How to Survive High School Without Really Dying Page 2

  Aiden bit his lip, not sure how much he should say. “We’ve talked a little bit. I think he’s… unsure. I keep telling him if he’s worried about me, he shouldn’t be.”

  “Are you really not jealous? Or mad?” She made a face. “Sorry, I know you keep saying you’re not, but it’s hard to believe.”

  “After dating a guy like Conner, I don’t blame you.” He reached over to take her hand. “I like you a lot. But I think I like you as a friend.” You liked her well enough until something better came along. He tried to shut that nasty voice up.

  She smiled. “I think I’m happy with that.”

  Dylan cursed as he missed the last pin and came back. Aiden and Hanna cut off their conversation. She glanced at Aiden a few more times during the night, clearly wanting to say more but either Dylan or Tiago or both were always around.

  For all Dylan’s smack-talking, Hanna won the game. Tiago teased him about being beat by a girl, and although Dylan whined a little, he wasn’t mean to Hanna about it. He actually congratulated her.

  “You’re not mad I beat you?” She wouldn’t look directly at him. Tiago had explained a lot of body language to Aiden, and that was a submissive thing to do. Looking directly at someone was usually a challenge.

  “Nah,” Dylan said. “You won fair. I’d be mad if you let me win or something. You’re obviously better at bowling than the rest of us.”

  “Oh. Thank you.” She blushed.

  Okay, that was it. He was just going to tell Dylan to ask her out on a date. This had to stop.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Seeing Conner still made Hanna want to cringe and hide, so when she came around the corner and saw him with the pack, she fought the urge to find a different route to class. He’d barely said a word to her after the end of the last school year. After Dylan had beat him up. She’d been too afraid to watch the fight, but she wished she’d been able to see Dylan kick his ass. After all the times he’d hit her, it would have been so satisfying to see it happen to him.

  He hadn’t threatened her since then, hadn’t sent the other pack members after her. Nothing. But she was still afraid of him.

  Conner loomed over a pale kid, the others surrounding their victim. They shifted a little, enough for her to get a good look at the kid’s face. She recognized him—Carter, a kid in her Practical Senses class. Since he was a ghoul, she avoided him as much as possible. Ghouls were disgusting, eaters of the dead. Werewolves ate their kills fresh, and the ones that obeyed the treaty never ate humans. Ghouls always ate human flesh.

  Conner took a step closer and shoved the kid. Hanna winced. That was her last year. The memory was enough to make her feel sick, and she almost turned. But she should say something, do something. No, then Conner would just target her. Or would he? She had Dylan’s protection, and would Conner really risk another beating?

  The ghoul belonged to the mutt pack. Last year before she broke up with Conner, she’d watched him and the other werewolves pick on them. The mutt pack’s leader was a werewolf and there was another one, a sophomore, she remembered. He’d be a junior now, like her. They’d had one class together last year, but she couldn’t remember his name.

  Conner shoved the kid again, knocking him into the lockers. Where was the rest of the pack?

  Hanna took a deep breath and walked over to them on shaking legs. “Leave him alone.” It didn’t come out brave at all.

  When Conner turned to her, she cringed.

  “What?” He glared. His expression flickered with confusion before the glare returned. “This is none of your business.”

  Her body tensed, ready to turn. To run away. But she remembered what it was like to be on the receiving end and how good it had felt when Aiden and Dylan stood up for her. The rush of relief that she wasn’t alone and someone would protect her.

  She wished she were as brave as Dylan. She wanted to be able to threaten Conner and make him back down. She couldn’t do that. But there was something she could do. Hanna grabbed the ghoul’s hand and pulled him away from the pack. “Come on.”

  The werewolves glared, growling at her. “You protecting ghouls now?” Conner said, sneering with disgust. “Wait til your parents hear about this.”

  Oh God. That was a threat he would follow through on. Conner had tattled on her before when she sat with Aiden at lunch after promising her parents not to date the fae boy anymore. Will they be upset that I’m protecting a ghoul, or will it be more important to them that I’m standing up to Conner? They’d been angry at her before for being so submissive. They wanted her to be strong.

