Kiss of Fate - Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

Brayden:

The run was exhilarating as it always was. I loved the feel of the wind blowing through my fur. But I admit it was unnerving having a vampire by my side, even though this vampire was my friend. Her kind has always been known to betray mine, even if they were trustworthy. But Emily…she seemed different. She didn’t seem like her kind. If she didn’t have the scent, the teeth, the eyes, or the speed, you would never know she was a vampire. She never thought of humans as just food. She wanted everyone to get along. Even when I met her and didn’t like her because of the disagreement between out kinds, she persisted on us becoming friends. To be honest, she wouldn’t leave me alone until I did.

Suddenly, she stopped. I turned my head to find out where she was and suddenly regretted it. I didn’t notice the tree in front of me and hit it at full speed. It hurt, badly. I even saw red spots. The tree, on the other hand, had a hole in it from where my head hit. If my pack ever found this out, they would never let me leave it down.

“Do you smell that?” she asked.

I shook my head. I was still in wolf form, so talking was a bit of a problem.

She came to my side and bent down. “Blood,” she whispered.

I took a deep breath and was suddenly hit with it. I looked at her with frantic eyes. That was the smell of my pack.

Without a second thought, I raced toward them. Emily tackled me and brought me down once she caught up. I tried to fight her off, but I’d underestimated her strength because of her size. She kept me down without even breaking a sweat.

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” she hissed in my ear, still keeping me on the ground.

I whimpered and hoped that she understood. I needed to get to my pack, to protect the few that may be alive. They depended on me. What kind of leader would I be if I stayed here? They would think I abandoned them. I couldn't let that happen.

“If you want to save any of them, you’ve got to have a plan. Charging in there isn’t going to get you anywhere.” I never noticed it before, but there was something in her eyes. The thought of fighting seemed to have really brought out some kind of bottled up excitement in her, especially as she told me what we should do. I’d never thought a small girl like her—vampire or not—would ever know anything about fighting, but she surprised me.

Once she moved and allowed me to get up, the plan was set into motion. I watched as she took off, charging as I would have, but looking as if the blood had driven her into a craze. Once she was out of sight, I chased after her. That was really the only thing she’d told me to do. The rest, I guessed, would be up to me.

Once I caught up to her, she seemed to freeze—again. When I nudged her with my nose, she glanced down and pointed. Vampires were attacking my clan. Blood crazed vampires. My eyes widened in horror and at the same time I felt a stab of guilt. I told her earlier—maybe not the same words—that she should accept what she was and start acting like it. I didn't think that this is what she could turn into if she did.

We stood there, frozen, taking the scene in. 'Wolves were jumping on vampires, trying to find easy access to their neck so they could rip their throats out. Others were trying to protect their families. Vampires were surrounded individual 'wolves and sinking their teeth into their flesh. The tiny meadow we were in was filled with bodies lying on the ground; vampire and 'wolf. If we weren't so deep into the woods, I'd be a little worried that the humans would hear with all of the cries and howls of pain—if I even had the time to worry about something like that.

Emily suddenly tore off and jumped on the first vampire who was about to sink his fangs into the neck of my sister, Justine. Other pack members saw me and began to howl, looking for help I supposed. I looked to my left when I heard tiny whimpers. A small group of cubs were hiding in the bush. I barked at them, signalling them to run. They looked even more terrified, but obeyed me. A tall but beefy vampire jumped out of the woods in front of them and grabbed Jeremiah, the oldest of the cubs. I raced toward them and tackled the vampire causing him to release his hold on Jeremiah. Protecting the cubs was more important than the older members. They would be the ones to carry on our pack.

The vampire lay there, stunned, and I didn't give him any time to recover. I bit into his neck and tore the skin away. He let out a loud, piercing scream of pain. I didn't stop. With my teeth, I grabbed his right arm and pulled, disconnecting it from the socket. I did the same his left arm and his legs. I didn't even worry about staking him. There was no way he could live through that.

