Earth (3 page)

"We're already late, Steven."

"Babe, we can’t know where we're sitting – I
mean standing – until the squads and band get into the bleachers
anyway." He had a point. I heard him digging through the messenger
bag he always carried with him. He pulled out a make-up case, armed
and ready to attack me when I parked.

Once parked I turned and surrendered my face,
knowing resistance was futile. He dabbed concealer into the dark
areas around my eyes, his chin tilted up slightly, reaching blindly
with his free hand for eye brightener. "I know it would kill Jodi
if you ever started wearing make-up regularly, but with just a few
key elements you would really be a knock out. Not that you aren’t
already beautiful, but I mean you’d be like insane if you did."

"What do you mean it would kill Jodi?" I
blinked trying to concentrate on not sneezing in Steven's face.

"Sweetie, you're much prettier than her
without any help, even with all that make-up she wears. If you
started wearing make-up to really draw out all of your features she
just might hate you." I glanced at Steven, looking for something in
his face to tell me he was just kidding. I could taste the truth of
his words on the back of my tongue and my stomach clenched when I
realized he was serious.

I started tracing the short curls of his dark
hair with my eyes to distract myself. Steven’s hair grew faster
than most people’s so one week it would be short enough to spike
and then the next it would be curling softly as it was now. It was
too dim inside the van to see the natural highlights that the sun
always caught, showing shades of honey and amber.

If Steven hadn’t been gay he would’ve been
beating the girls off of him. As it was he had plenty of offers
anyway. He was tall and lean and he carried a casual confidence
born from the years of love and acceptance Jodi and I provided that
he didn’t always get at home. And under all the trendy outfits he
hid lean, practical muscle that made you feel safe in a dark
parking lot.

"Why do you always have mine and Jodi’s
shades of make-up with you anyway?" I switched the subject,
uncomfortable with the idea that our friendship hung by such
uncertain strings.

"For. Just. Such. An. Emergency." He stopped
on each word as he examined my face after one last brush of
mascara. He nodded, seeming happy with what he was looking at.
"Ok, I think your hair is fine. Kinda has that tousled not
quite sex hair look to it."

"Oh gee, just what I was going for." I rolled
my eyes and hopped out to make the long walk to the
stadium. We walked through the bleachers just as the band and
squads were settling into their designated section that we called
The Cheer Section. Steven and I ducked under the railing and
squeezed in next to Jodi. A couple of the girls near us squealed
and hugged Steven tightly.

"You guys were cutting it close," Jodi said
to me over the roar of the crowd as our team took the
field.

"Passed out after school, picked Flamer up
late, and had to hike a mile to get here." I saw her look at my
face critically for a moment, not really listening to me. I tried
to push away the thought that Steven had planted in my head that
she wasn’t happy to see me made up. Steven was forcing me to
realize that because I was a girl and he was not I was always going
to be in a one-sided competition with Jodi. I envied that he would
never have to deal with this. Magical abilities or not, we were
still teenagers.

"Jodi!" Steven squealed, reaching over me to
hug her. "I have a change of clothes for you in my bag."

"I love you!" They flashed matching smiles at
each other as the crowd roared and the game was underway. Jodi had
to pay attention at that point to keep up with the chanting they
were required to yell in so-called “school spirit”. I grabbed
Steven by the arm, spun him around to get to his bag, and pulled
out my emergency novel. Fully planning on sitting down to be hidden
in the standing mob of The Cheer Section, I was stopped short when
Steven nudged me.

"What?"

"Mike’s looking for you,” Steven said,
nodding towards the field below. My head snapped up involuntarily
and I saw his lean, tall figure facing towards us, his head turning
slowly as he scanned the stands. I sat down so fast even I thought
I'd fallen for a second. "What're you doing?" Steven asked, looking
down at me.

"I want to read. Besides, how do you know
he's looking for me?" Steven was bending down to hear me.

"Who else would he be looking for? Hey, why
didn’t you wear the jersey, you could've gotten us in for
free!"

"You did get in for free, I paid for you!
Besides, I don’t want to give the poor boy false hope."

