Somewhere in the Middle (12 page)

At last...the truth. "Why are you keeping it a secret?"

"People get a little crazy when they think you know things you
shouldn't."

Our gazes met. I suddenly acknowledged the implications of Roone's
gifts as far as his dad's cosmic-bridge theories were concerned. Had
Thorsen seen so much firsthand that he'd begun hypothesizing
possibilities other astrophysicists wouldn't consider? It wasn't as if
psychics were routinely accepted by physicists.

I realized Roone now seemed a little sad and thoughtlessly did what
came naturally--hug him. It was from the side and a little awkward, but
he seemed to appreciate it. We left shortly after, both of us feeling a
whole lot better though probably for different reasons. Unfortunately,
our good moods tanked when we got to Roone's house. In his driveway sat
the KNews van. I saw Tasha standing on his front porch earnestly talking
to Bo Thorsen, whose face was as red at her stylish business suit. A
cameraman dressed more casually stood on the lawn filming everything.

Roone braked my car, slowing it to a crawl and then slammed his hands
on the steering wheel. "Shit, shit,
shit!"
I knew he wanted to hit
the gas and get out of there before they spotted us, but he didn't.
Pulling my Trans Am into the drive, he abruptly killed the engine. "Dad's
going to be so pissed."

"Because you saved a class full of students? I don't think so!" I
barreled from the car and headed for the porch, fully prepared to take on
Thorsen if it would save his son more grief. But first I had to get rid
of a very nosy news crew even though it wasn't my place to do it. How, I
didn't know.

Roone quickly caught up and grabbed my wrist, stopping me. "What are
you doing?"

"What any good girlfriend would do in this situation--deflecting." I
yanked my arm free, charged ahead, and bounded up the steps where Roone's
father now sputtered like an engine running on fumes. "Hi, Mr. Thorsen.
What's all this?"

"Everly, er, hi." Though he might not be glad to see me, he sure
didn't mind the interruption. "This is Tasha Hilliard from the news, here
about something Roone did at school...?" He waited for his son to fill in
the blanks.

"We've already met, and I told them it was nothing," Roone said.

"I think twenty of your classmates would totally disagree." Tasha gave
us a simpering smile. "With the world in the shape it's in, our viewers
crave happy endings, Roone. I simply want to clarify the details of this
one. Surely you don't mind a few quick questions."

"Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it."

"But--"

I stepped in front of Roone. "He said 'no.'" Was it my place to butt
in? Absolutely not. Would my parents flip out if they knew I was doing
it? Absolutely yes.

"And who are you?" asked Tasha, her tone icy cold.

"Everly, Roone's overprotective girlfriend."

Thorsen's eyebrows shot up.

"I remember you now." Tasha gave me her full attention, blue eyes
flashing as her gaze raked my clothes and hair. She clearly wasn't
impressed with what she saw, which made two of us. "There's no reason to
protect your boyfriend, Evelyn. I don't bite."

"It's Everly," said Roone. He sounded pissed.

Tasha took advantage of his attention. "As I was telling your father,
I've already talked with the principal, the law, and most of your
classmates, so I just have a few more questions." She glanced at a
notepad she held. "Now both of you were in that classroom this morning,
right?"

I fielded that one. "Yes."

Tasha flicked a glance my way. "So your boyfriend saved your life? How
romantic."

Not the way
she
said it. "Wasn't it?" I edged back and tucked
my arm through Roone's, only then realizing how badly he was trembling.
"Thank goodness someone in that building had enough sense to put two and
two together, because none of the rest of us did."

Tasha didn't seem convinced of my story. She deliberately shifted her
gaze from me back to Roone. "A couple of your classmates told us that
you're new in town. Where are you from?"

"Nowhere near here."

"Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"No."

I faked an airy laugh. "Who gets to be a hero more than once besides
Superman, Batman, or maybe Spiderman?"

But Tasha could not be distracted from Roone. "An old friend of yours
named Teo Liu told me you were psychic."

I deliberately widened my eyes when I turned to Roone. "Teo's a friend
of yours?"

