Chapter 38
Ten minutes later, Matt’s battered car drew up in the parking lot. I stood up and dragged myself wearily to over, letting drops of rainwater slide down my cheeks without batting them out the way.
“Hey, sis. How was your day?” Matt asked distractedly as I slid in the passenger seat. Then he caught sight of my face. “Oh. That bad, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said numbly.
“What happened?” Matt asked sympathetically. I turned to him.
“Did you know Travis liked me?”
For a second, surprise flickered across Matt’s face, but then he grinned. “So he finally admitted it, then? Or did you work it out yourself?”
I stared at him in horror. “You knew?”
“Hmm. I guess he told you himself then,” Matt mused. He started out the parking lot. “Yeah, I knew. Everyone knew. Being subtle isn’t his strong point.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Matt shook his head. “I couldn’t sell the poor kid out like that. Had to wait for him to man up and do it himself.”
“But couldn’t you have given me a warning?” I said desperately.
Matt glanced at me, measuring me with his gaze. “I guess you didn’t feel the same?”
“Of course I didn’t! I had no idea!” I raked a hand through my hair. “And up until yesterday, I had a boyfriend.”
“Poor guy,” Matt mused. “So why d’you look like someone has run over your cat?”
“Because now my best friend hates me,” I snapped. “And I don’t have a cat.”
Matt looked startled. “He hates you? Why?”
“Take a guess, Matthew,” I retorted angrily, and turned to glare out the window for the rest of the ride home.
I tried to attempt my homework that night, but thoughts kept fluttering through my head like fat moths, bumbling around and distracting me from my surroundings.
How had I not noticed Travis’ feelings for me? It seemed so completely obvious now. The day Daniel and I had got together, he had come into school for half an hour and then left; half an hour would probably be enough time for the Bridgewood rumour mill to reach him. I’d thought he hadn’t seemed that sick the next day; had it really been me and Daniel getting together that made him feel like he couldn’t cope with school for a day?
And then that day when Daniel had sat with us at lunch. My feelings for Daniel must’ve been pretty obvious, and if Travis was in love with me... well, no wonder he’d treated Daniel like some kind of arch nemesis.
Suddenly, a conversation with Rose came swimming back to me: “Maybe Harrison’s fancied you for ages, and you’ve never noticed, and now the poor guy’s stuck in the friend zone...” Oh, God... and then the look on Travis’ face when I’d turned to him for his opinion. I’d thought it was because Rose and I were being weird, but thinking back, his expression had seemed a lot more like... sadness.
Rose had known, too. Just today, when Travis had been mad about Daniel upsetting me, what was it she’d said? “Should I ask him if he can ask her back out then, Travis? Would that make you feel better?” Because she knew how much Travis had hated it when Daniel and I had been together. No wonder he’d been so happy this morning, after I’d told him.
Great. So, because I’d loved one guy to much, and didn’t love the other enough, I’d now lost my best friend and boyfriend in just two days. Nice going, Alexis.
~***~
The next day at school was pure hell. Daniel avoided me, Travis avoided me, and some of Travis’ friends avoided me too; I thought it was only girls who considered it base treachery when a friend talked to an ex-friend. But no, apparently the same went for guys, too.
In class, I was too depressed to make any of my usual snarky comments or random jokes that had got me my reputation; instead, the teachers grabbed my silence as an opportunity and used me as the class guinea pig for the rest of the day.
At lunch, I decided to avoid the dinner hall altogether – the thought food was making me feel sick, anyway – so I headed to the most secluded part of the school I could find: the roof.
I was so sure no one would find me up there, staring out over the bumpy ridges of charcoal grey clouds, so I got the shock of my life when Harrison suddenly appeared next to me and sat down.
“Here,” he said quietly, passing me a packet of peanut M&M’s. “Rose said you liked them.”
I smiled and opened the packet. “I do. Thanks, H.” I offered him the packet and he took a handful. Rose suddenly appeared and sat down on my other side.
