Darkly Sweet

by Juliann Whicker

  Why were guys fighting over her? Why was she afraid of Ian? “Okay. In that case, I’m glad you were there. He was really smooth.”

  Her lips tightened, her dark eyes intense as she gazed at me. “He used to go to school with us at Rosewood, left in the middle of his Sophomore year. He messed around with a lot of girls. He’d make you feel special and beautiful and then after he got bored with you, just move on.”

  I stared at her, this mysterious Ian guy taking on new depths. “So the problem with him is that he made you think that he liked you when he really only liked the conquest?

  Sounds like Enrique.”

  She frowned at me. “Who?”

  “From Passiones. He’s a character in a TV show. Never mind. Just not a good guy to date, but the characters really got addicted to him.”

  She wrinkled her cute nose. “Yeah, he made you feel like the only girl in the world for ten minutes, but no one could keep him, not even Wit.”

  I sighed. “So, he broke her heart? Maybe that’s why she’s so…”

  “Wit’s always been that kind of witch, but yeah, after Ian she did go kind of bats. Eat.

  This tiramisu isn’t going to eat itself.”

  She didn’t have to tell me twice. She did have to tell me to slow down and save her some.

  “Right after Wit broke up with Ian, she dated Drake for a little while.” Her lips tightened and I put a hand over hers while my own jaw clenched. Wit and Drake? I couldn’t even…

  “Forget about him. You don’t need a man. You are strong and intelligent and beautiful, and cool. Besides that, you’re more interested in guys who look a little less like an alien. I mean, that kind of symmetry is completely abnormal. I think we should capture him and skin him to make sure he’s human.”

  She snickered. “Now that’s something I can agree with.”

  “How are we going to get back?”

  She shrugged. “I texted Zach. I’m sorry that this date ended like this. I wanted you to have a normal experience so you could feel more comfortable if you ever were in the position of dating someone real.”

  I stared at her. “Thanks for trying. I appreciate the effort.”

  She sighed. “Yeah. I didn’t think the guys would be so lame. Sorry about that.”

  I held up my hands. “No more apologies. It was a fantastic experience. Even if there wasn’t a bar fight, there was a sordid affair, a secret identity, a near-seduction and tiramisu.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to use the restroom before Zach gets here. Watch out for him, okay?”

  I nodded and sat there, eating tiramisu and pretending that all was right with the world when Zach stepped in looking a little bit nervous, not nearly as beautiful as Ian which I desperately appreciated. I stood up and waved him over.

  “Zach, come here before I eat all the tiramisu. My jeans aren’t going to fit at this rate.”

  I was too loud and lots of people looked at me and then did a double take when they realized that sleek haired jeans and t-shirt girl was Penny Lane, resident weird girl. I wasn’t sure how I’d ended up weird when I’d been trying to be adorable and irresistibly cute so Zach would marry me. Weird was much easier for me than cute.

  He smiled and nodded, edging through the tables until he got to me. When he reached the table, I held out my fork full of tiramisu, and he opened his mouth, his eyes kind of big and I realized that I hadn’t let him say anything. It was just so nice to see someone who I knew that wasn’t so impossibly attractive and evil.

  He chewed, swallowed, licked the cream off his lips and smiled at me. “Where is Viney?”

  I thumbed over my shoulder. “My date is in the toilet. I don’t mean in the toilet, just…

  Do you know Ian?”

  His eyes widened and he leaned forward, his hands on the table. “Ian…”

  I frowned. “Left middle of Sophomore year after breaking all the girl’s hearts?”

  He spoke in a flat voice. “Yeah. Ian Featherwell. He was one of the guys you went out with?”

  I shook my head. “No, he taught me how to shoot pool while our dates flirted with Viney. Apparently she’s really popular with the silver car crowd. Ian is so smooth, I actually bought that whole, ‘I’m shy and awkward, and you’re a cute girl I’m not sure how to talk to’ thing. It’s a little bit disappointing. I thought my jeans and t-shirt would be more of a hit real guys.”

  He stared at me. “You don’t think he was real?”

