I watched as Jason's light brown eyes flicked back and forth between mine. We were in the living room and he was leaning down in front of me as I sat on the couch. His brows furrowed together. He put a hand on my face and tilted my head back. Gently he lifted one of my eyelids as he continued to examine me. After a few moments he stood up straight and let out a huff of air.
"I don't know why this is happening. Very few people know much about the Supreme. And those who do don't disclose any of their knowledge. My best guess is that since she hasn't killed you yet is that she holds you of high value. Maybe it's a protection. Or she's marking her territory. Maybe it's both - marking you as hers will make others hesitate to hurt you. But that's just a guess," he said.
"Do you know how long my eyes will stay like this?" I asked.
Jason shook his head.
"There's no telling. Did anything bad happen at school?" he asked.
"Nothing other than the usual drama that comes with school. Today was slightly more trying," I said thinking about Sharon.
"Well my best advice is to try to stay as calm as you can. Since we don't know much about being Marked it's best to do your best to stay in control."
"I'll try," I said.
Jason sat down next to me and turned on the TV. I brought my knees up to my chest and found myself lost in my thoughts as he flipped through the channels. I had a feeling that dark times were ahead and I didn't know why. I knew that I would have to face whatever it was with bravery, but I felt like I was kidding myself. I was a scared teenage girl. I'd never been in a real fight. I'd been beaten my entire life. Compared to other Unknowns I was still weak. I knew I hadn't reached my full potential yet.
Everyone else seemed to think there was something so special about me. What was special about controlling water? What was so powerful about that? It wasn't like I could read minds or control any object like Jason. I couldn't manipulate energy in any way I wanted like Myra. I didn't have inhuman strength like Jake.
I could only control water. Water was gentle. I was gentle. Maybe that's why I would die. It wasn't volatile like fire. It couldn't disrupt life like the earth. It couldn't steal the wind from your lungs like a gust of wind. Water was peaceful, but the world I lived in wasn't.
"I'll be back later on tonight," Jason said snatching me out of my thoughts. I watched as he picked up his keys and headed out of the door.
"Okay," I said. It felt so abrupt, but I didn't feel like asking why. I just felt so drained.
After Jason left I flipped through the channels, but couldn't find anything that held my interest. I laid back on the couch and decided to take a nap. I was tired anyway.
***
My pocket buzzing dragged me out of my slumber. I pulled my phone out and saw Hunter's name on the screen. Only an hour had passed since I'd fallen asleep.
"Hey," I answered.
"You up to some horses?" he asked.
"Definitely," I said. I could use a distraction from my problems.
"Meet me at the lake in fifteen minutes," he said.
"Okay. See you there," I said.
Fifteen minutes later I was walking up to the lake and saw Hunter petting one of the horses. One of them was brown and the other was black. The hair on their bodies was sleek, but hair draped and flowed around their hooves like curtains. They were both large in stature. The brown one dug on of it's huge hoofs into the ground as Hunter scratched his face.
"Wow," I said as I got closer. Hunter turned around and smiled at me. He had on a cowboy hat and it looked very fitting on him. He tipped his hat at me as I approached. His eyes met mine and I could have sworn his smile faltered slightly but when I blinked and looked again it was just as wide as ever.
"Are they Clydesdales?" I asked.
"Shires," he said.
"They're beautiful," I said as I walked over to the black one. His nostrils flared as I reached out to pet him and he turned his head to assess me. A deep guttural sound emitted from his throat, but as I scratched his ears he relaxed.
"He's normally not so good around strangers, but he seems to like you already," Hunter said.
"What's his name?"
"Shadow. This one here is Magic," he said and he started to mount him. I climbed onto Shadow's back and he watched me curiously.
"You're not gonna try to buck me off now are you?" I asked softly. His response was letting out a big huff of air.
I followed Hunter to wherever he was leading us. At first we rode in silence, but eventually we fell into a calm conversation. Shadow's ears flicked back and forth between us as we spoke. Magic didn't seem to care much.
"Have you given anymore thought about going to your school's dances?" Hunter asked.
