For once Dylan wished gym class would be over soon. He’d seen Aiden come out of the office with Ms. Yang, looking pale but better than he had when she carried him in there. Aiden hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even looked at him. Dylan couldn’t concentrate on target practice. Mr. Blackwell walked up and down the row, saying little. Just there to keep an eye on them until Ms. Yang came back.
She walked back into the gym without Aiden.
“What happened? Is he okay?” Dylan asked.
“Aiden is going to be fine,” she said loud enough for the whole class to hear. Then she motioned for Dylan to follow her.
Mr. Blackwell looked at her, and she held up a finger before leading Dylan into her office.
Uh-oh. Dylan tensed. Had she been lying? Was Aiden not okay?
“Aiden had a panic attack, but he’ll be okay. I brought him to the nurse just to be safe.”
The second trip to the nurse in two weeks. Not good.
“Aiden told me there was an… incident a few weeks ago.”
Dylan tensed. Shit. Had he told her? Would Ms. Yang tell the other teachers, the principal… his parents? “Oh,” was all he could choke out. How could Aiden do that to him? He’d promised not to say anything. Or did he think he could trust Ms. Yang?
“So you’ve been training him outside class. I suspected that. I didn’t say anything before because I saw the improvement and thought it was doing him some good.” She sighed. “Now I wonder if I should have stepped in.”
He frowned. No mention of the portal or the fae. “What did he tell you?”
“That you had an accident while training and you burned him. Is that what really happened? You didn’t deliberately hurt him, did you?”
“No. No, it was an accident.” Aiden hadn’t ratted him out. Though if he had, Dylan would have deserved whatever he got. He’d been willing to turn himself in to Mr. Johnson in the woods that night. Seeing Aiden lying there with a smoking hole in his jacket… For a moment he’d thought he killed his best friend.
“Did you tell anybody about this when it happened?”
Dylan shook his head. “Just our parents.” Mr. Johnson had been there, but admitting that would complicate things.
“Did you tell him to keep it quiet? Threaten him?”
It hurt that she would even ask that. Ms. Yang was the only teacher who liked him, the only one who understood him. But that also meant she knew what he was like, and he’d threatened other people over much less. “No. I’d never threaten him. He didn’t want me to get in trouble.”
She crossed her arms and leaned against the desk. “I told him to see the counselor so he can get some help. He’s traumatized, but he’s trying to hide it. The counselor will keep things confidential unless he thinks there’s an immediate danger.”
Guilt made him queasy. Aiden was suffering because of him, and even though he needed help, he was still lying for Dylan’s sake. “Do you think he’ll get better?”
Ms. Yang put a hand on his shoulder. “It might take time, but I think so.”
She took over the class again, and he went back to his target. For a long time, he just looked down at his hands. Dylan had always loved his power, even though it made everyone afraid of him, made him an outcast. All he’d dreamed of was getting out of Shadow Valley and setting his power loose. The darkness of it had scared him, given him nightmares, but he’d still loved his power anyway.
Now, for the first time, he also hated it.
* * *
Aiden was already sitting at their table when he walked in.
“Hey, you okay?” Dylan asked, studying his friend. He didn’t look pale anymore.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t need to go to the nurse, but Ms. Yang made me.” Aiden poked at his food.
Hanna arrived, smiling at both of them. Aiden attempted to return the smile, but it looked weak. She frowned. “Is something wrong?”
Dylan was going to let Aiden explain it, if he wanted to explain it at all.
“I, um…” He looked at Dylan like he wanted help.
Dylan shrugged.
Aiden’s voice dropped and he leaned close to Hanna to mutter, “I had a panic attack in gym.”
Her eyes widened. “Was it because of what happened on Friday?”
Conner. That asshole. He better not try anything today.
“No, I’ve just been having problems with magic lately. I was in a match and couldn’t handle it.”
She rubbed his arm. “Why?”
Dylan almost glared at him in warning. But no, it was up to Aiden if he wanted to tell her, to tell the whole school, the whole town. If it got Dylan in trouble, thrown in prison or killed, then so be it. Dylan had let that dark fae out, and he’d hurt Aiden. If it weren’t for him, Aiden wouldn’t have this problem.
“I had a training accident a while ago, and it got to me. Every time someone throws magic at me, or is about to, I think about how I got hurt.” He leaned into her touch.
It was me. My fault. I did this to him. Aiden said he forgave him, but it seemed he couldn’t forget.
“I know what that’s like,” Hanna said. “Every time I see Conner, I think he’s going to hit me. Or if I say something that I know he wouldn’t like, I cringe. I expect him to yell at me for it.”
Aiden took her hand and squeezed it. “You deserve so much better than that.”
A growl carried through the lunchroom. Oh shit, not again. Like speaking his name had summoned him, Conner walked by. A row of tables stood between them, but that didn’t mean they were safe. One jump and Conner would practically be on top of them.
The werewolf glared at them as he went past, his pack trailing behind him. A hush went through the room. They’d just been sent home Friday. Would he be dumb enough to try to start a fight today? If he did, Dylan would drag him outside, away from Aiden.
The teachers and hall monitors watched them, tensed to run in. The pack made it to their table and sat. Conner locked his gaze on Dylan, lingering in a clear challenge. Then he turned abruptly away, as if dismissing him. Dylan watched him for a few more seconds as conversations started up around them again. Satisfied that it was over for the moment, Dylan looked back at Aiden.
Both he and Hanna let out a breath.
“Don’t worry. That was just posturing,” Dylan said. “He has to act like he’s not afraid of me. We’re gonna have to settle this sooner or later.”
Aiden tensed, his face going pale.
“But I’ll make sure it’s not around you, okay? I won’t get in a fight where it’ll freak you out.”
“You shouldn’t get in a fight at all,” Aiden said as his color came back. “I don’t know what getting expelled from this school means, and I don’t want to find out.”
Right. Dylan was supposed to be good and graduate so he could help Aiden find his other family. Crap. He wanted to keep Aiden safe, and yes, even Hanna, but how was he supposed to do that without getting in a fight?