{{My smile never faltered, but I tilted my head and asked, "Why would it be different?" "Because I'm taking you to meet the Guardians."}}
I stood staring at him for a while. The words had sunk in, but somewhere between hearing them and comprehending them, my brain had completely shut down. He tilted his head slightly and looked a bit concerned. "Andrea? Are you okay?"
"Of course." No, that wasn't my voice. It sounded like I'd been sucking on helium. I cleared my throat and smiled, a bit embarrassed. "I'm fine, I mean.... I knew they were like you, you said that they were. I guess I just hadn't put everything together yet, all the boys being Guardians." I stared down at the buttons of my sweater, twisting them nervously.
He wrapped his hands around mine, stilling my fingers. I looked up and he was smiling, one corner of his mouth turned up. "Well they are, but not exactly. Not yet. We don't actually become Guardians until our eighteenth birthdays, when we become adults. Technically. Although it's not uncommon for some traits to show as early as sixteen."
He pulled me towards him slowly, "I'm the only Guardian that's going to be there, the rest of the guys are just average guys, okay?"
I gave him a tentative smile. He was trying to make me feel better, how sweet. I leaned up and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Okay, lets get going." I pulled back, expecting a smile, but his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were a molten, swirling black. His mouth was in a tight line and he was staring at my lips, and a strange static filled my ears.
Tiny little currents ran up my spine and I shook slightly as I stepped to the side, reaching past him to pick up my bag. The tie was undone and books slid out of my bag as I pulled it off the bench. "Oh crap." I bent quickly and started picking up the books. "What's wrong?" He picked one up and looked at it. "Library books?"
"Yes, I'm an idiot. I forgot to turn them in before leaving earlier." I mentally smacked myself. I'd been so distracted all day, I'd forgotten the books. I'd also forgotten to go pick up my last painting from Miss Dega's classroom.
"Can I meet you outside? I really need to go drop this off and pick up some other stuff." I grabbed the books and shoved them back inside my bag.
He closed the passenger door and started to walk around his car, "Yeah sure, I'll wait out front for you." He winked and slid behind the wheel. I ran quickly through the shop door and paused as his car started up. Okay, how could a car actually sound beautiful?
Great, I was starting to sound like one of the guys. Next I'd be wanting one of my own. I turned and watched as he backed out of the shop, then shook my head, irritated with myself, and hurried down the hall towards the library.
I got to the door just as the librarian was leaving, "Mrs. Turnel wait, I forgot to give these to you!" She stopped in the doorway and turned quickly to see who was yelling at her. She was shorter than me, barely reaching my shoulders, with thick white hair and even thicker glasses. Her face was covered in happy wrinkles from smiling too much. She was one of the happiest people I knew. If anybody could seem perpetually happy, it was her.
"Well hello there Andrea, how was your weekend?" She smiled and reached to push open the door to the library. I followed her inside, pulling out the books in the bottom of my bag.
My weekend? It was great. I went to the dance, got a boyfriend..... Oh, and he happens to be a mythical being. Did I mention we were attacked and chased down by a polar bear yesterday?
"It was fine Mrs. Turnel. Although I was a little surprised by the snowstorm we got yesterday." I sat the books on her counter and turned to leave before I could say what was really on my mind.
"Oh, this world is just full of little surprises," She laughed and stamped the books and tossed them into the returns basket. "Don't I know it." I smiled back and waved goodbye, then hurried to Miss Dega's classroom.
Miss Dega was just locking her door behind her. "Change your mind?" She asked.
"Uh, changed my mind about what?" "Your painting, did you want to keep it? I already put it in my car, but I can go get it." She looked a bit sad, and I waved the comment off. "Oh no, not that, I forgot my other painting, the one we did in class today."
She thought for a moment and then smiled. "Oh yes, the one of Gil. I'm afraid Harriet already took it home with her, was she supposed to leave it for you?"
I stared at her for a moment. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Harriet said it belonged to her, she picked it up a few minutes ago. Gil was with her and kept gushing over how much he liked it. You did a very good job, though it didn't look exactly like him." She dropped her keys into her purse, "You know, until today I had no idea that the two of them were dating, but they were just so cute walking out of here holding hands and giggling at each other. Love is just a wonderful thing, is it not?" She sighed and put her hands over her heart.
