Infinite Risk (10 page)

“Actually it's more like I leave and he follows.”

His eyes widened. “Seriously? You take off and he drops everything to chase you?”

Put that way, it sounded bad on both our parts; it painted me as heartless and him as a stalker. “I'm not running from
him
,” I said finally.

“Your life is so complicated.”

I smiled faintly. “Tell me about it. So you're not mad anymore?”

“I was mostly worried about the fallout. It's not like I don't have my own secrets.” He tore off a piece of his roll, compressing it into dough with nervous fingertips.

If I read the situation right, that was my cue to dig. “Such as?”

His gaze flickered to the girl in the middle of the cafeteria, currently tossing her shiny brown hair. “There's someone I like a lot … since I first moved here.”

Wow, that's been years. Talk about a long crush.

I followed his gaze. “Have you ever talked to her?”

“God, no. That's part of the problem. Until you showed up, I never talked to anyone.”

“How come?” Despite the question, I didn't expect him to show me all the skeletons in his closet over bad school food.

So it surprised me when he eventually answered.

“I was pretty messed up when I first moved in with my aunt and uncle, definitely in no mood to make friends. It's hard to explain now, but it's like I thought, if I don't engage, if I don't make any move to adapt, then it's like none of this is real?” His tone went up at the end as if he was asking for confirmation of his past emotional state.

So I said, “That makes sense. You were in denial.”

His smile surprised me with its brilliance, brightening his eyes. “Exactly. By the time I rebounded, it was too late. I already had an unshakable rep as a weirdo. So all I could do was mark time and do my work.”

“It's never too late,” I said.

He laughed, until my expression made it clear I was serious. The rest of the noise might as well be gibbon monkeys as he stared. Then Kian shook his head. “I know you're trying to make me feel better, but I'll be bottom of the barrel socially until college.”

Maybe it was too soon to argue. “With that attitude, you definitely will be. So tell me about the girl.” Tanya … I'd forgotten her last name. “Or should I guess? She's a cheerleader, dating the sports superstar, probably excels in academics but more because she's good at working the teachers than for actual achievement.”

He scowled. “Wrong. She's in science and math with me.”

Shit, I should've realized. Just being pretty wouldn't be enough to make him like her.

“Sorry, that was unfair.”

“The other stuff is true, though. See the guy sitting next to her?” Kian didn't need to turn around apparently to know exactly where she was. His devotion gave me a pang, even as I told myself,
Good thing he's not falling for me.

I shifted, peering past his shoulder. “Blond hair, generic handsome?”

“Yeah. That's Jake Overman.”

“Quarterback?”

“Nope. Wait until he stands up before trying again.”

That could've taken a while, but Tanya sent him to get some napkins. As he uncurled from his chair, I realized he was considerably taller than six feet. “Basketball, then?”

“You got it. JV squad.”

“Don't expect me to figure out his position. I barely know anything about sports.”

Kian grinned. “That's one of my favorite things about you. I won't ask you to guess anything else.”

We finished lunch while I pondered what I'd learned. Though he didn't watch her as obviously now that we were hanging out, Kian still had a thing for Tanya. I shouldn't have expected
everything
to change just because I was here. From what he'd told me, he spiraled into an impenetrable depression after this girl rejected and humiliated him, until he hit extremis. After that, his decision to accept Raoul's offer ended badly for poor Tanya. While the immortal game was screwing up people's lives all over the place, this was where I'd chosen to stand and fight., I couldn't permit events to unfold as they had before.

But how can I be sure I've done enough?

The obvious answer was to stay until his birthday in June, but I had no idea what the ramifications were for living five months in the wrong time stream. From what little Kian had said, Wedderburn had agents experienced in time travel, but I doubted they stuck around for long; what Kian said sounded more like quick in-and-out jobs: artifact retrieval or timely executions. And that was out of the question here.

“What's got you so perplexed?” Kian asked as we cleared our trays.

