G asps filled the air as Owen made his exclamation. Everyone's eyes fell on me, almost all of them filled with absolute hatred, convinced that Owen was right; they were certain they were face to face with their number one enemy. I met some of the eyes, wanting to flinch or move, but that would make me look guilty. That would make me look like a person just caught lying. I couldn't do that. I couldn't make them think they were right.
"No, she's not," Damien said, suddenly at my side, arm around me. "You're wrong, Owen." He glared at the boy who dare claim I was a Hunter. "On the contrary, you're far from being right."
"There's no other explanation, Damien. And you know Hunters aren't allowed in here." Owen took a step forward, his eyes narrowed, fist clenched. I met his hatred filled eyes, gulping. I tried to take a step back, but Damien kept me in place. "Any Hunter who comes here has to be killed." He glared from me to Damien. "I never even thought you, though the nicest person I know, would actually protect one of these horrible creations."
I felt my anger flare. "Hunter's are still humans too, you jerk!" I yelled, walking forward so I was right in front of him, jerking away when Damien tried to pull me back. Yes, I would have been safer if I'd just stayed back, but I was ticked. "If our parents and grandparents hadn't been so freaking obnoxious, Hunters wouldn't have been created. Some of you still act so full of yourselves it's annoying and abuse your powers even after the law was set. Morons like you are what created Hunters!" I screamed, fist shaking in anger. "I'm ashamed to call myself a Super Human." I shook my head. "Now stop acting like an idiot and saying I'm a Hunter just because you don't want to go along with the bet and have pink hair."
He leaned into my face, his eyes narrowed. "You probably wish I believed that," he murmured, eyes still narrowed in rage. "Good thing I'm too smart to fall for your lies, Hunter."
I was suddenly yanked back right before a metal needle hit my neck, passing my face by less than an inch. I was pulled into Damien's arms, the Armstrongs looking nervously around before at Damien. "Listen to me," he yelled, eyes narrowed. "Next person who tries to attack her is going to get hurt. I'm not going to let you hurt her when she's not a Hunter. Heck, I wouldn't let you hurt her even if she was a Hunter, because she's right. They're human as well, just not as freaking obnoxious as most of us."
"Then what is she, huh?" the blond haired girl I'd spoken to at the volleyball game snapped. "There's no other explanation."
"Told you your power was very rare," he whispered to me so low I doubted I would be able to hear it if it wasn't for the fact my hearing was enhanced. "They don't even think of that as a possibility anymore."
I gulped, slipping out of his arms and taking his hand. If anyone attacked me, I didn't want them to miss and hit him.
"There's an easy answer you're all over-looking," he replied in a voice so loud I was sure John and Ellen were going to run over here soon to see what was going on. When everyone stared at him, completely blank, he sighed. "Have none of you heard the rumors?"
"Which rumor? There's ton of rumors out there," a random Super Human remarked.
"About why there's so many Hunters in Buckhannon. Why they even have a new base around here," Damien supplied, eyes still narrowed.
Another random person let out a bark of laughter. "No way, dude. The last absorber died three years ago," said a male voice. "They're exactly as you said - rumors."
"I think you're wrong," another boy said, elbowing everyone out of his way so he was in front of them. He had golden blond hair that wasn't short, but wasn't long either. It was about medium length, I guess. His steal blue eyes met mine. He, unlike everyone else, was wearing an orange sleeveless shirt, only showing sun baked arms, and black pants. He was about my age, but with his height he looked a bit older. His Adam's apple was more visible than it was on most boys.
"What makes you say that, Eric?" Owen demanded, eyes still narrowed. "Can you suddenly tell exactly what people's powers are now, huh?"
The blond haired boy, Eric, glared. "Why don't you just shut up for once, Owen. You'd be doing a lot of us a favor." They continued to glare at each other for a moment before Eric turned to us. "That's why you kept on going back to them, isn't it? To absorb their energy?"
