Jay put his hand up to silence me. “Just stop. Please, darling, do you even hear yourself?”
“Yeah, I know, but here’s the thing. I’ve had dozens, if not hundreds, of dreams of Payne. Most of them have us falling in love, living happily ever after, growing old together. We can’t grow old together if he kills me.”
“We’re talking about your life here,” he said. “I would rather not take any chances on your pretty little neck. I happen to be quite fond of it.”
“So am I,” I said. “Trust me, I’m not just dismissing these dreams. I feel like I’m missing something.”
“Perhaps what you’re going to miss is your next birthday,” Jay replied. “Something I hope you have plenty of. Look, Bristol… you have no choice but to stay away from Payne. You simply cannot be involved with him. I’m sorry, but I must insist.”
“You must insist?” I repeated. “You have got to be kidding me. Jay, I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s my choice whether to see Payne at all. Besides, I have a plan.”
“And what might this grand scheme of yours involve?” Jay asked.
I ignored the sarcasm. “It’s simple. In my dreams, Payne either loves me with all of his heart or hates me enough to murder me. I just need to make sure neither happens. Payne and I will be friends. That’s all. I highly doubt there’s a real possibility of anything more that.”
For several seconds, Jay stared at me blankly before throwing his head back and laughing so loud he would have woken up the entire house if there were anyone else that could hear him.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, feeling more than a bit perturbed. “Stop laughing!”
“Bristol, my darling,” Jay said. “You are a precious jewel, as unique as you are lovely. Do you really believe Payne will be able to resist you? I am sure that poor boy is already ensnared by your charms. Charms that are ever the more delectable since you seem to be completely unaware of how incredibly enticing you are.”
Now it was my turn to stare blankly. I threw in a few thousand blinks as well. “I don’t have any idea how to respond to you. The things you say, they’re like poetry. A precious jewel? Delectable charms?” I offered Jay my most sympathetic smile. “I think it’s been such a long time since you were able to talk to a flesh and blood girl that you might be getting carried away.”
Jay sent me that killer smile. “And do my poetic words have any effect on your flesh or blood?”
Oh boy, if he only had a pulse.
“Jay,” I said, unsure of what else to say.
“Bristol,” he replied, “I could make you very happy, I think. You and I could run off together, away from Spirit, away from any possibility of harm coming to you. I know it wouldn’t be the most conventional relationship, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a fulfilling one.”
“Oh, Jay.” My heart fluttered. “You have no idea how tempting an offer that is, but I can’t leave Spirit. I know I’ve only been here a short time, but I can’t leave my uncle, or Simon, or Zack, or Grandpa… well maybe Grandpa…”
“I had a feeling he would be the exception,” Jay said. “I know it’s hard to imagine, but just keep that idea tucked in your mind somewhere. I’m not giving up on you just yet.”
He was breaking my heart.
“Bristol, you don’t know me as well as you think you do,” he said. “There’s a lot more to me than meets the eye.”
“Such as?”
Jay sent me that wicked grin. “Why don’t we save that for now? Keep an air of mystery about us. Besides, you need to get going. You’ll be late for classes.”
I glanced at the clock, saw the time, and leaped off the bed. “Dear God almighty! I’ve got to move. Jay, I’m sorry but…” I looked over my shoulder, and Jay was gone.
Chapter Eight
He’s A Great Catch
I managed to get to school on time. I ran into my first class as the late bell rang.
My mind was on Payne and what I was going to do. I couldn’t all of a sudden abandon Payne, no matter what my visions said would happen. But I would be foolish to simply dismiss them. Payne and I would have to be just friends. As much as I may have wanted it, I couldn’t allow myself to become romantic with Payne. The kiss that nearly happened was never going to happen.
Today, Maggie was decked out head to toe in a bright purple getup with canary yellow accessories. She peppered me with questions when I told her about the previous night. She listened intently to each detail. When I got to the part about Payne with his shirt off, Maggie let out a squeal and everyone stared at us.