“Just some time-travel paradox stuff.” I expected him to leave that alone, but he leaned closer in apparent interest.

“Is it about wiping yourself out of existence or becoming your own grandma?”

I laughed. “Not that complicated, thankfully.”

“I didn't know you were into science fiction. Smart, classic-film buff, a bit of a geek…” Kian nodded as if he'd come to a difficult conclusion. “You're perfect.”

“For what?” I wondered aloud.

“The role of my best friend.” He stressed the last word, maybe because of Colin.

“I'm glad to hear that,” I said, quietly aching.

He bumped his shoulder against mine as we headed out of the cafeteria but the move caught me off guard, so I stumbled. Somebody steadied me, and I turned reflexively to say thanks, only to find the uber-tall Jake Overman behind me. The rest of his group stood nearby, polished and shiny in designer labels. A few sported smirks as if they expected me to be embarrassed, but these people were amateurs compared to the Blackbriar elite. Pretending I didn't understand that they were school royalty, I offered a friendly wave.

“Thanks.”

One of the girls, not Tanya, edged to the front. “Can you settle a bet? Everyone's so curious, are you going out…?” She gestured at the two of us, lip curled.

Smiling brightly, I said, “I wish. But he just made it really clear that I'm friend-zoned.”

“No way,” a guy muttered.

“He likes someone else,” I added, and Kian nudged me so hard that it hurt, since I caught the elbow square the ribs. I ignored him because it was better for them to think
he'd
rejected me.

“You have a boyfriend anyway,” he finally mumbled. “So it's just as well.”

“Wade was asking me about you,” Jake put in.

The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. My blank look must've annoyed the not-Tanya girl because she said, “He's the captain of the football team, senior, best thing ever to happen to this school.”

“I disagree. I'm going with electricity and flush toilets. Didn't I see a plaque that says the original building was constructed in 1912 or something?”

“Everything was torn down,” Jake told me. “And they rebuilt in 1967.”

I beamed at him. “I'm impressed you know that. Nothing like local history.”

He made eye contact long enough for me to realize he was smiling a little warmer than the exchange warranted. Tanya noticed too and grabbed his hand, giving an impatient tug. “Weren't you about to walk me to class?”

“I … guess?” Overman seemed startled by the question, but he went along.

When the power couple rolled out, the others followed, and Kian let out an audible sigh. “That is the closest I've ever been to her. Did you see how pretty her eyes are?”

“I admit, it escaped me. She's got great hair, though.”

That opened the floodgates to a lot of Kian's private paean on Tanya, and I listened until the first bell rang. “Gotta go. See you later.”

Truthfully, it sucked more than a little hearing him wax rhapsodic over someone else. I reminded myself that romance had no part in this mission. I'd nearly persuaded myself when school let out, so I was smiling when I stepped into the hall. The contrast to Blackbriar, which was more like a private college campus, seemed especially sharp today. This school was struggling with outdated equipment, broken fixtures, and floors that needed a good scrubbing.

“You're new, right?” For the second time today, Jake Overman loomed over me. I could see how some girls enjoyed feeling tiny and fragile beside him, but it wasn't my thing. “I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. Tanya was in a hurry.”

I wasn't great at reading people or judging intentions, but since he'd mentioned his girlfriend, this interaction didn't seem skeevy.
Maybe he's a nice guy?

“Chelsea Brooks,” I said. “But you can call me Nine.”

“Yeah, I got the scoop from some assholes in my Bio 2 class. If it bothers you, I'll call you Chelsea.”

“No worries. Kian told me your name already.”

“Did he?” He seemed honestly startled to be known, unusual in a school athlete. “I didn't realize he followed basketball.”

“Everyone is capable of surprising you,” I said.

I didn't mean for it come out flirtatious, but judging by his slow, appreciative smile, that was how he took it. “I'll bear that in mind. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I'm having a party this weekend. Stop by if you can. Can I text you my address?”

