by A. J. Macey
“Why does he always look so upset when he sees me? Did I do something?” I asked quietly, not believing the niggling thought that he could possibly be jealous since he was dating Brittney. Confused by my abrupt question, Cam looked down to me with an eyebrow raised. Tilting my head in Hudson’s general direction, he caught on to where my mind had wandered. Sighing, he responded.
“He isn’t upset with you, doll, I think he’s just protective of you.” I met his statement with a raised eyebrow, so he continued. “While we don’t know the extent of it, it’s clear to all of us that you’ve been through a lot. Honestly? I think if he could, he would put you in a bubble.” Chuckling, he bumped my shoulder with his. “He’s not great at dealing with his emotions. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason he’s with Brittney. Because he doesn’t want to consider any alternatives, like that he may have feelings for a certain pretty ‘princess’.” Hudson’s nickname for me was said in a teasing tone. I pulled back from where I had leaned on his shoulder to look up at him again, what the...?
“What feelings?” He smirked down at me with a knowing look. I felt my heart soar, is he saying what I think he is?
“Well, there’s this beautiful blond with the prettiest blue eyes. She’s intelligent, funny, and sweet. She had a different childhood than most supes, but that doesn’t stop her from being powerful, and that upbringing gives her an alternative perspective on the way things are. She’s managed to weave her way into our tight-knit group. Some of the members have just buried their heads in the sand on how they feel, despite it being as clear as day,” I couldn’t breathe once Cam had finished.
No one had ever said anything like that to me. My eyes teared up as my frown turned into a large smile. Pulling my right arm out from between my legs and reaching across my body, I wrapped it around Cam’s shoulder with my hand cupping the back of his neck. The soft material of his beanie and hair teasing my fingers. Nuzzling into the crook of his neck, tension I hadn’t realized I was carrying eased from my shoulders. His pulse thrummed steadily against my temple as I hugged him.
“That’s literally the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, Cam.” My words were soft, for his ears only. Before pulling away, I turned to kiss his neck, a growl rumbled in his throat as his hand tightened on my thigh. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat before responding.
“Of course, doll. Just remember what Nik and I said if those girls give you any issues tell us. We won’t let them break up our family, that includes you.” I smiled even wider before turning towards Hudson who finally made it to us. The frown marring his handsome face was even more prevalent than before, and his eyes were narrowed on Cam.
“Hey, Hudson, how was your dinner with Bitchney…I mean Brittney.” Nik tried to cover his laugh at Cam’s blatant slip up with a cough but was unsuccessful.
“It was great, how’s it going over here?” Crossing his arms, he raised an eyebrow at both of us. The negative vibe he carried was like a storm cloud pouring over the good time I had been having. I was slightly irked that he was acting like this when he was clearly taken. Why should he get to have an opinion on my seating arrangements? He doesn’t get to stake a claim unless he’s single.
Stake a claim?
You’re losing it, Lucie.
“It’s amazing, Lucie’s really excited for the game. So, why don’t you sit down so she can watch it.” Sadie’s voice seemed friendly, but her eyes were cold, obviously just as irritated with Hudson’s attitude as I was. “Scooch over, would’ya?” She motioned for Benji to move over as Hudson sat between Sadie and me. There hadn’t been much room on the bench to begin with, so I was basically in Cam’s lap at this point.
“Hey, princess.” Hudson’s voice was less irritable when he addressed me, but he still was eyeing Cam’s hand nestled against my legs. “Sorry I was a bit late.”
“No worries, the game hasn’t even started, so you’re not really late.” Shrugging, I kept my voice even. He may be irritating at times, and slightly irrational, but I was determined not to let it get to me.
“I know, but I want to be here for your first game.” His voice had lowered, leaning into me, his left arm snaked around my shoulders. “You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered against my ear. His cold nose was pressed into my hair as his gloved fingers brushing softly against my neck. My heart thudded painfully in my chest and my breath caught.
