Love Lines

21: The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning

"The high school drama?"

"The sword."

I tried not to smile at his more than obvious irritation. "Are you sure you don't want to start with throwing stars? If it helps, I can tell you I would feel just as threatened if you used those as that sword you're currently...messing with." Like he did with the coin, he was rolling the hilt of the sword over all of his knuckles.

"I like the sword. It's making you...really nervous."

"Well that's because it weights as much as a toddler and it's really sharp. I'm not good with sharp in case you were wondering. Schylar never lets me handle a knife anymore after that one pesky incident..."

"What's up with that?"

I took my eyes off the blade, for some reason they kept finding their way back to staring at it, and frowned at him. "Up with what?"

"You and the q-tip?"

"Q-tip? He's not..."

"He's like one of those q-tips you see at the doctor's office. The one sided ones..."

That got my anger going. "Are you seriously making fun of my best friend right now?"

"I've never seen a white boy with an afro."

"If I could lift this, I would attack you."

"Aw, is Little Red getting angry? That's so cute."

"Don't call me cute."

"Why not? It's what you are. Cute."

"Says the guy who turns into a fluffy werewolf every month."

His eyes got dark and the amusement dropped off his face. "There's nothing fluffy about being a werewolf."

"Sure about that? You know what they say, you're all as big as barns and as sweet as chocolate."

"Sweet? I'm not sweet and I sure as hell am not sweet when I'm in werewolf mode."

"Sure about that?" I was saying that a lot. "From what I saw..."

"I told you. I'm not that docile."

"I would hardly say you banging against your cage and then stampeding towards me docile..."

"You're just one of those people who sees the good in everything, aren't you?"

"Who said I was making it good? I get it. You're the Big Bad Wol—hey!"

Without warning, and like he'd already done so many times before, he rushed me. And like all my reactions before, I panicked and acted more like a girl than I usually do. Normally people just attack me with their words and they don't do it that often. I can hold up my end of a good banter any time but when it came to being physical, I wasn't much of a fighter. I knew your basic stuff, my uncle and father thought it important that I knew which spots on a teenage boy's body to hit if they were making a pass I didn't like.

But Andrzej wasn't making a pass at me. He was charging me. With a sword. A really sharp and pointy sword. I'll admit I was a little entranced by the way he moved and how confidently he held the thing. But when he launched himself off the flat ground like he was an aerial acrobat, I knew I had to move or I would be sliced in half.

So I moved, with much more grace than I ever thought I had, and my body acted on its own, making my arms bring up the rather large sword and strike out at him.

What the popsicle sticks was that?!

I stared rather wide eyed as the sword in my hand arched up from the ground, about to slash my "partner" across the back. But like he knew I was going to do it, he deflected by poising the sword parallel with his spine, making his shoulder muscles prominent under his shirt and vest.