Chapter 30: More Fitting In
This was fantastic. All of a sudden I actually had a friend. Me. Or, at least, the beginnings of one. Things were definitely looking up. I practically bounded up the stairs to my room, almost knocking over my sister on the top step.
When she saw me grinning, she smiled back. I hugged her impulsively, my good mood just too much to keep to myself.
Naturally, Meira took full advantage.
"I love you, Syd." She beamed up at me, amber eyes glowing.
"I love you too, Meems."
"No, I really love you." She clasped her little hands in front of her chest and spun in a circle. "Really, really."
How obvious was she? It made me laugh.
"Okay," I said, "what do you want?
"Ice cream!" She bounced on her toes, clapping and giggling.
I hesitated one moment before remembering the coast was clear. Since I didn't have to worry about being picked on anymore, the prospect of visiting the local hangout didn't seem so daunting.
Inside of ten minutes, I settled into a booth across from her while she shivered in delighted anticipation.
"I want every flavor," she said.
Mom would kill me if I brought her home hyped up on sugar, but for some reason her little demon body loved ice cream and I hated to say no. So, I waffled. "We'll see."
As we perused our menu and Meira drooled over her choices, I glanced around, surprised at how many of my classmates went to Johnny's. I suppose I shouldn't have been, especially since it was one of the only places to grab a burger in town. No brand names for Wilding Springs. Johnny's felt like an old-fashioned fifties place with red vinyl and chrome everywhere, down to the fully functional jukebox in the back of the dining room.
Meira finally settled on chocolate, vanilla and bubble gum while I rolled my eyes at her and ordered a hot fudge sundae. The cute twenty-something waitress in her checkered gingham poodle skirt winked at my sister and went off to fetch our order while we settled back to watch the world walk by our window.
As we did, I noticed a familiar face. With some surprise, I watched as Page left her table and came over. She made her way home to the 'in' crowd, it seemed. She already had her cheer uniform back on.
She smiled at me, even shared it with Meira.
"Syd," she said, "you'll never guess what?"
"You're back in," I said.
"Thanks to you." She was almost beside herself with delight. "Now that Alison is out, they let me back on the squad. Isn't that great?"
I tried to be happy for her. "Sure, Page. How's Simon?"
Her face crumbled a bit before her perfect mask came back.
"They'll be fine without me," she said. "Besides, I'm on cheer squad again! It's so worth it."
I tried not to think about Page selling her soul for a set of pompoms and gave her the benefit of the doubt. After all, without Alison leading the pack, maybe things really had changed.
"Anyway," she made a face, "I didn't mean to bother you this long. I wanted to say thanks and give you this." She handed me a black and orange card with a pumpkin on it. "It's an invitation. To a Halloween party. You're invited."
She said it like I was special. Whoopee.
"Thanks, Page," I said.
"You have to come," she gushed. "Everyone will be there. Even Brad." She said his name like it was a fishing lure.
Okay, so I took the bait.
"Really?" I said. "When is it?"
"Tomorrow night," she said. "I know, I know, short notice. Sorry. Oh, and costumes only, so come as your favorite... whatever!"
This Page was so different from the one I first met. The old Page lurked dark and bitter. This one was so perky I felt overwhelmed.
"Okay, thanks," I said.
"It's at Suzanne's house, seven o'clock, don't be late. Gotta go, bye, Syd!"
Page practically skipped away. I glanced at the invitation and over at the table. Suzanne smiled at me, pleasant enough. Maybe I scared her into being nice. A costume party, though... I hadn't dressed up for Halloween for years for obvious reasons. When you lived Halloween, who needed to pretend? Still, the chance to see Brad outside of school a whole day before our planned date was almost too much to pass up.
The girls rose and left as a pack, Page waving at me as they exited en masse. I waved back. How surreal. I continued to watch them as they crossed the street. When they passed the stop sign, I saw the dog sitting there, watching me
"What the..." I breathed, frowning.
"Syd," Meira said around her hot fudge sundae.
"Yeah, Meems," I said, still distracted by the sight of the black dog. What was he doing here? What did he want from me? I briefly considered reaching out to him but knew it wasn't in the rules. Still, he was just a dog, wasn't he?