“Please, tell me that you took a picture,” she said.
I knew she would say that.
Later, I walked into the lunchroom looking for Payne but instead ran into Princess P.
She walked up to me, eyeing me like a cougar getting ready to pounce on a gazelle. She was flanked on both sides by other really pretty, snobby-looking girls. All together, there were five of them.
I had Maggie, who squeaked behind me.
“Who do you think you are, Brenda?” she said.
“Bristol,” I corrected.
“Whatever,” she responded with a flourish and accompanying eye roll. “What the hell kind of name is that, anyway?”
“Is there something I can do for you?” I asked.
Pricilla looked me up and down. “Yes, you can drop off the face of the earth and never show your ugly face in Spirit again. Are we clear?”
Okay, I guess I walked into that one.
“Look, Pricilla,” I said. “I don’t know what your problem is—”
“You are my problem,” Pricilla said. “What business do you have cozying up to Payne? He’s a McKnight. You’re a Blackburn. The two don’t mix.”
“So I’ve been told,” I replied. “My relationship with Payne is none of your business.”
“None of my business?” she repeated. “Payne is mine. Not yours. Do you hear me?”
I dropped my book bag and crossed my arms. “Payne is yours? Do you have a receipt? Proof of purchase? A warranty?” I accentuated my point by taking a menacing step forward.
“Chick fight,” said Jake Dispost, the rocker ghost who helped me out on my first day. I tried to ignore him.
Pricilla was not ready to back down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just warning you off. Consider it a friendly gesture.”
“Uh-huh.” I snorted. “I’ve got a friendly gesture for you, too.”
Pricilla looked scandalized. I got the impression she wasn’t used to people talking to her that way.
“And what about you?” Pricilla said, turning to Maggie. “Are you going to continue to be friends with this loser? I can tell you right now, Magpie, that would be a mistake. Before long, no one in this school will even want to be seen in the same class as her. You better ditch her before you get the same treatment.”
I glanced at Maggie, who looked like a giant, dorky deer caught in the headlights of a massive trailer truck headed her way. Then she snapped.
“Pricilla, let me tell you something,” Maggie said with fiery determination. “You’re a really mean girl, and Bristol is very nice, and my friend, and I don’t care what you say! You think you’re so…” Maggie did some sort of wiggling motion with her fingers. “But you’re really very…” Now she did a choking motion with her hands. “And I’m tired of you acting like you’re better than everyone else. And you know what, if you don’t like it, you can just kiss my keister!”
“Whoa!” Jake said. “Maggie just blew a gasket. I think she’s, like, mucho hot when she goes off like that. But Barbie doll here doesn’t look pleased at all.”
Jake was right. Pricilla’s face was so red she looked like she was trying to pass a bowling ball. I could practically see the imaginary steam coming from her ears.
Pricilla pointed a finger toward Maggie. “Now you listen here, Magpie—”
I moved between Pricilla and Maggie. “No, you listen, you oversized Barbie doll.”
>
“Hey,” Jake complained, “that’s my line.”
“I don’t know why,” I continued, stabbing at Pricilla with my finger, “you feel you have the right to dictate who I’m friends with, or why you think I would care. But guess what? If I want to see Payne, I will. If I want to date Payne, I will. If I want to marry Payne, I will. And I don’t care what you or your bimbo brigade has to say about it.”
I was right in Princess P’s face. She had a look of fear in her eyes as she stumbled backward. Together, Maggie and I turned our backs and walked away.
There was applause from everyone in the lunchroom and then a collective gasp while Jake waved his arms and yelled out to me, “Incoming! Incoming! Move to the left!”
Without hesitation, I grabbed Maggie’s arm and yanked her hard to the left. I could see something fly by as I did so. Then I heard a chorus of “oohs!”
I turned around to see Pricilla had thrown someone’s lunch at me. Thanks to the warning from Jake, she missed us. The same could not be said for Mrs. Fairbanks, one of the school deans.
