by H G Lynch
“Hey, do you know where I put my book? I could’ve sworn I left it by the lamp,” Ember asked Sherry almost absently, shrugging off her schoolbag. It wasn’t a huge deal really, she was always forgetting where she put things, but she had an odd feeling that the room had been disturbed. But the plain bed sheets were unruffled, the papers on the desk untouched, the laptop - still turned on from the night before - was where she’d left it. The only thing out of the ordinary was the half-open drawer.
“Not a clue but I…” Sherry started and then cut off with a gasp, as she turned to face Ember. The green-eyed girl was staring wide-eyed past Ember to the bookshelf behind her. “Ember, you might want to sit down,” Sherry suggested, moving to hold Ember by the shoulders. Ember was immediately worried by Sherry’s reaction and she wondered what the hell was wrong.
She whirled around and just about fell to her knees with horror. Her bookshelf was completely empty. That morning there had been over twenty books on that bookshelf, and now there were none. Ember suddenly had a horrid dropping feeling in her stomach, like she was suddenly falling backwards. She gritted her teeth and rushed to her dresser, flinging open the top drawer all the way, almost sending the wooden drawer flying onto the floor. She felt sick, staring into the empty white-painted drawer. This was the most horrifying thing that could’ve happened and she began to truly regret having pinned up those posters of Reid. Because she knew it was him who’d done this. Who else would have reason? And after all, he’d told her not two hours ago that she’d regret her actions.
Ember turned, utterly panic-stricken, and faced Sherry. Neither of them knew what to say. Ember knew she ought to be furious, but she was too appalled to be angry for the moment. She carefully shut the empty drawer and slumped to the floor, putting her head in her hands.
“What do you think he’s done with my stuff?” Ember managed to choke weakly. She had no doubt that he’d probably tossed her underwear around the school and most likely torn the pages out of her books, but she needed to hear Sherry’s theories, just in case she might be able to cast a little hope on the situation.
“I have no idea. You know him better than I do, and my theories might be affected by what Ricky’s told me,” Sherry sounded uncertain, and worried and very much like she didn’t want to answer directly. Ember just looked up at her despairingly. Sherry sighed. “I think he’ll blackmail you, but I don’t think he’ll do anything too awful. Ricky said last night that he thought Reid’s war with you was his way of saying he likes you. I don’t think Reid would…” Sherry stopped talking, looking very sheepish and backing away. So she’d noticed Ember’s expression: murderous and venomously sceptical.
“So you’re saying that Reid is torturing me, stealing my books and underwear, because he likes me?” Her voice was deadly calm, and she knew her eyes were glinting dangerously.
“I didn’t say that. I said that’s what Ricky thinks. I just think he’ll blackmail you rather than hang your underwear out in public,” Sherry replied quickly, sounding like she wished she’d swallowed her words. Ember gave her a long, dark look and got to her feet. The green-eyed girl stayed out of the way as Ember stormed out of the room.
The hallway was nearly empty, only a few students lingered, keeping their eyes averted as Ember made her way to Reid’s room.
Reid
“Uh-oh. I think she discovered her missing items,” Reid muttered to Ricky, holding up a pair of lacy pink panties on his little finger. Ricky shook his head and perched on the windowsill by the open window. The brunette boy didn’t want to be here to see this, and he didn’t completely agree with Reid’s method of revenge. Stealing Ember’s underwear was going a little too far in his opinion - and Reid knew this because Ricky hadn’t hesitated in telling him. Three times. Thing was, though, that Reid didn’t care what Ricky thought. He wasn’t the one who’d been humiliated by the demon girl.
And right now, Reid could literally feel the fiery aura of fury heading towards their room.
Ricky sighed and flung himself out the window, and Reid heard him land neatly three storeys down. Lucky for them all, nobody hung around outside when it was raining like it was today.
He sat up and braced himself for the violent knocking at his door. He couldn’t help the grin of anticipation that spread across his mouth.
