by Jaclyn Weist
I pulled out my phone and flipped through all the pictures of Jared and me together. Dances, graduation, getting ice cream. We’d wanted to document everything. Going to school at two different colleges was going to be killer, and we wanted to have something to remember each other by.
“Oh, he’s cute.” Shelby plopped down in the seat next me.
I smiled, my stomach doing a little flip. “Yeah, he is. This is Jared.”
“Ah. So that’s why you haven’t liked any of the guys here.” She took the phone from me.
“We’ve been together for about a year and a half now.” And been through enough together to last a lifetime.
She flipped through a few more pictures. “Wow. I wish I had a guy who adored me this much.”
“I was pretty lucky to snag him.” I resisted the urge to laugh at my own joke.
A stewardess announced that it was time to descend, so the girls scrambled to get buckled up.
I made sure my bag was tucked under my seat, and leaned back in my chair to wait for landing.
The Netherlands came into view as we dipped below the clouds. This was the stop Mom was most excited about. She’d wanted to come here since she was young, and planned to go off on a couple of tours while we practiced.
I stood and stretched as soon as we were able to leave the plane. Eoin rolled out of the luggage shelf and barely missed hitting Hannah as she walked past. His face was slightly green, and he seemed quite thrilled that we’d landed.
“Well, that was a nice flight. Let’s get going.” Eoin jumped up on the seats and leaped from one to the next until he was at the front.
One stewardess noticed the slight rocking of the seats, but shook her head and turned away. I let go of the breath I’d been holding.
“He really is a child, isn’t he?” Mom asked.
“Yes, he is.” I headed off the plane and down to pick up my luggage. Thankfully, I had nothing ominous waiting for me when I got there. I grabbed my bags and headed out to the bus with all the other girls.
Maybe I’d finally enjoy the vacation I’d been waiting for. The view was breathtaking as we drove to the hotel. Fields of what used to be tulips lined the road. Harvesters were out, digging up the tulip bulbs, reminding me of the farms around me back at home. Windmills stood in the distance, their sails turning slowly with the breeze. Mom had her camera out, taking pictures. I took a couple of photos on my phone and sent them to Beth and Jared.
We pulled up to the hotel and went to find our rooms. They were small, but they were nice for the one night we’d be there. Our game wasn’t until that night, but we had a short practice scheduled for us. We went to lunch at a small café, and then Mom and Shelby’s mom headed for their tour of the dikes while we headed to the gym to practice. I couldn’t help worrying about her when she left, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. She was the adult, after all.
Coach had us scrimmage for a bit, run a few laps, and then we watched one of the men’s teams play. I couldn’t keep my mind on the game, though. I wanted to know what was going on at home. Was Jared okay? Had they learned anything? Eoin snored on the bench next to me, clearly not caring about volleyball.
Holland’s team beat France after a tight game. We stood and collected our things to leave the gym.
Brinley grabbed my arm. “Hey, let’s go talk to the team. There’s a guy I really want to meet.”
I hesitated. “Um, no, I need to call my mom and let her know we’re done.”
Brinley sighed. “Please?”
“I—”
“Hey, Megan, can I talk to you for a minute?” Coach Peterson asked.
I wanted to hug him. “Sure.”
Brinley shook her head and hurried off to catch up with the other girls.
“Yeah, Coach?”
“You had a guy searching for you again.” He paused. “Are you sure everything’s okay? Do we need to report him?”
My heart was beating rapidly. “Who was it?”
He scratched his head. “That’s the thing. He wouldn’t leave a name.”
“Awesome,” I grumbled. It had to be Ethan again. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just watch my back, I guess.”
He nodded. “Stay with an adult. I don’t like this.”
The other girls came over, and Brinley looked at me curiously.
“Let’s go, girls.” Coach led the way out of the gym.
We went on a tour of Amsterdam with a tour guide who had a thick accent. We rode in a boat along the rivers that through the city. We had to split up among a few different boats, and had fun calling to each other as we pointed out different shops. Afterward, we went to see the dikes that kept Amsterdam from being completely underwater. The sights were enough of a distraction that I could ignore the fact that fairies, leprechauns, and many other creatures I didn’t recognize followed me through the park as we got ready for a picnic.
What I couldn’t get past were the glimpses of someone who looked like Jakob everywhere we went. Unless I was just imagining things. That had to be it, right? So many bad things had happened, I’d clearly lost it. I shook my head and sat down on the blanket with the rest of my teammates.
Hannah sat quietly under a large elm tree as she flipped through pictures on her camera. She caught me looking and smiled.
“Did you get any you like?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Hannah paused for a second before handing me her camera. “I took this today. I’m thinking of making a calendar when I get home.”
“Wow, that’s pretty amazing. This would be great for a calendar.” She’d captured one of the farmers on a tulip harvester, and the windmill in the distance just made it perfect. I handed her back the camera.
“You like it?” She brightened. “I don’t usually show people what I take. I’m too embarrassed.”
“You shouldn’t be. Those are absolutely amazing.”
“Well, here are some of the others I took.” She flipped through them, and I recognized a few of the places we’d stopped at throughout the day. And then my stomach dropped.
