Fated

by T. L. McDonald

  Will knocks twice. My heart slams against my ribs each time. I wipe the sweat from my palms. All things considered, this place appears to be as secure as Will said it would be, but until I lay eyes on Jared, until I see he's safe, until I just...see him, I don't know if I can truly believe it. So many terrible things have happened in such a short amount of time that nothing and nowhere, no matter how secure it's claimed to be, seems safe enough.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The clicking of locks being undone along with muffled voices sound from the other side of the door. I wonder if Jared is one of those voices, I think to myself. I wonder if he's nervously excited to see me too?

  A boy wearing a neon green t-shirt with a giant smiley face on it answers the door. A slice of pizza hangs limply from his hand. Pale blue eyes that stand out against his beach-tanned skin look over me approvingly. "Well hello there. I'm Owen Fitz. And who might you be?"

  "It pains me to know you've forgotten my name so soon," Will answers jokingly before I can utter a word.

  Owen playfully shoves Will's shoulder without ever taking his eyes off of me. "Not you dude, I'm talking to the pretty one."

  "This is Hanna. And she'd be off limits so you might want to roll your tongue back into your mouth 'cause you're starting to drool," Will teases.

  Cheeks flush, Owen half smiles at me then punches Will in the shoulder.

  Laughing, Will moves back a step rubbing the spot where Owen hit him in mock pain.

  "So what brings you by other than to embarrass me in front of pretty girls?" Owen asks Will, as he winks at me.

  "We're here to see Jared." Stealing the pizza from Owens hand, Will takes a big bite. "And to eat your pizza." Mouthful, he smiles as he moves past Owen into the dorm room.

  "Damn it Will. That was the last slice," Owen says with a frustrated pout.

  Will holds out the half eaten slice. "Want it back?"

  Owen makes a face like he's seriously considering it. "Nah, you keep it. Who knows where your mouth’s been."

  "It's been kissing your mother."

  "Should I start calling you daddy?"

  Will shrugs his shoulders. "If you must."

  Owen shakes his head with a laugh. Stepping aside to let me enter, a smile remains on his face as he turns his attention to me. "So, I take it you're Jared's Hanna then? He talks about you all the time. This one too for that matter." He points over his shoulder in Will's direction. I slightly blush not knowing exactly what I'm supposed to do with that information.

  Across the room, Will plops himself down on a gray colored sofa beside a boy who dresses like he should be in a punk band: vintage The Clash t-shirt, black pants covered in silver chains, metal studs, and zippers paired with chunky black combat boots, and leather cuffs around his wrists. And then there's his hair - black with streaks of crimson through the front that's made to look like he just rolled out of bed when really he probably spent some time styling it that way. Then there's all the facial piercings - nose, lip, and two in his left eyebrow, not to mention all the heavy guy liner he's sporting. Though I have to admit, the guy liner makes his hazel eyes look pretty good.

  Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, Owen leads me inside. For being a dorm, it's pretty large and set up more like a small apartment with a full living room, a small kitchen, and a hallway that leads to at least three other rooms as far as I can tell. "And this is Luca Hernandez," Owen says as he knocks Luca's foot off the coffee table. "Dude, what did I say about putting your feet on the table?"

  Xbox in hand, Luca rolls his eyes with a grin. "Not to do it." He glances up at me quickly. "Hey," is all he says before he's consumed by whatever game he's playing.

  Owen moves to grab the other Xbox remote off the table, but Will snatches it up first. "Seriously dude? You may have gotten away with my pizza, but there is no way you're getting away with taking my remote." Jumping over the coffee table, he dives for Will who braces for impact. As soon as Owen makes contact they begin laughing and wrestling over the remote. They act more like brothers than friends.

  It reminds me of how Kat and I were once.

  It reminds me of how Kat and I will probably never be again.

  I don't want to think about Kat. I don't want to let myself drown in my own little pity party over the stupid things both she and I have done to each other. All I want is to see Jared and for just a moment let myself feel happy and not constantly scared that Blondie's going to take everything I love away at any second.

