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Claire flushed a little. “Oh—that. Still, that doesn’t make me princess material.”

“You’re one of the most beautiful girls in this school, certainly one of the nicest, and hands down the smartest. You definitely deserve to be in the Royal Court.”

“I … don’t know what to say,” Claire replied, flustered.

“How about
yes
, and you’ll go with me?”

Claire’s stomach clenched. Uncertainly, she asked, “Go with you … where?”

“To the dance?” he said hopefully.

“Oh!… Oh…”

Neil’s face fell. “Okay. That’s not
quite
the response I was hoping for.”

They’d reached the library landing now, a few yards from Claire’s locker. She stopped and tried to gather her wits. This was the moment she’d been dreaming of for over two years! But after yesterday, everything had changed.

“Neil,” she began hesitantly, “I’m sorry, but… I think Alec and I are… I mean, he hasn’t asked me to the dance yet, but—”

Neil cut her off, holding up his hands. “Looks like it’s my turn to say ‘Oh.’ I knew you two were rehearsing a song, but I had no idea you were… Seriously, Brennan. That’s totally cool. Alec seems like a great guy … that freak-out at the mall notwithstanding.”

Claire gave him a soft smile. “Thanks.”
Crap
, she thought. He looked so disappointed. Despite her aversion to the whole Homecoming Princess thing, she still liked Neil and would love to go to the dance. What if Alec didn’t ask her?

Neil’s eyes were suddenly drawn to something immediately behind Claire. His mouth tightened slightly. Claire spun around to find Alec at their locker, his gaze fixed casually on the two of them. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. How long had he been standing there? He looked incredibly handsome in his faded green T-shirt and black leather jacket. She hadn’t stopped thinking about Alec since he’d dropped her off at home the evening before, when they’d exchanged another good-bye kiss at her door—a kiss equally as thrilling as the ones they’d shared atop the Ferris wheel.

Claire smiled at Alec, then whirled back to find Neil staring at them as if struggling to remain calm.

Tension crackled through the air. Claire couldn’t believe this was happening. She’d never even had
one
boy pay attention to her before; and now
two
boys liked her at the same time?

Brian and Erica rounded the corner of the library and, caught in the awkwardness, shot questioning looks at Claire. After what seemed like forever, Alec gave Claire and Neil a friendly nod, then turned his attention back to his locker.

As if released from a spell, Neil shrugged good-naturedly. “See you in Concert Singers.” With a wave to Brian and Erica, he was gone.

Claire had no idea what she was supposed to do next. Kiss Alec hello? Go talk to her friends?

The first bell rang, rescuing her from either option. “Morning!” she blurted, and then raced off to her first class. It was AP bio, which, to her relief, she shared with no one.

After bio came Concert Singers, and with that came more quizzical looks from Brian and Erica. For the entire fifty-minute period, through every note of the
Messiah
, Claire felt them staring at her, while Neil did his best to act normal.

When the bell rang at the end of class, Erica and Brian pounced on Claire.

“Tell us everything.
Now
.”

“On top of the Ferris wheel, huh?” Erica nodded with approval. “That’s a good make-out spot.”

Claire blushed. She had quickly summarized yesterday for them as they helped Erica put up Homecoming posters during their break. Although she hadn’t told them
everything
. The day before had been so special, she wanted to keep
some
details to herself.

“You had mouth-to-mouth contact, and you didn’t have a vision?” Brian asked, impressed, as he grabbed a poster from the stack and handed it to Claire. “How’d you pull that off?”

“By concentrating really,
really
hard,” Claire confessed.

“That’s awesome!” Erica enthused. “You’re making progress.”

“So, are you guys official?” Brian asked.

“I think so.” Claire slapped the poster up against one of the stucco walls and secured it with masking tape.

“Have you told your mom?” Erica asked.

“Not yet.”

“Has he asked you to Homecoming?” Erica persisted.

“Slow down, guys! This was
yesterday
. We kissed. That’s all.”
Although
, Claire thought,
it had been incredible
.

Erica pulled a strip of tape from the roll that hung around her wrist like a bracelet. “Well, if you guys aren’t an official item, then what was that silent pissing contest between Alec and Neil?”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen Neil look so uncomfortable in my life,” Brian agreed.

Claire sighed. “Neil had just asked me to Homecoming. Alec might have overheard—I’m not sure.”

“Oh my God!” Erica cried. “What did you tell Neil?”

“I said no, and that I’m kind of with Alec now.”

Erica nodded. Brian groaned.

“What?” Claire said.

“You did the right thing,” Brian said, “but that sucks. You’ve wanted Neil to ask you out for, like, forever.”

“Yeah, so Alec
better
do the right thing and ask you to Homecoming,” Erica exclaimed with authority, “or I am going to figure out what his own personal Kryptonite is, and kill him with it.”

“That reminds me.” Brian exchanged a look with Erica. “We, uh … went shopping yesterday.”