Mrs. Fairbanks was a short, stocky woman who wore her glasses on one of those stringy things that hung around her neck. Her previously pink sweater was now covered in lunch goo, something brown and something beige. She looked incensed. After a moment or two of shock, during which time the lunch goo slid off of her face and sweater and onto the floor, she rounded on Pricilla and dragged her out of the lunchroom by her ear.
Maggie and I looked at each other in disbelief before we broke out in laughter. It was good to have a friend to share with.
“Looks like Barbie doll is in mucho trouble,” Jake said. “I remember Jackie when we were, like, classmates. She always had a temper. I don’t envy Barbie now.”
Maggie and I managed to get our laughter under control. As we made our way to a table, we got high fives and atta girls from all directions. It was enough to make a girl blush.
Just as we were sitting down, something caught my eye. In the far side of the room, I could see a very beautiful red-haired girl, watching, appraising me. Without a word, she turned and left.
* * * *
I ran into Payne on the way to my next class. Maggie was still walking with me when he smoothly moved into place on my opposite side, like it was where he belonged. He sent me that wolfish grin. My heart seemed to tremble as I did my best to ignore the look Maggie sent me.
“I heard you had a run in with Pricilla,” Payne said. “What was that all about?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. She was being a complete dweeb.’”
“Dweeb isn’t the word I would use,” Maggie offered. “But my parents would be very upset if I used the word that comes to mind, so I’ll just let you fill in the blank, but Bristol’s wrong. It wasn’t nothing. She actually had the nerve to tell Bristol—ow!”
Maggie’s sentence was cut off as she tripped over my strategically placed foot. Once Maggie was righted again, I gave her The Look. I just hope Payne didn’t see. I was pretty sure I had been discreet.
“You okay there, Maggie?” Payne asked.
“Uh huh,” Maggie said. “Yeah, just tripped over myself. You know me, big klutz. It’s hard to walk with two left feet.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, “especially when one of those feet is in your mouth.”
Thankfully, the bell rang and we had to file into class. Just as we took our seats, Payne leaned down on my desk. “If you can, I’d like to see you after school today.”
I nodded, all the while trying to ignore Maggie, who was giving me a thumbs-up from behind Payne.
“Great. It’s a date,” Payne said before moving to take his seat.
“No, it’s not,” I said in a sort of whisper-shout voice. “We’re just talking. I don’t date.”
Maggie leaned close to me. “What are you doing? If Payne McKnight wants to go on a date with you, you go. Think about how much it will kill Pricilla. Not to mention thrill me.”
“Maggie.” I sighed. “Am I supposed to date him just to make Pricilla nuts? Or just to make you happy?’
“Either works for me,” Maggie said. “Or how about the fact that he’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I murmured.
“Don’t yeah, yeah me, girl,” Maggie said. “We are not talking about he’s okay or he’s really cute here. Payne McKnight is a have your teeth fall out from all that sweet eye candy kinda beautiful. Half the girls in this school would kill to even catch his eye. And the other half, like me, will kill you if you don’t go for it.”
“Maggie,” I said, “I understand, but if I’m not ready to date, then I’m not ready. I’m not going to do something I’m not ready for just for you, for the girls of Spirit High, or even for Payne McKnight.”
“Yeah, you will,” she said. “But it’s because the two of you belong together. Otherwise, the thought of it wouldn’t scare the living daylights out of you.”
I ignored her and looked toward the teacher, who was starting to drone on about the Revolutionary War. I wasn’t paying attention. I was worrying about whether Maggie was right or not.
Two classes later when the last bell of the school day rang, I felt a sense of utter panic set in. I was supposed to meet Payne. And now I was left to answer the question: What am I, insane?
I grabbed Maggie and dragged her into the girl’s bathroom. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“I thought you and Payne were supposed to hang out,” she answered.
“I know,” I replied. “I know I’m supposed to meet him. But what am I supposed to do with him?”
