by Trisha Lynn
Chapter Fifteen
The awkward Erik/Loki experience weighed heavy on her mind as she went to bed, and she tried to not even think about the female in Loki's truck and what they might have been doing up there. Not that she could call the kettle black - damn it - she'd been doing the same thing. But for some reason it all just felt wrong, and weird.
Erik had dropped her off at home directly after, not even trying anything other than a simple kiss when she got out of his car. She was thankful. She wasn't sure if she could have handled anything else in that moment. Her mind was even more screwed up then it had been before.
The next day she picked up Marissa like usual and she looked forward to work that afternoon to give her mind something else to focus on.
Marissa of course was drilling her about details about the previous night.
“Honestly, nothing really happened. I mean, sure, I was like on top of him, or whatever, but we just kissed.”
She had told Marissa bits and pieces, and felt like she had to tell her about Loki since she was quite sure somehow in conversation, one way or another it would get brought up. She, herself, would have much rather left that whole part out, but she did leave out the fact that he was with another girl. She figured that was not something Marissa needed to know.
“On top of him! Oh, Adeila, I'm so excited for you. You’re working your way there. Next time!”
Adeila almost groaned. If there was a next time. The experience really turned her off from anything like that in the foreseeable future.
Marissa wouldn't let up though, and her mouth spouted off a million things. Adeila's frazzled brain was getting to its wits end. She tried tuning her out, but by doing so brought back everything else in her mind. Finally, she snapped.
“Marissa! Ugh! I really just wish you'd just stop for like thirty seconds!”
Marissa's chatter ceased instantly and Adeila chanced a glance her way, expecting Marissa to be angry at her unusual outburst, but instead the girls face was blank. Her warm brown eyes wide, her mouth shut into a thin line.
Adeila gritted her teeth and quickly pulled her SUV over onto the side road.
“Oh, no! No, no, no. Just kidding! Never mind. You can talk all you want. I wish for you to continue saying anything!” She hoped that whatever turned the magic on, also listened to her to turn it off.
This was the first time she'd ever had something like this happen to another person, and Adeila was panicking a little. She had no idea how to reverse what she'd done.
Marissa let out a little gasp, a squeak, and then broke into a short cough. “What the heck happened? It was like my tongue was frozen inside my mouth or something!” Then she whirled her head to Adeila, eyes even wider. “Oh my Gosh, do you think I have a brain tumor or something?”
Marissa's dainty, perfectly manicured hands ran along her head and forehead, as if that would detect something.
Adeila swallowed and took a calming breath. Okay. So Marissa didn't suspect that her words had anything to do with the strange phenomenon that just happened. So just relax, she told herself.
“How do you feel?”
Marissa closed her eyes, and moments later opened them. “I feel totally fine. But a brain tumor probably wouldn't hurt would it? Should I see a doctor?”
“No, I doubt it's anything that serious. Look, it was probably just lock jaw or something weird like that. I mean your mouth never stops flapping!” She tried turning it into a joke, and well, it really was kind of funny.
Marissa scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Screw you!”
Adeila laughed despite the panicked feeling, got back onto the road and headed to school again, her heart still thumping harder than normal and her body far tenser than usual. Her involvement in the strange situation wasn't even crossing Marissa's mind, and Adeila wanted it to remain that way. Adeila couldn't help but berate herself, despite her friends’ obliviousness. She'd used magic on her best friend! What the hell was wrong with her?
.~.
Marissa saw the nurse as soon as they got to school and was deemed in good health as far as the nurse’s expertise could see. She wrote both girls a pass for being late, and for now the strange phenomenon was behind them, but of course Marissa was playing it up big time. Adeila was trying really hard to make it less than it was, because word of strange things like this could so not be good.
In second period class, she felt him as soon as she entered the classroom. A small blush crept up her neck. It was embarrassing having been caught doing something like she had been last night and she felt weird that Loki had seen it.
As soon as she sat down, Sadie Simms' annoying giggle pierced her ear. Her hearing was out of whack today, hyper sensitive, and hearing that cheer-leading snobs laugh had her fingernails digging into her palms. She didn't even chance a glance in that direction. Her head was pounding from stress; she laid her forehead in her palm. This class didn't help matters. It was becoming harder and harder considering whom she shared the class with and the fact that she struggled in it to begin with. She began dreading this class more and more with each passing day.
She hoped that the teacher planned on lecturing away today and she could sit in peaceful numbness. To her surprise she got her wish, but the feeling of someone watching her, the boiling in her blood, gave her no doubt that a certain someone was paying close attention to her.
.~.
Lunch was awkward and uncomfortable. When Marissa wasn't speaking of the crazy locking of her jaw in the car, she kept making random sexual innuendos, making all the guys laugh and sneer; Adeila could only look at her food and try to swallow down the awkwardness and disgust. She knew that Marissa was trying to make her feel better in her weird little way, but she couldn't help but be annoyed. Right now everything was all just wrong. She felt, not only completely off kilter with everything that Loki had told her, but the relationship she'd wanted practically her whole life was in shambles, her friendship with Marissa was being strained by all of the above, and she'd used magic on a human and she was quite sure that there were likely some rules against that or something. She needed to tell Loki about it, ask him so many things, but she didn't really want to even look at him right now. She felt so awkward with him, since both had potentially “cock blocked” each other.