Ember
Ember reached her intended destination, but she wasn’t as stupid as Reid and she was far too angry to bother knocking. She simply threw the door open with brutal force, causing it to groan on its hinges before crashing against the wall. The room beyond the door was set out differently from her and Sherry’s, and it was much dimmer, probably due to the half-closed curtains draped in front of the window. It was surprisingly neat without even a poster on the pale-blue wall. Clear glass bottles sat in a row along the desk, and the beds were made with dark blue sheets.
“Give me my stuff, Reid!” Ember demanded, striding into the room, feeling like she could almost spit fire at the blonde boy, who was leaning casually against the desk in front of the window. He looked just faintly surprised. He’d probably expected her to at least knock first, the idiot, but otherwise he looked completely bored.
“What stuff?” He replied calmly, watching his own hand playing along the edge of the desk absently.
“You know damn well what stuff! Just give me it back!” she screamed, prowling toward him. He didn’t so much as flinch when she got right up in his face and growled through her teeth. “Give me my stuff back. And I swear to God if you’ve so much as ripped a single page in a single book… I’ll come back with a pair of scissors and a box of matches,” She didn’t add that she’d be removing the most precious part of his anatomy and then burning his hands off.
Reid simply looked at her patiently. “Try it.”
Ember stepped back just a little and, before she knew what she was doing, her hand collided with the side of Reid’s face. It was good, hard slap and she saw blood rise to a hand-shaped print on his fair skin. She wasn’t surprised at herself for having done that, but she was surprised at Reid’s reaction; he gave none. He seemed to simply accept it. It infuriated her even more. But of course, she’d forgotten Reid probably got slapped several times a month, plus the odd scrap with unhappy boyfriends of the girls who slapped him. This was nothing to him. Ember made an incomprehensible noise of frustration, and threw her hands up.
“Reid, just give me my stuff!” She hated that her voice was almost a whine. Her anger was dying down now, threatening to dissolve into tears. She even had to bite her tongue on a humiliated sob as Reid tugged a pair of her more delicate panties out of his pocket and dangled them on his finger. She instantly lunged for the fabric and ended up trapped in Reid’s grasp. He wrapped one arm round her tightly as soon as she got close enough and he held the pink lacy underwear up out of her reach. She was so close to tears, she decided to stop fighting and focus on breathing steadily instead. She needed to compose herself before she could find a way out of this. She was desperately uncomfortable, being pressed against Reid’s chest this way, having him smirking down at her from a distance of just a few inches. She refused to look at him.
“Now then. Let’s talk.” Reid grinned, tossing the panties in his upraised hand onto Ricky’s bed.
Ember nearly screamed as he whipped her into his arms, carrying her, bridal-style, to his bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her on his lap. She felt like a very unhappy small child, being soothed by a big brother. Except this situation was the opposite of soothing, and being treated like a child was one thing that Ember just couldn’t stand. But if she tried to escape now, she’d never get her stuff back.
“OK. So you want your stuff back, undamaged, and you’d rather I didn’t expose your underwear to the whole school, right? What are you willing to give me in order for that to happen?” Reid’s voice was taunting, his fingers even more so. He trailed his fingertips up and down her spine, making her shiver involuntarily. Sherry’s guess had been right; He was blac
kmailing her. Damn it. She just glared at the door… and something about it seemed off. Her mind tucked that little suspicion to the back of her head, focusing on the current problem at hand.
“What do you want?” she asked emotionlessly, keeping her voice dead so she didn’t start screaming or crying.
There was a tiny pause as Reid considered his options, and then murmured, “Hmm…A kiss.” Ember flinched but didn’t respond. She had expected something along the lines of admitting ‘her undying love for him’ in front of the whole school, something to cause her almost physically painful humiliation. But not this. This was so much worse. She’d been too angry and upset before to register how tantalising it was to be pressed against his chest, but now, with her anger going numb, simply from emotional overload, she could feel the tingling shocks his fingertips were shooting down her spine. Damn her stupid teenage hormones! And damn him for being so freaking gorgeous!