  Well, this is me. Learning how to be strong. The cold fear in her stomach betrayed that thought.

  The ghoul kept glancing behind them until Hanna pulled him around the corner. “Thank you.” He blinked. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because I know what it’s like to be hurt by him.” Had she gone too far? Would Conner risk Dylan’s wrath?

  “You never stopped him before.”

  Ouch. That was a brutal truth. She’d watched Conner and the rest of the pack bully lots of kids. “I wasn’t brave enough.” She stopped against the wall and let him go, resisting the urge to wipe her hand on her pants. “Where’s your alpha?”

  He dropped his eyes. “He’s gone. He graduated last year.”

  “Oh. Why doesn’t someone take his place?”

  The ghoul shook his head. “We’re not really leaders. Marisa is sort of holding us together, but… it’s not the same.”

  You’re not a proper pack. Of course it’s not the same. But that was Conner talking. Her parents talking. The same kind of people who didn’t want her to date outside her species. What would Dylan do?

  “Tell me if Conner or his wolves pick on you again, or any of your friends, and I’ll… I’ll think of something.” She couldn’t really ask Dylan to extend his protection to them. He’d already done so much for her. And Aiden wasn’t a fighter. Tiago wasn’t really her friend.

  “Thank you.” The ghoul smiled, and it was so hopeful it almost broke her heart. “I should get to class. See you later.”

  Hanna watched him go, wishing she could be the strong wolf her parents wanted her to be.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The night was chilly, reminding Aiden that winter would be here all too soon. Wisconsin winters were longer and colder than the ones he’d grown up with. When I graduate, I’m going somewhere warm, like California or Florida. Maybe not to live, but at least for a vacation. A nice, long vacation before he went to college.

  But what about looking for my other family? Another problem he needed to figure out. Faery was closed off from this world, and he needed to find a way through so he could find his birth parents and his brother. The baby they switched him with. They had found a way, so he should be able to find one too.

  Uncle found a way. Aiden suppressed a shudder. Not like that. It seemed like a very dangerous path, and Uncle had intended to do more than visit the human world. He was still out there somewhere. Mr. Johnson was looking for him, but as of the last time he talked to Aiden, he hadn’t found the dark fae.

  A shadow flitted between two trees. Aiden jumped. “Did you see that?”

  “See what?” Tiago glanced around.

  “Something moved out there.” Aiden stared at the spot, pulse thundering in his ears. Nothing happened; nothing moved. If there was something supernatural out there, would he be able to feel its magic? He didn’t feel anything. Or did it have some spell that hid its power? The kidnappers had used spells to erase their scent and any traces of magic.

  “There’s nothing out there except a few little animals. A fox and some rabbits.”

  “Maybe it was an animal.” Or maybe he was seeing things. Mr. Johnson’s warning had made him paranoid.

  Tiago nudged him. “If something attacks us, I’ll protect you.”

  Heat rose in Aiden’s cheeks.

  Tiago laughed. “Come on.”

  Aiden tried to shrug it off, but he kept glancing aro
und as they walked. After a few minutes he summoned a ball of light so he could see better. Over the past year his night vision had improved to the point that he could walk through the woods on clear nights without the need for any other light. When he was tuned in to the forest, he could even walk through the trees with his eyes closed.

  Oh, maybe the forest knew something. Aiden stopped to touch a tree, focusing to connect to the energy around him. Is there something hostile out here? Tell me if there’s any danger.

  He got no answer, but his anxiety started to fade. Being in the forest, connected through his magic, always made him feel better. Aiden wished he’d found this trick months earlier when he was struggling with frequent panic attacks.

  “It smells like spring every time you do that,” Tiago said.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. That’s how your magic smells. Like spring. Do you smell your own magic?”