“A tip; if you want to find a hiding place no one will find you, try not to have your feet sticking out.” She gestured to where my legs were dangling over the edge of the roof; it didn’t help that I was wearing neon orange converse sneakers that stood out like laser beams. I smiled and offered her some M&M’s. The three of us sat in silence on the roof, munching M&M’s until eventually the bell rang for afternoon lessons.
And then, life decided to be a bitch and play some tricks on me.
After school, I was walking home with my head down – Matt had to stay late at Uni, so he couldn’t pick me up – when I bumped into Daniel. And when I say bumped into, I don’t mean happen to pass on the street, I mean literally bumped into him. Life must hate me so much.
I stumbled back slightly as we collided, and Daniel’s hands automatically reached out to catch my arms.
“Sorry. Didn’t see-” He suddenly realised who I was and let go of me, as if my arms were poisonous snakes.
“No problem,” I mumbled, and hastily swerved around him, picking up the pace.
“Alexis, wait.”
Oh God, that voice. I stopped, closing my eyes against the impulse to run at him and throw myself into his arms – either that or beat him to death. Both sounded pretty appealing.
“Do you need something?” I asked, not turning around.
Daniel sounded uncomfortable when he spoke. “Look, Rose told me you were pretty upset about what happened-”
My voice turned harder than stone. “She had no right to.”
“Of course she did. She’s my sister.”
I finally turned to face him, and had to work not to flinch at the familiarity of those chlorine blue eyes. It was like having a knife shoved in my gut. “Which is exactly why she shouldn’t have told you.”
Daniel’s eyebrows drew down in confusion. “I’ll never understand girls.”
The way he spoke made me want to smile, but for some reason even smiling at him made me feel as though I was Jessica, throwing myself at him at every opportunity. “I realised that.” I turned around again.
“You make me sound like a dick when you put it like that.”
“Well, isn’t that strange?” I said coolly. “So was there anything else you wanted?”
“I guess not.”
“Good.” I started off down the street again, but then Daniel spoke again.
“Alexis, wait.”
“What do you want, Daniel?” I snapped, whirling round the face him. The knife in my stomach dug in deeper. “Unless you hadn’t noticed, I’m really not in the mood to talk to you.”
“No, I get that. Sorry.” He shifted uncomfortable. “Look, Lex-” Both of us winced at my nickname and he hastily corrected himself. “Alexis, I miss having you as a mate. Couldn’t we just go back to being friends?”
I laughed disbelievingly. “Are you serious?”
He blinked at me in surprise. “Yeah. Why?”
“That’s like having your dog die, and your mom saying, ‘Oh, don’t worry, you can still keep the body.’” I glared at him.
“It happens,” Daniel said coolly. “Ever heard of cremation?”
“Oh, so now you want me to burn you? Actually, that sounds like a good idea. Let me just fetch my lighter and I’ll be right on it.” I folded my arms like a sulky child. Daniel shook his head.
“I can’t believe this,” he muttered. “Look, if you want to be a bitch, fine. Be one.” He turned away, and as he did, it was like the knife in my gut twisting slowly, spilling out my innards. Despite how desperate I’d been to walk away earlier, I couldn’t let him go. I couldn’t.
“Wait, Daniel.”
He turned in annoyance. “Oh, so now you want to talk?”
I blurted out the first thing that came into my head. “Did you know how Travis felt about me?”
Daniel froze, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. “You worked it out.”
I nodded numbly. “Was that why you never liked him?”
“Actually, I think you’ll find that he never liked me.”
“No,” I persisted, “you didn’t like him either.”
“Yeah, well, he annoyed me.” He turned around grumpily and started to march off.
“Were you jealous, Daniel?” I called out, trying not to let my smugness leak into my voice.
“No!” he called out angrily. But I saw his hands had curled into fists in his pocket.
“So, if you were jealous...” I started to follow him. “Why did you let him take your place?”
“So you two are going out now?” he asked coldly. “Well, congrats.”
