A/N-For those of you who are continuing readers, you may have realized that the chapter layout has changed. I have split some of the bigger chapters into smaller chunks to make them easier to read. The story is still the same, though, so thank you for your patience! Luvs as always!!
"Welcome back, Katie." My Art History teacher handed me a stack of papers. "Here's all the homework you turned in while you were out."
"Thanks Mr. Collins. I appreciate you letting me do my tests at home. Is there anything else I need to catch up on now that I'm back?"
"I talked to one of the students, and she offered to loan you her lecture notes, so you'll be ready for the midterms next week."
"Great, thanks!"
He glanced around the room. "Mia, can you come up here?"
I looked over at Dustin and gave him a "thumbs up".
I turned back to Mr. Collins, as a blond-haired girl approached us. She was tiny and had shocking blue eyes, which I noticed last, mostly because the closer she got, the brighter the yellowish gold glow surrounding her body became. "Yes, Mr. Collins?"
I took a deep breath and briefly closed my eyes. When I opened them, she was standing in front of me, and the glow had receded.
"Mia, this is Katie, the student I was telling you about."
"Oh, hi!" she grinned. "I'm Mia. I hope you're feeling better. Let me grab those notes for you."
I gave her a shaky smile. "Thanks." I followed her to her desk.
She gave me a spiral bound notebook. "Here's everything from the last three weeks. I hope they help. Maybe I could give you my number and we could get together and study this weekend."
"Sure," I nodded, still trying to shake the weird feeling that had come over me. "I appreciate it."
She handed me a little slip of paper with her name and number written on it. "Call me any time."
I put the paper in my pocket and headed back to my seat next to Dustin.
"Are you okay?" He watched me, suspiciously.
"Yah." I brushed off his concern. "Just trying to get back into the swing of things." I stuffed the notebook into my book bag, trying to steady the drumming in my chest.
The rest of the class was uneventful, but I still couldn't wait to get out of there. I was beginning to get weirded out by the strange glow emanating from random people in my life. I realized I was going to have to talk to someone about it, but I didn't want to worry Dustin. I decided to get Brian's number from Dani and give him a call. He wasn't my favorite person, but he was probably the only one who could give me an answer.
I waited until Dustin went to the bathroom before I called Dani. "What's up?" she answered.
"Hey, I forgot to get Brian's number before I left the cabin. I'm supposed to call him and let him know that I'm not having any issues after the fracture." I tried to keep my voice even so her 'my best friend has a problem' radar didn't go off.
"No problem. I'll text it to you." She hung up.
"Who was that?" Dustin came up behind me.
I jumped. "It was Dani. She was just checking to see how my day was going." I kept my eyes down, pretending that my pencil was the most interesting thing I had ever seen.
He studied me for a minute. "Did I startle you? Your heart rate just shot up."
"Well, yah, I thought you were in the bathroom." I kept my eyes averted. I knew he could telepathically talk to me, though I wasn't sure yet if he could read my mind. But I knew he couldn't do either without linking our eyes.
"Okay," He looked at me strangely. "Wanna grab a coffee before next class?"
"Yah, definitely." I forced myself to calm down, with the promise of some much-needed caffeine and sugar.
We headed across the campus towards the student union. "Shit," I heard Dustin mutter, as his hand tightened around mine.
I followed his gaze and saw Anya standing in the middle of the quad, flanked by two of her friends. Each of the three girls were ringed by a dark grey glow. "Great," I sighed. All kinds of colorful statements swirled in my head, most of them involving a word that rhymes with 'duck'.
As we neared the group, their glow began to dissipate. I had hoped to pass by, unnoticed, but it was too much to hope for. Anya spotted me right away.
"Welcome back, Katie. Looks like the surgeon did a nice job straightening out your caved in cranium." Her friends giggled behind her.
"Thanks," I muttered, as we tried to pass her. I bit my tongue to keep from making things worse. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but I barely felt it. I was almost shaking with my need for vengeance.
