Not Your Average Fairy Tale (Not Your Average Fairy Tale #1) (12 page)

"All this magic stuff really is interesting, but it freaks me out that magical creatures really exist."

I shrugged. I was used to it. "Are you going home, or just driving around?"

"Where else would I go?" she asked. "It's Saturday afternoon. Cameron isn't speaking to me, and Tessa's grounded for being too late last night. Ellie's at practice and my mom is at work." We reached the car, and she was careful not to talk to me with people standing around the parking lot.

I got inside, cringing at the fuzzy pink steering wheel and flower lea draped around the rear-view mirror.

"Nice décor." I tried not to gag.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not blue. Oh, and when are you going to change my room back? My mom finally noticed it. She didn't really care, but Ellie wouldn't stop asking about it. I told her I wanted to change my room around and decided my new favorite color was blue. She didn't believe me. I'm such a bad liar."

"You're right about that."

She glared at me. "You'd better change it back."

"Never," I said. "Did you shear a sheep and make this yourself?" I petted the steering wheel. Pieces of fluff came off and I waved my hand trying to get it off.

"Yep. We breed pink sheep."

"Weird." I chuckled to myself. She was just about as sarcastic as I was. I liked that.

The sound of her laughter filled the car. I smiled. I liked her laugh. It was musical. Not scary or loud like some creatures I knew, but pretty.

"I could eat," I hinted.

"Well, let's go grab a burger then," she said.

I frowned and folded my arms. "That's not acceptable."

"Why?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"You can't just eat
a
burger. There has to be at least two. Or a double cheeseburger. Mmmm." I leaned back and got comfortable in the passenger seat.

We went through the drive-through of a local burger stop, and before I knew it, my two cheeseburgers were happily in my belly.

"Those were awesome," I said. "I haven't had a cheeseburger in forever."

"Yeah they were. I'm stuffed."

I glanced at Kendall, who was looking content as she drove back to her house. "I can't believe you actually listened to me and ate two!"

"Hey, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't eat."

"You're freaking awesome."

We got back to Kendall's house, and I was actually having a good time with her. I never realized how funny she was.

"So," she said, plopping down on her couch. "What's your world like? Can you tell me about it?"

I joined her on the couch, and put my hands behind my head. Leaning back, I closed my eyes and stretched.

I could feel Kendall's eyes on me. Watching me. Waiting for me to say something. It's not that I didn't want to tell her about my home, I just wasn't sure what to say.

"It's green," I said.

"What?"

I opened my eyes and looked over at her. "My home is very green. Lots of trees, bushes, grass. Lots of flowers." I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "It always smells like flowers."

"You live in a forest?" she asked, smiling.

"No." I couldn't help but smile back. "And I don't live in a tree either, so don't ask."

She laughed. "You keep destroying my childhood fantasies of fairies!"

"Sorry. I live on a huge campus. Like a college, but way bigger. It's actually ... how do I put this?" I thought about it, glancing at her expectant face. "Like a protection agency. For magical creatures.”

"What do you mean by protection?"

"We've never been well received, or even liked by humans. We're different. Different is bad in the human world. What it all comes down to is we can do magic and you can't. It's mostly adults that have the problem, which is why we only appear to children, or teenagers."

"Why?"

"You're most likely to believe in us." I wasn't sure why I was telling her so much. "Some of you," I nudged her, "might freak out a little when we first appear to you, but almost every time you end up believing."

"Do people ever tell others about you? Like, sisters or friends?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Would you believe someone if they told you they had a fairy godmother?"

She frowned. "I guess not."

"No one else can see us, remember?"

"That makes sense, I guess." She was quiet, gathering her thoughts. "So, are you, like, immortal?"

I burst out laughing. "No! Thank goodness!"

She looked confused.

"Would
you
want to live forever?" I asked.

She thought about it for a moment, and finally shook her head. "No. I don't think I would."

"How would it be to just wait around forever, doing the same things over and over?" I shook my head. "I'd get so bored. I get bored
now
!"

"Me too." She smiled. "What other kinds of magical creatures live with you? Besides the horse people."

I laughed at that. "Well, a lot of us aren't really magical
creatures
. We just have magic in our blood. Take my friend Sam. He's a human with magical tendencies, like me. He's actually half elf."

