by Light
“What?” Dallas snapped, slipping out the window to sit on the edge of the door. “Wait, so you’re saying that you just threw out a bit of magic on the fly, not even knowing what you were doing? Tell me that’s not what you’re saying.”
She gave him a guilty smile.
“Well, I think it’s either my heater core or my radiator,” Rome said. Aria looked at him blankly, blinking like he’d started speaking Cantonese. “Right,” he laughed. He wasn’t sure why he’d expected her to know what either of those was.
While they’d been busy deciding if Dallas was, in fact, going to risk his pristine upholstery on hauling Rome back to school, another motorist came racing up on him from behind, nearly clipping his car. They came so close he felt air blasting against his back, blowing his shirt wildly around as his heart did a little tap-dance in his chest.
“H-Holy shit,” he gasped.
He slipped into his car, pulling over to the side of the road.
“I bet that woke him up,” Rome remarked.
“Are you okay?” Aria asked.
“I’m fine.” Dallas stepped out of the car, trying to keep his legs from wobbling. “But I’d be better if everyone would make up their minds about what we’re doing.”
“Alright,” she said. “We’re giving him a ride back.”
“What about my car?”
“We can take it with us.”
“Uh,” Rome laughed, “there’s no way a BMW can tow this thing.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
“Fine, great,” Dallas said. “Let’s get out of here.” He turned to Rome’s car, channeling his magic carefully towards the vehicle.
“What the fuck are you doing? Stop!” Rome said frantically. It was pointless. His car had already been reduced to the size of a toy. It might as well have been a Hot Wheel. He was staring at it slack-jawed, whimpering quietly and trying to convince himself not to kill Dallas.
Aria walked over to the space where Rome’s car had sat, picking up the tiny automobile and turning to hand it to him. He was moving his mouth wordlessly and trying to peek in through the small windows.
“You forgot to turn your headlights off.”
“Thanks,” Rome replied. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Relax,” she smiled. “We’ll fix it.” Rome seemed neither convinced by nor happy with her explanation. She grabbed his arm and directed him over to the BMW, opening the back door and pushing him inside. She clambered in after him as Dallas slid into the front seat.
“You don’t actually think you’re riding back there with him, do you?”
“You know what, Dallas? You’ve pushed me around enough for one night. I think you’re forgetting that you’re not the only one in this car with leverage.”
“You’ve got nothing.” Aria smiled at him slyly. He locked eyes with her, forcing her to either show her hand, or fold. Her smile widened.
“Lisa Baker,” she said softly.
Dallas flinched.
“Fine,” he mumbled, pulling out onto the road. “But if I see any funny business, I’m coming back there and laying into you both.”
“Like you could fit,” Rome said. It was a wonder Dallas could even fold his tall frame into the front seat of this compact little car.
Dallas sneered at him, pretending to laugh as he flicked on the radio. He was still pretty anxious, and that near-miss on the highway had only served to make him an even slower, more cautious driver.
At this rate, they wouldn’t make it to school before class tomorrow morning, Rome thought. Thankfully it didn’t take nearly as long to get back as he might have feared. And before he knew it, he was stepping out onto the side of the road just a little ways from the school. His tiny headlights reflected off the pavement in the dim light, and he sighed at the miniscule Pontiac. “If this doesn’t work—”
“It will,” Aria smiled.
He stared at the ground, shaking his head. It better, he thought. Dallas’s ginormous foot hovered over his car and Rome’s eyes widened comically. He grabbed at Dallas’s leg, nearly throwing him onto his back to stop him from crushing his car. “Hey,” he said. “Watch it.”
“Sorry,” Dallas laughed. “It’s so small I almost didn’t see it there.”
“Just hurry up, before someone drives by.”
Rome turned his attention back to his vehicle, frowning as it started to rattle and shake. “Maybe we should back up,” he said, holding an arm out and guiding Aria back as Dallas worked to make it life-size again. The sound of groaning metal grated through the air as the car grew and shrunk in disproportionate amounts. His back tires were now big enough to belong to a tractor, and his front end looked like a European sports car.
“Dallas,” Rome growled. He couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Dallas was trying not to laugh.
“Stop fooling around,” Ariahna chastised.
When everything seemed right again, Rome finally took a relieved breath. He walked over to his car, glancing in the window to make sure his things were still intact. The hub cap fell off near his toes with a clang, and he turned angry eyes to Dallas.
“Don’t blame me. Your car was a piece of crap to begin with.”
“That’s right, I forgot,” Rome said. “It’s a tin can, right?”
Dallas smirked.
“One day, you’re going to flinch when someone says my name.”
“What did you need me to do?” Aria asked, interrupting before they got in each other’s faces again.
Rome opened his door, gesturing for her to get behind the wheel. “I just need you to steer. We’ll do the rest.” She looked apprehensive and he laughed quietly at that, wrapping her fingers around the wheel as she took a seat. “It’s easy. If the car starts going to the left, turn to the right. And if it starts rolling backwards, hit the brake.”
“Which one’s the brake?”
