As I entered the DAU, I let out a long breath as I leaned against the wall and slid down to take a seat. I suddenly didn’t feel very happy at all.
Tom and I were from two completely different worlds. I didn’t know why I thought I’d be able to date him like nothing was wrong, and my friends had just proved it to me. Not only did they almost give our secret away, but so did I. I couldn’t control my powers, and being around humans was not the best thing for me to do.
Why did Hank and Nay have to send me to high school? I hadn’t even gone to middle school for very long. I was only in sixth grade for a couple of weeks before I was locked away in my room and pretty much homeschooled by a computer.
They said I couldn’t have a relationship with a human. I thought I could make it work. I guess I was realizing that I really couldn’t.
But I didn’t want to stop seeing Tom. I liked him, and both of us felt a connection that we both didn’t understand. I didn’t know why I liked him. There was just something… there that I couldn’t even explain.
I hadn’t liked a guy since elementary school. That had been such a long time ago that I couldn’t even remember how it really felt.
When the front door opened, I was hoping to see Dex. I wanted him to change his mind about going out with that waitress. But I immediately deflated when I saw that it was only Kristie, Aiden, and Anthony.
“Hey, Violet,” Aiden greeted me. “We were just about to go to the exercise room. You want to join?”
It sounded like a tempting offer. Whenever I was angry or upset, I’d go to the exercise room to blow off some steam. But now, I just wasn’t in the mood to go. I had no idea where Dex was and it really bothered me.
I shook my head. “No, thanks.”
“I had a lot of fun today, Violet!” Kristie giggled as she walked by me. “We all should definitely hang out again!”
I didn’t agree with her. We all could have gone out together, sure, but I did not want my friends anywhere near Tom. It’d just be a matter of time until Tom figured out just how different we really were.
“Violet,” Anthony called out when he saw I wasn’t getting up to follow them. “Is everything okay?”
This seemed to be enough to snap me out of my little trance, and I looked up to see my three friends staring down at me in concern. I gulped.
“I’m fine,” I answered, and it wasn’t exactly a lie. I was moping over something that wasn’t really that big of a deal at all. “Just… tired, that’s all.”
That was the excuse everyone used. I was obviously more than just tired.
Aiden and Kristie seemed to believe me, so they continued on their way to their rooms so they could change into exercise clothing. Anthony, however, knew I was lying.
He took a seat next to me, but said nothing. I brought my knees to my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs.
“So…” he started, but said nothing else.
I didn’t even know what I was supposed to say. Was he silently asking me what was wrong, or was he trying to make me feel better by just sitting there? Because the latter was not helping me in the slightest.
“You want to talk?” he finally questioned.
I didn’t really want to, but I knew that talking to someone about what was bothering me would probably make me feel a lot better. So I opened my mouth and then began to blab everything that I had been feeling.
“I just don’t understand why it’s such a problem to be in a relationship with a human,” I began, and I felt bad for Anthony because he had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. “What’s the big deal? If two people like each other, they should be able to be together without worrying about what anyone else thinks! But no, Hank and Nay say we’re not allowed to date a human! Why are they in charge of everything I do?”
Anthony let out a sigh. “I thought this was going to be about Dex.”
“Him, too!” I nearly shouted, and Anthony seemed to regret mentioning our stronger teammate. “He walks around acting like he owns me! Just because we kissed a few times doesn’t mean I can’t date someone else! He has no problem flirting with other girls, so why can’t I date other guys? He really pisses me off!”
Anthony stayed silent, expecting me to say more. When he saw that I was done, he let out a slow breath. “How long have you kept that bottled up?” he asked.
“A long time,” I snapped, not even meaning to.
Anthony let out another sigh. “Hank and Nay are just trying to protect you,” he said. “Dex, however… is a complicated little fellow.”
I scowled. “Little is the last thing Dex is.”
“Physically,” Anthony shrugged. “His ability to hide the way he feels is pretty little, if you ask me.”
“I really don’t want to talk about Dex right now, Anthony,” I told him honestly. “He just makes me even angrier.”
The nerdy boy nodded, and we were engulfed in silence again. I wondered if exercising with Aiden and Kristie would be a good idea… At least I’d let out some of my anger if I punched something.