  Where is Jared anyway? I think as I scan the room. I've been here at least five minutes and I have yet to see him.

  Trapped in a headlock by Will, Owen notices me looking around. "If you're looking for Jared, he's probably still in the shower. It's the second door to your right down the hall if you want to knock and let him know you're here."

  "Okay." Making my way toward the hall I turn my face away from the boys in the living room as quickly as I can to hide the burning heat blazing in my cheeks at imagining Jared in a hot steamy shower all wet and completely...

  Just then, Jared opens the bathroom door wearing nothing but a towel hung low on his waist. Steam curls around him escaping into the hall. Tiny bits of water drip from his hair landing on his perfectly chiseled chest, which then run down his perfectly defined abs. "Naked," I say out loud, finding it hard to breathe.

  "Naked?" Jared says amused. With his thumb tucked at the edge of the towel along his waist, he gives it a little tug. "Almost." He smiles at me with that swoon-worthy little dimple of his and my face becomes so hot I swear it's about to catch fire at any moment, which only makes him laugh. Taking a step closer he leans in to kiss my cheek. "Give me five minutes." He trails a finger across my stomach as he moves around me and into the bedroom across the hall.

  "Okay." Breathless for all sorts of reasons, I lean against the wall beside the doorframe. Get a grip Hanna, it's not like you haven't ever seen him without a shirt before. I remind myself yet again. Of course things were different then. We were just friends then. And I certainly didn’t see him the way I see him now.

  "You can come in now," Jared calls.

  Praying that my face isn't still red as a tomato, I enter the room just as he's putting on his shirt. So much for not having a red face.

  "You don't have to hover by the door you know. I won't bite—unless you want me to," Jared teases. He winks, sending the butterflies in my belly fluttering in hyper speed.

  I step in a little further closing the door most of the way shut behind me. Too nervous to sit, I stand awkwardly shoving my hands into my pockets to try and keep from fidgeting. It makes no sense to feel so nervous around him. I know everything about him. He knows everything about me. What is there to be nervous about?

  He smiles and that's all it takes to make my heart start to beat like crazy and all my thoughts to turn into incoherent mush. We may know each other better than anyone else, but things are definitely not the same as they used to be. For one, I am now acutely aware of him on a whole other level that completely changes everything between us, which is currently interfering with what I should be doing, which is double checking everything here to make sure he's safe, or coming up with a contingency plan in case Blondie does somehow find a way to break through all the glamour’s and wards.

  Jared sits on the edge of the bed to put on his socks. I take this time to pull myself together. "So, interesting roommates you got out there," I say. "One looks like a surfer and the other a member of a punk rock band."

  "Luca actually is in a punk rock band," Jared says with a laugh. "They call themselves Schizophrenic Chainsaw Dogs. Weird name, I know, but they aren't half bad. Luca plays the bass. And as far as Owen being a surfer, I have no idea. They're good guys though. Been nothing but nice since I got here. So,” He pauses for a moment. “How are things at home? How is my mom? Is she…you know what, don’t tell me. I really don’t want to know what this lie we told is doing to her. My own imagination is bad enough.”

  Getting over my nerves,
I sit down on the bed beside him taking his hand in mine. "How are things here?” I say gently.

  "Things here are good, I guess. For the most part everyone's been nice though some, I don't know, seem like they're afraid of me. Which I guess I understand. I am a ticking time bomb after all that might destroy the world when I turn eighteen." He says it in a joking, sarcastic kind of way, like it doesn't bother him even though I can tell it does. It's written all over his face.

  "Or you could save it. It says that in the prophecy too."

  He shrugs a little. "I guess."

  "There is no I guess. I know you better than anyone, you would never destroy anything."

  "Maybe."

  "No maybe's either."

  The corners of his mouth lift up in that half smile of his when someone says something he finds amusing. He looks over at me with deep green eyes. "You just don't give up do you?"

  "Not when it comes to you I don’t."