Once that was finished, I glanced back at the cubs. I knew what they had just saw terrified them even more, and I knew that the look on my face wasn't any better. Even though they knew it was me I was sure that at the time, all they say was blood covering my face, my lips pulled back, showing teeth, my ears flat, and a crazed look in my eyes. One of them yelped as I was caught off guard and tackled to the ground. A female vampire a little bigger than Emily was about to take a bite out of my neck, but before she could, Emily grabbed her by her head and threw her into a bulky male vampire, knocking him away from the 'wolf he had pinned to the ground. She looked to the cubs and extended her hand. They shrank away. She looked puzzled for a moment, but dropped her hand and looked at me. She was breathing heavily, her eyes shining a bright gold instead of the normal sapphire blue I was used to seeing. Her hands, face, and clothes were covered in blood. Instead of looking disgusted as she normally would have, she looked exhilarated, almost like she enjoyed this. I felt my heart quicken it's pace more than it already had. That look terrified me and that surprised me. I've never felt afraid of her before.

“There are too many of them. You need to get what’s left of your pack and these cubs out of here,” she said, trying to make herself sound as calm as possible. She obviously had no idea how she looked.

I shook my head. Even though she was pretty scary looking at the moment, there was no way I was going to leave her behind to do this on her own.

“You pack is dying. They can’t keep fighting them. The blood is—" She paused just in time to spin around and grab the vampire who'd advanced on her and sling him to the ground "—fuelling them to keep going. To be honest with you—" She grunted as she through the second vampire that advanced on her. "—the scent is starting to get to me too. Just get them out of here now, while you’ve got the chance.”

I nodded, threw my head back, and howled. Pack members began running toward me, some helping the injured. I showed Justine where the cubs were and watched as she led them toward the rest of the pack. I went back to help the injured. Emily held off as many of the vampires as she could.

I wondered how unnerving all of this really was for her. This was so close to her home where her father lived. He was, after all, all she had left since she’d killed her mother and sister in an accident.

With a last glance, I saw her standing in the middle of the group. Just standing. No sign of defending herself. Her fangs seemed to have retracted. Her eyes were the normal sapphire blue that I was used to. I hoped she hadn’t given up, but there was no way I could find out. Not now. I had to get my pack out of here. I just hoped that she would be okay.

Emily:

The vampires surrounding me looked as if they were reading to jump in for the kill. I could see it in their eyes that they wanted to. Why they didn’t, though, made no sense to me. I was not going to fight them and I was not going to run. There was movement to my left, and my eyes shot immediately there. A few of the vampires had seperated, allowing a short vamire with blonde hair step out, his hands in the air in surrender.

“You put up a good fight, little vampire,” he said with an amused tone and dropped his hands when he stopped walking. The vampires behind him closed the circle again.

I stared. “What to do you want here?”

“To rid this place of filth, of course.”

“The only filth I see here is people like you,” I spat.

He laughed. “You’ve got fire, little vampire.”

I growled. He laughed again.

“Ah, yes. I wonder if you're the one I'm not supposed to kill.” I didn't understand how he would know, though.

As soon as he said that, another figured stepped out from behind the group. I felt my jaw go slack as the man came to stand beside the other. He smiled and my body tensed.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Emily,” he said almost happily.

“Ayden…” I whispered.

He bowed. “I am impressed that you remembered how do defend yourself. Though, I must admit that you used the skills I taught you do defend these vermin disappoints me.”

“They’re not vermin. They’re just different.”

"They’ve corrupted you, I see,” he said with a frown. “I had such high hopes for you.”

“You had nothing for me,” I said angrily. “You left me here.”

“I planned on returning, as you see. I found this place quite nice and thought we could take it over; you and me.”

“What happened to not wanting to be discovered by whoever was chasing you?”

He smiled. It wasn’t the smile I remembered. It was something darker and the look in his eyes sent chills down my spine. “You see, my dear, when I changed you I realized that I could do it to more people. With a large clan, I could take over this little town and my enemies.” His smile widened as he showed teeth. “My parents would be proud if they could see me now.”

“Why would you do that?" What was so special about this town and controlling it and the people that lived here? Why did he want to get rid of all of the other Supernaturals living here? They've done nothing to him.

He walked toward me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I will explain that at a later time. After all, you are my oldest and our time was more...intimate than the others. I feel as though I can trust you with my plans better.” He moved aside a little and pointed to the first man who spoke to me. “This is Julius, your brother." He placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled. I narrowed my eyes at the short, blonde man. I could tell right then that I was not going to like him—not that I did now, anyway. I couldn't help but wonder what Ayden would want him for anyway. "He is the second oldest, only months younger than you," Ayden finshed. “I do so hope that the two of you will learn to get along.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before that I had an older sibling?” Julius said unhappily.

