for, and Nev’s wit challenged him.
“Well.” Shane leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. He enjoyed having a captive audience. “It’s boy’s choice. Of course. Black tie affair.”
Charity ducked her head, peeking at Hunter through the veil of hair. Would he ask her? They’d gone to school dances before, but they were middle school dances, where everyone just showed up and stood nervously by the wall. High school dances had dates. And she couldn’t even admit to herself how much she wanted Hunter to ask her.
He seemed oblivious to the whole conversation, digging through his lunch like he’d been starved for half a week.
She sighed and tried to squash the pain in her chest.
“When is this thing? Girls, we gotta go shopping!” Nev looked more excited about the prospect of dress shopping than Charity had ever seen her.
“Don’t we have to wait to get asked first?” Charity couldn’t help but smile. Only a few weeks in and she already loved these girls like sisters. Even if she did feel like the third wheel most of the time. She’d never had a best friend besides Shane and Hunter. Oh, she wanted one, but with her life — the secrets, the spells, the war and death, having anyone too close just wasn’t possible.
Livi and Nev were both staring at her like she’d lost her mind. “You think we’re gonna wait for some boy to ask us to a dance? No way. We get asked, great. We don’t, we are so going anyway.” Nev threw her hands out for emphasis, nearly clearing their entire table. Charity giggled.
“Yeah, I don’t see why we have to have dates to go to a dance. We’ve never had to before.” Hunter finally spoke up, and it made Charity want to kick him. She stared at her tray, but even so she could feel Shane’s eyes on her — could feel his compassion. He wanted to help, she knew he did. But what could he say? It wasn’t like he could tell Hunter to love her.
“So when is it? The dance I mean. It takes time to find the perfect dress, you know. Did your committee take that into consideration? And shoes take even longer.” Livi frowned at Shane like it was personally his fault.
Shane just laughed. “No worries, little one. You will have plenty of time to find your ball gown. We’ve got a month. Public schools call it homecoming.”
“A month?” Livi and Nev both shrieked, drawing stares from around the room. At times, they frightened Charity quite a bit.
Shane nearly tipped over backward in his chair. Catching himself clumsily, he blinked at them. “We thought that was plenty of time.”
“Do you have any girls on your committee?” Nev demanded, leaning forward, dark eyes glittering dangerously.
Shane looked to Hunter, desperate for help, but Hunter grinned, clearly enjoying the entire scene. “I… yes… yeah, we do…” Shane stuttered.
“But let me guess. They were all too busy dropping hints for you to ask them and weren’t paying attention at all.” Nev sat back, disgusted.
Shane grinned.
“Okay, Liv, Charity, we gotta go shopping. Like, yesterday. Clear your schedules. I’ll find us a ride.”
****
Shopping with Nev and Livi was less shopping, more adventure. They hit three dress shops in under an hour, and Nev was trying to talk their ride into driving all the way to Salt Lake City when Charity finally found her perfect dress. “Look at this,” she murmured, her hands sliding across the gauzy fabric.
Livi joined her, squealing. “It’s gorgeous! Try it on, try it on!”
Charity grinned and grabbed it off the rack, holding it up against her chest. The deep sapphire color seemed to accentuate her pale skin instead of drowning her out. Without another word, she fled to the dressing room. It only had thin crisscrossing straps across the back, which made it a little difficult to get on, but when she emerged seconds later, she knew she’d found the one. Hunter would love it.
“Oh my word, girl. You look amazing.” Nev didn’t squeal much, but she did now, channeling her inner-Livi as she bounced and clapped like a little girl.
Charity looked down. The sapphire bodice had ornate beading all the way around the neckline. From the dropped waist to the floor, it fell in gauzy layers. “I feel like a princess.” She grinned, spinning slowly. It swirled after her.
“You look like a princess.” Livi squeaked, turning to the attendant who was standing quietly behind them, smiling. “She needs a crown. Do you have a crown?”
“They’re called tiaras, dear.” Nev sighed at Livi before turning to the woman as well. “Do you have a tiara?”
The woman’s face lit up and she motioned to Charity. Feeling more princessy than ever, Charity picked up her skirts and followed her to the front of the store. The display case had lots to choose from, but Charity knew the one as soon as she saw it.
The silver band dipped low on her forehead, covered in lots of rhinestones and sparkling gems. “Can I try that one?”
