Crushed (7 page)

Kristen went to her locker and retrieved her books. She didn’t catch the vicious glare Brittany sent her way, but Zach saw it. Could Brittany have enough power to control an owl? Better question was—did she hate her sister enough to try to kill her?

Brittany walked away and disappeared into the crowd.

Zach considered warning Kristen that her sister was out for blood, but he didn’t get the chance.

Kristen returned to his side, mouth tight. Her expression had turned bitter. She pushed her books at him and said, “Carry these and walk me to class.”

It was a classic order. In the past, he’d seen boys follow the Noah girls throughout the school year, day after day, carrying their books with blissful smiles on their faces. It had made his blood boil. If he hadn’t been working hard to stay below the radar, he would have accused them and stripped them of their powers long ago.

Once again, he had to wonder if he was under her spell, because he took Kristen’s books without argument.
Had
he been enchanted? How could he possibly know? He wasn’t sure how enchanted boys felt, only how they acted. If he wasn’t under the spell, he could throw her books down and refuse to comply. He was sure he could do that if he wanted to, but then she would know something was off about him, and she wouldn’t rest until she got to the truth. She could go to the witches’ council and destroy everything.

Kristen did a double take.

Purposely changing his expression, covering the resentment in his eyes with warmth—he had to think about his sister to accomplish this—he said, “I’m just waiting for you to lead the way.”

Nodding briefly, she walked off, leaving him to follow.

Zach stayed a step behind her, inwardly cursing her and himself for wanting her. It was just physical, of course. His body wanted her, while his mind wanted to get as far away from her as possible. He needed to get himself under control. Then he would take care of her. He would have to step up the plan of seduction because he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. At least once he got her to fall for him, she would back off with the orders.

###

At lunchtime, Kristen entered the cafeteria a few steps ahead of Zach. She’d been afraid he might take her hand, creating a bigger spectacle than the time Brittany had taken on three girls at once over an argument that had started with the simple question, “Who is the best guitar player living and working today?”

Baby elephants did a tap dance in Kristen’s stomach. It was more than being with Zach that had her nerves stretched to the point of snapping. Both of her sisters were mad at her. It was a record. Brittany was a dangerous person to fight with, especially without an ally. In the past, Cyndi had always been the voice of reason, albeit a weak one.

This morning, Brittany had left for school unusually early, and she’d taken the car. Fortunately, Brittany was predictable.  Knowing her sister would leave her stranded, Kristen had arranged for another ride ahead of time.

Their fights always started like that, mild to begin with, then picking up steam until Brittany either crossed the line and caused an injury or got over being mad, whichever happened first. Step one—Brittany would do something to annoy her. Leaving her without a way to get to school filled that requirement. Step two—Brittany would curse her, something small like embarrassing hiccups. Step three—this was usually the point of injury. Kristen was hoping to avoid Brittany’s step three this time around.

A disturbing ripple of excitement traveled from one side of the cafeteria to the other as students noticed that Zach and Kristen were together. Kristen stiffened but managed a cheerful smile. She waved to some friends as Zach led her to an empty table in the corner, his hand on the small of her back. It felt like there were thousands of curious eyes on her. Now she understood why tigers paced in their cages.

Feeling like the most horrible person in the world, she gave Zach another order. If she didn’t ask him to do things for her, her spell wouldn’t gain power, and she would lose the bet. “Buy me lunch.”

She felt dirty, so dirty not even a shower could get her clean again. She played with her fingernails, unable to meet his gaze. He had asked her out on a date, and for a moment she’d thought he liked her, but then she’d remembered he was enchanted. Boys didn’t like the witches who crushed them, they
loved
them. He had asked her out because he had a stronger will than most and was showing that love in a different way. That was all there was to it.

The whole thing made her sick. She didn’t have the stomach for it anymore. She should just hand the money and car over to Brittany now.

Zach went to get her lunch without hesitation.

