Not Your Average Fairy Tale (Not Your Average Fairy Tale #1) (6 page)

"I guess." I smiled. "Isn't it awesome? Teleporting whenever we want to wherever we want? I wish we could have done it before we started our apprenticeships. Think of the fun we could have had all these years." Even as I said it, magic rushed toward my fingertips, and I had to resist the urge to use it.

"I know, right? Practicing in class was nothing compared to doing it for real. And it may come in handy after curfew," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "I've heard Sinna's interested. She's one of the hottest girls on campus, and lately, all she talks about is you. Dax is crazy jealous."

I shook my head. "No thanks. She lives in a tree."

"Well duh. She's a dryad."

"No offense to her, but I don't think skipping around holding hands, wearing flowers on my head, or playing
Ring Around the Rosie
all day long sounds that exciting."

Sam rolled his eyes. "That's not all dryads do and you know it."

"Okay, enlighten me."

"Um …" He thought about it for a minute, and then shrugged. "I guess you're right. They are pretty weird."

I chuckled and started cleaning my side of the room. Having Lady Shenelle walk in had made me realize our floor was beginning to look like Kendall's.

***

A few hours later, I was listening to Sam's snores coming from the other side of the room. I was dozing, nearly asleep, when I noticed a large dark shadow move across the window.

Now, I'm not one to get scared over every little sound or movement, but a shadow like that? Not normal.

I got out of bed, wincing as my feet touched the cold floor.

The window was closed, but I undid the latch and pulled it open. I stuck my head out, seeing nothing but darkness. No weird shadows, nobody running around after hours trying to play tricks on sleeping students.

Shrugging, I pulled the window shut again.

Ash.

I jumped as the voice entered my thoughts, and whirled around.

No one was there.

Ash.

I glanced around the room, even though I somehow knew I wouldn’t find whoever was speaking.

What are you looking for?

"Shut up!" I yelled.

Sam stopped snoring, but just rolled over and stayed asleep.

This is almost as fun as playing with people’s dreams.

Dax.

"Stay out of my head, you son of a djinn."

I'm having too much fun.

"Show yourself, Dax."

I don't think so.

I laughed. "Why? You afraid I'll give you a black eye again?"

Hardly.

I sighed, tired of his games. "What do you want?"

Oh, just the usual. To see you squirm. To torment you when no one else is around. To make you feel like I have all these years.

His voice hardened.

"If this is about Sinna, you can have her."

This has nothing to do with her. Or anyone else. It's between you and me. You have always been the favorite. Always gotten what you've wanted, but not anymore.

"Come on, Dax. Get over it. Let’s call a truce or something. We've been doing this for way too long. Let's move on already."

He laughed.

You're done telling me what to do.

"Dax," I started.

I said I'd see you in your dreams, and I wasn't joking around. Welcome to my world, Ash. Where we play by my rules. Enjoy your slumber.

"Dax!" My voice echoed through the room, and then there was nothing. Only silence.

I glanced around, making sure he wasn't in the room with me. I already knew he wasn't. It just made me feel better to check. I climbed back in bed, not tired at all anymore. A good thing, since I wasn't eager to see what Dax had in store for me once I fell asleep.

Kendall

Walking to school the next day, I felt sick. Maybe I was getting the flu or something. Or maybe I was just nervous about seeing Tessa again. I was sure she was still mad at me and wasn't looking forward to sitting next to her in half my classes.

I walked into school, searching the foyer for her, when Cameron walked over. It was the first time he'd even approached me since a few days after the accident. He'd avoided me after that. It was my fault, really. I'd pushed him away. Him and everyone else who had tried to comfort me.

He smiled. "Hey."

"Oh, um … hi," I said.

"So," he started. He tugged on a lock of his shaggy blonde hair and shot me an awkward smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good."

He laughed and slung an arm over my shoulder. "Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous," I said. I was such a liar.

"You look nice today, by the way." He cleared his throat. "Did you do your hair different?"

