by Cyn Balog
It's strange how kids have always somehow been inexplicably drawn to Cam. But I didn't think he knew Gracie, or the Nelsons-at least, not very well. Gracie has always been a shy kid, ducking behind her mother's legs whenever I would say hello. But now, she's grinning at him like they're the best of friends. She reaches around his back and feels his shoulder blades, and they both break into laughter.
And meanwhile, Mrs. Nelson stands there in the grass. Smiling and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
She may be smiling, but she's also sobbing.
And that's when I realize what Cam's "assignments" are.
Chapter Thirty-nine
MORGAN! COME ON, I saved you a seat!" Eden calls from the top row of the bleachers. She's standing there in her green and gold Hawks sweatshirt, and she's wearing one of those atrocious giant foam cowboy hats. She turns toward the center of the gym as the marching band belts out the final few notes of our fight song, and screams a seemingly never-ending "Whoooooooo!"
Reluctantly, I climb up to her seat, noticing two more disgusting purple leech bites on her neck before I plop down and stick my fingers in my ears. Two weeks ago I would have killed to have a pep rally last period instead of English. Now, I think I would so much rather dissect Leaves of Grass than sit through this. I see Cam sitting a few rows ahead of me, a blank look on his face. The pink aura is surrounding him, as usual. He's not wearing his jersey, so it’s almost like he was never part of the team. I fully expect him to break into tears.
Eden grins and points at me. "Scab gave you a scab."
"Funny."
"What a jerk. I can’t believe I missed that" she says glumly. "So, has Cam talked to Scab at all since he was suspended?"
I shake my head. As if Cam has nothing else to worry about.
"Wow. That's so sad! They were, like, best friends."
I shrug, tapping my fingers on the bench. I check the clock. It's two. Time to get this show on the road.
Finally, Principal Edwards strolls up to a podium, and the cheering comes to an end. He lectures, seemingly forever, about how this year's Hawks are going to be the best ever, and I know Cam is wincing at the thought, though I can't see him from my seat. Then he begins to announce the team members.
Eden sways back and forth in her seat and says, "Wow, they really did kick Cam off the team, didn't they?"
I glare at her. "Who told you that? He quit."
She shrugs. "It's the rumor that he lost his arm. Is it true Pip is going to take his place?"
He's not taking his place with me, that's for sure, I think, craning my neck to see the cheerleaders on the sidelines. Sara has her platinum hair in a ponytail and is clapping for a wide receiver. She kicks her pencil-thin leg up so unnaturally high that she can almost kiss her knee. Gross.
"I can't wait for tonight!" she is blabbering as I watch the football players jog out like heroes in their green jerseys, waving and slapping each other on the backside. "You want to meet in the parking lot?"
Eden is obviously so love struck by Mike that, she's experiencing delusions. Like I would ever, ever go to this game. After all, my boyfriend was just disgraced into quitting the team. Or maybe he was, like the rumor goes, kicked off. What difference does it make? For the past few years. Cam has lived and breathed football, and now, it's over for him. He's obviously going through a very traumatic period and probably hates everything that has to do with the game. And I need to show my support by boycotting it. I am sure we both would have boycotted this pep rally, too, if it wouldn't have gotten us detention.
Eden is saying something, but it doesn't register until she's halfway through. "… really sucks that Cam isn't quarterback anymore, but, like you tell everyone when you tell them futures that aren't exactly great, you have to rise above it. Move on."
I turn to her, ready to spew, and then hold my tongue. She's right, of course. I've used the "move on" speech so often, it's permanently ingrained in my head. But it's easier said than done. I'm about to tell her that, when I realize they're about to announce the starting quarterback.
I'd expected all along to hear his name, but when it's finally out there, I instantly rocket out of my seat, fueled by the energy in the crowd. The applause builds to a roar, and Eden lets out a glass-breaking screech. My eyes go into overdrive, focusing in on the door to the boys' locker room. And there he is, in Cam's number 10 jersey, the Gap jeans I bought for him, and a pair of Nikes. He has a football in the crook of his arm. He won't look up at the crowd, so all I can see is the top of his head, all mussed up, like whipped peanut butter. I blink-can that really be Pip?-and when he takes a few steps, I know the answer. Swish-swish-swish.
Dragging his feet, he shuffles to the center of the gym. He gives a slight wave but somehow ends up popping the ball out from the cradle of his arm. It rolls onto the floor awkwardly for a moment, and he chases it about before recovering it. There are a few giggles from the audience, but when he waves again, the crowd grows louder. I still can't see his eyes, though. I can’t tell if he’s excited or scared to death.
