“Look, I need to tell you something,” I say.
He shakes his head. “Save it.”
“Remember how you told me the girls made those comments in cooking class about me? The ‘Camerade’ and all that stuff?”
Aiden keeps shaking his head. “They were just teasing. Becca explained it to me today—”
I stand up. “Wait. You told her about that? Does she know that you told me?”
Aiden keeps talking as if I haven’t said a word. “Becca said that they all think it’s like this connection you and Raine have. You two are so hot for each other that it, like, makes you weak in the knees and stuff. So they all joke and tease Raine about it.”
“So joking about her drinking my blood for energy—”
“You’ve got it all wrong, man. You really think they’re doing some kind of magic on you?” Aiden says. He throws his head back and laughs maniacally. “You must have a screw loose.”
I throw my hands up. “You’re obviously not in the right mental state to listen to reason. We’ll talk tomorrow on the way to school when you’ve had a chance to get your head together and sober up.”
Aiden chuckles. “Actually, you can save a penny in gas and skip my house.
Becca’s giving me a ride.”
“Oh, so it’s like that, huh?”
“And she’s asked me to the Homecoming Dance. I said yes.”
I just stare at him, totally stunned. I can’t believe he’s buying into this ridiculousness. But then I realize that he’s either under Becca’s spell, or he’s so desperate for attention that he refuses to see the truth. Maybe both.
“Look, Aiden. I’m your best friend.”
“You were my best friend.” He yawns. “But for the last five years you’ve treated me like your kid brother, and you make me feel like shit about myself. I think maybe we need a break.”
I lick my lips, think of trying to tell him what I saw when I spied on Raine and Becca and Teri last night. But I know it’s a waste of time.
***
When I get home from Aiden’s, I call Natalia.
“Hello?”
Her voice instantly calms me. I sigh. “Hey, it’s Cam.”
“You okay?”
“Not really.” I tell her what happened when I went to Aiden’s house.
“You think they’re doing something to him?” she asks.
“I don’t know. I mean, there has to be an explanation besides the idea that Becca suddenly thinks Aiden is the new Channing Tatum.”
“I mean, is it possible she really does like him?”
“Natalia. Come on.”
“Okay, you’re right. I mean, Aiden’s cute and all but he’s definitely not Becca’s type.”
“They’re planning something, Nat. I know it.”
“Cam…”
“Yeah?”
“I like it when you call me Nat.”
“Hey, we’ve got serious shit to deal with, right now,” I say, but I’m smiling.
“I know, I know.” She sighs. “I just kind of hate that we have to be secretive about our friendship.”
I lie back on my bed and stare at the ceiling. “Is that what we are? Friends?”
“Look, Cam…”
“Don’t say it. Just. Don’t.”
“It’s confusing, but I mean—maybe we should talk about it.”
“Talk about what? You like Brody. And so me and you are just friends now.
Right?”
“You and I can’t be anything more than friends. We’re keeping secrets from people now. We’re not being honest with anyone.”
“That’s not my fault. We’re dealing with a bunch of psycho witches that have some kind of powers and want to kill us.”
“Wanting to kill us is kind of a stretch,” she says. “And we need to make sure we’re not just letting our imaginations run wild with all this stuff.”
“Well, I know I didn’t imagine that black butterfly necklace I found.”
“The necklace doesn’t prove anything.”
“I know. I know. But something’s off. Something’s wrong with this whole picture. I mean, Aiden and Becca an item? Hell must be freezing over.”
She laughs. I smile again despite myself. “Wouldn’t it be cool if me and you went to the dance together? I mean, that could be fun, right?”
There’s a long silence. “Yes. That could be a lot of fun.”
I sigh. Turns out there might actually be a more impossible couple than Becca and Aiden. And that’s me and Natalia.
***
The next morning I drive to school alone. All these thoughts are spinning in my head. Me and Natalia. Raine. Brody. Becca and Aiden. Natalia’s crazy ex-boyfriend.
The homecoming dance. The big football game on Friday.
I wish I had just one answer for any of the questions floating around my brain, but I don’t.
When I get to our hallway, the first thing I see is Becca and Aiden together. She’s leaning over, whispering in his ear. His face looks like an albino’s. Totally white and drained of color. But he’s smiling at whatever she’s saying.
God, he’s totally shot.
And then I’m opening my locker and for a second I think maybe I’m just having a super realistic dream, because all these little black butterflies come floating and falling out of my locker. Hundreds of them. I almost scream but then I realize they’re just pieces of paper.
But still. They look real.
Black butterflies. I grit my teeth and make an effort not to run away from them as they float down and gather around my feet like dead things.
