by Diana Paz
She reached him and everything seemed to slow, even her heartbeat. He straightened, shoving his hair to the side. Angie recognized the wordless current that existed between them, an energy that made her do things like glance at his lips before looking into his eyes. For the past month, the only logical thing to do was avoid him.
Going to prom was bound to complicate things.
“Hey, angel,” he murmured.
Angie swallowed hard at the use of the old nickname. She had told him not to call her that anymore.
“Angie,” he corrected, clearing his throat.
“Hi,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. He was a junior, and the parking lot was near his first period class. Up until today he had stopped showing up near the drop-off line to walk with her.
“I thought we agreed on one date,” she said. “This feels a little more like—”
“I know,” he said, falling in step beside her. “I just thought since we’re going to prom you’d consider changing your mind about never wanting to see me again.”
She bit back a smile. “I guess you could say that.”
They slowed to a stop in front of her first period class. His gaze became serious. “It’s too soon. I know it. I knew it this morning when I waited for you to get to school, but I had to give it a shot.” He adjusted his backpack. “I’ll be at the glen at lunch.” His words were hushed. “In case.”
“I know,” she said, unable to keep her voice steady. He had been there every day since they broke up.
His face became faintly red. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”
She pressed her lips together briefly. It was becoming harder by the moment to remember why she fought so hard against what she wanted.
High-pitched laughter rang out above the shuffle of students walking the hall. Angie glanced up. David stiffened.
Kaitlyn appeared at the far end of the hallway, with Rebecca Johnson and Ashleigh Ricci flanking her sides. Rebecca, with her waist-length braids and picture-perfect smile, was Kaitlyn’s second in command, and was all too happy to join Kaitlyn in making Angie’s life miserable. Ashleigh, currently on a pigtails and lollipop trend, was more of a yes-girl and didn’t cause Angie too much trouble. All three of them looked like they could be swimsuit supermodels.
Insecurities flooded Angie as the stark differences between them came into focus. Kaitlyn was a head taller than Angie, with a body that looked five years older. If this was what David wanted, Angie could never, ever measure up.
“Hello, David,” Kaitlyn purred.
David’s jaw clenched.
Kaitlyn smiled, giving David the full power of her emerald green eyes, gorgeously made up below sculpted black brows.
“I’d better go,” David said, his gaze focused on Angie, pleading with her.
“What?” Kaitlyn asked, her head tilted prettily to the side. “Now you’re ignoring me?”
David didn’t answer. He didn’t even turn to look at her. His eyes shone like blue glass as he watched Angie, twin spheres of crystal that could shatter with a single word from Angie’s lips. “Bye,” he said.
“Oh my gosh, Kaitlyn,” Rebecca said, laughing garishly. “I think you ruined their precious moment.”
Angie didn’t let herself show any emotion. Thank goodness she only had one class period with Kaitlyn. She didn’t think she could handle any more than that. She forced her feet to become unglued, refusing to lower her head as she walked into class.
Chapter 3
Julia
Julia had never been so late to school in her life.
Okay, maybe she had, but she had been doing really well lately.
“Third period,” she muttered, racing to the bungalows where Angie had French class. If it hadn’t been for Angie not answering her texts, she would have just taken a lower grade on her history paper and skipped school altogether. But Kaitlyn was the final Daughter. The painting proved it and Angie needed to know.
She hung on to the straps of her backpack and ran to the farthest row of bungalows. She would have to go all the way back to the other side of campus to turn in her history paper. She felt her side cramp up as she ran and bit back a curse. It wasn’t even lunchtime and this day was already going into the stupid hall of fame.
Angie’s classroom door was open. Julia grabbed the doorframe, almost slipping in the process. “Excuse me,” she panted, drawing back a step at the sight of Ms. Sauvignon’s pinched mouth. “I’m sorry, I need to talk to—”
“Do you have a hall pass?”