With my left leg almost on top of Cam and my upper body pressed into Hudson’s coat, I was more than aware of the spectacle we were putting on. Oh, this is just ridiculous. I avoided looking over to the Bitch Crew, knowing what I would find. Cam was discretely eyeing Hudson with a raised eyebrow. When Hudson finally pulled away, he shot Cam a smug smile, his fingers trailing my neck once more. What in the actual fuck? I bristled at the thought of being a tool to make Cam jealous.
Untangling myself from both of them, I opened my mouth to give Hudson a piece of my mind when a thundering boom sounded, marking the beginning of the game. The announcer’s voice was strong and loud over the cheers of the students. As the OSU team was announced, the bleachers on the other side of the stadium went wild, sparks of color and magic were shot into the air to celebrate. The teams green and gold uniform tops were bright against the black bottoms as they walked onto the field. Following that, our own team entered the field in burgundy and white uniforms. Dante led them in his ‘22’ jersey, the twins followed in ‘7’ and ‘8’, the rest of the team filed out behind them, all waving at the crowd.
Our side of the stands erupted in cheers as well, spells shooting into the night sky. Some students were tossing balls with runes drawn on them into the air that exploded into confetti and glitter. The energy was contagious, and I found myself cheering with all the other students. Excitement built within me, overshadowing my previous anger. Everyone had moved to stand, singing along to the school song blaring through the stadium.
Once the teams were at their respective ‘home bases’, several teachers stood around the edge of the field and activated the prepared obstacles. I remembered Dante saying that they were changed each game and created by teachers or officials, having them activated at the beginning of the match ensured neither team had more of a home-field advantage.
The field was an elongated oval, and each end held a small sandstone turret and a bright red flag, a Guardian never far from the little structure. Once activated, the flat surface of the field rumbled. An array of traps and challenges rose from the ground. A set of stones suspended in the air formed a walkway, shifting at random intervals. My mouth dropped open in awe as I gazed upon the transformed Kohl stadium.
A loud, screeching whistle sounded over the crowd. A girl in a burgundy uniform caught my attention as she ran towards the opposing side of the field. Her arms pumped fiercely with each step. Without warning, a large opening appeared, swallowing her under the turf. Any screaming she may have done was drowned out by the Portland side’s cheers. Holy shit. My eyes widened to the point that I thought they might fall out of my head until Cam nudged me pointing towards our team’s home base where she was climbing out of a small hole. Her red curls were wild as she stepped off the metal ladder. The more I watched, the more I realized these obstacles reminded me of the Triwizard Tournament while the game itself captivated me, it’s like Quidditch on steroids. I whipped my head towards Benji, his Harry Potter tattoo at the forefront of my mind as I shouted to be heard.
“I can see why you love this game!” His face glowed with excitement, a hand reached in front of Sadie and Hudson waiting for me to fist bump it. Laughing, I tapped my gloved knuckles against his before being sucked back into the competitive game.
My voice was rough and cracking from the amount of yelling and cheering I did during the game. We won and I was still buzzing as Cam, Nik, Hudson, and I waited for the team to leave the locker room. The air was cold enough that my breath was visible. I was huddled between Cam and Hudson with Nik’s arms wrapped around my shoulders, their combined heat he
lping to keep me warm. Adrenaline still pumped through me. I couldn’t stand still, so I was shifting from one foot to the other as the team came out. The twins came out first, and I burst out of my little cocoon running towards them.
“My twins!” I jumped into Logan’s arms which wrapped around my lower back and under my ass as he spun in a circle. Landon came up and grabbed me from his brother’s arms, cradling me against his chest as he too spun before setting me back down on unsteady feet.
“We’re so fucking happy you’re here, lemon drop!” Still dizzy from all the spinning, I held onto their shoulders as the parking lot righted itself. Landon gave me a quick kiss against my hair before pulling away to reveal Dante heading towards me with a big smile on his face.
“Dante!” I was probably happier and peppier than I had been in years. It felt oddly exhilarating to be so outgoing, like this was who I was meant to be all along. I skipped towards him and shot my arms around his waist. While he’d braced himself, the force of my hug still caused him to stumble back a bit.