“I’ve known about my powers since I was nine years old,” Anthony suddenly began, and I didn’t say anything to interrupt because I knew this was important. “And when I was in seventh grade, I had a huge crush on this girl. She was human.”
I frowned. “What happened?”
“Turns out she liked me back,” he continued, and this answer surprised me. “I was ridiculously happy. But since she was human, my parents wouldn’t let me even be near her because they knew how we felt about each other.”
At the age of twelve, I’d been locked away in my room for a year. I didn’t know what it was like to have a crush on someone at that age. Boys had been the last things on my mind.
“What’s so wrong with having a relationship with a human?” I demanded, ticked off that other people thought they could control what we did and what we wanted. “Relationships between superhuman and normal humans can work out. Your mom is human. Aiden’s mom is human. They’re both still married!”
Anthony shook his head. “It doesn’t always work out.”
“But not every marriage works out anyway!” I exclaimed, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. “Marriages between two humans end. Both of my parents ended up dying. Life doesn’t always go how you plan it, so what’s the point in trying to prevent someone from being happy just because you think it’s better off for them?”
“I think they have a good reason for wanting us to stay away from humans,” Anthony informed me. “And not just because it’s a rule. They want to protect us and our secret.”
“Protecting our secret is one thing, but they even frown upon relationships between teammates,” I reminded him, my eye twitching at the memory of all the rules Hank and Nay had given to us. The light above us flickered. “Now what’s the problem with that? What could they possibly be protecting us from then? A broken heart?”
“That, I believe,” Anthony began seriously, “is a rule they made from experience.”
I blinked at him. “You think Malicius joined Redrum because Nay rejected him?” I questioned. “You think that’s the reason, and not just because he’s evil and completely insane?”
“He couldn’t have started out that way, right?” Anthony asked. “I mean, he worked with the DAU for a while before he turned over to Redrum. Something must have happened that made him want to betray his friends and the girl he loved.”
“Yeah.” Anthony agreed with a nod of his head. “Like the girl he loved choosing someone else.”
It made sense, but it seemed like a stupid reason. Turning evil just because someone didn’t return your feelings was absolutely ridiculous. There were other people in the world that you could have fallen in love with.
“He’s still in love with Nay,” Anthony told me.
I shrugged. “So is Hank.”
“But they’re not together.” Anthony began to trace the patterns on the carpet beneath us. “Do you ever wonder why?”
“I just assumed it’s because they’re not allowed,” I answered.
Anthony shook his head. “I think it’s because they don’t want to hurt Malicius any more than they already have,” he told me honestly. “His unrequited love for Nay already drove him to Redrum. Who knows what he might do if he knew Hank and Nay were officially together?”
It made sense, but I still thought that it was stupid. Hank and Nay loved each other, and they shouldn’t have let Malicius keep them apart. He had already betrayed them, what else could he have done?
“Well, I should probably go change before Aiden gets the good treadmill,” Anthony sighed, pushing himself up off the ground and brushing himself off. “You should join us.”
I shrugged. “Maybe in a little bit.”
And then he left, and I was all alone once again. I said nothing to my teammates when they left their rooms fifteen minutes to walk across the hall to the exercise room. None of them acknowledged me, probably because I obviously did not want to talk.
I hated being a teenager. I hated having these feelings I barely understood and didn’t even want. And having these powers that I couldn’t control that I had to keep a secret was not making anything easier for me. If it was up to me, I’d never have feelings for anyone. Or even feelings at all.
An hour later, I was nearly falling asleep out in the hallway. I didn’t know why, but I refused to move from my spot until Dex came back. I didn’t like that he was out.
When the door finally opened, revealing him, I didn’t jump up from my spot. I didn’t even greet him. I just stayed on the floor, hugging my knees, kind of hoping he wouldn’t even notice me.
“Aw, how cute,” Dex grinned when he saw me. “You stayed up to wait for me.”
I scowled at him. “You’re aware it’s still light out, right?”
“Unimportant details,” he waved away. “So how’s lover boy?”
I blinked. “Who?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Tom, you idiot.”
