"It's okay. I couldn’t dance then anyway. And I wasn't exactly good company."
He groaned. "I asked you, though. I should have at least brought you flowers to the hospital or–"
She put up a hand. "Don't worry about it."
"When you said you were okay, well, I believed it. Then you wouldn't talk to me anymore and I just backed off. It was stupid. I'm sorry."
"It's okay." She let out a breath and turned so she was lying on her side, her hand in her hair.
"How are you holding up?" He reached out, twisting a strand of her hair around his finger. "Since your dad and … all that."
My hands clenched into fists and I frowned. He was close. Too close to her. My heart sped up a little.
His eyes darted to her lips, and he moved closer.
She hesitated. "I'm okay," she said. "Surviving, I guess."
"You know, I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to."
I knew Cameron was bad news. And their whole conversation proved it. All he wanted was some action.
"I know," she said.
I saw it coming even before he leaned toward her, so naturally, I made myself appear right in her line of sight.
She jumped, letting out a scream.
I propped myself up on my elbows and winked.
"What?" Cameron said. He looked around for the cause of her distress. "What's wrong?"
Kendall just looked at me. Her expression was … surprising. Amused and annoyed at the same time? Her eyes sparkled, but it looked like she was clenching her teeth. "I thought I saw a spider," she said, her eyes never leaving my face.
"Oh. I didn't know you were afraid of spiders. I can get it. Where is it?" Cameron sat up, glancing around the room, and I swear I saw him shiver.
"It's alright. It was pretty big, though. I'll throw my shoe at it next time." She narrowed her eyes at me, and I made a mental note to watch out for flying shoes.
I chuckled to myself, and she glanced at Cameron to see if he’d noticed. Of course he hadn’t. I was Kendall's fairy. Not his.
Cameron lay back down and scooted even closer to her. "So, do you want to take a break?" he asked, pushing the math book away.
"Sure," she said.
Kendall met my eyes, and I saw her unease. Probably because she knew I was watching. And maybe the idiot jock trying to make out with her made her nervous as well.
"You look so beautiful right now," Cameron said. "I've forgotten how amazing your eyes are. Green, brown, blue. It's like three colors swirled into one."
He could have just said hazel.
Kendall smiled nervously, her hand touching the scar on her face.
I ignored the flutter in my stomach and tried to control my temper as he leaned toward her.
He lifted a hand and put it against her cheek as I looked frantically around for something to throw. I made my wand appear and flicked it, sending a little wad of paper flying across the room. It smacked him in the forehead.
"What the …?" Cameron pulled away, finding the wad on the floor. He pinched it between his fingers and held it up. "Where did this come from?"
Kendall refused to even glance in my direction. She was probably trying not to turn and yell at me.
"I don't know. Maybe my sister's home?"
Nice save.
"Huh. Weird. Where were we?" He scooted closer again, and this time I couldn't do anything. They were inches apart. I started popping my fingers to keep myself occupied, surprised at the range of emotions flowing through me. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasn't supposed to actually care about her. About who she liked. Who she kissed.
"Wait," Kendall said.
I let out the breath I was holding as she stopped his arm from creeping up her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She still avoided looking at me, but sat up. "I can't do this."
He frowned and sat up, running a hand through his messy hair. "What?"
"I just ... I don't know. It's complicated."
My body relaxed with relief. Though I was still confused as to why I cared.
"I have all night," he said.
"No, you don't understand. I don't know what I want right now."
"You mean, you don't want a boyfriend?"
"I don't know."
He sat there for a minute, visibly stunned, but he didn't say anything.
She sucked in a breath and slowly let it out again. "I really like you, I swear. It's just me. I need to figure myself out before I dive into something like this."
He laughed. "Where did this come from, Kendall? I know you've liked me forever, and the minute I start showing any interest–"
"It's not you," she said.
"Come on. It's just a kiss," he said. He leaned toward her again, and I silently applauded her when she stood up.
"I do like you Cameron, but I can't. Not right now."
He shook his head. "You know, I don't get you. You lead me on and then out of nowhere, you blow me off."
"I didn't lead–"
"I think I'm done studying tonight." He stood and gathered up his books.
Kendall kept her distance, her expression giving nothing away. "Thanks for the pizza. And the licorice."
"Whatever." He didn't bother saying goodbye before he walked out the door.
"He's a real winner," I said as soon as the door slammed behind him.
She turned around to yell at me, but I made myself invisible, and smiled as she looked around for me. "Ash?" She asked, poking her head into the family room.
I had to stifle a laugh when she finally saw me.
Her face lit up, and she actually smiled.
"Your boyfriend is a moron," I said, flipping through her math book. "This stuff is so easy. A fifth grader could do it."
The smile melted off her face. "Why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Don't even start with me. First, you popped out of nowhere, scaring the crap out of me. Then you threw papers at Cameron."
"Correction. One paper."
"What is wrong with you?"
"I didn't throw the paper, I flicked it. There's a difference." I noticed her frustrated expression and fell silent.
Her mouth drew into a thin line. "You have some serious issues. Do you know that?"
