Guardian

****************Author's Note*********

To:

Monddame--another chapter out! I don't think I specified a car color, but pale yellow's cool to me. I'm glad that its not predictable, I'm trying really hard to not rewrite something that's been done a million times, so it's good to know that someone thinks I'm succeeding!

DaniD--Well, I don't think Matt will take it too kindly, though the dream was kind of a nice change of pace. As for the vampire...well there's only one good form of trouble, and that's the yummy kind ;P

Misawo--I can't help it! I'm evil evil evil to the core! XD But I promise that I'll always try to update at least once a week, from now on. XD

LAMBM--I can't wait either, the good stuff's getting ready to go down. (Sadly not in this chapter, but don't kill the writer!)

Please enjoy~

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In school suspension was just what it promised to be—boring. Of course, the mountain of work I had piled beside me was supposed to be occupying my time, but…meh.

Apparently, I had two weeks to get it done, and procrastination had always been my friend.

For the twenty-seventh time I let my eyes rove around the room. The white-painted cement bricks were covered in writing; the clash of ink and words made it almost look artistic, if you crossed your eyes and squinted. A lot.

There were three desks in the room and only one was occupied. All of them were ratty things, the laminated wood peeling and chipped. The plastic chairs tucked beneath them were about as comfortable as a bed of needles after a few hours. I shifted in my seat again, trying to relieve the numbness that had settled into my backside.

The squeek of the chair was loud in the silence, marred only by the steady ticking of the clock. The steady slow ticking.

With a grumble, I went back to scratching my pencil across paper. It wasn’t work, though. The figure taking shape beneath my fingers was becoming increasingly familiar.

The hair was long, but not from style. More like the fact it had probably forgotten to be cut. Its strands fell into hooded eyes, and my lead lingered over them, adding those heavy lashes. The nose was delicate, carved with fine bones, and the mouth…hmmm. I tilted my head to the side as I considered it, then brushed a finger over the lower lip, smudging the line. It looked softer now.

I smudged slightly along the jaw as well, before sitting back. With a grimace I stuffed it in one of my notebooks. It was probably a bad sign that just a picture of him could make me blush.

No one had ever made me so embarrassed in my life, not even Matt, who made it his life’s work to humiliate me. But, then again, this was a different kind of embarrassment.

I traced the faux wood grain with my finger as I mused.

I’d never felt like this before.

I was nervous around him, and most definitely scared…but, deep down, I was a little excited when he said those things to me; “I missed you.” “I won’t leave you alone.”

Let’s face it, being the school’s number one punching bag left the dating scene kind of scarce. The last few days had more “romance” in them than I had experienced in my entire life.

With a groan I let my head fall into my hands, fingers tangling in my hair and pulling. “That is too sad,” I sighed.

It was so sad, that I was actually considering becoming someone’s regular snack because of a few pretty words.

Don’t forget the pretty lips that said them, something low and wicked within me whispered. The thought lingered for an instant before something larger, and more violent, knocked some sense into the whisperer.

Those lips were dangerous, I decided. They were dangerous, and off limits.

……………………

Forty-five minutes of freedom, and it was filled with the noxious fumes of the poison they tried to pass off as food. I picked at my gray chicken nuggets, wondering what the slime they were leaving behind was made of. It didn’t look (and definitely didn’t smell) like good old-fashioned grease. No-ope.

I contemplated the fact that it might just be decaying at a rapid rate on my tray.

My stomach gurgled grumpily, complaining that I had wasted my lunch on the idiot across the room. I glanced up, watching his rowdy crowd of worshippers. I imagined his face when he saw the remains of his shiny convertible.

Oh yeah, I told my grumbling tummy. “So worth it.”

Whap!

“Freak.”

“Shit,” I cursed, hand protecting my skull in case another tray decided to come rapping.

The offending plastic was swinging away in a group of black clad, pierced bodies. They smelled bad, like too much insense and unwashed skin.

