by Jenna Bernel
"After you," he says, still smirking, and I resist the urge to slap it off his face. I turn back around and walk outside, struck by how cold the wind is. Winter has arrived, but my insides rival its artic breeze, and I only hope that I can find my way to Eli and temper the chill.
Chapter 16: Back to School
I hear the sharp beep of the alarm and groan. This isn't happening. Alec knocks it off the nightstand above his head and I peer down at him on the floor beside me. He's rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes, and his dusty gold hair is sticking up on the ends but not in the rugged mess-on-purpose kinda way that he usually wears it in. I haven't seen him like this in a while. Even in Cali he was always the one ready and awake knocking on Henry's door. We didn't bother Cloud Crashing last night, or at least I didn't, but Alec looks so tired that I’m suspicious he had some sort of secret meeting without me.
"Why are you so tired?" I ask in an accusatory tone as I peer down at him.
He lets out a hefty sigh. "Gimme a break! I slept on the floor, why do you think?" He deflects the question easily, lying his arm across his eyes so I can't see them, and it only makes me that much more doubtful I'm getting the full truth. Before I can grill him any more, I hear tiny feet thundering down the hall toward my room.
"Crap, get under the bed!" I hiss frantically and Alec instantly rolls like a log under the bed out of sight, also hearing the oncoming traffic.
Conner bursts through the door. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" he shouts, running toward the bed to jump on me, but I hold out my hand like my dad does when Conner dares to run in the restaurant, and he screeches to a halt, giving me sad puppy eyes for pulling that move. It makes me melt, but I can't have him bursting in here every morning, since Alec refuses to leave my side and Missy Bitchy is back in the house since I've been gone.
"Remember what we talked about?" I say very gently to Conner, and he pouts out his lips, pulling out the big guns. I don't like it as much as he does. I'm wrapped around this five-year-old’s finger and he knows it.
"Try again, please," I tell him in my softest but most authoritative voice, and he huffs, deepening his pout as he backs up through the door, shutting it. I hear little fists pound on the door.
"Hello? Can I come in?" He continues to pound, and I beam. Not quite what we talked about, but I'll take it.
"Come in, bud," I say, loudly enough so he can hear over his pounding, and he bursts in the room, running with all his might, and jumps into my arms in a flying leap. I catch him in my lap and tickle him until he bucks and screams mercy like Will used to do to me. I twist him around until he's a little monkey on my back and take us downstairs for breakfast so Alec can crawl out from under the bed.
*****
"This is so freaking surreal," I say as Alec pulls us into the parking lot of Mapleton Prep. One minute I'm in some ethereal land where I'm practicing Portal Jumping, Clould Crashing, and planning the assassination of the evil fake Queen of the Seventh Circle before her darkness kills us all, and the next minute I'm sitting in the parking lot of my high school about to walk into class as if it were any other day.
"Welcome to my world," Alec says knowingly, and I rest my head back on the seat. This is going to be so hard. I'm used to coming back from missions at The Basement, but this is different, Cali is different, and I've never felt like more of a misfit in my own life than I do right at this moment. I reluctantly unbuckle and get out of Alec's Audi, shielding my face from the cold air as I walk in. I go straight for my locker. I giggle in frustration at the sticking lock, which is being extra stubborn today, of course. I give it a pop with my fist and it flies open.
"Take it easy, remember?" Alec says quietly enough for only me to hear, and leans against the lockers beside me.
"Oh, right, sorry." Alec warned me about this: The longer you’re gone, the easier it is to slip up and show your nonhuman side. I've been here for five minutes and I'm already slipping. Ugh, this day is going to feel more like a dream than reality.
"Dani?!" I hear Evan call out my name down the hall and turn. He's standing next to Dale a few paces away, looking at me like I'm an optical illusion, and comes running. Oh, just from the sight of him I already feel human again.
I meet him halfway and he crashes into me, his mouth covering mine, tangling our tongues in his passion, and I moan into his warm mouth, forgetting what I was missing out on when I was gone. He breaks the seal of our kiss all too soon, but keeps the rest of his body firmly planted against mine.
