Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones) (7 page)

The day raced by. The econ test was easier than I anticipated. I practically sprinted to my locker after seventh hour. I didn’t want to be late for the student council meeting Adrienne was running. I’d met Adrienne, our senior class president, during our freshman orientation, and I didn’t want to get on her bad side. She wasn’t a bully—which is good since I can’t stand them—but she could really hold a grudge.

I spotted Elyse, and she waved me over to a seat next to her.

Adrienne stood in front of the twenty or so of us. “Thanks for coming, everyone. Let’s get right to it so it’s a short meeting. Today’s agenda is to decide on the Homecoming Week Spirit Day themes. Fridays are traditionally School Spirit Day, so we’ll keep that the same. I listed all of your ideas from last week on one piece of paper and made copies. Circle the four you like the best.”

We passed around the ballots, cast our votes, and turned them in to be tallied.

While waiting for the results, Elyse turned to me and in a hushed tone asked, “So what are your thoughts on Landon?”

I pursed my lips.
There’s more to him than we think?
“He voiced his opinions in Mr. Lewton’s class even though it was his first day. I wouldn’t have done that.” I couldn’t help smiling with the next thought. “He handled the firing squad great too.”

“I saw a bunch of girls staring at him during class and, well,
trying
to follow him around between classes,” she said. “They looked too nervous to actually ask him anything, though.”

“I meant you.”

“Me?” She seemed genuinely taken aback.

“Yeah, you were relentless this morning. The questions…the insinuations…”

“Being shy and quiet doesn’t get you too far in life. It’s better to be nosy. No guts, no glory.” I nodded. It wasn’t that I agreed with her strategy, but I knew how she felt on this topic. She had the courage to ask the questions that others were too timid to ask. She always got what she was after, but she didn’t always recognize how she portrayed herself. “I didn’t have much time to finesse it this morning. Next time I ask him questions, I’ll have more time and be able to do so with more poise.”

“Oh, you’re already anticipating another round?”

“Yep. He agreed to let me interview him for the next issue of our online paper. Let me know if there’s anything specific you want to know about him, even if it’s off the record.” She wagged her eyebrows tauntingly.

Great. He was going all-out to get on her good side. “I’ll find out with the rest of the world.” I had to laugh to myself. He’d only had a snapshot of what she would be like in interview mode. She probably didn’t give him much of a choice on the matter, either.

“Honestly, Brynn, you had to notice how seriously cute he is. Aren’t you curious about him?”

“Yeah.” I was curious about his intentions for coming here, antagonizing me, and getting in good with my best friend.

“Glad to hear you say so. Maybe something will develop between you two,” she said.

I didn’t bother to correct her. I wanted to keep this between Landon and me. I had been too stunned this morning to process much of anything. Reflecting on the times I’d seen him over the summer, he stood out more than any of the others with Trevor. There was something about him that drew me in, and I was both appalled and intrigued because of it.

Adrienne cleared her throat. “The results are in. Monday will be Pajama Day, Tuesday will be Future Professions Day, Wednesday is Wild Day—dress in costume or mismatched—Thursday will be Tropic Day, and of course Friday is School Spirit Day. The annual class hallway decoration contest will be Thursday after school from three to six. Seniors will have the main hallway in the front of the school, juniors are in the English wing, sophomores have the art wing, and freshmen are in the math wing. The powder puff game follows hallway decoration at seven
P.M.
Who wants to make posters to advertise the upcoming week?”

A few hands shot up.

“Great. It would be awesome if you could each make one or two posters and put them up around the school. The other popular theme was decades, so that’s what our homecoming floats will be. Each grade will pick a decade starting with seniors, then juniors, and so on. Get into groups and decide what your top choices are.”

Adrienne, Elyse, Zach, Emilee, Lauren, Nichole, a few others, and I moved to a round table in the back of the library.