She sat at her usual table and watched in fascination as a couple of freshmen gestured for Zach to cut in front of them. It was only the second day, and the newbies already seemed to understand who the major players were.

Her troubles faded with every movement of Zach’s lean, flat-muscled abdomen. He loaded up two trays and balanced them with ease. Elbow on the table, she leaned against her hand and smiled in spite of everything else going on in her life. She was going to have her first real date this weekend. She wondered what it would be like.

What were they going to talk about?

Zach returned while she was daydreaming. He dropped the tray onto the table in front of her. The loud bang made her jump. Startled, her gaze flew up to meet his. The look of resentment in his eyes was so incredibly clear that a blind person couldn’t miss it. Part of him truly hated her.

She dragged her gaze off him and looked at the tray of food. There was a variety to choose from including a fruit plate, pudding, a slice of pizza, potato chips, and red gelatin. He had also gotten her a bottle of water, orange juice, and a tiny carton of milk. Her appetite totally disappeared.

He sat across from her and gestured to the food. “Well? You asked for it. Aren’t you going to eat it?”

Feeling guilty for making him buy her lunch, she picked up the small carton of milk and opened it. Refusing to meet his gaze, she drank it while checking out the other tables. Students continued to stare at them. Kristen wondered how long it would be before the novelty wore off.

When she set the milk down, Zach chuckled. “You have a moustache now.”

She reached for a napkin, but before she could use it, Zach wiped the milk from her face with a tanned finger. He stuck the finger into his mouth and sucked on it while she watched in awe. Then, he turned his attention to the food on his own tray. It was such a startling show of intimacy that Kristen forgot to breathe. Sheer panic twisted her stomach muscles into knots.

Was this what falling in love felt like?

Trying to lighten her mood as well as his, Kristen teased him. “Do you have a closet full of T-shirts at home?”

“They’re comfortable,” he said and shrugged his wide shoulders, “and they’re easy to buy. I don’t have to try them on or mess with annoying salespeople.”

“You do realize they come in colors others than white and black, don’t you?”

His lips twitched as if he were trying not to smile. “I have a couple of blue ones, too.”

“Do you ever wear them?”

“Only on special occasions.” He shook his head at her and added, “It bothers you when other people don’t follow your code of perfection, doesn’t it?”

“Wear what you want. I was just curious.”

“Something’s been bugging me about you for the longest time.”

Gulp
! She almost swallowed her tongue at the thought of Zach wondering anything about her. “What is it?”

“What do you wear when you’re at home? Do you ever dress down in sweats or walk around in pajamas all day? Or do you have a favorite piece of clothing that’s stained, but you still wear it?”

She made a face. What a disgusting thought. “Of course not. I like to look my best at all times.”

“What about when you go to bed?”

“Then, too.”

He stared at her as if she had three heads. “Why?”

“My dad has always told us that first impressions are important, and…” The rest of the words stuck in her throat. She’d looked up to her father all her life, idolizing the man, but what if her mom was right? What if being a control-freak businesswoman had been his idea, his dream for her?

Students passed by the table but didn’t try to sit with them. Some were probably afraid of Zach. Others would know she always saved two seats for her sisters. She had expected Brittany to show long enough to tell her off at least. It worried her that neither sister had come to the cafeteria for lunch. That meant they were beyond angry with her. She could expect some major vengeance spells to come her way in the next few days.

“You okay?” Zach’s eyes narrowed on her face.

She nodded and lied. “I have an essay due at the end of the week, and I was just trying to figure out what I’m going to write about.”

“You won’t back out on our date, will you?”

“When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. Don’t worry. I have cheerleading practice in the afternoon this Saturday, but I’ll still have plenty of time to go home and change before meeting you at the library.”

Zach grinned. “You don’t have to change for me. I wouldn’t mind taking a hot cheerleader to a movie.”

“In your dreams.”

Their laughter mingled before being interrupted by a shriek. The lunchroom went silent. Everyone looked around, curious. It didn’t take long to find the reason for the angry sound. One of the basketball players was walking on some girl’s food. He kicked the trays out of his way so he could stand in the middle of the table. No one dared say a word to him.