  “No, I mean like non mages. I’ve never met any of those. I kind of thought…” I shook my head and held out another fork full of tiramisu.

  Viney came back while he was still chewing. “Let’s go.”

  I wrapped the last of the tiramisu in a napkin while Viney stared at me. “For Senor Mort.”

  She sighed and glared at Zach. “Don’t ask.”

  “I don’t have to. Heard Ian’s in town. Is he coming back to school? That would be a riot.” Zach did not sound like it would be a fun kind of riot, more of a violence and death thing.

  Viney made a rude sound as we walked out of the café and crossed the street to where this tiny little red sports car was parked. I stopped, staring at the large windshield and the teeny seats while Zach opened the door and Viney went around to the other side.

  “How many seats are there?”

  Zach smiled at me while he slid into the driver’s seat. “It has a back seat. Not a big one, but Viney will fit okay.”

  “I get sick if I sit in the front.”

  Zach frowned. “Like motion sickness? Isn’t that usually the opposite, that people in the back get more sick…”

  I climbed over him and into the back where Viney already sat.

  “Get off me. Your legs are too long to be back here. What is wrong with you?”

  I gave her a demure smile and tried to keep my knees to myself. I looked up and saw Ian standing on the sidewalk, watching our whole thing. He nodded when he noticed me, gave me a slight smile then turned away.

  He smiled like a wolf, a wolf like Drake.

  Chapter 24

  When we got home, I climbed over Zach to get out. He kind of ‘oomphed’ when I accidentally kneed him in the stomach then I was safely on my own two feet, in my heels and jeans. I pulled out a lollipop and unwrapped it slowly while Zach and Viney got out.

  “Are you okay?” Zach frowned, studying me. “Did the date or Ian bother you?”

  I smiled brightly. “I just want to get out of these crazy pants. I tried, but normal isn’t really me. Apparently.”

  Viney climbed out and glared at me. “You looked fine. It’s not the jean’s fault that Ian showed up. That he hit on you shows that they make you look good.”

  “Good isn’t my thing, either.” I stumbled ahead Viney and Zach in my heels so I didn’t hear what else they said. I really needed some time to be alone and light something on fire.

  I got to my room, changed into a cute skirt and then flopped on my bed with Señor Mort.

  I gazed into his eyes and stroked his fur. “It’s been such a long week. And short. So busy. I still haven’t found Zach’s love key.” I groaned and rolled over. Señor Mort padded over my shoulder and nibbled on my sleek hair, apparently finding it deliciously weird. “I need to thank him for driving us back. And apologize for kneeing him.” I still had no idea what kind of girl he liked. He needed to show me pictures. Or I could go for Lars. Out of all the brainy bunch he was by far the least irritating.

  Viney pounded on my door. “What are you doing?”

  Bon-bons and macaroons, I was going to decapitate her with a pool cue. I made a face at Señor Mort and put him back in his cage with a snack before I padded to the door in my brand new polka dot socks. I opened the door and smiled brightly at Viney.

  “What’s up?”

  “Can I come in?”

  I exhaled slowly before I nodded and stepped back. She walked over to the swing and sat down, having to stretch out her tiptoes to reach the floor. Apparently Drake had
hung it to my height. My stomach contracted at the thought of Drake standing with his arms above his head, screwing in my swing with his miniature screw driver.

  “You like a guy, right?”

  I stared at her. “What?”

  “If it’s not another guy, how do you hang around with Drake and Ian and not get crazy? After that first time, with the shake, you should be as obsessed with Drake as every other girl.”

  I stared at her. “I think Drake’s evil. I want a nice guy.”

  She frowned at me. “A nice guy? What does that even mean?”

  I shrugged. “You know, someone who you can trust.”

  She made a sound of disgust. “You can’t trust a mage. Maybe a human guy, I don’t know, but never a mage. I figure if you’re going to have one, may as well get one of the ones who are honest about what he is. Drake’s a jerk, yeah, but he doesn’t pretend to be anything else.”

  “So, you think that Drake’s an honest evil mage?”

  She shrugged and leaned forward then back, swinging higher. “I don’t know. I thought I knew everything about him, but lately I’ve been confused.”

