dusting off her shorts, and looked at the others. “Who wants to play a game?” Electricity zapped from her fingers as she held her hand in the air.
A memory of the evil spirit’s black lightning flashed in my mind, and I almost gasped out loud. But it wasn’t the evil spirit. It’s just Celine. I convinced myself to relax.
“Uh, are you sure this is okay?” I asked. We’d been told not to use our powers for fun.
“As long as no one gets hurt,” Dean said with a mischievous grin and a wink.
Jessica stood up, ready to play as well, but Sara and Alan remained seated.
“Whoever gets hit first has to do the other person’s laundry for a week!” Celine stood there, hands on her hips like a referee giving out rules for a game.
I looked at Nathaniel with concern. “Hit with lightning?”
“Low voltage,” he assured me. “She’s hit me before. It’s just a little zap.”
Jessica and Dean looked at each other and then back to Celine. “Deal,” they said together.
“Ready. Set. Go!” Celine shouted.
We all cheered and hollered as lightning unleashed from Celine’s fingertips toward Dean and Jessica, who had already taken off. Dean dodged the charge by teleporting to the other side of the water, disappearing for a fraction of a second before blinking back again. Jessica’s body blurred, and, in mere seconds, her super-speed carried her a hundred yards away.
Sparks flew through the air, hitting the bare ground where Celine aimed, but the pair was faster. The velocity of their movements was dizzying. My eyes tried to follow them, but it was impossible. Dean’s broad frame became a tiny dot as he blinked off and on across the terrain. Jessica’s agile figure wove around trees and between boulders, becoming a blur as she zigzagged along the shoreline. The thundering crackles of electricity from Celine’s hands roared and sizzled with an otherworldly brightness, painting the landscape white every few seconds as it crashed into the ground.
By this point, my enthusiasm grew to match the others as I watched the craziest game I’d ever seen. I couldn’t help but join in the boisterous cheering!
Just as Dean was about to get hit, he teleported out of the way again, making us all gasp with surprise. Jessica, who had been running circles around Dean, stopped abruptly and raised her hands up in frustration that Celine missed him.
They kept at it for at least fifteen minutes when Alan shouted, “Time out!”
Instantly, everyone stopped what they were doing. Jessica and Dean were suddenly standing still side by side, and Celine put her hands behind her back in mock innocence.
We followed Alan’s gaze to an older man approaching us, who worked in the Chancellor’s office, based on his suit.
“Uh oh,” Dean said. “Who’s in trouble now?”
“Nathaniel, the Chancellor would like to see you in his office,” the man said once he was within earshot of Nathaniel, still sitting beside me.
Nathaniel regarded the man with a frosty expression. Then he turned to me. “I’ll see you later?”
I nodded in response, slightly concerned, which he must have noticed.
“It’s probably my parents,” he speculated as he stood up. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
My gaze followed Nathaniel as he left with the man, still not convinced that I shouldn’t be worried. Sara came over and put her hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” she said gently. “If he doesn’t think it’s a big deal, and he’s not worried, you shouldn’t be either.”
I smiled up at her.
As an empath, Sara was the only one in our group with psychic power, and her ability explained a lot. Sara always knew what to say during difficult situations. But sometimes the emotions were too much, and she’d withdraw, especially in crowded places. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to struggle with other people’s emotions when I could barely handle my own.
“I’m glad he was able to put you more at ease today.” She smiled back.
For a fleeting moment, I wanted to ask her how Nathaniel truly felt about me, but that would be cheating. Could it even be considered a nefarious use of powers?
Dean whistled. “That was close. Thanks for looking out for us, Alan.”
Alan nodded. “So, who won?”
“I did!” Dean and Jessica said in unison.
“You can’t both win,” Celine declared.
They heatedly debated who was the victor, but by my account, neither was hit, so there was no winner. I chuckled as their bickering reminded me of my quarrels with Mattie, and I made a mental note to call her when I got back to my dorm. I could already imagine the sarcastic remarks she would make when I told her about Nathaniel.
As we left the lake and made our way back to the dorms, Dean pulled me aside. “Hey, Evangeline. Mind if I talk to you?”