He smiled at her, turning the key to auxiliary before kneeling down to point at the pedal. “Don’t be afraid to stomp on it,” he grinned. He leaned across her lap, throwing the car into neutral. It eked back a few inches, scaring her into slamming on the brakes.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“You already are. You’ll be fine.” He circled around to the back of the car, placing his hands on the bumper beside Dallas.
“Alright, let go of the brake,” he shouted.
“…Are you sure?”
“Yes.” The glowing red taillights flickered before finally going black. “Why did we start at the bottom of the hill?” Rome complained, taking one slow step after another.
“Remind me again why I’m even helping you?” Dallas grumbled.
“I think it has something to do with Lisa Baker.”
“Don’t mention that name to me.”
“Okay, I have to know… what’s the story there?”
Aria leaned out the window, calling back to answer Rome’s question. “Lisa Baker is the girl I caught Dallas with in his mother’s swimming pool.”
“Don’t,” Dallas pleaded.
His discomfort only encouraged her to continue.
“They were naked, and in… let’s say a compromising position. Dallas’s mom was away for the weekend and he decided to invite this girl he barely knew over to stay at their house. It was during those two days that Lisa determined that she was going to move in with him, and that they were going to get married. I had to help him get rid of her before his mom came back.”
She paused, smiling at the fearful, nostalgic look swimming across Dallas’s face. “Honestly, I’m not sure what has you more scared,” she said. “The thought that I’ll tell your mom, or the possibility that I might tell Lisa you didn’t really run off and join the military.”
“We agreed to never talk about that again.”
Rome’s arms were going weak as he shook with quiet laughter. “The military?” he choked out. “So tell me, did you pop the question, or
did she?” Dallas was glaring at him with enough fire to melt a glacier.
That only made Rome start laughing harder.
“Lisa Baker is proof that the devil exists. If she wasn’t off her meds, it was because no one had realized yet that she needed them in the first place,” he said stonily. “To call her unbalanced would be an insult to crazy people.”
“I wonder what that says about you, since you were stupid enough to date her,” Aria said.
“It says that I have eyes. Lisa’s smokin’ hot.”
“Should I tell her you said that?”
“Shut up and pretend to drive.”
Ariahna sat back in Rome’s seat, looking around his car as they continued to push it up the hill. She was checking periodically that they weren’t veering off the road as she snooped around. She glanced back through the big open window of the hatchback before peeking timidly into his glove box. It was filled with random papers, a pair of sunglasses, and some cologne that smelt like him. She pulled out a napkin with a phone number written on it, gazing down at the cherry pink lip stain in the corner.
Give me a call on your day off. –Autumn
Her hand curled into a fist, crumpling up the phone number and dropping it on the floor. She nudged it underneath his seat with her heel.
“…Do you guys need me to do anything?” she asked guiltily.
“No,” Rome shouted. “Not yet. Just sit there and look pretty.”
She smiled at his playful banter.
“I want you to stay away from her,” Dallas said.
“I don’t think I can do that,” Rome whispered back.
“I didn’t say I was giving you a choice.”
“Alright, either you’re into her, or you’re trying to protect her. So which is it?” he asked.
“Did you not hear me call her my sister?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“It’s not me you should be worried about. Her dad is an elitist jackass with a gun and a badge, and the scary part is, he doesn’t need either of those to get to you. Did she tell you he works with SI?”
“SI?” Rome muttered, squinting over at him.
“Special Investigations,” he clarified. “It’s a criminal division put together by The Witches Collective. He works as a detective here in town, but that’s really just a front. His real job,” he whispered, “is investigating magical crimes and keeping them out of the media.”
“Sounds like a busy guy,” Rome replied carelessly.
“Not too busy to put you in the ground if he found out you were chasing after his daughter. Richard doesn’t mess around. He’ll put you through hell if you get close to her. He’s got her whole future mapped out, and trust me when I say you are not a part of his master plan.”
“If I was in your shoes, and the roles were reversed, I’d be doing the exact same thing you are. I respect the fact that you care about her, and I know I look like the kind of guy you’d want to protect her from—and maybe in some ways I am—but… I just want to get to know her. Besides, what about what she wants? Doesn’t that matter?”
Dallas frowned thoughtfully at the spoiler as they pushed the car over the crest of the hill. Almost there, he thought. This night, and this awful conversation, was almost over.
“You know, you still haven’t answered my question,” Rome said. “Do you like her?”
Dallas smiled, looking over at him with warm eyes.
“…It would be impossible not to.”
Chapter 6
The cafeteria was bustling with students. Smiling, laughing faces filled the tables and lined the walls near every cuisine station. Everyone was catching up and reconnecting with friends. Most everyone, anyways.
Ariahna shifted her folded blazer over her arms, looking around for a place to sit as she walked timidly through the large, noisy room. By the reactions she was receiving, people either still saw her as invisible, or, and this was a new one, diseased. Available seats were filled quickly by coats, books, and legs. She could feel her face flushing with embarrassment and her heart beating anxiously in her chest. If she didn’t find a seat soon, she was just going to turn around and run from the room.
