“See you soon.”
He turned and walked away and I watched him until he was out of sight. Plagued with an odd sense of foreboding, I turned and made my way down the hall in the opposite direction, toward Home Room.
By the time I was seated in class, the whole incident in the hall seemed strangely distant and confusing. I couldn’t remember what had been so fascinating about the new guy. In fact, I was a little embarrassed that I’d gawked like an idiot, and right in front of Bo no less. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I had no intention of letting it happen again.
Contrary to what he’d said, I didn’t see Bo after Home Room. In fact, I didn’t see him at all until lunch. I did, however, see the new guy quite a bit. Every time I turned around, he was with Trinity somewhere. He was even sitting with her at lunch, holding the entire table captive by his peculiarly compelling presence.
I was sitting under the tree I’d claimed as my new lunchtime hangout when Bo found me. He saw that I was studying the newcomer and he leaned up against the tree behind me to watch, too.
“His name is Lars Swenson.”
“How do you know?”
“Student Services.”
“Is he from around here?”
“No. He’s supposedly an exchange student from Switzerland.”
“Do you think Trinity knows him?”
“No. I think she’s just fallen under his charm like everyone else,” he said pointedly.
I craned my neck to look back and up at him. “I’m not under his charm.”
I felt a little insulted that he’d lump me in with all the nitwits that were hanging on his every word.
Bo’s eyes darted down to me and he quirked one brow suggestively. “Maybe not now.”
I chose to ignore that comment, mainly because I had no defense. It was true—I had been nit-witting over the guy this morning, just like everyone else. “Why doesn’t he affect you like that?”
“Probably because we’re the same.”
“You’re nothing like him,” I declared in Bo’s defense. Though I knew nothing about the stranger (other than he had piercing blue eyes and a mouthwatering smell), instinctively, I had no doubt that he was trouble, trouble of a magnitude that I’d never seen. He made me feel twitchy inside, and not in a good way.
“No, I think he’s probably very, very old,” Bo said, his voice dropping down low.
“What does that mean?”
“That he’s also very, very powerful.”
“What’s he doing here?”
Just then, Lars lifted his head from where he’d had it bent listening to Trinity and his eyes locked with Bo’s across the lawn. Though his expression never changed, menace rolled off him in thick, black waves.
“I think he’s come for me,” Bo muttered, apparently unconcerned.
“What?” I was immediately alarmed. I wasn’t sure what that even meant, but it sounded terrible. It sounded deadly. “Why?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long until I find out,” Bo said, never taking his eyes off the stranger.
I looked back and forth between them, wondering what kind of silent battle was being waged and why no one else seemed to notice. When my gaze flicked back to Lars, I saw a cold grin drift across his lips right before he glanced at me and then turned his attention back to Trinity. In a way, I had the feeling that we’d somehow been marked, but marked for what I didn’t know.
“Bo!”
Bo and I both turned to look toward the picnic tables, where Savannah sat with Devon. She was motioning us to come over.
I felt Bo’s fingers brush the back of my head. I turned to look at him over my shoulder. He squatted down, twirling a lock of my hair around his finger, seemingly fascinated by it.
“I guess it’s time we go make some plans for a double date, huh?”
Bo’s lips were curved in a casual smile, but when his eyes met mine, I saw a hint of something worrisome in their depths, something he was trying to bury beneath his carefree expression.
I reached up to grab his hand where he fiddled with my hair. It was cool, where only a few short hours before I’d been able to feel intense heat.
“Tell me everything is going to be fine,” I requested, knowing that it was impossible for him to guarantee such a thing, especially considering that he was dying.
“I’ll make it as fine as I can,” he replied.
“You’re cold, Bo. Didn’t you get…something to eat before school?”
“Yeah.”
I wondered if worry or fear would burn through the blood he drank more quickly, like he said excitement would. I wanted to ask, but I didn’t think I needed to. Something in his eyes told me that it did, and that he was much more concerned than he was willing to admit. He obviously didn’t want me to know just how bad it was, so for his benefit, I stood to my feet and plastered a bright smile on my face.
“Then let’s go make a date.”
********
The weird parts of my day had apparently only just begun. Since I’d so publicly challenged Trinity, she hadn’t really made as much of a stink as I’d suspected she would. The locker thing was a mild stunt, something that only brushed the surface of Trinity’s deep and disturbing repertoire of vengeful schemes. Each day, especially when it came to cheerleading, I wondered when she’d make her move and how bad it was going to be.
Today, however, she threw me for a loop. She arrived at practice late, which wasn’t unusual for Trinity, but she was all smiles, something that I hadn’t seen much of since the incident.
I ignored her for the most part, the same as I’d done since I’d stood up to her. No sense waking up that sleeping dog any sooner than was absolutely necessary. The strange thing was that she responded to me cheerfully when I asked her to change position or straighten her arm or…well anything really. Her smile was wide and seemed genuine, but it was her eyes that concerned me. There was a gleam in them, a malevolent twinkle that made me extremely uncomfortable. It seemed as though she was laughing at me, like she’d made the final plans for her revenge and she was overflowing with the juiciness of it.