“So you are jealous.” I hoped it wasn’t obvious how pleased I was, both that I was getting to him and that he might possibly, possibly have the tiniest hint of feelings for me.
“Go away, Alexis,” Daniel said irritably. He should’ve known by now that if there was one thing I never did, it was what I was told.
“Well then, if you’re so jealous about me and Travis,” I said, deciding not to mention what had really happened, “why did you go and hook up with that skanky bitch Jessica?”
“Oh, so now who’s jealous?”
“Daniel, I called her a skanky bitch. I could never be jealous of a skanky bitch.” This was the most fun I’d had since, well, Tuesday. “Anyway, two assholes deserve each other. It all works out fine.”
“Alexis, can you please stop following me?” Daniel turned to glare at me briefly before carrying on walking. “If you wanted to be friends, you could’ve just said so.”
“You think this is me wanting to be friends? No, this is me wanting to let you know what a dickhead I think you are.” It was more than that, though; the more I talked, the more normal I felt. Maybe it was just an effect of being near him, no matter the circumstances, but maybe it was because I coped better with being angry than I did with being sad, and getting to let my feelings out let some of the sadness melt away.
“I think I’ve got the idea. Now leave me alone. When will you get it into your head that I don’t like you?”
That stung, but I used it to fuel the angry commentary. “Daniel, unless you hadn’t noticed, I don’t like you either. In fact, I think this is something called hatred.”
“Well, they say hate is closest to love. And let’s face it, before I called it off, you were dangerously close to that barrier.”
That hurt so much it was like the air had been sucked out my lungs, scraping them raw. “Is that what you think?”
“That’s what I know. Now leave me the hell alone.”
“If you never liked me, then why did you tell me I meant everything to you?”
“Alexis-”
“Why did you save my life multiple times in stupid, dangerous situations?”
“Alexis, I swear, if you don’t fucking go-”
“Hell, why did you even ask me out in the first place?”
“Leave me alone!” Daniel yelled suddenly, whipping round to face me, and as he did, I was suddenly picked off my feet by some invisible force and hurled through the air. I collided hard with the wall of a nearby house and crumpled on the ground, landing awkwardly on my ankle and feeling it crack beneath me. I yelped in pain, biting back a scream.
“Alexis? Oh, shit!” Footsteps bounded toward me and suddenly Daniel was kneeling in front of me. “Oh, shit, I’m so sorry...”
I painfully pushed myself into a sitting position, using the wall to keep my propped upright. Daniel grabbed my arms, holding me up. I wished he wouldn’t; his touch still sent tiny pulses of electricity crackling through my skin.
“Alexis? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” Daniel’s voice was anxious, panicky. I could practically believe that he really cared about me.
“’M fine,” I mumbled untruthfully; my head was throbbing from where I’d knocked it against the wall, and my ankle felt as though the bone had been split in half. I had no idea how I was going to walk home, but I couldn’t let Daniel know.
“You sure? C’mon, I’ll help you stand...”
Daniel put his hands under my arms like I was five years old and helped me stand. I had to grab onto his forearms for support, and when I tried to take a step, my ankle folded beneath me, and I cried out in pain, stumbling against him. Daniel swore under his breath again and lowered me back to the floor.
“What’s hurt? Your leg?” He stretched it out, his hand carefully feeling along my knee, my calf. I hated the way my heart pattered excitedly at his touch.
“Ankle,” I gritted out. “Leave it. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not leaving it.” He pulled up the hem of my jeans and his face twisted. I tried to make a joke out of it.
“That bad, huh?” I said feebly. “Guess Matt will have to drive me into school from now on. Shame.”
Daniel completely ignored me. “I’m so sorry, Alexis... I forget how strong I am sometimes, and when I get annoyed...” His other hand, resting just below my knee, tightened momentarily.
“I guess I’m lucky you didn’t Phase on me,” I mumbled. We were both quiet; I had a feeling we were both thinking about what had happened last time he’d Phased.
“I’ll heal you,” Daniel said, effectively slicing through the silence.
