Heidi’s cheeks were heating up with a blush from her embarrassment. She wasn’t willing to admit that sometimes her emotions got the better of her. But if he didn’t instigate these silly little arguments-she’d be just fine! Stupid boy. She quickly reached down for some napkins, wanting to clean up her mess, but it was much to her horror that as her fingertips touched the paper thin material, it burst into flames.
Isaiah was quick to react. He reached his hand out to cover hers above the napkin and she could feel the cool sensation that ran over her knuckles. All that emitted from between their fingertips was steam. Heidi lifted her eyes to meet his and she had to look away quickly. It was humiliating to lose control like that. She didn’t mean to. Sometimes her body just did things on its own whether she wanted that to happen or not. But maybe her body was aware of how much she couldn’t stand Isaiah.
“I just saved your ass,” He said lowly, pulling his hand away from hers as he glanced around. He shifted in his seat, straightening up before he lifted that same hand and ran his fingers through his hair. “This place could quite possibly be in flames by now. You’re welcome.”
It felt as if fire was running through her veins as she heard his words. How dare him! Heidi stood up abruptly, reaching down for her books before snatching them up and crushing them to her chest. She never had control issues until she was around him. This was his fault. It was always his fault!
“I did not thank you,” She said quietly. She turned quickly, making her way out of the diner before he had the opportunity to say anything else.
3
She didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want to hear anything he had to say about her control issues. As if Warmers were the only ones who had a problem with their feelings influencing what their natural given powers could do!
If she was recalling correctly, thousands of unscheduled blizzards had taken place thanks to Icers who were upset. Even Breezers were guilty of causing destruction to innocents when they were having a particularly bad day.
“Ridiculous,” She mumbled under her breath as she began her voyage back towards her dorm. She was thankful that the diner was on campus. She didn’t want to put up with the cold air much more than she had to. It was too cold for her liking.
She would pay him back come spring time though. It would be the warmest spring that the humans had ever experienced. She would make sure of it! Icers weren’t particularly fond of the heat either, and she was going to use that to her advantage.
But would it truly be fair to make the humans suffer from one stupid boy’s mistake?
Great. This was not the time for her conscience to kick in. Isaiah had no issue with ignoring his! Was there some sort of off switch she could hit?
The humans don’t deserve to be put through whatever little spat you’re having with Isaiah. Settle it in a different way. Wait until you return home and you can torture him however you like.
She sighed, watching as her breath escaped her lips and formed into a large puff of steam. She shivered, hugging her coat tighter against her small frame as she trekked through the inches of snow, making her way back towards the large brick building. It was warm in there, and she knew it.
There was a sudden gust of cold wind, and it chilled Heidi to the bone. She hugged her coat more tightly around her body, attempting to block that iced air from reaching her body as she tried to duck her face down behind the scarf she was wearing. Where had that come from? This wasn’t a windy place.
She shivered, clamping her mouth shut as her teeth began to chatter. She was almost there. Just a few more yards and she would be in the warmth of the building. Soon after that, she would be in the warmth of her bed. She could sleep away the nightmare that today had become. Isaiah made her life a living hell and she wasn’t sure why. She never tried to do that to him. He tempted her to be just as spiteful. She was certain she was capable of it. But then her conscience would kick in; something he obviously did not have. That was the difference between icers and warmers; warmers felt guilty when bad things happened.
Another gust of cold air was stinging at her face and Heidi shut her eyes tightly as the snow swept past her. She stopped for a moment, lifting a gloved hand to shield her eyes and cheeks as the whistle of the wind reached her ears. She hadn’t expected wind like that today. Isaiah couldn’t be responsible for wind like that…
“Ah, sorry!” Came a sudden cheerful voice, causing Heidi to whirl around and nearly fall over as her feet sank into the snow once more. Lowering her hand, Heidi saw a boy around her height with a big smile. No one was that cheerful around here.
She immediately noticed how sparkly his eyes were, along with the bright redness of his nose and cheeks. He wore a dark blue beanie over rather scraggly brown hair and the tops of his ears were poking out from between the strands. He was cute. He started his trek through the snow, approaching her as he glanced up at the sky.
“Do you think it’s going to stop anytime soon?” He asked, lowering his eyes back to her face. His irises were dark blue, and beautiful. She had never seen eyes like his before. But then she remembered she was supposed to be replying and not checking him out, so that’s what she did.
“I don’t think so,” She replied as she shoved her hands back into the warmth of her jacket pockets. “I think someone must have taken a leak in Jack Frost’s Wheaties this morning.”
And she meant that. Oh yes, she meant it. Isaiah was being an annoying jerk and was only prolonging this blizzard because he knew how much it would bother her. How mature.
“Ah, well,” The guy shrugged as he pulled a naked hand from his own coat pockets, adjusting the bright red scarf around his neck before he grinned. “S’ppose there’s nothing wrong with a bit of snow every now and then. At least we have heat?”
He honestly had no idea. Heidi smiled back at him as he moved his hand away from the scarf, holding it out, palm up in an attempt to catch a snowflake. She was sure of one thing. He did not match. The blue beanie, no matter how warm it looked, did not belong with that green jacket. The red scarf was sticking out like a sore thumb with his ensemble, but if it kept him warm-so be it.