I smiled gratefully to him. "Yeah, that's-" I stopped, spotting an aura flicking from somewhere in the corner of my eye. I saw it go past me and stop at Damien's through, connecting with his aura. I don't know how, but I managed to force the aura to stay visible as I followed it back to its owner. My eyes narrowed when I saw one of the Super Humans with his eyes narrowed, hand extended forward and his palm toward us. I saw a small flame appear, forming a needle. He was going to try and kill Damien so he couldn't protect me! I acted before I thought. My hand flew back toward Max, grasping his arm. I just released my aura without thinking, yanking my hand from Damien's so I wouldn't absorb his energy. I heard Max yelp, quickly yelled, "Sorry," before locking onto the same spot the flame needle was now heading for. I told the earth to shoot up. It went up so fast some parts actually broke off from the force of the air. It stopped right in front of Damien's throat. I heard a few gasps, one pant that was coming from Max, and a curse word coming from the boy who had thrown the fire needle.
"How did you know I was aiming at him!" he yelled, glowering at me with more hatred than the others.
My eyes narrowed. Had I been the only one to see the aura? "I saw you lock on to his throat with your aura," I replied, still pondering if on whether or not I was the only one who saw it.
"But that's impossible," Owen breathed, eyes wide.
Eric smiled. "No, it's not." He looked back at me and flashed me a grin. "Now go get you some pink hair dye, Owen, because you just got your butt kicked by the last surviving absorber."
"That was an intriguing show," a familiar voice said from beside me, making me jump. I forced my heart rate to slow when I saw it was only Ellen, John at her side with his arm around her waist.
"How long have you been standing there?" Damien asked, still looking at everyone. They were all gawking at me, making me flush. Damien, apparently still not trusting any of them, stepped in front of me. "Because we could have used some help a moment ago."
"We would have helped you if you needed help, but from my point of view, you didn't need any," John said, smiling when his adopted son's eyes narrowed. "It must have just been in my point of view then." John chuckled.
Anne smiled, Alley saying, "At least nobody got hurt."
"Except me," Max said, now on his butt and taking in deep gulps of breaths. "Warn me next time." He groaned, wincing as he forced himself to stand. Max took in a deep breath before looking at Damien. "That must suck when it happens to you," Max commented.
I smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Max." I glanced at the rock that fell on the earth after the fire needle hit it. "But I had no-"
"You're an absorber?" the blond haired girl from before asked, eyes wide. "That is so awesome! You have to tell me what that's like."
After that, more than just that girl started asking questions. It was already night when the bombarding questions ended. Damien laughed a lot because of this, teasing me about how I was like a celebrity now. Then he reminded me how shy I was. I probably wouldn't have gotten away if John didn't get everyone away from me, announcing that everyone had to be in their cabins in ten minutes. Apparently everyone had to be in them at ten o'clock.
"That took forever!" Anne yelled as we walked into the cabin. She glared at both boys for a second before shoving them into the bathroom. "You guys change in here while we change in here."
I squirmed, uncomforted by the thought of changing in front of people. "Could you guys, I don't know, turn around or something?" I asked.
Alley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we can," she said, grabbing Anne and taking her away from me. I waited for them to turn around to pull on an old T-shirt and sweatpants. They wore actual PJ sets, which didn't surprise me. Anne's were black while Alley's were a dark yellow.
"Can we come out now?" Damien asked from inside the bedroom. "Because we're already done." When the twins said they could, Damien and Max walked out. Max was wearing nothing but baggy basketball shorts while Damien wore the same type of shorts and a brown tank top that was almost the same shade of brown as his hair.
"Hey, Kat," Damien said, smiling as he came over and put his arm around my waist. He showed me around, but it wasn't much. It only had a couch and three chairs, a coffee table, a TV, a fridge, a table with six chairs, and a bedroom with two bunk beds. Damien led me to the bunk bed on the left. "We'll be sleeping on the top bunk, okay?"
I nodded, smiling at him. "What time do they serve breakfast tomorrow?" I asked, still hungry from where I didn't get to eat anything but breakfast today. Then again, I haven't been eating much lately.
Damien thought for a moment as he climbed the ladder to the top. As soon as he was up, his eyes turned violet. A violet aura appeared around me, and then I was lifted up. Damien got onto his side, letting me slide in beside of him. After that, he wrapped his arm around my waist. I knew my dad would hate to see me sleeping in his arm since I'd been a little Daddy's girl since I was young.
"I think it starts at six and ends at eleven," he finally responded. "So you can sleep for a while." I could feel his smile as he leaned against my head, burying his face in my hair.
