Save Me

“They’ve given me all my credits from last semester.”

“That’s the good news?”

“No. That’s the bad news.” I tipped my head back so I was looking up at Peter’s face. “It’s not a good thing.”

“Why isn’t it a good thing?”

“Because now I’m in all these advanced placement classes without the foundations the classes I was taking last semester were supposed to give me by the time they concluded. Thankfully Peyote gave me two study periods so I can use them to catch up.”

He snatched the schedule out of my hand and looked it over, his eyes brightening. “The good news is we have several classes together unlike last semester.”

“You just have to ruin everything don’t you?”

“How is that ruining things? That’s good news.”

“I think you’re hooked on good news, Peter.”

For the most part I was messing with him but I was also worried like I’d said. I didn’t want to be the only person in class completely clueless about what the teacher was talking about.

“Just think, since we’re in some of the same classes, I can tutor you.”

That made me frown. “Tutor me?”

“Yeah. When you need help with something, all you’d have to do is ask me. We even have one of your study periods together.” His grin was rather wolfish. “You should be excited.”

Along with the smile, I could hear the “but there’s a catch” in his voice. “Peter…”

He moved so he was whispering in my ear, the breath he took before he spoke making my hair tickle my face and something deep down come to life. “All you’d have to do is…”

“If you finish that, I think I might throw up,” Gwen said. “You two need like a long weekend or something. Otherwise I think Cass is going to be a permanent shade of tomato for the duration of the school year.”

“Good morning to you too, Gwen,” I said. “How are you?”

Just like Bren said, the Twins had caught up to us when I was getting my schedule from Ms. Peyote. After Peter got there, Bren left the office to go find Gwen to make sure she was staying out of trouble. Personally, I thought it was just so they could have some more snoggle time and when we left the office, neither of them were in sight so I was pretty sure I was right. Peter and I started over to the Great Hall for morning announcements, caught up in our own little world to even acknowledge anyone else around us. The other pair of lovebirds caught up to us just as we got to the doors.

“I have an idea,” she said happily. “We should all go to the Hamptons house this weekend. Get some time away and since it’s the winter, no one will really be there. It would be so much fun.” Her eyes got even brighter. “Bren, you could show her that thing you do with the water…”

A strange melancholy settled over our group as Gwen’s suggestion sank in and what Mr. Marks had commanded the other night actually meant. There was no way all four of us could go to the Hamptons because Bren wasn’t supposed to be around Gwen or I outside of school. Even when he was helping my father and I move back into our house, Mr. Marks was watching him with a sharp eye and no pauses.

“Gwen, I don’t think…”

“It wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Peter can talk to Daddy, convince him that it’s ok, and then…”

“Gwen,” Bren said in a softer voice. “The suggestion is thoughtful but what I did…your father was more than fair with what he decided. Let’s not push his limits just yet, ok?”

“But…”

“I’ll talk to him,” I spoke up. “You’re doing better and even though it’s only been a couple days…”

“Cass…”

“You made a mistake,” I cut him off. “We all do it and yes, even though yours is a bit more destructive than most, you deserve a second chance too. I mean, it’s not like you tried to perform a banishment spell and ended up almost killing everyone or anything. The prize for biggest screw up still belongs to me.”

“Cass…” It was Peter’s turn to try and speak up but I just turned slightly in his arms and covered his mouth.

“It’s true. That spell went horribly wrong and if I hadn’t performed it, none of the past two months would’ve happened. So I’m right, you’re wrong, and I’ll talk to Mr. Marks about fixing it.”

The red specks in his eyes glittered with anger and I half expected him to start arguing with me about it. But instead his anger waned off as quickly as it came and he pulled my hand down and nibbled the pad of my middle finger as a playful gesture.