Sweet Harmony (14 page)

"If you were fine, then you wouldn't be hiding right now. Where are you?" Jaiden asked. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

If he didn't sound so worried, she would have told him she wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that to him.

"I'm in the hall by the auditorium," she said.

"I'll be there in two minutes," Jaiden said. "Don't move."

When she hung up, she blew out a sigh. She realized
Jaiden was blowing off class to find her. She was a bad influence on him. A groan escaped her lips. A few minutes went by.

Footsteps pounded down the hall. Jaiden roun
ded the corner, his face red and sweaty. He skidded to a stop when he saw her. Since Jaiden was a pretty fit guy, he must have run hard to get himself in such a state.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yep." Jaiden straightened and wiped sweat from his face.

"You didn't have to run," she said.

"You were upset, so definitely I did," he said.

The words were touching. Nobody had ever run to her before. Her parents never came to her rescue, not even when she was a little kid.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"
Are you okay?" Jaiden straightened, his glowing green eyes on her. "Your eyes look red."

It was too embarrassing to say that Daniel's words had gotten to her. She wasn't even able to admit that to herself yet.

"Daniel just pisses me off." She could be angry with Daniel, just not depressed because of him. "I knew I couldn't go to class without smashing something, so I came here."

"I heard
from my friend the two of you argued about the dance," Jaiden said. "Dan wasn't happy with the fact I'm going with you."

For some reason, Jaiden was watching her carefully with narrowed eyes. She had the feeling he was gaging her reaction. The nightmare popped into her mind again and she remembered Jaiden's words.
"You promised you'd go with me."
She didn't want to remember that nightmare anymore. Her jaw clenched.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell him you asked me," she said. "Why didn't you?"

Jaiden sighed. "Because I knew he wouldn't like it."

"He didn't."

"Do you want to know something?" Jaiden asked.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I always followed Daniel everywhere. I never was much interested in music, but Daniel loved his violin so I came here with him. Money bought me a place here." Jaiden glanced at her wearily. "Every move I made, Daniel was a part of it. I guess it's because after my parents died, we were much more like a family than good friends. I relied on him. This is the first time ever I'm going against him on something."

"
Okay." She swallowed. "Is that why he doesn't like us going to the dance together? Did he not like that you were doing something on your own?"

"I don't think that's why," Jaiden said.

"Then what's the reason he's so upset?" She wanted to know so bad the question was burning inside of her.

"That's something he's going to have to tell you himself."

Jaiden reached for her hand and took it. Silence filled the hall.
Something he's going to have to tell me himself?
She looked down at the floor, wondering if his hatred was the real reason.

Chapter Thirteen

Annamarie sat on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. The designs in the paint looked like warriors doing battle with swords.
That's what I wish I could do with my feelings right now. I wish I could take out a sword and stab them all.
That would be a heck of a lot easier than trying to get her emotions in order. All of the confusion and wishy-washy thinking wasn't in her nature. She was a girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it. What was she doing sitting around moping?

If you know
yourself so well, then why can't you figure out why you're depressed because of Daniel?
an evil voice said in her mind.  

"Shut up, shut up, shut up.
" Annamarie pelted her forehead with her fists.

Her door opened and she looked up. Daniel was standing
in the threshold, glowering at her with bright blue eyes. It was like her thoughts had summoned him. Her stomach hopped in excitement.
Shoot!
she thought. Her own body was betraying her.

"Get out of here." She leapt to her feet,
scowling.

"Come with me." Daniel rushed into the room and seized her hand.

"What are you doing?" Not this again.

"I need you," he said.

He needs me?
Her heart beat hard because of his words.

"Why should I help you?" she asked. "Earlier you said you hated me."

"So?" Daniel glared at her but didn't release her hand. "You also called me a jerk and punched me in the stomach. I think that's a heck of a lot worse. Do you know how big of a bruise I have right now because of you?"

"I only did that because you said you hated me." She glared at him.

"Don't be so sensitive." He shook his head in exasperation.

Sensitive? Me?
She wasn't sensitive at all. As she fumed, Daniel pulled her down the stairs and out of the dorm. The sun beat down upon her, warming her skin. Daniel led her to the parking lot.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"I need to buy some more ramen and you know where to get it," Daniel said.

"You're putting me
through all of this for some noodles?" She was repulsed. "Just go to a department store."

"My maid usually does the shopping," Daniel said. "I wouldn't know where to find
ramen even if I went to the store."