Ignoring what he called me, I pushed myself up off the floor and brushed myself off much like Anthony had. The floor was actually much dirtier than it looked. “He’s fine,” I answered. “He dropped me off about an hour ago.”
“Sounds like fun,” he grinned sarcastically. “When’s your next date?”
I shrugged. “We haven’t planned one yet.”
“Bummer.”
I didn’t like the tone he was using. He sounded… sarcastic and condescending, and I didn’t like it at all. Why was it always so hard to just have a decent conversation with this guy?
“Did he kiss you?” he suddenly asked, catching me off guard.
“What?” I nearly choked.
“Did he kiss you?” he repeated.
I swallowed, not understanding why I found it so difficult to answer this question. No, Tom didn’t kiss me. He hadn’t even tried to. All he did was ask me about Dex.
“No,” I finally answered after what felt like years. “He didn’t kiss me.”
Should I have been bothered that he didn’t? It was only our first date. I had no idea when couples were supposed to start kissing…
Dex almost seemed relieved, like he would have gone out and punched Tom’s lights out if I had given him another answer. But I wasn’t worried about that, because I then noticed something that made my blood run cold.
“If only you could say the same,” I snapped, getting up and making my way toward him. I brushed my hand against the hickey on his neck. “Looks like you had a fun time.”
He shrugged, walking right by me. “I did.”
I remembered when I was eight years old. I had stayed up late with my foster mom, watching a movie. She had fallen asleep and I was still awake when he daughter got home, a dark purple bruise on her neck. I had started to cry, thinking that she was hurt. She then explained to me what exactly a hickey was and how one gets one.
“You… you didn’t have sex with her, did you?” I gulped.
Dex seemed surprised. “You even know how sex works, little girl?”
I scowled at him for the nickname. “You’d be surprised what one can learn from the internet.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “I’m sure I wouldn’t be.”
“Well?” I placed my hands on my hips. “Did you or did you not?”
“Did I or did I not what?”
“Dex! You know what I’m talking about!”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
I couldn’t stand him. Why did he have to be so freaking difficult? Why couldn’t he just give me a straight answer?
“Sorry, Violet, but the answer’s for me to know and for you to keep wondering,” he grinned, beginning his way by me down the hallway. “My sex life isn’t really a concern for you!”
I assumed that this meant yes, he did do something with that girl. I didn’t know why, but my eyes suddenly filled with tears. I internally cursed at myself, rubbing at my eyes and sniffing.
This stopped Dex from going anywhere. He spun back around, his eyes wide. “Why are you crying?” he asked.
I shook my head, refusing to look at him. “I’m not crying.”
Dex sighed, forcing his hands in his pocket as if in fear they would go somewhere he didn’t want them to. “Violet,” he started, uncaringly looking down at the floor and not at me. “I didn’t do anything with her.”
I sniffed. “What?”
He started off again. “Making out with a girl is one thing, but do you really think I’m the kind of guy that’d go screw a girl only hours after meeting her?” he questioned, continuing to walk toward his room.
My frown didn’t leave my face. “I don’t know what kind of guy you are anymore.”
This almost Dex trip, and he turned back toward me in surprise. “What?”
“I don’t know what kind of guy you are,” I repeated. “I don’t think I ever really have. But lately, you’ve been acting… weird. And I don’t know why.”
Dex's eyes narrowed. “You should know why.”
“Yeah, maybe I should, but I don’t.” I crossed my arms over my stomach uncomfortably. “I’m sorry I don’t understand everything, Dex. I hate using being locked in my room for five years as an excuse, but it’s the reason why I don’t get things.”
Dex looked like he didn’t know what to say to this. He ran his hand through his hair and let out a groan. I didn’t back down. I knew I was clueless. At least I was honest about it, unlike some people were.
“I don’t want you going out with Tom,” he admitting, biting down on his tongue as if it was hard for him to do.
My eyebrows furrowed in anger. “Why is it okay for you to go off with other girls, Dex, but it’s not okay for me to go out with Tom?”
“I wouldn’t be going off with other girls if you weren’t—”
He cut himself off abruptly, turning away from me before he could finish. I gulped. “What, Dex? Finish what you were going to say.”
He didn’t look like he wanted to, but I wasn’t just going to forget it. Whatever he was trying to say was important.
