Alec sat across from me on my bed in silence, still sulking. He did it for all of dinner, too. The only reason I was still silent was because I wanted to see how long he could go before he broke. I just knew he had to be dying to ask me questions.
His foot practically vibrated with unspent energy and his expression told me he was in pain. I could almost feel him reach his breaking point as I sat back with a small smile, pretending to look at my nails.
"Fine, Echo. I'll ask." He breathed out like he had been holding it in.
My smile got bigger but I didn't say anything.
"Are you a lesbian?" He asked, leaning forward, watching me carefully.
I opened my mouth but he continued, interrupting me before I could even say anything.
"I mean, when I heard you were with a girl last night I was skeptical. Then you said you didn't want to sleep with me and that was a giant flag. And a second later you started staring at that girl like... Well, I won't be vulgar." He wiggled his eyebrows at me knowingly.
My eyebrows lifted in a surprised amusement and decided to stop trying to add to the conversation when he was clearly determined to have it with himself.
"It's all starting to make sense." He nodded to himself before suddenly pausing, as if something had occurred.
"Wait, weren't you with a dude yesterday?" He considered me in thought until his eyes widened in panic.
"You weren't hurt, were you? God, no wonder you didn't want to talk about it," he rushed out in concern.
I shook my head frantically and started to correct him, but he continued to ignore me as he started to put everything together himself.
"Wait, no. You were definitely into it. I could smell you as much as I could him," he said, frowning at himself.
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head in response.
That just ain't right.
"So you aren't a lesbian?" His nose wrinkled up in confusion. "Wait, then why don't you want to sleep with me?"
I pressed my lips together in an effort to smother the laugh that bubbled up from my throat and gave him a disbelieving shake of the head.
"Echo, this is serious." He huffed in offense.
"Oh, please. You're attractive and you know it, Alec. That doesn't change the fact that we have no sexual chemistry to speak of. None." I motioned between us and raised my eyebrows as if to say see?
He sighed and grumbled, "Yeah."
He laid back and we sat in silence for a while before he spoke up again.
"So do you swing both ways then?" He asked casually.
"Yep."
"Oh. Cool."
And that was it. I'd never told anyone before, not because I was trying to hide it or anything, but because there was just never anyone in my life that I ever felt the need to tell. No one stuck around long enough. It was nice to have someone to tell. A warm energy ran through me, disrupting my thoughts, and I gasped at the abrupt feeling. Pain quickly followed the warmth in waves and I shot up, clutching Alec's arm.
"Echo?" Alec's voice was barely audible through the pounding in my head. I tried looking up at him but my vision blurred from the pain so I couldn't clearly make him out.
"Echo, breathe. Just breathe," Alec's surprisingly calm voice instructed me.
I forced myself to breathe through the pain until it passed, making me immediately go slack against the bed with relief. Alec's calming touch against my forehead brought me back to my senses and I opened my eyes to see him looking down at me with worried eyes.
"Have you shifted yet?" He asked while continuing to brush my forehead in gentle strokes.
I shook my head softly, still recovering.
And I never would because I'm not a shifter, I added silently, guilt creating a small pit in my stomach.
"Echo, that's incredibly dangerous. Someone should have guided you through the shift by now," his voice was tinted with distress and his hand stilled mid-motion.
"I'm just having a little difficulty with it, that's all. I'll be fine." The lie tasted bad in my mouth as I waved off his concerns, trying to ignore my own.
The last couple of weeks I had been getting a lot of headaches and weird flashes of pain, but they were so minor that I could dismiss them without a second thought. I'd been in such denial about what had been happening that I never even considered that I could actually die. This was a giant slap in the face by reality that sent me spinning into panic mode.
"Echo, this isn't something you can be flippant about. If you don't shift soon then the change will be a death sentence. And you will shift, Echo. Everyone eventually does," he said with serious eyes.
"Okay. I hear you." I nodded my head solemnly.
"We should get you to the nurse. This really couldn't have been a good sign." He got up and moved to help me up too, but I shook my head firmly even though it sent a stab of pain through me.
"No," I said, resolve clear in my voice.
Alec sat and stared at me in disbelief. "I thought you understood how serious this is."
"I do, and I'll speak to my teachers tomorrow about it. That's what they're here for. Plus, I doubt a nurse will be able to do anything about this," I said with a decisive tone.
I saw on his face as he shook his head in acceptance that he reluctantly agreed, but he didn't like it.
"Fine, but I'm staying with you until you do. I didn't like how that looked." He looked like he would argue if I said no and I found the thought ridiculous.
"For the whole night?" I asked cautiously.
Alec nodded seriously and narrowed his eyes as if to challenge me to try and deny him this.
"So, like a sleepover?" I tried to mask the giddiness that shot through me but I perked up a little despite my efforts.
Alec looked surprised at my spark of excitement and gave me a slow teasing smirk.
"What? I've never had a sleepover," I grumbled defensively, throwing a pillow at him.
He caught it with a laugh and stared at me like he saw a part of me that he never expected.
"Well, I'm honored to be your first," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
I rolled my eyes with a smile and shook my head.
"I'll be gentle, I swear." His laughter took over halfway through the sentence and I scowled playfully at him.
"Honestly, I don't know how we've become friends," I mumbled as I got comfortable on the side of the bed that was pressed against the wall.
"You wound me, my little sex kitten." His eyes filled with laughter as he spoke.
I scrunched my face up and my shoulders pulled up in protest of his words.
"Oh, please never call me that again. It's bad for everyone involved," I said as if hearing the words made me physically sick.
He fell on the bed at my side and turned to look at me. "But it suites you, don't you think?"
"No. Now shut up and sleep or you'll be sleeping on the floor," I said, patting his cheek before turning away from him to get comfortable.
"You would do that to me?" He asked with faux outrage.
A small smile curved my mouth but I stayed silent.
"Oh, that's cold," he mumbled as he shifted next to me.
I was half asleep when he spoke again.
"So how far did you get with the pretty brunette?" He whispered.
"Alec, I have no reservations about harming anyone who gets in the way of my sleep. In fact, it brings me great joy," I said in a soft but deadly tone.
He cleared his throat before he responded quietly with, "Got it."