Somewhere in the Middle (10 page)

The drive over was awesome if a little scary thanks to the snow that
had fallen all night. Finally sticking, it had covered everything in a
blanket of white that glittered even though the sun was nowhere in sight.
And it still fell. Huge flakes that landed on my windshield just in time
for the wipers to swish them away.

When I got to the Thorsen's, I half expected to see Roone sitting on
his porch as before. But he wasn't there. I walked up the drive to avoid
messing up that beautiful snow-blanketed lawn, intending to cut across it
when I got closer to the house. But hearing shouts and laughter, I paused
halfway there to listen. The sound seemed to be coming from the back.

Curious, I walked to the side of the house and cracked open the gate
of their tall privacy fence. Hedges rimmed the yard, which was huge and
snow covered like the front. I noted multiple flowerbeds that would be
gorgeous come spring. I saw a split-level deck and a covered hot tub as
well as two big oak trees, their limbs heavy with the white stuff.

In the middle, the grass had been trampled clear by Roone and Jon, who
were tossing something luminescent over some kind of net. Dressed in
jeans but no shirt or shoes, they each slammed what I decided was a
souped-up volleyball back and forth to each other with their fists. It
was only after one of them fell into the net that I realized it wasn't
actually there. A hologram? Wow.

But that wasn't the only unbelievable sight. Both guys had the kind of
bodies that dreams were made of. Tall. Tan. Buff. My heart dropped
straight into my stomach as I gaped. Me, the girl who would never, ever
judge or admire anyone based on their looks. That was unfair and could be
cruel in my opinion, yet here I stood in total awe, my eyes wide and my
mouth hanging open.

Click!

Mesmerized, I slipped through the gate and into the yard, stopping a
couple of feet just inside it. It was then that I realized Roone wasn't
really touching that orb thingy when it got to him. He was simply
punching the air, which made the ball of light change direction and zing
back to Jon, who had to actually slam it to accomplish a return. Stunned,
I blinked a couple of times to clear my vision. Maybe the falling snow
was simply distorting things. Or maybe--

"Shit!"

Before I could react, Roone was right in my face. "Everly, hey. What
are you doing here?" As he spoke, he pulled on one of his oversized tees
he'd snagged from somewhere. It wasn't easy. The garment stuck to his
skin, which was somehow sweaty even though the temperature was below
freezing. Or was the moisture merely melted snow?

Instead of answering, I went with the obvious. "Why are you hiding
that incredible body?"

He hesitated and then sagged just a little. "It seems to have an odd
effect on Earth girls."

I burst out laughing. "As opposed to, say, Martian girls?"

Roone's face flushed from his messy wet hair to his scruffy chin and
possibly down his muscled neck. "That came out wrong."

"No kidding." I couldn't stop laughing.

By then Jon was nearby and also wearing a shirt, though his actually
fit. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Why are you here?" Roone asked me again.

Since that was the second time, I tried to explain myself. "I brought
over the original of your dad's paper. I hope that was okay. I, um,
forgot to give it to him before." Dead silence followed my words. "Sorry
I didn't call first--" After a glance toward the yard to see if the
magical net was still there--it wasn't--I thrust the papers at Roone,
cleared my throat, and began to back toward the gate to leave.

"Wait!" Roone shot a decidedly desperate look at his brother.

Jon immediately shifted his attention to me. "Yeah, you should wait."
He repeatedly tossed the ball up and caught it.

"For...?" Baffled, I glanced from one to the other.

Roone shot another look Jon's way.

"Something warm to drink," Jon said. "You must be freezing."

"No, you guys must be. But you aren't." I pressed the palm of my hand
to Roone's flaming face. He closed his eyes as if, well, cherishing my
touch or something. That surprised me so much I yanked my hand back. "Why
is that?"

"We run a little warm as a rule," said Jon, elbowing his brother.

Roone came out of his trance with a start. "Yeah. Just like I told you
last night." He swallowed so hard I heard it. "You, um, can't leave
without Dad seeing you."

Finally. Something that made sense. "Okay, but I can only stay a
minute."