“Ah, my dear boy, your sister was supposed to be a secret. As you can see she is merely seventeen in human years. She would fit in society better than you, and she still has family.” He spoke to Julius as if he were speaking to a spoiled child. Ayden would have never talked to anyone like that. He didn't have the patience for it. Sure he'd been a nice teacher when he was here, but even with his students he didn't put up with it.

“You trust a seventeen year old with your secrets?” He asked, disgusted. I expected him to make a comment on me protecting Brayden's group, but he didn't. I had a feeling he would throw it up sooner or later, though.

“I trust the two of you with them.” He smiled and looked the both of us in the eyes. Julius let out a low growl, but Ayden ignored it. "I want you to help me rule this place.”

“To clear things up,” I said with an attitude, “I’m eighteen in human years and I’m not helping you with anything.”

Ayden turned and in a quick motion grabbed my neck and slammed me into a tree. “You will do as I say, Emily. Either way, you really have no choice. I sired you; I own you. You can't deny me.” He released me and I took a deep, shaky breath. “Go home. Tomorrow after school you are to meet me here. Do not be late.”

“Detention,” I said hoarsely. Why did he want me here anyway? He hasn't even told me what he wants with me. Besides, what could he possibly say that would interest me enough to want to come back?

He sighed. “You never stay out of trouble, do you? Be here as soon as you get home, Emily. I mean it. Detention will be nothing compared to what I’ll do if you’re late.”

I wanted to argue. To scream at him and tell him I wasn't going to come back and there was nothing he could do to make me, but I couldn’t. My body was already racing toward my house. I couldn’t help but want to cry. I’d never felt so helpless. I had lost my individuality, my freedom and there was nothing that I could do about it; nothing at all. I realized in that moment that he could make me do anything he wanted. He was right. And I hated that he could do it more than anything.

“Where have you been, Emily?” my dad’s voice said as I walked through the door. “I’ve been trying to call you for hours.”

“My phone must have died because I never heard it ring. Sorry, Dad.” I tried to make myself sound exhausted.

“I know you’re eighteen,” he said lightly, “but I’d still like to know where you are every now and then. I worry when you don’t tell me.” I could really see it. The lines on his face seemed to be more detailed. His eyes looked wary. He even had circles under his eyes. Ever since the accident with Mom and Hailey, he's been more protective. He always worried if I stayed out too late, if I didn't call. He wanted to know who I was with and what I was doing at all times. I can't say that I blamed him. I just wondered what his reaction would be if he knew I was the one that killed them, that no one had broken into the house and slit their throats. I stopped the thought. I didn't want to remember it anymore.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I’ll make sure my phone is fully charged before I leave from now on. I promise.” I kissed his cheek. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Okay. Goodnight.”

“’Night, Dad.”

* * *

I woke up and got ready for school like I did every morning, but then I remember that I didn't have to go because of suspension. I sighed and smiled contently. My first day of vacation. I went in my room and changed clothes. I thought about roaming the woods, seeing if Brayden was up and about yet, but when I walked out of the back door and saw him sitting on my back porch with a few cuts and bruises on him I remembered what happened yesterday and my good mood suddenly disappeared.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly as I sat down next to him.

“I’m fine. What about you?”

I shrugged. I couldn’t tell him Ayden was back. Could I?

He leaned forward and grabbed my hands. “I wanted to thank you for what you did last night. You didn’t have to help me save my pack and you didn’t have to protect me.” He looked down at our hands and I couldn’t help but get those little nervous butterflies from having his sweaty hands clasping my frigid ones. I didn't understand why I was reacting this way though. Brayden and I were only friends, nothing more. “I didn’t want to leave you there, but it didn’t look like there was much I could do. And I felt sick about it. I—“

“It’s okay,” I told him reassuringly. “They’re not going to hurt me. But Brayden, you’ve got to get you and your pack out of here. Today. If there are any other packs or fey or anything, they have to go," I said urgently.

His face scrunched in confusion. “Emily, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Just—just get them out of here. Please.” I looked at his eyes and saw that he was trying to understand. I wished I could tell him, but telling him would make him want to stay and not listen to me. And as a friend, I couldn’t let that happen. He had to get out of here and be safe. He had to keep his pack safe.

