The Witch Is Back (12 page)

So I'd dressed in clothes that I could cast in. For me, that meant bright purple spandex shorts and a matching black-and-purple halter workout top. My hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with a strand of braided hair wrapped around the rubber band. The look reminded me of my cheerleading days and I grew nostalgic just thinking about it. Cheering had been one of the highlights of my high school experience. I'd felt absolutely free as I flew through the air and pumped up the crowd and sports teams.

The relationships I'd had with my teammates had been incredible, too. I think the bond between cheerleaders is unlike any other. The fact that someone else lifted you high up into the air and then actually
caught
you when you fell . . . it took a lot of trust to believe they had your back. Literally.

In a way, the Cleri had become my new squad. Although it was taking longer to get to the “total trust” phase in our relationship—having one of your former members switch sides and betray you makes you think that
anyone
could be an enemy—I think we were on our way. Defeating the Parrishables had bonded us all in a way that was difficult to describe. We'd been in the trenches together. Had been through unimaginable loss, and near life-and-death situations side-by-side. Though I wouldn't describe us all as BFFs, we were closer than any group of misfits could be. And I knew that if the magic hit the fan, I could trust them to be there for me.

I looked back at Abby, who was dragging ass behind us. She hadn't said much as we'd gotten ready that morning. Since it was my first time staying with her overnight, I didn't know if she was just a grumpy morning person. Colette, on the other hand, was like a walking, talking Disney character after waking up. She'd danced around the room to music while piecing together another elaborately colorful outfit. This time, a poufy teal tulle skirt with thin black stretch capris, a tank top with the face of a heavily made-up woman on the front, and black lace gloves. When I'd asked her about it, she answered, “Another original from Aunt Betsey!” Watching her pass by was like spotting a rainbow on steroids.

We walked inside the hall and filled our trays with a variety of breakfast items and then headed to the same table we'd sat at the night before. Only about a third of the camp was up this early, most opting for more sleep in lieu of food.

As I picked at a bowl of fruit, Abby let out a big yawn and then rested her chin on her hand, her eyes drooping to tiny slits.

“Didn't sleep well last night?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I barely slept at
all
. Weird dreams,” she said.

“What about?” Sascha asked as she appeared from behind us and sat down next to me. I looked up as Jinx and Jasmine sat down too. “I'm excellent at deciphering dreams. Like, once I dreamed that a steamroller kept going over and over this pile of money. It was absolutely terrifying. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it was all about financial fear. I'd totally been wanting this designer handbag at the time and my dad wouldn't give me an advance on my allowance—”

“I don't remember my dreams,” Abby cut in before taking a sip of coffee.

“Ever?” I asked, surprised. Considering the vividness of my Bridget dreams, it was difficult to imagine that others could forget what went on while they were asleep.

“Not really,” Abby confirmed.

“I wish I had the same problem,” Jinx said, looking just as tired as Abby.

“You couldn't sleep either?” I asked, surveying the circles under her eyes. “Guess it's something in the air.”

Jinx just shrugged in response.

“Speaking of air, I fly in my dreams,” Jasmine said, cutting into a thick waffle hungrily.

“You know, flying in dreams is actually rare. I think it means you have extreme intelligence or something,” Sascha said. “Or is it extreme creativity? I always forget which it is.”

“Either way, I rock,” Jasmine said, with a smile. Her lips were painted deep purple, which perfectly matched her outfit and eye makeup. “As a kid, I used to fly out of nightmares and go to my happy place.”

“And where is Jasmine's happy place?” Asher asked as he kissed me on the cheek before sitting down. Hudson and Dane followed behind him, saying a quick hello before digging into their piles of food. I watched with amusement as Sascha instantly sat up straighter, and began to twirl her hair around her finger.

“Somewhere Asher Astley doesn't exist,” Jasmine said sarcastically. “In fact, none of you are there. It's only the people I can stand.”

“So, just you?” I answered with a laugh.