  I nodded as I climbed on my bed, sitting cross-legged. “He’s really confusing, but they all are. Like there is kind of a guy, but I don’t think he even notices me. And then with the way Drake is, he probably thinks I’m into Drake instead of him.”

  She frowned at me. “I just find it inconceivable that you can think about another guy when you have Drake licking malted off you. I’ve seen the way you look at Drake, staring at him like he’s the most beautiful piece of cake at the tea party. The way that you blush, the way you act when Witley is around him. You do like him, but somehow you can control it. Is it a spell you use? A potion?”

  I shifted uncomfortably. How I was with Drake was considered controlled? “I guess I’m looking for something else.”

  “Someone nice,” she said skeptically.

  I sighed. “It’s pretty stupid, but yeah. I want a nice mage.”

  She hopped off the swing, graceful for someone so short. “I’d be bored with a mage who wasn’t at least a little bit wicked. I’m running to the kitchen for a snack.”

  She left and I stared at my bed for a long time before turning towards the door. I needed to talk to Zach and find his love key. Viney didn’t even think of Zach like that, look at him because he wasn’t like Drake or Ian.

  I walked across the lilac room and held up my hand for a long time before I let my fist hit the wood of Zach’s door. I glanced over at the couch where Drake had been playing guitar earlier. He’d been far too good to be Zach’s student, so he’d lied on that day he’d come here, saying it was for guitar lessons. What was Drake’s wicked game?

  Zach opened the door and I whirled around, beaming at him, but my smile faltered when I noticed what he was wearing, what he wasn’t wearing, which was a shirt. He had really nice muscles and silky looking skin.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you’d be half naked. Never mind.” I edged away from him trying not to notice so much skin.

  He lifted his lips in a half smile. “It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you.”

  I held up my hand so I could only see his face above it. “It really bothers me. Zach you are so beautiful.”

  He kind of blushed and I bit my lip. Bon-bons and macaroons this was going well.

  “Penny, did you need something?”

  “Ah. Yes, I wanted to thank you for coming to town to pick us up after we had that weird tangent on our date. Also, I’m sorry I kept climbing over you in the car.”

  He grinned widely. “Are you really going to hold your hand up like that until I put on a shirt?”

  I lowered it slowly, caught a glimpse of his chest and brought my hand back up. “It’s weird, isn’t it? Okay. I can handle it.” I put my hand down and kept my eyes firmly closed. “So thanks for the ride and…”

  Zach laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me into his room. I stumbled and saw a whirl of black and white before I landed on a soft bed. Zach pulled a shirt over his head, crossed his arms and shook his head. “You’re a funny girl.”

  I gave a strangled laugh. “Who doesn’t love to laugh? I want you to show me pictures of all the girls you’ve ever liked.”

  So subtle, Penny. As if this couldn’t get more awkward. He just shrugged and flopped on the bed beside me, making me bounce while his arm brushed my hip. He lay back, arms behind his head and pointed at the wall opposite the bed. I stared at him for a second, that fascinating muscle on the back of his arm like Ian had, a little longer, not quite as defined but somehow so interesting.

  I turned my head quickly and then froze when I saw the poster hanging on his wall.

  The girl was in an action shot, body suit glistening and bumpy, black like the rest of her clothes and hair. She stared at the camera, eyes black as pitch, skin painted white with black mouth, eyes shaped with black kohl. A cape rippled around her, black. She must have just spun around and started walking forward. I glanced to the right and saw part of an arm that had been cut off. I could see her hand, though, the thumbnail bitten to the quick and painted white.

  “Do you know who that is?” he asked.

  I swallowed. “I had a cousin who was into all that stuff. I never saw any of the performances, fights, I’m not sure what you call them.” I couldn’t stop staring at that white thumbnail.

  “Sometimes tourney, or competition, duel, challenge…” The bed bounced while he shrugged.

  I was sitting on Zach’s bed with him, and all I could think about was that jagged thumbnail. My heart pounded.

  He cleared his throat. “Maybe it seems stupid, but if you’d ever seen her fight, you’d know why I’m transfixed with her.”