“I don’t want to leave you behind again. Tell me what I can do to help,” he pleaded.

“The only thing you can do for me right now is to get out of here. I have to get Skyler out of here too. It’s too much to worry about you guys being here and then I can’t help myself. Do you understand?”

He looked down at our hands and I did the same. "I"m not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." He looked into my eyes. "How did you get away from all of those vampires without a scratch, anyway?"

I sighed. If it was the only way for me to get him out of town I was going to have to tell him. "Ayden's back. That group of vampires; they're his new—" I paused to search for the right word. "—clan." I watched his expression, but it didn't change. He was still giving me a confused look. I sighed again and continued, "He wants to get rid of all of the other Supernaturals living here. He wants to take over the whole town. I don't know what he plans on doing after that, but what happened to your pack yesterday will happen again if you don't get out of town as fast as possible."

He nodded solemly. "But that still doesn't explain why he didn't let his clan attack you," he said blankly.

"I thought I told you he was my sire," I said, bemused. His eyes widened. "I was the first fledgling he'd ever sired," I explained. "He wants me to join his clan, I think. I don't want to, Brayden. Believe me when I say I don't, but he can make me. I don't know how he does it, but he can make me do anything he wants me to do and until I figure out how to keep him from controlling me again, you've really got to stay away."

"If he could control you like that, then why didn't he do it last night while we were fighting? Why didn't he turn you against me and my pack?"

I blinked. I didn't think about that. And it was a really good question. Why didn't he stop me?

"I don't know," I answered.

Brayden nodded. "Is there nothing I can do to help?"

I thought about that. Maybe there was one thing he could do to help, but if Ayden didn't tell anyone else about me like I thought he had, then that meant no other Supernatural other than Skyler, her parents, and Brayden knew about me. It might be risky to me, but it was worth a short. "Skyler told me about a Council. Is there any way that you could get to them?"

"Emily, I'm not so sure that's a good idea..." he said cautiously.

"Look, I know they probably don't know anything about me, but I do know that they know about Ayden. He told me once that someone was after him. Maybe it's them. What you can do is find them. Brayden, you'll have to find them," I said quickly.

"What about you?" he asked quietly.

"Don't worry about what's going to happen to me. I'm just one vampire. The other Supernaturals are more important than me," I said. I wanted it to sound reassuring, but as it escaped my lips, I knew it would only worry him more. God, I hope he doesn't think I'm suicidal.

He looked like he was going to argue, but he didn't. "I'll find the Council," he said. "If you really think this is a problem, then I'll believe you and find them." He stood up and walked down the steps. He looked back and I stood. "Take care of yourself, Emily." After that he was gone. I didn't think I would, but I started crying. I was going to miss him.

That's one down and three to go, I thought grimly. I jumped in my car and started it up. I had to get to the school and tell Skyler. She and her parents had to get out as well. I wasn't going to risk them, either. I put the car in drive and eased out of the driveway. Once I hit pavement, I drove like a bat out of hell.

Skyler:

I sighed as I pulled into my normal parking spot at the school. It was going to be another long day at this boring place. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind a little excitement. My parents said that this was for the best, that we could live a normal life without having to worry about other Supernaturals trying to kill us. I sometimes wondered what that would really be like.

“I have to talk to you and I have to talk to you now.” I jumped at the sound of Emily's voice. I don't think I'll ever get used to not being able to hear her as she approached.

“Whatever it is can probably wait until I’m fully awake.” I yawned.

“No, it can’t. Do you remember the stories your parents used to tell you?” she asked with a worried look on her face.

“Yes,” I said slowly. I remembered my parents telling me that they would have to move from place to place when one Supernatural of one race would get together and try to attack another. The witches, it seemed, were always the one they went after first. According to their stories at least.

“Well, that’s happening right now.” Her eyes searched my face.

“What do you mean?” My heart skipped a beat. Remember what I said earlier about not minding a little excitement? Well, I take it back. I like my sheltered life. I don't want it to change.

“Rogue vampires are here. I’m trying to get everyone out of here and that includes you and your parents.” Her voice was filled with concern and I could see the worried look in her eyes. I started to feel a little panicked.

“What about Brayden?” I asked.

“Brayden’s pack was attacked last night. That’s how I found all of this out. He’s already making plans to get him and his pack out of town. You need to go home right now and talk to your parents too. Please don’t try and stay. Just get home.”