Eden whistles and fans her face. "Oh, my God, he is such a hottie. I'll be his tight end any day."
"Whose?"
“Pip’s.”'
I squint at her. I think she said the same thing about Cam a few days ago, around the time she was laughing about the football team stealing Pip’s pants.
"These are our Hawks!" Principal Edwards announces to more applause, and the cheerleaders run out to the center of the gymnasium. They all seem to head for Pip, wrapping themselves around him until I can barely locate him in the mob. Then Sara does a cartwheel and bounds over, like a little kitten, pouring herself into his arms. I can see his face now, and there's a smile, a big one I don't think he’s ever shown me. She throws her head back and laughs, and he does the same. Have I ever heard him laugh? I watch as, despite the madness around them, they slowly bring their lips together, and-
Gah. What is Cam up to? I quickly switch my gaze to a couple of rows ahead of me, expecting to see him sitting there, silent, a lone tear running down his face.
Instead, he’s on his feet, hooting and hollering, pumping his fist in the air as the pink cloud swirls over his head. Not exactly heartbroken.
Well, he had mentioned something about moving on to his next thing. Maybe he’s past football. Maybe he’s taken up something that his little fairy body will be better able to handle, like crocheting or stamp collecting.
Or maybe something more. Much, much more.
Chapter Forty
I'M ON THE porch again, listening to the faraway voices of Laura from Little House on the Prairie wafting from my living room. It’s another warm night, and before, adults were walking past with strollers and mowing their lawns, and kids were shouting out in play. Even little Gracie was out, with her first pair of roller skates, Mrs. Nelson watching with eyes that never wanted to lose sight of her again. But the sun has long since set, and I'm sti
ll outside, still trying to read the first few pages of Leaves of Grass for class tomorrow. At this point, I'm one line into the first poem and confused, my mind completely lost on something that was happening only a few streets over.
Over the trees I could even see the glare of the stadium lights, casting the dark sky a gunmetal gray. And I could hear the cheering of the audience every so often in between Laura yelling for Ma or Pa. The crowd cheered a lot, so Pip probably did them proud and won the game. I bet he had the entire student body chanting his name. I'm sure the team picked him up on their shoulders and carried him around the field. Sara probably took him in for a passionate celebratory kiss on the fifty-yard line, while confetti floated around them.
Then the ending credits rolled and they lived happily ever after. Okay, so it probably wasn't that perfect, but the thought still makes me gag.
"Are you okay?"
I whip my head around and see a form standing on my lawn, in the darkness. Cam? It moves through the bushes, and at once, Pip’s features come into the light, his golden hair a mess, the purple bruise on his lip just an outline now. He is wearing an oversized Hawks T-shirt that shows off his powerful lower arms, and has a gym bag slung over his shoulder. The bulb overhead glows yellow in each of his eyes, and, since his mouth is still swollen, I can’t make out his expression.
"Fine," I answer, straightening. "You won the game, right?"
He nods. "How did you… Oh, that's right. Enchantress."
I shake my head. "I didn't envision it. I just knew. But why are you back so soon? Isn't there a celebration at the Parsonage?"
"Yes" he says, climbing the steps to the porch and hefting his heavy bag onto the ground. "But, you know- about tomorrow. I wanted to talk to you about it."
I squelch the desire to hear him tell me, "I rushed right home because I missed you," and say, "That's right. Are you ready?"
I move my bare feet from the glider, and he takes the seat next to me. "Yes. Are you?"
"I just want it to be over with." I sigh. "I think Dawn has been making me think and feel things that aren't real. I don't like it."
He wrinkles his nose. "But you told me you can see Cameron in his true form."
"Well, yeah, but other things…"
He looks confused. "That was a very powerful spell that Massif put on us humans, making us see Cameron as he once was. And you can see Dawn, even when she makes herself invisible. If you’re immune to those spells, you're probably immune to all Magic of Thought."
"Magic of Thought?"
"Making you perceive things that don't exist, or not perceive things that do."
"I guess, but…" I bite my tongue. If I'm immune to Magic of Thought then the feelings I've had for Pip are…
No. No. No.
"So, are you saying, hypothetically," I say, making sure that word is clear, "that a fairy probably couldn't, I don't know, get in your mind and make you think you were in love with someone?"
He laughs. "Not possible. I told you, fairies don't understand that kind of love. They surely couldn't concoct a love spell."