"Half elf? Really? Are you an elf too?"

I shook my head. "I don't know what I am. I had a human father, but I have no idea who or what my mother was. All I know is she left me when I was very young."

"Are you close to your dad?"

I stiffened. "I was. He died. A long time ago."

"I'm sorry," she said. "Looks like we have more in common than I thought."

"Yes. We do." I shook my head. I'd told her too much already and didn't want to answer any more questions about my past. Not yet. "So, back to Sam. He's been learning magic since he was a kid and will graduate soon. Once he passes his apprenticeship, he'll get to choose what field he goes into. He wants to be a timekeeper. Like, be able to stop time, keep it flowing, you know. That sort of thing. He's apprenticing Master Time right now." I frowned, remembering why I was even with Kendall in the first place.

"So, you wanted to be a fairy?"

"Heck no."

"Then, why are you here?"

I shrugged. "Beats me."

"No, really, Ash. Why aren't you doing something you want to do? What
do
you want to do?"

I sighed. "I want to be a sandman."

"Those exist?"

"Of course."

"What do they do, exactly?"

"They keep away nightmares, help you go to sleep and stay asleep. Some can produce nightmares, but only for people who don't deserve good dreams."

Her eyebrows knitted together. "Sounds interesting."

"It is. It's fascinating. All the different kinds of sand, the different dreams I could create for people. I would love it."

"And you can be that still, right?"

I nodded. "If I grant your three wishes and give you a happily ever after."

"I see." She looked like she wanted to say something else. "Why couldn't you apprentice the Sandman?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I've told you stuff." She folded her arms. "Spill it."

I heaved a sigh. "The council decided I needed to learn something. I don't understand what or why, since I have top grades and everything. And, not to brag, but my magic is pretty strong. More so than most."

"Bragger.” She winked.

"Anyway, it doesn't make sense to make me a fairy. I'm still trying to figure out why they did it." I paused, seeing the look on her face. "Not that I don't enjoy being with you."

"I'm sorry you didn't get what you wanted," she said.

I shrugged. "I'm dealing with it. I didn't expect to have such an interesting assignment." I grabbed a strand of her hair between my fingers and watched as her cheeks turned pink.

"I'm not that interesting."

I couldn't read her expression, so I didn't argue. I dropped my hand.

"Are there ... uh ... girl fairies where you come from?"

I nodded. "Of course."

She bit her lip. "Do you, I mean ..." She paused for a second. "Do you have a girl? Waiting for you back home?"

I raised an eyebrow. Why would she care if a girl was waiting for me? I thought about it for a moment.

Oh.

"No. I don't have a girlfriend."

She blushed, and believe it or not, so did I.

"I don't believe you. No fairies or elves or anything chasing after you? You seem like you'd have a lot of girls chasing after you."

"I admit I've dated girls, but they weren't for me." I hesitated. "Some were nice. Some were a little scary. Like, have been known to kill people." Stupid sirens. "But none of them are like ... you."

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

The moment our eyes met, I felt it again. The strange feeling I’d had a few days earlier. I didn't want to leave. Our relationship had changed the moment she told me about her father. Maybe even before then. When I'd flung Cameron in the pool. I felt protective of her, and not in a brotherly way.

"Kendall ..." I started, just as the front door opened.

"Kendall! You home?" It was her mom.

Kendall was still staring at me, probably wanting to know what I was going to say. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I would have said. But her mother walked into the room, and I knew I had to go.

I was getting in way too deep. If Shenelle ever found out, she'd probably tear my wings off. Not that it would be a bad thing.

“Kendall?”

“In here, Mom.”

"I'll see you later," I whispered. To my own surprise, I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

A little gasp escaped her lips, and I pulled away. Her eyes were huge.

My own widened as well.

"Wait! My wish! What do I say to her?" she whispered.

"Don't worry about it. Just let the wish work its magic." She still looked uneasy. "By the way, you look cute when you're nervous." I stuck around long enough to see her blush again, and I vanished. I was too emotionally drained to think about anything else the rest of the day.

Kendall

Kendall.

My eyes flew open. Light from the moon peeked through my pink curtains and onto my bed.

"Ash?" I glanced around, ready to yell at him if he was watching me sleep. I listened for movement in the darkness.