Nev and Livi abandoned their dress search to come watch, squealing again when the woman placed it on Charity’s head. “It stands out nicely against your pale hair.” The attendant smiled. “Beautiful.”
Charity studied herself in the mirror. Try to not notice I’m a girl now, Hunter Millen.
****
Charity was so busy with school and homework and Nev and Livi that she barely noticed the weeks flying by. Hunter and Shane were wrapped up in football, but they all made it a point to work together in the commons every night. “I see this turning into some sort of long-standing tradition,” Shane said distractedly, chewing on the end of his pencil, staring hard at his chemistry homework.
“I hope so. This is so much better than doing homework alone.” Nev looked up from where she and Hunter were leaning over her English book.
Livi giggled. “You just say that because you have a built in tutor.”
Hunter shrugged, leaning backward to tug on Livi’s ponytail. “What can I say? English is one of my many talents.”
Conner appeared in Charity’s peripheral vision and she looked up with a smile. “Hey. We’re doing homework. Wanna join us?”
She noticed immediately that Conner was sweating and looked more pale than normal. “Charity, can I… can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his eyes darted to the rest of the group before he settled on Charity. “Do you… Are you… doyouwanttogotothedancewithme?” he blurted, all his words running together so Charity had to translate them in her head before she could figure out what he was saying. When it hit her, she felt her eyes widen and she looked, without even meaning to, at Hunter. I was supposed to go with you.
Out loud, she said, “Me?”
Hunter growled.
Conner swallowed again, looking at Hunter, then at Shane, and finally at Charity. “Yeah… yeah. If you aren’t going with anyone else.”
What was she supposed to say? She’d been waiting and waiting for Hunter to ask her. The dance was a week away and he hadn’t yet. She’d given up hope that he would at all. Hunter stared back at her, and she left it wide open for him. Say I’m going with you. Say I’m going with you.
He said nothing.
Angry and more than a bit hurt, she jerked her gaze away from him. “No, Conner. No one else,” she said through clenched teeth, “has asked me to the dance. I would love to go with you.”
Conner’s breath left him in a relieved whoosh. “Thank you so much, Charity. We’ll have a blast, I promise.”
Charity forced a smile, although it felt sort of like her face might crack. “I know we will.”
Conner waved and whirled, nearly sprinting from the room. “Please tell me it gets easier to ask someone to a dance when we get older,” Shane said, his voice deceptively cheerful. Charity could see his eyes — he hurt for her, he hurt for Hunter. He hid it well.
“Girl! We gotta plan your hair. Good thing we didn’t wait for him to ask you to buy your dress. Maybe we should go shopping again…” Nev and Livi dissolved into plan-making. Charity pretended to listen, but her breaking heart drowned them out.
****
Nev and Livi brought bridal magazines to look through while they watched the boys play football. Charity loved the pretty dresses and ornate hairstyles, but she’d lost all her enthusiasm when she realized she wasn’t going with Hunter. Conner was nice, really nice. He was in a few of her classes and they worked well together. He always backed Hunter and Shane up when they tried to get in trouble with the seniors, and they both seemed to love him, so she tried her best to be excited. “Your pale hair would be gorgeous like this, Char.” Livi pointed excitedly to the page she was on and Charity leaned over to see. It was swept up into curls with intricate braids woven through it.
“And your hair isn’t super long so it won’t take forever, either. I can totally do that.” Nev nodded in agreement.
Charity raised an eyebrow. “You can do that,” she traced the picture with her fingertip before looking up at Nev, “to this?” She lifted a strand of white hair.
“Yep. I’m just that good.” Nev shrugged, a grin playing mischievously around her mouth.
Livi gasped, grabbing Charity and Nev’s attention and dragging it onto the field. “Have you noticed this game is particularly violent?”
Charity squinted. It was violent, and as quarterback, Conner seemed to be taking the brunt of it. He wasn’t getting any protection. Hunter, who usually had his back, was clearly on the wrong end of the field, barely paying attention to the game. It was so completely out of character that even Livi and Nev noticed. “What are you doing, Hunter?” Charity murmured.
The vision hit her before she even felt it coming. Shane was about to get hit, hard, and Hunter wouldn’t be able to heal him. “Shane, look out!” she screamed, despite the fact that the ball was still sailing through the air and Shane hadn’t even realized it was coming for him yet.