Claire looked at them, confused. “What?”

“Oh yeah.” Erica withdrew a small bag from her backpack and handed it to Claire. “We got you something.”

The bag was from a local boutique. Claire reached inside and took out their gift: a pair of long, stretchy black gloves. “What are these for?” she said uncertainly.

“Think of them as your own personal, nonlethal Kryptonite,” Brian explained. “Fabric seems to work as a barrier to suppress your powers, just like it did for Rogue in
X-Men
.”

“Hopefully you can touch people now, without having to concentrate so hard,” added Erica.

Claire nodded slowly, conflicted. “Thanks, guys. It’s a good idea, and very thoughtful. But… I’ll look like a freak wearing gloves to school.”

“Not if you have company.” Grinning, Erica pulled another pair of long gloves from her backpack—these in bright pink spandex—and pulled them on, fitting them deliberately over her fingers. “It’ll be a fashion statement. We might start a new trend.”

“Or be classified as a
pair
of freaks.” Claire laughed and put on her own gloves. “Thanks for the solidarity, sister.” She and Erica high-fived.

“Vision?” Erica inquired, after their hands had smacked together.

“Nope.” Claire smiled happily.

“Score!” Brian cried with a satisfied nod. “But keep in mind, CB, they’ll only help with the hand-touching thing. If you go around kissing people, you’re on your own.”

twenty-four

A
lec spotted Claire on her way to history class and hurried up to her. She looked great in her pin-striped hoodie and formfitting jeans, her hands shoved in her pockets as she walked along, her face glowing in the late morning sunlight.

The previous afternoon had been so amazing, he’d barely been able to sleep all night. He’d spent the time replaying the events and wondering how and when he should pose a particular burning question. When he spotted Claire with Neil that morning by their locker, he’d been filled with dread that he might be too late—but Neil’s look of disappointment had renewed his hopes.

“Hi there.” Alec smiled down at Claire, hoping he appeared more calm than he felt.

Claire returned his smile a little awkwardly. “Hi yourself.”

Shite
, he thought, his heart drumming in his chest.
Why does
she
look uncomfortable?
Had he misunderstood Neil’s expression?
Get on with it
, he told himself.

“About this morning,” he began tentatively.

“Yeah?” She wasn’t looking at him.

“Did… Neil ask you to Homecoming?”

She hesitated. “He did.”

His stomach tightened. “And? What did you say?”

“I said no.”

Relief cascaded over him like a wave. He still had a chance. But her expression was unreadable. Would she turn him down, too? Maybe she had no interest in school dances. He took a deep breath. “Well, I had
hoped
to be the first,” he said, striving for a light tone. “But I was wondering if you’d like to—”

“Yes!” Claire burst out, beaming. “I’d love to!”

Alec let out a long sigh, unable to stop the huge smile that followed, thrilled when Claire suddenly stopped and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back fervently. They stood in each other’s tight embrace for a long moment, heedless of the rush of students swerving around them. When Claire drew away slightly, he saw his own happiness mirrored on her face.

“After yesterday, how could you even doubt that I’d say yes?” she asked softly.

He was too filled with emotion to reply. Stepping back, he slid his hands down the length of her arms, caressing them affectionately through her sleeves, reminding himself that he had to stop before he reached her bare hands—but she boldly took one of his hands in hers. He started at the feel of the silky texture covering her fingers, and glanced down at their clasped hands in surprise. “Gloves?”

“They were Brian and Erica’s idea. Now I can relax when I hold your hand, without repeating a mantra like a crazed monk.”

He grinned as they walked on together. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You’re the first boy I’ve ever brought home,” Claire said to him two days later, as they walked up to the front door of her apartment.

“And this is the first time I’ve ever been
brought
home to meet anyone’s mother,” Alec replied with a chuckle.

When Claire told her mom that a boy had asked her to Homecoming, her mom insisted on meeting him first. So here they both were, about to make the introductions—and Alec just prayed he could pull it off with aplomb.

He was nervous—and fully aware of how ironic that was. He thought about the thousands of assignments he’d undertaken over the past century—the cultures he’d studied, the many and varied personas he’d created, the populations he’d infiltrated—and he had to smile. Most of those situations had been fraught with danger; in some cases, he’d come close to losing his life; yet none of them had made him feel as anxious or uncertain as the one he was about to undertake.

“Be prepared, my mom might act like a total spaz. I told her your emancipation story, but nothing else.”

“Okay.”

Claire removed her gloves, stuffed them into her backpack, and unlocked her front door. The delicious smell of curry wafted out from somewhere inside.

“Hey, Mom!” Claire called out as they entered. “This is Alec.”

A pretty, pale, slender blonde was working at a computer desk in the front room. When she crossed the room to greet them, Alec could detect a slight mother-daughter resemblance in their faces, but that’s all. Clearly, Alec thought, Claire inherited her darker hair and complexion from her father.