The Lost Boys (17 page)

I nodded and folded the dress carefully back into the box, then put it in my closet.

My mom left at sundown, asking me to call her whenever I could, and to promise that I’d visit at weekends.

Tristan, Seth and I had dinner together that night, and Tiffany joined us at the table in the middle of the meal. She kept looking from Seth to Tristan with curious glances. I tried to take a peek in her eyes, but as I’d already noticed, she was really good at hiding her emotions. I couldn’t decipher what she was feeling. I was so used to getting instant feedback just by looking into people’s eyes, that when I couldn’t with Tiffany I felt a little annoyed.

We talked for a long time at the dinner table, and Seth insisted on buying me a chocolate cupcake to celebrate the day while Tiffany had a fit over me not telling her today was my birthday. I forbade them to sing any birthday songs, and glared at them quite evilly so that they saw I was dead serious about it. It was really late when we all called it a night.

Our room felt warm and cozy as we snuggled inside, the wind rattling outside the window. My heart was still beating erratically because Tristan was now here, and in the same room, with me. He was going to be my room-mate! How awesome was that?

I was getting ready to go to bed when Tristan stood up from his bed, like he had just remembered something. He fumbled quickly in his suitcase and came over to sit next to me, holding something in his hand. A few butterflies rose softly inside me when his arm brushed past mine.

“I meant to give you this for your birthday. It’s just a small token, but I hope you like it. Happy birthday, Joey,” he said, handing me a strip of paper.

I looked at it in surprise. It was one of those instant-photography-booth strips of snapshots, with Tristan making all sorts of faces to the camera. There were sexy ones, funny ones, weird-looking ones, one with his profile (I guess he was looking at something outside), one with him pointing smugly at the lens … And my favorite of them all, one of him simply looking intently at the camera, a tiny, practically imperceptible smile at the right corner of his perfect lips, and his eyes slightly crinkled with the smile that threatened to break through. He looked so happy! So full of life. So … perfect.

I was speechless. It was the most perfect gift. The best I have ever received. I turned it over and was further surprised to see a note on the back of the strip, in neat handwriting:

Life is indeed full of possibilities.

Thank you for showing that to me.

You’re the most amazing possibility that has ever happened to me.

Happy Birthday!

T.

“I thought you might like it, since you have this tradition of giving presents in the form of photographs of happy moments,” he said, smiling as he stood at my side.

I turned my face to him, trying to stop my watery eyes from spilling over. He was looking at me intently, watching my reaction to his gift. I tried to speak, and my voice came out quivering. “Thank you, Tris. It’s … perfect.” And I gave him another hug. This time he didn’t tense up but hugged me back. I felt the tingling again, but a little fainter than last time.

Seth came out of the bathroom at that moment, and we ended our hug quickly, before we could draw too much attention to ourselves. Tristan stood up and went to his bed. “Good night, Joey. Sleep tight,” he said quietly.

Before I went to bed, I put Tristan’s gift safely inside my closet, hidden neatly under my new red dress. Then I snuggled beneath my soft covers and turned the light off my night-stand lamp.

This had turned out to be the best birthday I had ever had.

Chapter Fifteen

Charming Ways

That first night after Tristan’s arrival at the school, I had the strangest dream.

I was at this circle-shaped plaza filled with people. But there was a kind of grayish, foggy look about everything and everybody, like we were all in a ghost town.

I looked down at myself and saw that I stood out from everything else. I was sharply defined, with vibrant, vivid colors emanating from my skin and my clothes. I felt like an intruder in this place, like I didn’t belong there. I glanced up and saw this eerie, cloaked figure standing a little away from me. It looked like a man, because of his posture and size, but I couldn’t tell for sure. He also looked different from everybody else. Although he didn’t have vibrant colors, like me, and had only this long, light gray cloak covering himself, he was similarly defined, even more sharp-edged than I. He looked intensely solid, a massive presence in that hazy place.

And he was looking straight at me. He started moving slowly towards me, but his movements seemed strange, alien, like someone not used to walking. He kind of floated in my direction.