But Conner did. He spun toward Charity and then sprinted down the field, running as hard as he could after the ball. After Shane.
Shane leaped, stretching, ignoring the players coming after him. Of course he ignored the players coming after him. The ball was all that mattered. What was it about boys and their football? Across the field, Charity saw Hunter jerk into action, running perpendicular to Conner.
Conner got there first, launching himself through the air like a missile. He took out the big senior about to tackle Shane from behind — the one Charity had seen hitting Shane hard enough that he couldn’t get up. Shane grabbed the ball, landed on one foot and spun, racing toward the end zone and safety.
Hunter jogged past, threat gone. His hands flopped at his side and he stared up at the sky, swearing, Charity was sure, although she couldn’t hear him. He lowered his head, meeting her eyes. I failed him.
“No, Hunter. No you didn’t,” she whispered, but Hunter stalked off the field, not looking back as he jogged to his dorm.
Chapter Six
“Dude, where’d you go? We were in the middle of a game,” Shane said as he dropped his grass-stained, muddy shirt in the laundry basket.
Hunter didn’t answer him; he stared at the ceiling and refused to think.
“This is about Charity, isn’t it?” Shane sank down on his bed, leaning his knees on his elbows as he studied Hunter.
“No.”
“Come on, Hunter. Even when you were there today, you weren’t there,” Shane said. Hunter refused to see those intense metallic eyes staring at him. They were like tractor beams, sucking out his secrets.
Shane sighed. “Look, if you wanted to go with her, you should have asked her.”
Hunter sat up so fast the room spun and he vaguely thought maybe he should drink more water. “I can’t ask her, Shane. I can never ask her. I can’t like her, I can’t ask her to the stupid dance, I can’t be anything but friends, and I didn’t leave the blasted game because of Charity!”
Shane sat back, narrowing his eyes. “That first bit… I’m not even sure what to do with that.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes, and he suddenly looked completely exhausted. “If it wasn’t because of Charity, then why?”
Frustrated, Hunter rolled to his feet, pacing their small room. Shane moved his legs out of the way each time Hunter brushed past. It was like a poorly choreographed dance. “Because.”
“Hunter…” Shane raised an eyebrow, standing up and blocking him between the window and the bed. “Use your words.”
“You almost got hit today. Charity saw it. And I didn’t protect you.”
Shane almost laughed. Hunter saw his mouth quirk before he hid it behind a cough. “You’re serious with this?”
“Yes, I’m serious with this,” Hunter bellowed. “This is my job, Shane. This is the only reason I’m alive. This is the reason I don’t have a famil
y. This is the reason my dad died. This is the reason I can’t—” He drew himself up short, breathing hard. This is the reason I can’t have Charity.
The smile died on Shane’s lips. “Hey. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—” He raised a hand; apparently he had the idea to rest it reassuringly on Hunter’s shoulder.
It was a stupid idea.
Hunter shook his head. “Never mind. I need some air.” He shoved past Shane, nearly knocking him into the wall, and escaped outside. He had no idea where he was going until he lost himself on the trails. Eventually he found himself sitting next to a pond with a little stream. It was adorable, just the sort of thing Charity would love, all gurgling and bubbly with tiny white flowers growing along its edges and moss-covered stones. Angrily, he threw a big rock into it, hurting his toe and swearing until he ran out of words.
Then he scooted back to lean against the tree and spent the night staring at the ridiculously cute pond.
The sun was rising when he finally got up and wandered back to the dorms. Shane was asleep, sitting at the desk with his head propped on one hand. “You shouldn’t have tried to wait up,” Hunter muttered, shaking his best friend.
“Where were you?” Shane sleep-slurred.
“Walking. Go to bed.”
Shane tried half-heartedly to argue with him, but the boy loved his sleep and didn’t have the willpower to resist it. Before Hunter even had his shoes off, Shane was snoring again. Rolling his eyes, Hunter lifted the furry black blanket and tossed it over his unconscious best friend.
“You better be worth it, boy.”
****
“You look gorgeous, Charity. I can’t wait until everyone sees you.” Livi stood back, watching as Nev put the finishing touches on Charity’s curls.
“Thank you.” Charity smiled, studying herself in the mirror. Nev had somehow made her hair even more incredible than the model’s in the magazine. The tiara, the one that she had thought Hunter would love, fit beautifully over the braids and pale waves.
Feudlings in Sight Page 5