“Who here has seen the new guy? Well, besides Brynn, of course.” Emilee did a quick look around the circle, but her glare stopped on me. “Dibs.” It was both a claim and warning. I felt her irritation with me across the table.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Elyse challenged.

“Technically, yes.”

“And you want another one, or you’re looking to replace the current one?”

“Either. I don’t expect you to understand. Some of us can handle more than one guy.”

“
Some
are too boy-friendly for their own good.”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is that you’re a—”

“Hey, let’s decide on our decade,” I interrupted before Elyse could dig herself a bigger hole. Everyone looked at me. “My vote is for the seventies or eighties. We can get some mannequins and dress them in authentic outfits. Or pick a famous band from the era and decorate it as a concert stage.”

Emilee wasn’t going to allow herself to be sidetracked. She squinted at me. “Didn’t you walk with him to class? As in, like,
every
class?”

“Um, yeah, I stopped by Mr. Newland’s office this morning and he asked me to show Landon his locker. We have the same first hour.” I had no idea why I felt the need to explain.

“That’s convenient,” she muttered.

“I didn’t arrange his schedule.”

“Why are you being so possessive of a guy you just met?” Elyse asked.

“It’s nothing you could possibly understand.”

Zach looked like he wanted to pull his hair out. “Chill out, Emilee. Seriously. You’ve been a grouch all day. I can’t take it anymore. Let’s focus on what we’re supposed to be discussing.”

Emilee sat back in her chair and crossed her arms with a huff. But Zach’s words worked.

Our conversation went back on topic, and we were able to get a jumpstart on our hallway and float designs. We assembled as a group again to announce our choices. We picked the eighties, the juniors chose the seventies, the sophomores wanted the twenties, and freshmen decided on the sixties.

“I know it seems like there’s plenty of time before Homecoming Week, but it’s going to fly by. Use these first two weeks to secure sponsors and collect donated items from local businesses. If you’re really organized, you can actually ask for specific clothing or props that go with your decade. This will save you valuable time because it will require fewer modifications.”

The meeting adjourned, and Elyse and I walked out together.

“Do you want to be there when he’s in front of the firing squad again, as you put it?” she teased.

“No,” I cringed. I’d spent enough time with him. Any more would be dating him. “When is the interview?” I asked.

“Either tomorrow or the next day after school. I want to think of some good questions to ask him. I have the standard ones, but I thought I’d flavor it up a bit.”

Good. I hoped she gave him a thorough interview. “I think it would be better if I wasn’t there. That way, I’ll have no idea if you embarrass me. Please promise you’ll stay off me as a topic.”

“I won’t specifically bring you up, but I’m not going to stay quiet if he does. I can’t be rude.”

“Nice try, but he has no reason to bring me up. Just don’t talk about boyfriend-type stuff, okay? I’m not looking for one. I don’t want you hinting any more than you already did this morning. I don’t need him thinking I think we should be together.”

I could tell from her expression she wanted to push this issue but smartly decided against it.

A
ll morning the next day, Elyse chatted about her interview with Landon. By lunch, she was ticked he hadn’t shown up, and by the end of the day she was just short of annoyed. He’d better have a good reason for not coming to his second day of school.

On his third day, it shocked me to see him standing by my locker, especially since I was running late.

“Forget your way around already?” The words were harsh, but the tone…well, it was too. I meant to be mocking rather than mean. I was worried that today would be a repeat of his first day.

“I wondered when you were going to show up,” he said. “Do you always cut it so close?”

I ignored his comment and question. “What are you doing here?”

“I go to school here.”

When I didn’t smile or laugh, he said, “I thought I’d return the favor and walk with you to class this morning.”

“I’m the one who knows the way around.”

I swapped the books I didn’t need for the ones I did, shut the locker, and headed to class.

He followed.

I rolled my eyes. “You know, you’re a lot like Elyse.” I was irritated that he insisted on spending time with me.

“How so?” he asked.

