Neither

by Chelsea M. Cameron

  “I mean, even if I do crappy the rest of the year, they're all going to give me A's. It doesn't seem fair, but I don't know what to do about it. I mean, I would really, really like to not have to study for finals.”

  Mom and Dad do that silent conversation thing and it reminds me of Rasha and Kamir.

  “I think you should take whatever they will give you. You have far more to deal with than anyone your age should. Take the help.”

  “It feels like cheating. Other people have bad lives and they don't get free passes.”

  “Life isn't fair, baby. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take something when it's handed to you.”

  “You didn't call the school and tell them, did you?”

  “I didn't have to. I'm sure Mae or Liz told someone and it got out pretty fast.” The flowers are still all around the house, but they are starting to wilt, drooping in their plastic vases.

  “Great.”

  “Don't worry, Ava-Claire. It'll work out, okay? You just have to believe that.” She sounds like Peter.

  “Okay.” It's easier than talking myself into circles again. “So you think I should do it?”

  “Why not? Then I can help you with your projects. It'll be more fun. Remember the colonial costume?”

  “How could I forget?” In fourth grade we did a unit on Colonial Living. Of course I did mine on the herbs and edible plants the colonists grew, but Mom also sewed me a costume complete with a muslin shirt and wool skirt. It was hot as hell, but I got an A.

  “I am not wearing that stupid cap again.”

  She fluffs my hair. “Oh come on, you looked adorable.” Tex had also laughed about that hat for weeks afterward.

  “Is Peter coming over?”

  “Don't think so. He's got finals to study for, too.”

  “What a good boy,” Mom says.

  “He is.” Too good sometimes.

  ***

  I take a little nap before our meeting, but it seems like seconds later Peter is gently shaking my shoulder.

  “They are here.”

  “Okay, I'm up.” I slept curled on his chest, but somehow I twisted my back so I have to stretch to get my spine back in line.

  “Give me a jolt,” I say, holding out my hands. He gives me a happy zap and I instantly feel better. “Dude, you could sell that stuff on the black market. Thanks.” I flex my hands and roll my way into a standing position. I hold out my arms and he scoops me up.

  “Anytime.”

  “Are the lights off downstairs?”

  Peter looks out the window. “Yes.”

  He walks out on the roof, wings out. Normally he runs down the edge of the overhang and takes to the air, but we're going straight down.

  “Ready?” he says.

  “More or less.”

  He steps off the roof and for a second we hang in the air before falling to the ground. Everything inside me screams that this is wrong, that I'm going to die, but then there is a thump and we're on solid ground.

  “You can open your eyes.” I do and we're good. Peter sets me down, but makes sure I'm steady before he starts walking.

  I hear a weird sound that reminds me of a wounded bird.

  “Nice try Tex,” I say.

  “What? I thought we should have one of those signals. You know, to say that it's safe and all.”

  “Safe from what?”

  “You're no fun, Ava.”

  Finally they come into view. Tex is cross-legged on the ground, Viktor is leaning against a tree and Helena is sitting in a tree on a branch that doesn't look like it is going to support her weight.

  “A gavel! We should have a gavel,” Tex says, snapping her fingers. “I now call this meeting of humans and noctali to order.” She slams her hand on the ground. “First order of business: What to do about Jamie and his new friend.”

  “If I may have the floor?” Helena says, dropping out of the tree without a sound. “I think we should let them be for now. If she thinks that we're suspicious, which she already does, then she's going to run. Or do something rash. She's young and impulsive, and if she panics, something could happen to him. So, I will watch them and see what else I can learn. My parents are also going to keep an eye on her and see what they can find out.”

  Speaking of Rasha and Kamir... “Where are they?” I ask.

  “Around,” she says. Oookkaaayyy.

  “What have you learned so far?” I ask.

  “That he is attached to her, and she is very protective of him. I know that she was trying to lure him with the story about being broken down on the side of the road. She's here for something, but I don't know what it is yet and she's not talking.”

  “Oh my God,” I say, having an epiphany. “Di. She's here because of Di.” How has this not occurred to me immediately? It's so obvious.

  “The bind we made said she could not send anyone to harm you.”

  “Right, but we didn't stipulate harming people I love!” How could we have been so stupid? Di could hold my entire family hostage if she wants to. “What if Cal's watching us right now?” I look around frantically. Peter takes my face in his hands so I'll stop moving. “Oh, God,” I say, sinking to the ground. “She's going to kill him.”

  “If she were going to kill him, she would have done it already.” I said the exact same thing to Peter when we first met.

  “How can you be sure? Maybe this is all part of her evil plan,” I say.

  “I don't think so,” Helena says. “I did a little fishing, and as far as I can tell, she doesn't know who Di is.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I am good at spotting lies,” she says. I bet she is.

  “You are absolutely sure?”

  She holds up her hand. “I would promise if I could.”

  “God, Ava. Freak out a little,” Tex says, leaning back on her elbows and squinting at the stars. “You are really getting paranoid.”