“Hey, new girl!” someone called from a table over. Aria turned slightly, looking at the person who had shouted with a frown. It had sounded like they’d been trying to get her attention. The owner of the voice was an older girl with perfect straight hair and full, red lips. She was that pretty and popular type. She remembered her from yesterday, in the auditorium. She’d been teasing Christian and badmouthing Rome. Was she really talking to her, though? She wasn’t a new student, and she definitely wasn’t the type of person Scarlet Bellaway would be seen addressing. She pointed to herself uncertainly, glancing around in confusion.
“Yeah, you – the redhead with the baffled look on her face,” Scarlet said, her voice smoky and filled with sarcasm. “Take a seat. You can sit with me.”
Aria slipped into a chair beside her, clutching her jacket like she was afraid she’d have to use it as a weapon. Was this some kind of trick?
“I’m not new,” she said quietly.
“What?”
“I said I’m not new. I was enrolled here last year.”
Scarlet waved a hand at her.
“You weren’t even worthy of recognition last year. You might as well be a transfer student or a new arrival.”
Aria didn’t know how to take that statement. She stared at her for a short moment before realizing she was being rude. “Ariahna,” she said, extending a hand in introduction. Scarlet took it with a mischievous smile, not bothering to offer her own name.
“I know who you are,” she said.
“You do?”
“Of course; you come from a very well-known family. Honestly, I don’t know how you ended up as such an outcast with an old and powerful name like VayRenn to carry you along.”
“Oh, right,” she mumbled, dropping her gaze. “I suppose it helps that most people don’t know my last name… or my first.”
“Well, lucky me, I’ve got the rest of them beat then. I know both. And I know something else they don’t know.”
“What’s that?”
“That you and I are going to become very, very good friends.”
***
Rome wandered down the stairs for breakfast. He was drifting through a sea of people, caught up in the sensation of them washing around him in a cool haze. The school was buzzing with energy, and if it weren’t for yesterday’s craziness, he might have been just as excited as the rest of them. It didn’t help that he’d been up most of the night, either. He shuffled towards the cafeteria, his eyes moving away from the tile beneath his boots at the familiar sound of Christian’s voice.
“Hey Jacobs, what was it like, growing up with that clown for a father?” he smirked. He pressed his fingers against the smaller boy’s chest, backing him up against the wall.
“You open the cereal box in the morning and a dove flies out!” Adam laughed, waving his hands theatrically in the air.
“Did he tie you up, toss you in the bath and see how long it took for you to escape?” Christian taunted.
“I bet he put him in sparkly dresses and tried to saw him in half.”
“Maybe that’s why he’s so short?”
“Get lost,” Rome demanded, frowning harshly at the two of them. First they were harassing girls, and now they were bullying young kids?
“Do I look like I take orders from you?” Christian said. “If I recall, you’re the one who’s the waiter, not me.”
Rome’s jaw clenched tight. It was true; he worked at a restaurant in town. He wasn’t a waiter though, he was a busboy. He’d cleaned up after guys like Christian before, often getting blamed when they purposefully trashed a table or broke dinnerware. It made them think they were superior, just because he had to work for a living.
“Come on,” Rome said, reaching between the two of them to grab the kid by the shoulder. He practically shoved him in
to the cafeteria. “Let me guess, you’re Jerry’s son?”
“Don’t you mean ‘The Great Geraldo’?” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his chest. “Trevor,” he introduced, extending a hand to him.
Rome took it somewhat reluctantly.
“So what was that all about back there?” Trevor asked.
Rome took a frustrated breath, his eyes flicking over to the scrawny boy. He had thick, unruly hair that was combed down over his forehead, and a round, average looking face. How could he just tell this kid was going to be more trouble than he was worth?
“Nothing,” he replied, walking on ahead of him.
“Sweet,” Trevor said. “Only my second day and I’ve already made an awesome, tough new friend. I can’t wait to tell my mom.”
Rome glanced back at him, nearly tripping over a chair. How had he known he’d been about to tell him to beat it? It’s like this kid was trying to make him feel guilty.
“You know, uh, I’m not real great company.”
“But we’re in the same program,” Trevor said. “Maybe you can teach me a few things? You’re like a senior, right?”
“…No.”
Trevor tipped his head, staring at him curiously. “No?”
Rome sighed. “I’m a junior, or I should be, but I got held back. Only, this is kind of my first year here, so instead of being in with the sophomore’s…”
“That’s even better! We’re going to be in the same classes!”
“Yippee,” Rome mumbled, pulling up a seat. Trevor scooted a chair over, sitting so close he was almost in his lap. “Look, you seem nice and all, but I really didn’t—” Rome turned his head, slowly. Aria was standing right behind him. “Um, hey?” I wasn’t about to make a kid cry, he thought.
“Hey,” she repeated, looking back at Scarlet. She was staring at her in disbelief. She still didn’t think very highly of Rome. Or maybe she just didn’t like being ditched for him. “Can I sit with you?” she asked, tearing her eyes away.
“Sure,” Trevor said.
Rome scoffed, shaking his head. “Yes.”
Ariahna sat down, glancing at the boy beside Rome curiously. “You’re Jerry and Jenny’s son, right?”