  "You have so much faith in me Hanna." Face serious, he gazes deep into my eyes like he's searching for some hidden truth there. "What if I disappoint you? What if when this is all over, I'm a monster?"

  "That will never happen."

  His lips press against mine with the taste of mint. Breaking away he rests his forehead against mine. "I’ve missed you Hanna."

  "I’ve missed you too." Being this close to him, feeling his breath brush against my skin, the touch of his fingers in my hair as they are now, I want so much to get lost in it, but thoughts of Blondie's threat keep running through my head, reminding me that now is not the time to let my guard down. If Blondie tries to make a move I need to be prepared. "What are we going to do now that Blondie knows the truth about you?"

  "I don't want to talk about Blondie."

  "I don’t either, but we have to because whether we like it or not he's coming and we need to be ready when he does."

  "We will be. When we need to be. But for now we're safe and all I want is to be here with you. For so long Hanna I've wanted to be more to you and now that I am, I don't want all of our moments together to be about what Blondie's plans are for me, or discussions of what's going to happen to me after I turn eighteen. Right now, lets just be you and me without all the other drama. For a little while at least."

  "I want that too Jared, more than you know, but—"

  He puts his finger against my lips silencing me. "No buts. For the rest of the night there will be no talk of Blondie or prophecies or anything else."

  "But," I start to protest.

  He shakes his head side to side with a smile. "I said no talking." And then his lips are pressed once again to mine. Laying me down, his kisses move from my mouth to trail along my jaw, then down the side of my neck, stopping at my collarbone, causing goose bumps to cover every inch of me. His kisses are like a drug, and it’s not long before I forget about everything we should be talking about.

  Scooting further onto the bed we lay side by side, face to face with our legs tangled together and his hand in my hair. The way he's looking at me right now, it's like I'm the only thing in the universe and I have to remind myself to breathe.

  He sucks in his bottom lip scraping his teeth over the surface as he releases it. His eyes peer into mine, greener than I've ever seen them. "Now isn't this much better than talking about all that apocalyptic prophecy/Blondie crap?"

  This time it's me who presses my finger against his mouth as I nod in agreement. "No talking, remember?" He smiles deeply, the dimple in his cheek sending butterflies swarming about my insides once again. I haven't seen him smile like that since before all this craziness started.

  Taking my hand he kisses it then links our fingers together. "I never thought this would happen, you know."

  "You never thought what would happen?"

  "Me and you." He stares at our hands for a moment before meeting my gaze. "Even though I knew from the very first moment I saw you that you were the one for me."

  I laugh. "Jared, we were like five when we met."

  "Maybe so, but I remember that day like it was yesterday. Your mom made cookies to welcome us to the neighborhood and you came with her. You had your hair styled in these cute little curled pigtails held with pink polka dot bows to match the dress you were wearing. I could tell you absolutely hated the dress, but every time your mom would look at you, you'd smile whole-heartedly because she loved it. I fell for you right then and there. As the years went by I fell more and more for you even though you never seemed to see me the same way I saw you, but that was okay, because at least you were in my life and that was enough. And then one night you came to my window and my whole world changed."

  It takes me several seconds to find my voice. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

  "Because I was afraid if I did you wouldn't feel the same and I'd lose you. So instead I held onto hope that maybe one day you'd see me differently all on your own."

  "I'm sorry it took me so long."

  "You were worth the wait." Leaning in, he kisses the tip of my nose. In all this madness happening around us, Jared is the one good thing to come out of it and I swear right here and right now that no matter what, I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Blondie will never lay one finger on him.

  "I can't believe you remember that awful, awful dress," I say pushing thoughts of Blondie out of my mind. This moment with Jared is absolutely perfect and I want to keep it that way.

  "I remember everything about you Hanna." He kisses me softly with just the briefest touch of lips. "Because I love you.” He looks straight into my eyes. “I always have." His mouth is against my own before I can say anything back, his body pressed against mine. Soft and slow his kisses pull me under until the only thing I’m aware of is him.