My hair looked the same as it had every day for the last four months. Straight, drab and boring. At least it wasn't in a ponytail, though. "Nope."

"Oh."

We stood in silence for a moment, and I turned to walk away.

He grabbed my arm, stopping me. "Look Kendall, we need to talk."

"Is something wrong?"

His dark eyes searched my face. "No," he finally said. "I just haven't seen you around for a while and realized … I missed you."

My heart did a flip. "Really?"

He squeezed my shoulders. "Really."

The bell rang.

"I've got to get to class, but I'll call you, okay?"

"Sounds good." I smiled as he winked and walked in the opposite direction.

I hurried to my locker before the bell rang again.

Tessa was waiting for me when I rounded the corner. Her face lit up when she saw me.

"Hey, Kendall!" She held up a bag of purple skittles. "I thought you'd like some of these before we take our big math test today."

I took the bag and frowned. Weren't we in a fight?

Twisting her dark hair behind her head and using a pen to hold it in place, she smiled in the mirror hanging on our locker door. "Much better," she said. "Oh, guess who was totally checking me out this morning?"

"Um … who?”

"Scott." She squealed. "He's so hot! And guess what?"

My mouth was hanging open. How did we go from our confrontation in the car to Tessa acting like nothing happened?

"Kendall!"

I snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry. What were you going to tell me?"

She rolled her eyes. "I
said
, Scott and the guys are going to a movie tonight. We should totally go!"

"I don't know …"

"Cameron will be there." She giggled. "I asked Scott and made sure."

"Tessa! Don't be so obvious!"

She laughed and shook her head. "I promise I wasn't. So will you come?"

I smiled. "Sure. That would be fun."

"Oh, and guess what else? Dane's having a party Friday night. He's going all out. Like, a DJ and everything. Wanna go?"

"Tess–"

"Oh, come on. You haven't gone out in ages. It'll be fun!"

"I'll think about it."

As we walked to class together, I was still wondering why Tessa was being so normal with me. She was usually quieter, more careful about suggesting things when I was around.

Then it hit me.

My wish.

Ash.

***

The guys were waiting inside the theater when Tessa and I arrived. They waved us over, and I smiled. Since people were acting normal around
me
again, I'd try to act normal around them.

"These better not be for a zombie movie or something," Tessa muttered as Scott handed her our tickets.

"Don't worry, Tess. It's not
all
blood and guts. Cameron wanted to see that romantic comedy, but I talked him into seeing something more manly."

"Great," I said, still stuck on the whole 'blood and guts' thing.

"You ready?"

I glanced up at Cameron's brown eyes and smiled. "Yep."

We found our seats, and the guys went to get some popcorn. Tessa announced to the theater that she needed to pee, leaving me alone to save the seats.

"Enjoying yourself?"

I jumped as Ash appeared out of nowhere. He sat in Cameron's seat with his feet on the chair in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Checking out the theater. Seeing anything good tonight?"

"Go away! You're in Cameron's seat!"

"Who's Cameron? Your boyfriend?" He looked thoughtful. "Right. You don't have a boyfriend." He stood and looked around. "Where is he?"

"Sit down!" Then I remembered no one could see him but me. "Never mind," I muttered.

"Is that him?"

I saw Cameron and Scott heading up the stairs, popcorn and drinks in hand. Tessa was right behind them.

"I’m guessing that look on your face means yes."

Scott and Tessa squeezed by me, and my mouth dropped open as Cameron sat right in Ash's lap.

He let out a yelp and vanished.

"You okay?" Cameron asked.

I nodded, looking away from where Ash had been sitting two seconds before.

"If you want me to flex, you just need to ask," Cameron said, chuckling.

I was grateful the lights dimmed right then. Even though looking at Cameron's arm muscles would have been nice too.

The previews had almost finished playing when I heard Ash's voice behind me. "I came to get your second wish, but it looks like you have better things to do." He didn't whisper, since no one else could hear him.