“No,” I said hurriedly. “Don’t worry.”
“It was my fault. It’s the least I can do.” His hand rested lightly on my ankle, and a soft, gentle warmth pulsed lightly out his finger tips. I jerked my leg away.
“No. I don’t want you to heal me.”
“Tough.” He reached for my leg again.
“I’m serious, Daniel!”
“So am I.” The sunshine-warmth ebbed into my ankle again.
“Stop it! I don’t need your help,” I insisted, but as usual, he completely ignored me. I glared at him until he at last drew away his hand, and the warmth faded to a light coolness. My ankle felt blissfully whole and pain free, but I refused to feel grateful as he lifted me to my feet.
“Is it alright now?” he asked softly. I wished he wouldn’t stand so close, or that he wouldn’t look so directly into my eyes; the warm, spicy-sweet scent of him and the feel of his breath on my face was making my knees wobbly. I snapped myself out of it, irritation at how pathetic I was blazing inside me like a furnace.
“Well, let’s see, shall we?” I said, my voice trembling with anger, and I drew my knee up and kicked him between the legs.
Daniel doubled over with a groan. “Fucking hell!”
“I told you not to do that!” I snapped angrily.
Daniel glanced up at me. “What the hell’s your problem?”
I laughed disbelievingly. “What’s my problem? Did you actually just ask me that?” I shook my head. “First, you get mad at me for snapping you out of a Phase before you killed me. Then, you break up with me. And just now, you hurled me into a building and you have the nerve to ask what my problem is?” I wanted to kick him again, but it felt like the cowardly thing to do, seeing as he was already down. “You’re a dick.”
Daniel straightened up, but not before he’d backed up a considerable distance. “Why should you still be so cut up that I broke it off with you? After all,” he added bitterly, “you’ve got your little ginger boyfriend now.”
I stared at him. “I still don’t get you, Daniel. You broke up with me, yet you’re jealous that I’m with another guy? Another guy that you knew would take me the minute you dropped me?”
“Get this into your head, Alexis; I’m. Not. Jealous.” Daniel glared at me before turning and marching away. “I just thought you’d at least wait a full day before you hooked up with someone else.”
Watching him march away, I realised with a pang I couldn’t let him think that about me. “Daniel.”
Daniel turned irritably. “What the hell do you want, Alexis?”
“Me and Travis. We... we aren’t together.” I bit my lip nervously before continuing. “He told me, and I didn't feel the same way, so he got mad. He’s not talking to me anymore.” And I can’t lose both of you.
I watched Daniel’s expression closely, waiting for a flicker of change, but it remained completely motionless. Then he laughed harshly.
“Well, what do you want me to do? Give you a round of applause? Jump for joy?” His voice was sharp and bitter. “That doesn’t change anything.” He turned away again, and I felt another fiery burst of angry sparks. I’d just given up some of my dignity to admit the truth, and all he could do was turn away?
“Are you bipolar or what?” I snapped. “One minute you’re all ‘Oh, let’s be best buddies again,” and the next you’re chucking me into houses. And then you’re all, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry Alexis, I can’t believe I hurt you’ – and now you pissed because you can’t decide whether it’s a good thing or not that I don’t like Travis.”
“I’m bipolar?” Daniel whirled on me. “If anyone’s bipolar, it’s you. You don’t want to be friends, but every time I turn away you follow me like some pathetic puppy dog.”
I threw my hands up in frustration “Well,” I cried, “Maybe that’s because I can’t decide whether or not you still have feelings and just won’t admit it!”
“Maybe that’s because you’re getting your hopes up!” Daniel yelled back.
I stamped my foot. “And maybe,” I shouted, “that’s because I’m in love with you!”
Daniel’s expression of fury flashed into plain shock. “Wh-what?”
I suddenly realised what I’d said and my stomach plunged to my feet. I covered my mouth automatically and whirled away, my insides bubbling with horror. Oh God, I told him. I actually told him.
“Alexis, wait!” Daniel jogged after me.