  I turned my head to stare at him. “Transfixed with…That’s the female that you like?

  Wow. She’s really cool. How many dates have you gone on?”

  His face froze kind of and he shook his head. “I haven’t actually dated her.”

  “Oh, but you’re friends? Maybe you guys hang out a lot online.” My stomach churned with anxiety and something else I hadn’t felt for a long time. I stared at Zach and tried to look interested instead of homicidal.

  “I don’t actually know her, but I know everything about her.”

  “Wow. So, you like someone you’ve never met?”

  His eyes narrowed at me. I expected denial, not, “I love her. There isn’t anyone else in the world that will ever compare to Pitch.”

  I closed my eyes for a long time before I got off the bed and walked over to the poster, brushing my fingers over that white nail and the sliver of arm. “So, if Pitch came up to you and told you that she wanted to marry you…”

  “I’d be the happiest person in the world.”

  “What would you do together? Play video games?” My voice sounded strangely emotionless.

  “We’d fight in tourneys together.”

  I laughed and glanced over my shoulder at him. “So you’re a fighter, Zach? Do you have a cloak and a body-con suit?”

  He nodded, still dead serious. I stared at him, seeming so nice and sensible, but this was absolute insanity. He was in love with someone he’d never met? How did that make any sense? It didn’t. It absolutely did not. And I was supposed to marry him, but this, this wouldn’t work. Would it? Could I possibly get Zach to marry me when he was in love with someone else? Maybe I could tell him I was Pitch. No.

  I smiled brightly instead of screaming and screaming and screaming. “Well, I wish you the best with that. Is she fighting somewhere I can go see her? If you fell in love with her just by that, it’s got to be incredible.”

  He got this horrible melancholy look on his face. “She hasn’t fought in over a year.

  She just disappeared. I don’t know what happened to her, but she’s not dead!” He swallowed hard and the veins in his neck stood out before he took a deep breath.

  “Some people say that she goes to school in B
lackheart, others say that she went to school here, but that she’s already graduated and gone to Darkside. One girl in Blackheart claimed to be Pitch, but she broke both legs doing Pitch’s signature ‘Twist-Jet’ so it clearly wasn’t her.”

  “That’s terrible. Is the girl okay?”

  He blinked at me. “Who cares? She lied about being Pitch. She deserves to be gutted.”

  I stared at Zach and nodded slowly. He was the epitome of a rabid fan, and he’d seemed so nice. Nice, a mage? I was too stupid to live. “So, no one knows what she looks like?”

  He shrugged and pulled out his computer. “I’ve done some work and I’ve come up with this.” He turned the screen to face me and I stared at a girl who looked a lot like an animated Wit, only the hair was longer and the skirt was tighter and her top shorter to show her narrow waist without any noticeable muscle definition and scooped low to show off her ample bosom.

  “Wow, she’s really voluptuous and rocker chick.” Apparently, he didn’t like cute at all.

  I inhaled deeply before I slammed the computer lid closed and stared at it under my shaking fingers. Words trembled on the tip of my tongue about how pathetic and ridiculous he was, how nonsensical his emotional connection to some fantasy he had. Of course, I’d decided to marry someone based on an internet profile and a five-minute video.

  I exhaled and leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder while I took deep, even breaths. “I think I get it. Sometimes we need heroes far enough away from us that we can’t touch them. It’s safe that way, easier.”

  He put a hand on my shoulder and we sat like that until my skin felt itchy, my scalp tight. I sat up and gave him a wry smile.

  “I am so wired from the tiramisu. I’m sorry I’m so weird. Thanks for explaining about Pitch. I think I get you a little bit better now.”

  I left the room and closed the door, leaning on it heavily while I stared into space.

  This was the guy I was supposed to marry. I went over to the couch and flopped down, my legs dangling over the end. My body curved in the cushions that had held Drake not long ago, bent over the guitar like he didn’t see me. Was he obsessed with someone else, like Pitch? I inhaled deeply while I closed my eyes and smelled a hint of black cherry before Viney walked in, carrying a tray of food.