by R. M. Walker
Lily put her hand in the air and wasn’t surprised when she was the only one.
“And your name is?” He looked directly at her, shaggy white eyebrows above black rimmed glasses wiggled impressively at her.
“Lily Adair, sir,” she answered him.
“You must be new to the whole area as I don’t recognise your face at all. Alright, stay there, I’ll be with you in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Rest of you carnivorous lot, get your books from the shelf, you know the drill by now. Yes, Mr Watson?”
“Master Jedi, I turned vegetarian over the summer hols. I’m no longer carnivorous.”
“Ah, do you eat fish still?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Right, Watson, you’re a pescetarian, get yourself over to the shelves then!” He clapped his hands, and Lily knew this was a teacher she was going to like. He was tall and thin with wild scraggly hair to go with his eyebrows. And it looked as if he dressed in the dark. She was almost certain his cardigan was inside out.
He took the steps two at a time and gave Lily some papers he had picked up from his desk first. He sat himself on the edge of the empty desk next to her. His cardigan was indeed inside out.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t know you or your abilities from Eve, and I have no desire to read any records which may or may not arrive before you graduate.” He smiled at her, his eyebrows doing that dance again. “So, for your benefit, but mostly mine, I want you to sit and go through this test today. If you prefer quiet to the mad ramblings of this crew, you can sit in the Foundation Room as it’s empty now.”
“I’ll be okay here,” she said quietly, reaching for her bag. “But thank you, sir.”
“No worries. If it gets too manic, just up and pop out there, okay?” He looked up and suddenly jumped to his feet.
“Ah, Nethercotts! Good to see you both back again. Which one are you?”
“Josh, sir.” Amusement coloured his voice, as Josh stopped beside her desk. He set a thick text book down for her, and she realised he’d fetched one for her as well.
“Wonderful! You know the drill, young man. Every class, don’t forget!” He held out an orange button badge that Josh took with a quick smile. She watched him put it on the front of his jacket where it could be seen clearly, and she realised it was so Mr O’Connor knew which one was which.
Josh sat back down, and Lily turned to him.
“Thanks for getting me the book.” She grinned at him. “Any chance you can keep the badge on for the rest of the year?”
“Not even one.” Josh smirked at her. “Where’s the fun in being identical if we can’t confuse people?”
She turned back to her test. Mr O’Connor moved off to talk to someone else as she drew out her pencil. She shut out everything around her and concentrated on the paper in front of her.
***************
She was finished before the end of the class, so she went back over the test to make sure she had it correct. A movement over her shoulder had her looking up. Two pieces of paper floated onto the top of her test. It was the map and the timetable the twins had taken from her before the start of lesson. The way it was changed made her grin. They’d marked the Maths Department with a big X and then they’d used different coloured pens to mark out the routes to each of her classrooms. At the top of the map was a colour coded key for the subjects she was taking. They’d even marked where the girls’ toilets were, as well as the canteen.
She turned to look over her shoulder at them. They looked at her and she mouthed thank you, giving them a thumbs up. All she got in reply was a smirk. It made her wonder if they’d tried to mess with her by putting in the wrong routes. She checked the map, tracing the route back to the tutor group. It was marked correctly. So far they weren’t misleading her. It would certainly make her life easier until she was more familiar with the layout of the school, and for that she was thankful.
The bell rang to signal end of class, and Mr O’Connor called out for them to try to have a good morning and to do their homework. She got up, grabbed her bag, map, and test papers and made her way down to his desk.
“Sir.” She held out the papers to him.
“Excellent, Lily. I’ll go through these, and tomorrow we’ll know where to kick off from. Where are you headed next?” He took them from her, his eyes already going over her answers.
“English,” she said, slinging her messenger bag over her head, freeing the hair that got caught under the strap.
“You know how to get there?”
“Yes, sir, thank you.”
“Excellent, off you go then,” he said vaguely, his attention solely on her paper. She left the classroom and closed the door. She followed the direction marked on the map, hoping the twins weren’t tricking her, and was pleased when she arrived at the correct classroom.
Touch
Lunch time found Lily sitting at the only empty table in the canteen. Her new map had got her there much more quickly than if she had tried to find it before they’d adjusted it for her. It was accurately drawn, and for that she was thankful.
“You called my name.”
A boy, about her age, was standing by the table, a tray of food in his hands. He was looking at her expectantly, his head tilted slightly to the side. A pair of wire rimmed glasses sat on his long, straight nose. The bluest eyes Lily had ever seen were behind those glasses, watching her intently. His face was thin, angular, and his cheekbones were pretty hot for a guy. No amount of sucking in her cheeks would give her cheekbones quite like that. His lips pursed slightly, and Lily realised she’d been staring at him. But in her defence, he was gorgeous.
“What?” she asked him, not remembering what he had said to her. Did he want to sit with her? She could go with that.
“I said, you called me; you called my name,” he repeated himself. He held an air of authority that made her think he might be on the staff, rather than one of the students. He could be a classroom aide and just look younger than he was.
“I didn’t call you.” She frowned and looked around her. The students at the other tables were paying no attention to either of them, more interested in their own conversations.
