Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (3 page)

Once the
lights went out, it was much easier to blend in and become anonymous again,
which made me incredibly grateful. Talon watched me out of the corner of his
eye, then reached over and patted my hand reassuringly.

I don’t know
what I expected him to do, but to have him intertwine his fingers with mine and
hold my hand the remainder to class wasn’t it. Just over Talon’s left shoulder,
I could see Barbie, one of Tami’s Alley Cats, scrutinizing us, her mouth
hanging open.

Oh, man.
Really?
What
did I do to deserve this today?

Hopefully, Tami
wouldn’t feel the need to escalate things further once she realized I was not actively
chasing Talon. He was simply a nice person who obviously liked to champion the
underdog. I just happened to be that underdog right now.

“Talon,” I
whispered.

He raised
his eyebrows.

“Thank you.”
I was so grateful for his presence but I would have to be careful. I could see myself
falling hard for someone like him. He might be a great friend, but he was never
going to choose me out of all the girls available at our school.

We watched
the rest of the movie in silence. It gave me time to think about the morning’s
events so far.

Eventually
the bell rang and Mrs. Hicks flicked the lights back on, blinding me for a
moment. I always hated that. Talon stood up, handed me my backpack and motioned
for me to lead the way. We strolled down the hall to the commons in silence. As
we rounded the corner, I spotted Leah and Jace standing together. He was
leaning against the wall, and she had her hand on his chiseled bicep.

Wow.
Chemistry must have gone really
well.

At that precise
moment, Ryan stepped into view, blocking my path and effectively ruining my day.
Leah immediately straightened up and headed toward me, but Jace put his hand on
her forearm and moved in front of her.

“Well, well.
Caitlin, why don’t you introduce me to your new friend?” Ryan sneered.

I cringed. Why
hadn’t I just stayed in bed?

Talon took a
step forward and glared at Ryan. “I’m sorry. I don’t think we have met. I am
Talon.” Talon’s body language was extremely menacing. Any normal person would
have taken a step back – but then again, Ryan wasn’t normal.

Talon held
his hand out in front of him. Ryan scrutinized the outstretched hand for a
minute and then held his own out to shake.

I winced. Why
didn’t they just pee on each other like a couple of alpha dogs marking their
territory and get it over
with
? They were squeezing
each other’s hands so tightly their knuckles turned white. Finally, Ryan broke
contact first.

Leah came
over and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Come on, Caiti, let’s head to
class.”

I let her
lead me away, glancing back over my shoulder as I went. It was a bit like a train
wreck. I didn’t want to witness the inevitable conflict, but couldn’t turn
away.

Talon nodded
at us. “I will join you in a minute.” He waved at us and motioned to Jace.
“Jace?”

Jace wrapped
his arms around both of us. “Come on, ladies, let’s go. It appears we all have art
class together.”

How did Leah
and I win the academic lottery by having these two in most of our classes? Who
was arranging all this? One last look at Talon and I decided not to question
our good fortune.

Leah attempted
to comfort me. “Don’t let him get to you, Cay-bear. The only reason Ryan even
said anything to him was because Tami didn’t get her way with Talon and decided
to punish someone for it. She knew if she said something to Ryan it would get
him all fired up.”

I sighed, “I
know, Leah. It’s just, once he gets started, it takes so long to redirect his
attention, and he makes me a nervous wreck in the meantime. Everyone else seems
to be able to ignore me—why is
he
so
obsessed?”

Jace flashed
his teeth at us.
“Not to worry, little pixie girls.
Talon
and I have your backs.”

Being called
“pixie girls” made me relax. My mom always
called me her little pixie princess when I was younger. How strange that he
would choose that as a pet name. Leah attempted to go around the corner and
proceed to class, but I pulled back. I wanted to remain within earshot of what
was going on between Talon and Ryan. I absolutely couldn’t believe what I was
hearing.

Talon shot Ryan
a murderous look and snarled, “I know your kind. You will not harass her any
further. You have caused her sufficient pain and she is under my protection from
this point forward.”

Ryan
narrowed his eyes but took a silent step back.

Talon
continued to glare at him with his arms crossed over his massive chest.

“I think we
understand each other.” Talon pushed past Ryan and strode out of the commons, heading
down the hall to where we were waiting. I whipped around so he wouldn’t catch
me staring at him. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was some
stupid little puppy who followed him everywhere.

He patted my
back as he came up behind us, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

Leah stared at
me with wide eyes. “Geez, Caiti. You have
got
to chill.”

“I know, I
know. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so jumpy.”