"Uh... yes, of course it is. And I forgot about telling Harriet she could have the painting, so no worries."
She smiled and waved as she walked towards the office, and I waved goodbye as I walked slowly out the double doors, still a bit stunned by Miss Dega's words.
I'd painted a picture of Gil? Wouldn't I have noticed who it was when I did it? I mean, sure, it was a picture of a guy, but it had just been a guy. At least I thought it had been no one particular when I'd painted him. How strange.
I wasn't paying attention, my mind lost, trying to remember exactly what the picture had looked like, and I walked right into the side of Konai's car. He rolled down the window and leaned over, smiling. "You're supposed to open the door first Andy." And he reached over and opened the door for me.
I stepped back, frowning, and I realized he was frowning too. "What happened? Mrs. Turnel wasn't mad about the books was she?" One of his hands rested on the wheel, his other arm slung over the back of the seat. I climbed in slowly and buckled up.
"No, she wasn't mad. I just went to pick up my painting, but it wasn't mine. Well I painted it, but I promised Harriet she could have it, but I forgot about giving it to her."
"And... that's a bad thing?"
I turned towards him and he had the cutest confused look on his face. Okay, so I was griping about a painting, I could see how that would seem unimportant to him. "No, it's not bad, I just hadn't realized I'd painted a picture of someone I knew. I guess it looked just like Gil, only I didn't realize it at the time."
I tried to picture the painting again. Sure, Blue Guy had blue eyes and dark hair, and Gil had blue eyes and dark hair. It was even curly, just like I'd painted. I guess they were kind of similar, maybe I HAD painted Gil.
"You painted a picture of Gil?" His voice was oddly light. He'd turned and was starting the car, then he focused on backing out and driving towards... wherever he was taking me.
My stomach did a tiny flip, and I tried not to look as nervous as I suddenly felt. "Well I don't think it was Gil, but Gil and Miss Dega thought it was. It could just be that Gil is full of himself." I joked. Konai finally smiled and glanced quickly in my direction. He smirked and shook his head. "Gil is definitely not full of himself." He turned back to watch the road, and looked a bit sad. "He's just the opposite. I've never met a guy with such low self esteem."
"Gil? But he seems so happy. And pleasant to be around." The idea of him not liking himself, or finding faults in himself, was just strange. "He's such a nice guy, and gets good grades, and has friends. I know that you are friends with him. You'd have to be to let him touch your car."
Konai laughed out loud and it was a wonderful sound. He turned to look at me, his smile on in full force and I blushed and turned away. He was naturally good looking, but when he smiled? Devastating. Maybe it was a good thing he'd seemed so distracted and serious before this. Had he smiled all the time, most of the girls here would have probably needed a heart transplant.
"He's allowed to touch my car because he's obsessive about being perfect. He'll never do anything wrong when it comes to working on something." The corner of his mouth tilted up in a crooked smile, "And yes, the fact that we're close friends doesn't hurt either,"
He slid his hand across the seat and I reached for it automatically. He glanced down at our hands, then to me, his smile softening around the edges, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Reaching for me," He winked and stared back at the road. We drove through the un-crowded streets of Wapatau, and I realized I had no idea where we were going. "So we're going out to the open field where you practiced the other day?" I played with his fingers, fidgeting out of nervousness.
"No, we're heading to an outer field, but just for a few minutes. I just need to talk to one of the guys, then I need to feed you. I don't mind skipping a meal once in a while, but that's me. I should have fed you hours ago." He frowned.
"It's not like I'm going to whither away into nothing, it's just one missed lunch." I poked him in the side, and he smiled. "I have a granola bar in my bag, if I can't hack going a few more minutes without a meal, I can always snack on that. Or are you afraid I'll start chewing on one of your friends?" I laughed and looked out the window.
A static charge arced across my skin and I jumped. There was a strange roaring in my ears and I rubbed them for a moment, and the sound disappeared. I looked at Konai, curious as to whether or not he'd felt that too, but he was staring at the road, an intense look on his face. He pulled over suddenly and I looked around.
We were at the end of some dirt road, surrounded on all four sides by a dense cover of trees. "Uh, Konai, I thought we were going to a clearing?" I looked back at him but he was already out of the car and shutting his door.
