My birthday was next week and Daris had become a much more prominent factor in my life. Every morning, he managed to beat my already early alarm and quite literally toss me from the comfort of my covers. Mom had already learned to ignore the thump that sounded from my room whenever I fell on the floor.
I think she had gotten to the point where she just left the door unlocked because I had no clue how he kept getting in. I also thought I would never forget the shock and hidden joy plastered on her face when she first ran into my room only to see Daris standing there. His excuse was that he came to surprise me with an early morning run, prompting me to start my training that minute, and Mom had no problem with that. Instead, she shot me a knowing look, greeted Daris, and went back to bed so she had enough energy to question me when I got back to get ready for school.
The goal, according to Daris, was to get my reactions to the point where I could either fight him off or catch myself before I made contact with the floor. That was how we started training—with me half-asleep. On the few occasions, I was able to catch myself, I was allowed to reset my alarm for school and go back to bed. Unfortunately, sleeping was nearly impossible when adrenaline pumped through your veins; therefore, I was training from five to seven every morning before having to get ready for school.
Friday morning, I somehow managed to wake up earlier than normal—I was inwardly cursing Daris for having developed this habit for me—surprised to find that my trainer was nowhere in sight. My phone on my nightstand read 4:45. He should be here any minute. I smirked when an idea came to mind and I lay back down and closed my eyes.
Sure enough, without fail, I felt myself be lifted from the bed but it was gentler than usual. I would have panicked if I hadn’t recognized Daris’s smell. I tried to keep the façade going. The warmth surrounding me and the steady beat of his footsteps were pulling me under, and I was struggling to stay awake as he walked us to, what I assumed was, the living room.
Suddenly, the heat and comfort were gone, and all I felt was the chilling morning air. My eyes snapped open and the smallest amount of air caught my body, letting my body float to the ground instead of plummeting the four feet. I looked up at Daris with a smile on my face. He just looked amused.
“You planned this, didn’t you?”
I hauled myself to my feet, stretching with a groan as I did so. “Good morning to you, too. I woke up at 4:45 on my own, thank you very much. I just took advantage of your absence.”
“Then you can go back to sleep.” Daris moved to go out the open window he must have entered through or opened to leave, but the slightest gust shut it tight. He looked back at me questioningly.
“I feel pretty alive this morning. Awake. Let’s train.”
He looked at me like I was insane.
“Go back to bed, Blossom.” He sounded hollow. He wasn’t acting normal. He rarely let me go back to sleep, especially if I was anywhere this awake.
“Nah, I think I rather train, even if that means trapping you in my own home. I think I need to teach you why not to constantly wake someone up and dump them on the floor of their living room as means of a sufficient ‘hello.’”
There was a challenge in his eyes when he looked at me again, a terrifying confidence that wasn’t there a minute ago. Even though he always beat me when we sparred, any time we’ve challenged each other in anything we did, he never looked so determined. He was ready for anything I threw at him, and I feared this would be one of our more grueling battles.
“You want to fight, Blossom?” He turned to face me, the air shifting so it felt like he dominated the entire space. That wasn’t new; I was used to him being a bit of an alpha when we trained, but this…this could get interesting. I knew I couldn’t hope to beat him; he kicked my butt without blinking whenever we sparred, throwing me to the ground before I could land a hit or he broke a sweat. However, I could try to put up a fight that would last longer than a minute. Maybe I could get a hit on him this time. I put on a confident show, crossing my arms, squaring my shoulders, and standing taller. I’m sure I looked hilarious in my pajamas and bed head and his smile told me he was trying to stay serious just as much as I was.
“Bring it on.”
“Then let’s go,” he said, meeting my challenge.
I hurried into my room and changed into some workout clothes before running outside, eager to get started. We were immediately assaulted with cold bullets that followed a gunshot from the sky. The lightning was the only source of light with which to see each other. I smirked as the painful drops assaulted me and the thunder filled my eardrums. Daris just frowned. He looked tortured in the storm, but this was nothing to me.