“Sure,” I replied curiously.
“Go ahead without us,” Dean called to the others as the two of us hung back.
The cool autumn breeze rustled the leaves above our heads as we found a bench off the main path back to the dorms. I fidgeted with the sleeve of my sweater, still not used to the crisp early evening chill after years of growing up in a warm climate. Dean sat down next to me on the bench.
“Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Dean said, a serious expression replacing his usual friendly grin, piquing my interest. He took a deep breath and continued, “Evangeline, I’m sorry I wasn’t with you when all that stuff happened at the dance. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
I waved a hand, dismissing his concern. “Don’t be silly. I told you to go.”
“I know, but still. I was your date, and I should have been there.”
Dean frowned, fidgeting his hands in his lap as he admitted, “The truth is, I like Jessica, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her all night. After I left you with Nathaniel, I got caught up in being with her and completely forgot…” His voice trailed off, and he hung his head. His face was haunted with guilt. He let out a heavy sigh. “I feel terrible that I wasn’t there for you when—”
His words choked off again, not wanting to reprise what we’d been through. He met my eyes with sadness settling into his normally bright blue eyes as if he had failed me. Sensing his intense guilt, I leaned forward and gave him a comforting hug.
“It’s okay, really,” I said, offering him a reassuring smile as I pulled away. The last thing I wanted was for him to keep beating himself up over it. “Honestly, I told you to go because I wanted to be alone with Nathaniel.”
My cheeks warmed at the thought of Nathaniel, the memory of his arms around me and our kiss flooding back to my mind. “If you hadn’t left, we wouldn’t have… had our own special moment.”
“You two seemed pretty close at the lake.” Dean raised an eyebrow. “You like Nathaniel?”
I sighed and admitted defeat of my own feelings, “I do.”
Dean laughed in surprise. “That’s so weird! You two are complete opposites.”
“Believe me, I know.”
It did seem a little strange that I felt this way about someone as grouchy and difficult as Nathaniel. After all, we were both so different.
He had a permanent silent scowl with a cold and unforgiving gaze. He walked with a confident but guarded stride as if he was daring someone to challenge him. When he spoke, his gruff voice was defiant and hostile.
When I spoke, my words spilled out uncontrollably like a river of enthusiastic energy. Up until the attack, I purposely wore a smile wherever I went because I believed in finding the good in any situation and taking in the beautiful sights around me with wonder and awe. Despite the struggles of this new life as an Em, I was determined to hold my head up high and focus on the wonderful people that came into my life because of it, like a radiant light of optimism.
But there was something special about him—something that drew me to him despite our vastly different personalities.
“Yeah, I know,” I said sheepishly. “It’s kind of ironic, actually.”
Dean smiled at me knowingly. “Deep down, Nathaniel is a great guy, but you have your work cut out for you.” He shrugged. “Hey, we all have our weaknesses when it comes to love.”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far yet.”
Dean chuckled.
I bumped his shoulder with mine. “Now, tell me more about this crush of yours. When did you first start liking Jessica?”
Joy instantly spread across his face, and the brightness returned to his eyes as he launched into how he’d fallen for Jessica during the Founder’s Ball. His words brought another wave of warmth through my chest as I recalled the happier memories from that night as well. We headed toward our next classes, and when we reached the point where our paths split, Dean firmly squeezed my shoulder in support as he said goodbye, before walking off in the opposite direction.
The others and I sat around a table in the dining hall for dinner, my first time since the Founder’s Ball. I started off a little nervous but quickly fell back into the familiar atmosphere, surrounded by those same faces, the clanking of silverware, the scraping of chairs, and the chattering of fellow students once again.
My eyes constantly scanned around the cafeteria to see if Nathaniel would make it to dinner. I still hadn’t seen him since he’d left us at the lake to go to the Chancellor’s office, and I wondered how it went.
I threw a couple of French fries into my mouth when Dean elbowed me to get my attention.
“Do you know what baby potatoes are called?” he asked.
“What?” I asked.
“Tater tots!”
It was such a stupid joke that I almost spit my food out, and we both burst out laughing uncontrollably for a few moments. We caught our breath and tried to compose ourselves when a loud thud brought us out of the moment.