"No. It hasn't really been a priority lately," I said. It was true. Though part of me was still opposed to the idea.
"I'm sure your first one has to be coming up soon. You should start thinking about it."
"I'll see," I said.
"Did you get everything sorted out that you needed to?" I asked.
"More or less. I doubt I'll ever get everything all under control," he said.
"Is it under control enough to tell me what was going on?"
Hunter brought Magic to a stop, so I did the same with Shadow. The look on his face was unreadable. It slowly turned into one of conflict. His blue eyes pierced into mine and it felt like he was searching for something. I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but it felt like his gaze was piercing right through me.
"Now wouldn't be the best time to put my problems on your shoulders."
"I'm sure I can take it," I said.
He shook his head.
"Everything has a time and a place. Now isn't it," he said and he cued Magic to start moving. I decided not to push it. He would tell me eventually.
After a while we reached a clearing. Hunter got off of Magic and placed his hat on the saddle before he quick tied his lead rope on a tree. He came over and held out his hand to help me down since Shadow was so big. When my feet touched the ground he didn't let go like I expected him too. He helped me tied Shadow's rope and we walked further into the grass.
"You said you've never been to a dance, so I'm guessing that you never actually have danced," he said.
"I haven't," I admitted.
"Well I'll teach you the basics. This way you can't use it as an excuse for not going," he said with a smile.
"You're not letting me out of this are you?" I asked.
"Nope," he said as he put my arms around his neck and his hands on my waist.
"Was this part of the plan all along?" I asked.
"No. It was an impromptu decision. Originally we were just supposed to ride around on Magic and Shadow, but I could feel your resistance when I brought up your school dancing."
"Don't you have any music?" I asked.
"Wouldn't it be kind of hard to have music if it was a last minute decision?" he asked sarcastically.
"You have a gift of sarcasm," I noted.
"And you have a gift for ruining the moment. Just go with the flow," he said.
Suddenly he twirled me around and it felt like I was going to hit the ground when I was brought to an abrupt halt. Hunter's hand was placed firmly under me as he slowly brought me back up to his chest. My heart was pounding. I wanted to complain about his abruptness, but he's already chastised me about ruining the moment so I went with it.
I decided to think of a song in my head as we swayed back and forth. Eventually we fell into a rhythm I laid my head on Hunter's chest. When his arms tightened around me I tensed a little before relaxing. I'd never been this close to a guy before. His body was pressed right against mine and, unlike how I thought I would feel, I didn't want to move away an inch. I felt safe. Like maybe all my all my problems weren't as bad as I thought they were.
After what felt like ages I looked up at Hunter. He pushed the hair out of my face and I felt my cheeks heat up. A smile played at his lips as he took in my reaction, and his eyes traveled up to meet mine. He looked back and forth between mine for a moment and it almost felt as if he was assessing them, but then his expression softened again. His was gentle as his feather-light fingers traveled the contours of my face.
Something told me that we should't be doing this. That people who were friends didn't act like this. Part of me said that I should let him go but I felt a need tug deep in my chest as I looked at Hunter. I couldn't explain it. Without even thinking about what I was doing I let my hands travel up the back of his neck and into his hair.
I reveled in how soft the brown strands were as my fingers ran through them. One hand traveled down the side of his face and I could feel the stubble beginning to grow. Hunter's eyes flickered down to my lips and instead of feeling insecure like I know I should have, it pushed me even further. I was on my tippy-toes as I wrapped my arms back around him. I didn't know what it I wanted or needed, but I let my instincts take over.
Baby you're a song you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruuuuuiiiise!!
Hunter and I both jumped at my ringing phone. Whatever was happening between us was gone now. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and answered it.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey where are you guys? I came home to an empty house," Myra said.
"Jason said he'd be back later tonight. I'll be back in a little while," I said avoiding her question.
"Okay. Just making sure you're alive. See you later," she said.
"Yup," I said hanging up the phone.
"I should probably get you home," Hunter said putting his hand in his pockets.
I nodded absentmindedly. We walked back over to Magic and Shadow and mounted them. There was a tranquil silence between us. I knew whatever had happened just a few moments ago changed something between us. It felt like we were closer. Like the connection was that much stronger.