Well, I guess that answers the question if he considers me his girlfriend after homecoming, considering that hot lip lock just took place in front of half of the student body. A circle has formed around us, and all their mouths are hanging open in shock, but I don't care. All I can see is Evan and his warm-molasses eyes melt me from the inside out.
"When did you get back? Why didn't you call me?" He looks hurt as he examines me, and I bite my bottom lip, hesitant to start the lies. Some of Alec's turned have been watching out for my friends and family since I've been in Cali, but also Trancing them B.S. when it seemed like they were asking too many questions or getting suspicious.
The cover story is that Alec’s grandmother passed away and our families had to fly to Germany for the funeral, since that's supposedly how far back the Wests and Madisons go. So my grandma agreed to lay low at my mom's and stay out of sight, and my parents were "too busy" to make it. I haven’t been able to talk to them, but they’ve been Tranced into believing that I’ve been in touch the whole time. I feel dirty and I hate all this, but it is for their own good. I sigh, releasing my lip from my teeth.
"The flight came in so late, and I didn't want to wake you," I lie, and he shakes his head like I'm being silly.
"I wouldn't mind, you know that." He leans down and lands a feather kiss on my nose; the sweet gesture makes me smile.
"Hey! Look who's back! Thank God. This one has been such a pouting pussy since you left," Dale says, pushing through the crowd to hitch an accusatory thumb at Evan, and I smack my lips shut to keep from laughing at his teasing. I missed that blowhard.
"Dude, I swear to God," Evan says sharply, releasing one hand from my waist to knock the wind out of Dale with his fist, finishing the threat like there is plenty more where that came from if he keeps it up. I bury a laugh in his arm when I see the look on Dale’s face.
The warning bell rings through the halls, and I shrink into Evan, having forgotten how painful that is on my sensitive hearing. I need to tune down my abilities fast before I go deaf. Evan leaves a trail of kisses along my jaw up to my temple, reluctant to let go.
Dale starts to pull him away. "Okay, we get you’re hot for each other, that's news to no one. Let's go," he complains, tugging Evan along, and I wave, pantomiming that I'll text him, and he winks before turning and slapping Dale in the back of the head.
The crowd that surrounded us disperses until all that's left is Alec and I. The tension quickly amplifies in this narrow hall. He stayed at my locker, but judging by the look on his face, he saw the entire exchange. I swallow, feeling nervous. I don't want to hurt him or Evan or anyone. Alec tips his head back against the lockers, running a hand through his hair and whispering the F-word so quietly that I don't think he intended for me to hear it.
He shifts his weight off the lockers. "Come on, let's get to class," he says as he passes right by me, and I drop my eyes before his meet mine, heat flooding my cheeks that he saw that very public display of affection as I follow behind him with regret.
Just as we slide into our seats at Senior Sculptures, the second bell rings. Harper's face is an amusing mixture of appalled, shocked, and happy when she sees that Alec and I have returned. The appalled part is definitely aimed at me, and the feeling is mutual. When the shock wears off, she lets out an obnoxiously giddy shriek and jumps into Alec’s lap, landing a loud, wet kiss on his cheek. Even for his supernatural reflexes, this catches him off guard, and they almost tumble backward off his chair.
He cl
oses his eyes and tilts his neck from side to side, and I can hear the pops from his spine. He looks stressed already, clearly having forgotten about their little fake relationship he agreed to in order to get Harper off my back with that whole Evan's mistress debacle, for which I am thankful. Right then I vow to make this trip as easy on Alec as possible. Lord knows he has his hands full. Alec leans in and gives Harper a little peck on the nose. "I missed you too." He looks up at her sweetly and she drapes her arms around his neck, cuddling closer in his lap like she believes it to be true.
A streak of hot fire rips through me. Did Alec peck her nose just to make a mockery of the reunion between Evan and I? I feel like I could be sick, and if Harper doesn't climb off him in about five seconds, she's going to be nailed down in the middle of the freeway until she's road kill. I eye Alec and flick my eyes to her seat in a get-her-the-hell-off-you manner, but he shrugs like I shouldn't worry about it, like it's no big deal. Oh, sure, now he's chill? When the Captain of the Bitch Squad has her long legs wrapped around him, he's got nothing to say?! F***! I'm losing it, man!