“Exactly.”

Asher and I looked at each other across the table and for a moment I felt like everything was back to normal. It was us against the world. I sighed and began to daydream about going on long walks through the forest with Asher and holding hands while studying the starlit skies. It all seemed incredibly romantic.

I hadn't realized I'd zoned out until the clanking of plates hitting trays pulled me out of my thoughts. Everyone was packing up around me and heading to the exits. I took a few more bites of my fruit and then followed right behind Asher. I slipped my hand into his, and the group of us took our time walking to the back-to-back amphitheaters. When we reached the girls' side, Asher gave me a flirty wink, which left a tingle in my stomach, and then disappeared with the other guys.

As I turned around, I noticed that Brooklyn was already there and watching us. There was a frown on her face and at first I was tempted to return the look.

Except, I'd promised Asher that I'd try to be nice to her.

I took a deep breath and told myself that I
could
be the bigger person. That it wouldn't
actually
kill me to hand Brooklyn an olive branch and try to call a truce. I mean, if Asher had dated her, she couldn't be
all
that bad, right? Who knows . . . maybe we'd even become friends.

Stranger things had happened.

Telling the others I'd be right back, I started to walk over to where Brooklyn and her friends were standing. When it became clear that I was headed for her, she stood up a little straighter and whispered something to Eve, who was standing to her left.

“Exes are people too,” I muttered to myself when I was just a few feet away from her.

“Hi, Brooklyn,” I said as nicely as I could muster. “Can I talk to you a minute?”

I didn't want to do this in front of Eve and the others, especially considering the fact that the tinier, dark-haired girl was already giving me the stink-eye. This was between Brooklyn and me—nobody else needed to be involved.

Brooklyn shot Eve a look that I couldn't quite discern and then began to walk away from her friends. She didn't go far though, stopping after only a few steps, and I knew that the others would hear everything we said.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” I started, looking her in the eye. She wasn't exactly avoiding my gaze, but she did seem slightly bored. Then again, maybe it was just her thinking face. “Asher told me what happened between you two and he hopes you can still be friends. And well, I was hoping we could be friends, too.”

Or at least
friendly
.

But Brooklyn seemed unmoved by my speech. It took her so long to respond, in fact, that I wondered if she'd been listening at all. Finally, her eyes narrowed and she took a step toward me. I immediately felt like she was invading my personal space and stepped back reflexively.

“Wow. Thank you
so
much Hadley for giving me
permission
to be friends with Asher,” she started nastily. “And forgive me if I don't fall all over myself at your invitation of friendship.”

“Huh?” I asked, not quite sure where all her hostility was coming from.

“And I find it hard to believe that he told you
everything
about us, because if he had, you'd know that Asher and I aren't capable of being
just
friends,” she said.

Then she took another step toward me, but this time I stood my ground. She was taller than me by a few inches, but I was stronger than her. If she was actually stupid enough to start something, I was pretty sure I could take her.

“Asher told me enough. He said you were
no one
before you guys started dating,” I fired back, my irritation growing. “He said you gave yourself some sort of ‘extreme makeover' after you came into your powers, and that you were
obsessed
with becoming popular.”

This time it was Brooklyn who needed a second to recover. But I hadn't disarmed her completely.

“News flash, Hadley: Asher was the one who sought
me
out. He brought me into his circle, taught me most of my early spells, and watched after me. He said that he
loved
me,” she said. “You can't just turn those feelings off.”

“No, I think you did that job yourself by cheating on him,” I said, angrily. “Dumbest decision you ever made, by the way. Because when he left you, he came straight to
me
.”

Brooklyn sucked in a breath and for a second I wondered if I'd gone too far. I had no idea how she was going to react or just how far she would go. I prepared myself for the worst.

“You have no clue what happened between us or
what
my life is like,” she hissed. “And you certainly aren't going to dictate whether Asher and I will be friends. In fact, I think I'll be talking to him as much—and as often—as I want in the future. Because you may rule over your coven, but
I'm
the ruler of this camp. And
nobody
tells me what to do.”

