“Did they let classes out?” I asked.
“Yeah, a building blowing up kinda puts a damper on lessons…They’re saying you were at the pool with Daniel when it happened.”
“Are they?”
“Yeah. What were you doing down there?”
“Talking about pools,” I replied sarcastically.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just nag until you do,” she said.
I turned Daniel’s rock over in my hands. “We got into a discussion about Superman and the Shadow.”
“The Shadow? Who’s that?”
“Google him,” I said, too tired to explain.
“I will.” She paused pursing her lips.
That can’t be all they were doing down there. I mean the whole school knows Daniel has a crush on her. It’s pretty obvious. But I don’t know if she likes him back, not really. She’s so hard to read! I wonder if Daniel knows? I would hate for him not to act, because she’s afraid of falling for someone. Should I say something? Would she get offended?
My heart missed a couple of beats. She was going to ask something else about what we were doing down there when she noticed my face.
“What?”
“Nothing.” I rested my head in the palm of my hand and stared at the rock I held, twisting it slowly. Was she right and he liked me? Or was she just seeing the charm?
She shrugged. Weird reaction. “Was that all you were doing down there?”
Beyond Daniel stealing a kiss, and seeing some strange vision, which could have been from his childhood, and a fire that came out of nowhere? “Pretty much.”
The voices in my head cut off as quickly as when I turned off the radio when rap was playing. I looked up hopefully. He was walking toward us, his face serious, his wet hair plastered to his forehead. In his hands, he carried our bags. I looked at mine curiously, knowing I had left it in the girl’s locker room. He hadn’t gone in there had he?
Daniel smiled at me, but his eyes were guarded. “They said we could go provided we go in tomorrow and give our statements.”
“Okay,” I said gratefully.
“How’d you do that?” Alex asked him. She helped me stand, her breezy skirt billowing in the cool wind. Daniel didn’t try to help as we started walking towards the parking lot at the back of the school, avoiding the people who were assembled on the school’s hilly front yard. We both knew why.
“Magic,” I answered for him, pocketing the rock so he wouldn’t see I’d kept it.
“Huh?” She looked between the two of us, confused.
I shrugged, leaning on her arm for support. She moved her free arm to my waist, so I wouldn’t fall. Though Daniel didn’t try to help me, my aversion to his touch obvious, he kept a careful eye on us.
“How are you getting home?” Alex asked as we walked past rows of cars.
“I’m taking her,” Daniel said firmly.
“I thought so.” Alex smirked.
“I could walk,” I said.
“No,” they both said.
“You’re both bullies.”
“We know,” they said at the same time.
Grumbling at them, I suddenly wondered if the whole town had already heard about this, and how I would ever get any peace after today. The thoughts would be everywhere; inescapable and overwhelming. What I had experienced on my first day here would be doubled, tripled. Maybe I could convince Ellen into letting me home school myself. I stopped walking. What about Ellen? Would she be freaking out? How could I have not thought about her reaction?
Alex tried to keep walking, and I tried to stay still. I pitched forward from her tug and stumbled sideways, my exhaustion messing with my balance. Daniel dropped our bags and caught me before I could face plant on the asphalt. I started laughing, feeling slightly giddy from exhaustion and the bizarre morning. His hands were gentle as he steadied me. There were no visions, but I didn’t notice. All I noticed was the way his electric hands felt on my skin. His touch released some of the awkwardness between us.
“Sorry,” I said, trying not to giggle.
“Have you gone insane?” Daniel asked.
“You can’t go insane when you were already insane to begin with. That would be redundant.”
“True,” he agreed.
I started walking again, ignoring their concerned looks. I suppressed my giddy laughter with effort, knowing it was a merely a reflex after the turmoil of my morning.
“I need to call Ellen. She’ll have heard about what happened by now. I know she’ll be freaking out. She’s good at freaking out. She freaked out over an A-HA concert once. My eardrums were sore for a week.”
“She freaked over an A-HA concert?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, yes, she did.”
We reached Daniel’s Audi, and Alex opened the passenger door for me. Daniel got in the other side and pulled a phone out of the glove compartment. He handed it to me without a word, offering me the chance to call her. I looked at the phone wondering how he knew I never carried one. Ellen had bought me one, but I never could remember where I had put it last. Perhaps, he had noticed, or else he was just trying to be nice by letting me use his. Either way, I was grateful.
Alex smirked as he handed me the phone. “Have fun.” Before she shut the door, she gave me a stern look. “And get some rest.”
I stuck my tongue out at her as the door closed with a snap. She waved once before we pulled away, her face smug as if she had just cured world hunger.
“This might take a while,” I warned Daniel.
“That’s fine.”
I dialed Ellen’s number and waited. When she picked up, she sounded breathless. She had heard about the explosion and had been on her way out the door to come and check on me. I told her I was fine, that a friend was driving me home, and not to worry. It took me some time to convince her I hadn’t died, but I knew from experience all the right things to say to calm her down. Her fear lessened at my words, and she stopped talking at supersonic speed. At one point, I heard Sam in the background, and knew she had gone back to her desk to talk to me. I took that to be a good sign.