“What about you?” I asked, my concern for her blocking out my rising panic for the moment. What would happen to her if she stayed? Would she be okay?

She shrugged. “It’s Ayden’s group. They’re not going to hurt me.”

“Ayden?” I felt like I was going to faint. There was no way he could be back! Though, why I was reacting so strongly like that was a mystery to even me. Of course I'd never liked the man, but... I thought back to the day that I met him. Something told me he was going to bring destruction, but he didn't when he was here. Did this mean that he was now? Of course it would, some rational part of my mind answered. He brought a whole clan back and Emily is asking you about old stories your parents told you.

“Yeah.” She looked miserable as she said it.

“What—what do you want me to do?” I asked. There was something that I could do, wasn't there?

“I want you to go home, get your mom and dad, and get out of here.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. I wondered how she had time to look like that. It didn’t seem like enough. “What about that Council you told me about? The Council that has two representatives of each kind. Don’t they, like, have two representatives of each kind?” The Council made our laws like the Supreme Court made the laws for humans. Except ours were a little different. Of course they would be, though. We're Supernaturals. In order to keep world peace, we'd have to have someone lay down some kind of law. Two 'shifter representatives to make and uphold the laws for their kind, two witch representatives, and two vampire representatives. Since we were different races our laws were a little different, but they were still equal. No race got special treatment. You break the laws and you pay the consequence. Usually by the Council themselves. The only time you faced the wrath of the Warriors was if they were in a good mood and decided to give you mercy.

I nodded. “But the vampire representatives were killed. The two who were supposed to take their place disappeared. The Council is putting all of their effort into finding them and if we see them we are to report to them.” I looked her in the eyes and mine widened with shock since I realized this for the first time. “Emily, the Council doesn’t know about you. They don’t know what Ayden did.”

“I kind of already figured that part out,” she said. “But it's a good thing because it will give them a second good reason to come here. A new nest of vampires—“

“Rogue vampires,” I interrupted.

“—who could be a threat to laws would be the first,” she finished like I didn’t say a word.

“Emily, they could kill you!” I exclaimed. If the Council doesn't know about a fledgling after a certain amount of time they kill them. Or so I've been told. I honestly didn't want to tell them about Emily. They would probably kill her. Without vampire representatives, the only ones left are witches and 'shifters and the last thing those two races want are more vampires.

“It’s a possibility that they could, but you’ve got to find them anyway. Besides, with you and Brayden, you could talk them into letting me live. I know the two of you could. Besides, I’ve done nothing wrong.”

I nodded, but couldn’t help the sinking feeling that I had. The Council never relied on other people to do their work for them. They liked to be very hands on, and, at the moment, they're hands were tied up trying to find the heirs to the vampire representatives.

“The Council will be hard to find,” I said after a long moment.

“Why? Don’t they have some place where they stay?” She looked even more worried. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. Would she be asking herself what she was going to do next? Was she wondering how long it would take for Brayden or I to find them if we could? I didn't know.

I shook my head. “The Council doesn’t sit by idly," I said, voicing my earlier thoughts. "They’re very active in everything. It’s why they choose who will take their place once they die.”

“What happened to the vampire representatives?” she asked bemusedly, seeming to have forgotten her earlier worries.

“They had three children. Their third child murdered them—no one knows why. The two oldest were supposed to take their place, but they ran. The Council has been trying to find them for at least fifty years now.” All of the Supernaturals knew this detail. The only thing no one—not even the Warriors—knew, except the actual representatives, was who the children were. The Council wouldn't even release the information to have anyone help them.

“Why haven’t they given up yet?”

“The Council doesn’t believe in giving up. They have to have representatives or your kind will have no order.”

She nodded her head. “That’s why Ayden is probably doing this. There is no order for us.” She looked at me with fierce determination in her eyes. “Just do what I said. Find the Council. Do all you can to get them here; I’ll do what I can for as long as I can.”

“I don’t want to leave you behind, Emily. You’re my best friend.” Tears were filling my eyes but I didn’t wipe them away.

She hugged me. “I know. You’re my best friend too. That’s why I’m doing this.” She pulled back. “Now, please, get yourself to safety. Please.”

I got back in my car, started it, and rolled down the window. “I promise I won’t stop until I find them.”

She smiled sadly. “Thank you. I’ll miss you.”