“Leave me alone!” My words were muffled against my hand.
“Alexis, please. Say that again,” Daniel said desperately. I swirled around angrily.
“You want me to bare my soul to you? Fine!” My emotions were a whirlwind; I couldn’t tell whether I was furiously angry or completely distraught. “I’m in love with you, Daniel, and you were right when you said I felt more for you than you did for me. And when you broke up with me, it felt like the worst pain in the world. And even when I’m angry at you, even when I hate you, I can’t bring myself-” I choked on my words, and a sob spilled out my chest. “I can’t stop being in love with you.”
Daniel stood completely still, staring. I wiped away the boiling tears burning in the corner of my eyes.
“Is that what you wanted?” I snapped bitterly. “To tear my heart out?” I laughed harshly, without humour. “You know what? Take it. I don’t need it anymore. Take my dignity, take my happiness, and hey, why not take me soul while you’re at it.” I sniffed and rubbed away more tears. “Go on. Take everything I have.”
But instead of doing any of those things, Daniel stepped forward and kissed me.
I couldn’t move, frozen in shock; just like the first time he’d kissed me. His lips were the same; rough, urgent, sexy and desirable, but incredibly soft, too. His arms were around me, pulling me tight to his chest and sending my heart pounding a furious tattoo in my chest, and it took every ounce of strength I possessed to push him away from me.
Daniel stumbled back, gasping. “What was that for?”
“Stop it!” I cried out. “You’re just making everything harder.”
“Alexis.” Daniel half-groaned. “I’m tired of doing things the hard way.” He pulled me back toward him, but I pushed him back again.
“No, stop. Stop.” My head was still whirling from the after-effects of his kiss. “What about – what about you and Jessica?”
“Me and Jessica?” Daniel laughed without humour. “You know I never liked her.”
“B-but I saw you,” I stammered. “Flirting with her.”
“Alexis, you idiot, that was me trying to get over you.” He reached for my face, and I fended him off again.
“Daniel, please stop. I’m trying to think.” I held my hand to my head, worried it might explode in a minute. “If you were trying to get over me... that means you still liked me.”
Daniel watched me patiently, waiting for me to piece it together.
“And if you still liked me... then why the hell did you break up with me?”
“Because that day when I Phased... I almost killed you. I didn’t want to put you in that position again.” He reached for my hand, and I let him take it, but only because I was numb with surprise.
“So it was about you protecting me,” I realised slowly. Daniel nodded.
“I’m so sorry, Alexis, but I couldn’t-”
I cut him off pretty effectively by kicking him in the groin again. He fell to his knees, spitting out a string of very choice swearwords. I glared at him.
“I told you I could take care of myself! I don’t need protecting!”
“Alexis – you don’t understand-” Daniel gasped out, pushing himself to his feet.
“Oh, no, I think I understand. You think I’m pathetic and helpless, just because I couldn’t manage to stop you changing. You broke up with me – practically ripped my heart out – just because I wasn’t strong enough.” I turned away, crossing my arms over my chest like I was trying to hold in my heart before it pounded right through my rib cage. “I knew I should never have let you get so close.”
“No, Alexis – please.” I could hear the throb of desperation and pain in Daniel’s voice, the only thing that stopped me from marching off. I felt his hand on my shoulder, gently turning me round.
“Alexis... d’you know why I changed when I did?”
I stared at him. “No.”
“Because I’d just had a phone call from Jason.” Daniel looked pale and shaken just talking about it; or maybe that was just an effect of being kicked in the balls twice in ten minutes. “He’s escaped. He said he’s going to make sure I Change, so that I can ‘join him’...” Daniel ‘s voice was bitter. “And d’you know what the main reason – practically the only reason – is that’s keeping me sane?”
I shook my head, all words locked in a huge lump in my throat.
Daniel reached out and ever so gently traced my jaw bone with his finger tips. “You.”
“Oh,” I said softly. The sincerity of those snow-in-twilight blue eyes was kindling a fiery warmth inside of me – but I refused to give into it just yet. “Then why the hell did you break up with me?”