I fought to keep my composure. I'd dealt with plenty of people in school who'd attempted at one point or another to overthrow me. But none of them had been a match. Whoever Brooklyn had been back when Asher had dated her, she wasn't that girl now. No way he'd knowingly date someone so downright vile.

I forced myself to keep my breathing even, despite the fact that my whole body felt like it was on fire. I shook slightly and knew I needed to get out of there before I exploded. Instead, I took a step toward Brooklyn, and then another, until we were practically nose-to-nose. I saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but she didn't move.

“Clearly you have no idea who
I
am, otherwise you'd be careful not to threaten me or the people I care about. Samuel Parris did that and now he's
gone
. Let me be perfectly clear, Brooklyn: Asher. Is. Mine. You can try to get him back all you want, but he will
never
love you again. So, a word of advice? Don't embarrass yourself,” I said, not even knowing what I was saying until it was already out of my mouth. It was like an out-of-body experience. When I was finally able to force my legs to move again, I started to walk backward, my eyes trained on her. She was still standing there, slack-jawed and silent. “And Brooklyn? Take it from someone who defined the word popular—you can't make yourself into something you're not.”

My ponytail nearly whipped me in the face as I turned and walked back to the rest of the Cleri. They were all standing stock-still, in the same places they'd been when I'd left them. Jasmine was giving me a Cheshire Cat grin, Jinx was looking around at the other campers nervously, and Sascha seemed genuinely surprised by the confrontation. I avoided looking at Abby, because I was still pissed about what had happened and wasn't ready to admit that I may have gone a bit overboard.

I'd been harsh—mean, even. My stomach felt queasy and my hands were still shaking. But I'd tried to be nice to her. I'd given her the benefit of the doubt, but she'd come out swinging. I'd simply defended myself and my relationship. Brooklyn had been the one to start this thing. Not me.

“Nice show,” Jasmine said, holding out her fist to bump mine. I ignored her, and instead, began to stretch for the session we were about to start.

“What was
that
about?” Sascha asked carefully.

“It was about a witch not knowing her place,” I said.

“It looked like it was almost a catfight,” Colette said.

“Please let there be a catfight,” Jasmine answered, too happily.

I rolled my eyes. “I'm not resorting to violence,” I said. Then I paused to think about what I'd just stated. “Unless I have to.”

“Whoop!” Jasmine yelled out suddenly. “We haven't seen Hardass Hadley since we were training for war! It's nice to have her back. She has all the best lines.”

“Well, war is what Brooklyn's gonna get if she keeps it up,” I said. “I thought if I talked to her, maybe we could find a way to coexist at this camp. But it looks like she wants to do things the difficult way.”

“I
love
the difficult way,” Jasmine said, clapping her hands together.

“Can we, just for once,
not
be the ones fighting a whole slew of angry witches? Please?” Jinx asked in a meek voice.

“I hope she backs off, Jinx,” I answered. “But if she doesn't, don't expect me to be Mrs. Nice Witch.”

Brooklyn and I kept our distance during the rest of the session, choosing to stay as far away from each other as possible. This was difficult considering the camp wasn't all that big to begin with. At first, I was still buzzing from the confrontation, but once the counselors started class, I was able to get lost in the lessons. Magic can be an incredible distraction, and considering what the elders had us doing, we needed all our concentration just to keep up.

“Yesterday we got to see where you're all at in terms of your magical abilities and today we're going to start honing those skills,” said Miss Peggy, who'd exchanged her vest for a T-shirt today, but had somehow transferred all her pins and buttons to its surface. Because of this, she made noise every time she took a step, like a cat with a bell around its neck. At least we always knew when she was coming. “It's important to know the basics before you move on. Even the simplest of spells can be an asset to a witch, but if you don't know how to use them properly, then they'll be practically useless.”