“Ditto.” I rolled my window up, put the car in drive, and didn’t look back as I pulled away. I knew there would be no point in it. Besides, looking back was something I just didn’t do. There was really no reason to start now. My best friend would make it through. And if she didn’t… If she didn’t, I would know she would have tried her best to do what she could. I’d never felt more proud to have known her as I did in that moment.

Darien:

I was lying in bed, thinking of what I really wanted to do today when I heard a tap on my window. The only person that I thought it could be was Emily, but when I let the window up, it wasn’t Emily who crawled through. I hoped my disappointment didn’t show.

“What’s up, Chris?” I asked once I was lying comfortably on my bed again. At seventeen, Chris was a pretty tall guy at six foot two. He had long brown hair that reached past his shoulders. To be honest, I didn't understand why he kept it that length. I had to cut mine. He had on a black shirt that said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; I was aiming for you face." One of his favorites, and his favorite jeans that had so many holes in them that I wondered how much longer they'd survive. His personality is what I liked best about him though. He wasn't afraid to say what he thought; it didn't matter what it was. He was really deep and laid back, too; always had the best advice for everything and he took everything day by day. Maybe that's why he was my best friend.

“Decided to ditch,” he said with a shrug once he was through the window. “So what’s on the schedule?”

“Well, I was actually going to go see Emily.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not still stuck on her, are you?”

“What do you think?” I asked. There really was no point in lying to him about it. He knew me all too well.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “When are you going to give up?”

“What does give up mean?” I asked with a grin.

“I’ll take that as a never,” he said under his breath. |

“Look,” I said with a serious tone. “It’s not like I’m going on about it like a chick.”

“Not going on about what like a chick?” Emily’s voice said from my doorway.

I jumped and Chris laughed. “Hey, Em," he said with a grin. I wanted to hit him in the back of the head.

“’Sup?” she asked with that cool, but weird tone of hers. Her face was calm and collective. I wondered if Mom let her in. Usually everyone walks in the house without even knocking, but not Emily. She always knocked. I told her she didn't have to do that, but she insisted. Sometimes, her need to have good manners was a little bit annoying. But I guess it's a good thing too.

“Ditching,” Chris said with an even bigger grin than before.

“I can see that.” She gave him a tiny smile.

She looked at me and opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but closed it just as quickly. She stiffened instantly. “I have to go,” she said abruptly. Before I could ask her where, she turned and left. I called after her, but she didn't stop. I got out of bed as fast as possible and managed to make it only to my bedroom door before I heard the front door close and a car start up outside.

“What’s her problem?” my mom asked as she stood beside me. Her bedroom door was right next to mine. She walked out and peered around me into my room. "Hey, Chris," she said sweetly. "What are you doing out of school?"

I looked at Chris and we both shrugged. He didn't really answer her question, but it's not really like she minded. Chris wasn't her responsibility so she wouldn't tell him he should be at school and she wouldn't kick him out either.

“Whatever you did, you need to apologize to her. She looked pretty upset,” she said without another regard to why Chris wasn't at school. She didn't seem angry about Emily, either, but I knew my mom. She adored her and she wanted Emily and me to get back together. If Chris wasn't here, she'd probably be yelling at me right now.

“But I—we—didn’t do anything!” I exclaimed.

“Seriously, Mrs. Malissa, we didn’t do anything. She was cool for a minute and then she just…changed her mood or something,” Chris said.

She raised an eyebrow. “Okay, boys.” And that was all she said. She turned and walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast.

Breakfast? I thought to myself. Oh, man. What am I doing up this early on an off day?

* * *

It was three-fifteen when Chris left, which is normally the time that school gets out. He had to be there to get his little brother Miles and girlfriend Miranda so things didn’t look suspicious to his parents. I sighed. He was almost eighteen and still worried about what they thought. Then again, even though his birthday was only a few weeks away he was still seventeen, so whatever.

My cell phone suddenly rang.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Dude! I thought you and Em were suspended. Why is she here?” my other best friend Adam’s voice asked through the phone.

“What makes you think that I know?”

“Well, I figured the two of you spent the day together.”

“No, she freaked over something this morning and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Now that you mention it, she looks pretty weird right now,” he said.

“Stay right there. You and I are going to do some investigating.”

He groaned. “Why are you going to drag me into this?”