“What are you doing?” He looked at me as I walked into the rain. I pushed my mop of hair out of my face and into a slick ponytail.
“You said the Luxators control all aspects of nature, right?” I recalled and he nodded. “Then let’s control the rain.” His eyes widened and I saw a spark of fear illuminated by the bolts.
“No. No way, Blossom. You are not ready to try to control something as volatile as a storm.”
“I guess we’ll have to find out now, huh?”
He moved towards me, trying to get me out of the downpour. My reaction was to kick his feet out from under him. I shook the earth beneath him, but he launched himself into the air. Before he landed, I managed to hit him with a weak blast of air that was just enough to send him to the mushy ground.
I tsked, “And here I thought you would be more of a challenge.”
He growled and rushed me. “And I thought you didn’t know anything about Naturtem.” He took a jab, but I swiveled around him and kicked his back. He landed face first in the mud.
“I may be practicing after school. I hope you like mud for breakfast.”
He spat once and rolled gracefully to his feet. “It’s not for me, but I think you would love it.” A sudden jolt from the Earth sent me to the ground. He was going to pay for that. He took cautious steps towards me and I took my chance, grasping his ankle and pulling. Hard. The boom of thunder muffled his scream of surprise. He glared and I just laughed at the mud on his face until his expression softened into one of defeat.
The water pelted Daris, darkening his hair and plastering it to his forehead. He looked at the sky as though he was expecting an answer, but none came. He then looked at me and my victorious smirk slid into an easy smile.
“Where the hell did you learn how to do that? I’ve only taught you the basics.”
“I only used the basics.”
Daris looked contemplative. “Perhaps it has something to do with you turning eighteen next week.”
I shrugged my shoulders and tried to rub some warmth into my arms. Daris suddenly seemed to notice the freezing rain. He wrapped his hands around my biceps and took one deep breath. I was consumed by the warmth that drove away the cold. “Let’s get you out of the rain and into a hot bath.” My response was a sneeze. Daris chuckled knowingly and led me inside.
“You just don’t want to admit that I beat you,” I muttered.
“We’ll talk about who’s beating whom when you start dealing with your powers. Besides, I was going easy on you.”
I fumed. “I know! You didn’t shoot anything at me. You barely fought me. All you did was upset my balance.”
“And if I had been fighting you like I normally do, then you would have stayed on the ground.” He paused, “Wait ‘til you turn eighteen. Then it gets fun. Until then, try to limit the amount of after school practice you do. You might hurt yourself.”
“I’m not a little kid.” I pouted.
“You might as well be.”
I glared.
“Trust me, you’ll understand when you get older.” He couldn’t keep the serious act going for long and we found ourselves laughing until we burst into my home.
The heat from the apartment joined that which Daris had given me, and I ran straight to the shower. I didn’t bother removing the clothes I had on; instead, I let
the fabric absorb the heat and transfer it into my being. I sighed in complete contentment, enjoying the hot water until I had to come out.
“Better?” Daris asked. His clothes were dry and he was eating an apple from the fruit bowl in the living room.
“Much. I wasn’t expecting the rain to hit until later today. I am surprised, however, that I didn’t hear it when I woke up.”
“That’s because it wasn’t raining until we started heading outside.”
“How are your clothes dry?”
“Magic.” He did jazz hands to go along with his tone and laughed at his antics. I stayed stone-faced.
“Really?” He pouted. “Not even a little funny?”
I smiled as I pulled on a jacket and grabbed a raincoat for school. Before heading back out the door. Daris followed. I jumped over the stair railing and cushioned my fall, Daris’s fall of protest following me down.
I shot him a smirk when I landed. “See you later!” I yelled as I ran off towards school.
The look in his eyes before I turned stayed with me the rest of the day.
