Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (18 page)

     “Hey,
we just want to have a little chat with you. Don’t run away.” It wasn’t hard to
hear the glee in his voice at the prospect of Devan being threatened by him.

     “I’m
not running,” he replied, reaching the truck and opening the door. “I think
you’re just mistaken at what vehicle I’m driving.” 

    
Jarrod’s sneer transformed to anger as he realized his little stand-off wasn’t
going as planned.

     As
Devan situated himself behind the wheel the group reformed themselves around
the truck with Jarrod strolling up to the door. 

     “You
know if you keep bothering me like this I’m going to think you’re missing me at
work and I might have to rethink my job placement.” Devan said, rolling down
the window and leaning out to address him. Normally Devan wouldn’t have engaged
in dialogue with someone bent on initiating a fight with him, but he wanted
Jarrod to understand his view of their implicit arrangement. If Jarrod wasn’t
going to leave him alone than what was the point of declining the job?

     “The
job wasn’t the only thing I wanted you to stay away from.” He stated in a
steely tone. 

     “It’s
unrealistic to think I can quit school.” Although, that thought would have been
a desirable…before.

     “I
want you to stay away from Laney at school too.”

     “I
can’t help it that she’s intelligent and I’m intelligent and that we share many
of the same intellectual classes.” Devan knew these words would only escalate
the situation, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

     An
angry flush covered Jarrod’s face; he didn’t like Devan’s inference that he was
lacking in the intellect department, but then a smirk replaced it.

     “How
was your ride home last night?” He inquired.

     He
was subtly referring to the slashed tire he had imparted. Devan had wondered if
he was going to take credit for it. 

     “Acceptable,”
Devan replied nonchalantly.

     “I
know how rough the roads are around here; they can be
murder
on your
tires,” he said spitefully. 

      “It
was nothing I wasn’t prepared for,” Devan asserted calmly.

     That
wiped the grin off his face. He was unsure if Devan had missed his subtle
insinuation that it was by his handiwork Devan had received the defective
tire. 

     “I
was the one who did it,” he said bluntly, forgoing the indirect route.

     Devan
gave him a look of condescension. “Yes, I caught the inference.”

     This
increased his fury, and uncertainty. The guys behind him were looking confused
at the direction of the conversation, seemingly ignorant of Jarrod’s actions
the night before.

     “Just
remember, being seen with Laney could become very expensive for you.” Jarrod
threatened, rallying from a conversation that didn’t seem to be going the way
he thought it would.   

     Devan
could feel the blood beginning to hum through his veins; he had let this go on
for too long. Jarrod wasn’t going to let it go. Going against every rule they
had about avoiding confrontations Devan stepped out of the truck and
straightened to his full height of 6’10” which had everyone backing up. They
didn’t go far, not when they thought they had the numbers. Not that it would
have helped them.   

     “I’m
sure I’m not the only one who could end up having their tires destroyed.” Devan
commented in return. By showing that he wasn’t going to be intimidated by
Jarrod or his friends Devan had hopes of bringing this sideshow to an end.

    
Jarrod’s friends might not know what was going on but it appeared they were
going to back their friend if it came to a fight. They formed a semi-circle
around Devan with the truck at his back in an intimidation attempt. He in no
way felt intimidated.  

     Devan
hadn’t had to utilize his fighting skills in a long time. So far he had been
able to avoid violent confrontation by keeping to himself, but that didn’t mean
he was at a disadvantage. He’d been taught many different forms of martial arts
at the facility. They’d all been coordinated and in a controlled setting but
the concepts were still there, and he’d continued practicing them over the
years…for future protection. Devan’s previous combatants had been military
trained soldiers, not high school boys, so he would need to make sure he didn’t
harm them too badly.         

     “We
can make life here really difficult for you.” Jarrod stated grimly taking a fighting
stance.             

     “But
it’s been such a joy so far,” Devan remarked acerbically. The testosterone and
pheromones emanating from every male increased considerably. He could also
smell what each one of them had for lunch, the cologne they were wearing, and
that one of them had a candy bar in their pocket—possibly a snickers bar. 

     A
fight would definitely be cause for relocation. He tensed in preparation. 

     Devan
didn’t look but he heard the sound of a vehicle pulling into the parking lot of
the library. The entrance was behind him and he wasn’t going to take his eyes
off the individuals in front of him.

     Jarrod
and his friends switched their attention to the new vehicle and their expressions
exhibited frustration and unease. Whoever it was it looked like it was going to
curtail the beat down scheduled on their agenda for today.

     “Damn,”
Jarrod mumbled under his breath; discreetly waving his pals to back off.

     Devan
glanced over his shoulder to see who Jarrod was unhappy to see. 

     Laney
and Hali; what were the chances?

    
Screeching to a halt in front of Brett’s truck they clambered out of Hali’s
car. Their faces wore identical expressions of fury. Seems Devan was going to
be rescued by two fire breathing teenage girls.

    
“What’s going on?” Laney asked. The question came out sounding almost flippant
as she looked each guy in the face ending at Jarrod but there was a definite
bite to her tone, and her eyes were spitting fire. 

    
“Nothing’s going on; we were just talking.” Jarrod replied unconvincingly,
doing his best to appear guiltless in the face of such an obvious lie. 

     “Oh
really, next you’re going to tell me you were inviting him to tea party and
then makeovers after.” Laney retorted furiously. “Do I look that
stupid?”       

      “If
this was supposed to be some kind of welcome wagon you guys seem to be lacking
in the welcoming part.” Hali scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and
leaning back against her car.