Stupid spoiled rich boy.

Daniel led her over to a red Lamborghini. Back home she had a black Fiat which wasn't a car that just any sixteen-year-old girl could afford, but this was ridiculous. The Lamborghini was fancy enough it was worth the cost of a house. She was scared to even sit in it.

"Like it, huh?" Daniel grinned at her.

It was impossible not to. The car was so freaking shiny she could see her own reflection in the hood.

"Get in." Daniel unlocked the car and held
the door open for her.

She stared at him, eyes narrowed. Daniel being
polite toward her was strange.

"What's wrong?"
Daniel asked.

"I'm just trying to decide if you're
going to smash my hand in the door or something." She definitely didn't trust him.

Rolling his eyes, Daniel shoved her into the car and then slammed the door shut behind her. That was more like him.

In the close confines of the car, she was overwhelmed by the smell of leather and the look of shimmering black chrome. Daniel headed over to the driver's side door and climbed in. After he started the car, all of the lights inside flashed red. The radio, an obvious modification to the interior, was so bright she couldn't look directly at it without hurting her eyes. Daniel turned on the radio and the sound of rock music overpowered the tiny space.

"Led Zeppelin?" Annamarie was shocked he was a fan of classic rock.

"Sure." Daniel flashed a grin. "I can't spend all my time listening to Mozart and Bach."

"That's true." She was pleased with his song choice.

As she listened to the grinding beats of rock, Daniel pulled out of the parking lot going twenty over the speed limit. The guy weaved in and out of traffic like a racer. Annamarie was so horrified she braced her leg against the dashboard in case of a crash.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" She scowled at him. "You're going to kill us."

"I drive like this all the time." Daniel shrugged and took a hard right.

Annamarie yelped and was surprised she was still upright once the turn was over. By the time Daniel made it to the store,
she was shaking. When she climbed out of the car, her knees were clacking together like bells. As Daniel headed over to her, she looked up at him and scowled.

"I'm taking the bus home," she said.

"It wasn't that bad." Daniel grinned at her. "Are you too chicken to handle my driving?"

A NASCAR driver would be to chicken to handle his driving.

"Anyone would be. You shouldn't drive like that." She straightened up, her eyes narrowed. "I'm surprised you didn't break the sound barrier with how fast you were going."

"Believe me, I've tried." Daniel seized her hand
and pulled her toward the store. "Now let's go. We have a lot to do tonight."

A lot to do? She thought they were just buying ramen. And what was with guys holding her hand all the time?
Daniel's touch made her palms sweaty and her stomach tingle. Her ironclad sense of self was fading again—and all because of some guy. She was quiet all the way until Daniel passed through the double doors of the store and led her to the end of an aisle. Even as he slowed down, he didn't let her go.

"Where now?" he asked, staring at her.

"Probably the foreign foods aisle," she said.

Daniel nodded and
yanked her forward again. Her arm was about to fall out of its socket after all of his pulling. He led her down the main part of the store and then paused at the correct place. Sure enough, several different kinds of ramen lined the shelves. He marched toward the packaged noodles with his mouth gaping.

"The kind we had before were the cups, right?" Daniel pointed at the cups of
ramen.

"Yeah, but my personal opinion is that the ones in those packages are better." She pointed at the large box full of ramen. "
You need to cook them on a stove. I only have a microwave, so it's not like I can make them."

With no hesitation, Daniel seized the box of
ramen.

"I can always have a stove put into my room," he said confidently.

She was so glad she'd punched him in the stomach. Nobody should be this freaking rich.

"Is that all you wanted?" she asked.

"At this store, anyway." Daniel nodded. "But this is only the first stop. There's a restaurant where I want to eat dinner."

"
Why did you bring me for that?" She was so confused her head was spinning.

"I
want to make you taste the food first to see if it's worthy of my delicate palette." Daniel grinned, his expression knowing.

That was it. She was done being Daniel's person
al dog. No way was she playing taste tester for him.

"I'm taking the bus." She released Daniel's hand. "You can have somebody else taste your stupid food for you."

"If you want to take the bus home, that's all well and good." Daniel sounded amused. That was bad news. "Unfortunately, you don't seem to have a purse or a wallet with you."

The words made her still. She patted her skirt and groaned. Her wallet was sitting on her bed at home. She hadn't expected to be dragged from her dorm.

"I don't think buses chaperone people around for free, do they?" Daniel was taunting her.

"I'll walk back," she snapped.