Around me, I hear people gasp and ooh and awe.
They continue to spill out of the locker and onto the floor.
And I know. Something bad is coming….
PURSUED
(The Witches of Santa Anna, Book Five)
by Lauren Barnholdt & Aaron Gorvine
Copyright 2011, Lauren Barnholdt and Aaron Gorvine, all rights reserved This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
Chapter One
Natalia
I’m walking into school the next morning when I see all these black butterflies come fluttering out of Cam’s locker. They’re papery and sparkly and everyone in the junior hall stops to look.
I start to take a step toward him, but before I can, Brody comes up behind me.
“Hey,” he says easily. “Where’ve you been?” He’s wearing his varsity jacket and his hair is still wet from the shower.
“I’m right here,” I say. I’m trying to sound friendly, but I’m also a little annoyed.
I can’t think of anything except getting to Cam.
“You never texted me back last night,” Brody says.
“Sorry.” I’m distracted, still watching Cam, because those butterflies are creepy.
He bends down and picks one up, turning it over in his hand.
Brody follows my gaze. “Ahh,” he says, “So Raine’s asking Cam to homecoming, huh?”
At that moment, Raine comes walking down the hall, dressed all in black. Black short tiered skirt, black tights, tight black shirt, and high black stilettos. She put her hands over Cam’s eyes and when he turns around, she picks up the biggest paper butterfly that’s lying on the floor. She unfolds it, and lets Cam read the white sparkly letters that probably say, “Cam, will you go to homecoming with me?”
Cam smiles, wrapping his arms around her. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he really did want to go to homecoming with Raine.
“I always thought that stuff was lame,” Brody says, watching them. “Why does everyone have to go all out just to ask someone to a stupid dance? It’s insane.”
“I don’t know,” I say, my mouth dry. I lick my lips, trying not to let Brody see how rattled I am by all those butterflies. This is getting really weird, and a strong feeling of trepidation that I’ve never felt before settles into my stomach. It makes me almost certain tha
t something really, really bad is about to happen.
“And furthermore,” Brody says, “Why do the girls have to ask the guys? Call me old-fashioned, but I think the guy should always do the asking.”
I’m still looking across the hall to where Raine has now wrapped her arms around Cam, and he’s pulling her closer. My eyes lock on his, but I look away quickly before Brody or Raine can catch us staring at each other. I hate that Cam’s with Raine. And a lot of it doesn’t even have to do with the creepy stuff she’s doing. Witch or not, it doesn’t change the fact that the guy I like has his arms around someone else.
“Hello!” Brody’s saying, “Earth to Natalia!”
“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head and trying to snap out of it. I turn my back on Raine and Cam, and give Brody a smile. “I’m listening.”
“You’re listening?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?” He leans against my locker, and gives me a teasing grin. He really is hot. I search his face for any signs of evilness, something in his eyes that would lead me to believe he has anything to do with the craziness that’s going on. But there’s nothing.
“Positive.”
“Then are you going to tell me why you never texted me back last night?”
Something tells me that the truth – I was so wiped out after my conversation with Cam in the woods and my creepy text from Derek that I ended up just falling asleep after Cam called me – isn’t going to cut it. So instead I just say, “Sorry, I fell asleep super early last night.”
We start to walk toward my homeroom, and Brody takes my books out of my hands. For the first time, I start to wonder if this whole being-a-gentlemen thing he’s got going on is just an act.
“So do you want to go to the dance with me?” Brody asks, as we navigate through the bodies around us. The junior hall, which was quiet just a second ago as everyone watched the spectacle Raine and Cam were putting on, is now alive with activity and laughter, everyone rushing to get where they need to go before the bell rings.
“With you?”
“Yeah, with me,” he says. “Hence the question ‘do you want to go to the dance with me?’ Unless…oh, I’m sorry, Natalia, did you have some kind of elaborate plan to ask me?”
“What if I did?” I ask, deciding to tease him right back.
“Then you can still go through with it,” he says, “In fact, I think you should. I’d love it. Something really big, that everyone would be talking about the next day.”
“That’s okay,” I say, doing a big fake sigh. “I’ll just have to save it for next time.
Call off the singing barbershop quartet.”
“Natalia,” he says, pretending to be exasperated with me. “Are you trying to rip off someone else’s idea? Chelsey Simmons did that last year.”
“Caught,” I say, snapping my fingers. “Damn. And I was so looking forward to it, too.”