“Dex,” I warned, not afraid to hit him if I had to. “What were you going to say?”
He let out a long sigh, tugging at his black hair with one of his hands. “I was… I was just going to say that I—”
“Hey!” a new voice suddenly shouted as the door burst open, revealing Lena. “I need to talk to you, Violet!”
I glanced at the annoyed boy beside me. “Lena, Dex and I were kind of in the middle of something—”
My blonde best friend interrupted with a wave of her hand. “Yeah, yeah. Finish your fight later.”
I was a little annoyed with the fact that she assumed Dex and I had been arguing, but it made sense since that was really all we had been doing lately. Heck, this was kind of an argument.
I then noticed how freaked out Lena seemed, and I practically forgot everything Dex and I had been talking about. He even grew concerned as well.
“What is it, Lena?” I asked, eyeing the piece of paper she gripped in her hand. She thrust it into my grasp. “What is this?”
“Read it,” she ordered, and I did as I was told.
Lena,
You’re beauty should be illegal. I wish you would notice me. I could treat you so well… All you’ve got to do is let me. If only you’d give me a chance… One day, beautiful, you’ll have to give me a chance.
“Whoa,” was all I was able to say at first. “That’s… kind of creepy.”
“Kind of?” Lena demanded, snatching the note from me and reading over it again. “This guy left a note on my car! Which meant he knew we were at the diner! Which means he could be following me! He didn’t even sign the damn note!”
“He left you a note?” Dex questioned, looking over her shoulder to read it. “What year is this, 1985? There’s this thing called the internet and social media.”
Lena punched Dex in the stomach. “Don’t be giving anyone any ideas!”
She was legitimately freaked out by this, which was something I had never seen before. I had never seen Lena scared, but seeing her like this scared me as well. She was probably one of the bravest, toughest people I had ever met, and to have her acting like this…
“Lena, you could stab someone to death with your powers,” Dex reminded her, in case she somehow forgot. “Why are you freaking out so much?”
Lena looked both angry and scared as she turned toward Dex. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say. I stayed silent, mostly because I didn’t know what to say either.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be a girl and have freaky guys hit on you all the time,” she scowled at him. “Powers or not, it’s still creepy.”
“Yes, but I’ve been hit on by a lot of freaky chicks—this one being one of them.” Dex jabbed a thumb in my direction and I scoffed. “I get that it’s not always very flattering.”
“You use me as an example?” I snapped, ticked off by his comment. “You could have used Lynx, but you chose to use me instead?”
Dex shrugged. “It’s creative license.”
“It’s being an ass!”
Dex ignored me now as he took the letter from Lena. “This is kind of creepy, though,” he said as he read over it again. “I once had this girl leave chocolates for me at the video rental store. I didn’t eat them because I was afraid they might have been poisoned. So I gave them to my old man.”
Lena rolled her eyes at him. “What a loving son you are.”
Dex shrugged. “He wasn’t my real dad, and he was a bastard, so what did I care? He turned out fine anyway.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do about this?” Lena asked me. “It really creeps me out that someone’s possibly following me and leaving notes on my car for me to find.”
I frowned. I didn’t really know what we could have done. The only time I’d ever heard of a stalking case was in a really bad book I read about a girl moving across the country to escape her stalker, but it didn’t work. I wasn’t so sure if that was a true story or not.
“We’ll make sure someone’s always by your side until this guy goes away, okay?” I suggested, since there didn’t seem to be anything else we could have done. We might have been superhuman, but we were still amateurs. “We won’t let anything happen to you, Lena.”
My best friend let out a long sigh of relief. “I knew I could count on you, Violet.”
Dex scoffed. “You sure you’re going to have enough time to be with Lena when you have lover boy to worry about?” he inquired.
Lena glared at him. “At least he didn’t give her a hickey.”
He scowled. “Shut. Up.”
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An update within about a week... That must be surprising.
Except I should probably update Beauty and the Beat and Jules Rules, since it's been months since those have been updated... I'll be working on those soon since my AP tests are over. But I still have finals to worry about, so like... yeah. They'll get done eventually.
I only have two weeks of school left, though! After that, updates should be more frequent. :)
Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :)