Auras-Book One

Chapter 17

I waited until Dustin went to the bathroom before I called Dani. "What's up?" she answered.

"Hey, I forgot to get Brian's number before I left the cabin. I'm supposed to call him and let him know that I'm not having any issues after the fracture." I tried to keep my voice even so her 'my best friend has a problem' radar didn't go off.

"No problem. I'll text it to you." She hung up.

"Who was that?" Dustin came up behind me.

I jumped. "It was Dani. She was just checking to see how my day was going." I kept my eyes down, pretending that my pencil was the most interesting thing I had ever seen.

He studied me for a minute. "Did I startle you? Your heart rate just shot up."

"Well, yah, I thought you were in the bathroom." I kept my eyes averted. I knew he could telepathically talk to me, though I wasn't sure yet if he could read my mind. But I knew he couldn't do either without linking our eyes.

"Okay," He looked at me strangely. "Wanna grab a coffee before next class?"

"Yah, definitely." I forced myself to calm down, with the promise of some much-needed caffeine and sugar.

We headed across the campus towards the student union. "Shit," I heard Dustin mutter, as his hand tightened around mine.

I followed his gaze and saw Anya standing in the middle of the quad, flanked by two of her friends. Each of the three girls were ringed by a dark grey glow. "Great," I sighed. All kinds of colorful statements swirled in my head, most of them involving a word that rhymes with 'duck'.

As we neared the group, their glow began to dissipate. I had hoped to pass by, unnoticed, but it was too much to hope for. Anya spotted me right away.

"Welcome back, Katie. Looks like the surgeon did a nice job straightening out your caved in cranium." Her friends giggled behind her.

"Thanks," I muttered, as we tried to pass her. I bit my tongue to keep from making things worse. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but I barely felt it. I was almost shaking with my need for vengeance.

"That's all you've got?" she mocked me. "You were awfully mouthy the last time I saw you."

"Anya, just drop it," Dustin warned her.

"Still slumming, huh Dustin?" she taunted. "Thought you would have realized your fragile girlfriend was a waste of time, while you watched her brains seep out of her skull last month."

He tugged my hand and led me around them. "You got what you wanted, now leave it alone."

She looked smug as she watched us continue towards the student union. Dustin glanced into my eyes. "You did great," he silently applauded me. "I'm so proud of you."

I shrugged and held tight to his hand. I could feel every muscle in my body tense. I wanted to end her. Not just hit her, but really end her. The desire was almost overwhelming, but I knew that we didn't need any extra problems right now.

We got in line for coffee. "Can I help you?" The barista smiled at me. The rainbow glow that emanated from her silhouette was almost blinding. Greens, blues and purples radiated from her like a shock wave.

"Victoria!" Dustin smiled at her. "How's it going?"

"Hey Dustin. Haven't seen you in a while." She grabbed a cup and wrote his name on it. "Your usual?"

He nodded. "Thanks. Hey, this is my girlfriend, Katie. Katie, this is Victoria."

She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."