“Because Jason works by targeting the people I care about,” he said simply. “My friends and family can take care of themselves. You, on the other hand...” he reached out to brush my face again, making it tickle pleasantly. “You don’t even realise how fragile you are. You would be the first person he targeted. The only way I could stop that happening was by pretending I didn’t care about you.”
“I’m not fragile,” I mumbled.
Daniel almost smiled. “Course you’re not. But you know what Jason’s like.” He threaded his fingers through mine, stepping even closer, so our chests were almost touching. “I can’t do this anymore, Lex. I don’t care if I’m being selfish or stupid – I can take care of you, and so can you.” Another light touch on my face. “Please. Take me back.”
I kept my gaze fixed on a crumpled brown leaf about half a metre away from my left foot. It was trembling in the light breeze, like me – only it wasn’t the breeze that was making me tremble.
“You’re a dick, you realise that?” I mumbled. “Even if you were trying to protect me. You made me feel like hell.”
“I know. And I’m so, so sorry. Please,” he begged, “I swear, it won’t happen again.”
Every particle in my body was screaming at me to just fall back in his arms, but a small niggling part of me still remembered how much it hurt to have something you cared about ripped away from you. First Dad, then Daniel, and then Travis... if I took Daniel back, what’s to say it couldn’t happen again?
“Why?” I whispered. “Why have you suddenly decided now that you want me back?”
“Because I miss you,” he said simply. “At first I just thought I could cope with being your friend, but just now, when you said...” his voice trailed off. There were tears burning in the corner of my eyes again.
“But why?” I croaked “Why should I take you back? How do I know I won’t get hurt again?”
Daniel grabbed both my forearms. “Because I love you, Alexis Rivera, and I swear, I’m never letting you go. Not now I know how much it would hurt to lose you.”
His voice crackled slightly, but his gaze held fiercely to mine, and a sob bubbled out my throat.
“You’re such a fucking dick,” I choked out breathlessly, and then I pulled his face to mine and kissed him hard.
Daniel started in surprise, but drew me close, lifting me up so my toes barely grazed the floor and our faces were more or less level. Our mouths melded together, hot and rough and intense, and I clung to him, scared that if I let him go, even for a moment, I might lose him.
Then, his phone rang, shattering the silence like a bullet. We broke apart, breathing heavily, but Daniel held me close. “Ignore it,” he murmured.
“No – you should answer it.” My head was whirling so fast that everything had gone out of focus. I heard Daniel sigh and dig out his phone.
“What is it, Dad?” he demanded impatiently. Then his tone changed abruptly. “Oh.”
I glanced up at him. He was frowning, his mouth a tight, thin line. “Look, I’ll be there in five minutes.” He hung up, shoved his phone in his pocket and held my face in his hands.
“Alexis, I have to go. But please,” he begged, “please, please be careful.”
I put a hand over his, not wanting him to leave. “Why? What’s happening?”
“Jason,” he said simply. He leaned forward and kissed me, briefly but deeply. “I love you. Don’t forget that.”
He loved me. My stomach fluttered happily. “Let me come with you.”
Daniel looked startled. “Why d’you want to?”
Because I want to make sure you don’t do something stupid. “Please,” I begged. “You said you could take care of me. You said I could take care of me.”
Daniel sighed, but his mouth flickered up at one edge. “Yeah, I did say that, didn’t I?”
“Afraid so.” We smiled at each other, and despite the seriousness of the situation, the moment was so perfect that it almost hurt.
Daniel kissed me quickly. “Come on.” He threaded his fingers through mine, and we took off running.
It was hard to feel worried about Jason when my hand was entwined with Daniel’s, my lips still burning from his kiss. He loved me. He actually loved me. He wanted me back. It didn’t seem real.
Then, Daniel drew up short, and Jason appeared in front of us, and the dream felt slightly more like a nightmare.
“Daniel,” Jason said coolly. “Good to see you again, cuz.”