  “I don’t smell magic. I feel it.” He touched his chest, right against the spot where his scar was. It kept fading and now was only a half-inch jagged white spot. It might be gone by the anniversary of when he’d gotten it.

  “What do I feel like?” Tiago stepped closer.

  His proximity and the question made Aiden’s heart speed up. “Uh… like fur and hot, wet air. Humidity. I feel it sort of inside me if that makes sense.” Describing it to someone else was difficult.

  Tiago tilted his head. The glow from Aiden’s light spell hit the werejaguar’s eyes, making them shine for a moment. “Huh. Interesting. Is that a fae thing?”

  Aiden nodded. “My mentor feels magic like that too.”

  “What does Dylan feel like?”

  “Lizard skin. Warm with a pebbly texture.”

  “Dragon scales. Cool.” Tiago started walking again. “What about Hanna?”

  “Werewolves feel like fur too, but there’s a hint of cool air. Like a fall night.”

  “So you get a little hint of their element with were creatures. Do you like it?”

  Aiden moved along the trail without thinking, the forest telling him where he needed to step. “What? Feeling magic?”

  “The way my magic feels. Or is it weird?” Tiago glanced back, the light making his eyes shine again.

  Aiden had no idea what to say. “I… uh… it’s interesting.”

  “Which is another way of saying weird.” He sounded a little amused.

  “Not in a bad way!”

  “I guess everything here is still weird to you. It’s weird for me too.” Tiago stepped into the clearing they used for training, feet crunching over leaves.

  Aiden hardly made a sound. “Because you don’t have to hide your magic?”

  “That and I’m surrounded by monsters.” He laughed, turning to face Aiden. “It was always just me and my parents.” His brows drew together and he looked away. “I knew there were other things out there, but I never met any. Until I came here.”

  “Do you like it here?” Aiden made the light spell shift around above his palm.

  Tiago kept staring off into the distance for a moment; then he flashed a grin. “It’s interesting.”

  Oh, that smile. Aiden wondered if he’d eventually get used to it so it wouldn’t make his stomach flutter every time.

  “So I want to try something different,” Tiago said.

  “What?”

  “I want to shift and have you try to catch me that way.”

  “Shift into a jaguar?” Obviously, duh. What else would he shift into?

  “Yeah. Would that be okay?” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket, shifting his feet.

  “Sure. I’ve never seen that before.” All this time around monsters at school, and he hadn’t seen any of the shape-shifters change into animals. He supposed they did that in Practical Senses sometimes.

  Tiago started unbuttoning his black leather jacket. “In order to shift, I have to take my clothes off. You might want to turn around.”

  Heat rushed to his face. “Oh. Right. Yeah.” Aiden spun around, heart racing. As much as he’d like to see Tiago naked, there was no way he was going to watch him strip. Thank God we don’t have gym class together. “Just let me know when you’re done. Um, I guess you won’t be able to talk then, huh? So I don’t know. Do… something.”

  Tiago laughed. “I’ll come around so you can see me. It’ll just take a few seconds.”

  “Okay.” Aiden stared at the trees, listening to the slight rustle of Tiago taking his clothes off and trying not to picture him naked. He failed. Aiden tugged his jacket lower to hide his reaction.

  Embarrassment made him so warm he started sweating. Can he smell sweat? I bet he can. Is he going to wonder why I’m sweating? Can he smell other things? Can I die of embarrassment? Like just fall over and stop breathing because I’m too embarrassed to live?

  Something appeared in the corner of his eye and he flinched, startled. It was a huge feline, and it moved until it was right in front of him.

  Tiago’s jaguar form was much bigger than he expected, although he didn’t have much of a frame of reference as he’d never been this close to a big cat before. Were lions or tigers this big? Or was Tiago bigger than a normal animal because he was a shape-shifter?

  “Wow,” was all Aiden could manage at first. At least now he could blame his racing heart on fear. He trusted Tiago not to hurt him, but it was hard not to be nervous when a deadly animal stood three feet in front of you.