“Oh, um,” she scanned the room and spotted Angie, who shook her head vigorously. “But, it’s important.”
“It’s nothing that can’t wait until next period, I’m sure,” Ms. Sauvignon said firmly as she walked to the door. “I’ll thank you not to disrupt my class.”
Seriously? She ran all this way for nothing? Julia sent Angie one last pleading look, but Angie kept her eyes on her paper. Julia felt herself scowl. Did Angie think she would run all this way and make a jerk of herself if it wasn’t hugely important?
She tried a loud whisper. “Angie!”
Angie’s mouth became a fierce line in her heart-shaped face.
Julia backed up. Fine. She would have to wait until next class. She felt dumb for not doing that from the beginning. Angie had a free period for fourth, but news about the final Daughter had felt important.
She reached her own classroom, utterly breathless. Her side hurt, class was half over, and she pretty much knew she looked absolutely demented.
“So nice of you to join us,” Mrs. Ramirez said, taking her unexcused tardy slip.
“Sorry I’m late.” She rummaged through her binder in the silent classroom. Did everyone need to stare at her? Where the heck was her freaking essay?
“If you’ll take your seat.”
“Here’s my essay.” She tried for a smile.
Mrs. Ramirez took the papers, adjusting her glasses as she said, “I expected the pages to still be warm from the printer.”
The class snickered. Julia bit her lip, finding her seat and sliding down in it. The beginning of a massive headache throbbed against her temples.
Mrs. Ramirez picked up on her lecture. World History. Wars. Treaties, agreements, and who-the-hell-cared. Third period never ended on the best of days. After pulling an all-nighter, she didn’t think she could physically make it through class without falling dead asleep. And she had PE next period. More exercise? After all that running? She blinked, realizing her eyes wouldn’t fully open on the return.
“I’ll thank you to stay awake in my class, Julia,” Mrs. Ramirez said coolly.
She straightened in her seat. “Sorry.”
The teacher went on. Julia tried, but it was like the woman spoke in a hypnotic voice on purpose. She could practically hear her saying, “You’re getting sleepy ... very, very sleepy.”
“Julia Corona,” Mrs. Ramirez snapped. Julia straightened again, forcing her eyes wide open. “Name a victim of the Reign of Terror. Now.”
“Right.” Crap. Mrs. Ramirez really had it in for her today. She flipped back a page in her textbook. “A victim,” she repeated. “There were so very, very many. Sad times ...,” she trailed off.
Mrs. Ramirez crossed her arms.
Julia chewed on her lip, scanning a paragraph about the September Massacres. The mark on her arm grew warm and she frowned.
The page in her history book went blank.
She blinked. An involuntary sound escaped her throat as the blank page began filling in. Word after word, image after image, shifting and changing until the page looked nothing like it had before. A moment ago it had talked about survivors—Pauline de Tourzel and her mother—and the next moment it talked about their untimely deaths.
“We’re waiting.”
She flipped the page, wondering if being sleepy had made her hallucinate. There was no mistaking the warmth flowing from the mark on her arm. Her heart pounded as she watched another page rearrange itself, entire para
graphs disappearing.
She slammed the book shut. Mrs. Ramirez narrowed her eyes.
Julia swallowed. “I—want to remember without looking.” What was going on? History was changing, and shutting her book wouldn’t stop whatever was happening in the past.
The bell rang. Mrs. Ramirez froze the class with a single hand in the air. “Since my class seems so unprepared, everyone can write a three paragraph essay about the infamous death of the Princesse de Lamballe. Due tomorrow. With references.”
The class groaned and Julia slunk out of her seat, avoiding the glares fired her way. She stared at her history book. If the past was being altered, the creatures of Mythos must be doing some serious damage. And if she knew for a fact that Kaitlyn was the last daughter, shouldn’t she be racing over to Angie this very second?
“Hey, beautiful,” Brian said.