My breathing gets heavy as I freeze over and try to stop the ice trail up to my heart. Sensing this, Alec straightens with concern, his eyebrows forming a sharp V before he ambles Harper back into her seat. She grabs for his hand like some needy Blood Whore who's been Tranced by him at The Basement, and I openly glare at her. Others at our art table start to take notice, but in that moment I'm only contemplating Harper's demise.
Alec knocks my knee with his to regain my attention before holding it firmly against mine so we're touching all the way down our calves. He tilts his head down, giving me a sexy smoldering stare, the light from the depths of his eyes piercing through his long dark lashes, and I catch up with my ragged breathing, coming down from seeing red.
He bumps my knee a couple times, silently asking if "I'm good," as he would put it, and I nod. Oh my God, what was that? I can’t be this bad already, I just got back. Also, did Alec just Trance me again? The light in his eyes, I've seen it before. Has he done this before? He shakes his head no like he's reading my mind again, and it takes me a minute to realize we're in our own little world because the whole class stands up, following some sort of instruction from our teacher, and here I didn't even know he had begun the class. I follow along like I know what's going on and pray for another moment for my friends to come now. They are the only reason this hellhole is remotely worth it. I don't know if it ever felt like home, but now it feels fake, like nothing. If that's how it is, then what the hell am I fighting for?
Chapter 17: His Turn
"Hey, you're back!" Kate exclaims, giving me a happy hug. I hug her back, relieved to see her but confused. She doesn't have our lunch.
"Hey!" I give her another little squeeze before stepping out of our embrace. "I'm so glad to see you, so don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" I ask, and she smiles wider.
"Aw, I missed you too!" She ruffles the top of my head like I'm a little kid.
"We had a transfer come in, and Principal Stick Up Her Ass requested I shadow her. I had to move a couple classes around, but thank God she's super cool, or I'd give Gerhard's broom a twist." I scrunch my face immediately at the vulgar imagery Kate's conjured. So spunky, never afraid to say exactly what's on her mind. I've always envied that about her.
Wait a minute. The last time we had a transfer and they magically had aligning schedules… I whip my head to Alec, who’s sitting at our lunch table with Harper practically trying to eat her food off his lap. Our eyes meet and he shrugs like it was the easiest solution, and then I smell the rosewater before I turn back to Kate.
One of Alec's, his turned, and the power emanates off her, although I seem to be the only one who notices. I've never seen one of Alec's before. At least, besides the one I helped him snag at the club, but I never got the chance to meet him once he woke up. I can tell she's assessing me too, and I wish she wasn't so damn beautiful. Her dark brown hair is almost as long as mine, falling in easy waves over her shoulders, and her pouty red lips are the kind that socialites pay thousands of dollars in painful injections to replicate. She's got a body to match, and I don't know why, but I hate her already.
"Dani, this is Jasmine." Kate gestures to the runway model in front of me and I resist the urge to laugh at Kate and these fake introductions, since I already know exactly who she is.
"Jasmine, this is the girl I was telling you about. My best friend, Dani," Kate says, unaffected by the obvious tension growing between us. I can feel Jasmine trying to rein in the rosewater, and I wonder what I've done to spike her instincts. Looks like it'll just remain me and Kate in besties land.
"Pleased to meet you. You must make quite an impression around here. Everyone has greatly missed your absence." Jasmine tries to say it sweetly, but her tone is off, like there's some bitchy hidden meaning behind it that I can't understand.
"Nice to meet you too," I say, confidently taking her hand so she knows I'm not even close to intimidated by her. I see her neck muscles tighten in surprise, and she looks down at our hands, feeling my icy touch spread over hers. I swiftly rip my hand away and turn to go to our table. I don't need her judgment. I'm starting to think humans can't sense the cold energy fighting its way through me, which is disconcerting because that only further proves it's beyond the physical. To think Stella has been this way, soulless, dark, unfeeling, and for this many years? The meaning of Ice Queen brings on a whole other depth, and I wonder how cold she is to the touch. I shudder, trying to force the gloomy thoughts away, and sit next to Evan, suddenly in need of my favorite distraction.
