Evan’s Insecurities

“Wait! Wren!” Emerald called after her. “Do not forget. Talon and I are going on a field trip and will be late getting home. Can you grab Evan after school for us…please?”

Wren turned back, completely ignoring Talon.

“Of course, honey, have a good trip.” She turned to Evan. “Anything you want to do this afternoon?”

It was now common knowledge that she lived in the same building as Emerald and Evan, so it would not be suspicious if they hung out after school together.

“Nah.”

“Then I will meet you at your locker after school.” She left, not saying a word to Talon.

Emerald and Evan turned to Talon.

“What did you do?” Emerald asked.

“Obviously he pissed her off something fierce,” Evan commented.

“Shut up,” Talon grumbled.

They were right, though—she was pissed. What should he do? He could not change his feelings, and it was obvious she was not happy with him about them.

Talon told Evan, “Do not use such vulgar words.” He stood and headed for the door. “I will see you at school.”

“Try talking to her. I am sure that she will listen.”

Talon stopped at the door and sighed.

“Not if she does not want to hear what you have to say.”

“Then show her you mean what you say.” Emerald stood, her emotions starting to boil over at the man. “Don’t you get it? You cannot confess to a girl and then act all cool and cold about it. She will never believe you are serious if you pull that kind of stunt on her.”

“I knew you were listening,” Talon said. He turned and strolled out of the room without another word.

“He is in trouble,” Evan commented.

“Yup.”

***

The bell rang, and Wren fell into her chair.

Finally. A break.

She was tired, even though she had finally gotten some uninterrupted sleep thanks to Talon.

However, it did not make up for the past couple of weeks.

Not to mention the stunt he had pulled in the baths.

She was still seething over that one.

You do not confess love, kiss the hell out of someone, and walk away like it was a show for some peeping toms without warning the person.

It was obvious he was not serious about her, and it hurt even more because some part of her had wanted him to feel that way.

~Wait, what?~ Wren sat up at the trail her thoughts had taken.

~I want him to…~

Evan appeared before her, out of breath. He grabbed her hand and hauled her out of the room at a dead run.

“Come on. We have to go.”

“What is going on?”

“Beings, in the nearby playground. Can you not feel them?”

Wren stopped and focused.

She had been so focused on Talon that she had not been paying attention to her surroundings.

She focused, and sure enough, it was faint, but it was there.

“I told the principal what was going on. He will cover until we get back,” Evan explained as they took off.

On her first day of work, the principal and she had sat down and had a little chat about her other work.

He was aware of what they did, even if he could not see them.

~Thank you, God, for small favors.~

There were half a dozen small Beings creating terror.

Evan and Wren assessed the situation before Wren stepped up behind the nearest one and sliced it in half.

Evan took the head off another one, and he created a barrier to protect the nearby humans.

A group of three started toward them.

“Shall we combine forces?” Wren asked.

She had only tried this with Talon, but now seemed to be as good a time as any to see if it worked with others as well.

Evan nodded, and Wren gathered a ball of electricity in her palm, releasing it as Evan sent spears of rock in front to slice into the bodies.

Two went down, and Wren finished off the third as its claw grazed her arm.

“Sorry, guess I am not strong enough yet,” Evan commented, taking a quick look at her arm.

“It is all right. I am not hurt.”

Two more came at them and were soon dispatched.

Once they were finished there, they turned to where the others were staring at them.

Wren took a running start and jumped into the fray.

Within minutes, the rest were disappearing.

Wren and Evan headed back to the school.

“I am sorry. I am not very good at battle yet. I got you hurt, and I could not stop it from happening,” Evan lamented as they walked. “Let it go. It’s no big deal. You did very well, hon.”

“No. I’m not as good as the rest of you. Especially you and Talon.”

“You shouldn’t compare yourself to us. You’re strong on your own, don’t doubt that for a moment,” Wren said, giving him a quizzical look as she spoke.

What was up with this? She had seen Emerald berate him after battle, but he had just shrugged it off. Now he was acting like the world was going to end with her.

“No. I’m no good. Emerald says I’ll get her killed one day with my lack of skills.”

Wren stopped. She was not going to put up with this any longer.

“Evan,” she stopped him. “You’re a very good fighter and a very strong person. You need to stop listening to others and do what you do best.”

“You were wonderful today, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. Now, let’s get some clean clothes, a shower, and head back to class.”