"Okay," I whispered, slowly closing my eyes. I heard Anne, Alley, and Max get into their beds as well, keeping my eyes shut despite the fact I knew I couldn't go to sleep for about thirty minutes. I didn't know why, but I usually stayed awake for a while.
I heard everyone's breathing slow and deepen, figuring I was the last one to go to sleep. I turned slowly so that I was facing Damien's chest, not looking anywhere but there. I stared at him for a moment before closing my eyes. I started thinking about that conflicted look in his eyes he'd gotten a few times. I imagined it in my mind's eye, wondering what in the world the look could mean. It stumped me at the very beginning. What could be going through his mind? What was it that caused him to stare at me like that.
After that, I thought of the way his emotions would change. Pain, understanding, happy. I repeated the words in my head, trying to find it out. The emotions didn't help me, though. I just knew they were connected. I let ideas and thoughts fill my head, but none of them were fathomable.
Finally opening my eyes, I started to look up to see his face, wondering if that would help. I tensed when my lips touched something soft and warm. It wasn't until I met his eyes that I realized what my lips were touching. I jerked away, eyes wide. Damien's eyes were wide as well, his lips, the place mine had been just a second ago, were opened slightly now, no breath coming from them.
"Damien, I'm so sorry," I whispered, meeting his eyes. Mine narrowed when I actually looked at his eyes. That conflicted look was back, only ten times stronger.
Damien slightly nodded, still staring at me. The pain was so strong I would have done anything to stop it. He slowly reached up, brushing his hand against his lips before cupping my cheek. Damien's eyes stayed on mine, his lips pursed. He began to say something, but then shut his mouth again. "You-" he mumbled, suddenly closing his eyes, biting down hard on his lip.
That's when it hit me. "Damien, is it ever hard? I mean, the heart stolen thing only going one way?" I asked. "When you want to move faster than the other person?"
Damien sighed, looking away. "Sometimes," he admitted, slowly looking back at him. "But I'm fine, if that's what you're wondering." He smiled at me, but it was as forced as his anger had been toward me before.
"That's what you've been feeling for the past few days, isn't it? Why you simply kissed my hand." I pursed my lips before concluding, "It was because you wanted to kiss me but knew I'd get mad."
He sighed again, shaking his head. "Seriously, Kat, I'm fine. It just bugs me from time to time."
I looked at me, thinking about the sudden spark, or maybe even a current of electricity, that filled me when I brushed my lips against him, coursing through my veins. Had I been imagining that? Or had he felt that as well? Then I thought about the last time he'd kissed me. That electric current had been exactly the same as this time. I took in a deep breath, noting how thinking of this made my brain slightly hazy. Then I met his eyes again, biting my lips when I saw the pain that was being hidden behind the false happiness he was showing me.
"Damien," I sighed, shaking my head. I'd made my decision as soon as I saw the pain, but I was still nervous. I looked back up at him, wondering what it would be like to kiss him. I knew it wouldn't be like when Nick kissed me. I smiled gently at him, closing my eyes for a second. I opened my eyes again and smiled at him. "Okay, I won't worry about it. There won't be anything to worry about after tonight."
"What do you-"
Before I could change my mind, I leaned forward. My lips touched his, but this time I didn't freeze and jerk away. I kept my lips there, feeling him tense. He relaxed so quickly that anybody who would hav ebeen watching would have missed how tense he'd gotten. He started to kiss me, the electric current returning, but then pulled back. "You're sure?"
Taking in a deep breath, I nodded. I wasn't going to say it out loud, but I'd sort of enjoyed it. Not only that, but I could see the eagerness in his eyes. I couldn't just stop after that. "I'm positive."
Damien cupped my cheeks in both his hands, staring into my eyes. He leaned forward this time. Damien didn't just peck me on the lips like last time, but he actually kissed me like Nick had forced me to do during the party. But this time I was kissing back. It surprised me. I'd never kissed someone before, yet I knew what I was doing.
