Chapter Eleven
Kyle closed the door behind him and they started walking together down the street. It was a warm evening and very comfortable. It was perfect weather for a walk, especially since they weren’t going very far.
They walked in silence for a few seconds before Kyle asked, “Did you have any homework over the summer?”
“Yeah,” she groaned. “History; blaaa,” she said, making a disgusted face.
Kyle laughed, saying, “Yeah, that wasn’t very fun. Did you finish it?”
“Not yet,” she said. “I think the book is dumb, and Andrew Jackson was a jerk, wasn’t he?”
“I didn’t think so,” Kyle said. “He did what he needed to.”
“Did he need to start the trail of tears?” she asked.
“Okay, that’s his one bad thing,” Kyle agreed.
“His one?” she said in bewilderment. “What about what he did to the bank system? He could’ve ruined the nation.”
“He thought they were corrupt,” Kyle explained. “He just did what he thought needed to happen. He was the president and he thought it was a threat to the nation.”
“You think?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Kyle said. “I think he was overall a good president. His decisions may not have been the most popular, yet he was determined to see them through. When was the last time we had a president like that?”
“Not since, and Jackson had to be censored, remember?” Emma pointed out.
“Well, if Congress was going to be so difficult about it…” Kyle said.
Emma laughed, and the sound was music to Kyle’s ears. “So,” she continued, “I had this idea.”
“What is it?” Kyle asked, intrigued.
“I’m signing up for a dance class this year,” she explained. “And I was thinking it would be fun to do it with a partner, and I thought it would be cool if you were my partner for the class. Would you be willing to do it?”
“Really?” Kyle asked. “No offence, but why do you want me to be your partner?”
“I was just thinking,” she said. “If you don’t want to…”
“Oh, no. I’d love to do it with you,” he assured her, only realizing after saying so what he had just committed to.
“Really? You would?” she said, excited.
Kyle decided to go with it. Dance classes could be fun; Kyle could be optimistic. “Yeah, sure. Sounds fun.”
“Great! Thank you so much, Kyle,” she said. After a lull in the conversation, she said, “I’ll get you more information about the classes when I get them.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Kyle said.
Another silence before Emma said, “So, I talked to Jules earlier today. She told me what happened last weekend at the mall.”
Kyle felt awkward for some reason. “She did?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “Jules said that you saved her.”
“She did?” Kyle said. “I just did what anyone else would’ve done.”
“According to her and Justin, it wasn’t that simple. That truck was moving really fast, and you kind of flew into Jules.”
“I just reacted, which is starting to scare me,” Kyle said concerned.
“Why? You saved her,” she pointed out.
“It’s not just that incident. Every time I act out, my powers do, too. It’s like my powers are connected to my reflexes or emotions,” he explained.
“Your emotions?” she mimicked. “When did you learn that?”
Kyle was about to explain the moment he met Tony, and the conversation they had alone together, and how it felt afterward, yet he didn’t. Telling her about that might lead to a more awkward conversation. To avert, he said, “On several occasions.”
Emma didn’t seem to buy it, but didn’t press the matter.
This time Kyle chose the subject. “So how is your new neighbor?”
“Tony,” Emma began with a sigh, “is very polite and energetic.”
“Oh,” Kyle said.
“He’s nice, but doesn’t like being short. I tell him to embrace his shortness, but he just wants to be taller.”
“Really,” Kyle said with a snicker.
“Yeah,” Emma said. “He’ll hit a growth spurt sooner or later.”
“Will he be at the party tonight?” Kyle asked.
“Sure; he’s actually been helping me set up all afternoon,” she stated.
“I think he likes you,” Kyle blurted out.
“Yeah, I picked up on that,” she said.
Kyle took a double take at that comment. “You did?” Kyle asked.
“Oh, it was obvious,” she explained. “He would hardly leave me alone all afternoon, and was all chatty and nervous he nearly hurt himself a couple of times today. I almost had to sneak out of my own house just to walk over to your house tonight.”
“Huh,” Kyle said.
“How did you figure he liked me? You only met him the one time,” she asked.
Kyle hesitated before telling her. “He told me that one time we met,” he explained.
It was silent for another few seconds. Emma’s house was in sight. The sounds of a party were already reaching them. “Why are you interested in Tony’s feelings for me?” she asked.
Kyle was completely unprepared for that question. He walked, stuttered and panicked until they were at Emma’s front door. Now they just stood there, facing each other for several seconds. Emma seemed to be giving Kyle time to think, even though she probably knew what Kyle was trying to think. Kyle, on the other hand, was dumbstruck and had a blank mind. He knew what he wanted to say, but his mind and his feelings were having a hard time telling his mouth what to actually say.
His vessels, on the other hand, started to glow softly, and hum very audibly. Both Kyle and Emma were surprised, but Kyle probably more so. For some reason, his powers turning on cleared his mind long enough for an actual thought process to enter his mind.
“Emma,” Kyle said, “I really like you. I’ve had a crush on you since the moment I first met you. What I wanted to say was would you be my girlfriend?”