“Because you’re the one that called me,” I said with a grin, even though he couldn’t see it. I loved spy work, and Adam...well, Adam was my excuse to get out of trouble if we got caught. She would be angry if it was just me, but with Adam around she would think it was one of his crazy ideas of a game and she would overlook it. Okay, she'd be a little angry, but more of an annoyed-type thing than actually being angry— I sighed. I was rambling to myself. If I kept that up, I feared I might start talking to and answering myself aloud.

He sighed. “Fine.” He hung up.

When I got to the school, Adam was nowhere to be found. I let out a curse. He'd ditched me and here I thought he was into this kind of stuff. The sneaking around, I mean.

I ran to the double doors near Red Hall where I knew the Theatre kids would be practicing waiting for their teacher to get her things together and unlock the auditorium doors on the other side. I knocked on a window. The curtain moved and I saw one of Emily's friends look through the window. I couldn't help but notice his look of disgust. He never liked me. I waved and the curtain moved back into place. Seconds later, the double doors were opening.

"Where's Emily?" I asked, trying to hide the fact that I didn't like him either.

"What's it to you?" he asked bitterly.

"Just tell me where she is."

He leaned against the door and crossed his arms. "Why should I tell you where she is?"

"Damien, I don't have time for you and your stupid games," I growled.

"She's not here. In case you haven't gotten the memo, she was suspended." He was still leaning against the door, but instead of looking angry, his face had become an expressionless mask.

I nodded. I wasn't going to give up, though. Adam said he saw her and I was going to find out where. "Well, I've got something to get out of my locker," I said, sounding as resigned as possible.

"Do whatever you want. I don't care," he said. He pushed himself away from the door and walked back through the second set of double doors. I grabbed the first one before it could shut and I'd be locked out again. After I went through the second set of double doors, I pressed my back against the wall once I reached a corner, leaned over to look down the hall, darted across to the other side, and began walking straight, like I was going to the school lobby.

“I’m not going to sit here and listen to you yell at me for an hour,” Emily’s voice said, angrily, from the farthest classroom near Green Hall. I ran in the guys’ restroom two doors away. Stupid, sure, but where else could I have gone?

“If you would listen to me in class like the good little spoiled brat your daddy thinks you are then maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation!” a booming voice yelled behind her.

“Have you ever thought that I don’t listen to you because some way or another you’re going to make fun of me, so it wouldn’t matter if I paid any attention to you or not? Because to tell you the truth, that’s exactly the reason that I don’t listen to you,” she snapped back.

He scoffed. “You act like I care.”

“As a teacher, you should,” she snapped again. I had a feeling she was going to be snapping a lot during this whole conversation.

“That seems to be going well,” I murmered to myself. Or at least I thought I did.

“Darien! Get out of the restroom!” Emily shouted. I flinched and suddenly couldn't help but wonder how she knew I was there. I didn't think I'd made any sound.

“Awww. You brought me an audience!” White said with delight. I was beginning to see why she hated him.

“Don’t flatter yourself, old man.”

“How did you know I were there?” I asked with skepticsm as I walked out of the restroom.

“It’s kind of not hard to tell when you can hear your deep voice—seriously, has anyone ever taught you how to really whisper? Oh, and not to mention that it’s so easy to tell that you would be spying on me. Did Adam tell you I was here?” she asked, annoyed.

White yawned. “As much as I love this little get together, you”—he pointed at Emily—“have tutoring to finish. And you two”—he pointed to me—“should really be getting home. You can have your little friend back later when I’m finished with her.”

“Why is she here?” I asked as if I hadn’t heard Mr. White just say she had to finish her tutoring.

“Tutoring,” Mr. White said with a grin. He didn’t seem to have a problem with repeating it.

I watched as Emily turned away and walked into the office. I didn’t know what she was doing, but then I saw the little device she slipped out of her pocket when she walked through the door. She glanced at me and grinned.

“Let’s go back to the—“ White looked over and noticed she was gone. “Where did she go?” he snapped.

Mr. Johnson, one of the assistant principals, stuck his head around the office door. “Ben, come here please.”

Mr. White looked confused, but complied.

"What just happened?" a student asked me.

“Em just recorded that whole conversation.” I grinned. I felt so proud of her.

The guy snickered. “She’s so devious.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are such a loser," I said under my breath.