"Margaret I swear I did not mean to ruin today's practice" I swallowed, nervous how she'd react to what happened.
I was fidgety, my hands wouldn't stop moving and I couldn't stop biting my lip.
"Zoe, it's fine okay?" she rested her head on her hand and forced a smile.
"She ran up to me and I just reacted. I'm sorry I forgot by abilities are greater then everyone elses" I looked at her.
"For the hundredth time Zoe, it's okay. I know how Chelsea can get. She's got a bit of a hard head on her" she stood up out of her chair and walked around her desk to sit up against the edge next to me.
"Are you sure?" I say, my hands finally stopped moving.
"Yes" she laughed a little, "Chels will be okay, I'm just glad John caught her in time"
"Wait, you talked to her already?"
"Yes, and she said shes fine. I told her she shouldn't have acted the way she did toward you. She had to expect it, especially from you"
"Oh...ok" I let out a breath of air and sit back in the chair.
"Next time, I will have you train with someone that has more skills, that way they really have a competition. You have great skills Zoe"
"I told you your special" she says, putting a hand on my shoulder then letting go.
"Yeah" I looked down into my lap, "I didn't think I would be that great at fighting"
"And it's a good thing you are" she finishes.
I give her a smile, "Now come on, I have something I need to do and I can't have you sit here alone" she declares.
I stand and we both head for the door.
"You can call your dad soon too Zoe, just don't be on too long" she smiles and starts to walk away.
"Just let me know when" she yells and I look at the back of her head while she's walking down to the other end of the hall.
As I'm about to head for the stairs, I spot Xander talking to Alex and James. They were walking up toward me. I assumed they just came from outside.
"Hey" I say to then, specifically to Xander but he doesn't look too happy to see me right about now.
"Oh hey Zoe" James says, he comes over to my right side and puts an arm around my shoulders, "I was thinking. Maybe you could teach me some of your moves you know? That was pretty amazing what you did today"
My face turns up in a are you kidding me? face and my lips come together in a thin line.
"Um, I don't think-"
"Its okay baby, you don't have to teach him anything. He can learn on his own" Alex chimes in and ends up on my left side.
He pulls my whole body away from James and wraps his arm around my shoulders, "though I wouldn't mind you teaching me some moves. One-on-one you know?" He bites his lip.
I look at Xander and he smiles and shakes his head.
I guess he isn't gonna try and help me. He's probably still pissed about the whole hand holding situation with Jake at practice this morning.
"Sure" I say aloud and they all look at me with a shocked expression.
"Really?" Alex steps back away from me.
"Yeah, if you guys really wanna know what being thrown up in the air feels like, sure. And just imagine what I would do to you guys since your boys" I fold my arms and smile.
"I wouldn't mind your hands all over me" James says, looking me up and down.
"Oh yeah?"
"Alright that's enough guys" Xander finally snapped.
They start laughing and play fighting. As they head up the stairs I can hear them talking about Chelsea and how what I did to her was a good thing.
I could hear Alex "she deserved it. That girl is badass, and I don't mean good"
"Your right but she's kinda hot" James finished.
I unfold my arms and look back at Xander now.
"You okay?" I ask him.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
He's furious. I can see that now. He has his hands in his pockets and his head down low.
"Are you mad at me?" I say in the lowest voice.
He looks at me and he takes a while to answer the question, "no. I just-" he swallows.
"I've just been thinking about alot lately. Its nothing"
"Are you sure?" I questioned. I know there's more that he's not telling me. It's like I can feel it coming off of him.
"Yeah" he forces a smile and heads for the stairs, "see you around okay?"
Before I can answer he runs up the stairs and heads for his door.
Since I've been here there's been more situations then I can handle. All of them having to do with me. It's like since I'm a hybrid the world just has to revolve around me, and it's not like I want that because I really don't. First my mom, then leaving my dad alone, then there's the gifts and Xander and Jake. Why do they always seem to want to talk to me or protect me? This trip is supposed to be about learning, understanding and being able to get myself under control for the real world but all it feels like is that I'm taking steps back.
Like everything's crumbling down on me at once. It's all happening so fast. I wish I could just go home and be in my parents arms but I can't. Zoe, you can't let these problems influence your life. Man up and take the challenge. Your a hybrid and both your parents would want you to succeed, no matter what the cost.
As I'm walking down the hall, I notice the front door is open just a little. I head for it and open it just enough so I could peak out.
To my surprise, its Chelsea. She's sitting on the steps alone.
I let out a sigh, knowing in my mind I shouldn't say anything but my body moves out the door silently toward her.
"Hey Chels" I say as I'm standing behind her.
"What do you want?" she says angrily, she doesn't even turn around to look at me.
"Nothing, this is where I come by myself too" I am running off at the mouth.
She doesn't say anything after that.
I bite my lip and turn back toward the door but then I look over my shoulder and head for the space next to her.
"I'm sorry about today" I look at her and she's looking out into the woods, "I didn't mean to-"
"Save it Zoe" I close my mouth and look at her.
"Why can't you just listen to what I have to say?" I turn my whole body towards her.
"Because" a long pause. She takes one glance at me and turns away again, "I know it was an accident. I was the one who got carried away"
"Oh" I was completely shocked. That was the only thing I could think to say. For the past couple of days we've been here, I would've never imagined getting an apology from Chelsea of all people.
"Look I'm not trying to be friends. But you should expect this. Your a hybrid for christ sake, I bet everyone's jealous of you"
"Your jealous of me?" I say in a low voice.
"Stop acting shocked, you've known that every since we got here"
"Why?" I ask. I was confused, just because I'm a hybrid doesn't mean anyone should have a reason to be jealous of me.
"Oh my god, are you that dumb?" She starts, "you have two guys chasing after you at one time and Marg is always keeping a tight eye on you"
I think about it now. I did know about the two guy situation but I didn't think it was that bad. Everyone must notice. And I just thought Marg was keeping an eye on me because of the whole hybrid thing. Not because she likes me better then anybody else here.
Because I'm a hybrid.
I let out a breath and fold my arms on top of my knees, "well it's not as great as it seems"
She stand up and heads for the door, "I'm going inside" she doesn't even look at me when she steps through but turns back one last time to say, "just stay out of my way. That way no one gets hurt" and the door slams.
I made a mistake coming out here to talk to Chelse of all people. Why did I think it would end well? Of course she's still mad. And what makes it worse is that Xander is mad.
Maybe I should go in and call dad. I wish I could call mom. I miss her so much, now more then ever. I wish I had her to talk too right about now. She would help me fix all my problems, no matter what they were or how long they took.
I sat there on the steps like any other day. No one came outside to see where I was at all.
I closed my eyes and listened.
I listened to the small winds and how the tree branches cracked, I even heard the leaves falling down to the ground. I imagined how great the wind would feel against my skin if I went for a run.
"Zoe" someone whispered. Out in the woods, someone whispered my name.
My eyes shot open and I stood up on both feet and stepped off the steps. I looked out far into the distance to see if I could spot someone. Since my powers were growing, I've gained great eye sight.
I walked up to the woods and stood at the edge of the line where the green grass met the trees. Then I closed my eyes again.
I listened, "Zoe" they said again. I didn't opened my eyes yet and I heard light footsteps against the leaves.
Then they stopped and when I opened them I saw someone standing far into the woods. They wore all black. How the hell did they get in here? Margaret stated there was absolutely no way in.
I know I shouldn't be doing this but I guess I was gonna get to have that run anyway.