When he finally pulled away, we both began gasping for air. He rest his forehead against mine, our breaths colliding and combining. "I love you," he whispered, which made me tense. I knew I should say it back, and I knew I truly did love him as well, but the words wouldn't leave my mouth. Damien chuckled, lightly kissing me again. "It's okay. You don't have to say it yet. I just wanted to tell you." He brushed my hair behind my ears, still staring into my eyes. "They're words I've wanted to say so long, and I just couldn't hold them back anymore," he murmured to me. He suddenly glanced past me, sighing. Right as he did, I heard someone laughing softly.
"Max is awake," I mumbled, absorbing a bit of his energy. I felt him tense for less than a second before he relaxed.
"So are the twins." He rolled his eyes as the twins started laughing, too. "Who's more annoying: the twins or Max?"
I smiled at him. My eyes flashed violet, and then there was a loud thud under us. "Max," I replied as my eyes went back to normal. Max burst out laughing on the floor. "Yeah, defiantly Max." I glanced back, about to do the same to the twins.
Max suddenly appeared beside of us, stopping me, glancing over the edge. "I was wondering how long it would take you guys to kiss." He smiled. "I thought it would take Kat longer to finally stop being a chicken and just let you do it."
I pursed my lips, closing my eyes. I heard a thud again as Max hit the floor.
"You might want to cut it out, Kat," Anne laughed, her words barely intelligible.
"You'll kill the very few brain cells he has," Alley added. "That is, if he even has any left." This just made the two twins laugh two times harder than they just had been.
"Both of you be quiet," Max said. I glanced over the bed to see Max rubbing his head, wincing as he did. "But they're right, Kat. If you don't stop, youll destroy all of my brain cells." He smiled at me.
"I'll stop when the twins stop laughing," I replied, hearing Damien chuckle behind me. He wrapped his arms around me again, pulling my back against his chest. "Then again, I'm too tired to keep this up." It wasn't a lie either. I was honestly getting tired.
"Whatever, Kat," Max said.
"Shut up or you'll come off that floor just to go back onto it," I snapped. I rolled my eyes before twisting in his arms to look at him. He rested his lips against my forehead, taking in a deep breath. "You like the way I smell or something?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said, not joking at all. "I absolutely love it. It's better than any perfume in the world." He pulled back, giving me a gentle smile.
I glanced back, still hearing the three kids chuckling. "I know why you're parents got their own cabin now," I commented. "Because if they really wanted to, you could all fit in here. But, with them, they'd never get to sleep. Speaking of which, I thought all of you guys were asleep."
Well, like you, I was faking. Everyone else woke up for reasons I have no clue what are," Damien said. He smiled. "Then again, my family is a complete mystery to me even after I've lived with them for so long."
I smiled, laying my head against his chest and closing my now heavy eyelids. I took in a deep breath before relaxing.
"Goodnight, beautiful," he whispered into my ear. "See you in the morning." The next second I slipped into sleep. Even in sleep, I was one hundred percent aware of Damien's arms around me.
"Happy birthday, Dad!" I said to him as he walked down the steps, already dressed for work. It was 6:30 in the morning on Monday. Yesterday had been uneventful, except for the few kisses that left me breathless and some questions that were asked. The funniest part of the day was when Eric and I watched Owen dying his hair a hot pink since they had no plain pink in the shop he went to. I still didn't know why that store even sold that color of hair dye.
"Oh, thank you, Kitten," my dad said, laughing when I ran to him and gave him a bear hug. "I forgot I was turning thirty-five until you so thankfully reminded me."
I rolled my eyes, leading him to the kitchen after I was done hugging him. "I know you never have time to make yourself breakfast, so I made you this." I gestured to the table, where three blueberry pancakes were stacked on top of each other, whip cream topping it while syrup oozed off the sides. I'd eaten one myself, but I'd finished it a few minutes before my dad got downstairs.
"Thanks a million, Kitten," my dad said, ruffling my already brushed hair. I, like him, was already ready since I'd set my alarm clock for five am so I could have everything done before my dad woke up.
"No problem, Dad." I smiled nervously. "I just hope the pancakes are good. I had Damien teach me how to cook them yesterday night before I came home, but I'm not sure if Damien was lying or not when he said mine were good."
My dad walked over, sitting down at the table. "Since when was Damien giving you cooking lessons?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I asked him to start yesterday," I replied, walking over to the sink and beginning to wash the dishes. "That way we could have a wider variety of things to eat." I smiled again.
