Feral (The Irisbourn Chronicles Book 1) (13 page)

Chapter
Sixteen

I turned my mother’s necklace over
in my palms, while Dylan impatiently scuffed his shoes against the cement
beside me.

“If you’re bored, you should go,” I
told him for the fifth time.

I was sitting cross-legged in front
of the neighbors’ sagging gate, scanning their yard for Adrian.
 
I’d even gotten up early, hoping that I could
meet Adrian before school without Dylan knowing.
 
Of course, Dylan found out and insisted on
stubbornly tagging along.
 
Now I couldn’t
get him to leave.

Dylan scowled.
 
“I can wait.”

“It’s probably going to be very
unexciting.
 
Mindless small talk.
 
Nauseating graciousness.
 
You’ll never get those minutes of your life
back.”
 
I intentionally came off
brusque.
 
I felt a little guilty.
 
I wasn’t trying to be rude; I just didn’t
want to involve Dylan in my problems.

“I don’t understand why we’re
here.
 
One evening with the neighbors and
suddenly you’re best friends?”

I sighed.
 
“I try to become lifelong friends with all my
neighbors.
 
It’s like collecting
souvenirs.
 
You
of all people should know that.”

“Really?”
 
Dylan asked, slightly offended.

“Of course not.”

“Amber, who is this?” an audacious
feminine voice called from behind us.
 
My
teeth clenched.
 
Arisella
.
 
Why was she here?

“I believe the better question is,
‘Who are you?’” Dylan countered.

I took a deep breath and turned to
face the witch.

She looked completely different
than she had last night.
 
Bubblegum pink
extensions electrified her hair, and she wore shorts and a dark shirt that
perfectly complimented her figure.
 
It
looked like the only article of clothing she had worn in an effort to conserve
body heat was her chunky crimson beanie.
 
She should have been freezing, but if she was, she didn’t show it.

“What are you wearing?” I gasped,
while she cast suspicious glances at Dylan.

“Normal clothes.”
 
She spun around in a proud, dainty circle to
show off her outfit.

“She went a little overboard.”
 
Adrian said from behind her.
 
Jeesh, these people moved as silently as
ghosts.
 
At least his sister’s abnormal sense
of style hadn’t infected him; he looked the same, sensibly dressed in his usual
tasteful attire.

Arisella grimaced at her
brother.
 
“We must be able to blend in
with the other students.”

I was confused.
 
“Other students?”

“Do you go to school with us?”
 
Dylan broke in.

Arisella pointed to her backpack.
“Now we do.”

“What?!” The words exploded out of
my mouth.
 
Now I would never be able to
escape Arisella’s presence.

“We both decided that we had a
mutual interest in school that we had been overlooking for too long.” Adrian
stared directly at me.

Dylan cleared his throat.
 
“Well,
strangers
.
 
I’m Dylan, Amber’s childhood best friend who
just happens to be a boy.”

I elbowed him in the ribs.
 
A simple “friend” would have sufficed.

“I also live with her,” Dylan added
quickly before I could stop him.

Adrian’s eyes widened in surprise,
while Arisella unsuccessfully tried to hide a smirk. “Since when?” Adrian
inquired.
 
Did I detect abrasiveness in
his voice?

“He’s been living
with my family
for two days,” I answered.
 
I glared at Dylan to discourage him from
sharing any more unnecessary, misleading information.

“And you two are?” Dylan gestured
toward them.

“Arisella, and this is my brother
Adrian.”
 
Arisella awkwardly straightened
her arm so that her hand fell limply in front of Dylan.
 
Was she trying to shake his hand?
 
I shook my head at her.
 
She made a pitiful human.

Dylan uncertainly took Arisella’s
fingers and moved them up and down.
 
“Pleased to meet you.”
 
He didn’t
sound very convincing.

“So, Amber, what do you think of my
clothes?” Arisella tugged at the neck of her top.
 
“Adrian said they were bizarre, but I told
him he was wrong.”

I looked her up and down.
 
“You’re not going to blend in with anything.
I agree with Adrian.”

Adrian attempted to disguise a
chuckle as a cough.
 
Arisella gaped.
 
“Isn’t this what girls dress like?
 
I was going for an alternative look.”

“You look like a confused
hipster.
 
Are those fake glasses?”
 
I pulled the oversized glasses off her nose
and poked my finger through the frame.
 
“No lenses?
 
I’m all for freedom
of expression, but this is the opposite of inconspicuous.”

“Speaking of lenses,” Adrian broke
in, probably because he didn’t want to listen to Arisella defend her sense of
style.
 
“We have these for you.”
 
He handed me a little plastic container.

I took it and popped it open.
 
Inside, two dirt-colored spheres floated on
the surface of a tiny pool of water.
 
Dylan analyzed them from over my shoulder.

“They’re contacts,” Adrian
clarified.
 
“You’re going to want to wear
them.
 
We also have this, if you need
it.”
 
He passed me a travel bottle of eye
solution.
 
I was impressed.
 
His knowledge of eye care was unexpectedly
normal.

“Thanks.”

“They’ll help out with the purple
situation,” Arisella added.

“I can see that.”
 
I fidgeted uncomfortably, sneaking glances at
Dylan.
 
He didn’t seem any more
suspicious than I’d expected him to be.
 
Adrian and Arisella looked at me expectantly, as if they were waiting
for me to put them on.

I sighed.
 
“I’ll make sure to pop them in before class
starts.”

“For the record, I think Amber’s
eyes look awesome the way they are,” Dylan said matter-of-factly.

Arisella flicked her eyes up in a
dramatic eye roll.
 
