The Guardians (24 page)

He fell in step behind me. “Um, what was that about in there?”

I whirled around to stare at him. “Don’t you mean was that about
you
?” Zach didn’t reply. “I’m sure it would be quite an ego trip if I had just lost it on the floor of the auditorium over you, but trust me, that’s not what it was about!”

Zach cut in front of me. “You should know me better than to think I’d get some sort of trip off of that.” When I met his gaze, he shook his head. “You have too big a heart for it to be just
me
. It was about more—the way I treated you, and Lauren…all of us, right?”

I nodded.

“Now would you please stop and let me talk to you?”

“Fine.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

Now that he had my attention, Zach didn’t look so sure of himself. He cleared his throat. “I want you to know I spent the entire weekend thinking about what happened.” When I refused to respond, Zach ran his fingers through his dark hair and shook his head. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Cassie. You saw through to the real me like no one ever has. And regardless of all the crap, you still wanted to hang around with me. I’ve never had a friend like that. When it was gone, I missed it.” He drew in a deep breath. “And I missed you.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I did.” He exhaled noisily. “So, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. And I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”

“You mean you’re willing to just be friends?”

“Yes, I am.”

Hope surged through me. Maybe I wasn’t such an angel screw up after all. “So, no kissing or funny business, right?”

“Right.”

Wow, this really was a turn around. Zach cleared his throat. “I also thought about what you said about Lauren and how she feels about me. So to show that I’m really serious about the just friendship thing with you, I asked Lauren for a date tomorrow night.”

My eyes widened. “You did? I’m impressed.”

Zach grinned. “I’m glad to hear it. Are we all good now?”

Something told me it probably wasn’t a great idea to let him off the hook just yet. Instead, I cocked my head and stared at him. “Hmm, you think by coming here and saying we can just be friends and that you’re going to give Lauren a chance, everything should just magically fall back into place?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you fully comprehend how much you hurt my feelings storming out like you did and then how you acted in the hallway today. Because of that, I just can’t say everything is okay without a few guarantees.”

He raised his eyebrows. “So giving up the hopes of a relationship with you just to
hang out
and be
just
a friend isn’t enough?”

“Not by a long shot.”

“Fine then. Whatever else you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “You’ve got to buckle down when it comes to school. Even though you’ve got your music and the coffee shop, you owe it to yourself and your father to go to college. I’ll even tutor you if you want me to.”

He smiled at the prospect. “You drive a hard bargain, but yes, we have a deal.”

“Good.”

“Want to shake on it— or would a kiss be okay?”

Before I demanded to know if he had heard even one single word of our conversation, Zach leaned in and kissed me tenderly on the cheek.

When he pulled away, he surveyed my expression of disbelief. “See? There’s hope for a reformed sinner!”

Chapter Twenty-One: ELIJAH

Abby spent the rest of the week being “homeless” at my house. David still hadn’t made things right with her. Gabriel told me how much David was suffering, but his pride and his concern over appearances wouldn’t let him back down, no matter how hard Gabriel tried persuading him.

Although Abby spent the nights at our house, Sophie watched over the two of us like a hawk. Even though both of us would have preferred staying together like that first night, Sophie made sure to tuck Abby in Cassie’s bedroom each and every night.

Most nights, I lay awake, thinking about her. Of course, it wasn’t her pain and suffering that consumed me. It was her sweetness and beauty, and the way her hair smelled like coconut, and the way her smile lit me on fire. I waited for members of the Dominion to swoop down at any moment to admonish me—to remind me of who and what I was and what I owed to the Angelic Host.

But they never did.

There was too much going on around us right now—the Dark Host was becoming stronger. That thought alone should have scared me into forgetting any feelings I had for transcending. These desperate times meant the Dominion needed me more than ever, but it didn’t seem to phase me. While it went against every fiber in my angelic being, I still waited painfully for Abby to realize she wanted me as more than a friend. Each time she opened her mouth, I willed her to say the words.

On Friday afternoon, I knew Abby wanted to see Hannah, so I was glad to see Sophie and Hannah doing homebound work at the dining room table at our house, rather than the Thomas’s. Sophie met my gaze and smiled, showing me she knew how much Hannah needed to be with Abby as well.

The instant Hannah saw Abby, she bolted up, knocking her chair to the floor. She threw her arms around Abby and squeezed. Abby smiled at me over the top of Hannah’s head. “Hey girlie, it’s okay. I’ve only been down the street, not in another country.”

“Got any plans for dinner?” I asked.

Sophie arched her eyebrows. “No, not at the moment. Don’t tell me you’re planning on cooking a full course meal or something?”

I laughed. “I thought we might have the others meet us for dinner somewhere.”

“Sounds good to me. I can always use a night off.” Sophie eyed the books surrounding her and gave Hannah a look. “But first, we better get through this work, what do you think, Hannah Banana?”

Hannah dropped her arms from Abby, and reluctantly, she came back to the table. Her expression was a little brighter of the prospect of going out to dinner.

To give Sophie and Hannah the quiet they needed to work, Abby and I went out on the deck.

We hadn’t been there long when Cassie and Lauren joined us. Lauren flashed us both a bright smile. “Guess what?”

“What?” I asked.

“Zach and I are going to the Homecoming Dance.”

I threw a confused glance at Cassie. “What’s the Homecoming Dance?”

Cassie opened her mouth to reply, but Abby rushed forward. “It’s only one of the biggest social events of the year.”

