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More snow fell during the night, which made the drive to school in Grace’s Smartcar an adventure. We got stuck five minutes from school.
Grace, or any other of the Knightlys, failed to mention their unbelievable strength. I guess I kind of assumed they were strong, but to sit in the car and watch skinny Grace lean back into the snow bank and push the bumper with her legs till pulled free, only made me snort in disbelief.
Thank goodness no one was around to see. We arrived twenty minutes late, not only because of the car ride but also Michael’s verbal concern about letting Grace go to school without protection. He kept mumbling about a gut feeling that had something to do with both him and his sister.
Half the buses hadn’t arrived yet so our lateness didn’t cause any eyebrow raising. Simon stood leaning on my locker.
“Hey girlie- girls!” He grinned. “Crazzzeee snow, ‘eh?”
“The snow’s playing havoc with my little car!” Grace pretended to whine, nudging me.
I tried hiding a smile, but the corners of my mouth kept twitching. “The snow’s awesome. It brings out the superhero in all of us.” I glance at Grace from the corner of my eye. It felt good to tease her and relax. Grace burst out laughing.
Simon rolled his eyes, obviously not getting our joke. “I think you two have been snorting the white stuff outside.”
“The s-snow?” Another fit, Grace and I were beside ourselves.
Grace straightened and took a long breath. “Back when I was a kid, we used to have the best snow storms. Michael and I used to have snowball fights that were crazy.” She stopped smiling and a look of sadness crossed her face.
Simon’s poked her shoulder oblivious to change of her mood. “We should have a snowball fight at lunch in the courtyard!”
Grace perked up. “I’d kick your butt!”
“You... and whose army?”
She did a mock bow. “Challenge accepted. You. Me. Lunch. Outside.”
“I’ll go easy on you.”
Grace pulled my arm to drag me towards our first class. “You’re toast,” she teased over her shoulder.
“Remember, there can only be one!” Simon hollered, his pointer finger sticking above the crowd of students going the opposite direction.
“I hope you go easy on him,” I whispered as we walked into the classroom. “If someone no—”
“Sweetie,” Grace teased. “I know how to play the game.”
The morning flew, with no Damon making an appearance. Grace stood waiting by our lockers at the lunch buzzer. She already had her coat on, twirling her scarf around her arm and unwrapping it, only to twirl it again.
“Hurry. I need to find the best spot in the courtyard before Simon!”
“I’m not going outside, I don’t have boots.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll clear a little area for you to stand. We’ll need a referee.”
“Dream on! That’ll just make me the perfect target.”
Simon popped his head around the corner, a tuke pulled tight over his ears. “Are you stallin’?”
“No way.”
“We’d better set some ground rules before we head out.”
“You scared you might get hurt?” Grace grinned and slammed her locker.
“Only thinking of you, sunshine.”
“After our water balloon fight last summer, I think it’s you who should be worrying.”
“Guys!” I interrupted, laughing. “I’ll watch from inside the cafeteria. I’ve no intention of being anywhere near either of you.”
They raced out the door as I walked to the cafeteria. I bought lunch and set my tray down by one of the windows facing the courtyard. Simon and Grace had already taken spots behind two overturned picnic tables and were hurling snowballs at lightning speed toward each other. You could hear their laughter through the windows.
“Sitting alone? Found out your friends aren’t really trustworthy?”
I froze at the sound of Damon’s voice. Play it cool. He has no idea I know.
“Who’re the brainless idiots outside?”
My heart thundering loud enough to shake the walls, I kept my eyes on those figures outside. He sat down a few spaces beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I shot a glance his way and almost choked on my soup from the amount of food on his tray – enough to feed a small nation.
“H-Hungry?” I had to say something since I now couldn’t stop staring.
“– and you’re still alive to eat,” he retorted.
“If you call what the cafeteria serves food, then I guess I can.” Pretending to joke, instead of following the urge to get up and walk way, was harder than I thought.
He set his fork down and turned to face me. “I heard you broke up with your boyfriend.”
What? I almost opened my mouth to argue and realized he had no idea of what had happened over the Christmas holidays. “It’s none of your business.”
“Whatever. You’re better off.” He turned back to his food and stared out the window. “Oye! Simon just got nailed in the face! Who's he fighting? Ryan?” He’d scarfed down a plate of some kind of noodle in tomato sauce, the red reminding of a snarl against his lips.