“Come on, it’s just one little kiss. You get your books back, unharmed. You get your underwear back, without it being revealed to the world.” Reid’s voice had taken on a new quality, one she hadn’t heard before - persuasiveness. He sounded almost too lovely when his voice was warm like that. Ember glanced around the room, looking for hidden cameras. She couldn’t see any and, knowing she didn’t have much of a choice, she sighed, giving in. She was going to have to wash her mouth out with soap and maybe bleach after this, and she’d hate herself for it too.
“Fine. You win. This is the last battle, because I can’t keep doing this. My schoolwork is suffering and I’m not risking another detention. After this, I’ll leave you alone and you’ve got to leave me alone. OK?” Ember struggled to say the words, feeling her pride race up to stop her. But she really couldn’t keep fighting him pointlessly. It was a stupid battle to have started and now she was holding up a white flag. Reid seemed to have been taken off-guard by her surrender.
“You… you’re actually giving up? No more games or pranks or fights?” he asked, sounding suddenly uncertain. His expression gave nothing away, though.
“Yup, I surrender. I’ll kiss you, you give me my stuff back, and then we stay away from each other for good.” Her voice shook as she said it, because she hated to let him win and she wondered how she’d get her kicks from now on. And maybe, just a little, because she enjoyed having an excuse to see him. No! Don’t be stupid Ember! She mentally whacked herself. She was not going to fall for this guy. Ever. Ember Jennings simply did not fall for guys, and she wouldn’t dare even think of going soft on this one.
“I… OK,” Reid muttered, sounding, oddly, a little disappointed. Ember sighed and felt his arms go round her, strong and lean, holding her firmly to him. Then his lips found hers, and the world vanished. It was just her and Reid, and she could feel her heart fluttering in her throat.
The second their lips met, Ember was washed with heady sparks. It was an extraordinary feeling, like being in a dream where everything was too real. Her thoughts melted away to pure sensation, and she barely knew what she was doing when her hands snaked their way in his silky blonde hair. His mouth was so soft and warm, as the light kiss turned deep. He smelled so good, like spiced apple. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to stop, she could just sit here and kiss Reid and never worry about anything else ever again…
Rap tap tap. A rapping at the window knocked her out of her entranced state. She gasped and threw herself out of Reid’s lap, irrationally thinking they’d been caught. Of course, as she turned to the window, all she saw was a plump nightingale. She silently thanked the bird fervently and closed her eyes briefly, breathing hard. Jesus, she was an idiot. ‘One little kiss’ was all that was needed, and she had just about lost herself in kissing Reid. Reid of all people!
“OK, give me my stuff so I can go wash my mouth out with boiling water.” She tried to make her voice sharp and scathing but it came out shaky. Reid looked like some forgotten sex angel, sitting with rumpled blonde hair, a faint pink flush across his cheeks and his soft mouth slightly swollen. Now she understood why even when he broke their hearts, girls came crawling after him again. He was almost inhumanly beautiful… and one hell of a kisser. But that devilish smirk spread across his mouth and the angel in him melted away.
“Fine,” he said with a shrug, before scrambling around in the pine wardrobe - an exact match to the one in her own room - for a moment. He came back over, holding out a plastic bag filled with books and underwear.
She blushed and muttered a quick, “Thanks.” Before snatching the bag from his outstretched hand and heading for the door. Her fingers closed on the cool metal handle just as Reid spoke.
“No. Thank you,” he chuckled as she closed the door behind her.
Sherry was waiting when she got back to her room. She looked worried as Ember came in.
“I got my stuff back. But you were right. He blackmailed me.” Ember could feel a blush creep up her face, not wanting to explain to Sherry what exactly happened. But it seemed she didn’t need to.
“He made you kiss him?” Sherry’s voice was tinted with surprise, but otherwise perfectly relaxed. She perched on the edge of her bed and crossed her legs, clasping her hands over her knee. Ember dumped the bag on the floor and turned to her friend in shock. “You might want to take a look in the mirror. It’s kind of obvious. I’m just surprised you actually did it.” Sherry was smiling now, and Ember wondered just how surprised Sherry actually was. But she did as instructed. The mirror revealed a girl with slightly ruffled hair, bright eyes, pink-tinted cheeks and a darkened, swollen mouth. For a second, Ember almost didn’t recognise herself. Yeah, it really is obvious. Damn. She hoped nobody had seen her leaving Reid’s room in that case. That would be bad.