Brian. She had a boyfriend now. Sort of. Were they boyfriend and girlfriend? He hadn’t formally asked, but it seemed like they were. She wanted them to be.
He took her backpack for her. “Hi,” she said, unsure of whether to give him a kiss on the cheek or not. They had been dating a month, and it seemed like other girls kissed their nonboyfriends when they saw each other between classes.
He gave her a quick hug, which put the kiss debate to rest. The fact that life kept going on around her seemed surreal when she had all this Daughter of Fate stuff to worry about. If she and Angie sealed themselves to Kaitlyn, they would finally be able to go back in time. Everything that went wrong in her history book was probably their first mission.
“Julia?”
“Sorry. I’m spacing out.”
His gaze was warm. Understanding. “Rough morning?”
“Hellish,” she said. Brian’s super-short blond hair might be curly if he grew it longer. Wavy blond hair falling into chocolaty-brown eyes would be so killer, but he liked his hair short.
They started down the hall and she could not keep up with his conversation. He was excited about prom, and he still hadn’t gotten the results from his SATs back yet. Something else, she didn’t know what. All she could think about was her history book changing right before her eyes and Kaitlyn being the third Daughter, and that she really, really needed a nap.
“Are you listening to me?” he asked.
She forced her eyes up. “Yeah. Yes, of course.”
“Sorry, it looked like you spaced again.” He put his arm around her. “My poor, sleepy girlfriend.”
So, it was official! She snuggled against him. Brian had great arms. She could almost fall asleep walking against them. The thought of sleep made her stifle a yawn.
He sighed. “You’re not listening again.”
He had asked her something. She stared up at him, her mind a blank.
“I said, I have a last minute Associated Student Body meeting at lunch today so I won’t be at our spot. With prom tomorrow it’s crazy. I wanted to know if you’d like to come.”
“To an ASB meeting?”
He laughed, self-conscious and sweet. “Yeah.”
“Um, I can’t. I have math homework to finish.” And I’d rather shave my eyebrows than be part of student government. She suppressed a shudder, remembering Brian saying, “the chair recognizes,” and, “motion passed,” while he pounded a gavel. No, thank you, she thought to herself. Student government suited him, though. He was the leader type.
“Okay,” he said, his eyes dimming. They lit up again as he added, “Hey, my mom’s doing this big thing on Saturday. I’d love it if you came.”
“Sure!” she said, jumping at the chance to make up for not going to his meeting.
“My mom really wants to meet you,” he said. “She’s been bugging me pretty much nonstop since our first date.”
“That’s so sweet,” she said. Wow. Meeting his family. This was getting way serious, way fast. “Any special reason for Saturday? Should I dress up?”
“Nah, my brother’s done with his first year of college. Any excuse for a party and my mom’s all over it.”
“So fun! I always wanted a brother or sister.”
“You’re an only child?”
“Yeah,” she said, biting her lip to keep from oversharing. For whatever reason, she tended to blurt out things that were no one else’s business. The fact that her mom had gotten pregnant at sixteen and hadn’t had a date in all of Julia’s memory seemed way too heavy to discuss between classes. “Just me and my mom.”
“No dad?” he asked, his gaze suddenly intense.
Was it life stories time? The first bell rang before she could think of what to say.
“I guess we can talk about our lack of dads later,” he said softly.
They reached the hallway junction where she had to go on without him. He had Physics next while she would leave the main building for the gym, and spend the next hour in the hands of an exercise sadist. Before she headed to PE, she had to track down Angie. She rubbed her eyes, hoping that telling Angie about Kaitlyn might take up the entire class period.
“Come here, sleepyhead,” Brian murmured, lifting her chin.
She let her eyes slide closed as he took her in his arms. Brian never kissed her deeply at school, but even his light kisses gave her butterflies.