My dad smiled at me, cutting a piece of pancake off before taking a bite. The instant my dad's eyes widened, I knew, to my relief, I'd made them right. He didn't speak until after he finished the pancakes. Leaning back into his chair, he sighed. He looked over at me. "You know, I haven't tasted one pancake in my life that was better than that, Kitten." He smiled. "You'd be a great cook if you knew how to make anything else besides microwave food and these amazing pancakes."
My eyes widened. "Seriously?" I asked, thrilled by the fact my pancakes pleased my father so much. I wanted him to have a great birthday, even inviting Damien and Abs over to help me out. I asked the other Armstrong siblings to come, but they said they had to finish building my dad's present. I tried to pry what it was out of them, but they were determined to surprise me as much as my dad.
"Yeah. I think you got it from your mother," he said. "She was one of the best cooks I ever knew." My dad walked over to me, handing me the plate. "I need to go now, okay? You said I had to fish with Fred until eight, right?" he asked as he headed toward the door.
I nodded. "Or until I call him and say you can come back earlier," I replied. I hugged him one more time before he left for work. "Bye! Love you!" I waved to him right as he got into his car, smiling before turning away. I ran up to my room, grabbing the presents I'd gotten my dad. Since Damien had taken me to the mall, I'd gotten my dad a few more presents. One was the pocket knife, and the three new ones were a fishing pole since he loved fishing almost as much as he loved camping, a button up shirt, and blue jeans. I also grabbed some wrapping paper decorated with fishing hooks, fish, and polls, grabbing a box as well, before heading downstairs.
I ran into the kitchen, clearing the table before putting the shirt and pants in the box. I walked to the junk drawer, digging around for some scissors and tape. I finally found some, walking back to the table. I was just about to find out how much paper I needed when arms wrapped around my waist, making me scream, jerking away. My face flushed when I saw Damien behind me laughing.
"Boo," he laughed. He laughed harder when I jokingly punched him in the arm.
"I'd be careful if I were you," I told him, only half way joking. "My aura gets a bit out of control when I get scared, so I might just absorb every ounce of your energy next time." When he rolled his eyes, I raised an eyebrow. "You want to find out if that will really happen the hard way?"
Damien chuckled, raising his arm in defeat. "Okay, you win." He walked over and kissed me gently on the lips. "I was just coming to see if you needed help," he said.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Just help me after school like planned instead of practically scaring me to death, would ya?" I said, rolling my eyes when he grinned.
"If there is a next time, I'll try and remember that," Damien said, walking over so he was beside of me. He wrapped his arm around me. "So, what did you dad say about the pancakes?"
I thought about how to described them. "You must be an amazing teacher because, according to him, it was the most tasty pancakes he'd ever tasted," I replied.
Damien smiled. "Maybe next time you'll believe me when I say you did something good," he remarked, brushing my hair behind my ear. It had become a habit of it to do that whenever it fell in front of my face. He said it was nothing but something to block something that needed to be shown to the world. I always thought he was just trying to be a suck-up when he said things like that.
"Maybe." After that he quickly helped me wrap two of the presents before I announced we needed to leave now or we'd be late for school. As we left my house, I slung my backpack over my shoulder, asking, "Where's everyone else at?"
"I told them to go on to school since I was coming here to help you," he responded. He walked me to the door, which opened as we neared it. Damien must loved being psychic all the time. He got in moments after, immediately taking my hand. "So, we're making the cake?"
I nodded. "Abs is going to get the supplies after school. She's driving herself now, claiming that she's on my side. She even thinks EJ is acting strange, and added that he's taking this way too seriously." I bit my lips, feeling tears swell in my eyes and the back of my throat burn at the thought of EJ. This happened not only when I thought of him, but whenever I saw him.
"That's nice of her. It doesn't seem like I actually hang with your- no, our, friends much." He looked over, meeting my eyes for a few seconds. "Truth be told, they're the first humans friends I've made that I actually really consider great friends." He shrugged. "They're better than some of my Super Human friends."
I smiled, nodding. "They're really great friends," I said. "Even EJ, even if he's all but cut me out of his life." I looked out the window, and feeling my tension, Damien began making circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. Like usual, it decreased the tension in me. I don't know why it did that. As we neared school, I remembered something. "Oh, crapizoid!" I exclaimed.