His cloak hood was down, so when he got close enough, I was able to see his face. I wish I hadn’t, though. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. A blank, expressionless, dead face stared back at me, with black holes instead of eyes. It didn’t look human. I didn’t know what the hell that thing was, but I was sure I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I was so terrified, I couldn’t move or scream or do anything, only watch that scary, horrible creature getting closer and closer to me. He stopped a few feet from me, those black holes in his face boring into my eyes.

When he spoke, his voice was low and soft, like a whisper. I was expecting something hoarse and gritty, something really scary, but his voice was nothing but cool and calm, almost soothing.

“I found you,” he stated.

It wasn’t a question, merely an observation. And I realized he wasn’t opening his mouth to speak, either. His voice simply sounded inside my head, without the need for vocalization. I was so freaked out, I could barely stand still without trembling. He tilted his head to the side, slowly, making me think of a bird of prey.

“But I cannot find it,” he whispered, again just stating his facts. “Where is it? Where is the anomaly?” He straightened upright, waiting for me to answer.

“I-I-I don’t know,” I managed to mumble after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

“It is hidden, guarded from me. I must find it and fix it. Where is it?” He repeated his question.

He wasn’t making any sense. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I blurted out in sheer panic.

He tilted his head the other way and frowned. It was the first time I saw some sort of expression on his face. “It is no use hiding it from me. I’ll find it, no matter what. It is only a matter of time,” he said, taking a step closer to me. “You also have a way to guard yourself from me,” he continued. “At least in the physical world. That is an inconvenience. At the moment I can only summon you when you are in a subconscious state,” he said, still taking another step. He was really close now. Scarily close. “And I know you two are linked, bonded. But I have found
you
. You must tell me its location. It is my job to fix it. This cannot go any further.”

He held out his hand to me. I tried to run, but my feet were stuck, like an old tree rooted to the ground. Why couldn’t I move?

This was only a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. I just needed to wake up!

His hands were almost upon me and I recoiled, terrified. The last thing I saw was his long, sharp fingers reaching out to me, his pale face coming in my direction, black hollowed eyes narrowing in eagerness. I shut my eyes hard and I heard his whispered, surprised voice inside my head. “No!” And then I woke up in my room, panting heavily and terrified out of my mind.

It took me several minutes to get my breathing back to normal. Another several minutes to gather my wits. I agonized for a long time in bed, debating whether to wake up Tristan, but after a while I realized I was just being stupid. I wasn’t going to disturb him because of a silly nightmare! What was I? Five years old? He would think I was a stupid little girl! After some time trying to settle down, I managed to drift back into a restless sleep.

The next day I woke up really tired. Seth had left early to meet Sam. They were going to work on some new lyrics. I was curious about Sam; he was the only member of the band I hadn’t yet met. But I was so tired and in such a sour mood that I thought it best to meet him some other time. I got myself washed and dressed, but without much energy.

Tristan, who was already dressed, noticed my weariness and asked what was wrong. I sat on my bed and told him about my weird silly nightmare. He listened in silence, fumbling with his black beaded wristband. When I finished my dream tale, he remained silent for a long time in a thoughtful mood.

“This cloaked thing in your dream, did he really say
‘It is guarded from me’
?” Tristan asked at last, seated on his bed across from mine, finally risking a comment.

“Yeah, I think it was something like that. Why? It was just a weird dream. A stupid nightmare,” I said, trying to look at his eyes, but he kept his face down, staring at his wristband.

“Yes. It could be. But analyzing your dream, it seems this person might be looking only for me. You were dragged into the middle of all this because of me, because of bringing me back, and our bond. I put you in this situation,” Tristan said in a really worried voice.

“Tris, come on. Stop blaming yourself. You didn’t plan for any of this to happen. You didn’t know. And for all we know, maybe this is just a dream, a nightmare, nothing more!” I said, trying to reassure him everything was going to be all right.