I freeze. My stomach starts to ache. Something inside me isn't working right. I stare at Leaves of Grass, unable to meet his gaze. I am an evil, evil girl.
He's going on, oblivious to the heart attack I'm having. "I believe Dawn is aware of everything."
The plan? My heart begins to beat faster, humming like a motor in my chest. "How do you know?"
He sits beside me on the glider and whispers in my ear, his cheek against mine, soft and begging to be kissed. "I came right here because before I left for the game, I heard Dawn talking to Cameron."
"And…"
"She told him that if she doesn't deliver him to Otherworld tomorrow night, Massif will kill her." He leans in still closer. "Why would she tell him that, unless she had a reason to believe he might not follow her to Otherworld?"
"Is it true? Will Massif kill her?"
His lips form a straight line. "Possibly."
"And you think that means she knows about our plan?"
"Yes. I think it means she's not going to let you stand in her way. No matter what Cameron says." He's so close that I can smell Cam's scent on his jersey, and it's hard not to lean into him. "She knows that you are the one thing that would make Cam stay in this world. If you're gone, he will have no reason to stay here."
I break out of the daze and suddenly feel cold. I'd imagined that maybe she would lock me in a basement until Cam was safely in Otherworld. Perhaps make it so that my mom's SUV broke down on the way to the party. But this… this means…
"You think she's going to try to kill me?"
He nods.
"But how? You said I'm immune to her magic."
His face is stone. "That doesn't make you invincible."
"No, of course not. But Cam wouldn't let that happen. He said lie would kill her if she hurt me."
"Dawn’s only mission in life is to deliver him to Otherworld. She will die if she doesn't make this happen. And I doubt Massif would allow Cameron to harm her. He wants their kingdoms to unite."
"But if I’m dead, Cam would never go back to Otherworld. He'd hate Dawn forever. He'd stay here, just out of spite."
He shakes his head. "I don't think he would."
Anger wells inside me. "How do you know? You don't know Cam."
"But I do know what it is like to be different, to be an outcast," he says softly. "And if Cameron stays here past his sixteenth birthday, Massif will no longer protect him. His spell will be broken. The one he put over all humans. The one you are immune to."
"So, everyone will see him as he is? Wings and ears and… everything?"
He nods.
My heart stops.
"Cam doesn't care how he looks," I say, but even as the words come out, I know that he does. After all, that was the reason he'd been moping about day after day, feeling useless. But would he really rather spend an eternity married to a demented fairy than live in this world? If I weren't around to protect him, maybe. "And what about his powers?"
"They will be gone."
I bite my tongue. The only thing that has made Cam smile in the past few days is the fact that he's found his next thing. That he is useful. Would he really want to give that up for me? Wouldn't he be crazy to even consider that?
Finally, I ask, "Do you think we shouldn't go through with this?"
"No, not at all." And then those eyes, afire in the light from above, focus on me, completely serious and warning. "But I want you to be safe."
I swallow, breathless. I do a mental inventory and realize that the only thing between me and a painful death is a powerless fairy and a guy who has been known to pee his pants at the sight of anything with wings. Not good. I shiver, wishing I'd taken some sort of martial arts course.
"I just want everyone to be happy," I murmur. "And it seems like, whatever happens, someone is going to suffer."
Pip notices that I'm trembling and puts an arm around my shoulder. It feels nice, and strangely familiar. He looks across the st
reet, into the black night. "What-" he begins. It’s a full minute before he starts up again. "What thoughts were you having? The ones you believed the fairies were making you think?"
"Um. Nothing." As if I’d ever let him know about those. Goose bumps appear on my arms, and I have to rub them away. "What do you think about this? Do you think Cam can still be happy here?"
"Of course. He has you."
"But he won’t have any powers. He'll be five feet tall, with pointed ears and wings. And completely useless."
"Fairies rarely grow over four feet tall," he points out.
I sigh. "Even better. At first, Cam might be okay with it. But eventually, it will eat away at him. People are cruel to those who are different. You know that."
"But he will still have you."
Yes, but will he? What if Dawn is planning something? What if she is planning to kill me?
Pip gives me a cautious smile, then stands and hefts his bag higher onto his shoulder. "Watch out for yourself, enchantress. And keep your windows closed tonight."
The way he says it, it makes me shiver. I watch him disappear into the darkness between the bushes, then kick aside Leaves of Grass and stare up at the blue-black sky. Out of the comer of my eye, I think I see a pink aura floating in the light of the porch. When I turn to face it, it’s gone. And something tells me it’s going to be a very long night.
Chapter Forty-one