Unfortunately, Evan has planted himself across the table from Alec and Harper, and I can't take any more of her today. After our sculptures class this morning, she seriously almost lost a limb. Now that Alec and I are back with Kate and Jasmine sharing our lunch, the table is so packed that they've brought another one up to join us so Dale and the rest of the broad-chested baseball players can sit comfortably without rubbing elbows. Honestly, with how they keep jabbing at each other for crossing invisible personal-space barriers, they're clearly in denial that they shower together regularly in the locker room. That, and I've seen Jake's pale naked butt more times than I ever care to remember after he got drunk and streaked at Dale’s house parties. Boys… I'm starting to wonder if they're an entirely separate species altogether, even more foreign than any form of vampire. Like some mutant strain of one-celled idiots. I look at Dale and glare when he belches so loudly that it echoes all the way to the ceiling and then smiles proudly as if he expects us to applaud.
"Dude, ladies present," Evan reprimands while socking him hard in the arm across the table. Dale just shrugs, as if any semblance of manners will have no effect on sharing the musical efforts he's put forth. I nudge Evan with my shoulder in a silent thank you for trying, and he looks at me, shrugging and sighing like Dale is a lost cause. Okay, I take it back. Not all boys are idiots of an indiscernible species. Some are men. Thoughtful, caring, real men with way more than one brain cell.
Harper then offers to sit in Alec's lap to make more room at the table, which immediately pulls my attention from Evan's act of chivalry. Seriously, this chick is getting jumped in the parking lot after school if she doesn't lay off this over-rehearsed charade. Alec catches my look and smartly thinks better of the "helpful suggestion." I don’t' know what it is about them that's bugging me so much. I know it's not even real, but it's still testing the dark thoughts flowing to my brain… How can he affect me so easily? I remember what I told Christoph to let me come, and just as quickly shake out the thought and convince myself that I would have said anything to get here.
Jasmine slides in next to Alec and I immediately tense. I can feel their connection, their comfort with one another, and unlike Harper, there is nothing fake about it. Maybe Harper isn't the only one getting jumped today after all. I knew I hated her for no good reason for good reason. Evan slings his arm around me and lands a kiss in my hair
as he continues to talk baseball with Bennet next to him. I see the annoyance on Harper's face at his gesture, and she loops her arm with Alec's in defiance. Ugh, will everyone just get the hell off him! It's becoming clear that the common denominator of my irritation is linked to Alec. Figures. Getting under my skin has always been his specialty. I like to hope I've returned the favor more than once.
"Oh hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Jasmine," she says to Alec playfully, turning in her seat to shake his hand.
"I'm Alec. Pleasure." Alec takes her hand in a slow shake and his lips twitch in a smile at their secret little exchange, and it makes me want to puke. I want to wave my hands in front of their faces and scream, "Hello, I'm in on it too! I'm sitting right here!" A hot spike rips through me again, but still I don't recognize the sensation. It's like I'm going numb inside. I get up to cool off before I lose it, but Evan snatches up my hand.
"Where you going, beautiful?" he asks, pulling me back to him.
"I forgot something in my locker. I'll be right back." I lean down and give him a little peck and glimpse Jasmine's death glare focused toward me before I turn to walk away. What's her problem? I'm not exactly feeling warm and fuzzy about her either, but jeez.
Thank God it's Friday. I don't think I can take another day of this scholastic mirage. It all seems so pointless. The only reason I came to school today was to see Evan and check on my friends. Tomorrow we'll go to the city, get Eli back, and restore the balance in one unforgettable night. I can't wait for it all to be over. I'll do as they say, fulfill my stupid birthright, and finally be free.
Chapter 18: Besties Have X-Ray Vision
My last class of the day is AP English, the class Eli taught, and it is impossible not to think of him every single second until the bell finally rings, freeing me from my splintered mind. Jasmine is now in that class, and I can’t stand not having a minute today to just be my normal human self with my friends. Going to Mapleton Prep and hanging out with Kate and Evan and everyone I grew up with keeps me sane. Sometimes I need a break from this supernatural life, but after today it's become clear to me how much everything has changed, and that I will never get back what I once had.