Nothing.

The soft tick-tock of the watch sitting on my nightstand was the only sound I could hear. I shivered. I could have sworn I heard someone calling my name.

My eyes darted to my alarm clock. Three in the morning. Wonderful.

I pulled the blankets up around my face and snuggled in. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the feeling that someone was watching me.

As soon as I started nodding off, I heard it again.

Kendall.

My whole body stiffened, and I debated whether to run into Ellie's room.

I turned over, putting my pillow over my head. Maybe I imagined the voice.

It's not your imagination.

My eyes widened and I bit back a scream.

The voice was in my head. Scary. Threatening. Definitely not Ash.

I threw the covers off my bed, grabbed my pillow and ran out of the room.

Ellie was asleep when I opened her door, and I snuck in. I slid into her bed, hoping I wouldn't wake her up.

"What are you doing?" she mumbled.

"Can I sleep in here?"

"Sure. Is something wrong?"

"No. I just wanted to have a sleepover in the middle of the night."

"Right on." She made room for me and rolled over.

"Thanks, El." I curled up at the edge of her bed and tried to go back to sleep.

Sweet dreams, Kendall.

I blinked back the tears that threatened. What was happening to me?

I hoped and prayed the voice would go away and leave me alone. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to relax. Every sound, every shadow, had me on edge.

Two hours later I gave up trying to sleep and got out of bed. I was exhausted. I never heard the voice again, but it still felt like I was being watched.

I thought about talking to Ash about it, but what would I say? Someone's been talking in my head? He'd think I was crazy.

***

I'd never been a big fan of shopping. Especially dress shopping.

Since I made my second wish, my mom had started showing emotion again. It was nice, actually seeing her a little more. She begged to take me dress shopping, and I finally relented and went with her. She was so happy I was going to the dance, she didn't even care who I went with. I invited Tessa to come along as well.

"This one looks amazing, honey. Try it on." My mom shoved a black dress at me, probably three sizes too small. "Oh, look at this!" She grabbed another one off the rack and gave it to me. "This one will show off your cute curves," she said, handing me another.

"Mom. Can I please try one on now? I have, like, ten dresses."

"Well, here's ten more!" Tessa handed me another armful.

"Thanks, guys," I said.

Despite everything, I was still excited to go to prom with Cameron. Since Homecoming got messed up, I was actually happy to be going to a dance with him. Hopefully he'd forgiven me for the incident at Dane's party. Even if he deserved it.

The black dress was way too small, as I knew it would be. I tried on a dozen more, the colors all melding together in my mind, creating an ugly, multicolored mess. I couldn't pick one unless I absolutely loved it.

I didn't like any of them.

"What's wrong with this one?" my mom asked as I glared at my reflection in the mirror.

"You can see my scar."

She laughed. "Oh, honey. It's not that bad. Besides, people see your scar every day."

"Yeah, but they don't see the rest of it going down my neck and on my chest."

"It seems a little redder on your neck and chest. I wonder why it hasn't healed like your cheek has."

I thought about Ash's magic. How he had healed my face with his touch. "I don't know," I said.

"Let me see!" Tessa called from outside. I let her in, and she looked me over. "You look awesome, Kendall. The scar isn't that bad. Really."

I rolled my eyes. "Never mind," I muttered. I silently cursed Ash for making my face better, but leaving the rest of me the same.

What seemed like an hour later, I looked around and sighed. I had about twenty different dresses piled in my dressing room, and was set on going to the dance in my pajamas.

Until Tessa threw a blue one over the dressing room door. "Try this," she said.

I gasped, staring at the sleek material. It was gorgeous, with silver sparkles on dark blue. "It's beautiful," I said to myself.

I tried it on, knowing it was the dress I would pick. When my mom and Tessa saw it, they both squealed.

"Where did you find this?" I asked Tessa. "I swear we looked through all the racks, like, twenty times."

She shrugged. "It was hanging on that rack," she said. She pointed to the rack that held all of the discarded dresses for the store employees to put away.

"Huh," I said. "I never even noticed it." I had actually hung several dresses on it earlier, and it had been empty. "I'm going to go change."

"You really want that one, honey?" my mom asked.

"Yes." I looked at the price tag and my face fell. "We can't afford this."