He brushed his lips against hers before pulling away. She lifted her lashes and he locked eyes with her. Uh-oh. Boyfriend. Meeting his family. Life stories. It was still way too soon to say ‘I love you.’ Wasn’t it? She cleared her throat. Some girls had their boyfriend’s name across their binders with ‘forever’ written underneath after a week. That wasn’t her style, but sometimes she got the feeling Brian was heading in that direction.
Butterflies were one thing, but love?
“I better go,” she said, moving out of his arms. “Coach Hamden will give me detention if I’m late again.”
“Right,” he said, his mouth turning down. “Guess I’ll see you after school.”
“Um, maybe,” she said, thinking about Angie and Kaitlyn and whether they would need to go to Indira’s again. “I think Angie and I were going to hang out today.”
His expression became guarded. Almost hurt.
It made her heart ache to see him unhappy, but the Daughter of Fate stuff had to come first today. There was no way around it.
Julia maneuvered through the slow-moving mass of students. The older part of school was always dark and crowded, with its narrow hallways and high, yellowed windows. Freaking Honors students with their free period. They could do anything they wanted with it, and Angie spent it at the library. Every. day. Julia sighed. At least it would make Angie easy to find.
As she reached the stairs, she became lodged behind two kids trying for slowest people on the planet. What was the point of all that running around if she was still going to miss the bell?
She saw an opening and raced through, taking the stairs as fast as she could against the flow of students. Holy crap, so much running today. She shoved her hair back and forced herself to hurry up to the scuffed tile. The library was around here somewhere. She had seen it on freshman orientation day. If the emptiness at the end of the hall was any clue, it looked like she had found it.
The bell rang just as she shoved through the double doors. The only sound was the creaking of rusty hinges as the doors shut behind her.
A shrill voice broke the silence. “Do you have a study pass?”
Julia scanned the musty room before glancing at the librarian. The lady sat hunched in her chair, clicking away on her mouse. Her eyes remained glued to her computer monitor.
“Uh, no. I was just looking for someone.”
“No one has checked in,” the librarian said, still clicking. Behind her a calendar had the last day of school circled in red.
No one’s checked in? Angie was never late, and she always went to the library.
“You’ll have to get a study pass or I can’t let you in.”
“Are you sure no one’s—”
“Yes.”
“O
kay ....” She backed out of the library. Maybe Angie wasn’t as predictable as she had thought. She racked her brain for other places she might have gone. The computer lab. Or the art room. Sometimes she and her cheerleader friends painted banners.
She was running out of time. Tardy sweep happened fifteen minutes into class, and this would be her third strike. She was not doing a month of Saturday detention over this. Dang it to crap, without Angie she couldn’t even freeze time. She would have to go to PE.
The girls’ locker room was at the far end of campus, past the quad and outdoor lunch tables. Coach Hamden’s merciless whistle screeched in the distance, reminding her of the forty-five minutes of hell that awaited her. So. Freaking. Tired.
“I can’t do this,” she whispered, slowing to a stop before she got to the locker building. Running and jumping jacks and ... running, after tearing across the entire school? After staying up all night? She would never make it.
Her gaze honed in on the chain link fence beyond the gym wall.
Did it even count as ditching if it was just PE?
After PE came lunch. Seniors could come and go for lunch. She was only a sophomore, but no one would question her coming back into school, right? She could take a nap and totally make it back in time to talk to Angie, and then move on with her life for fifth and sixth periods.
At the driveway gate she cast a quick glance around. No security in sight. They always started with the main hallways. Suckers.
She reached for the gate, but her hand stilled.
Locked.
“Perfect,” she muttered. All that for nothing, except a month in Saturday detention.
“You can squeeze through the gate,” a deep voice said.
Her hands stiffened.
A figure moved out from the row of trees on the opposite side of the fence.
“Oh,” she breathed. It was the guy from Indira’s tent. He wore cargo shorts and a light, untucked shirt, his hair as long and tousled as before. She wanted to run her fingers through those glossy black waves, and felt herself blush fiercely at the idea. She had Brian. What was she thinking?