"I'm pretty sure you do, too." I gestured towards the door where Cameron had departed moments before.
Her arms crossed over her chest and she looked away.
"So, you seem to know everything about me," she said. "A screwed up girl with a crush on a stupid guy, a mom I never see, a sister I envy, and no dad to talk to ever again. Not to mention my ugly face."
"That last one is so not true," I said. She had a beautiful face.
"No one notices my scar anymore, but it's still there. It will be there forever.”
I looked up and set the math book on the floor. "It's not that bad, Kendall."
She put a hand to her neck, and a tear slid down her face. "You're just saying that. Just like everyone else."
"I promise you. It's not that bad."
Her expression was guarded for just a moment, and she finally relaxed.
She sniffed, coughed and snorted at the same time, and I couldn't help but laugh at her flaming cheeks.
"I'm so disgusting when I cry! I always end up snorting." She stood, walking into the kitchen. After a minute, she came back, a tissue in one hand, and the empty pizza box in the other. "You ate the last piece."
My face heated. "Guilty."
"I didn't know you could eat."
My mouth dropped open. "Of course I eat!"
"I just assumed fairies didn't have to."
"Seriously? How could you think that?"
"Believe it or not, you're the first fairy I've ever met. I didn't know you actually existed until a week ago."
I smiled. "Trust me, we eat. And I'm not all one with nature either. Fairies always eat fruit in the stories, but I'm not a vegetarian and never plan on being one." I shudd
ered. "There's no way I could eat green stuff all the time. I don't even like most fruit."
"Me neither," she said. She set the pizza box down and came to join me on the couch. "So, Ash. Mr. Fairy Godmother."
I cringed. It sounded worse every time someone called me that. "What?" I asked.
"I know nothing about you." She studied me. "You listen to music right? Like, not flute-playing fairies or anything, but real music?"
"Ha! Of course."
"Who's your favorite band?"
The corner of my mouth twitched. "Pearl Jam."
She cocked an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Ash."
I laughed. "So am I."
"Honestly? Pearl Jam?"
I flicked my wrist and my wand appeared. I handed it to her, and watched as she held it up to her face to examine. The tiny lyrics wrapped around the wand, and she squinted, trying to make them out.
"Even Flow?"
I smiled. "Best. Song. Ever."
She rolled her eyes. "I guess."
I folded my arms, acting offended. "Don't start knocking my band," I said.
She laughed. "I'm not into grunge. I'm partial to Katy Perry," she said. "You know who she is, right?"
I gave her a look of horror. If she liked Katy Perry, we were not friends anymore.
"Just kidding," she said.
"No you're not."
She smiled. "I have two of her CDs."
"Of course you do." I rolled my eyes. "Okay, my turn now." I thought about the contents of her folder. "Let's see. What don't I know about you?"
"You don't know anything about me."
"You're wrong about that. I know lots of juicy details."
She folded her arms and looked over at me. "Oh, really."
"Yes, really."
"What's my favorite color?"
"Pink."
She frowned. "Lucky guess. My room's pink."
I tried not to smile. "Actually, it's not anymore."
"What?"
"Nothing." I'd let her find out how cool her blue room was when she went to bed tonight.
"Okay, what’s my favorite food?"
"Macaroni and cheese. Homemade." I smiled as her mouth dropped open. "You enjoy it with a side of beets." I chuckled. "And just for the record, I think beets taste like dirt."
"You–"
I held up a hand, stopping her. "You cover your food in salt, even if it's already salted. You like those gross pink candies that taste like Pepto-Bismol." I shuddered. "Oh, and you don't like soda. It gives you gas."
Her face turned bright red. "It does not! I don't like how it makes my stomach bubble!"
"Like I said. Gas bubbles."
She threw up her hands. "This is ridiculous!"
I laughed. "You're afraid of sharks, even though you don't live anywhere near the ocean. You're shy, but don't take any crap from anyone if they treat you bad. You're very stubborn."
She nodded. "True."
"Dancing is a passion of yours."
She stiffened. "Not true."
"Yes it is. It's in your file–"
"No. It's not."
"Kendall, the file on you isn't wrong. It can't be." Could it?
"This conversation is over," she snapped. She looked away.
I wasn't sure why, but I wanted to make her happy again. "Wait, let me try one more."
Her body tensed, but she turned back to look at me. "One more," she muttered.
"You don't like sitting on the grass. You think it's gross."
She cracked a smile. "I may need to see this file. Who knows what kind of stuff is in there?"
I shrugged. "Nothing too important."
"Whatever," she said.
I was surprised how comfortable I was with her sitting next to me. Like we were friends in a perfectly normal situation. Instead of me being her fairy godmother, a ridiculous situation. I looked over, watching her twist my wand in her hand. She let out a yelp as a spark popped out of it.
"Here," I said, laughing. I reached over to grab the wand and brushed her arm. A spark of electricity shot through my arm. Apparently, she felt it too, since she dropped the wand on the floor.
"Sorry," she said, bending over to pick it up at the same time I did.
Only inches away, her hazel eyes met mine.