“I’m sure you were.” We’re at my homeroom now, and I reach out, taking my books from him. “So you do want to go?” he asks. Suddenly, he looks nervous, like he’s not sure I’m going to say yes. I hesitate, remembering what Cam said about not trusting Brody. But I’m not convinced Brody has anything to do with this. And even if he does, what am I supposed to do? Avoiding him is just going to be weird. Besides, if Cam is going to the dance with Raine, then I have the right to go with Brody.
“Of course,” I say, smiling. “Of course I want to go to the dance with you.” And as I’m saying the words, I realize they’re true.
***
After school, Adrianna and I go shopping for dresses to wear to homecoming. I invited her to go at lunch, mostly because I like Adrianna, and also because I just wanted to do something normal for a change. Cam’s been weird all day, ignoring me in study hall and in the halls. And even though I know he said it’s not a good idea for anyone to see us together, I just… I don’t know. I guess I’m more upset about it than I should be.
“What about this one?” Adrianna asks, pulling a floor-length mermaid style dress off the rack and holding it up.
“That looks like a prom dress,” I say, making a face and flipping through a bunch of simple black dresses, looking for my size.
“Well, you can’t find anything you like!” she says. “We’ve looked at everything.”
“Not everything,” I say, gesturing to the three dresses that are in my arms. “I’m going to try these on. And besides, you can’t talk. Not unless you want to try something on.”
“I want to,” she says, wistfully, running her hand over the top of a lilac colored gown. “But first I need a date. Then I’ll get a dress.”
Adrianna wants to ask this guy Lancaster to the dance, but she’s afraid that if she buys a dress before she asks him, she’ll jinx it. And after everything that’s going on with Raine and her crazy voodoo stuff, who am I to say that’s wrong? Besides, Adrianna was nice enough to come shopping with me even though she wasn’t even planning on buying anything.
I head into the dressing room, and exchange my school clothes for a gorgeous, deep crimson dress with thin shimmery threads running through bodice. The skirt is flared and short, and the top has thin straps, but the color makes the dress seem more fall than summer.
“This is it!” I say, throwing open the door to the dressing room.
“Oh, Natalia,” Adrianna says, clapping her hands. “You look amazing.”
“You think?”
“Brody’s going to love it.”
“I’m not even going to bother trying on the other two.” I also don’t bother to tell her that I’m a little more interested in Cam liking the dress than Brody. I change back into my clothes, and Adrianna and I joke around while we wait in line at the cash register, painting our pinkies with the testers from a display of nail polish. It’s been a while since I’ve had some good old-fashioned girl bonding time with someone other than my mom, and I’m having a great time.
“Should we grab a coffee or something?” I ask on our way out of the store.
“Definitely,” Adrianna says, “And then do you want to head to the party store?”
“Does this mean you’re going to ask him?” I ask, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. Not only is Adrianna not buying a dress until she asks Lancaster, she still doesn’t even know if she has the courage to ask him in the first place. They’re kind of in different social circles, but from what Adrianna says, they got to know each other a little bit when they got paired up on a social studies project at the beginning of the year.
“I don’t know,” she says, tucking her hand behind her ear. “But there’s no harm in trying to get ideas for how I would ask him. You know, just in case.” She bites her lip. “Right?”
“Right,” I say, “And don’t worry, I’ll help you. It’ll be fun.”
But when we get to the coffee place, there’s a huge line that snakes out the door and into the mall. I can tell Adrianna’s getting kind of antsy, probably because she’s anxious to get to the party store and start trying to figure out a cute way to ask Lancaster to the dance. “Why don’t you go ahead,” I say, “And I’ll get the coffees and meet you down there.”
“You sure?”
“Of course.”
She looks at me gratefully, asks me to order her a mocha latte, and then she’s gone. I stand in line, inhaling the scents of coffee and the freshly baked pastries, and enjoying the fact that I’m here, at the mall, shopping with a new friend.
My phone vibrates with a text, and I pull it out of my purse. Brody.
“Find something good?”
I text him back.
“I think so.”
“What color?”
“Red”
“Hot! Cant wait to c it”
“Something funny?” a familiar voice asks, and I turn around, the smile immediately dropping from my face. Derek. He’s standing there, hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his face. I do what my first instinct tells me to. And that’s run. But as I turn and start to flee
, he grabs my arm.
“Don’t touch me,” I say, wrenching free. A couple of people turn to look, and I’m reminded of the other night, when Raine and I got into it outside of the Coach store.
“Okay, okay,” he says, holding his arms up. “Chill. I just want to talk.”
“You keep saying that.” I cross my arms over my chest, waiting. “So if you want to talk, talk.”
He sighs. “I want to say I’m sorry.”
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