She patted his shoulder. “Then keep doing it. This won’t be easy, but as long as you try, that’s all I’m asking of you.” She pulled a small green pad from her desk and started writing. “I’m going to give you a pass. I want you go outside for a while and try to relax. Sit somewhere quiet and take slow breaths.” She tore off the top sheet and gave it to him.
“For how long?”
“Until you feel like you can handle school again.”
Honestly, that might be never. “Okay. Thank you.” He looked at the scrawled note giving him permission to be out of class. “Is that it? I’m not in trouble?” He’d expected detention or suspension for fighting in school.
“Consider this your warning. Good luck, Aiden.”
* * *
“Want to eat outside again?”
“Sure,” Dylan said.
Aiden was looking a little weird, glancing around the lunchroom like he was afraid of something. Had someone picked on him?
They picked up their trays and headed out to the square. All the tables were occupied, but Dylan headed for one with a pair of sophomores. They looked at him like Please don’t come over here. Dylan reached the table and said, “Move.”
They grabbed their lunches and scrambled away.
“That was mean,” Aiden said.
“So?” Dylan sat and started eating his pizza. If anything, it was even nicer tonight, warmer.
Aiden stared at his food, a little wrinkle between his eyebrows.
Finally Dylan couldn’t take it. “What happened? Was someone mean to you? Do I have to kick someone’s ass?” He hoped so. Not that he wanted Aiden to get picked on, but he’d love an excuse for a fight.
“I used my magic to throw a boy across the hallway today.”
Dylan arched an eyebrow. “Impressive.”
“No it’s not. It’s awful. I could’ve seriously hurt him, maybe even killed him.” He clutched his head, fingers digging into his hair.
“So why’d you throw him?”
“I didn’t mean to. He scared me, threatened me, and I panicked. And it just… happened.”
He might get to kick some ass after all. “Who was it?”
“Conner Mays. He thought I was flirting with his girlfriend or something.” Aiden picked up his fork and poked at his noodles.
Dylan snorted. “He deserves being thrown across the hall. Repeatedly.” Guy was an asshole.
“He was being a jerk, but he didn’t deserve it.” He shifted noodles around. “I should apologize.”
“To him? Dude, no. I should go beat him up to make sure he gets the message to never pick on you again.” Dylan pictured slamming his fist into Conner’s face and how good it would feel.
Aiden’s eyes went wide. “No! Please don’t. I feel bad enough about hurting him.”
“He threatened you. You shouldn’t feel bad about defending yourself.”
“It was just words. He didn’t attack me.” He put his head in his hands. “I can’t control my power. What if it happens again? What if I hurt somebody else?”
“Well, sometimes shit happens.”
Aiden dropped his hands and glared at him. “That’s not funny. Are you really this much of a jerk or is it an act?”
Aiden was the closest thing he had to a friend and those words actually stung. “A little of both, I guess.”
They were quiet for a while.
“You might enjoy people being afraid of you, but I don’t,” Aiden said. “I don’t want people staring at me like I’m a freak. I had enough of that at the end of last year.” He finally took a bite of his food.
“What happened last year?”
Aiden told him about being bullied in the locker room at his old school and having his magic lash out, making all the locker doors slam over and over. Back then he hadn’t even been aware he was different. It was as shocking to him as it had been to the other kids.
And then, suddenly, Aiden started to cry. Not just tears running down his face but actual sobbing. Dylan leaned back on the bench, fighting the urge to run away. He didn’t know how to deal with this, and it was making him incredibly uncomfortable.
“I’m a freak and a monster and I hurt people,” Aiden wailed. “I don’t know what to do. I’m horrible.”
Dylan swallowed. “You’re… not horrible. We’re all monsters here.”
“But I even scare them!” Another sob as Aiden mopped his face with his sleeve.
“You don’t scare me.” Please stop crying. Please, please, please.
“What if I hu—hu—hurt you?”
“I’d like to see you try.”
A long, watery sniffle. “You’re not afraid of anything, are you?”
“Nope.”
Aiden kept crying, but his sobs had become soft hitches. “Doesn’t it bother you that you can hurt people with your magic?” He wiped at his eyes again. “That a school full of monsters is afraid of you?”
That I like it so much? Yes. “No, not really. Who wouldn’t want to be the toughest kid in school?”
“Me.”
“You’d rather get picked on?”
“No. I’d rather be normal.”
Dylan couldn’t help a laugh. “I think you need to adjust your idea of normal, dude.”
“I’m trying.” Aiden sighed, then looked up at him, hope lighting his eyes. “Will you help me?”
“What?”
“With my powers. Can you help me control them?”
He’d never considered teaching anyone. “Well I… I guess I can try. But shouldn’t you be asking teachers that?”
“I will, but I need all the help I can get.”
A little spark of fear lit inside Dylan. Aiden already knew he liked using his powers, but he didn’t know how much or how dark his desires really were. If he helped Aiden learn control, would his own slip? Would Aiden find out just how bad Dylan really was?