“Hey, firecracker.” His voice was full of laughter as he squeezed my shoulders. His cheek rested against the top of my head. “I wish I could show you how much it meant to me that you were here for us.” His voice turned soft as he murmured against my hair. I turned my face and snuggled my nose into the dark hoodie that was nestled under his brown jacket. Dante’s hands rubbed along my lower back, creeping lower and lower with each pass until his pinkies grazed languidly along the waistband of my jeans. Biting my lip at the contact, I sighed deeply. Musky cologne surrounded me the longer I stayed in his arms.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Dante. I told you, I want to support my guys.” My voice was low, and I was unable to keep some heat from slipping in towards the end. Looking up at him, I got lost in the green of his eyes. His face was so close to mine. If he leaned down half an inch, our lips would touch.
“I’m glad, your guys loved having their girl there.” His eyes shot to my lips. My heart slammed in my chest as I felt the warmth of his breath tickle my face.
“Dante, darling!” Khloe’s nasally voice cut through the intimate moment with his lips just above mine. I jumped back, my hands shaking and my face heating up. Holy fuck, you almost just kissed your friend who has a girlfriend!
“I have to go,” I mumbled, I turned on my heel and walked away, as quickly as I could, from my guys. The guys.
16
October 5th
Friday Night
Lucienne
The past two weeks had dragged. Homework and essays took up more and more of my time, meaning I was holed up in my room instead of studying in the library. Sighing, I locked away the exhaustion from the last fourteen days of non-stop studying, and put on my best ‘fun’ face. We walked towards the house with the too bright lights and excessively loud music pouring out of it. Everything in me screamed to turn around and run away. You don’t party, there are people in there.
Mentally shaking myself out of the negative thoughts, I caught a glimpse of my outfit in a car window. Skinny jeans hugged my hips while a plain black tank top peeked out from under my cream sweater. The black knee high boots I’d worn thudded against the cement with each step. Despite Sadie’s short legs, she somehow kept up with me in my haste to get to where we were going and out of the cold. She was rocking a high waisted pair of jeans, bright yellow scarf, and a hot pink shirt that I’m pretty sure was actually a onesie, but what did I know. Her dyed blue hair had grown out since the beginning of the semester and now sat to the bottom of her jaw, the roots were a light brown almost blonde in color and only added to her cute as a button look.
The guys had been in cahoots with Sadie, claiming I had to get out and do something. They had mistaken my distance recently as being stress-induced, thinking the class load and practicals had been getting to me. In all actuality, I was just trying to avoid Dante and Hudson. Their relationships with Brittney and Khloe put a strain on our friendship. I also didn't want to give the girls any more ammunition to come after me. Unfortunately, those bitches had grown more clingy, and since the guys were usually all together, I hadn’t been seeing any of them lately.
“Girl, have a drink and relax. You need some fun,” Sadie yelled over the music as we slid passed the people crowding the entryway. The house was huge compared to the older single story I grew up in with my mom. Vaulted ceilings and a minimalist decor gave the home an open feel, despite the crush of bodies. We filtered into the kitchen to get away from the stream of people pushing to get inside. “Do you know where they are?” Sadie asked as she poured each of us a beer from the keg. I shrugged and pulled out my phone to find out.
“Found them,” I announced once Nik had responded to my text. Taking my drink from Sadie’s outstretched hand, I nodded for her to follow. The hallway became less crowded as we went, people tapering off into bedrooms in groups of two or more. So it’s that kind of party, I chuckled to myself and took a sip of the putrid drink. Not all beer was terrible, but this just tasted like piss in a cup.
Curving into the room they were in, I saw several drinking games set up including a beer pong table where Logan and Landon were going up against two guys I didn’t recognize. Cam was seated in one of the bar stools while Nik leaned against the wall to his right, an unused stool sat in front of him. I didn’t see Dante or Hudson meaning they must have been with their girlfriends. My stomach knotted at the thought, but I pushed it away and walked over to them.
