A Secret Service [NOW PUBLISHED]

Chapter 30 - "How badly did I screw up?"

"Hey," she whispered, "how are you doing?"

"Fine," he said, not evening thinking about the response.

"Come on Link, it's me."

He looked at her, his face going closed off. "Carter, I said I was fine."

She studied his eyes. Eyes that held so much of his identity but held so much of his pain as well. With a nod, she let the subject drop.

"Alright," Mr. Miller said, walking back towards his desk. "You may begin. When you're finished, bring them up to me."

Link shifted away from Carter and started working. After a second of studying his hunched shoulders and dropped head, she went to work on her own test. The room filled with the sound of drumming eraser heads on desks, the scratching of pencils on paper and the tapping of anxious feet. The clocked seem to grow louder as the time wore on, grating on the nerves of students who didn't feel prepared.

Half an hour later, Carter finished off her test and stood. The sound of her chair grabbed everyone's attention for a second and got her looks of annoyance and jealousy. She walked up to the front and dropped her test on Mr. Miller's desk. He looked up from his book and glanced at his watch.

"Seems a bit slow for you," he said.

"I got bored halfway through and got distracted."

Mr. Miller gave her a genuine smile. "I hope you don't waste your talents in life. You truly have a great mind."

"Don't worry. I don't plan to."

She turned and came face to face with Donovan. She smirked at him.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

He reached around her and laid his test on top of hers.

"Your writing is hard to decipher from such a distance. I think your answer to five lacked real thought."

She smiled and his lips twitched at a grin, but never made it that far. Her expression fell.

"What happened?" she asked.

Mr. Miller cleared his throat and gave them both a stern look. "Get back to your seats. The rest of the class still has to finish."

They returned to their spots and remained silent as the rest of the class slaved on. They exchanged looks every few minutes, but nothing more.

When the bell finally rang Carter was the first up, sliding her bag onto her shoulder. She stayed quiet as Link slowly gathered his things and followed him out into the hallway. The weariness and exhaustion of the students had been burned away in their first class. The hallways rang once more with conversations that contradicted each other and footsteps that sounded like a thousand warriors were storming a new land. Link started walking away, but Carter snagged his arm. He looked back, baffled. She jerked her head towards the doorway.

"Donovan," she said.

His only answer was to shrug out of Carter's hold. She dropped her hands into her pockets and studied him again. Mason exited and the two brothers' gazes collided. Their faces showed very little, but the fire in Link's eyes said it all. Mason moved on, tossing him a smirk as he went.

Link flexed his jaw and tightened his fists. Carter laid a hand on his shoulder, a comfort and a restraint. Donovan walked out and in a single glance took in the scene before him. Carter tilted her head back towards where Mason was disappearing. Donovan looked to Link, his eyes drifting down to his balled fists.

"Come on," he said.

His voice snapped Link out of his thoughts. He led the way to history, not saying a word. They were just outside the door when Maddy appeared.