Daniel back up a few steps, pushing me along behind him, and suddenly his father came racing toward us.
“Jason!” he bellowed. “Stay away from my son!”
But Jason simply held out a hand, almost lazily, and a bolt of electricity leapt out from his fingertips, striking Daniel’s father directly in the chest. He fell back with a gasp, and Daniel flinched, backing up some more.
Jason turned back to us, and assessed me with one of his manic grins. “Alexis. You look better every time I see you.” He turned to Daniel. “Interesting, cuz. I heard you two were over. Rumours?”
“Something like that,” Daniel said tightly. He tugged me behind him slightly more. “Why’re you here?”
“Just thought I’d pop round to see how you were getting on,” Jason said nonchalantly. “After all, you’re eighteen in what – ten days now?”
Daniel’s shoulders tightened, and the air in my chest froze with shock. Ten days?
“You should go,” Daniel said, his voice slow and burning with fury. “If you hurt my family again, I’ll kill you.”
Jason tilted his head to the side. “What about your Nighthunter girlfriend? Is she off limits, too? Shame, because I’ve been kind of wanting to sink my teeth into her pretty little neck-”
Daniel hands flew up in front of him, and a bolt of the same electricity that had zapped from Jason struck through the air with a sizzling crackle. It hit his cousin square in the chest, and he flew back, twisting through the air and landing hard on his stomach. But instead of being hurt, Jason was laughing – actually laughing.
“Good one, Daniel,” he smirked, sitting up straight. “You’re a quick learner. And your powers are getting stronger – but I bet you hate that part, don’t you?”
“Alexis, move,” Daniel said under his breath.
“Wha-”
“Trust me on this. Move away.”
I obligingly backed up, but I drew my knife from my inside jacket pocket as I did, holding it in front of me. Daniel headed slowly toward Jason as he bounded to his feet.
“Are you going to fight me, Daniel?” Jason laughed. “You really think you’re strong enough? That’s sweet.”
“You have no idea how strong I am,” Daniel said grimly. Jason laughed again and held out a hand. His palm burned with a pool of bright white light.
“So you are going to fight me. Well, I’m sure that’s brave of you, but-”
Suddenly, a blinding white flash burst out of nowhere, scorching my eyes. The air around me filled with crackling and smoke, as if I’d been trapped in a single flame, and my skin blazed with a fierce heat. My knees buckled, and I collapsed on the ground, my eyes streaming, skin burning, lungs shrieking from inhaling more smoke than oxygen –
Then the light cut off, leaving the world dark and bleached of colour. Daniel was still standing, but lying in front of him was Jason, patches of his clothes burnt and his skin singed. The treetops surrounding us were blackened and smoking.
Then suddenly, the place was swarming with Demons.
James and another Unchanged adult grabbed Jason and hauled him to his feet; his head lolled, and he seemed unable to stand properly. Someone helped Daniel’s dad into standing, and a group surrounded me.
“Alexis? You okay? Can you stand?” a familiar voice asked anxiously. I turned to see Harrison watching me worriedly. I nodded wordlessly, and someone helped me stand.
“You look like a ghost,” came Dom’s cheerful voice.
“Thanks for that,” I murmured dazedly.
“Is she okay?” Harrison asked someone.
“She’ll be fine,” Lee said, stepping into my line of vision and studying me like I was an interesting new species. “She’s a lot better off than Jason, anyhow.”
“How did he even escape?” Dom asked, shuddering.
“We’re not sure.” The four of us turned to watch as James and the other Unchanged Demon dragged Jason to a sleek black car with tinted windows. Theresa was sitting in the driver’s seat, peering out at us unsmilingly. What no one else noticed, apart from me, was Daniel stumbling away.
“Give me five minutes,” I told the others, and hurried after him. My legs were slightly shaky, and my head was still ringing, but my skin and eyes had stopped blazing; I could only imagine how Jason felt. Or Daniel, for that matter; how he’d put on a power display that powerful was beyond me.