“Sure.” I gave him my number. “But to be honest, I probably won't come.”

“Something I said?”

“No, I'm just not much of a party person. I'll probably go to the Marquee with Kian.” That was an intentional name drop to raise awareness.

“Isn't that a bar?” Jake seemed
really
impressed, enough that I felt like rolling my eyes. Apparently the key to popularity as a new kid was true indifference along with projecting a convincing aura that your life was more interesting than everyone else's.

“Sort of. But they're not picky about ID. We were there last weekend.”

“You and that kid? Went to a bar.”

“Yep. We watched an old movie, drank a little.” I didn't have to say it was Coke, right? The point was to raise Kian's social footprint. “Nothing huge, it was chill. And we didn't have to worry about being raided by the cops for a noise complaint.”

Jake frowned. “My parties never get busted. We live out in the country, and my parents are gone this weekend.”

“Cool. I'll keep that in mind.” Waving, I headed for the front doors.

The halls had thinned a little, and I didn't find Kian anywhere.
He probably already got on a bus.
But in the weirdest echo—and maybe because of the story I'd told Saturday night—the Harbinger was waiting for me, leaning up against an electrical pole just past the edge of the parking lot. In his Colin guise, he attracted a lot of attention from students who lived close enough to walk to school. Today he'd come as a musician with a violin case on his back, and even
I
had to admit he was irresistible layers of gorgeous: black shirt, claret leather vest, black trousers tucked into maroon combat boots, black trench coat over everything. The final touch, a dark red knit beanie contrasted beautifully to the raven spill of his hair, and as I processed the soft sighs and longing looks, it was like replaying how everyone reacted to Kian at Blackbriar.

Seems I'm destined to be envied for loves that aren't mine.

“Nine!” he called.

Six heads swiveled in my direction.
I have to get him out of here before he makes somebody go full Nicole.
I hurried toward him, face locked in a grimace of a smile.

“What're you doing here?”

“Picking you up, of course. I understand it's the thing to do.”

“More like marking territory,” I muttered.

“Don't be absurd, dearling. I don't need to mark for you to be mine.”

That was both annoying and wrong, but I didn't have the energy to argue. “Are you planning to ride the bus with me?”

The Harbinger laughed. “Hardly.”

But before I could speak, the talkative girl from Tanya and Jake's group stopped beside us. “I heard you might come to the party on Saturday.” While she was allegedly talking to me, her gaze never left the Harbinger.

Shit.

“You are?” I prompted.

“Lara. Sorry.” As far as she knew, I could be a doll made of pepperoni sausage. So much for thinking Wade was the best thing ever to happen to this school. “Is this your boyfriend?”

A little of the Harbinger's aura shivered through me, but either I'd built up an immunity or he was shielding me somehow. Yet Lara must be getting the full impact. If he asked, she'd probably run out into traffic. I grabbed his arm, annoyed that I probably looked jealous and possessive, when my main goal was delivering a vicious pinch. The Harbinger smirked, setting his hand briefly over mine, and Lara didn't notice how he squeezed the fingers together, a little painful while seeming intimate. That pretty much described all our interactions.

“Yes,” he said. “You said something about a party?”

I stepped on his foot, but it didn't faze him. Lara enthusiastically explained how awesome Jake's parties were, kind of legendary despite him only being a sophomore, and we should
both
totally come. By his gentle smile, I could tell the Harbinger thought this was all delightful and tremendously entertaining. He could probably find at least twenty people to feed from.

Lara finished, “Normally I think the violin is boring and weird, but I bet your music is awesome. So you can even play if you want to.”

Finally, I understood why he was carrying one, the whole fiddle of gold against your soul thing had to be massive in-joke. I sighed. “We have to go. See you around.”

It took all my strength to haul him away from the conversation, and I didn't notice I had a hold of his wrist until he resisted, staring at where my fingers held him. I let go at once.