After their lips parted, she stared up into his eyes. “You know you just sacrificed your abilities by doing that, don’t you?”
“How could I forget? I’ve lost them for much longer by doing other things with you. I’m hardly worried,” he said with a coy smile. A small price to pay for being near her. She had the power to negate the abilities of others temporarily through touch. The stronger the touch, the longer the ability was gone.
“You should be.” But she kissed him again anyway, pushing him against the wall for support. “I will change your mind, and you’ll want those powers for later.”
“Doubtful, but I will indulge your fantasy for this moment in time. Please, persuade me,” he said with a smirk. All logic told him he should avoid this at all costs. The agonizing feeling inside, however, told him he had to be near her for as long as possible. He might not see her again.
“That isn't fair. I wish you would take me seriously for once. You don’t listen to me,” she whispered.
“Let’s not think about the politics of all this then. We can at least enjoy the moment for what it is while we have it.”
She touched his bracelet. “You still wear it?”
“How else was I supposed to find you?”
She laughed softly, running her fingers over the glowing metal. “I suppose you’re right. I was forced to take mine off, but I keep it near me so you can find me.”
“Near? Where is near?” he asked as he leaned in to kiss her lips.
“Maybe you should find it.” She was so good at teasing him. He should have minded more than he did, but she had a way of making him forget how to think.
“Maybe I will then.” He kissed her once more and then sighed happily against her. “Have you ever thought of running away?”
“I believe you asked me this back before I left. You wanted me to run away to live with you at your home, yes?”
He shook his head. “No, I mean, both of us run away. Far from here. Be our own people.”
“You know that’s not possible.”
“I know, but I was hoping that maybe you would indulge my imagination for a moment. Can’t we just pretend for a moment that it is just us?”
Alona’s eyes met his own. “I suppose. Pretending is the only way we are ever going to get along. Isn’t it? So for a few more minutes, I can pretend I still love you, and that we can be together. After this, you will be my enemy, and there isn’t anything you can do or say to change it.”
Before Alan could reply, she kissed him again and then pulled him along in the tunnel back toward what the Earth humans referred to as a school. He almost stopped where he stood when she said it, but her pull kept him moving forward.
“What do you mean you will pretend you still love me? You aren’t pretending to love me. You do. Don’t lie.”
“Fine, maybe I do, but I’m going to stop after these next few minutes. I’m going to stop, and there’s nothing you can say about it. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
“There’s a phrase here. Shut up.” She pulled him out of the tunnel, and he found himself in a large storage facility for what looked like instruments. He’d seen pictures of them before and studied them briefly once upon a time, but how they were used and what noises they made were beyond his recollection. It was empty of people now. The students had left the premises of the school for the day. How long had he been lingering in those tunnels? Perhaps he had traveled further than he originally thought.
His eyes searched hers for some kind of rational explanation, but he found none.
“Is something wrong?” a voice asked from nearby.
Alan had completely forgotten that he was no longer invisible to Earth humans not affiliated with his cause. He faced them, ready to tell this student to move along because it wasn’t their business, but when he saw the small black mask resting over their eyes, he knew that wasn’t going to work. It was their business. They were a follower of Alona.
“Everything is fine,” Alan said.
The student interrupting was a male, and not far behind him was a female who guarded the door. Both were blond and in similar uniforms that matched what were referred to as the “school colors”.
“He’s bothering you, isn’t he? I’ve been looking for a good reason to practice, if I may great leader?” the girl said through gritted teeth.
“Really, violence is not necessary,” Alan said.
Alona didn’t even acknowledge him. “Yes, you may, my follower. Practice as much as you’d like with this one, though I’m sure he won’t put up much of a fight.” She glared at Alan. “He is pathetic. Do not do any major harm to him, or kill him. I want him to be an example. I don’t want him to forget this.” And then she disappeared from sight, no doubt to return to her ship.
The girl locked the black door behind her, and vines began to grow from her skin. Long, thick, dark green vines reached their way toward Alan. A small smirk played on her lips, and then the vines lashed towards him fiercely. He did his best to dodge them, but without his own abilities he was useless. One vine made contact with his chest, and he was flung across the room, landing on a table. The papers covering it were strewn across the floor upon contact.
“I don’t mean any—” Alan stopped as another vine flashed by his side and struck a piano with enough force to tear the keys off of it with one melodic crash. He shielded his face from the debris. “You don’t need to do this.”
“I do if you’ve upset her,” she said and another launched past him and stabbed a drum before it was tossed into what looked like a large locker. She then lashed out again, and this vine wrapped around him tightly before drawing him in closer. “Stay out of our business. You don’t understand it.”
The boy, who had done nothing but watch up until this point, moved close to Alan. He was forced to make eye contact with him, and the instant they did he could feel his mind drifting away from consciousness.
“Carrot,” the boy whispered.
For a moment, Alan wondered what an orange root had to do with anything, but soon his mind drifted to a new place. All he could think about was carrots.