Talon rubbed
his hand up and down my spine. Every muscle in my back was a live wire and it
was doing absolutely nothing to help my nerves.

“You have
nothing to apologize for. You have done nothing wrong.” The deep timbre of his
voice was incredibly relaxing and beyond sexy.

We strolled into
Art and sat at our normal table. Usually it’s just Leah with me at our table, so
there was plenty of room for Jace and Talon.
Yet another
coincidence.
I twisted to my left to stare out the window and saw Morgan
at the table next to us, grinning widely.

She was giving
me two thumbs up.

Normally,
Morgan would have me cracking up at her antics, but today I was simply too
nervous. I gave her a weak smile and soon found myself biting my lip the way my
mom does.

Leah tilted
her head to one side and furrowed her brow at me. Then she turned and faced Jace.
“Hey, did you two hear about the party next weekend?”

Jace perked up
and leaned across the table.
“A party?
Now you’re
talking!
Where?
When?
What’s
the story?”

Wow. Leah
and Jace really were a lot alike—always looking for the next party.

Leah was
throwing me sidelong glances. I guess she was still trying to make sure I was
okay. I couldn’t figure out what party she was talking
about
.

“Things
don’t really get going until around ten p.m. Even though this party happens just
about every weekend, Caiti and I have never bothered going before, but I think maybe
it’s just what she needs.”

No way!

Surely, she wasn’t
talking about the bonfire parties they held out at Goat Man’s Bridge. Had she
lost her mind?

She twisted
in her chair and grabbed my hands. “Come on Cay-bear—what do you think? We can
grab some dinner and then go out to the bonfire. It will be fun!”

Yep. She was
talking about
that
party
.

She, of all
people, knew why I never wanted to go out there. It was one of Ryan’s favorite
places. What was she up to? Now was not the time for her to try to make a
point. Everyone was looking at me and waiting for my answer. Well, she had
effectively painted me into a corner. I really had no choice but to agree or
look like a jerk.

“Sure,” I
said in a weak voice. “It will be fun, right?”

Leah clapped
her hands together and addressed the boys. “Okay, it’s settled. The party is next
Saturday night out in Double Oak at Goat Man’s Bridge. We can meet you out
there around tennish, if you two want to go. Do you know how to get there, or
do you need me to give you directions?”

They glanced
at each other quickly out of the corners of their eyes. If I hadn’t been staring
at Talon just then, like usual, I would have missed it.

Talon spoke
up first “Actually, why don’t you let us pick you up and take you both out to
dinner? You have been extremely kind to us, and that way you can show us where
the party is.”

I was
stunned. “You really don’t have to do that”

Leah kicked
me under the table.
Ouch.

Jace gave us
a big, goofy grin. He was clearly enjoying this as much as Leah was. “Oh, no,
you aren’t getting out of this. You have to show us where the good restaurants
are.”

Leah snorted.
“You better hope you like Red’s or Margarite’s, since those are about the only
places Caiti and I ever seem to go.”

Talon
chuckled--such a warm, soothing sound that I relaxed at once. It was almost
involuntary.

“Sounds great!
We can meet you ladies around eight. Where
should we pick you up?” he asked.

Leah piped
up. “I’ll be staying over at Caiti’s house, so you can pick us up there.”

She gave
them directions to my house, while I sat there with my mouth hanging open. I
had completely lost control of the situation. Jace winked at me again. I couldn’t
help but like him. He was exactly the kind of person you could be best friends
with and feel perfectly at ease–no matter the situation. He was also a perfect complement
for Leah. They appeared to have some chemistry between them, and I was incredibly
happy for her.

I stole a
quick look at Talon. I had different feelings about him altogether and was
not
perfectly at ease with him at all.
Instead, I was self-conscious and aware of every move he made. When he was nearby,
it was easy for me to lose track of the fact that there were other people watching.
I could get completely lost in his eyes if I let myself.

Suddenly the
bell rang, and I realized I just had. Was it always going to be like this when
these two are around?

We picked up
our backpacks and headed back down the hall through the commons into the
cafeteria.

It was a madhouse, but what else was new?

We grabbed a
table and sat down. Leah and Jace raced to stand in line, while we saved seats.
Talon sat across the table gazing at me again and it made me nervous. Did I
have something on my face?

Tami and the
Alley Cats flounced by. She flashed Talon a smile, and shot me a dirty look as
soon as she passed from his line of sight. A self-satisfied expression spread
across her face, and she lifted her hand to wave at someone near the door of
the café.