She was sure she probably didn’t look any better in her bright red pea coat and her purple gloves. She loved her gloves. At least the darker red scarf did match her coat.
“Name’s Brison,” He stated after another moment, thrusting his hand forward for a handshake.
“Heidi,” She replied, taking his hand into her gloved one and giving it a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Brison.”
What an unusual name. And what an unusual accent. Where was it from?
“Pleasure’s all mine, Missy,” He winked. “Just came down from Australia about a week ago. I can’t say I enjoy the cold, but I sure love seein’ the snow.”
Heidi nodded in understanding. She wasn’t too familiar with Australia, but she knew that in some places snow just wasn’t as frequent-or sometimes did not exist at all. Maybe he was from one of those places.
“Where abouts are you from?” He questioned, squinting one eye as he gazed at her.
“Um..” She hadn’t really thought about that. She had listed Chicago, hadn’t she? She didn’t even sound like she was from there, but it had been the only city that popped into her mind when she filled out her application. Oh, how stupid! Why couldn’t she keep things straight? If she was going to portray a human being, then she had to make it seem as legitimate as possible.
“Illinois,” She finally said. She added in a smile in hopes that he wouldn’t ask her anything more about it. She had never been to Chicago. She didn’t know anything about Chicago aside from Michael Jordan and a musical movie that starred the guy from Pretty Woman.
“Ah! I know where Illinois is,” He replied excitedly. “It’s on my list of places to visit while I’m in the states.”
“That’s..awesome,” She said, a bit awkwardly. This wasn’t going well. She didn’t talk to many people here. She spoke to her roommate from time to time,
but thankfully her roommate was normally out with her boyfriend and didn’t come home until Heidi was already in bed. Why did humans find communication to be so important anyway?
“Yeah, I’d like to think so,” He nodded, glancing up at the sky again. “S’really cold out here.”
No duh.
“Are you heading to class?”
“No, just my dorm,” Heidi responded as she glanced down at her boots. She could only see the very tops of them, which rested just below her knees. The snow was getting deeper it seemed, but at least the wind had stopped. She couldn’t feel her toes though and her nose had become numb ages ago. Why did he insist on having this conversation outside?
“Ah, the elusive ladies’ dorm,” He smirked, wiggling a brow. “What do you Sheilas do in there, anyway? Is it really all about running about in your tighty whities and practicing kissing?”
Heidi stared at him, horrified, but then she blinked. “I’m sorry..Sheilas?”
“Oh, right. Sorry. That’s what we call women where I’m from. You’re a Sheila.”
Right then. That was weird. But she understood that different places had different words for everything. She was a bit worried about his curiosity of women undressing and kissing one another, though was that not how a man’s thought process worked?
It was only when Brison smiled again that Heidi realized the power of a human male’s charm. Was this what attraction felt like? There was warmth bursting inside of her and it made her tingle. She knew that the snow had nothing to do with that feeling. He wasn’t bad looking…
“There you are!”
Oh no.
Heidi turned her head to see the undeniably tall lanky figure that could only be Isaiah. He was making his way towards them, wearing nothing but a light jacket. He wasn’t wearing anything to keep his head warm-and while she understood he didn’t actually need it, he did need to fit in here. Gallivanting around like an idiot was not going to help anything.
“I’ve been looking all over for you, Heidikin,” He stated as he stopped right beside of her. His piercing light blue eyes were on the other male, as if he were sizing him up. “Who are you?”
“Isaiah, don’t be rude!” Heidi exclaimed, frowning as she gazed towards Brison. “I’m so sorry. He doesn’t have any manners.”
“Says the girl who walked out during our date,” Isaiah replied with a smirk.
“Ah,” Brison blinked, staring between Heidi and Isaiah. “So…you’re her boyfriend?” He questioned.
They spoke simultaneously and Heidi couldn’t have been more infuriated.
“Absolutely not,” She said.
“I might be,” Isaiah muttered.
Brison’s eyebrows shot up, disappearing beneath his beanie as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Well, I most certainly didn’t mean to step on any toes here, Mate. I was just introducing myself to the pretty girl. I’m new around here and I didn’t figure it would hurt to make friends.”
Heidi felt like she could die. Her face was on fire as she watched Isaiah straightening up to his full height, easily towering over the other male.
Please don’t do anything stupid, you egotistical liar, She silently pleaded.
“Well then, Mate,” Isaiah retorted, “I suggest you start with the most basic of places. The campus cafeteria is where all the kids hang out after class.”
It felt so awkward. Heidi could feel the tension rising in the cold air and she didn’t think a knife could even cut through it.
Brison didn’t seem to be bothered by Isaiah’s sarcastic tone as he gazed back at Heidi. Their eyes connected and Heidi felt it again. Whatever it was.
“Well then,” He started. “In that case, I’ll be making my way to the cafeteria,” He grinned a bit. It was a crooked grin, but Heidi found it to be most appealing. “I’ll see you later, Heidi.”
As he began to make his way past them towards the main campus, Heidi watched his retreating back briefly before she raised her hand and smacked Isaiah’s shoulder.