“Yes, you did.” He spoke clearly as if there was no doubt in the matter. “I heard you.”
“Hey, Nate! Who’ve you found?” Another boy came over, balancing his own tray in one hand whilst carrying a stack of books in the other. He was about the same age, with dirty blonde hair that looked as if he’d run his hands through it several times. It stuck up at odd angles, the front pushed to one side to stop it falling into his eyes. His eyes were a whiskey brown, warm and filled with a spark of friendliness that had her smiling without even realising it. His face was rounder than his friend’s, but he was just as good looking. He was taller by an inch, but he was slightly slouched as he came to a stop beside the boy. She realised that they were both students.
“She called my name,” Nate said quietly, not taking his eyes from her.
“No, I didn’t,” Lily repeated herself firmly. “It must have been someone else, because it wasn’t me. I’m new here, and I don’t even know your name.”
“You can call my name,” the other boy said with a wide grin. He plopped into the seat opposite her.
“Matthew.” Nate’s voice held a tone of censure that Lily didn’t understand.
“What?” He sent the other boy a wave of his fingers in dismissal and concentrated on Lily again. “You’re beautiful, aren’t you? And new. You have to be new here, or we’d be dating already.”
Lily snorted with laughter at his words. A few boys had flirted with her before, but nothing serious, just hand holding and end of year dance dates. She’d only been kissed once. Jimmy Price had asked her to the end of year dance in Brighton and stolen a kiss as he dropped her home. The lack of feelings it produced in her left her wholly unimpressed. They’d moved the following week anyway, so she never saw him again, and it didn’t up
set her.
Nate sighed heavily and sat down next to his friend, setting his tray on the table.
“Matt, are you seriously going to hit on her straight away?”
“You snooze, you lose, Nate. You’ve been here for a good couple of minutes, and you haven’t even got the lovely lady’s name.” He looked at me. “Which is?”
“Lily Adair.”
“Welcome to Heathview College, Lily Adair. So, you want to ask me on a date?” Humour shone in his eyes as he grinned at her. “Because I won’t say no if you do.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Nate answered before Lily could even open her mouth.
“Don’t answer for my girl,” Matt said and stole a chip from her plate. Lily looked at his plate, he’d taken the lasagne option with no chips.
“She’s not your girl,” Nate said with a smirk. “She hasn’t asked you yet.”
“I probably won’t either.” She knew they were only teasing her, there was no way he could be serious about dating her. He didn’t know her at all.
“Told you so,” Nate said, opening his can of Coke and taking a sip. She knew he was watching her closely, but she refused to be intimidated by his intense stare.
“She said probably, Nate. And probably means yes in my language.”
“That’s because you don’t speak English, Matt,” Nate replied smoothly, making Lily laugh.
Matt took another chip from her plate and she sent him a stern look, but he just winked at her and ate it.
“I’ll share my lasagne,” he said, after swallowing the chip. The lasagne was shining with grease, and Lily shook her head, grimacing.
“Yeah, it’s a toss-up between which food item will kill you quicker,” Matt said sadly, poking at his lasagne. “Anyway, where were we? Oh, yes. I know where this is going. You’re holding out for me to ask you instead, aren’t you?”
“She’s not holding out on you, and if she should date either of us, it should be me as it was my name she called,” Nate pointed out. There was something in his eyes that sent a shiver down her back. There was a calculating look in them that told her he was not as easygoing as he appeared. He was measuring her up, but what he thought of her she couldn’t guess.
“I didn’t call your name,” she told him firmly. “It was someone else, or maybe you need to get your hearing checked.” She saw his eyebrows lift slightly. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything Matt spoke up.
“So, what brings you to our humble little town? Apart from summer tourists, we don’t get many people coming here.”
“My mum has a job here,” Lily said, and decided to concentrate only on Matt and not worry about what his slightly strange, but admittedly gorgeous, friend thought.
“Cool. What does she do?”
“She’s an artist, she’s been commissioned to do a painting of someone’s house.”
Matt’s head went back, and she saw him send Nate a quick look before he was beaming back at her.
“I know who you are! It’s my parents who’ve commissioned her.”
“Crowder Manor?”
He jumped to his feet, almost sending his books to the floor, but Nate’s quick reflexes saved them.
“Matthew Crowder, at your service!” He executed a small bow and then sat back down. “See? Now it’s fate. We’re going to date because fate has brought us together.”
“I think it was more the advance payment to be honest. I’m not a big believer in fate.”
“No?” Matt tilted his head, his whiskey eyes still playful. “Now that’s a shame. Here, let me read your palm for you.” He held out his hand to her.
“It’s a ploy to get you to hold his hand,” Nate said dryly.
“One that worked,” Lily replied and extended her hand to Matt’s, palm upwards. His long fingers caught hers, and it hit her like a bolt of lightning. It hammered into her head, taking over every nerve in her body. She felt her eyes roll back in her head, completely unable to stop herself from jerking backwards, taking the tray with her.
***************
“Shit!”
Matt and Nate reacted instantly, but were still unable to stop her from slumping onto the floor. The tray of food went with her, chips covered her as she jerked, her hands curled into tight fists.