"Please honey, even if you don’t want to wear
his pin you could at least pass some time with him." He gave me a
wicked grin and winked at me before I put my hand in his face and
pushed him away.

The game passed in a series of screams,
cheers, and groans. Somebody won, I was told, but I was more
interested in getting the hell out of the parking lot before the
team had the chance to leave the locker room. I didn’t want to
chance running into Mike and be expected to congratulate or comfort
him. I wasn’t sure which would be worse.

"Oh shit, hold on, my flute!" Jodi broke away
from us half-way to my van when she spotted her mother's car and
dashed over to stash her instrument in the car. I was gripping
Steven’s sleeve, twisting the fabric tightly in my impatience to
get away as I watched Jodi have a small argument with her mother
while pointing at us.

You think she's telling her she can’t go
with us tonight?
Steven thought at
me.

I hope not. We've got to get to The Oak,
Ash and Thorn before they close for the night.
The Oak, Ash and Thorn was the local
metaphysical supply store we shopped at and the last thing I wanted
to do was be there on a Saturday, it would be
packed.

Aw, but there's a party!

There's always a party. And it'll still
be going by the time the store is closed anyway. Oh, good, here she
comes.
Jodi jogged over to us quickly.

"Sorry. She wanted me to come home and visit
with the grandparents."

"You sure that's ok?" I looked over her
shoulder at her mom.

"Oh yeah, I pointed out that I was home
earlier and that I'd be home most of the day tomorrow."

"Cool, then let’s go!" I grabbed her with my
free hand and pulled them relentlessly to the van since I’d seen
the first few players appearing in the parking lot.

We made it to the store with only fifteen
minutes left before closing. Luckily I knew the manager behind the
counter and smiled at Deb with a quick wave. She winked at us and
went back to helping convince a couple of girls that a little
jasmine oil would go a lot farther with their crushes than any
potion they were looking for. Steven laughed openly at the exchange
and we hurried to the back of the store where the real merchandise
was.

"What're we getting?" Jodi was poking through
the crystal baskets on glass selves.

"Um, we're out of pink and white candles...
and I think I'd like some sage. Oh and you know actually, Steven?"
I stood on my toes looking for him through the shelves.

"Yeah?" He stood up, having bent over to grab
the sage for me.

"Go ask Deb for some of that jasmine oil
she's already got out, I think that'll be a nice touch." I gathered
a few other items including a perfectly carved and polished rose
quartz heart out from under Jodi's nose.

"Rose quartz heart, jasmine oil, pink
candles? C'mon aren’t we getting a little cliché here?" Jodi eyed
me skeptically.

"Hey, some things are cliché for a reason.
Besides, Tracy needs true, affectionate love to convince herself
there is someone better out there than Nick, otherwise she's never
gonna leave him."

"We're doing a
love
spell?! Are you
kidding?!" Jodi asked in a very accusatory voice. The term “love
spell” was as bad as "black magic" in our circles.

"No! Of course not!” I said quickly. “We'd
need a person to do that, you know that. We're just looking to find
that one guy that actually loves her to help move the pieces closer
together so she'll see there's better out there. Tracy’s convinced
herself that any boyfriend is better than being alone. If there’s
no one worth breaking up for she wont leave him."

"Oh, ok cool." Jodi visibly relaxed and
started browsing again.

"Hey kids!" Deb came around the corner with
her usual bright aura that was almost visible even to the untrained
eye.

"Hey Deb," I reached out and hugged her
before she stared taking our items for us to hold at the counter
until we were ready to pay.

“Hm, rose quartz, pink candles,” Deb
muttered, looking at our items before glancing over to Steven at
the counter. “And jasmine oil? Shay, Jodi, you’re not doing what I
think you are, are you?”

“It’s not a love spell,” I said, my voice
barely in check. “It’s a banishing and calling,” I explained
through clenched teeth but Deb relaxed as quickly as Jodi did so I
let my frustration go.

"Oh, good, need any help?" Deb asked.

"Just some good vibes tomorrow night, say
around nine o’clock?" I looked at her hopefully.

