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Zoe
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I didn’t sleep a wink after that. Floating on clouds, I ran down the stairs and grabbed a chocolate muffin from the counter then dashed out the door. Still giddy after my incredible night, I practically flew to Kieran’s house—even without Shay’s wings around me. I couldn’t stop grinning.
When I arrived to the end of Kieran’s driveway, he was standing there, waiting for me with raised eyebrows.
“What?” I asked.
“Have you even looked at yourself in a mirror?” Kieran asked. “I mean, I’m no fashion expert or anything but ...”
I glanced down, jolted back to reality. I’d thrown on the first clothes I could find and ended up with a bright orange and white striped button-down shirt under a green sweater, black leggings and my purple Converses. I looked like a giant walking pumpkin. But we were already running late, so I couldn’t go home and do anything about it. Regardless, I wasn’t about to let my poor choice of clothing dampen my spirits today. I had a skip in my step and a bounce in my heart. The other kids could go ahead and have a good laugh on me.
“Let’s go,” I said, shrugging.
It felt a little weird between us as we walked to school in silence. A part of me wanted to tell him all about my evening with Shay. After all, that’s the sort of information best friends shared. I’d never talked with him about boys, so I had no idea how he would handle that kind of conversation.
But Kieran knew me well enough to know something was up. “Did Shay stop by last night?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
Pretty sure my cheeks turned bright pink in that moment, but he was looking at our feet. “Yes,” I squeaked, barely raising my head.
He hesitated only a second. “Yeah? That’s good. So he elaborated on some matters, I guess. Is there anything else you’d like to know about? I’ll tell you anything. I swear it’ll be the truth this time. No more secrets between us.”
This time I looked at him. “I have to be honest, Kieran. I don’t like that you lied to me for so long. I’ve never lied to you.” I swallowed, biting back my words. Isn’t this what I am doing to him? It hurt to see the pain in his eyes. “Let’s just get to school.” I need to refocus on creating a list of questions to ask.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about last night, but he knew I held something back. I could see it in his sad expression. His eyes pleaded with mine, asking for more.
“Now that I’m in the know, what’s the plan?” Kieran didn’t need to know Shay and I had flown—or that we had almost kissed.
“I’m working on that,” he said.
Normally we would stop at Coffee Grind on our way to school, and as we grew closer, I felt his inquiring eyes on me. Today I kept walking, trying to ignore the wonderful aromas wafting out the door. I didn’t want to talk to him about anything. I knew it made the situation even weirder between us, but I just couldn’t. Once we entered the school, I darted to my gray locker.
“See you in math class,” I called over my shoulder.
He frowned and nodded, then headed to his own locker down the hall.
I dropped my backpack and tried the combination, but it didn’t open. Same result the second time. I’d been meaning to request a new one, since this one never wanted to open, but I liked its location near the cafeteria. Plus, I liked being next to Sidelle, one of the nicest and most popular girls in school.
But on the other hand, Morgan—a former preschool friend—her locker was on the other side of mine. She wasn’t there most of the time since she’d hang out at her boy toy of the week’s locker. She’s the self-proclaimed leader of a group of real snobs whom I called The Triangle. They ruled the school, dressed in the latest designer clothes and wore their hair and makeup; like movie stars, but I thought they were nothing more than bullies. They were mean to anyone who couldn’t or didn’t live up to their expectations.
On the third attempt, my locker opened.
Sidelle watched me with sharp eyes. She wore her usual stiletto heels, along with white capris pants and a white and red striped shirt under a light blue jacket. Sidelle was gorgeous, tall, thin, and dressed beautifully—as usual—making me extremely aware of my pumpkin get up. Her family had moved here from New York or some other place out East when we were in second or third grade. Maybe that was where she’d gotten her fashion sense. Of course, her father’s endless supply of cash helped. Sidelle and I usually attended the same parties, but for some strange reason, I never hung out with her by myself.
“What in heaven’s name?” Sidelle demanded, her long, manicured finger indicating my outfit. “Zoe, what is that? What are you wearing?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ask. How’s it going?”