“Unrelenting. And you’re in big trouble with her for not coming to school yesterday. All she talked about was your interview. And why are you so insistent on setting girls against me?” That last thought slipped out before I could stop it. It had been on my mind since watching Kayla, Brittany, and Paige’s reaction to Landon saying I volunteered to show him around, like who was I to walk around with him. I’d never had any issues with any girls in our grade, much less over a guy, but Emilee’s reaction topped the cake.

“I have done no such thing.” His eyes sparkled. “Would you like me to?”

“They’re going to think we know each other.”

“I know you better than anyone else here.”

“They’re going to think we’re
together
,” I hissed. “Or something.” Something such as
liking
each other.

“I have to set a precedent the first few days at a new school.”

That sunk in: I was being used. “Nice to know your motivations, but it’s sad that you can’t handle a bunch of girls by yourself.”

He laughed. “You walked into this situation. It could have been anyone else.”

“There are plenty of others who would gladly step into my spot.”

“I like the way this is playing out,” he said with a smile in his voice.

• • •

We resumed our conversation after class. That day was a repeat of his first day, much to my dismay and the dismay of hopeful girls shooting me subtle, what’s-so-special-about-her looks.

I didn’t understand the fascination he seemed to have with irritating me.

“Are you hounding me to see if or when I tell Elyse we’ve seen each other? Do you want to be there when it happens? We can just get it all out in the open and be done with it.”

“I thought we talked about this. You could tell her. It is true.”

“Yeah, but then she’d wonder why I didn’t mention it at the time and waited more than a second to tell her. So it’s actually going to cause me trouble.”

“Why didn’t you tell her?”

“It seemed like it was, I don’t know, some sort of secretive thing I witnessed. And what would you tell her, anyway? You won’t tell
me
what you’re doing here. Now it’d just cause more problems that it’s worth—especially for you—not that you don’t deserve it, but you’ll have enough of a time trying to survive her interview. Why did you start school so late when you were in the area a month ago?”

“We were scoping out houses. We didn’t buy one until recently.”

“And while you were here looking, you just happened to take a job?” I asked.

“I do what I have to do when I have to do it.”

“That doesn’t explain how you know Trevor.”

“Our families knew each other.”

“Really? Because I’ve known him all my life, and I’ve never seen any pictures of you. They’ve never talked about your family, and I’ve never seen you around any of their infamous parties.” So there, I added silently.

His lips quirked up in a subdued smile. “We
did
live in another state. We weren’t going to fly in or drive halfway across the country just for a little party.”

“And why aren’t those other guys here?”

“They’re in college.”

“Uh huh. And how
do
you all know each other?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to be a reporter? Maybe an investigator?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“I’d hoped your hostility would have faded after a few days.”

“This whole thing isn’t right,” I said. “It doesn’t add up, but there’s not enough out of the ordinary to have it even make sense in a nonsensical way.”

“Do you believe in fate?”

“Like that things are predetermined? Yes. Why?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately. Maybe we’re supposed to meet certain people who change the course we’re on or help us grow into a better person. And maybe we’re supposed to help them out in return. I wonder if that’s a form of payment or if it’s supposed to happen anyway.”

“Everything happens for a reason and all that.” I tried to play it off, but I believed the same thing.

“Yeah, sort of. How much can we interfere with fate and get away with it? Are there always consequences if we interfere? Are those consequences always negative?”

“Or maybe it’s fate that it’s supposed to be messed with in the first place.” I felt a shiver dance along my spine and pass through my arms and legs.

I sensed him studying me and stopped staring ahead long enough to glance at him. Our eyes held. The noise of the busy hall disappeared, as did everyone bustling around us. It was like we had been sucked into a private vacuum. It was too intense. Too knowing. I felt different in that moment and broke our connection. My animosity toward him had dissipated, transforming into something else.

Maybe I was taking my frustration with Trevor out on Landon because Landon was a connection to the situation I desperately tried to understand. Did Trevor know Landon was going to my school? Should he? Was this his reason for asking me if there was anyone new around? Landon was a link to the puzzle. A way in.