  My hands find there way under the hem of his shirt. His body tenses under my fingers. Sitting up so he’s now straddling over me he removes his shirt, flinging it to the side of the bed. I run my hands down over his chest feeling his muscles expand and contract with each breath he takes. As my fingertips near the hem of his jeans a sigh escapes past his lips and my heart trips over itself unsure of whether it should beat faster or stop all together.

  He takes my hands in his linking our fingers together. Lifting them above my head he runs his fingers down my arms, along my sides, stopping at the hem of my shirt. I hold my breath. So does he. Our eyes meet. He waits for permission. I nod without thinking about where this is going. His hands shake as he lifts my shirt and suddenly I’m all nerves; super aware of every touch and what it could lead to.

  Am I ready for this?

  Is he?

  The building shakes violently. The lamp on the desk topples over shattering the bulb, plunging Jared and I into total darkness. Jumping apart, we both scramble to put our shirts back on to the sounds of the guys in the living room yelling and moving around. The bedroom door bursts open seconds later. The beam of a flashlight shines around the room coming to a stop at my face. I shield my eyes against the sudden brightness.

  “We have to go,” Will yells over the sounds of the guys behind him.

  “What’s going on?” Jared asks. Will moves the light from my face to Jared. “Why was the building shaking like that and what happened to all the lights?”

  “We’re unprotected.” Will moves to the window, pulls back the curtain to peer outside while Jared slips on his tennis shoes. “Somehow The Fallen have gotten through the wards.” He’s trying to hide the fear in his voice, but it’s there just under the surface igniting my own fears. “Nothing like this has ever happened before. I didn’t even think it was possible. It shouldn’t be possible.”

  The sound of Blondie’s voice rings in my ears.

  Oh, but Hanna, I already know where he is and it’s only a matter of time before I take him from you.

  “It’s Blondie,” I say trying to fight off the fear attempting to petrify me where I stand. “He said he was coming for Jared.”

  And we’re going to have so many wonderful moments together you and I, as
I watch you suffer while I turn your precious Jared against you.

  This can’t be happening.

  It was supposed to be safe here.

  Jared was supposed to be safe here.

  Will shoves a blade into Jared’s hand. “Take this.” He crosses the room to me just as I’m about to have a panic attack. “Do you still have the blade I gave you earlier?”

  “Yes. No.” Panic seizes me as I pat my clothes in search of it.

  Will pulls out a hidden blade tucked inside his boot. Placing it in my hand he wraps my fingers around it. “Now is not the time to panic. We have to go and we have to go now.” He looks into my eyes, searches my face. “Are you with me?”

  Suppressing my fear until later, I nod my head. “Yes. I’m with you.”

  Will leads Jared and I out into the living room where we meet up with Owen and Luca. Hyper alert, they’re both covered in knives held by harnesses strapped to their backs. And if they’re like Will, I’m sure they probably have more hidden on their bodies somewhere. At the door they both throw on leather jackets concealing their weapons.

  Hand held on the doorknob, Luca looks back at Will. “So what’s the plan once we get out there?”

  “Now that Blondie’s broken through the protection wards he’s going to come after Jared. And I know we’ve all got family and friends out there, but right now, Jared has to be our top priority. Under no circumstances can we let The Fallen get him. So the plan for now is to get him some place safe until we can figure a way out of this mess. I was thinking the church since The Fallen won’t be able to enter there.”

  Luca and Owen nod in unison. With a twist of his wrist, Luca opens the door to chaos. Emergency lights illuminate the hall flickering in and out with a strobe light effect. Surrounding Jared and I, Owen, Luca, and Will, lead us out into the crowded hall.

  Heart pounding, I hold tight to Jared’s hand in mine. At my wrist the symbol there begins to glow, sharpening all of my senses until I am acutely aware of everything around me. The way Jared’s hand feels in mine, the fierce look on Will’s face to keep us safe, the tangibility of fear and determination rolling off of everyone in waves to fill the air around us.