"What?" Damien shouted, surprised by my sudden outburst. He looked at me, eyes full of panic. Even though he wasn't looking, he easily dodged the car that had slowed to turn. I heard them beep at us when we pulled back in front of them.
"Today's the first day of Westest," I explained. "We have to take the math one today, and I totally forgot to study the notes I've taken for the school year." I sighed, feeling a whole new wave of stress fill me, only this time it wasn't caused my Super Human world stress or EJ's odd behavior, but normal stuff like forgetting to study.
Damien laughed. "Seriously? You're worried about that?" he asked. When I nodded, confused on why he was laughing, he sighed. "Kat, you're super smart, no matter what you think. You'll do fine." When I still looked doubtful, he gave me a pointed look. "Tell me when the last time you studied for more than an hour was," he challenged.
"That's easy," I said. "It was......." My eyes narrowed. The fact was, I couldn't remember. "How'd you know I rarely study? Have you been spying on me or something?" I raised an eyebrow as I questioned him.
Damien laughed. "Of course not," he began as we pulled into the school's parking lot. "I used to be your teacher, remember?" He pulled into the best parking space we could find, my door opening after Damien made sure nobody was around. I got out, Damien quickly at my side. He took my hand, both of us walking quickly toward my math class.
"Bye, Damien," I told him when we stopped at Mrs. Shenuski's door. I met his eyes for a moment. He smiled, bending down and kissing my lip. The next second he was gone, leaving me standing there. I smiled, hearing him whisper bye over and over again. They were words he must have said into my ear before vanishing because I didn't remember hearing him say it before.
My following classes flew past pretty quickly. I barely even paid attention until fourth period, where I started hearing talk of some new kid being shown around by EJ. As soon as I heard his name, I began to pay attention.
"Yeah. Nick says that she looks a lot like some girl that goes to school here. Man, what's the girl's name?" a brown haired boy pondered. "But I heard that that Eddie Jenson kid is showing her around."
"What's her name?" an orange haired name boy asked. "I heard about her, too. She requested EJ personally. I heard they were neighbors or something." He shrugged. "I also heard the girl is pretty smokin' from my friend."
"That lucky Eddie. I'm needing a girlfriend, and I heard that they were dating before she even went here."
My heart squeezed as I heard this. Not the whole EJ dating thing, but just his name. I gulped, grabbing my stuff when the bell rang. I walked to my locker, not even jumping when I heard someone mumbled,
"Good to see you again, beautiful," into my ear.
"You trying to scare me again? Purposefully this time," I asked, turning to Damien after putting my stuff away. "Because I'm beginning to get used to it."
Damien sighed. "Too bad. I was starting to think it was funny," he said, smiling when I glared. "I'm just joking." When I raised an eyebrow, he laughed. "Okay, I was only half way joking, but still." He grabbed my hand after I put my stuff in my locker, leading me to the cafeteria.
"Have you heard about the new kid?" I asked. I wondered if I was the only one who didn't know about it.
"Yeah," he replied, quickly looking away. "And, well." He shook his head. "Her name is Jennifer Turner. There's something about her that is seriously going to bug you."
My eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? What about her could possibly bug me?" I asked. I tried to remember what I'd heard the boys say, but I couldn't figure out what would bother me.
"You'll just have to see," he replied, biting his lower lip. "I had third period with her, and....." Damien just shook his head, looking away. "Let's just say she looks familiar for two reasons." Then he looked at me again, took a deep breath, then said, "You know EJ's in my third period, too, right?" When I nodded, he continued. "Well, one thing you need to know so you don't freak besides she'll bug you a bit, I think that she and EJ are going out."
I pursed my lips, nodding. "I heard some other boys saying something about that," I replied. "I don't mind. I already knew heard that part from some boys talking about it." Even as I said this, I felt a ping in my gut. It just felt weird to think of EJ liking anyone else after every time he asked me out.