Evan smiled at her. “Thanks, Wren.”

***

Wren met Evan at his locker after school.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yup.”

They climbed into Wren’s car and took off.

“Huh, where are we going?” Evan asked as they turned the opposite way from the house.

“I thought we could go out and do something. No one is at home, and you did well today. My treat.”

“Really? Cool.”

Wren smiled. “What would you like to do?”

“Uh, how about the local bookstore? Oo, can we go to an arcade and then supper? Or is that too much?” Evan asked sheepishly.

“Nope. That sounds perfect. Let’s go.”

They spent the next several hours roaming the bookstore. Evan taught Wren how to play arcade games.

They eventually found a Chinese buffet and ate before heading back to the house.

“Feeling better?” Wren asked.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Evan was looking out the window as they drove home.

“I guess I’ve been listening to Emerald too much lately.”

“It’s all right. It seems all of us have issues to work out. Yours just decided to pick today to assert itself.”

“Is that what you’re doing with Talon?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“I know you’re upset with him,” Evan confessed. “Please be patient with him. He hasn’t had much experience with other people or expressing his emotions. I do know he wouldn’t play with your emotions like that. He really does love you. He just doesn’t know how to handle it since he’s been alone for a very long time.”

Wren blushed. So they had heard.

Damn it, she knew he was playing with her.

“I doubt it. We’re here.” She let him out at the door and put the car away.

So she had been right. She rubbed the back of her neck.

She was suddenly tired and just wanted her bed.

She stepped into the house to hear Emerald’s raised voice.

“…where have you been? How can you just disappear like that?”

“Shut up, Emerald.”

Wren stepped through the door and walked past them toward her room.

An early night was becoming a must for her. Her emotions were raw, and her stress level was too high.

“He was with me, and he was safe. Leave it alone. We needed some time out of this house and its…issues,” she said.

Talon watched Wren walk up the stairs.

She had not once acknowledged his presence today. She must be tired too because she had not hidden her emotions very well.

He could feel a great sense of sadness and confusion coming from her.

“Wren…” he called after her, wanting some kind of interaction.

“Leave me be, Talon. I can’t handle you playing with my emotions right now. Good night.”

Emerald looked at Evan, and he shrugged as Talon followed Wren up the stairs.

“They need to work it out between them,” he said.

***

Wren headed for the shower as soon as she entered her rooms.

She felt sweaty and dirty from the fight earlier.

She climbed into the shower and stood under the hot spray, letting out all the emotions she had repressed all day.

She stood there long after the water had run cold, finally stepping out when she started to shiver.

Wrapping a warm towel around her, she headed to her closet for some clothes.

She stopped short.

Talon stood there, looking out the window of her bedroom.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I didn’t invite you in.”

“Long day?” he asked, not turning around.

He knew he was not welcome, but they had to talk about this.

She was unhappy, and he was the cause of it.

Not one to beat around the bush, he jumped headlong into the source of their problems.

“I am sorry,” he said, still not looking at her. “I did not know my comment in the tub would cause you such discomfort that you would avoid me like this.”

Now that he had started, he continued.

“If I had known you would hate me for it, I would not have said anything.” He lied. He knew if he could go back, he would still do the same thing.

He was not strong enough to hide it from her.

“I do not hate you for that,” Wren finally said. “I am upset you would use them for the benefit of others. If you did not know my past, I would have understood. But to pull a stunt like that, using my feelings for your enjoyment, was uncalled for and cruel.”

“What stunt?” he finally turned toward her.

She immediately noticed his coat and tie flung over a chair, and he had unbuttoned the top couple buttons of his shirt.

He looked strong and sexy, and she took a deep breath to get her emotions under control.

Talon stepped toward her and then stopped, leaning against the bedpost instead.

She was in nothing but a towel, and he did not trust himself to get too close to her.

He was going to have to approach this gradually.

She was clearly upset over the other night, and he wanted to move forward, not backward… If there was a backward to this situation.

“The one where you used me to tease those two kids. I do not appreciate being used without my permission.”

“How did I use you? All I did was tell you the truth.” Talon watched as she walked over to her closet, pulled out a shirt, pulled it on, and started working on buttoning it up.

“Please… You treat me like I do not exist except to torture your peace of mind, and then you suddenly tell me you love me? What a joke.”