Shadow's Edge (9 page)

Twe
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Can I come?” Gia looked up at me, her light eyes hopeful and wide.

“I don't think you'd like it, G,” I said gently as I turned back to the bathroom mirror. I pulled another piece of hair out of the clip atop my head and meticulously flat-ironed it.

“Oh,” she said softly, twisting the gold-leaf bracelet around her delicate wrist. I set the flat iron down on the vanity and sighed. I turned around and faced my sister.

“Really, it wouldn't be any fun. It's just a football game. I don't even really want to go. Dad's on duty tonight so he isn't even going.” I seriously meant it. Although I wanted to be there to cheer Alex on, my meeting with Oran the night before had zapped me of any energy or will to deal with Wildcat Fever. I really just wanted to curl up into a ball and throw my comforter over my head. But I knew I had to go—that I deserved a distraction for a few hours.

“I could keep you company, then!” Gia perked up and leaned against the doorjamb of the bathroom.

I sighed. I didn't have the strength to be the Bad
Big Sister. “Fine, G. Just stay next to me during the game, okay?”

“Yes!” Gia clasped her hands together and hopped up and down.

“Yes, what?” I heard Morgana's voice say from down the hallway.

“Yes, Leah's going to let me come to the football game tonight with her! You know, Alex is playing,” Gia said, sounding very self-important.

“Oh, cool. Maybe I'll go with you guys. I was supposed to volunteer in the neonatal unit tonight, but they were overstaffed. So I'm free,” Morgana said.

I managed to get Gia to wear an old pair of jeans, and convinced Morgana that a long, bejeweled black dress with chakra and rune symbols on it wasn't really the way to go, and also to wash off the giant
Circean
she had written on her biceps. On the way out, the three of us stopped in the kitchen to grab the car keys.

Rhea and Slade were hovering over her laptop. “Where are you guys going?” Rhea asked, eyeing us suspiciously. Slade ran his fingers through his long locks.

“The football game. Wanna come?” Morgana said, before I could give her a Look of Fiery Death.

“You're all going?” Rhea asked, as Slade fixed his gaze on me.

“Yep.” Gia walked over to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water out and took a swig.

“Count me in. Slade's got some stuff to do, and I'm not staying here alone with Mom.” Rhea popped up. “Just gimme a sec to change.” She shimmied past Slade and sauntered out of the kitchen.

“Hurry up!” I called after her. We stood in silence for a moment with Slade, who was still staring at me. I turned toward him and gave him a head nod. “Hey,” I said, my throat catching with discomfort.

He nodded back to me and shut the laptop. “I'm leaving,” he said. He stood up and stretched. His long arms unfolded over his head, causing his black T-shirt to rise up and show a glint of olive stomach, surprisingly taut and muscled. As he brought his arms down, his eyes caught mine again and he raised his eyebrows. I quickly looked away, my cheeks burning.

“Let's go.” Rhea appeared behind me.

As we pulled into the school parking lot, I repeated myself for the millionth time. “Remember not to say anything about what Mom does, or … anything like that. Seriously, you guys. I'm really trying to make friends.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got it, okay? We aren't dumb or anything.” Rhea yawned as she pulled a compact out of her purse and examined her black liquid eyeliner.

“Are you embarrassed by us?” Gia quietly asked from the backseat.

I turned to face her. “G, not at all!”

“All right, guys. Leah, don't worry. We're going to be the picture of normalcy.” Morgana pulled into a parking spot. “And if we get bored, I brought my angel cards.” She smirked. As we walked toward the entrance to the stadium, she put her arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear, “All jokes aside, you know I'm so proud of you, right?”

I smiled at her and nodded. “Thanks, Second Mom.”

We stopped at the ticket booth and stood behind a group of parents. “I can't believe how many people are here,” Morgana said as she surveyed the line.

“Just wait until they build the new stadium. It's supposed to hold, like, five thousand more people,” I muttered under my breath. In front of us, several pairs of male eyes turned to stare at our group. I looked at Rhea, who smirked at me.

“
What? Like I can help it. It's just who I am,” she said sweetly.

“Just stay close to us,” I hissed at her.

“Spencer, what's new?” said a voice from behind me.

I turned around and came face to face with Ben. He had on a long-sleeved black T-shirt and wrinkled tan cargo pants. His shoulder-length hair was tucked behind his ears. The dimming sunlight fell across his face and his green eyes glinted a bit, reflecting the chain-link fence.

But the best part was that he seemed to be in a good mood.

I smiled at him and shifted, annoyed that my heart was suddenly beating a bit faster. “Not much,” I said casually. “What are you doing here?”

Ben shrugged and lifted his arms in the air. He stretched them out wide, like an eagle. “I'm actually not really sure. Football games aren't usually my scene, but my English teacher is giving us extra credit if we go to the game.” He rolled his eyes while crossing his arms against his chest. “Nothing like forced extracurriculars, right?”

“I hear you,” I said, nodding. I prayed he wasn't going to use this as an opportunity to mock the football team again. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my sisters gawking at him. I ignored them until Morgana poked me in the ribs.

“Oh, right! This is my Ben.” I clapped my hand over my mouth and shot my sisters a look of horror. I'd tried to say “my friend” and “Ben” at the same time, but it had come out somewhat differently. “I mean—”

“My Ben? Is that really your name?” Gia asked,
eyes wide.

Ben laughed and ran his fingers through his hair, the scent of his shampoo wafting across my face. “Close, but it's actually Ben. Hey.” He gave everyone a little wave with his long fingers.

“This is Gia, Rhea, and Morgana,” I said, pointing to each of my sisters.

“Whoa. Rhyming names.” Ben's eyes crinkled as he smiled wider than I'd ever seen before. “Your parents really into poetry or something?”