Roone softly exhaled. "Good. Excellent." He grabbed my wrist and led
me to the deck, up all the steps, and through his back door. We walked
into their den which was just to the right, where his dad was reading the
paper. Thorsen set it aside when he saw us and jumped up. "Everly! What a
nice surprise." His tone said the opposite.

"I forgot to give back your original." I motioned for Roone to hand it
over. He did it without meeting his father's hard gaze.

"Thank you."

"Any luck with NASA?"

Thorsen gave me his attention. "Nothing yet, but I've got my fingers
crossed."

I nodded. In the silence that followed I began to feel a little
unwelcome--so unwelcome that I wanted only to escape. "I really should
go. The roads are getting worse by the second, and I don't have
chains."

Roone gave me a blank look.

"Some people put them on their tires for traction?"

"Right! Of course. I'll, um, walk you out." Neither of us said a word
as we left the house and cut a path through the pristine white lawn. Ever
the gentleman, Roone opened my door, but his gaze was on the street. "So
it's hard to drive when the roads have a lot of snow on them?"

"Actually, the snow is fine. It's the ice underneath that's
dangerous." Abruptly, I shifted gears. "Would you please tell me where
you're from?" It couldn't be from up north where it snowed more days than
it didn't.

Roone rested his arms on the top of my open door, which was between
us. "Nowhere--"

"Near. So you've said." I huffed my exasperation with him. "Can you be
more specific? I'd really like to now."

"I could, but I'd have to--"

"Kill me?" I was starting to get a little peeved. Why all the secrecy?
Were they in the witness protection program or something?

"That's a little drastic. I was thinking of a memory spell to make you
forget."

"Are you telling me you're a wizard?" After what I'd seen today, I
could actually believe that was true.

Roone laughed. "Nah, though that Harry Potter dude is freakin'
awesome. Been reading the books for a couple of weeks. I'm on the last
one now."

"About that game you were playing with your brother..."

He went all tense again. "Yeah?"

"Where'd you get it?"

"I... A friend. His dad is a, um, game developer. Sometimes we test
stuff."

"How long will it be before I can buy one just like it? Cory would
totally wig out over something that cool."

Roone shrugged, his eyes everywhere but on me.

I gave up. "I'm leaving now."

Roone just looked at me.

"Move, please."

"You're pissed."

"Yes, if you have to know. But I shouldn't be. It's not like we're
really dating. You don't owe me any of the secrets you're keeping."

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I just can't."

"Fine. Now move, please. It's snowing harder, and I'm getting
cold."

Roone touched his warm hand to my chilly cheek, but only for a second.
After a quick glance toward the windows of the house, he stepped around
the door and gave me a swift kiss on the forehead. "Thanks for coming by.
I'm very glad to see you."

"Really?" It was hard to believe.

"Yeah, really."

Click!

* * * *

I had no problem getting to Roone's house Monday morning even though
there was still snow in the streets. I honked instead of going to the
door. He came right out, his backpack dangling from one shoulder. As he
approached, I got out of the car. I handed him my keys when he got to
me.

He stared at them in obvious horror. "No way. The roads are too
bad."

"If I didn't think you could do it, I wouldn't ask you to, okay? No
one is more careful with their car than me. The sooner you learn how to
drive in this kind of weather, the better off you'll be. Unless you're
planning on moving to a tropical island, that is." I laughed, but only
until I remembered his dad saying something about them not being in
McAlister very long.

Roone didn't crack a smile.

"You're
not
moving, are you?" Suddenly I was assailed with
visions of the Thorsens relocating to Huntsville to be closer to NASA and
that job dear-old-dad wanted. My sinking heart told me that wouldn't be a
good thing.

"Not anytime soon."

Was that supposed to reassure me? Pressing the keys into Roone's
unwilling hand, I walked around the back of the car and got in on the
passenger side. He stood there for several seconds, staring at them. I
finally slid out again and looked over the top of the vehicle.

"You do have a driver's license, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then get in."

Roone tossed his backpack onto the rear seat and slid behind the
wheel. "I hope you don't regret this."