They stood in silence once again. Kyle was fairly used to awkward silences, but this one was different. Kyle at first couldn’t believe he had just asked Emma the question. He almost just blurted it out; Kyle almost thought he had scared her. It felt like hours of silence, and the anticipation brewing in Kyle was building with each passing moment.
Emma took a single breath and said, “No.”
Kyle’s vessels suddenly grew dark. Was that it? No. One word. One syllable. One sound. One small word, yet with so much power behind it.
One word and Kyle was thrown back into reality. “No?” he repeated.
Emma just seemed to wilt right in front of him. The sounds of the party seemed to be miles away at this point. Emma’s eyes started to water, which she quickly tried to hide by wiping her face. She wouldn’t look at him for almost a minute; Kyle just stood there feeling like an idiot, wondering if he did something wrong.
It was still very awkward; Emma looked to her door and back to Kyle and said, “I’m sorry,” and she went inside.
Kyle didn’t follow her in. No. That is what she said. It wasn’t even close to what Kyle wanted to hear, but that was the answer he got. He suddenly felt very cold and alone. He thought for a second about just going home, getting back in his pajamas, and going to bed hoping this was a bad dream he just needed to wake up from.
But he was here, this was real, and he received his answer. And he was still alive, so it wasn’t all bad. He was still standing and the world hadn’t ended.
Also, since she turned him down, she was also likely to turn Tony down tonight, too, if she hadn’t already. In some way, Kyle could count that as a win.
But how was he supposed to face Emma again? How could he, after putting her on the spot like that at her own party? Now he felt terrible for what he did to Emma. What was he supposed to do now?
He had just turned his back to the door when two things happe
n. The first thing was that his vessels again glowed. It was three pulses, evenly spaced, and surprisingly soothing. It was like his powers were not only reacting from his emotions, they were responding to them. It was like they were actually trying to make him feel better, as if they could understand what was going on.
Whatever that alien did to Kyle, it was truly amazing, scary, and confusing all at the same time. Just when he thought he had a good handle on what his powers were, they act on their own, like they literally have a mind of their own. He could fly and see energy coming off of things; gravity no longer had an effect on him and now they could act as little counselors. Kyle finally truly realized that this was so much more complex than a couple of strange burns from touching a space creature.
The second thing that happened was that someone came around the corner of the house from Emma’s back yard. He first saw him in his peripheral vision, but he turned his head to see Justin coming around the corner.
Justin’s face lit up when he saw Kyle. “Hey, man!” he said, coming up to Kyle. “Are you just getting here?”
“Hey, Justin,” Kyle said, gladder than he thought he had ever been to see Justin the entire time they had known each other. “Yeah, I just got here.”
Justin practically dragged Kyle around the house and into the back yard. Emma had all kinds of lights hung around the fence and in the trees; a mix of light bulbs of all sizes and colors. The back patio had two tables pushed together, and each was filled with all kinds of snack foods. Next to the tables were three large coolers with cans of soda and bottles of water. Another table off to the side of the patio had an iPod that was hooked up to two large speakers.
About twenty people were in the backyard when Kyle arrived, and he recognized the majority of the group. People were mostly gathered around the snack table, yet there were other conversations in smaller groups around the entire yard.
Kyle was initially very uncomfortable, being well aware that his vessels were in full view. When he got dressed for the party, he didn’t care, but now that he was surrounded by people he had not seen since school ended, anxieties started to manifest. Kyle started to back out of the yard until Justin grabbed his arm, saying, “Oh no you don’t.”
“I can’t do this. What would they say?” Kyle said worried.
“Who cares?” was Justin’s answer. “But you aren’t leaving. Jules would smack my head till I got brain damage if she heard I let you go home. You are staying,” he said with finality.
“I’ll visit you in the hospital,” Kyle promised and quickly turned around. However, Justin dug his feet in the ground and held on tighter to Kyle’s arm with both hands. They scuffled for a bit as Kyle tried to leave the back yard and Justin tried to drag him further in. The whole time, Kyle kept saying “No,” which Justin would answer with “Yes.” This went on for about four minutes until Jules showed up.
“Kyle, you made it,” she said, excited.
Both Kyle and Justin froze where they stood. The brief pause was enough for Kyle to break Justin’s grip, but he didn’t leave. “Yeah,” he said, “I made it.”
Jules hugged him and said, “We saw you leave with Emma, and when I saw Emma inside just now, I knew you had to be around here somewhere.”
“Oh, I’ve been back here with Justin,” he said, patting Justin on the back that looked friendly enough, but harder than just a slap.
At that point, Jules grabbed Kyle’s arm and started to drag him into the backyard herself. Kyle didn’t fight her, but allowed himself to be led straight to the snack table, where she loaded him a plate of chips, dip and a hotdog, as well as handing him a cold soda from one of the coolers. With a plate in one hand and a drink in the other, Jules also straightened his shirt and even ran her fingers through her hair, saying, “You need a haircut, but you look fine. Just relax and have a good time.”
Power Trilogy Book One: An Ancient Power Page 11