CHAPTER NINE
“Have a seat, Aiden. You’re not in trouble,” the principal said. “I just wanted to let you know that we found a tutor for you. Her name is Phoebe Rowland. She’s part fae, and her children go to elementary school here.”
“Part fae?”
The principal smiled. “Yes. We’re lucky to have one in town who’s also willing to train you. She’s willing to meet with you two or three times a week after school.”
Although he was relieved to have someone of his own kind to train with, he felt a little twinge of disappointment. After school? He had a hard enough time staying awake as it was.
“You can discuss details with her.” The principal handed him piece of paper with a phone number and address.
He noticed the lack of an e-mail address. Shadow Valley seemed to be lagging behind in the technology department. He supposed having magic or being a monster might make things like technology seem less important.
“Thank you, ma’am.” He stuck the paper in his bag. “I also found someone else to help me. I wanted to make sure I have as much training as I can get.”
“Oh? Who?”
“Dylan.”
One of her eyebrows rose. “Dylan Galloway?”
“Um, yes.” Aiden suddenly wished he hadn’t said anything.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s dangerous.”
The same thing Mr. Johnson had said. “I know, but so am I. He’s the strongest kid in my class, so I thought he was the best choice.”
She pressed her lips together. “Dylan Galloway is a troubled boy. Your records from your previous schools show you to be an excellent student with no discipline problems. I’d hate for that to change.”
“You think he’s a bad influence?”
“That’s the polite way of putting it, yes. I’m quite surprised you speak to him.”
Aiden shrugged. “He’s nice to me.”
“I know things are difficult. It must have been a shock to find out you were a changeling when you had no idea such things existed. And then having to move here, a different school in a diff
erent town where you don’t know anyone. I’m sure you feel lost, but things will get better. You’ll settle into your classes, you’ll make friends. In a few months you’ll have a whole new perspective.”
Meaning he could do better than Dylan. The more he heard the way people talked about him, the more sorry for Dylan he felt. “Thank you. I’m sure you’re right.” But you’re wrong about Dylan.
* * *
A note skittered out of his locker when he opened it. Frowning, Aiden picked it up.
Hi.
I’m the one who picked up the book for you yesterday. My boyfriend is Conner Mays, the one you got in a fight with. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to get him mad at you. He’s just really protective of me, and I should have known he would freak out if he saw me talking to you. Again, I’m really sorry.
Hanna
What was a jerk like that doing with such a sweet girl? Aiden wished he knew where her locker was so he could write her back. Then again, if Conner saw a note come out of her locker, he might freak out even more than he had over Aiden just talking to her.
He stuffed the note in his bag and headed for Major Magical Control. Yesterday Ms. Yang had made him sit out while the other kids had matches against each other, which was both frustrating and a relief. Aiden wanted to get control of his powers as soon as possible, and the matches seemed like a good way to do that. But after the incident with Conner in the hallway, he was still shaken and worried he would hurt someone.
As usual, Dylan was there and dressed before Aiden arrived in the locker room. Walking in there still made Aiden nervous, and he wondered how long it would be until that stopped.
“I got something interesting.” Aiden passed Dylan the note while he pulled his gym clothes out of his locker. This wasn’t really “gym,” but he kept thinking of it that way.
“What is it?” Dylan asked even as he unfolded it. “Huh,” he said after he’d read it. “That sounds like a healthy relationship.”
“Do you know her? Hanna?” Aiden tried not to think about the fact that Dylan was right there as he pulled off his shirt.
“Not really. She’s a year older, so I was never in any classes with her. I sort of know Dalton who joined their pack this year.”
“Pack?” Aiden slipped on his gym shirt and hesitated before reaching for his pants. He told himself to go for it. He didn’t change underwear, so it wasn’t like he was going to be naked.
“Yeah, they’re werewolves. They form packs. Conner is the alpha of one of the packs, and there’s another one that has a vampire and a ghoul in it. As you can imagine, they don’t get along.”
Aiden changed pants as fast as he could. “Because wolf packs fight over territory?”
“Well, that, and because they let other things join their pack.”
Aiden paused, reaching for his gym socks. “Ah, so werewolf packs are only for werewolves, and they aren’t supposed to let other creatures in?”
“Especially things like a vampire and a ghoul.” Dylan chuckled. “What a slap in the face.”
“Uhh… why?”
“Werewolves and vampires have a rivalry going back like, forever. And they think ghouls are dumb and disgusting.”
Aiden finished tying his shoes and shook his head. “I’m so lost all the time. I don’t know any of this stuff. I do a bunch of research online, but I don’t know how much of it is true, and it’s missing so much of the information I need to know.”
Dylan shrugged. “You’ll figure out everything eventually.”
“Glad you have such confidence in me.”
Dylan’s only response was another shrug.
It was another day of matches, and once again, Aiden sat out. Dylan was up first, and this time the two fireball-wielding girls both went after him. Aiden had heard their names repeated enough to remember them: Izume and Sakura. He kept meaning to ask Dylan what they were. They weren’t dragonkin, and there were a number of other possibilities he’d eliminated, but he still couldn’t figure out what they were.