The following Friday, I woke up dreading the day ahead of me. I was eighteen, or I would be in twelve hours and twenty-seven minutes. I slapped my forehead and dragged my hand down my face. My body rolled itself out of bed and padded across the scratchy carpet while my mind stayed behind, enjoying the peace brought upon by the quiet and the warmth beneath the covers. The rest of that morning went by in a blur, uneventful and meshing together. I got myself dressed, grabbed some breakfast, and was out the door without a second thought.
The walk to school was wet and heavy just like it was last week. The humidity from the sudden rain showers weighed me down. The clouds blocked any hope of the sun joining me on my stroll and the only light came from the dim streetlights. Rain began splashing the pavement. What a great way to start my eighteenth birthday.
The trek only ended when my eight-hour-prison came into sight, its inmates scurrying like ants into the gray building. At the front of the building, cowering pathetically under the cover of the overhang, were Camille and Melanie. They were dressed in bright reds and pinks and whites and stood out against the gray sky. It was as if Cupid vomited on them. Camille was holding a heart-shaped cake in her hands while talking up some guy on the football team— I think Drew was his name. Melanie was next to her, practically eating some other football player while somehow managing to keep the balloons around her from flying away in the wind.
I knew I would never be able to escape the attention; that was pointless. However, I could hope to sneak past them and deal with it later. Unfortunately, Camille spotted me just as I got under the roof. She ran over, her heels failing to trip her, with Melanie hot on her tail. They threw kisses to the boys behind them before nearly knocking me to the ground.
“Happy Birthday!”
At this proximity, they nearly made me deaf.
“Good morning.”
“Girl, it’s your eighteenth birthday and you’re not at all excited?” Camille asked, shocked.
“Should I be?” I yawned, wishing more than ever I had stayed in bed.
“Yes!”
“I’ve never enjoyed my birthdays and I don’t plan to start today,” I told them, “especially if I have to be around you two all day.” I finished under my breath. I looked up to see if they had heard me, but they were busy trying to contain their laughter.
“What did you do?”
“We may have a surprise for you later,” Melanie sang.
“How much later?”
“In about 3...2…1…now.” Camille ticked off her fingers until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to greet the person but couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to open my mouth against the damp lips that were forcefully pressed against mine. I smelled his overpowering cologne and it made me sick. The lack of air wasn’t helping.
The person slowly pulled back, and I realized what happened. Travis, the same Travis who spent his days catcalling me and practically begging to be hit, just kissed me; and judging by the squeals coming from behind me, this was the surprise. I wanted to throw up.
I opened and closed my mouth, desperately trying to convey how pissed I was, but no sound came out. However, I was sure one could hear the smoke coming out of my ears like a teakettle. My cheeks were feverish.
“Surprise!” I turned to look at Camille and Melanie. “We thought the perfect birthday present would be your first kiss!”
I took a gulp of air and managed to glare at them with such fury that they visibly shrank. “What the hell?” I shrieked. “Why would you get him to kiss me? Why would you let him anywhere near me when you know I hate him?” At this point, I was shocked the school hadn’t collapsed.
“Give the guy a chance, Sky. He wasn’t our first choice, but when the first guy said no, we realized Travis would be more than happy to do it since he’s been chasing you since forever.” Camille defended.
“Yeah,” Melanie chimed in, “the first guy looked like the best thing since makeup, but when we showed him your picture, he said he couldn’t do it and seemed to vanish. But Sky, you should’ve seen him.” Melanie’s eyes grew glassy as she recalled the memory.
“So,” Camille continued, “we kept hunting and found Travis here about to enter the school. When we told him about our idea, he was all for it.” I saw the guy in question smirk out of the corner of my eye. Why hadn’t he combusted by now? “The least you could do is say ‘Thank you’”.
“Thank you?” I was screaming so loud that my voice was cracking and my throat was beginning to get sore. My hands were balled tightly and it was taking everything in me not to hit all three of them. As my temper continued to get hotter, I was wondering why nothing was happening. The school should have been leveled by now.