“Well, it was the only way to get my stuff back and… I surrendered. I gave up. No more battles or pranks or anything. We’re going to stay away from each other from now on.” Ember sighed, and began piling her underwear back into the top drawer of her dresser.
“Seriously? You gave up? That’s not like you.” Sherry frowned, then added, “And Reid’s OK with that?” she sounded sceptical for some reason Ember couldn’t fathom.
“Well, I’d assume so. He won, didn’t he? He won the battle and he got me to kiss him. He ought to be OK with it. He can move on to his next target.” Ember shrugged, but something in the back of her mind told her she was wrong. It seemed that the back of her mind was getting a little crowded as she ignored the little voice. Sherry said nothing more as Ember started lining her books back on her bookshelf.
Reid
“So, how’d it go?” Ricky grinned, wandering up to Reid, who was lingering by the pool. The sharp smell of chlorine and sweat mingled in the air unpleasantly, but Reid was used to it by now. The high, small windows set in the walls cast fragile beams of pale light across the rippling, blue-green surface of the pool, making it shimmer.
“She surrendered.” Reid shrugged, pretending to watch Brandon swim. He tried to sound nonchalant at least, knowing he should really sound smug and victorious. He just couldn’t sound that way, because he really didn’t feel that way. He felt... obscurely disappointed.
“You don’t sound too happy about that? You won. What did you make her do to get her stuff back?” Kee gave him a suspicious look, searching his expression.
“Kiss me,” Reid replied shortly, rolling his eyes heavenward and forcing a smirk. He folded his arms over his bare chest, and absently toed at a puddle on the floor.
“And she did it? That explains why she surrendered. I guess it was too high a price to keep playing,” Ricky muttered, leaning back against the tiled wall. Reid didn’t answer.
He was glad that he’d won, he was ecstatic he’d gotten her to kiss him - but he was truly disappointed that from now she’d be avoiding him. And he didn’t understand why he felt like that. He’d won. He hadn’t exactly gotten what he’d wanted from her, hadn’t bedded her like he’d planned, but he’d made her give in; which he was sure was one hell of a victory, consideri
ng the girl’s pride and ferociousness. Plus, that kiss… It was the strangest thing. He’d never experienced something like that before. It had been like there were sparks flying down his nerves, leaving hot tingles in their wake. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think maybe Ricky and the guys were right about him liking the girl. But that wasn’t his style. It couldn’t be.
“Reid? Reid! Dude, back to Earth.” Perry was waving a dripping hand in front of his face. The taller boy’s dark hair straggled wetly around his face, and his eyes were bright with laughter.
“Yeah, what? I was just….” Reid frowned.
“Thinking about Ember?” Ricky asked wryly. Yes. Reid looked past his friend. Motes of dust swirled in the shafts of light, and Reid could see every particle. Sometimes, vampire sight was quite amazing. For instance, when Ember had been right up in his face, blazing with fury, he’d been able to see the shades of blue and chips of silver that made up her pretty eyes. He’d been able to see her pale freckles, even in the dimness. He’d been able to see the soft curve of her mouth, and the silkiness of her hair…
“More like daydreaming about what she’d look like in a miniskirt and heels,” Reid retorted devilishly, hoping his thoughts hadn’t shown on his face.
But Ricky called his bluff. “Liar. You wish she’d kept fighting and hadn’t given in. You have no reason to see her anymore. And that upsets you.” Reid had forgotten how good Ricky was at reading him sometimes. Reid just glared at him and walked to the pool’s edge. The pool tiles were cool and slick under his feet, and he focused on feeling the physical surroundings rather than thinking. If he started thinking again, he knew what he’d think about.
As he stood on the edge of the pool, he heard Ricky and Perry’s chuckles. Then he dived, the cool water enveloping him. He fell into the easy, natural rhythm of strokes as he swam, pushing the demon girl out of his mind.