Roone shook his head. "Fourth period was the first time I ever laid
eyes on the guy."

"Teo just started at McAlister High today," I said, my gaze boring
into Tasha again. "So he doesn't really know anyone in the senior class.
As for the psychic part...are you, Roone?"

He managed a laugh that sounded pretty natural. "Believe me if I were
I'd have cut English today."

Could Tasha tell he was lying? I didn't think so. I gave her my
sweetest smile. "Any more questions?"

Her lips pinched with displeasure, Tasha leveled her gaze at me. "Do
you always do the talking for your boyfriend?"

"Only when he's dead on his feet and too polite to say so."

"Then I just have one more question."

"Actually, you've asked your last," said Thorsen, finally taking
charge of the situation. "Goodbye, Miss Hilliard."

"But--"

"I'll walk you guys to your van." I started forward only to stop when
Roone's right hand clamped down on my upper arm.

"They can get there on their own."

Thorsen nudged his son toward the door, which meant I went, too. Once
we were inside the house, he shut and locked it, clearly fuming. All I
could do was stand there in awkward silence watching them stare each
other down.

"I can't believe this," said Thorsen.

"It was definitely bad luck," Roone told him.

"You couldn't have--?"

"No."

Suddenly Thorsen grabbed his son's left forearm and raised it so that
the black rubber wristband was in view. "Remember this?"

"I know, okay? I get it. What was I supposed to do, let it happen?
Everly sits on that side of the building. She might've been hurt."

Thorsen opened his mouth to say something, but then didn't.

Roone took advantage of his silence. "She knows I'm telekinetic, by
the way."

"I guessed," I said. "And I promise his secret is safe with me."

For the longest time, Thorsen just looked at me. Then he heaved a
sigh, turned on his heel, and left us by heading toward their den.

"Did you move here because of your gifts?" I asked, fairly certain I'd
finally figured everything out.

"Yeah."

"And fear of exposing them is why you can't have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah." His relief told me I finally had the whole story.

"You could've shared this last week, you know. I'm not and never have
been a blabbermouth."

"I was trying to keep my dad happy, okay? My gifts have been hard on
him, on all of us."

Though I wanted to tell Roone exactly what I thought of fathers who
didn't support their gifted children, I kept my mouth shut.

"So we're good?" he softly asked.

"We are."

I didn't linger. I figured that Roone and his dad needed to talk. Once
I got home, I had to tell both my parents and Eli my version of the
facts, minus the psychic part, of course. Eli was enraptured by the story
since I took great pains to describe the squad cars, the ambulance, and
the fire truck, details included just for him, the little boy fascinated
by rescues, courage, and heroism.

The ten o'clock news spotlighted the near disaster at McAlister High
and included Tasha's interviews with Roone, his dad, and Mr. Morris. Each
lasted about twenty seconds. Half of an arm was all of me that showed up
on screen, thank goodness. I'd once read that a TV camera made people
look ten pounds heavier than they were.

On Tuesday morning, a quick glance out the window revealed that snow
remained in a few shady spots, but only on the north side of the house.
The temperature still hovered around the freezing mark, though, and those
perpetual storm clouds threatened snow. Though the weatherman on KNews
sincerely promised we wouldn't get any accumulation, Roone texted that
he'd be picking me up in his Honda to save the Trans Am.

At school, we found out he was still the hero, poor guy, and suddenly
everyone's best friend. Even worse, the girls were swarming him again. I
had to play hard-nosed girlfriend before the first bell ever rang, an act
I limited to the most persistent since that was out of character for me.
Not that I shied away from confrontation if it was necessary. I mean, I'd
faced down Tasha yesterday, not to mention many a thoughtless litterbug,
rude smoker, or playground bully in the past. But defending a guy,
especially one as big as Roone, was somehow different, and I still felt
awkward doing it.

Just as I sat in first period calculus, Teo Liu strutted into the
room. That was a surprise that told me he'd started classes late in the
day on Monday. Our teacher told him to pick a seat. He chose the one next
to me though there were other ones unoccupied, most of them at the back
of the room. Wasn't that where most boys wanted to sit? I could barely
concentrate while we worked problems from the board and not just because
I felt Teo's stare.

