Walking closer, he tried to call out, but Felix simply shook his head. The rushing water beside them was almost deafening. As they neared, Felix’s eyes took on a different look. He was frightened. His lips turned blue and his face lost all colour. A large gash slowly developed across his neck, right before Aiden’s eyes. Blood began to flow from the wound, soaking the front of his clothes. They both stared in horror as he gripped the trunk of a tree, gasping for air. He was crying out to them, but they couldn’t make out his words. He fell, lying in the dirt and fallen leaves. Aiden turned to Elisa, but she was no longer there. He was alone. When he looked back at Felix, he saw only the blood on the ground where he had been, now dry and dark, instead of the vibrant red it had been only seconds before. Aiden wanted to run, to look for them, but his feet felt like concrete blocks. He couldn’t move. Screaming for help, he looked around wildly, but there was no one around. There was no helping Felix now. He was gone –so was Elisa.
Then, as he looked to the forest, a figure stepped out from behind a tree, surrounded by darkness even in the afternoon light. A dark hood hid his face but his laughter filled the space around them, louder than the rushing waters. It was a mocking, sinister laugh. A triumphant cackle that sent chills down Aiden’s spine.
He
was here – again. Aiden opened his mouth to scream.
* * * * *
“You look like crap,” his mother commented as he entered the kitchen.
“I didn’t sleep well,” he muttered, grabbing a box of cereal and pouring himself a bowl.
His mother pursed her lips at him, squinting her eyes as she observed the dark circles under his eyes. She always did this when she was worried. “It seems like that has been happening a lot lately,” she noted in a concerned voice. “Are you having any problems you need to talk about?”
There was nothing but love in his heart for his mother, but Aiden could not understand why she insisted on talking about everything. It felt like she was always trying to ‘talk’, even though he continually shot her down.
Some people just don’t know how to take a hint
, he thought irritated.
“I’m fine,” he reassured her, avoiding her glance. Eddie smiled up at him as he sat down, greeting him with a sweet ‘hi’ in her high pitched voice. She was talking more now. Much more.
Women must be born with the need to talk incessantly
, he decided.
His mother’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “You better hurry up or you’ll be late again.” Nagging – that was another thing they must be born with.
CHAPTER TWO
School was abuzz that day with talk of a school fair. Aiden and Ethan both agreed that neither of them would attend. They weren’t ones for school spirit. Not just that, but something about a fair –with the clowns and rickety rides made Aiden extremely nervous.
“Aiden!” a girl’s voice called down the hall. Turning around, he saw Melissa making her way through the crowd. His dream hit him as he saw her smiling face, but he quickly pushed it away. She looked different than she had last night. Over the summer she had chopped off her long hair, wearing it now in a short pixie cut. It was drastic, but she had the bone structure to pull it off. Without her blunt bangs covering her forehead, you could see her eyes better.
“Hey,” he smiled. Her open friendliness momentarily stunned him, but he quickly regained his composure. It took him a second to remember Bentley wasn’t around anymore After Aiden’s suspension the year before – for punching Bentley – Melissa had approached him to apologize for the whole incident. Aiden was almost certain she realized his weak attempt at chivalry. Ever since then she had been discreetly friendly to him, greeting him in the halls and talking to him during class. He hadn’t seen her throughout the summer, but she was still just as pretty as she had been the year before.
“I didn’t see you yesterday,” she said breathlessly, stopping just in front of him. “What class do you have now?”
“History with Basios,” he sighed. Her face reflected his gloom.
“Bummer,” she sympathized. “Well, how was your summer? You look great,” she smiled, scanning him from head to toe. He fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze.
“Uh, thanks,” he stammered, he cheeks flushing with heat.
“Well I guess I’ll see you around. Wouldn’t want to make you late!” Her eyes widened in mock horror at the thought. Aiden couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, Basios would probably chop my head off with one of those falling axes.”
“It’s called a guillotine, you idiot, and I have one at my house if you want to come by and test it out,” a deep voice said behind him. Aiden turned to see Mr. Basios looking down at him. “Get inside.” He turned and walked into the classroom.