“You really need me to tell you that?” Maggie asked, as she wiggled her eyebrows again.
I walked right into that one.
“Maggie,” I whined. “I think I’m in over my head. I can’t handle this. You don’t understand!”
I think Maggie was starting to see how frightening this was for me because her eyebrows stopped wiggling. She came over, put her hands on my shoulders, and gave me a reassuring pat. Her eyes were filled with sympathy. “Bristol,” she said in a gentle, kind voice. “Let me ask you a question. Are you nuts?” she yelled, her puppy dog eyes widening in horror.
I stood there, open mouthed, completely blindsided. I hated when that happened.
“Bristol,” she said, “he likes you. And it’s driving me crazy because I know you like him, too. You do like him, right? Because if you don’t, if I’m reading you wrong, then tell me. But if you do like him, what’s the problem? Because it seems to me that you just can’t get yourself to believe that he really does like you. I mean, I understand. Believe me I do. But trust me, he really likes you.”
“Well, no, um…” I muttered. She was making it hard to be unreasonable. “Look, I guess maybe I’m not ready for this. I’m still adjusting to life here, with my new family, without my parents. I’ve never been out on a date before.”
“Okay,” Maggie said. “No one is saying run off and get married. Although, I would so love to be your maid of honor, but that’s not the point.” Maggie waved off the panic in my eyes. “Just go talk to him. When he asks you out on a date, you’ll decide you’re ready. But you don’t want to not give yourself the chance to find out.”
She was making sense. I should take this one step at a time. I decided the best thing for me to do was remain calm. I needed to keep a cool, clear head. The last thing I wanted to do was panic.
Then I looked in the mirror and screamed. “I can’t see Payne when my hair looks like this.”
“Yeah.” Maggie started to dig into her purse. “I was wondering about that myself. You really should do something. Maybe a little makeup wouldn’t hurt. You know, girl up a little.”
I wasn’t even sure what that meant, but I reached into my own bag for my hairbrush and went to work.
Minutes later, Maggie and I went out of the school and looked around for Payne. He wasn’t hard to find, standing at the bottom of the school stairs. He seemed totally unaware of how many girls were checking him out.
Of course, the boys who passed were more interested in his companion. It was the tall, absolutely stunning redhead I’d seen. She wore a green blouse that did a phenomenal job of bringing out her equally green eyes. Her black skirt was cut above the knees and revealed long, magnificent legs.
She and Payne seemed to be deep in conversation. Her face was serious, his amused. She was doing all of the talking. And then she did something that made me want to either run away or descend the stairs and slap the red out of her hair.
She kissed Payne.
I stopped dead in my tracks and stared, trying to tell myself it was meaningless. Certainly, the kiss held no passion. It was little more than a peck on the cheek. Friendly. Nothing more. But still, her lips lingered on his cheek for more than a half second. I could sense warmness in the kiss. There was genuine emotion behind it. The fact that she had feelings for Payne was far scarier to me than Pricilla’s militant demand that I back off.
How could I hate her for that? Was it fair for me to despise her for liking a boy that was not only beautiful to look at, but who seemed kind and caring as well? To loathe her for the fact that she herself was spectacular looking? Was I petty enough to abhor her when she’s probably known Payne for a lot longer than me?
As it turns out, yes I was.
I was horrified when I realized that Maggie was dragging me right toward them. I would have thought even Maggie would have at least waited until the redheaded beauty departed, but Maggie just kept pulling me forward.
When Payne glanced in our direction and his eyes locked on mine, I watched the slow smile come across his face. I was overcome with a new desire, one to ignore the stunningly pretty girl by his side and simply launch myself into his arms. Who cared about her? He wanted to see me!
Still, I kept my pace steady. There was no backing out now, but I wasn’t going to throw myself at him. I needed to be cool and collected. I needed to walk over to him as casually as possible. That was my plan. To walk, no, not walk. I would saunter up to him, looking not the least bit out of place. It was a good plan.
Vision of Shadows Page 13