We inched closer to the front of the line.

“No, My Ben, but I think my mom smoked a lot
of weed in the Eighties,” Rhea said. Ben laughed, his
eyes twinkling.

“Four tickets,” Morgana said. She glanced back at Ben. “Oh, five, actually.”

“Thanks, Morgana,” Ben said as she handed his ticket to him.

Morgana caught my eye as Ben turned to hand his ticket stub to the volunteer at the stadium gates. I ignored her expression and looked away.

“Whoa,” Gia said as we walked through. People sporting blue and white were milling around like ants on a spilled ice cream cone. Parents, students, and children all buzzing with excitement over their beloved Wildcats.

“First game, huh?” Ben said to her.

Gia nodded.

Ben looked down at me. He leaned in and whispered, “You think this is nuts? Wait until the Homecoming game.” His hair grazed my shoulder, simultaneously tickling and electrifying my arm. I had a sudden urge to touch his hair.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” I said, suddenly uncomfortable. I shifted a micro millimeter away from him and pointed to the stands. “Lead the way, Ben.”

He knitted his brows together. “You okay?”

“Yeah! Great!” I said, a little too enthusiastically. “Just excited for the game.”

Ben nodded and I could've sworn his face tightened for a moment, but it happened so fast it was hard to know if it was my imagination. “Oh, right. Alex.”

“Yeah,” I said as I felt my face grow pink. “Let's go!”

Ben shrugged and motioned for us to follow him into the stands. The cheerleaders were practicing their routine about midfield, and Ben directed us all the way to the right of the field. Guys' heads snapped in Rhea's direction as we walked across the stands. I noticed her smiling at a few of them.

“No,” I said to her, and kept walking.

“Buzzkiller,” she said to me.

As we filed along the benches, I felt a pang of worry. I remembered Alex telling me after school, “I already talked to Janie and Mark—you know, from Brooke's party? They said to sit with them. You don't have to sit with the old people again.” I looked four rows over and saw Janie, Mark, and a bunch of other people clapping along with the band and throwing their hands up at certain parts of the music.

I sat down next to Ben on the cold metal bench. My arm accidentally brushed against his shirt as I settled in, the nerves on my right side going crazy. My face flushed again and Ben looked at me strangely.

Calm down, Leah. You're acting like you've been raised in an isolation chamber and never had human contact before.

I felt a poke in my ribs. “Why are we sitting with all of the dorks?” Rhea hissed.

“We are not!” I whispered back through my teeth.

“Look around, genius,” she said.

I craned my neck around and realized we were basically sitting with the band, some random burnouts, and a few foreign exchange students. I spotted Hideous Sweatshirt Boy on the bleacher above us.

“Whatever. Shut up,” I said, and elbowed her.

I sat watching the cheerleaders for a few moments, not wanting to speak until I knew my voice would come out steady. I cleared my throat and turned to Ben. “So, I heard you used to play football, right?” My voice boomed across the stands. In my effort to sound confident and casual, I wound up nearly shouting.

He laughed and his hair fell across his face. “You deaf or something?” When he saw my face grow splotchy, he said, “I'm kidding, Spencer. Chill out.” He gazed out at the football field.

I shrugged and pretended to stare at my cuticles. “That's what someone said.” I glanced down at Brooke and Caroline, who were hoisting a girl up over their heads to hold a sign for the crowd.

“I used to.” Ben's voice was casual, but there was a catch that I couldn't figure out. He looked at me and held my gaze. I was close enough to see my reflection in his bright eyes. “Asking about me?” he whispered.

My face immediately went hot again. “No, I, uh … ”
I sputtered.

He leaned toward me, his face serious. “We all have secrets.” His warm breath brushed against my face in the autumn air. He moved back and smiled, revealing a slightly crooked incisor.

My heart started to pound.

Secrets? Because the kind of secrets I usually hear are—

“I'm kidding, Spencer. Stop looking so freaked out.” Ben laughed as he twisted a silver ring with black etchings on his right hand. “I quit football because I had to get a job since my parents don't have much money.” He shrugged and jostled my elbow with his arm. “Guess I'm just a freak who doesn't worship football.”

I smiled at him, narrowing my eyes slightly. “I guess that
would
make you a freak in this town.”

I wanted to ask him about his girlfriend, who she was, but the game started and we all rose to our feet to cheer during the opening kickoff. Despite sitting in the “loser” section, everyone around us jumped up, cheered, and clapped too, especially as number 4 ran onto the field.

As halftime drew nearer, I heard Ben turn to Morgana and ask, “Is that an evil eye bracelet?” He was pointing toward her turquoise bracelet on her left arm.

She nodded and smiled at him.

“Cool. My mom has one of those. She got it in Croatia. She says it wards off evil spirits, right?”

Morgana nodded again. I pretended to study a hangnail as I felt her gaze burn into my head.

“So Ben,” Morgana said, “Leah has this sort of mythological research project that she's working on for school. If you're interested in all that stuff, she could probably use some help.”

My head snapped back to her, my eyes burning.
Like I need any more complications.

“Sure, anytime. My aunt is a historian and I grew up surrounded by books about legends and folklore. Cool stuff,” he said.

Yeah, I don't think you're ready for this kind of folklore,
I thought.

Thankfully, Gia gave me an out before I had
to respond. “I think someone's trying to wave to you, Leah,” she said, pointing to the cheerleaders. Brooke had both hands in the air, fingers outstretched like an air-traffic
controller.

“I'll be right back,” I told Ben as I stepped over him. I followed the crowd down the metal stairs to the chain-link fence surrounding the football field.

“Hey!” I said brightly. “You guys cold?” The sun had gone down and the temperature had dropped a good fifteen degrees.