"That's all you've got?" she mocked me. "You were awfully mouthy the last time I saw you."
"Anya, just drop it," Dustin warned her.
"Still slumming, huh Dustin?" she taunted. "Thought you would have realized your fragile girlfriend was a waste of time, while you watched her brains seep out of her skull last month."
He tugged my hand and led me around them. "You got what you wanted, now leave it alone."
She looked smug as she watched us continue towards the student union. Dustin glanced into my eyes. "You did great," he silently applauded me. "I'm so proud of you."
I shrugged and held tight to his hand. I could feel every muscle in my body tense. I wanted to end her. Not just hit her, but really end her. The desire was almost overwhelming, but I knew that we didn't need any extra problems right now.
We got in line for coffee. "Can I help you?" The barista smiled at me. The rainbow glow that emanated from her silhouette was almost blinding. Greens, blues and purples radiated from her like a shock wave.
"Victoria!" Dustin smiled at her. "How's it going?"
"Hey Dustin. Haven't seen you in a while." She grabbed a cup and wrote his name on it. "Your usual?"
He nodded. "Thanks. Hey, this is my girlfriend, Katie. Katie, this is Victoria."
She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."
As I put my hand in hers, the glow began to fade. "You too."
"What can I get you?" She grabbed another cup.
"Mocha Frappuccino, please."
She smiled and nodded. "Coming right up."
I realized I was squeezing Dustin's hand. "Katie, you're hurting me," he whispered.
"Oh, my god, I'm so sorry." I pulled my hand away, leaving little nail marks on his palm.
"Are you okay?"
"Yah," I put my hand to my head. "I think I'm just a bit keyed up from our Anya sighting." I couldn't tell him what I had just seen. Rainbow Bright over there was his friend, and how would he react if I told him she was lit up like Vegas on a Saturday night?
He put his hand on the small of my back. "Try to relax. It's going to be okay. If you don't fight back, she will lose interest."
His touch instantly calmed my heart. "I know."
"Dustin?" Victoria called out, holding up our cups.
"Thanks, Victoria. See you around." He grabbed our drinks and handed me mine. "Ready for class?"
I gave him a fake smile. "Let's do it."
The rest of my classes ran smoothly. I talked to most of my professors and felt pretty confident that I would be able take my midterms without too much stress, and I didn't even have to pay any of them off.
"Okay, I'll meet you here after class." Dustin leaned in nervously to kiss my cheek.
"What's wrong?" I shifted my book bag to the other shoulder.
"Maybe I should switch in to this class with you. It's the only class that we don't have together. What if you need me?"
"Dustin, it's freshman English. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."
He sighed. "Okay, I'll be nearby, though." His eyes locked onto mine. "I love you."
"I'll be okay," I assured him. "I love you too."
He lingered by the door while I entered the crowded classroom. I turned around and caught his eyes. "I'll be fine," I mentally reassured him.
He nodded and waved as the door closed.
I grabbed a seat and pulled out my phone. I needed to call Brian, but I had purposely waited until Dustin was out of ear and eye shot. Dani had texted me his number, along with a message. "Tell him his little sister says hi."
I smiled. She was so happy these days. I wished I could join her in her carefree bubble, but until I figured out why I was seeing glow worms everywhere, I couldn't relax.
I had a few more minutes before class was supposed to start, so I punched in the number. He answered on the first ring. "Brian LeFores."
"Hey Brian, it's Katie."
"Katie?" His voice instantly sounded concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Dustin and Dani are fine." I didn't want him flying off the handle before I could even begin. "I need to ask you a question."
"Oh, okay," he replied, much calmer.
"Look, I'm having some weird things happening with my vision."
"What kind of weird things?"
"Well," I began, "people are kind of glowing."
"I'm not sure I follow."