“Oh, uh, I see. Well, that’s nice, Lauren,” I murmured, feeling once again like a fool. I don’t know why I thought Abby could ever see me as anything more than a bumbling idiot who had no concept of anything modern or hip.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, but I doubt I’ll know the answer since I’m always clueless,” I said.

Abby gave me a strange look. “I really want to go to homecoming, but I don’t have a date. Would you go with me?”

“Me?” I gasped.

She nodded.

There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to take Abby on an official date, but my throat closed up at the mere thought of dancing. “Uh, well, um…”

Abby leaned forward in her chair. “I’ll be too pregnant when prom rolls around, so it’s really important I go, you know, since it’ll be my last school formal and all.”

“Oh Abby, I don’t know….”

“Please?”

I didn’t know why I bothered arguing with her since I was completely incapable of telling her no. “Okay, sure, I’d love to go with you,” I relented.

Abby squealed with pleasure. “Oh Elijah, you make me so happy!” She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed tight. When she pulled away, she cocked her head and grinned. “I really should slap you instead of hugging you because for minute there, I thought I must be utterly repulsive since you didn’t want to go with me.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just, uh, well….”

“What is it?”

Shifting in my chair, I tried to form the words in my mouth. How could I explain to her I was totally inept at dancing, and that I would probably make a fool out of not only myself, but her as well. “I, uh, I really don’t know how to…to dance,” I admitted.

“Oh, is that all?” Abby waved her hand dismissively, not fully comprehending the true magnitude of my dilemma. “I can teach you.” She walked over to her bag and took out her iPod. Then she put it on the docking station on the patio table. After she picked out a song, she turned back to me. “Ready?”

The color drained from my face so fast I was sure I looked like a corpse. “R-Right now?”

“Sure why not,” Abby replied.

Glancing around the patio at the others, I shook my head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Oh come on. It’ll be fun.”

I fought the urge to protest,
“Oh, no, it won’t!”
But I didn’t. Instead, I let Abby turn on the music.

“You’re way too prepared for this, you know,” I grumbled as I got to my feet.

Abby grinned. “I’m a cheerleader, remember? We’re always up for dancing.”

Rafe suddenly appeared in the doorway with Chaz. “Is that music I hear?”

“Yeah, we’re just about to have a dance lesson,” Abby replied.

He met my gaze and began to snicker. “You’re going to teach
Elijah
to dance?”

“Sure,” Abby said.

Rafe turned back to Chaz. “Oh man, I gotta see this.”

Chaz laughed and followed Rafe out onto the patio.

Abby started moving effortlessly to the beat of the music. I slowly tried following her. But I didn’t know what was more unnerving: her dancing so close to me or trying not to look like a fool.

At the sound of Rafe and Chaz’s laughter behind me, I spun around in mortification. “What?”

Rafe grinned as he put his arm around my neck. “Jay-Jay, it ain’t called doing the Frankenstein.” Then he mocked the way I had been dancing by putting his arms straight out in front of him and lunging back and forth.

Blood rushed to my face. “That is
not
what I was doing!”

“Yeah man, it was.”

I shook my head. The last thing I needed was Rafe on my case. So I took my wounded pride and started to walk away, but Rafe grabbed me.

“Oh, come on. You just gotta loosen up.” Striding over to the docking station, Rafe flipped through several songs. “Aha!” he said. He spun around to the pounding drums and hip-hop Caribbean flair of Shaggy’s
Angel
. He then winked at Cassie and me before shimming his shoulders. “Now watch the master and learn.”

Rafe moved even more effortlessly than Abby. The music flowed through his body the same as the blood in his veins. Chaz joined in. “Not bad man!” Rafe complimented.

“Yeah, I got moves even off the field,” Chaz joked. He then smiled at Cassie. “Come on. Join me.”

“Sure, why not,” she replied. As they began dancing, they let the beat of the music drive their movements. I surveyed what they were doing. In theory, it didn’t seem so hard. I didn’t know why in the world I couldn’t do it.

With a deep breath, I started again. This time it seemed to be easier.

Rafe nodded in approval. “Much better!” he called over the music.

“Uh, Cassie,” Chaz began.

“Huh?” Cassie shouted over the loud music.

Chaz exchanged a glance with Rafe who bobbed his head encouragingly. “I, uh, I was wondering if you might wanna go to the Homecoming Dance with me?”

I could feel Cassie’s surprise. I also knew Rafe must’ve orchestrated this. He knew Chaz needed someone responsible to go to the dance with—someone who would help him on the road to sobriety, not drag him to all the after parties.

Finally, after what I’m sure was a painful eternity for Chaz, Cassie nodded. “Yeah, sure, I’d love to go with you.”

Chaz grinned and tried to covertly exhale the breath he had been holding. “That’s awesome.”

My gaze was brought to the doorway where Sophie stood with books and paper in hand. “Do you guys mind?” she asked. Hannah peered from behind Sophie, a curious expression etched on her face. Then her face broke into a wide grin, and I sighed with relief when I saw it was Rafe’s antics amusing her, not mine.

Rafe danced over to the doorway. He leaned over and grabbed Hannah’s hands in his. “Come on and dance with me, Hannah-Banana.”

She glanced skeptically back at Sophie. “Go on,” Sophie urged, with a grin.

Rafe lead Hannah to the center of the deck. I noted with envy that Hannah moved just as easily as her sister. She and Rafe shimmied and swayed to the music. He then started doing crazy movements, and her grin widened. “Do the Sprinkler!” he called. Hannah kept right up with him through more ridiculous dance names like the Grocery Cart and the Lawn Mower. Her laughter started softly at first. Then it grew until she threw her head back, her chest heaving with tears filling her eyes.