“You don’t think he’s serious, do you?” Melissa whispered. Aiden shrugged, said goodbye and headed towards his desk.
Mr. Basios spent the class creating a personal hell for Aiden. Every time he asked a question, Aiden was picked to answer even though his hand remained firmly planted on the desk.
When the bell rang, he let out a sigh of relief. “Tough break, dude,” the boy next to him said as they packed up their bags. He muttered a lame thanks before hurrying out of the class. When he walked out, he caught a glimpse of Ethan and Melissa walking together further ahead. He was too far away to hear them, but he could see her laughing, and watched in amazement as she reached out and squeezed his arm. Ethan’s face turned to look down at her, a huge smile plastered there.
What the –?
“Aiden!” a deep voice called out. He tore his eyes off the two of them, and looked across the hall at Wes, one of the running backs for the football team. Wes stood by his open locker wearing the team jersey that most of the guys wore throughout the day. Aiden had opted out of it, wanting nothing more but to blend in rather than announce his new team affinity.
“Hey,” he smiled back. Wes was much taller than Aiden and had a good fifty pounds on him. His hair was short and wavy, and a light shade of blonde with the dark blue eyes. Aiden walked over, standing somewhat awkwardly in front of him.
“You going to that fair the school council is throwing?” Wes asked, his eyes following a couple of girls as they walked by. They both smiled at them over their shoulders, making Aiden’s face feel suddenly hot.
“No,” he answered immediately, turning back to him.
“Well I hate to break it to you bro, but some of the other guys are saying it’s mandatory for the team to go.” Aiden’s mouth dropped open in shock.
“Why?” Aiden groaned, more than slightly horrified.
Wes laughed. “To show school spirit, I guess? Who knows, maybe it’s just another way for the coach to torture us. Either way, I was wondering if you need a ride? A bunch of us were planning on going together, so if you want me to come get you I can.”
His mouth dropped open further. He wasn’t used to the older guys being nice to him. There was a moment of stunned, awkward silence as they stood in the hall. The students around them slowly thinned out.
“I guess so,” Aiden finally replied.
“Cool,” Wes responded, slamming the door to his locker shut. “I’ll see you later at practice then.”
They parted ways, and Aiden entered his next class, moving instantly to the back row. The fair. The thought loomed in his mind throughout the entire lesson. It was odd how he had no problem taking on an army of supernatural creatures, but a simple night out with his fellow students made him feel sick.
At lunch he found Ethan sitting at their normal table, chewing on a large bite of hamburger.
“I think I’ve seen pigs eat neater than you,” Aiden commented dryly as he sat down across from him. Ethan looked up defensively.
“Like you’ve seen pigs eat,” he scoffed. Aiden chuckled.
“So guess what I found out today?”
“That the whole football team is required to attend this year’s opening school fair?” Aiden nodded. “I know, I heard some guys talking about it in the hall. Sucks to be you, dude.”
“That’s an understatement,” replied Aiden. “So are you going to go then?”
“To the fair? Hell no!” he answered loudly. A few other people around them looked up in surprise. Aiden rolled his eyes. “Sorry,” Ethan shot out, sarcastically. Everyone quickly looked away.
“Aren’t you going with your other steroid infested jock friends anyway?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah I am.”
“Then why would I go?”
Aiden shrugged. “I was just asking.” He got the impression Ethan was slightly bitter about the whole thing, which made him feel guilty. He knew how hard it was for Ethan to accept that Aiden had physically and socially changed over the summer. They had always been on even ground together. Both were the same social standing in school, and were just as equally ignored by the majority of the student body. This year Aiden was moving up, and he wondered if Ethan felt like he was being left behind. “You can always come with us?” Aiden offered hopefully.
“No thanks.” The answer was flat and concrete, so Aiden dropped it.