Chapter Eight
“So Orlando couldn’t break out to help us tonight because Alan wants him to do research?” Cadence asked as she and JD walked along the long path connecting the Lunar Falls High School parking lot to their football field.
“That’s what he said. I mean, cool and all, but it seems kind of weird. I’m not sure if I’m buying it,” JD said with a shrug. The two walked quickly, both trying to stay warm. They were going to spy on Orlando, and hopefully talk to him during the halftime break. Cadence, naturally, thought it was immature; she said so several times to JD over the course of the night. He ignored her. Besides they had nothing better to do, and if Orlando was told to go by Alan, then why shouldn’t they be there, too?
“I don’t know why Alan didn’t say anything. Why wouldn’t he bounce by to tell us, too? That’s not like him. He’s always so into our business, magically popping into my bedroom in the middle of the night to try and get me to go out and fight evildoers,” JD said.
The two paused their conversation as they approached the ticket booth. Cadence stared at him expectantly.
“This was your idea,” she said.
With a groan, JD dug around in his wallet for six dollars to pay for the tickets. “Do I look like I’m made of money here? ‘Cause I’m not, you know.”
“Ask for reimbursement from Orlando then, when we catch up with him if it’s such a big deal,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Believe me, I will. Anyway, we need to have a talk with Alan about popping in and out randomly. This is America, ya know?” The two made their way to the visitor bleachers.
“Yeah, he walked in on me in the shower the other day. He didn’t realize I took them at night. Not like he has any respect for personal privacy either, because he didn’t think anything of it. I guess where he’s
from, people aren’t very modest.” She found a spot in the middle of the stands. Hardly anyone was there.
“No, really?” JD gasped mockingly. He wasn’t sure what to say to her about Alan invading the bathroom. She didn’t seem to like it, so he didn’t feel the need to address it. If she had, then he may have inquired further. “I mean, the guy practically prances around naked as it is. Which is crazy, by the way, because it’s so flipping cold out right now. So where did you put those binoculars?”
Cadence slapped his hand before tugging her bag closer to her. “I don’t want you digging around through my things. There’s stuff in there I’d rather you not get your hands on, okay? Here, sheesh.” She handed him a pair of opera binoculars.
JD snatched them up and peered through. Across the field from them the stands were packed with students and parents. He was searching for a lone figure decked out in black, but then noticed the school colors had black in them. That made the task much more difficult for him. “Okay, so everyone and their mother comes to these things. I’m finding small groups of emo kids everywhere.”
“Try not looking for groups. Who would he know anyway?”
“I dunno,” JD said and did another quick scan across the bleachers before sighing with frustration. Maybe Orlando hadn’t come after all and had decided to stay home. He turned his attention on the cheerleaders. “Might as well get something out of this...” he mumbled to himself.
“What?”
“Nothing.” There were so many good looking girls. He glanced at Cadence, almost hoping she’d notice and get jealous. She didn’t, or if she did, she didn’t care. If anything, she looked bored. The game wasn’t exciting. Lunar Falls had a substantial lead over the other team, and the fans weren’t enthusiastic. The end of the second quarter came, and he watched the cheerleaders bounce away from their post to go get things like water, food, and mingle with their friends.
His eyes followed a cute blond girl as she ran up into the bleachers to Orlando, who watched her with more interest than JD ever thought the guy would have for a cheerleader. His lips were no doubt saying something horrible and mean to her. The way her face showed a playful agitation, however, suggested she liked it.
“I don’t believe this. Here to work, my butt. He’s totally flirting with the cheerleaders,” JD said.
“What? Are you kidding me?” Cadence made a grab for the binoculars and shoved JD to the side. She peeked through and chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t know. They look like they’re fighting.”
JD grabbed them back so he could see as well. “No, they’re flirting. He’s all hunched forward and actually paying attention to her. If they were fighting, he’d be like ‘pfft as if’.” He spoke in Orlando’s famous deadpan. “‘I’m too cool for you because I’m a rich, emo kid who can do whatever I want,’” he paused. “Yeah, he’s definitely into her. He’s all fiddling with the hem of his jeans.”
“And that means what?”
“He’s nervous and thinking about how hot she is,” JD said, like it should have been obvious. He watched as the girl gave Orlando a shove. “’Oh, Orlando,’” JD started to speak in a loud, high-pitched and girlish squeak. “’You’re way over my head, but I wanna be—‘”
Cadence smacked before he could finish. “You’re sick.” She grabbed the binoculars from him again and shoved them into her bag. “Ask him what’s going on.”
JD stared at her. “N—now?”
“Yes, now.” She folded her arms in front of her and glared across the field. She wasn’t jealous was she? He hoped not. There was no way he could compete with Orlando. The guy had everything JD did, and then all of the things he didn’t on top of that.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and sent Orlando a text message. “Having fun with ur new friend?” Perhaps that had been rude of him; perhaps it would have been a better idea to send something more productive; perhaps he should have just called. Perhaps, but he didn’t. He secretly hoped Orlando wouldn’t reply, and then he’d have an excuse to chew him out later, but sure enough, no longer than three minutes later his phone started to vibrate with a reply.