Kristen looked for a teacher but didn’t see one.

The basketball player pointed at Kristen. His dark hair dripped with sweat. His large eyes were wider than usual. He laughed like a maniac, showing two rows of uneven teeth. In a loud voice he announced, “Kristen Noah is a…”

The blood drained from her face as dream became reality. It was over. All over. Her entire life was about to end with one little word. Hard work and diligence weren’t enough to propel her to the top. She was going to need her powers on occasion to pave the way.

Kristen rose to her feet and prepared to take the bullet.

A small smile touched Zach’s lips, smug in nature, but Kristen didn’t have time to decipher the reason for it. Dizzy, she grabbed onto the table, half afraid she would faint and hit her head on the way down.

“…a w-w-wonderful cheerleader, and Titan High is proud of her! That’s the end of this announcement. Thank you, all.”

The basketball player jumped off the table and headed for the doors. Kristen’s eyes followed him. She slowly unclenched her fists. Her palms burned where her long fingernails had cut into the flesh, and her entire body trembled.
Why?
It didn’t make any sense. Why would a basketball player single her out like that? It was too close to her dream to be a coincidence, and then she spotted the reason why.

Brittany patted the boy on the arm as he walked by her to exit. She turned in Kristen’s direction, gave a big smirk, and winked before following him out. Brittany had made her second move. Now it was up to Kristen. She could apologize to Brittany for breaking a rule, or she could let the girl have it with a stunning spell of her own.

Kristen’s jaw hurt from clenching her teeth too hard. She released a breath in a slow hiss and considered her options. If she were going to get even, she would have to make it good because Brittany would be out for blood.

On Saturday afternoon, Kristen went through half her closet, searching for the perfect outfit to wear on her date with Zach. She stripped several items off their hangers, carried them to the bed, and laid them down before heading back to the walk-in for the next load. She didn’t stop until the clothes formed a huge mound in the center of the bed. One at a time, she held them in front of her while gazing into the full-length mirror. She tried to imagine Zach’s reaction to each outfit.

She stood behind a red mini dress that fit her like a second skin and stared at her reflection, picturing bare legs and sparkling, red stilettos. What would Zach think if he saw her walking toward him in this hot little number? “Major slut,” she said with a wry twist to her mouth.

She tossed it and grabbed the next outfit, a frilly, white prairie skirt with matching top. What did her reflection say now? She made a face. “Don’t touch me. I don’t like boys.”

Next!

Kristen went through at least thirty outfits before deciding to play it safe and go casual. Zach was just going to wear his usual denim and T-shirt, no doubt, so she would look ridiculous if she wore a fancy dress. She chose a simple pair of jeans, gray T-shirt with
AC/DC
scrawled across her chest, and a tan suede jacket.

Why was she nervous? She still didn’t trust Zach and had only agreed to go out with him to get information. Something was off about him, and she was determined to find the truth.

She checked with the mirror one last time. Casual was the perfect choice. Zach would feel more relaxed around her, and she didn’t look like a clingy girl in need of male attention. In fact, she smiled at herself with confidence; she didn’t care if he liked her or not. She was on a fishing expedition. That was it.

“I am Kristen Noah, future CEO.” For ten years, she’d repeated the mantra to her reflection while preparing for the day ahead. Now, she added a qualifier. “Maybe.” She hated the sound of that, the sound of doubt. “Probably.”

“Talk to yourself much?” Brittany stood in the open doorway, hands on narrow hips.

Kristen hadn’t seen Brittany since the incident at lunch. She imagined running across the room and strangling the goth-girl wannabe. The visual brought a smile to her freshly tinted red lips, but she couldn’t do anything because her father was down the hall in his office. Playing it cool, she turned to face the other girl.

“That was clever,” Kristen said. “Having a boy pretend he was going to publicly accuse me? Very clever.”