“You mean, besides you being toted off to jail because you’re wearing that?” She pursed her lips, then shrugged. “Something’s off about you today. You’re not the same jittery self.”
“I’m glad it’s Friday.”
Her eyes lit up from her smile. “I think Cali’s parents are out of town this weekend. She says she might have a party tomorrow night. You’re coming if she does, right?”
My thoughts traveled to Kieran, then to Shay. “Maybe. I’ll have to see.” I wasn’t sure if Kieran would want to go with me. Without him, my parents probably wouldn’t allow me to go. Should I even go with demons chasing me? I needed to get on board with this and we needed to devise a kick-ass plan.
And should I tell Sidelle about Shay and the almost kiss?
“Something on your mind?” Sidelle asked, lifting one eyebrow.
I was dying to tell someone. But what could I say? That I’d met a hot half-angel who saved me from two demons and took me flying? It sounded crazy.
“You look a little tired today.” She cocked her head to the side. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I didn’t get much sleep last night. And I need a fix of caffeine.”
She glanced around, frowning. “How come Kieran isn’t here?”
“Um ...”
“Ha!” she shouted, and her whole face turned into a grin. She leaned toward me and whispered loudly, “Did you guys, you know ... do the wild thang?”
I stared vacantly at her, wondering what she was implying. Then it clicked.
“No!” I yelled back, realizing a little too late that everyone could hear me.
She hitched one hand on her hip, looking smug. “Let me tell you something, Zoe. I’m not buying what you’re selling. How can you not? I mean, he’s deliciously hot! Who doesn’t want to date Kieran Auduro!”
I stared at her, speechless, which only encouraged her.
“Then tell me why he isn’t here. Every day for three years, ever since we started high school, he’s walked you to school then hung out by your locker until the morning bell rings.” Her eyebrows wiggled. “And today, he kept on walking. He didn’t even say anything.”
Time to change the subject. “Did you get done with the bio reading?”
“No, and don’t deflect. Tell me why you didn’t sleep last night, and why Kieran and you are acting all weird today.”
“It’s nothing. I was just busy with ... uh ... some things at home. I didn’t even get the homework done.” I knew I was being vague, but what else could I do?
“Got busy with what exactly?” She narrowed her eyes. Then they widened, and she threw her arms in the air. “Wait. Zoe didn’t do the homework assignment? Did hell freeze over or what?”
“Jeez, Sidelle. Drama much? I gotta get to class.” I grabbed my history book from my locker and slammed the door shut, needing to escape.
“This convo is not over, Zoe!” Sidelle called. “Do you hear me? I will get to the bottom of this!”
The hot gossip around school today would now officially be that Kieran and I had done it. “Way to ruin my day,” I grumbled as I walked down the hall to my first class.
I’m a good student and not afraid to admit that. And normally I enjoy my classes. But today I needed them to be over. I wanted my life to go back to the way it had been before I knew about demons, angels, and a prophecy.
Then again, no. I wouldn’t change my meeting Shay for anything. I would have to take the good with the bad. That meant coming to terms with what I was supposedly destined to become.
When the bell rang, I was one of the first to leave the classroom. I didn’t see Sidelle at the lockers, but Cali walked toward me, her pretty face creased with concern.
“Oh, poor Zoe! I heard you and Kieran are fighting. Is that true?” She hugged me, and I almost gagged from the strength of her perfume. “Are you okay? I mean, I can’t believe that’s true. I mean, you guys never fight!”
I frowned. “Um, no, Kieran and I are not fighting. Why?”
“Oh,” she said, glancing to the side. “It’s just that I heard you guys broke up! I mean, you guys didn’t, did you?” Cali shook her head, her lower lip pushed out in a pout. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Cali, we were never even going out. How could we have broken up?”
She shrugged and briefly examined her nails. “I’m just repeating what I heard.”
What a mess. “I don’t want to talk about it now,” I said with a smile, “but maybe soon, okay? But thanks for asking. If you see Quinn and Rena, please tell them the same.”
“If you ever want to talk though, just say the word and we’ll be there for you.” She turned to leave, then said over her shoulder, “Oh, I’m having a party tomorrow night. You should come.”
