Whispers

Chapter Nine

Following suit, I abandoned my spot on the ground. "What's wrong?" I snickered, nudging him with my arm. "You afraid our alliance is gonna kill you?"

"No," he replied. "But it might kill you."

Every nerve ending in my body froze the second I looked into his eyes, hard like diamonds and just as blue. "What are you...? If you're trying to freak me out it's not going to work, Hawthorne." I glared up at the boy but I couldn't ignore the warning in his words, the certainty in his eyes.

With a small click the door to the classroom opened up and Mr. Lance stepped out. He opened his mouth to speak but paused once his eyes landed on the boy between us. "Mr. Hawthorne," he greeted. "You're late."

Daren handed the blue pass over to our teacher, his gaze never leaving mine. "Just remember what I said. And if you see him, run." Swiping his bag from the floor at his feet, he disappeared into the class, the door swinging shut behind him.

"What was that about?" Mr. Lance inquired curiously.

"Nothing." I shook my head. "He's just trying to scare me."

"You're not still being bullied, are you?" The concern was evident in his voice, laced with just a touch of anger. "Is Mr. Hawthorne the one who did that to you?"

"He didn't touch me." At least, that's what he said. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," he said. "You look tired."

"I am tired," I replied. "If I'm being honest, sleeping hasn't been the easiest thing to do as of late. Damn near impossible, actually."

"Has something happened lately?"

You mean, aside from the foreboding words of wisdom Daren so kindly passed along to me? "Just... nightmares. It's nothing to really worry about."

"Well, I am worried," he replied. "You're falling asleep in class, you haven't been able to finish any work I assign, I see you walking around the school and you look like a ghost. You're a good student, Miss Thompson, and a wonderful girl. I don't want to see you getting hurt."

"Thank you, Mr. Lance, but really. Nothing is going on. Just a lack of sleep."

"Are you sure that's it?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure."

"I'm going to send you down to see Mr. Carter," he finally decided. "Maybe he can prescribe something for you. Wait right here." He walked back into the classroom.

Daren's warning was immediately tossed aside at the mere mention of his name and my stomach vaulted to smack against my heart in an obnoxious somersault. I hadn't seen him since that night in the art room, but even so, I couldn't help the sudden heat I felt course through my body, the touch of sweat I could feel coating my hands whenever I thought of Lucas Carter.

I guess you could say, Sirus wasn't the only reason I wasn't sleeping much these days.

When Mr. Lance returned he handed me a small slip of paper. "I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks." Taking the pass I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder and headed down the steps. 

Outside the air was almost uncomfortably warm and the afternoon sun blazed a brilliant white high in the sky. As much as I disliked being cold, I hated being hot even worse. When it was cold you could just bundle yourself up in a few blankets, drink some hot chocolate and binge on Harry Potter. What could you do when it's hot? Strip down into lighter layers? Sure, but what if you do that and you're still overheating? What then? Rip off your skin? Face it, when it's unbearably hot all you can do is lay on your floor and try not to move until the heat wave ends. If you can manage to survive that long, that is.