Her heart was dark; she thought nothing as she got up, dumped her food and left the loud, boisterous lunch room. She heard Marissa yelling to her, but she continued on until she pushed through the front doors of the school.
She sat on the front steps, and would wait to hear the bell ring indicating the end of lunch before returning. Giving herself a minute to alleviate the noise, the bustle, the complete chaos of her life and those around her. She took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. It was beginning to get so hard to breathe and think when she was constantly surrounded by four walls, especially when it was inhabited by so many teenage melodramatics.
She sighed, and tried to blank her mind from Erik, Loki, Marissa, the strange guy she slept with, the strange girl in Loki's truck. She tried desperately to just think of the sunshine beating down on her, the sway of trees in the distance, the slight chill of the late autumn breeze.
Her eyes caught a shadowy movement to her right, and she jumped when she noticed an all too familiar body peel away from the wall. Her skin alighted in sensations, and she wished in that moment she could cut all of her skin off and drain her blood so that it wouldn't give her such feelings each time.
So this was why she never saw him at lunch, he crept around in the shadows of the school grounds instead. He was the one person she really didn't want to see right now. Despite her bodies reaction to him.
“You creep around the school during your lunch then?”
He grinned and moved closer to her. One foot on the step below her, the other on the ground. She couldn't help but let her eyes travel up his hiking boot, to his dark jeans, up his gray t-shirt to his dark hair and ruggedly handsome face. His eyes were golden and green today, the g
ray just flakes within the center. He was no longer angry.
“When I see fit to do so, sure. Today it paid off.”
She scoffed at him, but couldn't bring herself to be angry with him after all. She was just angry with herself. She's the one that allowed herself to be put into awkward and embarrassing situations.
“So ah, last night. It would appear we were both -”
“Adeila, I don't want to know. Really. Please just be more careful.”
She was confused by his words, and she had a small spike of anger rush through her. “You’re not my father, Loki.” Then she snapped her head up to him, horrified. “Right?” Wouldn't that just be the icing on the messed up cake that was her life!
He burst out laughing, it was such a deep, husky sound that she had a feeling he didn't let himself get caught off guard enough to laugh like that very often. It washed over her like dark chocolate and velvet.
“No more than I am a pixie's son, Adeila.”
Her eye brows rose at that, but silence stretched between them a moment because she had no idea how to respond to him. Pixies were real too?
What other supernatural and mythical beings were out there?
“Do you have any more questions for me, Princess?” He looked around quickly, before settling on her face again.
She nodded. “Far too many to choose from, honestly. And we haven't enough time.”
“Do you want me to meet you tonight, or sometime this week? We need to get a game plan together before Friday.”
She nodded. “Whatever you think.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, clearly taking in her mood, but the bell rang. Saving them both. She stood up, and he stepped onto the step directly below her. Even with the added inches the step gained her, she still had to tip her head just slightly to meet his golden eyes. He wore a smirk. “Chemistry class I will tell you.”
Her chin jerked in defiance, but it was short lived as he only quirked a brow and stepped by her to make his way on to class. What other way would she have to gain answers? She hated being at his mercy.
.~.
She thought he might not speak to her after all, until they were placed together again for their final documentation of their dental/soda lab experiment. It was the end of class, and they'd put everything away. He leaned in close to her, unexpectedly, and said simply. “I will meet you at the bookstore after you close up. We can talk then.”
She could only nod, as she swallowed the saliva pooled in her mouth at his nearness. Her stomach knotted at the idea, and of not entirely remembering telling him where she worked or what days. Then she remembered that he had known where she'd lived without her giving him her address. She couldn't even muster up the feeling of creepiness and invasion of privacy that that should drudge up in her.
He walked away, his golden eyes bright. She hated that she thought them beautiful no matter his mood. Must be a weird Fae magnetic attraction thing, maybe all Fae had eyes like his. She could only hope that it wasn't just him.
“Hi, Loki!” Adeila groaned as soon as she heard the voice. She didn't even hear Loki's reply, but stepped out of the classroom. Marissa was standing in front of Loki blocking his path. “Hey, so there's this band playing next weekend at Rage called Wasting Youth, you should totally come!”
Adeila had completely forgotten about that event, not surprising with everything else her mind was trying to retain these days. She watched the interlude carefully to see Loki's reply.
“If I'm available, I wouldn't miss it.” He looked over his shoulder at Adeila as he said it. Marissa followed his eyes, but then turned back to him.
“Great! I'll see you there! It's going to be epic.”
Then Marissa turned on her. “Adeila! I cannot believe you left like that at lunch!”
“Yeah, sorry. I just needed some air.”
Marissa grabbed her arm. “I'm so sorry; I was just trying to take some heat away from your incident last night.”
As they walked she could see Loki's looming figure ahead of them. “Yeah, I know.”
Marissa chatted on, but Adeila wasn't listening. Her mind was flooding with what she would ask Loki, and the buzzing she felt as they walked behind him.