  “I have to be!” I say, a little too loudly. Peter clamps his hand over my mouth and we all freeze, glancing back at the house to see if the lights will go on. They don't so we all relax.

  “See? You need to take a chill pill.”

  It is so easy for Tex. Like a game. She doesn’t have a crazy jealous immortal out to kill her. Then she'd be singing a different tune.

  “So is the consensus that we do nothing until further information has been gathered?” Tex says.

  “I think that is the wisest course of action. We will watch her and Jamie and act if we have to,” Helena says.

  “Don't let her kill him or Claim him, please. That's all I'm asking,” I say.

  “We will do our best,” Helena says. “And with that, I should get back to my guard duty. See you tomorrow.” She blows us a kiss and is off.

  “So we're doing nothing. Again. That is not a course of action,” I say.

  “We shouldn't scare her. New noctali can be volatile, much like newly Claimed humans,” Viktor says.

  I give Tex a look.

  “What? I'm not volatile.”

  I roll my eyes. How quickly she forgets. “You punched Jamie when he said he didn't like Dirty Dancing.”

  “You threw those boxes this afternoon, and there was that customer as well,” Viktor says, and Tex smacks him on the arm.

  “You weren't supposed to say anything about that.”

  “I am sorry.” He definitely isn't.

  “Well, now you have to tell us,” I say, grateful for the non-serious turn of conversation.

  Tex goes on to explain that there were some boxes that weren't cooperating with her, so she went on a rampage and chucked them all around the stock room, and when a customer was snippy with her, she lunged and almost throttled them.

  “Luckily this guy was around, so I didn't do it. Mom would have had a litter of kittens. Speaking of moms, how is yours? I heard everyone talking about it today.”

  “She's okay.”

  “How are you dealing?”

  “Well, it seems as if every teacher has
decided to give me a pity pass on my finals,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “Shut up.”

  “It's true.”

  “Not fair.”

  Is she kidding? “Uh, Tex?”

  Her eyes fly wide as she realizes her mistake. “Crap, sorry. That was mean.” She comes over to give me a hug. “I'm not good at being sensitive.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Hey! I'm getting better.”

  I glance at Peter, and he and Viktor are watching our interaction like we're interesting animals in a zoo.

  “Hey, don't stare. It's rude,” Tex snaps.

  “I was not staring. I was studying the fascinating behavior of the American teenage girl,” Viktor says.

  “Haha.”

  Tex lets me go and we sit down on the grass again. “I'm still worried about Jamie. He's never been this mad at me,” I say.

  “He'll get over it,” Tex says. That doesn't help.

  “Remember how I wanted to get his truck painted? I should do that.”

  “Do you have the money for that?”

  “Not really.”

  “I do,” Viktor says.

  “What?” Tex and I say at the same time.

  “I sell things online. It is a steady stream of income for when I need it.”

  “Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?” Tex says, getting up and standing right in his face.

  “I didn't think you'd care about something so trivial.” That makes Tex back down.

  “Well, I don't. Um, it just would have been good to know. I guess. Not that I would care about something like that. Like, at all.” Subtle, Tex. Real subtle.

  “If you want some of it, you can have it,” he says.

  Tex backpedals. “I'm not asking for your money. I was just curious.”

  I turn my attention back to Viktor. “It's pretty expensive. Are you sure about that?” I have most of the money, but I could use a couple hundred more. I'm fishing to see how much he's got. I mean Peter's got crap in his trunk that would fetch thousands of dollars at auction. Still, it would be interesting to know just how much.

  “You can have what you need. I don't have much use for it.”

  “Wow, Viktor, thanks. I really appreciate that. It means a lot.”

  “What a nice boy you are,” Tex says, smiling at him. She tips her face up as if she's asking for a kiss. He leans his face down, as if he's considering it. Wow, that was fast. I give Peter a look and he blinks. Meh, I guess it was bound to happen.

  “Well, I need to get to bed,” I say, giving a fake yawn. I put my arms up and Peter takes me into his arms for the trip back through my window.

  “See you tomorrow,” Tex says, not looking away from Viktor.

  “Okay,” I say, shaking my head.

  ***

  “Love is in the air,” I say when we're back in my room. “Has everyone taken love drugs?”

  “It would appear that way.”

  “So can you help me with Jamie? I really want to do this for him. Sort of as an apology.”

  “You don't need to apologize, but yes, I will help you. Just tell me what I need to do.”

  “I need you to take me to his house so we can commandeer it.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Cool.” I leave the window open, letting in the cool night air. “You're a lifesaver.”

  “Not really.”

  “Haha. You're funny tonight.”

  “I try.”

  “You win.”

  “I do,” he says, kissing me.

  Seventeen

  Peter

  The rest of the week is uneventful, which is a nice break for Ava. She has been so stressed with everything; it is good to give her some time to be human. Her teachers compile all her schoolwork for the rest of the year, and I start helping her with it.

  Helena continues to watch Jamie and Brooke. Every night she comes to give us a report, but all they do is spend time together and talk. They are aware that Helena is following them, but seem unperturbed by it. Helena comes to see me again, and we agree that the Di plan will be on hold until the Brooke situation becomes clearer.

