I ignored the comment, held down a sigh. "You won't understand."
"What's not to understand? I don't mind who you fool with." She slid a considering look my way. "That is, as long as it's not Ro."
I rubbed at my scratchy eyes and pushed some hair out of my face. Taking a second to think on it, I decided it'd cause no harm to tell a little more of what happened. "This morning, I went for a run and I-" I frowned and searched for words that wouldn't make her freak out. Alex had a penchant for the melodramatic. "This boy," I said and flushed when I thought of Breandan. "He bumped into me. Or rather I bumped into him since he seemed to expect me. It was the weirdest feeling, like I was meant to be with him."
"Was he familiar? Someone you'd met in the upper dwells, perhaps." She sounded suspicious.
I couldn't help but smile at comparing the magnificent mental image of Breandan, next to one of the skinny, pot-hole-faced pubescent boys the dwells produced in an alarming quantity considering the human race was near extinction.
"No. He was not from the slums either before you ask. His name's Breandan."
"Hold up." She pinched the bridge of her nose then rubbed at the runes on her cheek. This told me she was agitated and I braced myself for a lecture. "This boy you met was Outside, as in beyond the Wall?"
Fiddling with the skin peeking through a slash in my jeans, I nodded. "I know what you're thinking but it's fine. Do not tell anybody. I'm dealing with it."
Her eyes widened and I realized my mistake. "You know what he is don't you? What kind of demon he is." I said nothing. To open my mouth at such a point would be a bad thing. I'd already told her much more than I had meant to. But it was nice to tell someone, who would not think I was clinically insane, and release some pressure.
"You know I won't tell anybody, but you need to never go out there again."
She looked worried, but I couldn't help but add, "He touched me, held my hand and I'd wanted him to."
It would have sounded stupid to the average person, and if it had been anyone but Alex, I would have kept my mouth shut.
As little as I'd told her, Alex's mouth popped open. "No lie, touching? You willingly placed your hand in another? Like actual skin contact."
As much as I wanted to, I couldn't tell her what really happened with the fairy-boy. It was weird, admittedly not weirder than the vampire slumbering in my wardrobe, but still pretty messed up. Even if I tried to tell her the boy was a fairy she'd take me to get my head checked. If I said the word 'vampire' she'd probably hit the klaxon as a reflex.
"Only you could make a demon friend," she said, and to my amazement sounded jealous.
I placed a finger on my lips and shot her a look. Did she want the whole world to know?
"Keep it down, I was safe." She peered at me, seeking the truth and I composed my face to blank. It wasn't a lie per se. I just didn't divulge all details that no doubt would horrify her. "I guess you could call him a friend," I said slowly. "I don't think he'd ever hurt me in fact he helped me out of a pretty tight jam. I only told you so much because it was odd, and you would've bugged me until I told you something semi believable."
I shrugged to give the impression of nonchalance.
She was not convinced, and her pinched face told me so. "You gonna get yourself dead. I told you to forget about that damn hole. I should've made you tell a Cleric."
My voice was flat when I replied, "Whoever he was, he's long gone."
Drumming her nails on the table she shrugged. "Say-so. Let's move."
She went to grab my hand but I flinched. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed my blazer lapel instead and dragged me behind her.
Half way down the hall the morning bell rung and the corridor filled with bodies.
I gripped the strap of my bag tightly. I knew I had a class, I'd spent all morning trying to get back in time for it, but for the life of me I couldn't remember what. "What we dealing with first period?"
"Demon Theory," Alex shot over her shoulder.
A jaw-cracker of a yawn took me by surprise, and I shook off a little sleepiness. Damn straight I was on my way to class even after my pre dawn drama. I could not skip class; the punishment was not worth it. I was pretty much good at everything I tried and took eight classes instead of the six most Disciples preferred; Martial Arts, Explosives, Subterfuge, Entomology, Demon Theory, Equestrianism and Alchemy. I was tired, and could feel a grump coming on, but I vowed to keep it together a few more hours for the sake of maintaining. My plan was to get through the day with my head down, deal with the dead thing in my closet then sleep and wake up to everything being back to normal. Rather, as normal as they were before.
Alex caught my yawn. "That must have been some run."
I nodded faintly. Someone pushed past and bashed my shoulder. I winced. I got another shoulder bash after two more steps and became freaky alert. I hated walking the halls during period changes. Usually I'd be early or late to class and avoid the masses, but Alex liked to be on time.
I hung my head and lowered my voice. "The next person to touch me is going to be in a world of pain."
She sent me a consolatory look then shrugged. There wasn't much of anything you could say to make someone like me feel better.
I'd always had problems with getting close to other people. Physical contact made my skin crawl. I could only bear to be a more than a foot close for a few seconds before some peculiar reflex took over, and this horrible hissing noise started to break from my throat. It was embarrassing and practically a disability. As I child my blood had been tested a gazillion times because the Sect suspected I had demon blood, but the tests always came back negative for shifter or witch genes. The month people thought I was a witch was bad, and if I'm honest the worst of my life. Freaky and unexplainable stuff started happening when I was nearby. Naturally, the solution thought up by the community was to blame the weird kid. Having no family to protect me I had been mocked, beaten to a pulp and ridiculed. People had spat at me and even thrown stones. The matrons at the orphanage were afraid of me and did nothing; they probably hoped someone would kick me in the head too hard and take me off their hands. But I'd always been resilient and a quick healer. Bearing the burden of being hated and feared had set me apart as strong, and the Sect enrolled me in the Cleric training programme less than a season later.
As a Disciple my life was better, still difficult but better. I even had friend now.
Walking into the class, ignoring the other Disciples already in the room, I sat down and rested my cheek on my palm as Alex wandered off to mingle.
Mind drifting, a memory of silver eyes had my heart picking up speed and turned my breathing shallow. Feeling the heat in my cheeks, a glance around showed everyone was too wrapped in their own world to notice my heaving chest. Not that people paid me much mind. Why was I getting all hot and heavy over a fairy-boy I would never see again? He said he was going to come for me, and I had used this to help me get through my encounter with the vampire, but there was no way he would risk coming onto the Temple grounds. That would be stupid, and Breandan seemed anything but stupid, right?
Bored of waiting for the lesson to start, I stood to stretch, and the satisfying pangs of my muscles loosening helped chase away some of the dull drum. Wandering from my desk, I twisted my fingers together and paced the room. There had to be something to inspire a break of remembering those cold and mad eyes. Why was he mad? He was definitely upset about having to help me back to the Temple, but why?
There was no way in hell I was ever stepping another toe past the Wall ever again, so I had to stop tormenting myself with the questions eating away at my composure. Questions like who was he? Who were the 'we' he kept referring to and how did he know I was a fairy? Why was I given up at birth? Were my parents still alive?