I glanced back,
saw Ryan smiling at
her
and immediately stiffened. This
did not bode well for me at all. My hands shook in anticipation.
I just knew they were going to do something to me, but what?

Unfortunately,
Talon noticed everything. He studied my hands and I quickly pulled them off the
table, attempting to hide them in my lap. Searching for what had upset me, he made
eye contact with Ryan, whose smile quickly died. Ryan joined the Alley Cats at
their table. He and Tami had never really talked to each other before, that I
knew of, but I guess they
were brought
together by a
common goal—getting Talon away from me.

I let out an
enormous sigh. Talon reached across the table to tuck a piece of hair behind my
ear. My eyes widened at the tender gesture.

Why was he
being so nice, and why did he pick
me
over so many others? There really wasn’t anything special about me.

Jace and
Leah sat down with our trays. Leah handed me a bag of
Goldfish
crackers and a
Dr.
Pepper
. She knew me so well. I have a hard time eating when I’m nervous. Jace
had two hamburgers on his tray, but only handed Talon a bottle of orange juice.
Wasn’t Talon going to eat?

I kept watching
Tami and Ryan out of the corner of my eye, nervously awaiting their next strike.
Leah grunted and nudged me in the ribs, which was her way of telling me to
knock it off.

Was I crazy?

There we
were, eating lunch with two of the nicest, best-looking guys I had ever met,
and I was stressing myself over two utter douche bags. Okay, that was dramatic,
but also completely accurate. My face heated and I knew I was being bad company.
I made a decision to change things then and there.

I slapped my
palms down on the table. “Okay, so what’s it going to be for dinner next Saturday,
burgers, or Mexican food?”

Leah put an
arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “There’s my Caiti.”

The rest of
the day went
pretty smoothly
, with no additional confrontations.
By the time the final bell rang, I had genuinely relaxed. Maybe my luck was
finally turning around, but somehow I seriously doubted it.

Chapter 3

Because A
Warrior Was There

After school,
I went outside to meet Leah and catch our bus.

“Hey there, pixie girls.”

We both spun
around to find Jace leaning against a car. He did that a lot. However, if most of
the male population at Marcus High School looked that good while leaning on
things, they would all do it.

“Why don’t
you let us give you a ride home? It’s good practice for Saturday.” Jace asked.

“Sweet!”
cried Leah.

She hated
the bus even more than I did, but until I got around to getting my license, it
was a necessary evil.

“Okay, so
where are you parked?” I asked.

Jace just
shook his head and threw an arm around each of us. “Nope, we provide curbside
service.”

Just then, I
heard an engine growling behind me. I spun around and gasped. Pulling up to the
curb, was a glossy, black beast of a muscle car. It rumbled with what sounded
like barely contained power, perhaps even sexuality. Well, for a car.

Leah gave a
low whistle.
“
Niiiiiiice
.”

Talon
stepped out of the car.

My
God
, he looked good in that car.

“This is my
new dream car. What is it?” Leah asked.

“It’s a 1970
Dodge Challenger,” I blurted out. Everyone turned
their
heads to stare at me in stunned silence.

“What?” I
shrugged one shoulder, embarrassed. “My Uncle Johr is a car nut.”

Talon came
around to the passenger side and held the door open. Jace and Leah hopped in
the back and let me have shotgun. Talon got into the driver’s seat and switched
on the radio, which was definitely not stock. He rummaged around in the console
and pulled out a Zune. He flicked through the tracks, selected one, and soon
the sound of one of my favorite bands filled the car as we thundered away from
the curb.

I faced him.

“Don’t you
have any flaws?”

A brief
shadow crossed his face. “Believe, me, I am not perfect. Not by any means.”

“I’ll
believe that when I see it.” I grumbled.

Talon stared
out his window, but I saw him smile anyway. Jace snorted loudly from the
backseat, and I glanced at them just in time to see Leah poke him in the ribs
with her elbow.

She is lethal
with those elbows.

We didn’t
say much on the way to the house, aside from Leah chirping to Jace in the back
seat. I enjoyed the ride, tapping my fingers lightly on the windowsill with the
beat of the music. We rumbled into my driveway and Talon once again came around
to open my door. My mom would be thrilled if she saw it, since she is always on
Brady’s case about being a gentleman and opening doors for girls. Leah hopped
out of the back as Jace jumped in the front seat and together, we stood in the
driveway, listening as the car growled down the street and around the corner.

She giggled.
“Do you think your mom will give me a lift home? I just couldn’t pass up the
opportunity to ride in that car, not to mention the extra time with Jace. He is
amazing!”