     Two
of the guys actually look embarrassed as the girls admonished them. Their eyes
darted to Jarrod looking for some kind of support.  

     “So
you’re automatically taking his side.” Jarrod complained, moving toward her.
This had the hairs on Devan’s arms standing on end. He
really
didn’t
like it when Jarrod got close to her. Devan moved in her direction
instinctively and her fiery gaze flashed in his direction before returning to
Jarrod. Hali also looked his way but shook her head as a warning to not
interfere. Devan restrained myself…barely.

    
“You’re kidding! There are four of you and one of him; whatever kind of
rationalization could you make that would justify what I see here?” She asked
incredibly, waving her arms around at the assembly.

     One
by one Jarrod’s three friends began to back away toward his truck as though
worried Laney might aim her wrath in their direction. It was kind of humorous.

    
Jarrod was directly in front of Laney, whispering to her. “Please, you have to
understand; ever since this guy came into the picture you’ve been acting
differently.”

     “I’m
not the one acting different; you’re the one’s who’s been mean and nasty and
behaving as though you own me, and I’m not going to put up with it. I suggest
you take a hard look at your behavior these last two days and when you can see
clearly again then we’ll talk.” Laney’s face was red and unyielding. Devan wasn’t
able see Jarrod’s face but the clenched fists at his sides were an indication
that he didn’t like what he was hearing. Devan was having a difficult time not
interfering seeing Jarrod standing so near Laney in his aggressive mood.

     Jarrod’s
friends had retreated to the truck and appeared tired of waiting; they honked
the horn to get him to hurry up. Jarrod spun on his heels; the look he directed
toward Devan said retribution was inevitable. 

     The
three of them watched the truck speed out of the parking lot with the two guys
in the back bed hanging on for dear life.

    
Laney’s fire still appeared to be smoldering, because the look she sent his way
still had a lot of heat to it. It sent a little buzz through him and he wasn’t
sure if it was from alarm or anticipation.

     She
turned and Devan thought that was that, but her words said otherwise.

     “Hali,
can you give me a minute?”

     The
buzz amped up higher.  

     “No
problem, sister. I’ll just be in here listening to some music at a volume where
other sounds will be impossible to penetrate.” She threw a wink his way before
stowing herself behind the wheel and cranking up the music to a degree that was
bound to cause permanent hearing damage. His ears rang a little bit from
outside the vehicle. 

     Laney
inhaled deeply before turning to face him. “I’m really sorry for the way Jarrod
has been acting. It would appear that he’s been under some misapprehensions.”
Laney’s eyes were sizzling, her face red. 

     “You
don’t need to apologize for him, and I can handle myself.”

     “You
shouldn’t have to be handling it at all. He really does have a good side but
lately it’s been hidden behind this other side of him.” Her eyebrows were
furrowed in confusion.

    
“Really, don’t worry about,” Devan stressed. “Hopefully I won’t see him around
too often.”

     Her
eyebrows furrowed even more in response to his comment. “Is the way you been
acting around me…is it because of Jarrod?” She asked. Her incredible green eyes
appeared to probe his glasses for an answer. 

     Of
course it was because of Jarrod, but Devan wasn’t going to tell her that. In reality,
his conduct in the beginning had been out of character, Jarrod had just caused
him to revert back to type…unsociable and distant. It was probably best that
way anyway, there was no point getting attached when they could leave at any
time. Another pang went off in his chest cavity.

     “What
do you mean?” Devan asked, injecting false confusion into his tone.

     “You
just seem…I don’t know…to be acting differently. I mean, I don’t know you well
enough to know your moods of course, but you seem to be waffling, as though
something is directing you moods.” Laney’s tenor had lowered, rose, and then
lowered again as she attempted to get her meaning across. Devan could smell her
embarrassment, and it wasn’t helping him in remaining distant with her when all
he wanted to do was relieve it.

     “If
it seems like that, I am sorry.” Devan heard the emphasis in his ‘sorry’ and
realized he needed to get out of here before he lost the ground he’d made in
pushing her away. She was drawing him back in and he had a deep desire to let
it happen. 

    
“Sooo, do often hang out on the top of buildings or is it just school
buildings?” Laney asked out of the blue with a small grin.

     Devan
winced inwardly at her question. He had wondered if she would bring that up. It
had been foolish of him to jump down from the building in view of her. He had
no explanation for why he had done it. The only good thing was that she hadn’t
seen how he had jumped down, because if a person were to hang from his hands
down the side it wasn’t too far of a fall, and with any luck, that was what she
thought. The question gave him more of a push to get out of there. 

     “It’s
quiet.” He replied shortly.

     Over
Laney’s head he could see Hali doing an imitation of a drummer on the steering
wheel as she sang along with the music blasting inside the car. “I should
probably get going and I’m sure Hali’s eardrums need a break by now.”   

    
“Always running away.”

     If
Devan’s hearing wasn’t so sensitive Laney’s whisper would have probably gone
unnoticed, as it was his eyes swiveled to her involuntarily.  

     She
had turned away to scrutinize Hali so she missed his startled look in her
direction. Devan wanted to refute her words, but he couldn’t…they were true.

     “I
don’t know, she appears to be enjoying herself,” Laney negated, turning back to
him. “And I know for a fact that she could do that for at least another hour.”
She quirked one eyebrow; it was like she was trying to say ‘got another excuse
for me’. 

     If
she wanted another one he could oblige.

    
“Listening to music like that is very detrimental to hearing and I don’t want
to be aligned with damaging hers.”