As I headed to second period, I couldn’t help think about Kieran, now free and “available,” since he and I weren’t “dating” anymore. Was that strange misconception better than everyone thinking we had done it? I wasn’t sure, but a twinge of the green monster filled my stomach. He’s free to do whatever he wants. I couldn’t lay a claim on him.
My mind drifted back to Shay and remembered the kiss we’d almost shared. I brushed my fingertips over my lips, imagining what the softness of his kiss would be like. No, the feelings I had for Kieran were quite different from those I felt for Shay.
I was flustered by the time I walked into math class, the only class I shared with Kieran. He was already seated, and I took my usual spot next to him. He glanced at me, but didn’t say anything. I wondered with annoyance if he was giving me the silent treatment. Honestly. I didn’t need any more drama today. I decided to be the bigger person and break the tension.
“Hey, did you hear the rumor going around? Apparently you and I broke up. Funny thing is that I didn’t even know we were dating.” I grinned, but became uncomfortably aware that he wasn’t smiling. “I wonder how many years we dated? Anyway, based on what I’m hearing, I think you should prepare yourself for being asked out by every girl in the school.”
He didn’t even blink, and my smile faltered.
“I heard,” he finally said.
“What’s wrong?”
His jaw clenched, but at least he spoke. “Nothing is ... wrong.”
But he certainly didn’t look like everything was just fine, either. “Come on, Kieran. What’s up?”
He looked almost surprised when he finally, softly asked me his question. “You don’t think of me as anything more than your best friend, do you?”
My heart started to race. Where was this coming from? “I thought that’s what you wanted. To be my friend.”
“I do, and I am,” he snapped. “I guess it’s just that with everyone asking about us now, well ... I have to tell you that I’ve been thinking about this for a while now.” He looked away. “But obviously you haven’t.”
I was shocked. If only I’d known this a day or so ago. How would I have reacted then?
But now ... how could I tell him I didn’t have those feelings for him? I loved him, just not that way. How I hated this small town. I hated small classes even more. We were whispering, but I knew a whole bunch of eyes were looking our way. Everything was everyone’s business.
“Can we talk about this later?” I asked.
“Sure,” Kieran muttered.
I leaned back in my chair, and we listened to the day’s lecture, but kept glancing back toward each other. Life was complicated all of a sudden.
Third period Political Science came and ended, before which two different girls approached and asked if the rumor about Kieran and me breaking up was true or not.
The day couldn’t get much worse. I was starved, deprived of my latte, and missing my best friend very badly. And to top it all off, I dreaded my fourth hour class: Advanced Biology. Even though I hated conflict, I planned to confront Sidelle about the rumor I hoped she wasn’t spreading.
When I got there, she hadn’t arrived yet. I figured she must have known I wanted to chat with her. She bounded into the classroom just as the tardy bell rang, and I glared at her throughout class. When it wrapped up, I managed to snag her sleeve.
“Why are you spreading lies about me?”
“What?” Sidelle looked scandalized. “I didn’t say anything to anyone. But I did tell you we weren’t done talking about this. I want to get to the bottom of it.”
“I know, but why—”
“Zoe, I swear it wasn’t me!” She shook her head and I almost believed her. “Do ya think I would do something like that to you? I mean, yes, I joke, try to get you riled up, ruffle your feathers. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s fun to watch you get all flustered, especially when it comes to boys. You’re kinda clueless about them. Sorry. I’m not trying to be mean about it. I’d never hurt you on purpose.”
It was true. “If you didn’t start the rumor, who did?”
Ashel and Abby, the other two sides of The Triangle, were huddled in the corner and looking in my direction, whispering and giggling, and doing way more than just ruffling my feathers. Enough was enough. I had to get to the bottom of this, since I’d decided I believed Sidelle. She had always been a good friend. Glaring at the girls, I left Sidelle and stalked directly toward them. They stopped talking as I approached.
“Where did you hear Kieran and I had broken up?” I demanded, fists on my hips.
Neither said a word, just glanced furtively at each other.