Dylan wore an aggressive grin as he shot streams and flares of fire at them. They dodged, serious expressions on their faces, but Aiden thought he caught the gleam of amusement in their eyes. They blocked with invisible shields and ran around the gym, hurling fireballs at Dylan.
The rest of the class was on the bench next to Aiden. All of them watched the match with wide eyes. At least he wasn’t alone in being amazed. When Dylan said he was holding back in class, he wasn’t lying. The two girls had been holding back too, but now all of them were putting on quite a show. The place would have been an inferno if the wards on the walls and floors didn’t extinguish the fires within moments of being hit.
Dylan usually barely moved as he fought, shifting this way and that or taking a few steps back. Now he was running, jumping, dropping to the floor to dodge a multicolored burst of light. The harder the girls attacked, the wider his smile got.
A flash of something white caught Aiden’s attention, and he focused on Sakura. Something had attached to her pants… No, was that? Aiden squinted. It looked like a tail, a white, fluffy tail. A few minutes later he noticed Izume had one too. Aiden filed the information away as the match continued.
Ms. Yang let them go on for a long time. The girls locked hands and shot a massive fireball at Dylan. For the first time, Aiden was honestly worried his friend would get hurt. Instead of dodging, Dylan planted his feet and brought up his hands, palms out. He made a shout of effort and the fireball first slowed, then stopped. It was inches away from his hands and Dylan frowned with effort. Heat from the fireball rippled in the air.
Then he made a slamming gesture and the fireball crashed into the ground. Dylan panted, a trickle of sweat running down his face.
“All right,” Ms. Yang said. “Good match, all of you. Time for the next pair.”
Dylan joined him on the bench, using his arm to wipe the sweat off his face. “Now that was fun. Good match!” he called to the girls farther down the bench.
They smiled and bowed to him. The tails were gone.
“What are they?” Aiden asked.
“Huh?” His expression was distant. “Oh, you mean the fox sisters? They’re kitsune. Japanese fox demons.”
Another thing to add to the research list. “And they’re sisters?”
“Not really, but they’ve been friends since they were little and they do everything together.” He smiled. “Did you see? I made them forget to hide their tails.”
“Yeah, I saw that.” Although he had no idea what that meant.
Dylan clapped him on the back. “Man, I can’t wait to fight you like that.”
Aiden wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
CHAPTER TEN
Today Aiden was going to meet his new tutor and have his first lesson. His mom dropped him off at the park where they were meeting.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Mom asked. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
And watch him act like a freak? “No, I’d really rather do this alone.”
“Do you think it’s safe? You don’t even know this woman.”
Great. Now he had that worry planted in his head. A whole childhood filled with don’t talk to strangers suddenly started clamoring. “Do you want to come meet her with me? Would that make you feel better?”
“It’s up to you.”
He debated for a moment. “Come on. Just to say hello.”
A woman around the same age as his mom stood from a bench and waved at them.
“That must be her. Hi, Mrs. Rowland.”
“Call me Phoebe. You must be Aiden.” She held out her hand.
He was sure he hadn’t seen her before, but there was something familiar about her. When he took her hand, a weird sensation went through him, subtle enough that he thought he might be imagining things. Was it wishful thinking that he recognized another fae? Or had he really felt something? “Nice to meet you. This is my mom, Brenda.”
Phoebe reached out to sha
ke his mom’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Are you staying for the lesson?”
Mom glanced at Aiden. “I don’t want to get in the way, so I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.” She looked like she was about to give him a hug, something Aiden was far too old for, but then she drew back. “Bye.”
Aiden watched her go to the car.
“I hope you have a lot of patience because we’re going to start with the very basics,” Phoebe said. “Take a seat on the bench, and you’re going to meditate on the nature around you. The trees, the grass, the breeze, the stars in the sky. Just feel them.”
Aiden sat. “And this will help me control my magic?”
She smiled a little. “Yes. I know it isn’t exciting, but your power is based in nature, and an awareness of that is the first step to controlling your magic.”
“Will this take long? I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be impatient, but I want to make sure I don’t hurt anyone else.”
She sat on the other end of the bench. “Even a basic awareness will help you feel when you’re about to use your magic by accident. When you know that feeling, you’ll be able to stop it before something happens.”
That sounded wonderful. “Good. So just close my eyes and meditate?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
It took Aiden a while to push his worries aside and focus on the things around him. The breeze was chillier today, and it would probably only get colder. It tossed the leaves in the trees and he thought about them for a while. All his life, he’d had a love for the forest, for any natural place with trees—the more the better. A few times he’d imagined running off into the forest to live alone, like Tarzan or Mowgli, not because he was angry at his parents or wanted to leave them, but because the trees felt like home. He’d often stamped down on those feelings. It was impractical to think he could live in the woods. All the dangers, all the things he’d have to learn just to survive.
How to Make Friends and Not Incinerate People Page 5