He thought about asking him what was going on with Melissa, but decided against it. How did he even feel about it? Aiden thought about the idea of Ethan liking Melissa, and surprisingly it didn’t really upset him as much as he thought it might. Was it possible he had gotten over his crush? Maybe, he thought truthfully. It was possible, since he had been interested in Elisa, but now that wasn’t an option anymore. Elisa was betrothed to Wolf. There was nothing he could do about it, never mind the minor fact that he didn’t even live in the same world as her. Would he ever see her again? He was getting depressed, and focused back on Ethan and Melissa. No, he definitely didn’t care. Maybe he should encourage him? How would Ethan react?
Aiden watched Ethan as he ate, trying to decide how to handle the situation. The truth was, Ethan was never very forthcoming about his feelings, so Aiden had no idea how to approach him. He’d think of something, he decided, opting to talk about World of Warcraft instead. Ethan sat up straighter, answering Aiden’s questions with his usual good humour.
When he walked out onto the field after school, the sky was full of ominous grey clouds, and the air was moist with a hint of autumn chill. Aiden shivered as the wind rushed over him. Hopefully practice would be cancelled if it started to rain, Aiden thought optimistically. No luck. The rain came halfway through their drills. By the end of practice they were all soaking wet and miserable. As the team dressed in the locker room, the coach announced that they were indeed obligated to attend the fair. A unanimous groan rippled through the locker room.
“Go cry to your mommies,” Coach Morris barked. “I expect to see you all there – with smiles on your faces!” he added, turning to enter his office, slamming the door shut behind him.
* * * * *
“It could be worse,” his mom said, as she stirred a pot of pasta. “They could have forced you guys to actually participate in the fair activities. At least this way you can just roam around for the night.” Aiden sighed. His mother laughed in response. “I swear I don’t know whose child you are. When I was in high school I loved going to events like this. Where is your school spirit?”
He looked up tiresomely. “I’m already on the football team…Doesn’t that count for something?”
“For you, yes. I’m still shocked,” she smiled. “One night out for a school event won’t kill you,” she pointed out judiciously. He had to admit, he had been through worse things in his life. Eddie grabbed at his pants, tugging on them with her small little hands. She held a book up. Smiling, he picked her up, sitting her down on his lap. He knew the words to all her books by memory now, and that she wouldn’t be satisfied with just one. As he finished the third book, he could tell she had fallen asleep. Her head felt heavy on his chest, and her breathing was even.
“I’ll take her,” his mom whispered. She smiled down at Eddie, pure love in her eyes. “Sometimes I’m still in awe that we were blessed with her.” Her face looked suddenly sad for a moment, before she turned abruptly to walk upstairs.
What was
that
about?
He wondered.
* * * * *
The floor was littered with dirty clothes. Aiden swore as he searched frantically for a clean sweater. It was still early in the fall, but nights were already getting cold. Wes would be at his house in ten minutes to go to the fair and he wasn’t ready. There was a soft knock on his bedroom door.
“May I come in?” his mother asked, poking her head around the corner.
“Sure,” he answered quickly, keeping his focus on the task at hand.
“What are you looking for?”
“A sweater.”
“You know, if you cleaned up this place once in a while, you might actually find things in here,” his mother lectured, stepping wearily over the heaps of fabric. “Your friend is waiting outside. I asked if he’d like to come in, but he said he’d wait in the car.” Aiden swore again. He settled on a green hoodie that looked and smelled cleaner than the rest of the sweaters he had picked up.
“This will have to do,” he said, turning to go. His mother stepped hesitantly in front of him before he could make it to the door.
“I want to say something to you before you go,” she said, her voice sounding unsure. That was unusual for her. Something was up.
“What’s going on?” he asked, disinclined to actually hear the answer.
“Well, it’s just –” she faltered. “Well, this is the first time you’re going out with your new friends from the team, and I just want to make sure that you’re going to be safe.”
“Safe?”
“What I mean is – don’t do drugs,” she blurted.
Aiden rolled his eyes. “Is this what you really wanted to talk to me about? A don’t-do-drugs lecture?” He walked around her, rushing to the stairs leading down to the second floor. His mother was close on his heels. “We’ve already talked about this before, Mom. Don’t worry about me.”
“I know it can be hard though, especially when it comes to peer pressure,” she explained. They were both descending the stairs to the first floor now. Aiden turned to face her when he reached the front door.