I tried to think of a way to explain the colors. "When I see people, certain people, they have a colored glow around them. Just for a few minutes. Then it seems to dissipate, and they look normal again."
He went silent on the line.
"Brian, are you still there?" I pulled my phone away from my ear to see if the call had cut out.
"I'm here. Does it look like they are completely glowing, or just around the edges of their bodies?"
"Around the edges," I confirmed.
"Are they all the same color or is it different with every person?"
"It seems like everyone is different. I mean, there's a few that are green, and I saw one earlier that was kind of a yellowish gold. And then there was a girl at the coffee shop who had like four colors all at the same time, kind of like a rainbow. Is this something to do with the fracture or the Link itself?"
He took a moment to respond. "Katie, I'm going to have to do some research on this. Can I call you back?"
I grimaced. "Yah, but I haven't told Dustin yet. You know how much he worries already, and I'd like to have some idea of what's going on before I get him all stressed out again."
"I agree," he replied. "Let's keep this between us for now. I'll check on this and get back to you."
"Thanks."
"Talk to you soon." He disconnected.
I put my phone back into my bag and turned my attention to the teacher standing at the front of the class. She was tiny and probably a hundred years old. And she was glowing bright white. I swallowed hard and struggled to calm my racing pulse. The last thing I needed was Dustin rushing into the classroom thinking something was wrong.
"Ladies and gentleman, we have a lot to cover today. I'm Mrs. Pommel, and I'll be taking over this class for a few weeks, while Mrs. Keener is on maternity leave." Her glow began to slowly decrease, though it didn't completely disappear.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, but when I opened them, she was still faintly glowing. I forced myself to focus on what she was saying, but her speech became garbled in my head. I knew she was saying words, but I could no longer make them out. Panic gripped me like a vice. I stuffed my books back in my bag and rushed out of the room. Several students stared after me, confused.
When I reached the hallway, I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath. What the hell had just happened?
"Katie!" Dustin rushed towards me. "What's wrong?"
I fought to catch my breath. "I need to go home," I choked out. "I don't feel well."
He tried to link his eyes with mine, but I quickly looked away. "Okay, let's go." He grabbed my hand and led me out of the building, towards the dorms.
When we were alone in our room, he gathered me into his arms. "Something is off with you. What's up?"
I pulled away and sat on the edge of my bed. "I don't know. I just don't feel right."
He sat next to me. "Are you in pain?"
"Do you feel any pain?" I spat, sarcastically.
"Woah." He held up his hands in submission. "Why are you snapping at me?"
"I don't know." I began to cry. "So much has happened, and I think I'm just overwhelmed." To my dismay, tears streamed down my face. I hated looking weak in front of him.
"Babe, don't cry." I saw my pain in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. All of this is my fault."
I shook my head. "I did this to myself. If I would have kept my mouth shut, Anya would have never tried to kill me. You would never have had to risk yourself by healing me." Saying it out loud was painful.
"Katie, without you my sister would still be inside her self-imposed shell of misery. Without you I would still be imprisoned in my own world of anger. You saved us both. Saving you was my thank you." His eyes melted into mine.
I felt the familiar feeling of his consciousness leaking into my soul.
"Oh Dustin," I whispered.
He lifted me onto the bed and pressed his lips to mine. I felt his arms tighten around me as his hands splayed across my back. His lips danced over mine, causing a fluttering to begin in my stomach. Everything inside me was heating up, and I knew that if I didn't stop now, I might not stop at all. His hands fumbled with the button on my jeans.
"I'm not sure I'm ready to go much further," I whispered, embarrassed.
He stopped and put his hand on my cheek. "That's okay. We have plenty of time. I don't want you to do anything you aren't comfortable with." He brought his lips back to mine.
I let him lead me into our own private paradise, reveling in the feel of our passionate connection.
Author's Note:Â Katie's side effects are starting to increase. Do you think Brian can help her deal? Vote and comment below so I can have a wonderful day!ð Luvs as always!! AMð