She still wanted to come home and check on me, but I told her that I would just be sleeping and that she didn’t have to miss work just because of me. Around the crying and the hysterics she agreed to stay at work for a while, so I could sleep, but promised to check on me soon. I hung up finally and found Daniel staring at me.
“What?” I asked handing him his phone back.
“I thought you didn’t lie?”
“I don’t,” I replied.
He smirked. “That was a lie.”
“What am I lying about?” I asked defensively.
“You’re not going to sleep. You’re going to make me answer your questions; that’s why you didn’t want her to come home.”
I blushed as he turned off the car. We had been idling at the corner in front of my house, the heat blasting from the vents. The second he turned the car off I remembered I was wet and tired, and really wanted a nap.
“Says the best liar I have ever met.”
“We’re not talking about me.”
“I do plan on sleeping, so that wasn’t a lie. Not telling the whole truth isn’t the same as lying though,” I explained.
“A lie is a lie,” he said seriously.
A motorcycle flashed past us in a roar of sound, cutting off my retort. The driver deftly pulled it along the curb in front of Daniel’s car and cut the engine. I noticed two tall figures on the impressive machine, both dressed from head to toe in black. As they stepped off the bike, Daniel’s face hardened, and he cursed.
“What?” I asked.
“Stay here for a moment.”
“You really need to stop bossing me around.” I crossed my arms, knowing how childish I sounded even as I said it.
Daniel looked daggers at me. He was obviously not in the mood. The dangerous look he was giving me – coupled with the wet hair plastered to his forehead – made his face look like a skeleton mask.
The only thing that stood out from his bleached skull was his vivid eyes. The black swirled into the green ominously. I pulled back, afraid, more afraid than I had ever been around him. The car was suddenly a prison. What happened if the blackness won? He obviously was thinking along the same lines. The fire faded in his eyes and his face turned apologetic. “Would it help if I said, ‘please’?” he asked.
I controlled my heavy breathing with effort. “Yes.”
“Stay here, please.”
“Okay.” I didn’t try to argue. I was too scared.
His wet clothes squeaking on the leather, he opened his door then slammed it shut again. He crossed in front of the car and went to meet two figures before they could approach the car. The pair took off their heavy motorcycle helmets, and I was able to make out their features for the first time. It was a girl and a guy, the girl being the driver of the bike. They looked odd against the stark realism of my very normal, old, house. Mainly, because I had never seen people that looked so…odd.
The guy had shoulder length blond hair, which framed his square face. His body was very tall and lean, but he looked overwhelmingly large – not just from his rippling muscles, but from the fact that his body never seemed to end. He had a demanding presence, which was hard to ignore. I could only imagine how demanding that presence would be close up. I knew I wouldn’t want to pick a fight with him any time soon.
The girl was as close to being a fairy as anyone I had ever seen. She had violet eyes and black hair, which hung to her waist in gentle waves. Like the man, she was very tall, but not nearly as large and never-ending.
They stepped over the curb and on to the short lawn of my house. Their eyes swept the neighborhood and Daniel’s car in dangerous alertness. The girl’s eyes kept coming back to me, as if I were the most dangerous thing on the block. The guy grinned at me as our eyes connected. The girl’s face remained expressionless, but her eyes circled with inky black.
Daniel stepped between me and them. I got the impression he was using his body as a buffer against what might happen in the coming seconds. Were they enemies?
After a moment, the girl stepped forward and raised her hand as if she was trying to give Daniel a high-five. Their hands met across the short space. There was a long moment while they stared into each other’s eyes, communicating wordlessly through their touch. Finally, she nodded, the black fire fading from her eyes. She dropped her hand slowly, her face changed. The anger had faded, but I saw an inexplicable fear.
Avoiding my eyes, she tugged on the blond boy’s hand to get him walking. Who were they? What was going on? At least none of the neighbors were spying on us today. They were all probably on their phones getting the news of the fire.
The guy winked at me, a mocking smile playing across his face before he turned away. He playfully hit Daniel on the arm as he passed, saying something I couldn’t hear. Daniel smiled briefly, but didn’t reply. The guy and girl climbed back on the massive motorcycle and the girl kicked the bike to life. A second later, they roared off down the street, blasting by me. Daniel returned and opened my door. He offered me a hand to help me stand, but I didn’t take it. Wanting to support myself, I pushed against the door.
“What the hell was that about?” I demanded.
“That was Margaret and Jackson. Friends of mine.”
“Friends of yours?”
“Is there an echo?”
“Why were they here?”
“I thought you were tired?”
“I am, but you can’t just act all weird and expect me to be okay with it! We’ve known each other for a while…how come I don’t know these friends? Who are they really? What happened at the pool? Why aren’t we dead?”
I leaned back against the door, fighting the tiredness, but resolved. What I had just witnessed was a catalyst to all the questions burning inside me. More questions fought to the surface as I searched for a way to voice them all before I forgot.
“Can we talk about this inside?” he asked quietly.