"Are you going to go?" Meira licked some excess chocolate from her spoon, eyes curious.
"Go where, Meems?" I turned away from the dog, confused and disoriented. I needed to tell his owners it wasn't safe to let him run around like that.
She rolled her eyes. "The par-tay." She spun the word out like the point of her ice cream.
Right. I examined the invitation in my hand.
"I haven't decided," I answered. "It's a costume party."
Her little cheeks turned pink from the cold ice cream. "I love costume parties. Can I come?"
I grinned at her. "Sorry, big kids only." I glanced out the window. The dog was gone. Somehow, though, I wasn't feeling any better about it.
Meira made a face, her cheeks getting redder. I stuffed the invitation in my front pocket as I watched her, concern growing to fear.
"No fair," she said, blue eyes flashing amber. "You always get to have more fun than me."
I leaned forward and gripped her hand as two tiny horns peeked out of her black curls. Her skin reverted to her natural red hue.
"Meira," I hissed at her. "Your disguise."
She looked up at me, confused, and down at her hands. She let out a little shriek, her face screwing up in despair. I glanced around. No one noticed yet. There was still time for Meira to get herself under control.
No such luck.
"Syd!" She said. "It won't come back!"
Now we were attracting interest. I had to get her out of there, but I had no idea what to do. All I had were my own shields but when I tried in desperation to wrap them around Meira she just squealed like I hurt her.
I was trying to come up with something else when Quaid appeared beside us.
"Let's go," he hissed, tossing money on the table. He bundled Meira up against him, keeping her shielded from the people in the diner, hurrying her to the door and outside onto the street.
I waved at the waitress, pointed at the money and followed.
Outside, Meira struggled not to cry but was still startlingly herself. One kid, who happened to be walking by, grinned.
"Cool costume," he said.
Meira ran.
"Meira!" I called after her. Before I could follow her, though, Quaid caught my bare arm. He spun me around to face him. I felt a huge jolt of energy exchange, a connection between the two of us taking my breath away and freezing us both. My anger and fear drained away as the connection tightened before easing into something warm and wonderful.
"What the..." I could barely speak. From the light in his dark brown eyes, I knew he was as shocked by the event as I was.
"No idea," he answered, voice soft and a little vulnerable.
All of a sudden he was wide open to me, the deliciousness of his energy pouring over me like a waterfall of yummy. My demon instantly started to purr and soak it up, reaching back with equal enthusiasm. I found myself moving closer to him, hands pressed to his chest, lost in his eyes and the magic that surrounded me.
I knew his pain, then, understood his loneliness and longing for a place to belong. My demon let him in, gave him what he needed without reservation, accepted the lost boy inside him even as his own magic stripped away the judgments I had for myself and the confusion I felt about just being me. I'd never felt anything like it before and didn't want it to end.
I think we may have stood there forever if a passing group of teenagers hadn't broken the connection with their giggling and kissing noises. It was enough of a distraction I was able to snap myself back, pulling against him, feeling a surge in response. My demon tried to fight me even as his magic recoiled in a burst of rejection and hurt. When our power let us go, I stared at him while the pain in his face turned to a dose of protective anger.
Quaid grabbed me again, his hand blocked from my skin by the thin fabric of my T-shirt. I could still feel a subtle vibration passing between us, but ignored it.
"What is your problem?" He snapped at me.
I may have understood him moments before but my worry for my sister was much more important. "What's yours, jerk?" I snarled back. "Let me go, I have to get Meira."
"Didn't see you caring enough to help her get her disguise back up," he said. "Nice job, Syd. Ruin it for everybody." I knew this attack was fed by his vulnerability and the fact he hated I'd gotten in. But I couldn't help myself. Even while my demon begged for more I shoved him away.
"At least I don't tattle to my parents every second," I threw back at him.
"Maybe if you kept yourself under control, I wouldn't have to," he said.
I would have hit him if I thought I had the time. Instead I said a very bad string of words to his face before tearing off down the street after my sister while my demon howled in despair.
While what I told him to go do was physically impossible, I'm pretty sure he got the point.
I tried to forget the strange exchange of power between us, the way he now felt inside me no matter what he did on the outside. I had to focus on Meira. I could figure that crap out later, but at the moment, my sister's run for home alone and in her condition made my heart pound with fear.