From where I was, I saw Daniel stumble and fall. I started to run, but then Matt stepped out the shadows and held out a hand.
“Thanks,” Daniel grunted, accepting the hand and pulling himself up; and then a second later, Matt sent a fist plunging into his stomach and he was down again. I gasped, freezing in surprise.
“That,” Matt said calmly, “is for my sister.”
“Guess I deserved that,” Daniel groaned.
“Hell yeah you did.” Matt yanked him to his feet by his collar, and this time I hurried forward.
“Matt! Stop!” I called out, my voice slightly hoarse. Matt turned, and when the two caught sight of me, Daniel ripped himself out of his grasp.
“Alexis!” He ran toward me and scooped me in a hug. “Jesus, I thought I might’ve killed you with that.”
“Takes a lot to kill me,” I mumbled, clinging to him. “You okay?”
“Me? Never better.” He squeezed me briefly. “Felt good to take Jason down.”
“Daniel, get away from the girl, young man.”
I flinched at the cold tone in Mr Black’s voice. Instead of letting me go, Daniel just hugged me tighter.
“Go away, Dad,” he muttered.
“Daniel, the girl is a Nighthunter. If you don’t come here now-”
“I’m not a dog,” Daniel retorted.
“Too right. You’re just unstable.” Matt folded his arms. “Come on, Alexis.”
Mr Black rounded on Matt. “What’s she doing here, anyway?”
“I have no idea,” Matt said coolly. “I don’t own her.”
“But she’s your responsibility,” Mr Black snapped, bristling. “And I want her to stay away from my son.”
“Well, that’s one thing we agree on.” Matt turned to me again. “Come on, Alexis.”
“Will everyone,” Daniel said slowly, his voice cold, “please stop telling us what to do for five minutes?”
“Guys,” said a soft familiar voice. Over Daniel’s shoulder, I caught sight of Rose, her gaze compassionate. “Please. I think Dad’s gonna have a fit in a minute. You can see each other tomorrow, or something.” She reached over and tugged Daniel’s sleeve. “Please, Daniel. Everything’s already gone crazy.”
With a reluctant sigh, Daniel drew back from me; if no one else, he listened to his sister. “Okay. Okay.” He kissed my forehead, so briefly I wasn’t even sure he had, and squeezed my hand briefly. “Tomorrow. I’ll pick you up for school. Promise.”
I nodded, watching as he turned away and was instantly swarmed by James and his father, shooting questions at him and demanding to know what had happened. Rose eyed me sympathetically.
“You looked roughed-up, honey. You okay?”
I nodded. “What- what happened, exactly? What was that light?”
Rose smiled. “Daniel specialises in heat and fire – but you probably worked that out. And when he gets scary...” she shrugged. “You saw what happened. Heat energy converts to light, and pretty much everything in firing range gets fried.”
I glanced over her shoulder at him. “He looks kinda shaken up. Will he be okay?”
“Trust me; he’ll be fine.” She smiled at me sympathetically. “You should get home.”
I nodded and hugged her briefly as Matt came marching over.
“You finished getting in trouble?” he snapped irritably.
“I’m never finished getting in trouble,” I mumbled, stepping back and shooting Rose a quick tired smile before we left.
“I know. But I can dream.” Matt’s voice had softened slightly; he put an arm around my shoulders as he led me away. “You alright?”
“Yeah.” I glanced back over my shoulder, but Daniel and Rose had disappeared; instead my eyes swivelled to the sleek black car with tinted windows, where I could just make out the vague outline of Jason through the smoky glass. And even though I couldn’t see his face, I could just imagine that he was glaring after me as I trailed away.
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This chappy took about, Idk, three weeks to write? :P And I’m telling you, it was freaking tiring -_-
But on a lighter note... Alexis and Daniel are back together!!! (Kind of :P) Yaysers! I was gonna make their break up waaay longer but I’m kinda rushing this story now- it’s taking me freaking’ ages to write :) Hope you liked the chappy – please VOMMENT! :) Xxxxxxxxx