"Just walk close to them, I'll hang back and see what I can feel," Evelyn whispered to Brandon.
"Why do I feel like some sort of experiment?"
"Because you are," Evelyn said simply. "I should be able to get a pretty good idea about them without much trouble, but only if you cooperate. I just want to make sure Puck didn't do anything permanent, because if he did I'm going to have to make sure he fixes it."
"Really?" Brandon sounded surprised. "How's he supposed to fix something like that? Isn't that like, a mental thing?"
"He has his ways, trust me," Evelyn replied, scanning the crowd for signs of either Jessica or Derek. She could see a few of the other football players along with one or two of Jessica's friends, no sign of the couple themselves. Evelyn closed her eyes and reached out with her own feelings, imagining them as an invisible mist that spread throughout the hallways, engulfing and merging with each person's individual emotions in turn. The flood of emotions was all at once nauseating and invigorating, as if her mind and body couldn't decide whether to embrace or reject the assault of sensations.
But it was getting easier. Unlike with the police officer, Evelyn's efforts to push herself outward weren't threatening to send her to her knees. It was becoming almost effortless, as if she were doing nothing more than breathing. Evelyn's hand came up, instinctively covering the lightly vibrating gem as if to focus herself. One by one Evelyn reached into the hearts of her fellow students, gathering just enough from each person to garner a rough idea of who they were.
Finally she found them, together but separate from the main throng of students. No concentration was needed for Evelyn to understand what the couple was feeling. They were scared. Pulling herself away from the crowd, Evelyn focused on Jessica. After spending so much time sensitive to Jessica's intentions against her, Evelyn found it easy to distinguish her from the pair. She was clinging to Derek with determination, as if his protection were the only thing capable of sedating her fears. Evelyn pulled herself back, she had felt enough.
"They're not far, and they're terrified," Evelyn whispered to Brandon. "I really only got a read on Jessica, but I think she's scared something's going to come after her."
"Understandable, no telling what the little guy put them through," Brandon remarked. "So why would they be acting that way around me? Not like I've given either of them any reason to think I'd do something."
"I don't know," Evelyn said thoughtfully. She took him by the hand. "Come on, let's go find them, I want to see if it's really you they're afraid of or if they're just scared in general."
Though Evelyn couldn't sense exactly where they were, it didn't take long to find them. The couple had found a quiet corner away from the suffocating atmosphere of the crowds not far from the boy's locker rooms. Huddled together, Jessica leaned tightly into Derek, her arms wrapped protectively against her own sides. They whispered like conspirers, eyes darting back and forth to nervously scan any passing faces. Brandon saw them the same moment as Evelyn, and with a confident wink he let go of her hand and slipped ahead, making sure to walk at such an angle in front of them that he would be impossible to miss.
Evelyn opened herself to them, monitoring their feelings closely as Brandon closed the narrow distance. Fear emanated from them in powerful waves, so powerful it tasted like copper in Evelyn's mouth. But it wasn't all. Behind that fear, mixed in like a subtle poison, was anger. Powerful, animalistic anger. It reminded Evelyn of a cornered animal ready to fight for its very life. A sudden chill ran down her spine as it shot to the surface of their emotions, exploding outward the instant they laid eyes on Brandon. All that rage, all that fear and hatred, was instantly directed at him and him alone.
"Brandon!" Evelyn called out. But it was too late.
Derek charged out at Brandon like an enraged bull, catching him in the stomach with his shoulder and nearly throwing Brandon against the opposing wall. Evelyn screeched at the sound of Brandon's head hitting the lockers. Brandon, for his part, didn't have a chance to call out, the impact had knocked the air out of his lungs. Derek forced his forearm into Brandon's throat and pinned him to the lockers hard enough to have him gasping for air.
"Why are you following us around?!" Derek screamed in his face. "You think you're going to get to us again? I'll kill you before that happens!" Derek pulled Brandon back and slammed his head into the lockers again, this time hard enough to leave a dent. Brandon tried to fight back against Derek's grip but the other boy was simply too strong and too angry. Evelyn ran up and pulled desperately at Derek's arm but could to nothing to move the much larger boy.
"I'll kill you!" Derek continued to scream threats and obscenities as he slammed Brandon into the lockers again and again.
Luckily for Brandon the attack didn't last long. Other members of the football team as well as teachers and staff ran to his aid. It took almost half a dozen people to pull Derek off and away from Brandon, who did little more than slide to a sitting position on the floor, hands on the back of his head as he continued to gasp for air.
"If I see you again I'll kill you! You hear me? I'll kill you!" Evelyn shuddered as Derek was pulled away screaming. There was no hint of rational emotion coming from the boy, no sign that he was any more capable of rational thought than a wounded bear. To put things simply; Derek was broken.
Jessica hadn't moved from her spot in the corner. She had become nothing more than a cowering mess. Evelyn barely registered her while she pushed her way through the gathered crowd to get to Brandon. His hands were covered in blood from a deep gash Derek's attack had opened on the back of his head. Brandon stared at the faces surrounding him with slight confusion, as if he didn't understand what had happened.
"Brandon!" Evelyn screamed, dropping to his side. "Are you ok?"