I felt my cheeks flame. "Anything else you want to ask me?" My voice sounded husky and I tried focusing on something other than her gorgeous eyes. I couldn't tear myself away from her gaze though, and my heart beat faster.
She gulped, her eyes huge. "Um ..."
"Not that I'll answer, of course." I studied her face. The way her hair fell softly in front of her eyes, and how she brushed the few strands away with her hand. Her full lips, her perfect nose. The thin scar that she thought was so horrible, but as I looked closely at it, seemed to suit her.
When her eyes wandered to my lips, she quickly looked away, embarrassed.
"Kendall? You home?" Her sister’s voice echoed through the house, and I sat back on the couch, grateful and disappointed for the interruption.
We listened to Ellie's footsteps as she ascended the stairs.
"I'm down here, El!" Kendall yelled.
After a few minutes we heard Ellie laugh. "What the heck did you do to your room?"
Kendall raised an eyebrow at me. "What did you do?"
I smiled at her. "You'll thank me later."
"Ash!"
"See you tomorrow." I winked and disappeared.
***
A voice greeted me as I appeared in front of my dorm.
"You're sure spending a lot of time with your assignment." Dax stared at me, his golden eyes glowing.
"Get lost," I said. I was tired, and after the long day I'd had, wasn't in the mood to deal with him.
"Now, that's not very nice. I thought fairies were supposed to be sweet and kind."
"I'm not your average fairy," I said.
"No. No, you're not." He smiled like he knew something I didn't.
"Looks like you're off probation. Since you're prowling around campus at night."
"Of course. They know they can't keep me on probation very long. I'm too much of an asset to them. Especially Logan. You should hear the praise he gives me. He hasn't seen anyone as powerful as me since, well, ever."
"Don't flatter yourself." I studied him. He normally wasn't the chatty type. "What do you want, Dax?"
"I was just curious. How close are you to completing your apprenticeship?"
"One wish down, two to go."
He smiled. "Really? I'm almost finished. Probably my last night helping my assignment. Then I go onto bigger and better things."
"Like what?"
"Oh, you'll see."
"Sounds fascinating," I said dryly. I turned to leave.
"One more thing. This girl you're helping ..."
I froze.
"You seem pretty comfortable with each other."
My whole body tensed. "You're spying on us?"
"I wouldn't call it spying. More like observing."
I faced him. "Look, I know you have a problem with me, but you leave Kendall out of this."
"Ah ... she has a name. Interesting."
One moment Dax was smirking at me from a distance. The next moment I was clutching fistfuls of his collar and shoving him up against the brick wall of the building. "If you do anything to her, I'll poke out your eyes with my wand."
He looked surprised at first, then smiled, his eyes gleaming. "Don't you worry your pretty little wings. It's not her I'm after."
"Seriously? What have I ever done to you?"
"You really don't know, do you?"
"Should I?"
He laughed. "This is great. For once, you have no idea what's going on. No idea who you are or what's coming. It's pathetic."
I pushed him away from me. "Get out of here."
He laughed and strode off into the darkness. "Don't fall asleep," he said over his shoulder. "Remember, I'm still in trouble and have to be careful, but that doe
sn't mean I can't get in your head. They don't watch me at night."
I took a deep breath and went inside, knowing I wouldn't be getting any sleep.
Chapter 10
Kendall
Music blasted through the yard as Tessa pulled up to Dane's house. People were everywhere, dancing, running around, talking in groups.
Tessa nearly flew out of the driver's seat. "Look how many people are here! This is going to be crazy fun!"
"Sure," I said.
"Come on. Everyone's inside or out back," Tessa said.
I wanted to point out that plenty of people were in the front yard, but she just grabbed my arm and pulled me inside.
It felt like a sauna with the crush of bodies in the house. As we pushed through the crowd, I kept an eye out for Cameron. I didn't see him anywhere, but Tessa said he was coming.
I heard a splash come from the backyard, and we made our way in that direction.
"People are swimming? Was I supposed to bring a bathing suit?"
Tessa just laughed.
I figured out why when we walked through the door to the patio.
People were swimming, but there wasn't a bathing suit in sight. Just kids in regular clothes or underwear, sloshing around in the pool. It didn't look like fun to me at all.
"You want to get in?" Tessa asked.
"No thanks." I shivered. I swear I saw pieces of ice bobbing around in the water. I was never the kind to jump into a freezing pool. In other words, I wasn't an idiot.
The party went on for hours. People acting like kids, couples making out in every corner. And me, sitting on a bench outside, watching it all unfold. Tessa was with me most of the time, pointing out cute guys.
When Scott came through the back doors, Tessa started toward the house.
"I'm gonna go grab a piece of pizza. Want anything?" she asked.
"Just some water," I said.
She looked at me funny, shrugged, and walked away.
I stood near the pool, watching some girls in dresses flirting with guys who were pretending to jump in. I wanted to shove them in myself.
Cameron found me two seconds later. It was as if he had been waiting for Tessa to leave me alone.
"Hey, Kendall," he said. "Having fun?" He stood next to the patio, a drink in one hand.
"Sure," I said. I wasn't sure if I should be happy he was talking to me or not.
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