I looked up to see Nathaniel, who had just slammed his tray on the table. The sound in the dining hall dimmed in my ears as his eyes landed on me. A flash of something unreadable crossed his face before his usual scowl settled into place.
My heart skipped a beat. After our talk by the lake, I’d been looking forward to seeing him, but now his expression remained closed off and distant. Did something happen at the Chancellor’s office?
“There you are,” Alan said, pulling out the chair between him and me. “Saved you a seat.”
Nathaniel grunted and dropped onto the chair, immediately shoveling a bite of potatoes into his mouth. His jaw clenched as he stared at his plate.
An uneasy feeling twisted in my gut. What was going on? I reached out to touch his arm. “Nathaniel, are you alri—”
He flinched away from my hand. “Mind your own business.” Then, he glared at Dean. “What are you looking at?”
Dean blinked, clearly confused but not completely surprised by Nathaniel’s hostility. “Dude, what happened at the Chancellor’s office?” He gave an awkward chuckle.
Nathaniel’s glare darkened. “Nothing. Drop it.”
Hurt and confusion warred inside me as I stared at him. Why was he acting like this? Like nothing had happened between us? Like I meant nothing to him?
My hands curled into fists in my lap as frustration bubbled up inside me. Fine. If that’s how he wanted to play it, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
I pasted on a smile and turned to Dean. “So, how’s the burger?”
Nathaniel attacked his food again. I resisted the urge to kick him under the table. What was his problem? And why wouldn’t he just talk to me?
Nathaniel remained irritable throughout the meal, snapping at anyone who dared speak to him. By the time we left the dining hall, I was ready to strangle him.
Fury silently bubbled inside me as I stomped down the path back to the dorms with everyone else, scowling at Nathaniel every few minutes. My teeth ground together as I fought to control my emotions, but seething anger radiated from my body. Finally, I grabbed Nathaniel’s arm and pulled him aside as the others continued on without us.
He glared at me, yanking his arm from my grip. “What do you want?”
“What’s your problem?” I demanded. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Like what?” His expression hardened into a mask of indifference.
“Like I don’t exist!” I threw my hands up. “We kissed the other night. You hugged me and held my hand earlier today. Now you won’t even look at me. Did I do something wrong?”
“Just forget it.” He turned away, one hand raking through his hair.
“Everything was fine before you went to the Chancellor’s office. What happened there?”
“Nothing. It has nothing to do with that.”
“Then what is it?” I searched his face, trying to understand.
The question hung in the air between us, my heart pounding as I waited for his answer.
His brows furrowed. “Just drop it, Evangeline.”
Anger seared to my face. “I won’t drop it. You can’t just pretend like nothing happened between us.”
“There is nothing between us,” he bit out. “Find someone who can give you what you want. It’s not me.”
How could he say that? He was who I wanted.
My entire body shook with rage as his words sunk in. I wanted to scream at him, to shake him and force him to explain himself, but something stopped me—a heartache in his voice that was too agonizing for me to bear. Instead of yelling at him, I wrapped my arms around myself and took a deep breath, carefully choosing my next words, but I never had the chance.
He turned away, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might break. “Just stay away from me, Evangeline.” His voice was low and gruff.
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“You heard me. Leave. Me. Alone.” Each word was bitten off, fury simmering beneath the surface.
I recoiled as if he’d struck me. We were back to square one, his walls higher than ever. He stalked away without a backward glance.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I swiped at them angrily. I refused to cry over that infuriating jerk, but my aching heart betrayed me. Why did he have to be so… damn difficult?
After taking a few minutes to compose myself, my footsteps once again padded along the winding path that led back to the dorms, joined by the low murmurs of conversation from other students around me. The air was cool and still, the night birds chirping in the distance. A gentle breeze ruffled through my hair, carrying with it the scent of newly cut grass. I stopped to gaze up into the star-dappled night sky, which looked like a million shards of shattered diamonds glinting across the blackened expanse.
I still didn’t understand what happened, but I was determined to find out what made him put up those walls again, even if it meant facing his wrath. If he thought I was going to give up on him that easily, he was sorely mistaken.