“Um, can I see this one?” I took the camera from her and held it up so I could look closer. “Is there a zoom on this?”
“Yeah, here.” She showed me how to zoom in. “Is everything okay?”
“I just thought I saw something.” And I was right. Jakob was in the photo, staring off at something. But that wasn’t the worst part. He had wings. Or at least, that’s what it looked like, because of the shimmer behind him. They were nearly transparent, but they were there. Weird, since I hadn’t seen them before.
Hannah leaned in and gasped. “Isn’t that the guy from Germany?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I thought I’d seen him earlier, but I figured I was imagining things.”
“Wow, when guys like you, they really hang on, don’t they?”
“I guess so.” Only when they’re psycho creatures who come after my power. “Does anything else seem weird about this picture?” I really hoped she could see what I had, because that would mean they weren’t really wings, and I was totally delusional.
Hannah squinted at it before shaking her head. “No. Why?”
I sighed. “No reason. I just thought I saw a glare.”
Coach Peterson stood up. “Okay, girls. Back to the bus.”
Hannah set her camera inside her case and stood. “Want me to email you a copy of the picture?”
“Sure. That’d be great. Thanks.” I crumbled up my papers from lunch and threw them in the garbage. After we had everything else packed up, we headed back to the hotel. Mom was sitting on her bed writing when I hurried into the room to change my clothes.
“Oh, hey, Mom. Did you have fun?” I set my bag down.
“Yes. We took a boat ride along the banks while we learned more about the history of the city. It was beautiful. I wish you could have come with us. So, how was practice?”
I shrugged. “It was practice.” My phone buzzed with a new email. I pulled up the attachment from Hannah and tossed t
he phone on the bed. “Tell me what you think about that picture.”
I went to change and came back to find my mom on the phone. I listened to her talking quietly with Dad while I pulled my hair up and found my knee pads and shoes.
Mom got off the phone and came over to brush her teeth. “So, who is that boy?”
“That’s the kid I danced with at the club. His name is Jakob. He was really sweet, but I’m not thrilled that he’s following me.” I shuddered.
“Are those wings, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?” She brushed her hair.
“So you saw them too?” I sighed. Between her seeing them, and Hannah not seeing them, I had to be right. Jakob was not human.
“I saw what could be wings, but I’m not sure. I don’t like that he’s following you, though.” She dropped her makeup in her bag and went to her bed to pick up her purse.
“I don’t either. But whatever he is, I need to forget about him for now. I have a game to play.” I grabbed my bag, and we headed down to the hotel restaurant.
Hannah kept glancing at me curiously throughout dinner, and caught up to me on the way to the bus. “Did you get my email?”
“Yep. Thank you.” I dropped into a seat, and she sat next to me.
“So, um, did you figure out why he’s following you?” She looked out the window almost as if she was expecting to see him.
“No. I’m just hoping it’s just a coincidence.” Not that I believed it. Not with those wings. Which reminded me that I hadn’t sent the picture to Beth or Jared. I’d have to wait until Hannah wasn’t with me.
The gym was already full when we arrived for the game. Two other teams had played before us, and they were finishing up the last set. France barely pulled off the win with an awesome spike.
Some fans got up to leave, but most stuck around for the next game. I swallowed hard, fighting down the panic. This was the largest crowd I’d played for so far, but it wasn’t the hardest thing I’d ever done. I could totally do this.
“’Owdy, Megan,” a small, high-pitched voice said.
Oh, no. A quick glance confirmed my fears. A group of clurichauns stood behind me. I bent down to tighten my shoelace. Ignore them. Just ignore them.
“All right, team. Let’s get going.” Coach Peterson waved us all over to talk. “We don’t have much time to warm up before the game start because the last match went over. I’m not too worried, though. You girls did great during practice.” We gave a cheer and ran out to the court.
The whistle blew only a couple of minutes later. Coach wasn’t kidding when he said warmups would be short. I started as middle blocker, and I cringed when I saw all the clurichauns and even a couple of fairies line up on both sides of the court. I thought it was awesome that they wanted to “help,” but this probably wouldn’t end well for anyone involved.
As soon as the first serve was made, the creatures jumped into action. They ran between legs and tried to get to the ball before the players did. It was a mess. One girl on the other team tripped over a clurichaun and had to be taken off the court.
After the first set—where we lost by a landslide—we moved to the other side. Eoin showed up behind me. I gestured toward the court where all the creatures stood waiting, and his eyes widened. I leaned over to pretend to get a drink, and Eoin moved over to talk to me.
“Get them out of here,” I whispered.
“I can’t. I mean, I can get some of them, but not fast enough.” He stared out at the court, wringing his hands.
“Well, then, we’ll make them want to leave.” I turned back to the group just as they were ready to cheer.
I didn’t want to meet any of the creatures’ eyes, knowing what I had to do. I didn’t want them to get hurt, and we’d already had a player get injured. I’d just have to hit the ball close enough to make them scatter. And then I’d have to apologize profusely afterwards.