I watched him walk around the front of the car, and I wondered why he suddenly looked irked. My door swung open and I froze as Konai leaned in and unbuckled me. Well, I was perfectly capable of unbuckling myself, what was he....
He leaned even closer, his nose nearly touching mine.
"We're going to be here for two minutes, hopefully less than that. Should you feel the need, I'm the only one you should chew on." And he stood up and started walking towards the trees. I stepped out of the car and stared as he walked away. No, he was stomping away. Good grief, he looked... jealous?
I smiled.
Okay, maybe that was the tiny little sadistic side of me, but the idea of him being jealous, even for a completely ridiculous reason, made me happy. Honestly, I wasn't hungry, and even if I was, I don't think I could chew on anyone, even Konai. But then my stomach rumbled.
I stopped and reached back into the car, grabbing my granola bar. I had to jog lightly to catch back up to him, and I tugged on his shirtsleeve.
"Want a bite?" I held out the bar. He curled his nose and made a funny sound in the back of his throat. "No thank you. I don't eat those." He stared at it like it was mud or something. "Hey, these are good for you. At least, that what it says." I turned the label over and read the ingredients. "Okay, maybe having chocolate in it makes it a little less healthy, but it's still good."
"I don't eat chocolate."
I almost tripped over a rock. "That's...." I didn't even know what to say. I wasn't a huge fan of chocolate, but I ate it at least once in a while. I had to duck under a low branch to follow him around another large tree. "Okay, so no chocolate. And where exactly are we going?"
He sighed and stopped. He turned and watched me take a bite of granola, then curled his nose again. Okay, maybe I should just stop eating chocolate if he was going to have that kind of a reaction to seeing it. He leaned a bit towards me then pointed to a small hill in the distance, "Just past the trees there. The guys will already be in the clearing, waiting for us." And he started off again. But I didn't move.
A clearing. Full of Guardians. Okay, almost Guardians. But still, they weren't normal, average boys. They were.... Well, I wasn't exactly sure. Konai was faster, stronger, his senses more acute. I suppose that shouldn't have seemed intimidating. But it was. I was just an average girl. Less than average. And I was going to be surrounded by a bunch of mythical beings.
What if they didn't like me, or worse, hated me? Was I even supposed to know about them? A shiver of fear rolled down my spine, and I tried to remember how to breath. I'd seen most of them at school today, and they hadn't seemed too concerned about anything. Maybe I was overreacting.
Then why were my hands sweating? And why did I suddenly feel the urge to turn and run?
*No running.*
I had to remind myself running away would be a bad thing. I'd run from him once, I couldn't do that again. Konai had been so terribly hurt, and I just couldn't do that to him.
Warm hands framed my face, and I realized I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed him coming back for me. He tilted my face up to look at him, and he looked sad. "Andrea, you don't have to do this, I can always bring you back later, some other time." I shook my head and tried to peel away his fingers, but they wouldn't budge.
"I'm fine, nothing is going to change between now and then, so it's no different meeting them now instead of later."
He suddenly looked away, his hands sliding from my face. "Actually, a lot could change between now and then." He just kept staring, past the trees, towards the clearing. I tried to see what he could see, but knew it was impossible. "What do you mean?"
"Between now and the end of summer, we all have our birthdays," He ran his fingers through his hair. "Right now, I'm the only Guardian, but tonight..." His voice trailed off and he looked at me, looking slightly worried. "That's why I brought you here today, I'd rather have you meet them now, instead of later. But if you want or need to wait, we can."
So right now, the majority of them were still mostly human. Or mortal. Whichever. He just wanted me to be comfortable being around them. I could see how waiting could potentially be a bad thing. I was already nervous enough as it was.
"It's not that bad, really. I'm just a little nervous about meeting them. I know, I know. I've met them before, grew up with most of them. I may have grown up knowing I was different, but I never thought about being incomparable." I stared at the ground, not really wanting to admit it, "I don't want you to not want me, not need me to be around, because I'm not good enough to be around them after they've changed."
He walked up and grasped my shoulders, his warm hands holding me gently, but firmly. "Never worry about who and what you are. You are everything to me, and I will NEVER not want you." I looked up into his eyes, they were warm and brown. I smiled softly, "Never isn't a good descriptive word." I teased.
He smiled back, "Then I will ALWAYS want you. Is that better?"
I blushed furiously, embarrassed.
"Yes." I whispered.