“Glad you liked it.”

“I hope you’ve gotten it out of your system, because I’m not putting up with anything else. I broke a rule, and you put me in my place. We’re done now.”

Brittany grinned, hands in pockets. “Have you learned your lesson? That cheating is very, very wrong?”

Kristen wanted to knock the smug girl on her skinny butt. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that Brittany was a dangerous person to tangle with. Calling a truce now, swallowing a bit of pride, would be better for all players in the long run. So she nodded. “I’ll play nice as long as you do. No more rule breaking.”

Except for going out with Zach, of course. What her sisters didn’t know couldn’t come back to bite her later.

Brittany entered the bedroom without an invite and looked at the clothes on the floor with a pleased curve to her lips. “Riding a motorcycle, breaking rules, and now you’re turning into a slob. You and I are growing more and more alike every day.”

Kristen rolled her eyes. “There’s no need to be insulting.”

“Bitch.”

“Tramp.”

They dissolved into quiet laughter, friends again. It was such a relief to make peace with her sister that Kristen forgot where she was headed for a second. Then Brittany reminded her with an innocent observation.

“If I didn’t know better, I would think little Krissy had a date. All the signs are there. Messy room, fidgety hands, and you have a strange new glow. Where are you going?”

Kristen turned away so Brittany wouldn’t see the lie in her eyes. “Library. I have an essay to write, remember?”

“Oh yeah. Homework. You’re the only girl I know who has to have the perfect outfit for writing essays. Remind me someday to teach you how to have fun.”

“Would you like it if I went out on a date?” Kristen held her breath as she waited for the answer.

“Are you kidding? It would be great to have a normal sister instead of a freak in the room next to mine.” Brittany knocked the rest of the clothes off Kristen’s daybed and sat on the edge. She picked up a square pillow and tossed it into the air while talking. She caught it and threw it again, repeating the game over and over. “I have a confession to make. I was pissed off at you for crushing tall, dark, and scary because I like him. He’s my type from the top of his spiky hair to the toes of his biker boots.”

A cold fist settled in Kristen’s stomach. “But you told me to crush him.”

Brittany huffed. “I didn’t think you would actually do it. I was just giving you crap, trying to push your buttons. FYI, I was going to tell you I was just kidding, but then you decided to break the rules and crush him early.”

Kristen’s heart nearly stopped. Her sister liked Zach, and she was dating him on the sly. A situation like that couldn’t possibly end well, even if she were only dating him for information. There were a few unwritten rules when it came to being a good sister. The most important one was that you never, ever dated a guy one of your sisters wanted.

What was she going to do now?

Brittany dropped the pillow on the bed and hopped up. She headed for the door with a bright smile. “Have fun studying. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Kristen just stood there, feet glued to the floor. She had no idea what to do. Should she call Zach and cancel? Probably. But did she want to? No way. She had to know if he was under her spell. She had to know if he liked her…

…and if she liked him back.

She paced her floor, back and forth between windows and door, while racking her brain for a solution that would make everyone happy. On one hand, Brittany had liked Zach first. That meant Kristen shouldn’t have crushed him, shouldn’t have even looked at him, but the damage was done. She couldn’t undo what had already been done. She hadn’t known about Brittany’s feelings for him. It was news to her. Although Brittany had mentioned his name occasionally and had threatened to go after him, she’d continued to date every other guy she’d tripped over. How was Kristen supposed to know Brittany had actual feelings for him?

On the other hand, Brittany didn’t even know Zach. She hadn’t spoken to him, not once. She was infatuated with him. That was all. It would pass as soon as she found someone else she wanted, but for Kristen, this could be real. It could be her only chance to find out if love were something worth pursuing.

Mind made up, she grabbed her purse. She was going out on her first date tonight. It was a shame she couldn’t share the news with her family or friends. She was going to get to know Zach, try to figure out if he was crushed or not. In general, she planned on having a great first date. It could be her last date for a long time, especially if her dad found out about it.