My mom leaned down to look at the price and smiled. "Since prom is on your birthday, this can be part of your present."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thank you so much!" I shooed them out of the dressing room so I could change into my regular clothes again.

As I studied my reflection in the mirror, only one thing occupied my thoughts. Ash. Not the wish I hadn't yet made. Not the fact that I was going to the dance with Cameron. Just Ash. His blue and silver eyes were burnt into my mind.

That was why I loved the dress so much. It reminded me of him.

It had been about a week since the night he kissed my cheek. He had only shown up for an hour or so every day since then. Much less than before. I wondered where he was. What he did all day when he wasn't with me. I was so used to him popping up in my room that I wasn't sure what to do by myself. I refused to admit that I missed him. Even though my heart was aching, not seeing him as much. I scolded myself, knowing that if I went any further in that direction, I would get a broken heart instead.

***

"Pay attention, Kendall." My English class snickered as the teacher caught me daydreaming again. I quickly turned the pages in my notebook so the little stick fairy people I had drawn were hidden.

"Sorry, sir," I said.

"You look cute when you blush," a voice whispered into my ear.

I let out a small gasp and tried not to turn around. Even though I wanted to see him more than anyone else in the world.

"Ash," I whispered. I was careful not to draw more attention to myself, and prayed he hadn't seen the little Ash drawings I had been working on a minute before.

I stood, picked up my pencil and went to sharpen it near the teacher's desk. I had to see him, and turning around to stare at nothing would get me into trouble again.

On my way back to my seat, I saw two pairs of eyes watching me. Cameron, who sat a few rows away from me, and Ash.

He sat in the desk behind me, of course. Everyone was oblivious to his even being there. His mouth quirked up in his sexy smile, and he mouthed the word "boring" to me. I chuckled, earning yet another glare from my teacher.

I scribbled on a piece of paper when I got back to my seat.

What are you doing here?

To my complete surprise, words appeared on the paper underneath my own. It was blue writing with sparkles in it. The corner of my mouth twitched as I tried not to laugh. Ash probably hated the sparkles.

I was bored. Actually, I wanted to see how many times you zoned out in this class. Where did they find this guy?

I kept my laughter in, not wanting this note confiscated. The teacher would have a really hard time trying to find the owner of the blue sparkly pen.

Love the sparkles. He's the most boring teacher in the school. I'm not sure why they keep him around. You should teach the class. That would make things interesting.

I felt his breath on the back of my neck, and I heard a chuckle behind me as he read my reply.

All the girls would be too busy staring at me to pay attention.

Cocky. Though he did have a point.

Still full of yourself, I see.

I heard him chuckle again
.
His words appeared right after.

Just telling it like it is.

I smiled as I answered him.

Whatever.

The blue writing appeared again
.

I'll leave you alone now. See you after school. I mean, if you're ready for your last wish and all.

I knew he was gone. There was a certain spark in the air when he was around, and it always left when he did. And I couldn't smell his scent anymore.

"Finished laughing at yourself yet?" Cameron asked when the bell rang.

"What?"

"You were doodling or something, and kept laughing at whatever you were writing. Care to share?"

I hugged my folder to my chest and started for the door. "It was nothing. Just notes my sister left in my notebook for me." I laughed. "She thinks she's so funny."

He didn't look convinced. "Can I walk you to class?"

"Sure."

We walked in silence.

"I got a dress yesterday," I said, trying to ease the tension between us.

"Can't wait to see it," he said, his hand brushed my arm. "What color is it?"

"Blue and silver." I said.

"Great. I'll be sure to match." He ran a hand through his light hair and sighed. "Look. I'm sorry about the other night at the party. I shouldn't have treated you like that. You've gone through some crazy stuff with your dad, and I didn't mean to make things worse."

"It's okay." I smiled. "I shouldn't have taken everything out on you." I bit my lip. "You still want to take me to the dance?"

He gave me a lopsided grin. "Of course. You know I'm still crazy about you."

I didn't know what to say to that, so we walked in awkward silence. It was strange, but things felt ... different. Maybe it had something to do with my feelings for Ash?

"I'll see you later, Kendall."

I watched Cameron walk away, noticing the absence of butterflies that used to float around in my stomach whenever he came around.