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“Let me rephrase,” said Alex coldly. “Any moves. Just keep your hands off her. ”
Seb was silent as he blew a stream of smoke towards the sky. “This isn’t really any of your business, you know,” he said finally. “Whatever happens between Willow and me is up to her. Not you. ”
Alex gave a short laugh. “Not my business? Think again – this is my girlfriend we’re talking about. And I want to make sure that you know it’s up to her. ”
“Well, you can put your mind at ease then. ” Seb’s voice was mild, but with a thread of steel through it. “Because I don’t pressure girls, and I don’t make moves where they’re not wanted. If Willow only wants to be friends, that’s all we’ll be. ”
Alex nodded slowly, watching him. “Okay,” he said at last. “But if you do anything to hurt Willow – if you make her uncomfortable in any way while you’re here – I will seriously make you wish you hadn’t. ”
Seb took another another puff of his cigarette. “Be my guest. Look, I really don’t want to discuss this with you. But I’d die before I did anything to hurt Willow – or before I let anyone else hurt her, either. End of conversation, okay?”
Watching Seb as he smoked, Alex wondered, despite himself, what it would be like to finally find another of your own kind, after searching for so many years. He knew that if he were Seb, he wouldn’t be prepared to just walk away from Willow either. The realization didn’t exactly make him warm to the guy.
“No, not quite end of conversation. ” Alex shifted on the railing, his arms folded over his chest. “How long have you known you’re half-angel?”
Seb’s eyebrows rose. “Is that any of your business?”
“You’re training my girlfriend how to disguise her aura? Yeah, it’s my business. ”
Seb regarded him for a moment. The look on his face wasn’t amused, exactly, but it was heading in that direction. “You’re big on the girlfriend thing, aren’t you?” he observed. “She’s not your property, you know. ”
The comment brought Alex up short; irritatingly, he knew Seb was right, and that Willow would say the same thing if she’d heard him. “No, she’s not,” he said at last. “But as the leader of this team, I need for you to answer my question. ”
Seb stretched across to the railing to tap ash off his cigarette. “You know, I’m trying my best to think of the possible relevance here. . . fine, whatever. I’ve known I was half-angel since I was five. ”
“So, that’s what – around thirteen years?”
“Yeah, I just turned eighteen. ”
“Okay. You’ve known for thirteen years. Willow has known for about three months. When she first found out—” He broke off, remembering Willow’s despair, her struggle to deal with all of this. “It was really hard for her,” he finished. “So what I’m getting at is – I think she probably needs you, okay? She needs someone who can help her with this. ”
Seb went silent, his hazel eyes thoughtful as he smoked. “I understand,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can. ”
For some reason, the two-by-two thing flickered into Alex’s head again; he shoved it away with a mental grimace. “I’d like you to start training her tomorrow,” he said. “The sooner she can learn to hide her aura, the better. ”
“I agree; it’s no good that she doesn’t know how. ” Seb studied him. “Seriously, man, how do you even sleep at night, knowing she’s so exposed all the time?”
“She’s not that exposed – I’d die before I ever let anything hurt her, either,” said Alex dryly. “But yeah, it’s not easy sometimes. ”
“I believe you,” said Seb. “Because I won’t be sleeping well now myself, until she learns. ” His cigarette was almost gone by then; he took a final puff, seeming to savour it.
It was childish, but Alex couldn’t resist: “Oh, and she hates cigarette smoke, by the way. ”
The look Seb shot him was now definitely amused. Breathing out a last plume of smoke, he twisted the butt out on the metal railing. “You know what? I had a feeling she did. Good thing I just quit, isn’t it?”
Alex could tell he was serious. “So, that would be because you’re not after her in the slightest. ”
Seb shrugged as he propped himself back against the door jamb. “It would be because I’ve just found the girl I’ve been looking for my entire life, and she hates cigarette smoke. It’s not exactly a complicated decision. ”
The girl I’ve been looking for my entire life. Alex resisted the urge to throw Seb off the balcony and see if he could fly. “Here’s a tip: you might as well keep smoking. Have four packs a day; knock yourself out. Nothing’s going to happen between you and Willow. Or haven’t you got that yet?”
Seb stood with his hands in his jeans pockets; a breeze ruffled one of his loose brown curls. He shrugged. “Yeah, that must be the only reason I want to stick around – because I think she’s going to fall into my arms tomorrow. You know what, you’re right. Now that I’ve met another half-angel, why don’t I just leave? Willow won’t care. Neither will I. ”
Alex had a feeling that Willow would care – a lot, actually. God, why had he even suggested letting this guy stay? But he knew why, and it was still the most important thing, bar none.
“Don’t go anywhere until you teach her how to change her aura,” he said. “After that, I’ll help you pack. Anyway, back to business. Have the guys helped you figure out where you’re sleeping?”
Seb looked unsurprised at the change of subject. “Yeah, they said they could put a camp bed in the dorm for me. It looks pretty crowded in there already, though. Plus I don’t think anyone likes the idea very much, you know?”
Alex didn’t like the idea either; Willow was self-conscious enough already about being in his room, without him wanting Seb out there in the dorm too. “You can take one of the storage rooms,” he said. “It’ll be pretty cramped, but if we pile some boxes up, we could probably just about squeeze a camp bed in. ”
“Sounds good. I’d like that better, anyway,” said Seb. And apparently with that, he considered the conversation closed. He bent to snag his knapsack from the floor; swung it over his shoulder in an easy motion.
Seeing Seb’s knapsack reminded Alex of something. “Hey, have you still got Willow’s picture?” he asked. “The one of her when she was a little girl? Because I think she’d really like it back, you know. It means a lot to her. ”
Seb regarded him; suddenly his eyes were almost impish with humour. “Don’t worry – I’ll keep it safe, and give it back to her soon. But for now—” He shrugged, smiled. “Hey, you’ve got the girl, I’ve got the picture. That’s fair, right?”
As Seb walked off, Alex was tempted to yank him back by the strap of his battered knapsack and take out Willow’s picture himself. Thinking about what he’d told Kara, Alex knew that it was true – he was certain the team could trust Seb; Willow’s psychic insights were never wrong about that kind of thing.
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