I pulled on my luck and got into position at the net. Hannah set the ball to me, and I spiked the ball, right at one of the clurichauns. He yelped and snapped his fingers to disappear. Perfect. One down.
After three more clurichauns had to flee, the other creatures disappeared. Plus, we were up by four points. I could handle this. I let go of my luck so it could run its normal course, and kept playing.
My luck still helped me out—as long as the ball came to me. Unfortunately, the Netherlands team was very difficult to beat, and slid past for a win. It was a blow to me, but I’d survive. There were more important things to deal with.
We headed back to the bus, and Mom came over to put her arm around me. She knew what a disappointment this was.
“Sorry, sweetie. But you should still be proud. You played hard out there.”
“Thanks. They were so good, though. Those spikes were hard to get under.” I set my bag on my seat and dropped next to it. Homesickness, plus feeling guilty about what I’d just done to those creatures, was beginning to wear on me.
Mom had me scoot over and sat next to me. “Well, two more games, and you can relax for the summer.”
That would be heavenly, as long as I was actually left alone to relax. “It’ll be nice to get home. I’m sad everything has gone so fast though. We barely have enough time to tour each city.”
“Yeah, I could spend more time here too. Maybe we can come back in a few years when the twins are older.”
“That would be fun.” I stared out at the scenery as we headed toward the hotel. Tourists were browsing at the various shops, and I noticed more signs for Midsummer’s Eve. Once we arrived, I grabbed my bag, checking to make sure my phone was tucked safely in my pocket. When I climbed off, I noticed all the girls staring at me, grinning.
Jakob leaned against the building, playing with the zipper on his jacket. His eyes lit up when he saw me.
I glanced back at my mom and caught her worried expression. “Can you take my bag up? I’m hoping this will just be a minute.”
She nodded and took the bag. “Be smart. And be careful.”
“I will be.” I walked over to Jakob, ignoring the giggles from the other girls. “Hey.”
“I have been looking everywhere for you.” His smile showed a dimple in the same place Jared had one.
“How’d you know I’d be here?” I hoped the other girls wouldn’t leave me out here alone with him.
“I asked your friends where you’d be going next. They told me the city, but that is all.”
I narrowed my eyes. “My friend got a picture of you while we were driving around. Are you sure you weren’t following me the whole time?”
He shrugged. “I caught up to you, but I wanted to watch from a distance. You’re fascinating.”
Yeah, that wasn’t creepy. “Maybe you should’ve just texted instead.”
“Well, that would’ve worked if I’d had your number.” He straightened and put his hand out. “Shall we go for a walk?”
My whole body was screaming “no.” I was planning to. I knew what my mom would want me to say. “Sure.” My mouth was a traitor. But only because I was dying to know why he would follow me, and why I felt drawn to him. I didn’t like it.
We walked along the back of the river in silence for a bit. The streets were quiet, and it felt like it was just the two of us.
“Will you tell me why you’re really here?” I asked.
“I told you. You’re fascinating. I needed to see you again, and since you wouldn’t be coming back to Germany any time soon, I figured I’d come find you.” He took my hand, but I pulled away.
“That doesn’t answer anything. A guy isn’t going to travel to another country just to find someone he hung out with for a couple of hours.” And why do you have wings? I wanted to ask, but I had to wait for the right moment.
He turned to me. “Then you have not found the right guy.”
“I have, actually. He’s waiting for me at home.” And I wanted him right now. Jakob was seriously scaring me.
Eoin suddenly appeared. “Hey, sorry about—” He stopped,
eyes widening. “What are you doing here?”
Jakob chuckled. “Just visiting Megan.”
I looked between them. So there really was something about Jakob, if he could see Eoin. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing. The leprechaun was just leaving.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Eoin stammered. “Er, right. I’ll, um, talk to you later.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
I stared at Jakob. “Who are you?”
He smiled and moved in closer. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
I took a step back, angry. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jakob laughed. “I just wanted to meet the future queen.” He leaned forward and quickly kissed me before disappearing.
I wiped off my mouth and whipped around, trying to find him. The jerk. I couldn’t believe he’d just kissed me without asking. Or at all, for that matter. And what the heck did he mean by “queen”? I stormed back to the hotel to talk to Mom. I should never have gone anywhere with a guy who had wings.
MEGAN
Mom stopped pacing the floor when I walked into the hotel room. She came toward me. “What happened?”
“We just walked.” I kicked off my shoes and yanked my bag open to find some clothes.
Mom set her hand on my bag. “Something happened, or you wouldn’t be bent on ripping apart your things. Why are you so upset?”
I paused before answering. “He followed me because he was supposedly fascinated by me. Then Eoin showed up and wanted to know what Jakob was doing there. When Jakob told him to leave, he disappeared immediately.”
“He scared Eoin away?” Mom asked, surprised. “I thought Eoin was supposed to be protecting you.”
“That’s not the worst part.” I hesitated. I couldn’t believe I was telling my mom this. “He … kissed me, and told me he wanted to meet the next queen.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “He kissed you? Wha … how … did you tell him he could?”
“Of course not. Hello? Jared? I would never do that to him.” Never mind the dancing and the talking. Those were bad enough.