“No...Grace.”
“She’s still here? Crap! Simon's going to get smoked.” He grimaced and pushed his tray away like the food.
Play it cool. Act like you don’t know anything. “He’s being way too easy on her.”
“So now you’re the expert.” Damon turned to glare at me, apparently no longer interested in the snowball match. He picked a sandwich off his plate and started chewing again.
Like a twig being snapped, I couldn’t take it anymore. Grollic or not, the guy’s an ass. “What’s your problem? I get it that you don’t like Grace – she turned you down a while back – but don’t you think you should just get over it? Leave her, and me, alone.” I held my breath. Where the heck that’d come from?
His eyes narrowed to slits and some massive vein started throbbing in his neck. “You really that stupid? Do you not see what is right in front of your eyes?”
“I know exactly what’s in front of me right now.” Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut? You’d think with all the feet I’d stuffed inside of it, I’d know better.
Damon just shook his head and took a long drink. “What in the world would you want with them?”
What had I done? What would—
“—If you're that stupid, maybe you should stay with them.” He interrupted my train of thought and started on another plate of food.
“Who are you to judge?” Screw him. I had some serious power-people to back me up. My boyfriend can kick your sorry, hairy Grollic ass.
“You're completely clueless. It’s people like you who make the human race look bad.”
“The human race? I guess that doesn’t include you.” Oh crap. Too far, Rouge, too far.
His head whipped around so fast I thought he’d break his own neck.
A shiver ran down my spine when I thought what Caleb might think of my mouth. I tried backing up and coving my tracks. “I-I’d hardly call you human – you’re the rudest, most annoying person I’ve ever met!”
He tilted back and started laughing, which came out more like barking. At the sound, Grace threw a wild snowball way over Simon. Her hands shot up in the air in surrender. She ran to the backdoors and inside without a second glance at the surprised Simon.
“Looks like your gal-pal doesn’t want you hanging out with me,” Damon sneered.
“Who’d want to hang with you? You’re like the town bully who never grows up—never has any friends. Ends up with nothing. Not a damn thing.”
“Better than being dead.”
I turned to face him, trying to look as pissed-off as I could. My shoulders burned, all the way down to my spine. “Are you threatening me? Or my friends?” A sudden calmness came over me, all my anxiety draining into this new funnel of fury I’d never noticed before. “Damon.” I walked over as Grace raced toward the door by us and bent down so my lips brushed his ear. I spoke, barely above a whisper, “Vargulf Bentos Monstrum. Hurt Grace or Michael, and I will bring a slew of terrifying issues which Grace and the Knightly family have no idea I know.” I patted him on the shoulder and I straightened.
He turned completely white, then green. I stepped back, horrified at what I’d just done and worried he’d hurl his lunch all over me. His eyes grew huge and then darkened as they focused in on me. I had no idea what Vargulf Bentos Monstrum even meant. It’d just popped into my head. I remembered seeing the drawing in the journal with those words in a caption underneath. I probably hadn’t even pronounced it correctly. The only thing I was sure of – I had hit a nerve inside Damon.
He snarled, “Kiss my a—”
“Is there a problem?” Grace’s voice came out sweet but her body looked ready to pounce. She stood, legs slightly bent and on the balls of her feet. She grabbed my sleeve and held on firmly.
“No problem.” I jerked my head in the mongrel’s direction. “I think the cafeteria food’s done a number to Damon.”
Damon swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Rouge, you need to ask your friend how she, and the rest of her freakin’ family, uses people to get what they want. Ask yourself if they really are the good guys.”
“Go screw –”
Grace’s warm hand squeezed my forearm, it stopped me. Her fingers grew hotter against my skin. “Let it go,” she said quietly, her eyes never leaving Damon.
He scoffed and raised his arms, clasping his fingers behind his head. “Yeah, don’t dig too deep, Rouge. You might not like what you see.”
“Shut up Damon.” Grace dragged me away, her lips pressed tight. “What’d you say to him?” She hissed outside in the hall.
“I just pretended to threaten him.” I swallowed, suddenly feeling the urge to stare at my shoes. “I think you better get a hold of Michael. You might as well tell him to get Seth or however you guys handle these situations.” My left leg started trembling. “I’ve a terrible feeling I just opened a can of worms.”
“What did you say?” she repeated.