Why had he told Tasha that Roone was psychic when he couldn't possibly
know that for sure? And why had Roone warned me to stay clear of him? Had
Roone been lying when he said he didn't know Teo? I couldn't think why he
would, especially now that he'd finally shared his secrets. That led me
to believe that psychic him had gotten a bad feeling or something. Based
on the accuracy of yesterday's reactions, I decided I'd be smart to take
Roone's advice.

The minute the bell rang, I started for the door. Teo cut me off. I
realized he was dark to Roone's light. Skin tone, eye and hair color,
even hair length--all opposite to my un-boyfriend's. For some reason, I
felt a shiver of unease.

"Are you busy tonight? I'd like to take you to dinner."

My mouth dropped open. While I'd had guys move in on me many times,
I'd never had one do it so fast. "Actually I'm busy, but thanks."

"Roone, I guess."

"You guess right."

"I couldn't tell if you two were just good friends or something
more."

Obviously Roone and I needed to kick things up a notch. "We're more.
Definitely more."

"Then I won't insist." With a cocky grin, he left.

He thought insisting would make me go out with him? As if.

Roone, still several feet away, didn't appear to have noticed our
byplay, and I quickly decided not to report it. He had enough to worry
about with Jody Rose, McAlister's two-time Female Athlete of the Year,
now sidling up, all smiles. She slipped her arm through his, a move that
made me walk a little faster.

Her flirty pink mouth began to pout when I got to them, but she didn't
move on. "Are you two really going out? You seem like such
opposites."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, bristling just a little.
Roone, who looked on uneasily, gently detached from her.

"That a guy like him would be better matched to a girl like me."

Was she for real? "I still don't get it."

"You obviously don't give a shit about your weight or how you look."
Her gaze swept me, lingering on my skinny jeans, soft pullover sweater,
and boots, none of which were designer but still looked okay.

At least I thought they did. Didn't they? Suddenly self-conscious, I
glanced down. Was I getting fat?

"She looks just fine. Perfect in fact. So perfect I'm gonna have to
risk another D-hall." Roone swooped in and gave me an openmouthed kiss
the likes of which I'd never experienced. Lips smashed together. Tongues
in a tangle. His exhale my inhale. And I got so lost in it that I
stumbled forward when he finally pulled back, which was way
embarrassing.

Jody gave me a go-to-hell look before she spun away and stomped down
the hall.

My heart pounding, I looked around to see if anyone in authority had
seen what just happened. Apparently we'd gotten lucky. No teacher in
sight.

I cleared my throat very nervously. "You, um, owe me big time for all
the intervention I've run today." Somehow I resisted fanning my face to
cool my flaming cheeks.

"You can have anything you want."

Including you?

For a second I thought I said that out loud. But he simply slung a
strap of my battered backpack over his shoulder and began walking to the
exit that would take us to the science building and gym. Trying to catch
up to his long strides, I couldn't wait for that first burst of icy air,
which would surely clear my head. "I guess our entire class is struggling
to imagine us together."

"I don't know why. I think we're a perfect match."

I laughed out loud. "You are such a liar."

Roone grasped my biceps so I'd look at him. "I'm totally serious.
You're just my type, which is exactly why I--" He broke off, his eyes
widening slightly as though he'd almost said something he shouldn't.

"What?" I asked, expecting a confession of some kind.

"Nothing. I've got to go."

"Just tell me one thing first."

He waited.

"Do I need to lose weight?"

"Fuck no." He frowned. "Where's that coming from? I just said you're
perfect. Don't you believe me?"

"Yes, but I--"

"That stupid girl is jealous of you, okay?"

"Because I got the hottest guy in school, and she didn't?"

"No, because you're everything she wishes she could be."

Aww. Though that wasn't even close to the truth, I had to swallow a
sudden lump in my throat before I talk. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Are we good?"

I nodded instead of trying to speak again. Didn't want my voice to
crack.