“Alright, clear the area!” Mrs Sanderson, one of the Biology teachers, came bustling over. Nate and Matt shoved the chairs to one side. Lily was motionless, her eyes closed as Matt dropped to his knees beside her. He stretched out a hand towards her, a frown of concern between his eyes.
“Matthew!” Nate knocked his hand away and knelt beside him. He reached out and pushed the hair from her face, her eyelids fluttered slightly and then opened. They were unfocused as she blinked, her breathing was heavy and erratic.
“Boys, give her room. The nurse is on her way.”
“I’m okay.” Her voice was slurred as she struggled to get to her feet, Nate could see she was more aware now and clearly embarrassed.
A wash of concern flooded through him. He got to his feet and scooped her up in his arms, putting a stop to her weak attempts.
“Get the bags, Matt.”
She started to protest, but he shook his head. She couldn’t walk, and he didn’t want to put her down. She needed him, and he needed to look after her.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
She tucked her head into his neck and went limp in his hold; she’d passed out.
“This way, Mr Cohen, please.” The sharp voice of Nurse Holden brought his head up. He saw Matt juggling his books and all three of their bags, but there was no way he was letting her go now. Something odd happened here, and he intended to find out what it was. She’d denied it strongly, but he knew she’d called his name.
Fae
Nate crossed his ankles as he leant back on the windowsill of his bedroom. They were all here; Matt and the twins. His brothers through choice, his cousins through blood.
Matt was sitting in the desk chair, spinning it from side to side with his feet. He was lost in thought, staring into space. There was no pushing Matt. When he had something serious to say, he would say it when he was ready. Especially after the day they’d had.
Nate had been shocked when Lily jerked backwards and went down with a bang. It was unnerving, watching her shudder and jerk on the floor, until it stopped almost as soon as it started.
He was watching her face when Matt conned her into holding his hand. The moment they’d touched, her eyes rolled up until all he could see were whites, and then bam, she was down.
He’d scrambled to get to her as quickly as Matt, worry forming deep in his stomach the moment her eyes rolled back in her head. Mrs Sanderson demanded they clear the area. But he didn’t even need to think about it. He wasn’t leaving her, wasn’t backing off; he had to help her. He’d realised the moment he saw Matt stretch out his hand to her what he was going to do. It was a reckless move and one that surprised him. Matt was always the one to make sure that they didn’t expose themselves.
She’d come around fairly quickly, but he could easily see she was still completely out of it. She’d tried to get to her feet, obviously embarrassed about the whole thing, but she was physically unable to get up. Again, it seemed totally natural to reach out and scoop her up into his arms. She’d tried to resist, but he wouldn’t let her go.
Nurse Holden explained to them it was an epileptic fit and that she’d take over from there. They’d left then, still feeling a little shaken by the whole thing. He knew Matt was stewing over something quietly. Even when they’d met the twins later in the afternoon and told them all about it, Matt kept quiet, letting Nate do all the talking. But Nate knew Matt as well as he knew himself. Matt would talk when he was ready and not before.
Nate knew something odd had happened even before she touched Matt’s hand. She’d denied it strongly, but he knew for sure that she’d called his name. He would bring it up wit
h them. Though first he’d wait out Matt, knowing that what he was going to say was important.
“I felt something.” Matt stopped swaying the chair abruptly.
“What do you mean?” Josh asked, he was sitting cross legged on the bed. Jake was back to back with him, propping each other up, like identical bookends.
“I don’t know. I just felt something.” Matt frowned at his knees, hands on the arm of the chair as he began spinning from side to side again. “Like she pulled something from me.”
“Pulled something?” Josh looked at Nate before looking back at Matt quickly.
“What do you mean, pulled?” Nate asked, and couched down to sit on the floor. He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles.
“I don’t know. It just felt like a tugging somehow.”
“She pulled your hand as she went back,” Nate pointed out.
“Yeah, but it was more like an electric zap,” Matt replied.
“Hang on, was it a tug or a zap?” Jake asked, shifting slightly so he could see Matt’s face better.
“Are you sure it wasn’t just lust?” Josh snorted. “Let’s face it, she’s fucking hot, man. Those dimples when she smiles make us want to do some pretty sinful things to her.”
“Thanks, Josh,” Matt said dryly. “I’m not a sixteen-year-old virgin that’s subject to my hormones.”
“No, you’re a soon to be eighteen-year-old virgin subject to his hormones,” Jake sniggered and was rewarded with a kick to his foot.
“I’m not a virgin.” Matt pulled a face at him. “And I’m not that desperate either!”
“You don’t think she’s cute?” Jake asked in surprise and looked at Josh over his shoulder. “Just you and me, bro. She’s all ours!”
“In your dreams,” Nate drawled, and looked back at Matt. “Was it lust?”
“No.” Matt flipped off Josh and Jake when they laughed. “I mean, yes, she’s pretty, but it wasn’t that. It was odd somehow. It felt like the moment her fingers touched mine she was inside my head somehow and it felt like electricity. But as she went backwards, it was a tugging sensation.” Matt nodded as he spoke. “Yes, that’s how it felt; electricity followed by a tugging.”