"Twenty miles?" Daniel checked his gold wrist watch. "I believe you should be home by two o'clock in the morning. They seal the gate of the academy at eleven. The only way you can get back to your dorm is if you scale the wall or face Mrs. Carmichael. I won't bail you out this time. Do you think the principal will understand about you showing up so late?"

Annamarie didn't want to face
Mrs. Carmichael. She'd get detention for sure.

"You planned all of this, didn't you?" she whispered, her voice dark. "You
knew that if you dragged me out of my room, I would be at your mercy."

Daniel chuckled and seized her hand again. "Let's go, toilet girl. I made dinner reservations for seven. I don't want to be late."

"Dinner
reservations
," she sputtered. He really had planned this after all.

Once Daniel made it to the cash register, he placed the ramen on the belt. The cashier, a woman in her early thirties, stared at Daniel as if she'd never seen a
boy before. Of course, most people had never seen anyone as gorgeous as Daniel. If he wasn't the heir to a successful company, he could very easily make a fortune gracing the covers of magazines around the world.
Stupid guy. He's rich and good looking.

"Your total is one dollar and thirty six cents," the cashier said, driving
Annamarie's thoughts from her head.

"This
will be my dinner for weeks." Daniel flashed a grin at Annamarie while absentmindedly handing the cashier his credit card. "Poor people sure are smart."

He spoke like those who were poverty stricken were a completely different
species.

"Let's just go." She hung her head in defeat.

Daniel took his credit card back and tucked the ramen package under his arm. When he reached for her hand, she accepted it without a word. If she was going to be at his mercy all night, then she shouldn't exhaust herself by fighting anymore. She just prayed there would be a way out of this situation like maybe she'd find a twenty dollar bill on the ground or something. She silently trudged toward the car.

Once
she and Daniel made it to the Lamborghini, he threw the box of ramen in the trunk. She sat down in the passenger seat and waited. After he climbed into the car too, he turned on the ignition.

Annamarie said, "Please don't drive so fa—
AGH!"

Once again, Daniel jetted out of the parking lot like he was being chased by a herd of hungry zombies. He pulled onto the road and zoomed through traffic. Eventually—she lost track of time because she had her eyes sq
ueezed shut—Daniel pulled into the parking lot of a small, intimate looking restaurant. The walls were cobblestones and the windows were stained glass. A red sign hung above the door that read, Deep Channel Restaurant. She jumped out of the car and steadied herself.

Daniel climbed out of
the Lamborghini too and headed over to her. He held her hand again and dragged her to the door. His grip was so tight it made her fingers ache. When the two of them made it inside, she saw a hostess standing behind a granite counter. After the woman spotted the two of them in their school uniforms, she did a double-take.

"I'm David Marino," David said. "I reserved a private room."

At the mention of David's name, the snide look evaporated from the hostess's face and was replaced by a smile of utmost graciousness. Annamarie knew that if David wasn't filthy rich, the two of them would have been thrown out.

"Right this way, sir," the hostess said. "
We have a fine table reserved for you."

Annamarie followed behind the hostess and entered the main dining room. Suddenly, she understood why
this place was called Deep Channel Restaurant. A river ran through the room. Inside the water, koi fish swam. The creatures were the most vibrant colors; gold and white, silver and yellow. She slowed her pace and Daniel surprisingly matched his stride with hers.

"This is awesome," she said, impressed.

"They're just fish." Daniel shook his head, but he was smiling.

"I suppose." She shrugged. "I just hope I don't fall in."

"How would you fall in?" Daniel snorted. "Besides the water is three feet deep. You could just climb out again."

"I just really hate water, okay?" She couldn't even take baths because she was so scared of being submerged. Only showers for her.

The hostess cleared her throat, so she followed the woman again.

As she walked, p
eople kept staring at her and Daniel. At first she thought it was because they looked so mismatched, but then she realized it was because the two of them were still in school uniforms. By the time the hostess led them to a private room in the back, she was flustered and a little defiant.

"Everybody else is in fancy clothes," she hissed.

"Would you have dressed up if I told you where we were going?" Daniel asked.

"Well, no." She was surprised she even wanted to dress up for the dance.

"Then this is fine."

Daniel held out a chair for her and she sat down. It took her a moment to realize she'd just trusted the guy enough not to rip
the seat out from under her. As she contemplated that, Daniel spoke with the hostess and pressed a crisp twenty dollar bill into the palm of her hand. The woman flashed a smile and then disappeared.