When we got back to the lake Hunter helped me down again and I patted Shadow. I went over to Magic and made sure I gave him a good scratch behind the ears. They were both excellent horses.
"Thanks. You always come around at just the right time," I said as Magic leaned into my hand.
I heard Hunter's boots on grass behind me. I turned around and was shocked by how close he was. It made me uncomfortable, but not in the way I felt like with Martin.
Hunter reached around me and grabbed his hat. For a second I thought he was about to put it on my head, but instead he used the movement and my confusion to lean forward and put his lips against mine. All I could register was that he was soft and warm before pulled away and put his hat on my head.
"It's my pleasure," he said he mounted Magic and whistled at Shadow before heading off.
I was speechless. I had to replay the entire scene again in my head just to be sure that it had happened. Maybe I was imagining things. I put my hand up to my lips as I turned away from Hunter's retreating figure.
My hand was still on my mouth as I walked through the door.
"Hey!" Myra said. I was in such a daze that I didn't register her voice immediately.
"Hey," I said absently.
She squinted for a moment.
"Let me guess...Hunter?" she said.
"How'd you know?"
"You have the same look on your face that any girl has after spending time with the guy they like," she said. I immediately tried to change my facial expression. She barked out a laugh.
"Not quite," she said.
I went to a mirror and checked out my eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that they were back to normal. I didn't know how it happened, but I was glad that it did.
***
"Are you going to the dance this Friday?" Michael asked me as we walked to P.E. A few weeks had passed and we were more than halfway through the semester.
"Sadly I am," I responded.
"Do you want to go together?" he asked. I hesitated.
"Don't you think that will cause even more tension with your friend?" I asked.
"Her opinion is irrelevant," he answered.
"So really that's just a yes and you don't want to admit it," I replied.
I knew Sharon was up to something. I didn't like the fact that she was so adamant about finding out my past. She persistence in digging up dirt was going to get her covered in some deep shit. It still made me angrier than it should have, but I made sure to push the thoughts back. I didn't need my eyes turning black again.
"How about we be each other's dates when we get there? We can both go to the dance on our own," I offered. Michaels hesitations said that he didn't like it very much, but he knew that was all I was going to offer.
"Okay," he agreed.
We reached the gym and went our separate ways to dress our for class. We were playing basketball now and it somehow managed to be even worse than playing team handball.
Martin was actually on the basketball team. He played football in the fall, basketball in the winter and soccer in the spring. I hated to compliment him, but he was really a monster on the field. The last I heard he had scholarship offers from several different schools for each sport he played. That jackass was guaranteed a free education as long as he didn't get injured and kept his grades up and here the rest of us were barely holding on. I probably should have felt happy for him, but in reality I didn't think his character stood up to the money that he was being offered.
I went to the gymnasium and stood in my usual spot for attendance. I just needed to get through this week and then all I had left to focus on was the last month or two of school. My birthday was coming up soon and I knew Myra and Jason wanted to do something. I told Hunter not to worry about it. I didn't want to be overwhelmed.
Part of me felt like I was almost there, but another nagging part felt like this was just the beginning. I should have felt like I was getting ready to close a chapter on my life, but instead I felt like I was just starting a new one.
A/N
I promise to do my best to never write a sappy chapter like this again. This story is NOT, I repeat is NOT going to be a romance. Yes there will be some romantic aspects but I refuse to let it take over the story. I wasn't even planning on having them kiss until later on, but things change...
Also I feel like these past few chapters have been SO boring, but they're necessary. Or maybe I'm just tired of writing them because they're barely even keeping my interest. I'm just ready to get back to the action so I'm doing my best to pump these out quickly. Daisy Lynn's goal was to get through school so I have to tell that part of her story. There should only be one or two more slow chapters. Maybe three...the way I imagine things in my head usually end up being longer on paper.
Anyway just know that shit is going to go DOWN. I just have to lay the foundation for it. And I hope that the drama that ensues comes out just as crazy on the computer as I'm imagining it in my head.