It was hard, sitting there and not turning around to yell at him.

“I guess I’ll just have to enjoy the movie with you,” he said.

The lights flickered then. I jumped and grabbed Cameron's arm. They flickered again, and the screen went black.

Ash cursed behind me, and I thought I heard him say someone's name. Dax, maybe? After a few seconds, the screen returned to normal, and the music from the movie started playing.

I wanted to see if Ash was still behind me, but I figured not. He would have been bugging me had he still been there. Settling into my seat, I focused on the opening credits.

Movies were always awkward for me. I never knew where to put my hands, so I kept them in my lap. Every once in a while, Cameron's hand would brush mine as we reached in the popcorn bag at the same time. We'd smile at each other and then go back to watching the movie.

Things were going great, until about halfway into the film.

I knew what was going to happen even before the car crashed into the tree. The main character screamed for her mother, who sat in the driver's seat. The cameras kept zooming in on her, covered in blood and obviously dead.

I couldn't get the sound of the daughter's screams out of my head. They were so real. I couldn't handle it anymore.

My heart started racing. I gripped the sides of my seat so tight my hands throbbed. The images from the accident came flooding back. My eyes started burning and I squeezed them shut to stop the tears.

"Kendall?" Tessa asked.

I had to get out of there.

“Kendall? You okay?”

Ignoring Tessa, I stood. I scooted past Cameron, who muttered something I didn’t catch, and hurried to the stairs. I don't think I'd ever made it down a flight of stairs so fast. Sweat dripped down my forehead, and I wiped it away. My body shook, and my vision blurred.

Heading straight for the bathroom, I pushed open the door and locked myself in the largest stall at the back.

My breath came in gasps, and I bent over, putting my head between my legs. I couldn't believe I was having another attack. Especially at the movie theater.

The door opened, and I heard clicking heels making their way toward my stall.

"Kendall? You in here?" Tessa sounded worried.

"Yeah." I managed. "I’m feeling a little sick. I think I ate too much popcorn."

She was quiet for a moment. "Do you need me to take you home?"

"I'll call my mom. I'm fine."

"You sure? I can take you–"

"I'll be fine, Tessa!"

She didn't say anything, and I felt bad for yelling at her.

"I'm sorry, Tess. I just don't feel good. Tell Cameron I'm sorry."

I heard her sigh. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked out and I slid down the bathroom wall, not caring how disgusting it was. I texted my mom.

After she answered, I sucked in a breath and put my arms around my knees. I rocked back and forth, letting my tears fall.

How was I ever going to get over the grief? I'd already been to counseling. There was no way I was going back.

A knock on my stall door brought me back to the present.

"Kendall?"

My heart leapt. "Ellie?"

She stuck her head under the stall door to see me scrunched in the corner. With a sigh, she slid her body underneath.

"You could have picked a cleaner place to sit," she said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Is mom here?"

She nodded and crawled over to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "She's waiting in the car. Tessa messaged me before mom told me she was coming to pick you up."

I buried my face in my hands. "What's wrong with me, El? I can't get over this."

She gave me a squeeze. "You've been through a lot, Kendall. It doesn't just go away in a few months. Sometimes it takes longer."

"
You're
fine though," I said, sniffing.

She shook her head. "I'm better, not fine. You just handle things differently." She paused, pushing her curtain of blonde hair over her shoulder. "And I wasn't in the car with Dad."

She was right about that.

"Come on. Let’s get you home," she said.

I stood, leaning on her for support.

“Thanks, El.”

She grimaced. “Can I wash my hands before we leave? I just crawled across the gross bathroom floor.”

I laughed, but it sounded more like a snort. “Sorry.”

She smiled and gave me a squeeze. “The things I do for you.”

Many things had changed in the past few months, but my relationship with my sister hadn't been one of them. I didn't know what I would do without her. Even though I was the older sibling, she took care of me.