We entered the lunch room, me automatically scanning it for EJ and this new girl that would, for reasons unfathomable to me, bother me. I couldn't figure out why I'd be bugged by anyone I didn't know. I didn't spot him, so I walked toward the lunch line. I grabbed a tray and grabbed my food. I could hear Damien following me, but his hand had left me, leaving me walking without the hand that I'd grown used to being in my hand. After I left the lunch line, Damien was there. Both of us were carrying our trays with one hand, the other in each other's.
"I wonder where they are," Damien mumbled, looking around. "I was sure EJ would be showing Jennifer the cafeteria by now. I was really wanting you to see what was up with her. It's really awkward, actually."
I shrugged, wanting to see this new girl, but a little worried about what EJ would say to me. So far, whenever I walk to him, he finds a way to strike me in the heart. It's not always that bad, but it stills hurts to see the anger in his eyes. He was one of the people I cared the most about, and now he hated me.
"Don't worry," Damien said, squeezing my hand as we neared the lunch table. He didn't say anything else, and I knew he could tell what I was thinking. I was thinking there was plenty to worry about right now.
"Hey, Kat!" Anne and Alley said. "How old did you say your dad was today?" Anne asked. "Did you say he was turning thirty-five or he was thirty-five?"
"He's turning thirty-five," I replied. "Although he was a little displeased when I reminded him of that little fact." I smiled at the twins when I said this.
"So I'm coming straight to your house after school, right?" Abs asked after taking a bite of the cheese pizza we were having today. "Or is it okay if I get the present I bought your dad first?"
"Of course you can get it," I replied. I was about to continue speaking, but then I saw EJ walk in, smiling as he opened the door for somebody.
And that's when I saw what Damien said would bug the crap out of me. She had russet brown hair, copper eyes, and tan skin. She wore a green T-shirt with T.U.T running along the side, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. I looked her over about ten times before I came to the conclusion that, as Damien said, bugged me. She looked like me, but with a different face, height, and weight. Otherwise, everything was almost exactly the same. She even had the same fashion sense as me. Her posture reminded me of mine. Everything reminded me of, well, me. I grasped Damien's hand tightly.
Was EJ seriously that in love with me that he'd look for someone just like me to take my place? I attempted to gulp past the lump in my throat in vain. Was that what EJ was doing? Was Jennifer supposed to fill in for me? Had he replaced me?
EJ looked straight at me for a moment, the hatred still there. Since he was still angry at me, I was surprised when he walked toward my table. "Hello, Kaitlyn," he said as he stopped in front of my table. He gestured to the girl who was almost a copy of me. "And this is Jennifer, since I think you're the only one who doesn't know."
She smiled at me, reaching toward me. I looked at the hand for a moment, biting my lip. She hadn't meant to replace me. It wasn't her fault. I couldn't be mad at her for doing nothing. I took in a deep breath, forcing a smile as I reached forward and shook her hand. "Hello. My name's Kaitlyn, but you can call me Kat."
She gave me a smile that, too, reminded me of my own. Or was I just being paranoid now? "Jennifer Reagan, but you can just call me Jen."
"Nice to meet you." I felt my stomach clench when she looked over at EJ for a moment, smiling at him before grasping his hand. I don't know why that bugged me so much. I'd never liked him, but seeing this just seemed wrong. I turned to EJ. "So, was there something you wanted?" I asked him.
EJ looked at me for a moment. The strangest thing happened. He smiled for a moment, and I could have sworn I saw a flash of happiness in them. Jen looked at EJ's eyes for a moment, glanced at me, smiled so innocently I knew there was something she wanted to say with them. She gave EJ a kiss on the cheek, which felt even more wrong than them holding hands.
"Anyway," he said quickly, looking away from me. "I remembered today was Devin's birthday and was wanting to ask you if you could tell your dad I said happy birthday. Since he's thirty-five, I'm just giving him this." He handed me a card, and I knew it held thirty-five dollars in it since last year he gave him thirty-four. "I guess I'll see you. Or not." He shrugged before turning around and walking away.