Sidelle came up next to me and mirrored my stance. “So what’s up, ladies? Heard any good gossip today?” She glared at each girl. “We want to know where you heard it from.”
“What’s it to you, Sidelle?” Abby asked. “Like you’re not going to be standing in line to date Kieran? You can just save the ‘I just want to help poor Zoe’ speech.” Her eyes darted to me. “Is it true, Zoe? Did you and Kieran break up? I always thought you two would end up married right out of high school, pop a few kids out, live in town, and all that. The way he always looks at you, I mean, I never understood it. He could have any girl in school, and he was with you!” She shook her head, looking disgusted. “I bet you broke his poor little heart.” Her bottom lip stuck out. “Well, he can cry on my shoulder any time!”
I closed my eyes and puffed out a breath. I was so tired of this ridiculous talk. “I’m not confirming or denying anything.” From the looks on their faces, I figured I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I didn’t play up to them. My cheeks reddened. “Plus, you never know. We could get back together. It’s our first fight. We need some time away from each other, you know? Maybe we need to branch out so we can appreciate each other.”
“I don’t feel bad for you at all, Zoe,” Ashel said. “I heard you broke it off with him. I mean, who does that? Have you looked at him? He’s smoking hot!” Her lips twisted to the side as she thought about it. “But I think I get what you’re saying. You have to test the waters with other people so you know for sure that he’s—” She clicked air quotes with her fingers. “‘The One.’ Anyway, whatever,” she said, giving me a wicked smile. “We heard it from Morgan.”
Of course she had. The leader of The Triangle had always had it out for me. I didn’t even know what I’d done to her. After all these years, Morgan thought she was going to get Kieran to date her using this tactic? Stupid girl. He would see right through her little scheme.
During my next class—AP English—I sat in the corner and didn’t talk to anyone. If they approached, I gave them a fierce scowl. All I wanted was to get through this class, grab my lunch, then hide in the library. A substitute teacher stood in Mr. Anderson’s place. He opened his book, cleared his throat, and started to read.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare,” he recited. “Act two, Scene one. Puck says, ‘How now, spirit! Whither wander you?’ And a fairy says, ‘Over hill, over dale, through bush, through brier, over park, over pale, through flood, through fire, I do wander everywhere, swifter than the moon’s sphere; and I serve the Fairy Queen ...’”
Only last night I’d learned fairies were real, and that they lived among us. Today in school we were reading about them? How apt. I listened more closely, wondering if anything about this could be God’s way of preparing me to fulfill the prophecy. But I didn’t hear anything particularly instructive. We each took a turn reading from the book, stopping every so often to discuss what we had read. It took forever.
The lunch bell finally rang, ending fifth period. I holed up in the library during lunch, wondering how I’d make it through the rest of school before it let out for the weekend. Chem class was a bore, and I barely listened to the lecture on neutrons. Instead, I pulled out a sheet of paper from my backpack, needing to prepare for what I’d say to Kieran. My doodles soon turned into a list of pros and cons about him.
Pro: Nice Con: ?
Pro: Known all my life Con: ?
Pro: Always been there Con: ?
Pro: Likes me Con: ?
Pro: Angel Con: Angel
The list didn’t help. Why couldn’t I like him the way he liked me? It was plain to see that I should, but for whatever reason, I didn’t. There had to be something wrong with me. Everyone else was practically lined up to have a chance to date him, but he’d chosen to be my friend, only hanging out with me. Sure, he’d said it was primarily to protect me. That didn’t mean he needed to be attached to my hip at all times. He could’ve had a life of his own.
We’d always been best friends, nothing more. I reflected on the past few months, and guessed there had been some little gestures, words, or subtle hints, but I had been blind.
I headed toward the gym for my last class and was glad to hear we were running a mile. That would give me more time alone. More time to think. We were given the whole class period, but I’m a runner. I only needed seven minutes.
How the hell can I defeat the devil? I giggled at my pun. OK, get serious, Zoe. How do I stop Armageddon?