“I don’t see what the big deal is, kitten,” Travis shrugged and I bristled, “it was just a kiss; I know you enjoyed it, no matter how hard you try to deny it.” He leaned closer to me and I could smell him again. I wanted to puke and slap his face until it was as black as his eyes. He wasn’t too much taller than me and had spiky, black hair that hung slightly over his eyes. He had this aura of mystery about him I didn’t trust.
I couldn’t help but compare him to Daris. Side by side, Daris would have been taller than him by a few inches whereas Travis had more bulk. Travis was also as pale as paper, a factor that was made even more prominent by his dark hair, soulless eyes, dark clothes, and black leather bracelet similar to Daris’s. The closer Travis got, the more I longed for blue eyes, dirty-blonde hair, and the smell of pine.
My hand flew through the air and made contact with Travis’s face, the sound echoing through the parking lot. The black mop snapped away and his hand immediately went to caress the cheek I brutally hit. He righted himself and looked at me with shock plastered on his face and anger in his eyes. I glared daggers at him and started walking away, feeling proud I finally hit him. I was not letting the day get any more miserable just because of some bastard who needed to be painted black and blue. As I walked through the halls, my only thought was Asshole’s gonna die.
At least, that was what I was thinking until I could have sworn I saw mischievous blue eyes dart around a corner. I wonder how much they saw.
The first half of the day went by fast and without further interruption by Camille and Melanie. I got several birthday wishes and enough flowers to cover my building. I accepted them without question and with tight smiles. The end of my decent day came at lunchtime. Camille stormed up to me, fury burning in her eyes, followed by a timid Melanie. I continued eating calmly.
She stopped at the entrance of the cafeteria. “Everybody. Out. Now!”
The students at the tables around me looked at each other before grabbing their trays and sprinting for their lives, but I stayed rooted. They filed out and I was left to wonder why the two girls in front of me were able to clear an entire section of the cafeteria. I like to think it was because no one wanted their lunch to be bothered by t
he two who were currently interrupting mine.
“Sky?” Camille took on her ‘better than thou’ voice, “why the hell did you slap Travis?” I said nothing, causing Camille to start twitching. Melanie sat next to me. “Get the fuck away from her, Mel! She just slapped a hot guy for kissing her!” Melanie shot out of the seat like it was on fire and ran to stand next to Camille. Still, I stayed quiet.
“Are you just going to sit there and do nothing?”
More silence.
“Say something!” she shrieked even louder.
“Go away.” My voice was barely audible, but in the empty cafeteria, it sounded like I just screamed into a microphone. The two stayed where they were, Camille tapping her foot on the tile.
“No. We gave you the best present, a kiss from a hot guy, and we don’t get a ‘thank you’?”
“No, you don’t.” My voice was hard, my eyes steel.
“Why? I could have easily taken him for myself, but I left him for you.”
Ugh. Leave me alone.
“Yeah, because you weren’t glued to what’s-his-face this morning,” I muttered. I looked at Camille when she put her hands on her hips, obviously expecting an answer. “Let me answer that with a series of other questions that even you should be able to understand.” Her fists tightened. “Why did you insist on planning me a party? Why did it have to be Valentine’s Day themed? Why did you ask the school player, the guy you know I despise-?”
“His name is Travis,” Camille interjected.
“It doesn’t matter! Why did you encourage him to kiss me?” Camille’s face became as twistedly sweet as a pack of Twizzlers.
“It’s so simple, Sky. It’s no rumor that popular people have to have smoking hot counterparts. There’s a reason why the football players are all attractive and why we choose to date them. It’s not for their brains or for sweet and gentleman-like they are. It’s for the appearance. You’ve been part of popularity for a while now and have yet to get a boy when they are dropping like flies at your feet. Here’s a hint: either step up or step out.” She flipped her hair and walked away. Two steps later, an apple slammed into the middle of her back.
Marked by Time (The Mark Series Book 1) Page 5