“Who’s the freak?” I called, eyes narrowing as I spun in my seat.

They stopped, their laughter dying with their footsteps.

“What did you say?” the one with the spiked hair spat, his skinny fists clenching.

“I said you’re the freaks.”

“That’s real funny, coming from you,” said the short blond girl behind him. Her lips were black and ugly as she snarled at me.

I stood up, noticing how quiet the cafeteria was getting. It didn’t matter. I could handle these humans. I had seen them before. They throw paper and spit balls. They put rotting meat in my locker. They were cowards.

With a smile, I let the power slowly coiling in my belly spread. It felt so good that I knew my face took on a lustful expression. My nerves were singing with pleasure as it slid under my skin.

“You say I’m a freak because I’m a witch,” I said, thankful that the magic pooled easily in my palm. Steady light began to grow between my fingertips, pleasantly warm and amber.

“I say you’re a freak because you want to be me,” my gaze flicked over them, as I tossed the ball of glowing light up and caught it once again. Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch. “Don’t you?”

Their eyes followed the light. I could see hunger and fear on their faces. Jealousy and hatred, too.


With a smirk I brought the light up to my lips and blew on it. It floated slowly away, like a glittering bubble.

“The magic’s yours if you can take it.”

They stared, rooted to the spot, unable to look away. I couldn’t really blame them. The want in their eyes was disgusting.

Slowly, it rose over their heads, fluttering in the draft from the vent. For a moment it wavered, waiting. I smiled, a vicious twist of my mouth, as one of them reached up, fingers just shy of the orb. Then I snapped my fingers.

The glowing bubble burst, showering the group in golden dust. They blinked as the glitter disappeared on their skin.

With a laugh, the skinny one sneered, “Is that it? Should I be scared?”

I sat back down and cocked my head to the side, well aware of the laughter growing behind me.

“I don’t know. Should you be…Bartholomew?”

His eyes narrowed. “Now one calls me that.”

He took a step forward.

“Careful, careful,” I stage whispered. “Bad luck’s a tricky thing.”

He hesitated.

“One false step could send you flying to the floor. You could crack your head open…or worse.” I sucked in a breath, and shook my head gravely.

With a pained expression, I stood, untouched lunch in hand. “I’d be very careful until that curse wears off—“

“You’re lying!” Raccoon eyes yelled.

“Am I?”

“Yeah!” he growled, and rushed forward, fist raised. Before I could duck under the table, he stumbled, tripping over his own feet and crashing chin first onto the floor.

A spray of blood spread over the checked linoleum. It looked like he had bit his tongue when his jaws clamped shut.

I schooled my expression into cool concern, trying to hide my surprise and relief. For once, luck had been in my favor and he hadn’t been able to call my bluff. Really, it had just been a ball of sparkling dust…

“My, my,” I breathed as he whimpered and rolled over. “I did warn you.”

Might as well make lemonade, right?

I cocked my head to the side as I looked at the rest of them. He was starting to cry at my feet. The sound grated on my nerves and I had to remind my conscience that he deserved what he got and I hadn’t really cursed him.

“I wonder how many of you will make it through?” was my last parting shot. They watched me with white faces and wide eyes as their friend bawled on the floor like a baby, hand covering his bloody mouth.

They deserved it.

It was sad that I had to remind myself of that fact. It was a logical step, I rationalized. A little fear now would keep them away.

Or just make it worse, another part of me whispered as I shrugged my bag onto my shoulder.

My eyes jerked up, scanning the whispering crowd. It was filled with furtive glances and unwelcome stares. There was only one face that made me nervous, however.

He sat casually amidst the wolves, some of their eyes glowing yellow with the scent of blood on the air. It was so close to the full moon that I wondered if a few of Them were going to have to leave.

Matt didn’t seem to be having that problem, however. His eyes, as they followed me, were still human brown, but that toothy smile…

What was that supposed to mean?