"I won't." But I did have a couple of second thoughts on the drive to
school since Roone once again negotiated the streets like a blue hair.
"Where'd you get your driver's license? AARP?"

Deadly serious, he shook his head without taking his eyes off the
road. "I've never heard of that. What I did was go to the police station.
They have this test--"

I started laughing, which cut him off. "I was kidding, okay?"

"Am I a bad driver?"

"Not bad. You're just very careful for a teenager. How old are you
anyway?"

"Eighteen. You?"

"Seventeen for three more weeks." I turned on the radio, but not too
loud since it was classic rock and I had no idea where his tastes fell.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you're different?"

"Noooo."

"Well, you are. In fact, you're a complete unknown to me."

"Is that bad?"

"No. I actually like it. A lot, in fact. Until you, every high school
boy I ever knew except Sid and Gavin came in one flavor--idiot. You're
more layered, or maybe you're a twist. Anyway, you constantly surprise
me, and I'm really liking it."

Roone spared me a brief grin. "I like you a lot, too."

As usual, we parted ways at the door of my first class. That started
the routine we'd set up the week before with one minor change. I didn't
fight him over my backpack anymore. I mean, he clearly had enough muscles
to easily handle two. But I always took it away from him when we got
where we were going since it would be ridiculous for him to have to keep
up with both all day and, believe me, he'd have done it.

During third period graphic arts, the principal brought a new guy to
class. Our teacher introduced him as Teo Liu. As tall as Roone if not
taller, he had way less bulk and long dark hair that he'd pulled back
into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. I realized he also had decidedly
Asian eyes. I think every girl in the room perked up except me. What I
did was breathe a silent sigh of relief that the unwanted attention Roone
had been receiving just might end. Why? Because Teo was the most exotic
teen male I'd ever laid eyes on.

And it wasn't just his good looks. He had an air of confidence that no
new kid on the block should have, as in no worries about not knowing
anyone. His jeans and plain white T-shirt, which were really nothing
special, looked fantastic paired with his black leather jacket. I easily
imagined him on a
GQ
cover, striding down a Paris runway, or
singing lead at a rock concert with screaming girls in the audience.

As it turned out, I had fourth period English with him, too. Teo
walked into the portable building with as much strut as before and mere
seconds before the bell rang. From my seat near the wall opposite to
Roone's, I waited to see what my un-boyfriend thought of the new guy.
Nothing could've prepared me for his reaction.

He sat straight up in his chair, hazel eyes wide with what could only
be shock. I could've sworn he stopped breathing. Did they know each
other? It almost seemed like it, but if so, they couldn't have been
friends. Roone's body language told me that. Enemies, then? I looked back
and forth between them, trying to figure things out. That meant I didn't
miss Teo's response when his gaze pounced on Roone. He didn't seem
shocked at all. In fact, his lips spread in an insolent smile.

My blood ran cold and for no real reason but my guy's negative
reaction.
My
guy? Well, not exactly. But if the fierce
protectiveness consuming me was any indication, he might as well be. No
one, especially Teo, was going to bother Roone Thorsen, at least not
while I lived and breathed.

My mind going crazy with what-ifs, I barely heard anything Mrs.
Collins said as she picked up where she left off talking about Romantic
Period poets. As for Roone, he kept his eye on the clock mounted over the
whiteboard. My gaze automatically shifted to it, too. I could imagine him
counting off the minutes until the bell that would send us to second
lunch, when seniors ate. Did I plan to find out what the heck was going
on? Of course. And I could only hope it wasn't another secret he couldn't
share.

Mrs. Collins droned on and on. The seconds ticked by.

"Out! Everyone out!"

Me and the other occupants of the room jumped and then swiveled to
stare at Roone, who'd clearly lost his mind. Standing and frantically
motioning toward the classroom's only exit, he tried to spur us out of
our dazes.

"Up! Hurry!"

Seeing the stark fear on his face, I deliberately leapt to my feet,
too, and at the top of my lungs yelled, "Move it
now!"