I could feel all of my friend's eyes on me as I slowly got up, feeling about ready to puke. EJ, the person I thought would never turn his back on me, just treated me like I was nothing to him. Just talking to me to give something to my dad. I felt a strange numbness overwhelm me as I watched him walk away. EJ had been a part of my life for a mere three years, yet it felt like there was a piece of me missing. I'd just gotten so attached to him, always having him here to comfort me, that it was strange not having him near me. I guess I'd never realized how big of a hole could form in my heart with only one of my friends missing. Then again, he was the person who helped me out when I first got here, always there for me no matter what happened. But now he'd walked away from me. It wasn't that I loved him like I did Damien, but I still couldn't bare for him to no longer see me as his friend. I would've done any sane thing to make him happy. Meaning if it wasn't dying or breaking up with Damien just because he was mad that I loved him, I'd do whatever he said.
"I'll be right back," I said, my voice completely void of emotion. I got up, turning away quickly. But I had no doubt that at least one of them glimpsed the tear that escaped before I turned away.
"Kat," Damien said, quickly getting up. He tried to grab my wrist, and thankfully, he didn't chase me when I yanked it out of his grip before jogging away.
I passed a teacher, not meeting her eyes, saying I was going to the restroom, before breaking into a run in the hall. I threw the girl's bathroom door open, biting my lip as I rested against the wall, eyes closed. I a few gasps of air as tears escaped the dam I'd created. I bit my lip as I tried to force myself to stop crying, but it was easier said than done. I reached up and wiped the tears away.
A small part of my brain was blaming Jen, saying that it was all her fault. But the other part said it was just me. It was my fault. I couldn't blame Jen. She didn't do anything but look like me. It wasn't her intentions to replace me. Then the part of my brain that blamed Jen made me think of the way she looked at me before she kissed his cheek.
"Kat?"
I looked away from the person who had answered. "I'm fine, Abs. Just give me a second, okay?"
I saw Abs shake her head through the mirror. "You suck at lying, Kat. Especially when I can see you crying through the mirror." She crossed her arms as she looked at me. "Listen to me, Kat. I don't care how much the priss likes you. EJ's just trying to cope, okay? He'll be fine soon and be back to hanging with us, okay?"
I took in a deep breath. "What makes you call her a priss?" I asked. From what all I saw, she seemed nice.
She smiled. "The reason EJ will dump Ms. Prissy-pants soon," Abs began, smiling. She shook her head. "Boy, that girl can act." She steps in front of me so we were face to face. "Even though she acted like you, meaning nice and stuff, she is, in fact, like most other girls. She's was even gossiping and worrying about dumb stuff like nails and crap." She rolled her eyes, and then said in a high voice, "OMG! I can believe I broke a freaking nail! Now I'm going to die unless I use my parents' credit card to get them redone. They're such twits they'll never realize what I did." I looked at her for a second before we both burst out laughing. The one thing I loved about Abs was how easily she could cheer me up. Like me, she thought all that girlie stuff was giving girls a bad name. And people wonder why boys think girls are weak. "Anyway, on her way to her seat, I accidentally bumped into her. Yes, I said sorry before you ask," she said when she saw me opening my mouth. "She, however, didn't. In fact, after looking at my outfit, she said, 'Watch it, freakazoid,' which is why I call her a priss."
I looked at Abs, eyes wide.
She rolled her eyes again. "She's just acting. Jen's just another one of the people in the 'My Head's Too Big For My Body' club." We both laughed again.
I sighed. "Thanks, Abs."
She shrugged. "Don't mention it. It was nothing, really," she said before bowing slightly. "That's just me. The best friend in the entire world."
I laughed. "Modest much?" I joked.
Abs smiled, making it so her thumb and pointer finger were about an inch apart. "Just a little bit," she replied, both of us laughing yet again.
Abs may not be as good at comforting me as EJ (which was a bit backwards to me) or kind, but she was one heck of a friend. She knew how to cheer me up, even if she couldn't stitch the wound together as well as EJ. I don't know what I'd do without one of them. Sure, they weren't Super Humans, but they had super bigs hearts.
I sighed. "Okay, we better get back." I pushed the door open, walking out with Abs on my heels. I walked resolutely, knowing that I couldn't let the Jen thing bother me. No, it I just wouldn't allow the Jen thing to bother me. She was just a bump in the road. Everyone agreed EJ would come around eventually. So if Jen was what was going to help him to cope (no matter if she was truly acting like Abs claimed), she could. I'd just wait for everything to work out. Everything was going to be okay. The only question was, is it going to get worse before it gets better?