I arched a brow. Damn. That sounded ominous. “Talk about what? How everyone drives trucks around here? Or how cow tipping really is a pastime? Or how my sister is never, ever going to seriously get with you?”
Adam sighed. “Talk about Katy, smart-ass.”
Schooling my features, I stared straight ahead as we navigated the crowded halls. Both of us were a good head or so taller than most. We were like giants in the land of humans.
“Billy Crump’s in your—”
“Trig class? Yeah, I know that already.”
“He was talking in history about you flirting with the new girl,” Adam said, sliding past a group of girls who were openly staring at us. “Ash overheard him.”
With each passing second, my annoyance was hitting an all-new high.
“I know you and Ash aren’t seeing each other anymore.”
“Yep.” I grit my teeth.
“But you know how she gets,” Adam continued quickly. “You better be careful with your little human—”
I stopped in the middle of the hall, two seconds from throwing Adam through a wall. Kids shuffled around us as I spoke barely above a whisper. “She’s not my little human.”
Adam’s gaze was unflinching. “Fine. Whatever. Out of everyone, I don’t care if you took her into the locker room and did her, but she’s glowing…and so are your eyes,” he added, voice low. “And all of this is familiar.”
Shit. On. A. Brick. My eyes were doing the diamond thing? Great. Glowing eyes were one step away from a Luxen shifting into their true form. Wouldn’t that be fun if I turned into a glowing alien in the middle of a high school hallway? Striving for patience I wasn’t known for, I started walking, leaving Adam behind.
I needed to get my shit together.
This back-and-forth crap had to stop. I was beginning to wonder if I had a split personality. Jesus. I needed to stay the hell away from Kat. And that would keep her away from the rest of the Luxen, namely Ash.
When was the moment Katy became different from the herd—from the rest of the humans? Someone I wanted to know? The day at the lake? When we went for a walk? The night the Arum got a hold of her? Or one of the many times she told me off?
Shit.
Adam was right. All of this was familiar, except we’d had this conversation with Dawson over Bethany.
Dammit. This was not happening.
I glided through the rest of my classes bored out of my freaking mind. Many times last year, I tried to convince Matthew to get me a forged high school diploma. No such luck there. The DOD probably thought school was a privilege for us, but what they taught couldn’t keep my interest. We learned at an accelerated rate, leaving most humans in the dust. And the DOD would have to approve my request to go to college if that’s what I decided. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go to college. I’d rather find a job where I got to work outside—something that didn’t include four small walls.
When lunch rolled around, I was half tempted to call it a day. School wasn’t the same without Dawson. His exuberance for everything, even the mundane, had been contagious.
Not hungry, I grabbed a bottle of water and headed to our regular table. I sat beside Ash and leaned back, picking at the label on the bottle.
“You know,” Ash said, leaning against my arm, “they say what you’re doing is a sign of sexual frustration.”
I winked at her.
She grinned and then turned back to her brother. That was the thing about Ash. Even though we’d dated on and off for years, she could be cool…when she wanted to be. Truth was, I think she knew deep down that she really wasn’t that into me either. Not like Dawson and Bethany had felt about each other.
God, I was thinking a lot about him today.
He should be here, the first day of our last year. He should’ve been here.
Lifting my eyes, I immediately found Kat in the lunch line. She was talking to Cassie—no, Carissa—the quieter of the two girls in trig. My gaze dropped down to her flip-flops and slowly worked my way back up.
I think I loved those jeans. Tight in all the right places.
It was amazing really—how long Kat’s legs looked for someone so short. I couldn’t figure out why it seemed that way.
Ash’s hand dropped to my thigh, drawing my attention. Warning bells went off again. She was so up to something. “What?” I asked.
Her bright eyes fixed on mine. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.” I focused on her, anything to keep her interest off Kat. As feisty as the little kitten was, Kat was absolutely no match for Ash. I set the bottle aside, swinging my legs toward her. “You look nice today.”
“Don’t I?” Ash beamed. “So do you. But you always look yumtastic.” Glancing over her shoulder, she then turned back and slid into my lap faster than she should have in public.
A couple of the boys at a neighboring table looked like they would’ve traded in their moms to be in my position.
“What are you up to?” I kept my hands to myself.
“Why do you think I’m up to anything?” She pressed her chest against mine, speaking in my ear. “I miss you.”