“I don’t
think it will be an issue. I was thinking the same thing—he is absolutely right
for you.” I shook my head. “I keep waiting to find some flaw with those two. Seriously,
no one can be that perfect.”

We went into
the house and filled my mom in on all the details of our bizarre day. Leah danced
around the den while we described our new friends in meticulous detail.

My mom bit
her bottom lip. “Where did they say they transferred from?”

Leah stopped
for a minute. “Hmm, I don’t think we ever even got around to asking.” She giggled.
“Wait until you see them—you will totally understand why.”

Mom rolled
her eyes and strolled back into the kitchen, but I thought I heard her
chuckling as she walked away.

 
Leah and I bolted up the stairs to my room,
slamming the door behind us. She threw herself on my bed, while I pushed the
clothes out of my papasan chair and sat down.

“Oh girl, I
think this has been the greatest day of my life!” Leah squealed.

I remained pensive.
“Don’t you think it’s kind of weird though? It’s
like
they had some sort of user manual for us. If I could have created the perfect
guy for you, he would have been Jace. And all the sudden I find someone who is
the ideal protector against Ryan, seems to really dislike Tami… and
is
absolutely gorgeous on top of everything else. You know
me—my luck just isn’t this good.”

She flipped
over on her stomach and cris-crossed her legs in the air. “Caiti, for once,
just go with it and let
yourself
be happy. You are
always waiting for the dark cloud. Even if it doesn’t last forever, we should
enjoy it while we can.”

I reached
over and gave her a big hug. “This is why I keep you around. You keep me
balanced.”

She suddenly
sat upright. “Now the real crisis—what are we going to
wear
?”

We ended up
spending every day after school for the rest of the week at The Shops. We knew
we were going to have to wear jeans and tennis shoes, since the whole area
around the bridge is wooded and we have this aversion to bugs.

Leah made it
clear we needed “really cute” shirts to make up for it. I was normally
pretty
conservative about my tops. I was what you could call
“blessed”, so I didn’t usually like
tanks
or halter
tops unless I had something to throw over them. Amazingly, I let Leah talk me
into a top that was a cross between a tank and a halter. The collar went all
the way around the back of my neck, like a halter, but it had a back to it,
like a tank. It was mostly black with a
really cool
teal pattern on it that reminded me of one of my mom’s Caddo Indian vases. Anyway,
Leah said the color really brought out my strawberry-blonde hair and green eyes.

I went into
my bathroom, took off my
makeup
and stared in the
mirror as I brushed my teeth. What a day. Leah viewed shopping as an Olympic
event and I was exhausted.

I fed Faffy,
plugged in my phone and climbed into bed. Unfortunately, after staring at the
ceiling for some time, determined I was still too wound up to sleep, so I
rolled over and switched on one of my mellow playlists on the radio. After a
few minutes, I fell into a restless sleep.

***

The dream
started as it always did, but tonight the mysterious woman brought company.

If she brought
any more people, I was going to need a bigger room. This situation was definitely
getting out of control.

The second
woman had thick, black hair that hung to her shoulders. Her eyes were an
unusual blue--extremely bright, almost electric. They reminded me of the tide
pools we saw during our last vacation to Wailea in Maui. Her eyes narrowed and
darted around the room, constantly evaluating the situation before her, never
missing a detail. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart and her arms
crossed over her chest – like a drill sergeant.

A third
woman was dressed like the previous two, in a flowing white gown. She resembled
pictures of mom when she was younger, and they
could easily
have been related
. She had the same gorgeous, thick, strawberry-blonde
hair as mom, and
me
as well, as it hung like a
shimmering curtain down her back. Her eyes were a clear, bright green with a
mischievous twinkle. I liked her immediately.

So strange,
yet they all seemed so familiar – as if I should know them. They weren’t
exactly frightening, but they filled me with such a sense of dread. The women
moved closer to my bed-- one on each side, and the third at the footboard.

I
was surrounded
.

I squeezed
my eyes shut and clutched the blanket to my face, chanting to myself, “Wake up,
wake up, wake up.”

I cautiously
lowered the blanket and opened my eyes, but to my great frustration, they were
still there, and wearing almost identical amused expressions. The woman on each
side deferred to the red-haired woman at the foot of my bed and nodded. She
opened her mouth and spoke for the first time. Her voice had a graceful cadence
that sounded as though she was singing and I was mesmerized.

“
My sioga íníon
.”
She
said to me, almost lovingly.

I quickly
realized things were not what they appeared. I was awake. I had to be.

What the
hell was going on?