The desire to sit down tugged on my senses. I looked around the neighborhood trying to decide if I felt like letting him inside. I wasn’t sure how long the neighbors would stay occupied by their phones. Going inside would keep our conversation private at least…and I could sit down. It felt like the best option.
“Yes.”
I stomped across the yard and let myself in the front door. Daniel grabbed our bags out of the car and followed me in. He shut the door, carefully locking it. I started up the stairs, wanting to get out of my wet gym clothes and into something soft and warm. He followed, but I stopped him with a look.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m going to change.”
“Oh.” He looked around and hefted our bags. “Where can I do the same?”
I looked at him and felt some of my anger drain away. He had saved my life. The least I could do was let him change.
“Up here.” I took him up the stairs and flipped on the light to our bathroom. “You can use that towel.”
“Thanks,” he said, starting to peel off his shirt.
I retreated quickly. Before I made it to the relative safety of the hall, I noticed that what I’d seen in his biceps did carry over to the rest of his torso. I fled up my stairs to change, suddenly feeling awkward about him being in my house. Daniel and I had been in my house alone almost every day. I had felt comfortable with that. The tension, and certainly the attraction, had been there between us, but I’d kept them buried through bickering and our verbal playfulness. Now, that didn’t feel like enough. I sat down on my window seat, my legs no longer willing to support me, and began to peel off my wet clothes, thinking about the change. Deep down, I knew I had liked Daniel all along, but this felt like more than just ‘like’. It was as if he had reached into my chest and my head and peeled back the person I was inside, exposing my heart to all its vulnerabilities. I didn’t like it. It made me feel unraveled and out of control. It was the anti-Clare, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it.
I stood slowly and picked out a pair of pajamas, contemplating the changes. I got dressed facing the forest, looking out the window I had come to appreciate for the peace it offered. I felt as if the trees had some answer I was missing. As old as they were, surely, they had seen things like what had happened to me today?
“I knew it!”
I jumped and hurried to lower my shirt down. I spun and saw Daniel framed by the door.
“What the hell are you doing?!” I yelled at him.
He was in his typical blue jeans and t-shirt. His hair was a disheveled mess from where he had tried to towel it off. It framed his face in a way I had never seen it fall before. It made him look different; wild. I was too angry and worried he had seen my back to focus on the change.
“Making an intentional accident,” he said, his expression not wavering with my yell.
He stepped into my room and looked around in wonder. I had never let him up here, embarrassed by the mess which had quickly accumulated. Books and CDs littered the floor, along with the odd item of clothing.
I plucked up the bra I had hung over the bed banister and snapped angrily, “What does that mean?!”
“You said I’d never know where your tattoos were unless I learned by accident. Woops.”
He had been standing at my door longer than I thought. My face flooded with heat. How much had he seen?
“Don’t you think it’s a bit creepy sneaking up to a girl’s room like that?” I asked as I stuffed the bra and the shirts I’d picked up into my dresser. I slammed the drawer shut with more force than necessary.
One shoulder rose. “No.”
“Why? Because you don’t see me as a girl? Or because you don’t have manners?”
I was overreacting, but the tension between us had me on the defensive. I was worried my realization of my intense feelings would have me doing something impulsive, such as kissing him, or worse, confessing my feelings. He walked across the wood floor, quickly closing th
e distance. His eyes held mine as he walked.
When we were only inches apart, he said, “Believe me, Clare…I see you as a girl.”
I realized what he was doing. “That’s not fair.”
He stepped around me and went to my window seat, dispelling the magic of the moment. “What isn’t?”
“You were doing that charm thing on me again.”
“Maybe you were just seeing what you wanted to see.”
“Or maybe I was seeing what you wanted me to see,” I countered.
“Or maybe I’m being honest.”
“Are you sure that’s a word you know?”
He made a face and looked out at the swaying trees. I joined him on the bench, pulling my knees to my chest to protect myself from the emotions, a part of me afraid of him for all the wrong reasons – not the reasons that could get me killed, at least. I put my head against the window and closed my eyes to marshal my thoughts.
As I tried to find the words, I started shivering. Beyond being tired, I was cold, cold to the bone. I hugged my legs closer. Between shivers, I felt a blanket drape softly across my back. I opened my eyes. Daniel sat down again and curled his legs to his chest, mimicking how I was sitting. We looked at each other across the space.
“You sure are pretty when you’re tired,” he teased.
I looked away to hide my smile. “I think you’re just trying to make me not ask you what the heck happened today.” I paused, disconcerted. “Wait, you only think I’m pretty when I’m tired?”
“Yes.”
“Jerk…Explain,” I demanded, not feeling up to bickering with him anymore.
“I get to ask questions, too.”
“I know,” I agreed.
His eyes bored into mine, and I felt a strange pulse start between us. I saw worry behind his eyes as he searched for a way to begin. “Can I start my explanation by asking a question?”
“If it’s the easiest way for you to explain, then yes.”
There was a pause, and I felt the world shift. Something was about to happen Something major. I felt my brain trying to prepare me. Was I ready?
The Watchers Page 13