“Miss Violet came by your house every day last week to check on me. Before I left, on my last day, she gave me this.” He showed me his beaded wristband. “She said to keep it on me at all times. It’s some sort of amulet. She said it would ‘keep me guarded’. Strange choice of words, huh? The same as in your dream … Maybe I should give it to you – to ward off your bad dreams …” He made a move to remove the band but I stopped him.

“No, she meant for you to have it, but maybe we can ask Miss Violet for another one, then we’ll be both guarded from whatever the hell that thing was, and it won’t be able to find us. Problem solved. Plus, it looks really cool on you! You should definitely keep it on, it’s very trendy!” I said, smiling at him.

“Yeah. I suppose so.” He smiled weakly.

“Come on, let’s not worry about things we can do nothing about. And I promised you a tour of the school today, so let’s shake a leg!” I said, standing up and getting ready to leave the room.

He followed me, still in a thoughtful mood, but after a while we completely forgot about the dream and ended up having a pleasant day, talking and walking lazily around the school grounds on a warm Sunday afternoon.

At first, I thought Tristan would have difficulties fitting in at a new school. After all, it had been decades since he’d spent time with kids his own age. I also thought that it would be hard to disguise his antiquated manners and speech. I thought people would think he was some sort of weirdo, or just plain crazy.

At least my mom had taken care of his clothes; that was a relief. She’d always had amazing fashion sense, so his clothes were quite modern. That was one thing that I didn’t need to worry about.

But what about the handshaking and old-fashioned courtesy – the pulling out chairs for girls, the over-polite manners and general weird ways? How could I explain all those things? I thought it would be only a matter of time before someone discovered his secret.

By secret I meant Tristan being from the Fifties. The other secret, about him not really being my half-brother, was another thing that was constantly in the back of my mind, worrying me.

I was really anxious about Monday, his first day of classes. It was going to be a disaster, I thought. But on Sunday, during our afternoon walk around the school grounds, I started noticing that Tristan seemed to have changed. He was
different
.

That first week when I’d met him as a ghost, he’d been constantly on his guard, trying to cover up his “condition”. He’d had this armor around himself that he used to control his emotions, and keep me from getting too close. He’d been evasive and mysterious. A puzzle wrapped in an enigma.

The second week, as a living boy, he’d been engulfed in a tidal wave of emotions. He’d ranged between surprise and insecurity, wonder and excitement, worry, fear and happiness. He had been thrown into a whole new world full of alien, modern things he didn’t understand, drowning in new information. He’d tried to absorb all he could master in one single gulp, but I could see how overwhelmed by everything he really was.

And then there was the Tristan after a week of adjustment. The Tristan I was seeing now, walking by my side on his first day at school. And he
looked
adjusted, believe you me! He looked different, yet at the same time, it was like he was showing his true self for the first time – as if he hadn’t really changed, but was just really himself now. This was who he was supposed to have been all along.

The Tristan I saw now was assertive, relaxed, calm and filled with confidence. He wasn’t looking for approval from anyone; he wasn’t worried what people might think of him. He’d had many years to reflect and ponder about the important things in life, and what truly mattered, and that insight showed in his stance. This self-assurance and maturity radiated from him, showing itself in the way he acted, talked, even looked at other people.

All of these things could have been quite intimidating, if it weren’t for the fact that he was also amazingly charismatic. It was like he had a unique magic. Maybe it was another special talent, like his ability to fade into the background. He had this unbelievable charm pulsing like a radioactive wave out of him, and people could not help but be affected by it.

I noticed the full effect of this during our first complete day together on Monday. People milled around him like moths to a very bright, charming, flame. He was just really, really, likeable. People even thought his polite manners were endearing and oddly cool, can you believe that? And I’d been so worried about covering that up! Then, after a couple more days, people started to want to be near him, to talk to him; they wanted his approval, they wanted so badly to impress him by being the best they could around him. Normally it was only for a few minutes, and when he was gone they returned to their usual flawed ways. But for those brief minutes near Tristan, they actually acted like decent, admirable human beings. It was the most amazing thing to watch!