  Ava and her father plan a trip to visit Claire's childhood home for that Sunday, and the appointment for Jamie's truck is on Saturday. Texas gets in on the plan, offering to distract Jamie. I am not sure how she means to go about that, but she assures us that she can do it.

  “I'm really good at distractions. Trust me.”

  “Okay, if you say so,” Ava says. She has tried to call him several times and talk to him at school, but he is still angry.

  “I hope this will help,” she says on Friday night. I am having a date with her on the couch, watching a movie from the 1980s called Stand By Me. “This is Jamie's favorite movie. Even though he'd never admit it in public. He has to be all manly and say some action movie.”

  “He'll come back to you.”

  “I've been thinking,” she says, looking up at me through her lashes. “Could you talk to him? I've tried and it hasn't worked, but maybe if you did?”

  “I will try for you.” I am not sure it will do any good, but if she wants me to talk to him, I will talk to him.

  “Do you want to go tomorrow?”

  “Well, I thought we could do it when we return his car. I hope he doesn't call the cops or anything. I hope Tex's distraction works. Whatever it is,” Ava says.

  “It will probably be something spectacular. She doesn't do anything by halves,” I say.

  “No, she doesn't.” I have rarely seen a human who went full steam ahead like her. I would not want to be her Claimed. It would require a lot of emotion absorbing.

  “So you'll do it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thanks, baby.” She kisses my cheek. She is more open with endearments when her parents are around. I like it when she calls me by them.

  “You're welcome, baby.” I kiss her back.

  “Hey now,” Claire says from the kitchen. For a human, she certainly has good intuition about when her daughter's lips are on mine.

  “We're just kissing,” Ava calls. “Tell her, Peter.”

  “We are kissing,” I say.

  “Let me see your hands,” she says. Ava and I raise our hands in the air. “Okay, okay. I just have to do my mom thing.”

  Ava laughs and settles against my chest, and we lose ourselves in the movie again.

  The next morning Ava gets into her car to pick me up for a date. She tells her mother that we are hanging out with Jamie. Her aunt Jenny is coming over that evening for dinner, so Claire reminds her to be back by then and to invite me. The last time I met her aunt was interesting. I'm not sure if I am looking forward to it or not.

  “I'm nervous,” she says when I get in the car at the end of the driveway.

  “I know.” Her emotions sizzle, and I try to absorb as much as I can.

  Her phone vibrates with a message from Texas.

  “She's on her way to Jamie's house. She says we can get the truck in ten minutes. God, what is she up to?”

  “We shall see.”

  Ava parks her car in an abandoned driveway not far from Jamie's house. This is the poorer part of Sussex, with a lot of smaller and more run-down homes. I put her in my arms and we run through the woods to the back of the house, staying under cover of the trees. Jamie's truck is the only one in the driveway, and there is one person in the house, but there is one person and one noctalis in the front yard.

  “Jamie! Get out here!” Texas yells.

  “What the hell, Tex?” he says, coming out of the house.

  “Brooke isn't here,” Ava whispers to me as we watch the action at the front of the house.

  “You're coming with us. Right now,” Texas says.

  “No way. Get out of here.”

  Texas crosses her arms and stamps her foot. “I'm not taking no for an answer. Get in the damn car.” She points at it.

  “Tex, go away.”

  “I swear, if you don't get in this car
right now, my Russian is going to throw you over his shoulder and put you in it.”

  “Do not make me do that,” Viktor says.

  “Fine! Fine.”

  Jamie goes down the steps and gets in the car, and Texas kicks up the gravel in the driveway as she speeds away.

  Ava stares at me, bewildered. “Really? That was her plan? Kidnapping him?”

  “It worked,” I say. She considers for a moment.

  “True.”

  We walk to the truck, but the keys aren't in it.

  “Hold on,” Ava says, going into the house. She comes back moments later with his keys. “I'm glad they were easy to find. God, that house gives me the shivers. Like the negative energy seeped into the walls or something.” She rubs her arms as if she's cold. I take her hand and give her some happy energy. “Thanks, babe.”

  “Anything for my girl.”

  “I like being your girl,” she says. “Would I still be your girl even if I wasn't human?”

  “You'll always be mine, human or not.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “I like thinking I belong to you.”

  It is not in a possessive way. I simply meant that she will always belong to me as the one girl, human or otherwise that is mine. That I can... No. I can’t think the word, or let myself feel it.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I am fine.”

  Close. I am getting close to the flame that will end my existence. I will have to be careful.

  Ava

  Peter drives my car to the car place and I drive Jamie's truck. He takes me out to lunch and we walk around Brunswick while we wait. He holds my hand, lets me steal kisses and makes me laugh. We sit in the park and watch people play with their dogs.

  “This is a nice human afternoon,” I say, my head on his shoulder and his arm around me.

  “I like our human time.”

  “Me, too. I wish it could be like this all the time,” I say without thinking.

  “Do you wish I were human?”

  “No! I didn't mean that. I love you and who you are. I just meant —” He silences me with a finger on my lips.