“Hey, guys.” While there was still music playing, it wasn’t anywhere near as loud as out front meaning we didn’t have to shout to hear each other.
“Hey, doll.” Cam smiled at me, like actually smiled instead of his usual grin. It was wide enough that his fangs were on full display and pushing against his lush bottom lip.
“Glad you could make it, babe.” My eyes shot to Nik, his gravelly voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear him with the music. I smiled at them, happy to see them outside of classes.
“LEMON DROP!” Landon shouted loudly, startling me into almost spilling my drink. I turned to face the table, giving all the guys there a wave. Logan looked over and smiled at me as he lined up his shot.
“Who do we have here?” one of the guys playing against the twins asked, eyeing me with a playboy smirk on his face. He was taller than me with ginger features, fiery red hair in messy waves bright against his freckled skin. The twins glared at him while Cam and Nik watched suspiciously.
“Lucie, and this is Sadie.” I gave a small gesture towards my roommate who dragged a stool to the left of Cam.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Lucie.” Freckles came over and took my hand, kissing it lightly. Somehow, he managed to maintain eye contact the entire time. Creepy. “I’m Elijah.” Nodding slightly, I pulled my hand back unsure how to respond. Thankfully, his pong partner saved me.
“I’m Gabriel, I go by Gabe. It’s nice to meet you.” Gabe was polite. A nice contrast to Elijah if I was honest.
“Yeah uh… you too,” was my brilliant response. Smooth, Lucie.
The smile he offered in return was small, his coffee-colored skin dark against the white of his teeth. Black curls were cropped close to his head, and he had what I equated to a swimmer’s body. He seemed to be the exact opposite of Elijah. While Gabe’s skin was as rich as he was nice, Elijah was abrasive in attitude and almost more pale than I was. The only similarity I could find was their outfits, both casual in jeans and plaid button-ups. As the game went on, Gabe and Elijah kept sneaking glances to our corner of the room. At least Gabe was polite enough to include us in the conversation once in a while. I had settled into the stool in front of Nik when Cam’s hand found its way to my left thigh, Nik’s black shirt rubbing against my back. The game between the twins, Gabe, and Elijah passed relatively quickly. The twins lost by one cup.
“Lucie!” Sadie shouted at me, her cheeks were pink, and her eyes held a glassy sheen behind the purple frames. She slipped off the stool and stumbled to s
tand upright. “Come play a round with me!” Wrapping her hand around my wrist, she yanked me to standing causing Cam’s hand to fall from its spot on my leg. I chuckled at her tipsy antics but obliged her anyway. I suck at this game. With a grimace, I stood at one end of the table as Gabe and Elijah finished setting up the cups. “You two are so going down!” Sadie pointed at them, jumping on the balls of her feet, her scarf bounced in time with her hops. A bunny would have been more intimidating.
“We’ll see. How are you at this game, Lucie?” Elijah smirked at me. After their match with the twins, he was swaying a bit but didn’t seem too drunk. My cheeks burned under his scrutiny.
“I’ve played once,” I responded with a shrug, not willing to give away that during that one game my partner had to do all the work because I kept missing. My guys cheered from the side, making me feel accepted. Normal. Smiling, I grabbed the ball. Sadie went first, the shot bouncing off the rim. The ball fell off the table and rolled behind them. A few deep, steadying breaths later, I made my shot. It bounced off the one I was aiming for but landed in one of the other cups. Cries of encouragement erupted from the guys while Sadie jumped up and down squealing. Even Elijah and Gabe clapped for my accidental score. The soreness in my cheeks was a pleasant reminder of how much I’d been smiling tonight.
“Nice job,” Gabe complimented, taking the cup off the table. “So, what year are you guys?”
“We’re both freshmen, same as Logan and Landon,” Sadie supplied. She crouched low, her hands waving over the cups, trying to distract Elijah who was aiming to take a shot.
