Filed to story: Kissed by Claw and Fang
Besides, Byron called it when he implied the heart wants what the heart wants, even when it’s bad. And no matter how many warnings I get about Zane, I’m pretty sure he’s what my heart wants.
Suddenly, a weird kind of chiming sound cuts through Dvo
r
ák’s “The Noonday Witch” (if I’m not mistaken) that’s currently playing over the cafeteria’s loudspeakers. “What is that?” I ask, looking around to see if we’re suddenly being invaded by a bunch of triangle-playing guerrillas.
“The bell,” Macy says. They’re the first two words she’s managed to choke out since the Order took up residence next to us, and all seven of us turn to her in surprise. Which just makes her flash a small little smile before shoving half a Pop-Tart in her mouth.
“You still didn’t eat,” Zane says. And then he picks a Pop-Tart and hands it to me.
“Seriously?” I take it, because I know he’s just going to stand there holding it until I do. But I’m still going to call him on it. Because I’m smart enough to know that if I let him get away with the small things, he’ll try his best to steamroll me with everything else, too. “I’m pretty sure I can figure out for myself if I’m hungry or not.”
He shrugs. “A girl’s got to eat.”
“A girl can decide that for herself. Especially since the guy sitting next to her didn’t eat anything, either.”
Mekhi lets out a little whoop. “That’s right, Ivy. Make sure he doesn’t walk all over you.”
Zane gives him a look that sends a chill right through me, but Mekhi just rolls his eyes, although I notice that he does shut his mouth for pretty much the first time since he sat down. Not that I blame him. If Zane looked at me like that, I think I might run for the hills.
“What classroom are you going to?” Zane asks as we maneuver our way through the suddenly bustling cafeteria. It’s easier than it should be, considering the mad stampede toward the doors that is currently going on. But as long as Zane is in the lead, the sea of students does more than just part. It pretty much leaps out of the way.
I fumble for my schedule again, but before I can so much as pull it out, Mekhi answers, “A246,” right before he disappears into the crowd.
“Apparently, A246,” I repeat, tongue firmly in cheek.
“Apparently.” He moves slightly ahead of me to push open the door. As he holds it for me, not one person darts through. Instead, they all wait patiently as I walk through, and I have the fleeting thought that this is more than just popularity, more than just fear.
This must be what royalty feels like.
It seems absurd to even think something so bizarre, but I make it through the door and down the hall without another body-besides Zane’s-coming within five feet of me. And I don’t care whether I’m in an elite boarding school in Alaska or a crowded public high school in San Diego, that is not normal.
I also realize that the same thing happened yesterday before the snowball fight. No matter how crowded the hall got or how much jostling went on, no one so much as touched Zane-or Macy and me, as long as he was standing with us. “So what do you do to deserve all this?” I ask as we move toward the staircase.
“Deserve all what?”
I roll my eyes at him, figuring he’s messing with me. But the blank look he gives me says otherwise. “Come on, Zane. How do you not see what’s going on here?”
He glances around, clearly mystified. “What’s going on?”
Because I still can’t decide if he’s playing with me or if he really is this obtuse, I just shake my head and say, “Never mind.” Then plow ahead and pretend that I don’t notice everyone staring at me even as they scramble to get out of my way.
So yeah, that whole blending-in plan I hatched in San Diego? Officially dead on arrival.
“To Be or Not to Be”
Is a Question,
Not a Pickup Line
Zane walks me right up to my classroom door-which we get to in what I’m guessing is record time, considering there’s no one else in the room, not even the teacher.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask as we step inside.
“Yes.”
“How do you know?” I glance at the clock. Class should start in less than three minutes, and still nobody’s here. “Maybe we should check if it got-“
“They’re waiting for me to either sit down or leave, Ivy. Once one of those things happens, they’ll come in.”
“Sit down or-” I goggle at him. “So you were just messing with me in the hallway? You do notice how people treat you?”
“I’m not blind. And even if I was, it would still be hard to miss.”
“It’s madness!”
He nods. “It is.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say about it? If you know how bizarre it is, why don’t you do something to stop it?”
“Like what?” He gives me that obnoxious smirk from the first day, the one that made me want to punch him. Or kiss him. Just the thought has my stomach spinning and has me taking a cautious step back.
He doesn’t like the added distance, at least not if his narrowed eyes can be believed. And the way he takes two steps toward me before continuing. “Stand up at the pep rally and reassure everyone that I’m not going to eat them if they get too close? Somehow I don’t think they’ll believe me.”
“Personally, I think they’re more worried about being thrown in high school jail than getting eaten-“
The smirk is back. “You might be surprised.”
“Well, then, you should reassure them. Be friendly. You know, show them that you’re harmless.”
I feel ridiculous even before that left eyebrow of his goes up. “Is that what you think? That I’m harmless?”