by Melissa Wong
“It’s too short. I think the lady at the shop measured me wrong.”
“It’s a tux—they’re supposed to be short like that.”
“Well they suck then!”
“Aaron James, no complaining,” Mom warned, reaching into her gold clutch. “This is an important social event for me, so please be on your best behavior.”
“Why don’t you say stuff like that to Melissa?” he whined, pointing at her.
“Because she doesn’t cause mischief like you do.”
“Yeah,” Dad said, handing the keys to the valet, “So no using your phone to override the smart lights like you did at Judge Harris’ Christmas party, or feeding canapes to any animal whatsoever.”
“But their dog really wanted to eat the people food!” AJ protested, “He was so cute in his little Christmas sweater. How could I say no?”
“Dogs shouldn’t eat that much pate, no matter how cute they are,” Mom said, opening a compact to check her makeup.
“We paid to have their carpets cleaned after that debacle, you know! And we almost had to pay for the hospital bills of the poor caterer that slipped in the vomit and broke his ankle!” Dad growled. “So behave yourself!”
“Philip, how do I look?” Mom asked, drawing his attention away from AJ’s past screw ups.
“You look lovely as usual, Angie. Don’t worry about AJ. He’s older now,” he said, shooting a glare in AJ’s direction. “And wiser.”
Melissa covered her mouth to stifle a laugh when her mom pulled her aside, leaning close to her ear.
“Melissa, I know all your friends from school will be here, but can you please keep an eye on your brother tonight?”
She tensed up as she stared at her mother. She wanted to assure her that everything would be fine, but she wasn’t sure that it would be. It was a trap after all, and she had no idea what they were walking into.
“Well?” her mom asked.
“Sorry—I’m sure that if anything happens tonight, AJ will have had absolutely nothing to do with it!” she blurted out.
“That is in no way, shape, or form reassuring. Just watch your brother, okay?” she sighed.
“Okay Mom.”
As they walked up the imposing marble stairs to the front door, Melissa dropped back beside AJ.
“This place is huge,” she whispered. “We’re going to have a more difficult time of staying together than I thought.”
“We can use the medallions to alert each other and teleport directly to one of our locations, right? It wouldn’t be so bad if we were separated.”
“You just wanna start shit!”
“No, I don’t wanna be leashed to your dumb ass all night. What if my friends are here too?”
“You know only the families of junior high kids got invited,” Melissa said.
“Yeah, but like you they might have brothers who go to my school. You don’t know anything—as usual.”
“Fine, I don’t wanna be playing babysitter to you all night either! Just stay the hell out of trouble—I don’t wanna be grounded because of you.”
“Fine.”
One of the servants at the top of the stairs asked for their invitation. Her mom showed it to them and they were quickly ushered inside.
Melissa‘s jaw dropped as she stepped into the foyer, the cavernous space decorated lavishly with multicolored balloons and metallic streamers that glinted in the light of the crystalline chandelier overhead. Along the walls were various potted plants and sculptures, paintings in black matte frames hanging over them. A grey-haired butler stood by the main entrance, taking coats from those who arrived wearing them, his reflection visible in the polished marble floor.
She followed the crowd until she ended up in a room even larger than the one before, this one also decorated in an elegant—yet tasteful—way. Long tables draped with white linen stood next to the far wall, its tall multi-paned windows only broken occasionally by heavy, dark green velvet curtains on golden rods. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for it to actually look like a rich person’s party!
Waiters and waitresses in black vests wove through the crowd with ease, serving hors d’oeuvres and drinks from silver trays. After watching another guest drink from one without incident, Melissa accepted a flute of sparkling cider as it was offered, trying to figure out her next move.
They weren’t immediately attacked, the food didn’t seem to be poisoned, and there was no sign of any enemies. Whatever the trap was, they definitely wanted them to let their guard down before they struck!
She passed tables heaped with appetizers—shrimp cocktail and ceviche in tiny martini glasses, miniature avocado toasts, caviar and crackers—there were even picks with lobster and crab on the ends of them, sitting in a ceramic container of herbed butter. It was hard to pass such a spread by, but she needed to make sure the others had made it first.
Sable had red hair, so she would probably be the easiest to spot. She scanned the crowd looking for redheads, but the vibrant colors of the different ballgowns made looking at hair colors difficult. She was about to give up when she noticed red by the punch table and spotted Sara and Ryan.
“Oh good, we found two more!” Sara exclaimed when she approached them. “Wait—where is your brother?”
“Around,” she said, waving her free hand through the air. “He always runs off at parties. He hates them.”
“Can’t say I blame him—this is stupid boring!” Ryan said. Before she could say anything, his eyebrows went up as if he’d remembered something. “Oh yeah, is Pinky here yet? I wanna harass him about something.”
“Don’t call him that! And why would I know where he is?” Melissa declared. “What’s so urgent that you need to see him right this second?”
Ryan pulled his phone from his pocket and loaded up a video clip. Wait, there was a Feline Warriors anime now? That was fast! As she watched the transformation sequence, an awkward smile stretched across her face.