“'I don’t have friends,'” JD read out loud and scowled, typing in another message. He resisted the urge to say something snotty and offensive about the girl Orlando was with, no matter how much he wanted to. “We’re at the game. Meant the cheerleader.”
He should have gone the rude route. “Jealous? What would I be jealous of? I’m so not jealous,” he gasped and texted that exact message in response to Orlando’s claim, and scowled, knowing full well the other boy was no doubt smirking underneath his mass of dark hair.
“Sounds to me like you two aren’t talking about business,” Cadence said. She grabbed the phone from his hands, sent a quick message, and then stood up. Soon she was pulling on JD’s arm, trying to get him to stand up along with her.
“What?” JD asked.
“We’re going over there. This is stupid.”
“That’s just because—” JD stopped after Cadence shot him a glare. He ended up mumbling to himself. “He started it.”
“I don’t care?”
JD rolled his eyes and picked up his phone when it started to vibrate again in his pocket.
“You’re jealous because I have someone who’s interested in me. Come over here. I don’t care. There’s nothing interesting going on.”
“I’m not jealous,” he repeated before shoving his phone back into his pocket.
“Not jealous of what?” Cadence asked.
“His blondie.”
“You’re into blondes now?”
“No!” he paused. “I mean, some of them are okay, but that doesn’t mean they’re my type or anything.”
“Oh, so you have a type now?”
“I’ve always had a type. I just have never told you what it was. Doesn’t mean I can’t admire the others as well.” His eyes caught hers, and he shifted. He’d tell her another time when she didn’t have such an angry frown.
“You’re such a guy,” Cadence said with a sigh. She picked up her pace, joining the massive crowd of students, parents, and faculty who were all a part of the Lunar Falls spectators. He almost lost her in the crowd, but when she noticed how much he was lagging, she grabbed onto his forearm with her hand. Albeit roughly, she was still touching him, so he wasn’t about to complain.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. Should I not act like a guy? Would you rather I act like a girl? A dog? A duck?” He countered her over the noise of the crowd.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” They pushed their way onto the bleachers and spotted Orlando sitting in the stands about a third of the way up and near the middle aisle.
Cadence ignored him and directed her attention to Orlando, forcing a smile on her face. “There you are.”
The blond girl stared at the two of them, more specifically at Cadence. “Who are—?”
“They’re acquaintances. I told them I was busting out tonight and to meet me here so we could discuss business,” Orlando said.
“Business?”
He shrugged. “Just a hobby of mine I do on the side. I’d tell you, but if I don’t, it makes me seem a lot more interesting and dangerous than I really am. I kind of like being the new bad boy on campus.”
The blonde put a hand to her lips. “You know, you go right on and think that, Little Miss Sunshine.”
“You might want to get back to your post, She-Ra. The carnage is about to start again.” He gestured at the stadium clock.
“She-Ra, I like that. She’s the princess of power,” the cheerleader said before going back to the field. She did make sure to glance one more time at Cadence and JD as she went. Orlando’s business comment no doubt had her curious as to what was actually going on.
“She knows her ‘80s cartoons,” Orlando said.
“Amazing.” JD rolled his eyes. “So what’s going on, dude? Did Alan really tell you to come here, or were you just m
aking it up so you could get us off your back? If you’re not into this, then you should say something now.”
“Doubting me already? Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t have to be?” The two stared each other down. “Don’t let what you saw with her deceive you, all right? She came to talk to me, not the other way around. If I had it my way, I’d much rather be alone.”
“I’m sure you would.”
Cadence put a gentle arm on both of them. “Look, you two need to stop fighting so much. Please? It’s counterproductive.” There she was, using big words and unfamiliar phrases again. It was the only thing that was making the whole situation feel weird for JD.
“Noted.” Orlando’s blue eyes then narrowed. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Cadence and JD said, exchanging looks.
“Alan, I thought I heard him with his weird telepathy thing he does. I mean, in my head,” Orlando said quietly. He frowned again. “He doesn’t sound good. He sounds like he’s...I think we need to go.”
“Convenient, that as soon as we get here, once more Alan gives you a message only you can hear. One telling you to leave,” JD said.
Orlando glared. “I said we. Look, it’s not my fault he’s doing this to me, okay? I don’t know if it’s because of my,” he lowered his voice, “thing, or what it means exactly. Okay, I—” He stopped when Alan spoke again; only this time all of them heard it.
“Help.” It was just one word, and his voice sounded drained, as if he were straining himself to get that one word out to them.
“All right, I heard it,” JD said. He gave Orlando an apologetic and weak smile. “Where is he? Did he say what he was doing when you were talking earlier?”
“I don’t know, something about how he felt a strange presence or something equally as cryptic. You know, he was being Alan. I didn’t think much of it, or his whole ‘infiltrate’ the football game thing.” He paused and frowned. “I guess I should have, huh?”
Battlefield Page 7