I stared at
her for a long time before I finally found my voice. “What does that mean? Who
are you?” I asked in a shaky voice.

She tilted
her head to the side, letting her hair cascade over one slim shoulder. “My
sioga íníon
–my fairy daughter, it’s time
for you to awaken your potential. You have been sleeping too long.”

I rolled my eyes.
Well, I’m sure glad she cleared that up.
Sleeping too long?
Me? She
has
to be kidding.

The dark-haired
woman leaned forward, her electric blue eyes flashing. “You will be
kal’enedral
with your
ves’tacha
and the world will be in
alignment again.”

Huh?

“Exactly
what does ‘calorie drawl to your mufa-cha’ mean? Can’t anyone just tell me in
plain English?”

She drew her
eyebrows together and sighed. “Must you question everything? In your primitive
language, it roughly translates to ‘you will be blood-bound to your beloved’.”

I laughed aloud.
“You must have me confused with someone else?
My beloved?
Really?
I can’t keep my ex-boyfriend away from me long
enough to even talk to another guy. Well, except Talon.” I mused. “He’s the
first person I have ever seen stand up to Ryan, but that is completely beside
the point.”

In fact,
Ryan hadn’t bothered me at all since Talon arrived. No wonder I’d been so
happy.

The dark-skinned
woman with the shining, violet eyes touched my arm and said, “
Ana shuuwi?
ta
?
iyaasa
? It’s because a warrior was there.”

I whipped
around to face her.

What did she
just say?
What warrior?
Did I say that aloud or was I
simply thinking it?

I shook my
head in disbelief. I have got to stop reading my mom’s trashy romance novels. There
are no warriors in Flower Mound, except in books.

I held up
one hand in an attempt to stop them.

“Hold on
just a second. Exactly who are you? After months of keeping me awake at night,
surely you owe me that at the very least.”

The red
haired woman twittered before answering.

“We are the
RuneSong
, the oracles of our people, and
the chosen protectors of the next
Lumina
,
who was prophesied to be of
Feydall
blood. I am Ael’onwe of the
Feydall
.”
She pointed to the raven-haired beauty on her right. “This is Freya from the
Varyo
.” Then she gestured to the woman
from my original dreams “And I believe you know Ta’-Sha from the
Lykaios
.”

This had to
be a result of food poisoning or something – I must’ve had a bad burrito at
dinner. This couldn’t be real, could it? I took a deep breath, determined to
stay calm until I got all my questions answered.

“So what
about the man from the last time you were here? Who is he?”

“What man?” Ta’
sha asked, obviously startled.

I sighed in
frustration, pointing to the far corner of my room. “You know, the one who
stood there for a while after you left. I didn’t get a good look at his face,
since I had
mine
mostly hidden under the covers.”

Freya took a
step forward until her face was only inches from mine. “Did he say anything at
all?”

She made me
nervous. All I could do at first was nod. “I’m not sure. When I peeked again,
he was gone, but I heard the word ‘sear-o’ whispered, and then I woke up.”

Ael’onwe’s
green eyes darted around the room. She shot a meaningful look at the other two
women. “My child, are you
absolutely
sure you heard ‘Ciro’?”

My eyes were
now wide with fear.
“Yes, why?”
If it made her
nervous, it should probably scare the crap out of me.

Freya
snarled. “Who does he think he is, interfering? Ael’onwe, she must be protected
at all costs. Our role in this is quite clear.”

Ta’-Sha
flitted around the room nervously. “Freya is right. We must make sure the
Triada
is unsuccessful in their quest.”

Ael’onwe
stroked my hair until I grew quite sleepy. “Do not worry, my child. You will
come to no harm. We will be watching over you.”

I awoke with
a start when the alarm on my phone went off.

“
Ahh
!”

Still
exhausted, I sat up and pushed my hair back from my face. Just once, I would
like to wake up and actually feel rested. I got up, flipped on Faffy’s basking
light
and walked into my bathroom to heat up my
straightening iron. At least I had enough time to do my hair this morning.

Tomorrow was
the big bonfire party out at the Bridge, and I was nervous, for no good reason.
I guessed I could chalk it up to sleep-deprivation; it sounded as good as
anything
else
. I sectioned out my hair to straighten
it.

“Knock,
knock?” Mom lightly tapped on my bedroom door.

“I’m in here,”
I called from the bathroom. She came in and handed me a steaming mug of
aromatic liquid. Mom is a caffeine junkie and often makes different coffee
drinks for me in the morning.

“I made you
a latte. I thought you might need one this morning.”