"Oh sure doll, no problem." I'd take any help
I could get, no matter how small the help was. "I'll go ahead and
charge the crystal for you, if you want?"

"Yeah, all the good vibes we can get, go for
it."

We ended up at that party Steven was so
desperate to get to, and after twenty minutes I was horribly
reminded of the fact that I just never seemed to fit in with most
people my age. I always ended up feeling like the chaperon. A
sixteen-year-old chaperon. Now that’s cool.

There were so many bodies inside the house
that the heat started to get to me. The hormones were prickling at
the small of my back and the vague sense of competition,
testosterone, and estrogen were swirling in my belly. A cold sweat
broke out along my hairline. The room was tilting slightly to the
left. I pressed myself against a wall to stay steady until Jodi
ordered me to go home an hour later, promising they'd found rides
home.

"Besides, you need a good night’s sleep
before tomorrow night. Take some Nyquil and knock out when you get
home and don’t get up until noon. Promise?" She squeezed my hand as
Steven leaned to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll try." I tried to smile but I was sure
it looked more like a grimace.

Hurry, Mike just walked in and he's
looking around.
Red thoughts. That was Steven, pressing his
fingers into both our palms. 

Crap!
I looked around for a
different exit since he was so close to the front door.

Here, we'll play interference.
Jodi
grabbed a hold of Steven's hand and dragged him straight over to
Mike, talking animatedly to him, almost too quickly for him to
follow. I dashed out the door right behind him. The cold air was as
refreshing as a cold drink on a summer day. Not wanting to chance
my luck, I didn’t take the time to fully appreciate it but quickly
raced towards my van.

We'd gotten here later than normal and I was
forced to park around the corner. I reached out and
felt
the shields I always had up around me, finding no weak spots, and
breathed a little easier as I rounded the corner. Nearing my van I
heard a girl’s muffled cry and stopped dead. Eyes wide, trying to
take in every sliver of light available, I scanned the street.
Straining to catch any other sounds, I was careful not to even
breathe. I still had that underwater feeling in my ears from the
noise inside the party and the sudden quiet of outside.

Eternity passed in the few moments before I
heard another soft sob a few cars ahead of me. I walked slowly, not
sure which car the noise came from,
reaching out
with
every ounce of empathy I had and three feet from a large midnight
blue F-150 I heard a familiar echo of pain and pulled my energy
back into myself. Anger colored the edges of my vision as I marched
up to Nick's truck, a birthday gift for his sixteenth birthday from
his over indulgent parents almost two years ago. We all joked that
it was also an apology for shortchanging him on the genetic code
and helping to compensate for what he lacked physically.

"Nick, baby, please! My stomach hurts so
much." I heard Tracy's pathetic pleads coming from the back of the
extended cab, wishing with all my might I had something more lethal
on me than just pepper spray.
Tomorrow night can’t come soon
enough,
I thought to myself as I planted my feet shoulder-width
apart, feeling my way past the concrete sidewalk down to the bare
earth beneath. I drew up the energy I needed, balled up my fist,
and banged harshly on the truck door.

"What the fuck?" I heard Nick's angry words
and they seeped into my ears like poison. I tried not to gag at the
thought of him polluting me. I saw his dark shape through the
tinted window as he pulled up and away from Tracy and turned,
reaching for the door handle. As soon as it was unlocked I reached
up and yanked it open, causing him to come tumbling out, crashing
on his shoulder on the sidewalk. "Sunnovabitch!" He spit the swear
out with a snarl.

"Hey Trace! There you are! We were looking
for you at the party," I said bright and loud as I stomped on
Nick's inner thigh and reached into the truck, grabbing
Tracy by the ankle. I pulled her sliding across the seat and out,
catching her waist as her feet hit the ground.

"Shay? What’s going on?" She looked like a
mouse caught in a corner by a large cat. Her shirt was undone and
in disarray and the button and zipper of her jeans were pulled
apart. I caught a glimpse of the bruises I had been suffering
through with her and tried not to stare and embarrass her. They
were much worse than I had imagined.