“What is wrong with you?” She asked. “He was just being nice!”
“He was not,” Isaiah argued with a roll of his eyes. “He was hitting on you and it was disgusting to witness. I was saving you from the embarrassment of making a fool of yourself.”
“A fool of myself?” She exclaimed. “Oh, I don’t need to do that for myself. You do it for me just fine. Dating?! We are not dating! I hate you.”
“I hate you, too, but why would I deprive myself of being able to watch you squirm in front of that cockie?”
“Cockie? I don’t even know what that means! It sounds stupid.”
“Cockie means cockroach in Austalia, Heidi. There’s your lesson for the day,” He pointed a finger at her. “You don’t know anything about this world or the people who live here. Just like your family, you’ve only ever sit up there on your high pedestals and done the work that needed to be done. You’ve never even attempted to be here before. You honestly think you can make it believable that you’re from, where was it? Illinois?”
Heidi’s face was getting hot. He was making her angry, but it was probably what he wanted. He was making a mistake. “Chicago, Illinois,” She replied.
“And what do you know of Chicago, Illinois? Huh?” He rolled his eyes. “You’ve never been there. If someone asked you what the weather was like back home, you would probably tell them it was sunny and beautiful.”
She hated him so much. Why was he putting the spotlight on her like this? Why was he trying to make her feel stupid? She chewed her bottom lip for a moment, brows furrowed as she hugged her arms around herself.
“..Is it not?” She asked.
“Not really,” He replied. “It’s the Windy city. It’s cold there right now. You wouldn’t like it, Toaster. It’s not your sort of climate.”
He just had to go calling her another name, didn’t he? Stupid icer.
“What exactly is my sort of climate, huh?”
“Warm places, Heidikin. Florida or Texas would be more suiting for you. Even Arizona. But you wouldn’t know that because you’re not from here. You’ve never been on Earth before. You know why that is?”
She didn’t want to answer him. She didn’t want to humor his little escapade of trying to make her feel stupid. But he answered it for her.
“It’s because your people think you’re better than the people here. That’s why,” He replied. “You think that my kind is snobby and we consider ourselves to be above others?” He blinked, pausing. “Well, we do. But at least we’ve been here. At least I have some knowledge of how the humans operate. You think if you dress like them and act like them, you can pass as one. But you can’t.”
He took a step back from her, glancing around before his eyes fell upon her face again. She remained silent, fuming, as he shrugged. “You’re dumber than a clan of dirties if you think you can attempt hobnobbing with a human boy,” He turned to walk away but stopped, turning around again with his hands in the air. “And he’s ugly, by the way. If you’re going to try to fornicate with one of ‘em, at least find one as good looking as me.”
Her jaw dropped. How could he say that?! She didn’t have time to so much as insult him as he walked away. The snow became thicker, heavier as it fell to the Earth. It was a dead give-away that he was angry. She didn’t care. Let him be angry. He was stupid and dumb and childish to boot. Oh, she loathed him. She loathed him so much!
But what Heidi didn’t realize was that was a very human reaction. She just hadn’t experienced jealousy yet.
4
The snow eventually melted away. The students who ran the morning radio show had debated over it all morning long. The freak snow storm that had wreaked havoc on their campus town for nearly a week had everyone talking. It was January and of course, snowy weather was not anything new; but never to the capacity the students endured for the last four days.
Heidi knew why. Because Isaiah was an idiot. Thanks to his little fit, classes had been cancelled for th
e week and Heidi found herself becoming bored and restless. It was the weekend and she didn’t have anything to do other than stare at the four walls of her dorm room. Her side of the room was very plain, while her roommate at least had posters.
Heidi didn’t know any of the bands, but she had never been very familiar with human music. Fall Out Boy. What was that? Was it a group of boys who fell out of things? What a bizarre name to have! She feared she would never understand the mechanics of things like that.
With a heavy sigh, she pushed the blankets away from her feet and then swung her legs over the side of her twin-sized bed to stand. She was getting a terrible case of cabin fever. At least she understood what that meant. To feel caged; captive. She didn’t like that feeling very much.
Since she had arrived here she had been able to busy herself with morning lectures and evening homework. Unlike her classmates, who could entertain themselves with social gatherings at the local diner, Heidi only had her desire of knowledge. Her roommate would talk to her on occasion, but Heidi had always declined any invitations to mixers and parties. She didn’t want to go to those. It wasn’t because she didn’t appreciate events like that; she just didn’t know how to act as human as they did. Of course, they acted human because they were, but she didn’t know how to fit in.
Maybe Isaiah had been right. Meeting Brison had been all but a disaster. She had found him to be attractive and nice. Two things that Isiaah most certainly was not. Stupid Isaiah!
Standing in front of the full length mirror that hung upon her closet door, Heidi gazed at her reflection. She wasn’t a bad looking person. She thought she looked rather nice. She was a bit average, she supposed, but she was no plain Jane. She had dark brown hair that lay in natural curls atop her head, cascading down to her shoulders and resting there. She had big eyes. She liked her eyes. They were pretty, weren’t they?
The Fire King's Daughter Page 2