I didn't catch her until the end of the driveway. Mom ran from the house by then to meet her. Our mother scooped her up. Meira's little arms latched on like she would never let go. She sobbed, barely able to catch her breath, face streaked with tears, whole body shaking.
I followed them into the house, not knowing what to say, what to do.
Mom turned on me, face furious.
"What happened?" She demanded.
I was not going to be the one to break our little truce. I took a deep breath and kept my voice steady.
"We were at the diner having ice cream," I explained, "and Meira's disguise started to fade. She couldn't get it back in place so we left."
"She's never lost control in her life," Mom said. "Why today?"
"I don't know, Mom, honestly," I answered, as stumped as she was. "It was weird. And the strangest part is she didn't know it was happening."
Meira calmed some. She snuffled against Mom's shoulder.
"Meira, honey," my mom said. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I don't know," she wailed. "I'm scared, Mommy! It was gone and I couldn't get it back!"
"Why didn't you help her?" Mom asked me.
"How?" I said. "Mom, I would have, really, but Meira didn't even know what was going on. What could I do that she couldn't?"
Mom drew a deep breath and started rocking my sister who had quieted.
"You're right, Syd, honey, I'm sorry," Mom said, voice tired. "It's not your fault. Or yours," she said to Meira. "Something is going on and I need to find out what it is."
"What do you mean?" I asked her. She gave me a pointed look that said not in front of your sister.
"I think someone needs a nice hot bath and a great bed time story," she said instead, resting her cheek on Meira's hair.
"Can I sleep with you, Syd?" My sister's huge amber eyes were undeniable. Mom and I exchanged a moment over her mass of curly hair.
"Sure, Meems," I said. "But you'll have to run it by Sass first."
Mom set Meira on her feet and patted her on the bum.
"Run up and find your jammies," Mom said. "I'll be right there to draw your bath."
"'Kay," Meira said. She came to me. I picked her up.
"I'm sorry you didn't get to eat your ice cream," she said.
"Are you kidding?" I rolled my eyes. "Can't stand the stuff."
She leaned in, her lips almost on mine. "That boy thought I was in a Halloween costume," she whispered, fresh tears welling.
"Meems..." I felt so bad for her, knowing how that one innocent statement from an admiring boy could scar her for the rest of her life. "He thought you were cool."
"Really?" She sniffed and pushed at the tears.
"Yup," I said. "He even said so, didn't he?"
She thought it over for a second and smiled at me.
"He liked it," she said.
"What's not to like?" I asked.
Meira hugged me hard. I caught my mother's silent swipe at her own tears.
"Go on," I said, "faster you tub, faster we get a story. Hit it."
Meira tore off for the stairs, repaired, recovered and a happy kid again.
If it were really only that simple, this world would be a much easier place to live in.
"So," I said to Mom as she rose to follow. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Mom paused and turned to me, face creased in worry.
"I wish I knew," she said. "But I don't, Syd. I have no idea. And that scares me. Too many things have been happening for them all to be a coincidence."
"Since there's no such thing..." I trailed off. "I take it there was no evidence at the Vegas'?"
She shook her head.
"You are way too smart for your own good sometimes. Ignorance can be bliss, Syd. But if you really want to know..."
"I do, Mom. If I'm going to be taking responsibility for my power from now on, I think I deserve to be in the loop."
"Fair enough," she said. And laughed. "I've been wanting to include you in coven business for years and you refused. Now that things are getting dangerous, you decide to poke your nose in. I'm glad, Syd."
"Thanks, Mom," I said.
"Story in fifteen," she smiled at me and left the kitchen.
I sat back in my chair and heard the rustle of the paper in my pocket. I pulled out the crumpled invitation and smoothed it out on the tabletop. Seriously, did I need any more trouble? Who knew the real reason Page invited me? Even if her motives were pure, were Suzanne's? Did I want to risk humiliation, torment or worse yet, their attempts to make me one of their-gag-BFF's?
I dismissed the orange and black bit of paper. I climbed to my feet and pulled open the closet door. I tossed it on the trash before going upstairs.
Guess I'd rather hear a bedtime story.
***