Afterward, Coach Birk blew the whistle to end class, and I hit the showers. Kieran waited for me outside the girls’ locker room, since his last class was next to the gym. We stopped at his locker to collect his books and backpack then moved to mine. Under normal circumstances, we would have been talking about our classes and the latest gossip. Not today. Since we were the gossip, there wasn’t anything to say.
He opened my locker for me and stepped aside—of course it opened on his first try. I never realized he started opening my locker, or why I’d let him. When I’d collected what I needed, I shut the door and we walked away. Sidelle stood at her locker, watching us, but I didn’t say anything.
We walked to Kieran’s house in silence, and he kept running his fingers through his hair. He opened the back door and let me walk through first, and I realized I’d never noticed any of these little incidents before.
I settled onto a patio chair by the pool, not knowing what to say. “So.”
“I think I should probably start,” he said. “I know why you’ve been dodging me today.”
Shay’s smile instantly popped into my head, and I’m pretty sure I blushed. Oh God, he knows. “Yeah?”
“Sure. Shay and I told you a lot yesterday. It’d be a lot for anyone to take in.”
Oh, that. It had only been one day, but felt like ages.
He ran his hand through his hair again. “I get that you’re mad at me for not telling you sooner, for not trusting you with the truth, for not telling you who or what I am. But you have to understand: I didn’t tell you because I was protecting you.” Before I knew it, he’d grabbed my hand. “I thought if you didn’t know, you could have a normal life for a while. I hoped by you not knowing, others wouldn’t be able to find you. But I swear, Zoe, if, for one minute, I’d known that my not telling you would put our friendship in jeopardy, I would have told you sooner.”
I squeezed his hand. “Kieran, I’m not mad at you for that. In fact, I’m not angry at you one bit. I understand why you did it. I get it. You’ve been protecting me since day one. You’ve always kept my interests first.” I shrugged. “Was it a lot to take in? Oh, yeah. And I’m not going to deny that I was mad at first, like you lied to me all along. But I get it now. We’re good on that. I ... I thought we were going to talk about the other thing, you know?”
His eyes fell. “Oh.”
“Sidelle wondered why you weren’t at my locker this morning, and she started grilling me about it. She made some assumptions that were untrue, but Morgan overheard, I guess, and she totally blew everything out of proportion.” I shifted in my chair. “So I figured you thought I was mad at you for keeping your feelings from me. But you were talking about something different. You caught me off guard, and I didn’t know what to say. I felt trapped, like you’d spat it out there for everyone to hear, then you questioned my feelings for you.” I knew I was rambling, but this conversation was not going the way I’d thought it would.
He hesitated. “I heard you telling people we’d never dated. That our ... ‘thing’ today was a misunderstanding,” he said quietly. “We’re still best friends, though, right?” I nodded, and he let out a sigh. “I guess that ... I was hurt. I needed to know if I was anything more to you than just your best friend.”
“Of course we’re still best friends! I hadn’t expected you to—”
“No,” Kieran held up his hand. “It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything more. But now you know. I do think of you as more than a friend.” His voice was barely a whisper. “I should have told you before.” He shook his head, and I saw the frustration in his eyes. “Seeing Shay with you made me realize my feelings and that I should’ve told you sooner.”
This time I did blush. And that made it even worse.
“Look,” I assured him, “it’s not like I’ve never thought about dating you. I care about you. Probably more than a friend should. It’s just that if we ever broke up—”
“I know.” He smiled and leaned forward in his seat. “I need to know you still trust me. Because there will be others coming. I have to be able to protect you and not worry that you don’t trust me.”
“Of course I do.” I paused, then said, “Shay told me he’s never far away from me. What does that mean?”
He frowned. “He was assigned to protect you, too.” He stood and started pacing.
“Oh.”
“What else did he tell you?”
“He told me about his mom and dad and how they met, about his childhood and a little more about the prophecy.” I hesitated before telling him about the flying. It seemed like something private between Shay and me, but I knew we had to be open and honest with each other. “He also took me flying.”
Kieran stopped walking. He did not look happy to hear this. “He did?”
“Was he not supposed to?”
He cleared his throat and looked away, jaw clenched. “No, it’s fine.”