They mistook Pink Ocelot for a girl because of the pink! Had he seen this yet?
“Oh, that must be embarrassing for him...” Sara said, one hand covering her mouth.
“I haven’t even begun embarrassing him about it yet—that’s why I need to find him!”
“Ryan!” Sara scolded him, smacking him on the upper arm with the back of her hand.
She knew that he wouldn’t exactly be embarrassed by it, but it would definitely irk him. Melissa could recall lots of times when they were little and playing with other kids where she had to stand up for him because the other boys called him names. They had usually gone straight for the jugular, calling him a wuss or telling him he should be wearing a dress if he was gonna be such a girl about things. This whole gender swapping thing probably hit a nerve, and if he was here already he was probably somewhere staring out a window, sulking.
“You guys stay here,” Melissa sighed, “I’ll go find him.”
Chapter 8
The Elements of Love
“They’re not... together, right?” Sara asked as she watched Melissa disappear into the crowd.
“Nah, they’ve been friends since they were babies or somethin’.”
“Oh, so sort of like us then! Well, we’ve only been friends since second grade, but still...”
“Yeah,” Ryan replied, looking down at something on his phone, “Except he has a crush on her and had the stones to tell her how he felt.”
“So she turned him down?”
“Yeah—hard. Even ghosted him for a while.”
“And now they’re on the same team...” she said, trailing off as she played with her necklace. “That must be awkward.”
“Yeah. If I had a thing for you, I’d never tell you because that’s exactly what I would be afraid of!”
“That’s crazy!” she laughed. “Besides, she hugged him during the fight with Mike and Maria!”
“I know. He keeps getting mixed signals from her.”
“Mixed signals from
who? Ay, who’re we talking about?” Maria asked, sidling up to them with a small plate full of canapés. “You two? Mixed signals everywhere!”
“Not us!” Ryan protested, “Just some people we know! Geez.”
“Do we know ‘em?” Mike asked, also showing up out of nowhere.
She almost said yes before remembering that the only time Melissa and Cobalt had met them was when they were under Vetrina’s influence.
“...no, I don’t think you’d know them.”
“What a shame. Would be nice to get some fresh chisme for once!” Maria lamented before popping a crab puff into her mouth.
“We’re not gossiping!” Sara cried, scanning the crowd for Sable and AJ, “All that we were talking about was...”
She trailed off as she saw a familiar figure across the room, the group of girls he was surrounded by only making him seem taller than the last time she’d seen him. What was Chase doing here?
Someone snapped their fingers at her, and she blinked before looking over at Mike.
“Yo, you fell asleep or something.”
She felt her cheeks turning red, and put her hands over them. “I swear I saw someone I—Ryan, remember that guy I told you about the other day?”
Ryan gave her a weird look. “Yeah?”
“I-I think that’s him over there!”
“What, Mister Instant-Attraction-But-I-Forgot-To-Get-His-Number?” he scoffed.
“Yeah, Chase!”
“What, some dude was interested in this nerd?” Maria laughed, “Is he Super Nerd or something?”
“No, he’s really quite handsome! I didn’t think someone like him would be interested in me, but the friends I was with that day insisted he was!” Ryan scoffed at that, and Mike put him in a loose headlock.
“Which dude is he?” he asked, straining to see across the crowd while Ryan tried to break free.
“T-the tall one over there, with the longer black hair.”
“Oooh girl, nice!” Maria exclaimed once she spotted him.
“Yeah...” Sara murmured as she watched him from across the room. “Nice.”
She heard Mike laugh, and suddenly she was brought back to reality by a hand on her shoulder. She turned, and Ryan placed his head close to hers.
“You’ve got this,” he said quietly. “Go talk to him. Say hello or something. You can’t just stand here staring at him all night.”
“Yes! Okay!” she declared, straightening her shoulders. If she could be Red Panther, she could do this, right?
She walked over to where she had last seen him, but he was no longer there. She finally spotted him on the other side of the sparkling cider fountain, still surrounded by a gaggle of girls.
They hung on his every word, seeming to laugh at the least little thing he said. Not only was the sheer amount of them intimidating, but they were all wearing designer gowns—each one more beautiful than the last. Sara felt her resolve slide into her feet as she reached for her necklace, tugging the teardrop-shaped pendant back and forth across the thin chain.
They’d had a nice conversation that day at the mall, but she had been in a small group and he’d been forced by circumstance to sit with them. Here he was surrounded by women that looked much more mature than she was; they were like elegant, jewel-toned tropical birds and compared to them she was like... an ostrich. Maybe he’d spoken to her that day just to be nice.
“Sara!”
She jumped, jerking her hand away from her neck. She’d been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn’t realized he’d seen her watching him! She quickly glanced down at the pendant in her hand, then back at him, dread forming a ball in the pit of her stomach. Not only had she broken Mama’s necklace, but he was probably coming over to chastise her for staring at him!
She wanted to run, but there was no place to go. He strode around the edge of the table, the girls behind him talking amongst themselves as they watched. She backed away when he approached, but he was able to easily close the distance and reached for her hand.