If she discovered she didn’t like him, or that he didn’t like her and was just under the spell, Brittany would never have to know. Case closed.

But if she liked him, if they liked each other, she would just have to deal with the fallout. Hopefully Brittany would understand, but Kristen wasn’t going to hold her breath waiting for that day to roll around.

###

Twenty minutes later, Kristen parked her car in front of the library. It was a necessary, albeit annoying, move. Her father had a LoJack on both the car and her cell phone. With a few quick mouse clicks, he could trace her whereabouts on the computer, and that was why she was leaving both her car and cell phone outside the library. Turning the rearview mirror her way, she reapplied her Candy Apple Crush lipstick. Perfect.

A familiar roar filled her ears and accelerated her heartbeat as Zach’s motorcycle rolled to a stop next to her car. Bending over to get a good look at her through his dark sunglasses and her window, he grinned. The sight of him knocked the breath right out of her. He looked incredible in his faded jeans and leather jacket. A strip of blue peeked through the sides of his jacket, and she realized he was wearing a blue T-shirt.

A memory sparked to life in the back of her mind. He had told her over lunch that he had a couple of blue shirts. “
I only wear them on special occasions
.”

Her blood pumped faster. She could barely contain the stupid grin threatening to take over her face at the realization that this was a special occasion and not just to her. Zach was obviously excited, too.

He killed the engine, swung his leg over, and set the kickstand into place. Smiling at her, he opened the car door and leaned in to talk to her. “I thought we’d grab a bite to eat before the movie, if that’s okay with you.”

“Fine.” A huge lump clogged her throat. What was she doing? Lying to her dad and sisters, sneaking off with a boy she barely knew? Had she lost her mind?

He held a hand out, and she took it. She had to work to keep her fingers from trembling against his as he helped her climb out of the car. She took her time in closing the door and locking it, reluctant to face him. When the excuses not to look at him disappeared, she slowly turned, smile in place.

“Do you know what you want to see?” he asked.

She drew a total blank. What was he talking about? She stared at him like an idiot for a second
. Duh,
they were going to a movie. Quickly she shrugged. “I like comedies and action. No teary-eyed chick-flicks please.”

He grinned. “A girl who knows what she wants. I like that.”

The praise had her beaming at him. Lifting her chin, she boldly said, “I like things about you, too.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“I like your confidence and your sense of humor.” She grinned. “And the motorcycle doesn’t hurt.”

The problem of him being crushed resurfaced. She had to know if he was under her spell or not. A test sprang to mind. It was a bit risky. If he wasn’t under her spell, he would think she was an idiot, but she had to know. She took a deep breath and said, “Lick the sidewalk.”

Zach frowned. “What?”

She repeated the command in a louder voice. “Lick the sidewalk.”

He shook his head slowly. His dark brows drew together over ice-blue eyes, and his mouth formed a wide
O
like he understood her but still didn’t get it. “You want me to lick a sidewalk? Why?”

He’d passed the test. A boy who’d been crushed would have been on his knees already, tongue out and ready to go. Her smile widened. It was possible he’d been under the spell earlier, but it was over now. Somehow, the spell had been broken. No doubt she’d done it by pushing him too hard and asking for huge things right away instead of working up to them.

She’d never been so happy to lose before. Brittany could have the money and the car. If Kristen had actually found love, it would be worth it.

She circled him, a bounce in her step, and lied. “It’s a new musical group I just heard about. I was wondering if you ever listened to their music.”

“Can’t say that I have.” He got on his bike and started the engine. “Do you want to drive again?”

Shaking her head, she climbed on the back and wrapped her arms securely around his waist. Her body fit against his like they were made to be together. Feet up, she held on as the motorcycle turned and headed across the tarmac to the exit.

Cyndi would love this. It was ultra-romantic, her hero riding up on his steel horse so he could sweep her off her feet and carry her away from her boring life.

Too bad there was one thing ruining it for her—Brittany.