"Not.... What I was expecting..." He murmured, trying to stanch the flow of blood with his hands.
"Oh my God, Brandon. I'm so sorry!" Evelyn cried, trying to help him up. "Help me get him to the nurse!" she screamed at the surrounding faces.
They managed to get him to the nurse with some effort, and although she was able to stop the bleeding Brandon was still taken to the hospital for fear of a concussion. He didn't return until almost the end of the school day, and it was one of the longest days Evelyn could remember trying to get through.
She spent the first period in the office answering questions from both the principal and the police as they tried to make sense of the attack. Evelyn told them what she had seen happen, that she couldn't think of a reason for it other than the fact that Derek had maintained an unknown problem with Brandon ever since he had first stepped into the building.
Word came from the hospital that Brandon wasn't going to press any charges, and as witnesses confirmed the attack was unprovoked Derek was expelled and the issue considered resolved. Other than Derek's parents agreeing to pay for Brandon's medical bills no other actions would be taken.
Evelyn spent the rest of the day tapping her toes and fighting against her own guilt. Sending Brandon anywhere close to Derek had been a terrible mistake. Countless other methods of gaining the information Evelyn had wanted marched through her mind, each idea adding fuel to the fire of her regrets. Then finally, against doctor's advice, Brandon arrived back at the school just before the end of final period.
Evelyn found him standing in the hallway by the office wearing the same cheesy grin she had grown to love. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck so fast that he was nearly knocked into the wall again. "My God I'm so sorry!" Evelyn cried as she buried her face into Brandon's shoulder. "I shouldn't have asked you to do that! I was so stupid!"
Brandon just laughed and hugged her back. "Hey, no worries! Not like you could have predicted he'd tweak like that. A little shaved hair and a few stitches and I was good to go! You get what you need to out of it I hope?"
Evelyn reluctantly let go. "Yeah, I think I got all I'll be able to out of them," she said as they made their way out of the building. "They're broken, like really, really broken. Puck told me he pushed the memories back, but I don't think he pushed them back enough."
"You think they're fixable?"
Evelyn sighed. "I doubt it. I'll ask Puck to try, but I'm a bit leery of getting him any more involved than he has been already..."
"I can understand that," Brandon agreed. "So. Basically today turned out to be a bust. Figuratively and literally," he remarked, rubbing the bandage on the back of his head.
"I'm really, really sorry about that," Evelyn moaned, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked. "Is there anything I can do to make it better?"
Brandon chuckled. "Well..."
"Anything within reason," Evelyn interrupted.
Brandon just laughed. "A kiss and we'll call it even, how's that?"
Evelyn stopped and turned on her heel, wrapping her arms gently around the back of his neck. "Oh, I don't think that'll even start to make up for this, but hopefully it'll at least be a decent start..." Evelyn leaned forward and pulled Brandon down in one movement, her lips meeting his own and cutting off the wisecrack she knew was coming. As Evelyn felt his arms slip around her back and pull her body in close to his own she allowed a slight moan to escape her lips.
As they kissed her gem once again pulsed to the pattern of their beating hearts, drawing energy from their embrace only to send it coursing through their bodies like liquid fire. As if showing its own approval, Evelyn felt the ring Puck had given to her vibrate lightly against her finger. Throughout all the drama of the day Evelyn had forgotten completely about the tiny object. But the vibration it sent up her arm brought it squarely to the forefront of her mind, telling her exactly what she wanted to do.
Heart beating fast, and with great hesitation, Evelyn forced herself away from the kiss. "I, um..." she stuttered, fumbling the ring off her finger with a shaking hand. "I know Puck warned me to think carefully about this... but um, I really don't think I need to um... I guess I'm trying to say... I mean ask..."
Brandon put his hand under her chin and gently lifted her face to meet his own, placing his thumb over her lips. "I'd be honored to wear it," he said, leaning down and kissing her lightly on the lips.
Ring shaking between her fingers, Evelyn took Brandon's outstretched hand in her own and slipped the ring onto his finger. As she did the tiny golden vines that made up the band seemed to pull back from the stone, enlarging the opening of the ring as if to make room for his finger. The instant Evelyn leg go the vines pulled back in, the ring closing itself to perfectly fit on Brandon's finger before wrapping solidly around the stone once more. The gem pulsed with a pale green light, sending a shock up Brandon's arm.
"Ow!" he said, pulling his hand out of Evelyn's.
"What happened? Are you ok?" Evelyn asked, terrified something went wrong.
"No, it's alright," he replied with a laugh. "Just a little shock is all. Look, the little plants aren't even moving anymore, it's a solid piece of metal again!"
Evelyn inspected the ring. Sure enough, the band, once appearing as a bundle of individual vines, had fused together to form a single piece. Though the shapes of the vines themselves still remained. "Feel any different?" Evelyn asked.
Brandon frowned. "No, not really. Guess we'll have to wait and see what kind of magic it holds."
Evelyn laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "As long as it doesn't do anything bad, I'm good with it."
"Hey," Brandon said, "the way I see it, if whatever it does connects me to you, then nothing bad can come of it."