“I didn’t mean to startle you!” he exclaimed, clasping her clenched fist. “And I’m sorry about your necklace—I was just so surprised to see you again.”
“I-It’s my fault,” she stammered, her heart beating wildly at his touch. “I pull on stuff when I’m nervous—my necklace, my hair... whatever is nearby. I don’t even notice I’m doing it most of the time!”
“Maybe I can repair it for you,” Chase said. “May I see it?”
Sara handed it over wordlessly, marveling at his height. He had to be at least six-foot four if not taller—she wasn’t short by any means, and even wearing heels he still towered over her! As he worked, she watched his hands. He had surprisingly nimble fingers; she could see him easily playing piano or the guitar... maybe even the harp?
Once again she’d been lost in her thoughts of him and didn’t pay attention to what he was doing until he leaned in close, reaching around the back of her head. His fingers brushed against the nape of her neck and she inhaled sharply, the subtle scent of his cologne taking her by surprise. Even his taste in fragrances was refined! He was so far out of her league that if the distance between them were measured vertically, she’d still be on Earth while he’d be somewhere in the upper thermosphere.
“There,” he smiled, brushing her hair back over one shoulder and centering the pendant between her collarbones. “Everything is back in its proper place.”
Words were ephemeral things at the moment, everything she thought to say dying on her lips as she stared at him, face flushed.
“Y-you look amazing, by the way,” Chase said gesturing at her.
“Thank you,” she replied quietly, forcing the two words out.
“Are you here with anyone tonight?”
Her heart kicked into overdrive, a million questions assaulting her mind at once. Was he being polite and making small talk? Was he trying to figure out if she was alone? Seeing if she had a boyfriend?
That last one brought her back to reality—her parents would never allow her to date, much less have a boyfriend!
“I’m just here with some friends from school,” she told him, looking away.
“The girls from the mall?”
“Yeah, they’re here too.”
“You don’t think they would mind if I took up a little bit of your time, would they? There’s a garden out in the back that is absolutely fantastic and I thought you might want to go with me to take a look at it.”
“You don’t think the owners would mind that?” she asked breathlessly. Was he really asking her to go outside with him—alone? Was that safe in this situation?
“The grounds are open to everyone tonight,” he laughed. “There are so many people here that it’s hard to restrict where they go anyway. We just need to be back in time for the cake cutting.”
“Oh, right,” Sara murmured, “It is a birthday, isn’t it?”
Everything in her was saying to go with him. After all, she was a Feline Warrior—she could protect him!
Mama’s voice echoed through her mind, reminding her of the ways of the world.
...or protect herself from him.
“Alright,” she agreed, daring a smile. She followed him through a set of french doors and out onto the terrace, her heels clicking on the stones as they went down a well-lit walkway that led to a walled garden.
“After you,” he said, holding one of the intricate wrought iron gates open so that she could enter. It was done in an art nouveau style, with lots of swirls and tiny leaves decorating the flowing lines that made up each side of it.
The garden itself was lit by globes hanging from entwined posts, each one like a low, pale moon suspended from a bowed tree as it cast light at regular intervals along the path. It all blended seamlessly together, the architecture and the garden becoming one sprawling work of art. It really was just as wonderful as he’d said it would be.
“Are you cold?” Chase asked.
“A tiny bit. I should have grabbed my
coat out of check before we left!” she laughed nervously, rubbing her arms. It was a cool night, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
He raised his hands and she drew back before realizing he was only removing his tuxedo jacket. She couldn’t relax though—if he looked striking with the tailcoat on, it was nothing compared to how he looked without it, the brocade pattern on his dark grey vest catching in the moonlight.
“Here, take mine,” he said, draping it around her shoulders.
As they toured the garden, the heady floral scent permeating the air and the romantic lighting were getting to her, the weight of his jacket across her shoulders only adding to the mood. Time distorted as they chatted about the different plants, the way he knew so much about them making her feel lightheaded in a way she’d never felt before.
“This one’s scent becomes stronger at night,” Chase said as he pulled a large, cream-colored blossom forward for her to smell. “It belongs to the family Rubiaceae, which is—”
“Where coffee comes from!” Sara blurted out.
He laughed. “Of course you already knew about Coffea!”
“Yeah,” she said, feeling herself blush again. “I like to learn new things, so I know all kinds of useless facts.” She pulled a strand of hair forward to try and hide her face. She was so used to turning herself down when she talked to her peers that Chase being able to keep up with her was like a breath of fresh air. Not only was he charming, but intelligent as well!
“Knowledge is never useless!” he declared, crossing his arms. “You never know what kind of information you might need one day, so you may as well strive to know as many things as possible.”
This was only the second time she had ever spoken to him, but... was she...?
Sable would say she was catching feelings. But Sable had a tendency to think that with very little to back it up—she’d even tried to get Mike and Maria together at one point! Wasn’t love something that built up over time? It couldn’t be possible to fall for someone so quickly!
“You’re awfully quiet,” Chase said clasping one of her hands as he gently pulled her forward. “Did I say something off-putting?”