She had a serious
problem with being polite.

“Thanks, but I’m trying to tone
down the awesome right now,” I said.
 
I
tucked the things Adrian had given me into my bag.

“Should we be going?” Adrian
inquired, gesturing toward the street.

“There’s a bus, you know.”
 
Dylan tapped his foot on the ground in
irritation.
 
“The only reason we’re
walking is because Amber is an obstinate old codger who is intent on ‘inhaling
the morning air’ everyday.” Dylan’s imitation of me was very unflattering.
 
“Trust me, you guys would definitely prefer
the bus.”

I narrowed my eyes at Dylan.
 
I knew what he was doing.
 
Apparently, Adrian did too, because he kept
shooting Dylan unfriendly glances.

“What a coincidence then,” Adrian
responded in a good-natured tone that didn’t quite match his expression.
 
“We enjoy morning walks as well.”

I wondered if part of the reason Adrian
had blatantly ignored Dylan’s suggestion was because he didn’t even know what a
bus was.

Adrian and Arisella sauntered
ahead, leaving us to trail behind them.

“They really are weird,” Dylan
whispered a little too loudly.
 
“Although
I can see why you might like them.
 
They’re not too hard on the eyes.”

“Dylan Winters,” I gasped in mock
offense.
 
“Did you just accuse me of
being shallow?”

Dylan looked at me innocently.
 
“Oh, no.
 
I wouldn’t dare insult your deep moral dispositions.”

I punched him playfully on the
arm.
 
“You better not.”
 
I caught Adrian curiously watching us from
ahead, as if he were studying us.

“I should go talk to him.”

Dylan followed my line of sight and
made a disgruntled face.

“I don’t trust that guy,” Dylan
muttered.
 
“He looks like trouble.”
 
Dylan had no idea.
 
But, then again, he wasn’t supposed to.

I waved away Dylan’s worryingly
accurate premonition.
 
“Thanks for the
warning. I’ll make sure to be super careful when I talk to him.
 
Should I frisk him too?
 
Wouldn’t want to take any chances, now, would
we?”

Dylan groaned.
 
“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I’m going to talk to him.
 
If I think he’s danger-free, I’ll do the
secret signal so you’ll know it’s safe to approach.”
 
My words dripped with sarcasm.
 
I skipped over to Adrian without giving Dylan
the chance to argue.

“Hey,” I greeted Adrian and
Arisella with complete unoriginality.
 
“This is some sort of joke, isn’t it?
 
You can’t actually be planning to go to school.”

“Actually, we are,” Arisella
said.
 
“Did you think we would leave you
to your own devices for half the day?
 
You’re too much of a risk to us now.”

“Have you ever taken a U.S. history
course?
 
A biology class?” I asked in
disbelief.
 
“Do you even know how school
works?”

“We were instructed to tell them we
were very poorly homeschooled,” Adrian answered with a little too much
pride.
 
I gaped at him.
 
He couldn’t be serious.

“What about social security
numbers?
 
And birth certificates?”

Adrian smiled slyly at me, like he
knew something I didn’t.

“You faked your identities?!” I
blurted.

Arisella shot me an angry
look.
 
“Hush, Amber, or the boy will find
out.”

Did she mean Dylan?
 
I couldn’t tell if she was inadvertently
terrible with names or if she just wasn’t making an effort.
 
I glanced at Dylan to see if he had heard,
but he was listening to music through earphones, most likely at maximum volume.

“We’re fine,” I assured them.

“What is your friend doing here
anyway?” Adrian asked in a guarded voice.
 
“We didn’t anticipate having to deal with a human.”

“He sort of followed me here.
 
Wherever I go, he goes.”

Arisella frowned.
 
“What an inconvenience.
 
That’s going to have to stop, you know.”

I didn’t like Dylan being referred
to as an inconvenience, but Arisella was right.
 
He couldn’t be involved.

“I know,” I said softly.

***

“Spencer told me you were going out
on a date with him on Sunday,” Alexis informed me the moment I walked into
English class.
 
I had just gotten back
from putting on my contacts in the bathroom.
 
“Are you?”

“Yeah,” I answered.
 
I looked over at Dylan, who was already in
his seat, scribbling something in a notebook.
 
Ever since this morning, he had been making an obvious effort to ignore
my existence.
 
I wondered if it would be
better this way…

“That’s great!” Alexis exclaimed
with genuine enthusiasm.
 
“Spencer’s had
his eye on you ever since the day you got here.”
 
Huh.
 
I
had no idea.
 
“I’ve been telling him to
ask you out for weeks now.”

I shot Alexis an “are you serious?”
look.
 
I really didn’t appreciate her
match-making obsession, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I forced a
smile.

“That’s so thoughtful of you.”

Alexis grinned.
 
“Don’t mention it.”
 
I wouldn’t.
 
“So, are you excited?” Alexis prodded for more information.

“Very,” I lied.
 
She didn’t seem to notice how little effort I
had put into making that sound convincing.

“Do you like him?”

I was startled by her
bluntness.
 
“He’s a good friend.”

“I think you have more than enough
good friends.”
 
Alexis tilted her head
toward Dylan.
 
“Maybe it’s time to start
sharing.”

My face flushed red.
 
“They’re not mine to share.” I made an escape
to my seat, but Alexis practically chased after me.

“I was just kidding.
 
I’m really happy for you and Spencer.
 
I hope it works out.
 
Cecelia, on the other hand…”

My ears perked up.
 
I waited for Alexis to finish, but she just
let her sentence trail off dramatically.
 
I groaned.
 
This part of the
conversation I was actually interested in.