  Tiago had golden yellow fur with black and deep gold spots all over. His eyes were gold too, staring straight at him. The huge cat lifted his paw and licked it, almost looking smug.

  “You’re… beautiful.” There really wasn’t another word for it.

  Tiago sat down, head slightly tilted. He held out his paw again, pointing at Aiden.

  “What?”

  Tiago waved the paw, and it looked like a “come here” gesture. It was so absurd to see an animal do that. But he’s not an animal. Not completely anyway. The kids at school looked so normal that sometimes Aiden forgot some of them were only part human, or not even human at all.

  I’m not human either. Aiden shook the thought away and took a step closer to Tiago. He kept making the gesture until Aiden was inches away.

  “What?” Aiden asked.

  Tiago leaned forward and bumped Aiden’s side with his head. Aiden wobbled on his feet.

  “Do you want me to pet you?”

  Tiago bumped him again, so Aiden reached out to touch the fur on Tiago’s head. It was smooth and soft and warm. He ran his fingers along toward one of Tiago’s ears. I’m petting a werejaguar. This is so weird.

  Then Tiago pulled abruptly away, putting a few feet of distance between them.

  “What? Did I do something wrong?”

  Tiago turned and walked a little farther, then glanced back at him.

  Aiden frowned, and after a moment it clicked. “Oh right. I’m supposed to catch you.”

  The jaguar nodded, then ran into the trees.

  Aiden sprinted after him, trying to focus on connecting with the forest, using his magic to try to capture Tiago. This was certainly going to be an interesting practice session.

  CHAPTER SIX

  As the game loaded, Aiden said, “I think you should ask Hanna out.”

  That came out of nowhere. Dylan turned to look at him. “Why?”

  “Well, you like her, right? And she likes you. She even kissed you. So ask her out.”

  “I’m not sure I want to.” He did like Hanna, but he didn’t know if he liked her enough to date her. Maybe he was a little worried that if things didn’t turn out, she might end up like Indira. The first girl he’d dated hated him, yet she also acted like he’d wake up one day and suddenly decide he wanted to get back together with her.

  “You’ve had all summer to figure out how you feel.”

  Dylan picked up his controller. “Says the guy who moped when she dumped him and then decided he didn’t want to date her anyway. Why are you trying to hook me up with yo
ur ex-girlfriend?” When Hanna had kissed him—and he’d sorta kissed her back—he’d been so worried about hurting Aiden.

  “I want her to be happy,” Aiden said, looking at the floor.

  “And you think I can make her happy?”

  Aiden shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “I didn’t make Indira happy. I made her a bitch.” He flicked through the menu to choose multiplayer.

  “You said you just realized she was selfish and mean and dumped her.”

  “Well, yeah, I guess. I sure didn’t help though.” At the time, Dylan never considered blaming himself for the way she acted afterward. Because of Aiden, he’d started to realize the influence he had on other people. Thanks a lot, you jerk, he joked to himself. Dylan picked his character.

  Aiden scrolled through his choices, but it was obvious he wasn’t paying attention. “If you don’t want to date her, then say something. Don’t let her keep hoping you’re going to ask her out.”

  “If she likes me so much, why doesn’t she ask me out?”

  Aiden rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You saw how she was with Conner. She’s not the type to ask a guy out.”

  “Hey, she did kiss me. I didn’t start that.”

  “True,” Aiden said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think she’d do something like that again.”

  “Will you hurry up and pick someone?” Dylan just wanted to play.

  “Will you seriously think about asking Hanna out?”

  Dylan sighed. “Yes, I’ll think about it. Happy?”

  “Yes.” Aiden finally chose a character.

  Despite himself, as they played Dylan wondered if having a girlfriend might not be so bad. And Hanna was definitely not Indira.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  An office assistant came to get Aiden out of history class, and he was immediately freaked out. He hadn’t done anything, so he couldn’t be in trouble. Was Dylan in trouble? Was something wrong with his parents? Had one of the wardens escaped from jail, and now they were coming after Aiden to kill him?