Fortified (2 page)

“Not sure. I have a feeling not a lot of studying will happen.”

Gideon scrunched up his nose.
Walked in at a bad time. She's hot and all, but he knows what kind of a monster she is. How can he still be into her?

He opened his eyes and shifted his position to watch the two, trying to get a feel for what was really going on. Deep down, he wanted to believe Orlando wouldn't fall victim to her female charms, but Tait was indeed charming when she wasn't acting like a tyrant. Gideon wasn't sure he'd have been able to resist, especially when she came on so strong.

She smirked as she typed in her reply.
“So?”

“I want an A,”
came Orlando's short response.

“You'll get one, and then some.”

Orlando's body tensed up as he read the message and he pressed his lips together. He lifted a finger, ready to type, then suddenly changed his mind and put his phone in his backpack instead. Soon, he had his headphones on and his face buried in a textbook.

Good
, Gideon thought.
He's not completely blinded. There's hope. Girl is bad news. I should tell him all the crap she's done to me. He might not know.

He watched Tait sigh before talking quietly to one of her nearby friends. Now he could dig deep into her messages and take a good look around with that distraction out of the way. He also didn't have to be quite as careful with his actions. If she wasn't looking at the screen, he had an easier time maneuvering around the device.

After Orlando, the next most texted person in her contacts was her cheerleading co-captain, followed by a number of her female friends. Nothing out of the ordinary in those. Then there was her twin brother, Peyton, who used to be a part of the Blue tribe. His rehabilitation had been successful, however, and going through her phone Gideon saw nothing suggesting an attempt to reverse the process. Old messages from months back had meeting times and small subtle chatter about the work they did together. All of the new ones were about dinner and practice times for their extracurricular activities. Texts to Mom, Dad, and her cheerleading coach. All normal.

Then he saw an unfamiliar name close to her recent contacts: Stas.

There was no one named Stas at the school. Perhaps he or she was another relative, but the latest message sent to the number didn't seem too family-like.

“I told you I have a boyfriend.”

Intrigued, Gideon read through the history.

“Had fun at our latest session. Can't wait to have another.”
From the mysterious Stas.

“If that's your idea of fun, then you have issues,”
Tait said.

“Every memory I give back, I learn so much more about you.”

“Duh, they're my memories.”

“I think we're soulmates. :P ;)”

That was when she'd told him she had a boyfriend. A message she'd sent over an hour ago. A message that was also a lie, last he'd checked, but perhaps she was feeling optimistic over her relationship with Orlando.

Just then, Stas gave his reply.

“We've been over this before: that's not going to stop me from trying. Say the word and I'll back off, but the way you were cuddling with me last night makes me think you like me.”

Gideon felt nauseous.
Not only is she getting the memories taken from her during rehabilitation, but she's also cheating. Okay, maybe not cheating, technically, since Orlando said they were splitsville. Not the point, though! They're still emotionally dating. Same thing. What do I do?
For the time being, he grabbed Stas's number and saved it in his own phone for further research. It was a place to start if nothing else.
I don't think anyone will believe me until I can get more evidence.

C
adence poked
JD in the side and whispered, “Stop yawning! You know it's contagious!”

“Like cooties,” he teased, whispering back, and then yawned again anyway.

She frowned, deeply concerned for him. Telling jokes might have been normal for him, but not so much the constant exhaustion. “Is your little brother teething again? Because you're a lot more tired than usual, and that's saying a lot since you sleep through three class periods every day.”

“No, I'm fine. Maybe it's a growth spurt.” He winked then put his head on his desk. “Wake me up when the hour is over. Okay?”

“You should go to the nurse,” she urged. “Fake sick and nap there.” Though she wondered if perhaps he was actually ill for a change. Either way, at least he wouldn't humiliate himself in class.

He groaned quietly. “Banned from that. Done it too many times this year.”

Only you, JD, only you.
She sighed, deciding to let it go. Their teacher was staring right at them, glaring. Cadence shrugged, unsure of what to do. She could poke and prod JD all hour. If he wanted to sleep, he wouldn't wake up for anything short of the school burning down, and even then that was questionable. As tempting as it was to text Angela for the favor, she wouldn't encourage arson. So Cadence went back to doodling in her notebook and pretending to listen to the lecture.

In truth, she didn't need to pay attention. She only faked it to keep up the appearance that she was indeed trying hard to improve her grades. Going from D's and C's to A's and B's would be suspicious if she didn't show some kind of effort. Thanks to her supernaturally given intelligence, she could pull off straight A's with ease if she wanted to. Doing so might raise too many questions, however, so she put in the time to give just enough wrong answers to keep her grade curve more gradual—even if it drove her bonkers.

Inside of her mind were so many facts it made her head spin. Like someone had taken the key to her brain and unlocked it, letting the contents spill out without her control. Sometimes, it overwhelmed her to the point of tears. Cadence did her best to keep those moments at bay as much as possible. Each day it became a lot more difficult to do as she grew into her gift. At first, it'd been exciting and fascinating. Each new subject she explored allowed for more and more knowledge to pour into her. She wondered if she could turn her brain off for just a little while so she could give it a much-needed rest. An impossible task, apparently. The less she had to engage in, the more she thought.

The onslaught of information was the worst when she was the most bored. Like in classes where she learned nothing—like the one she was in now. Rather than pay attention, she started to worry about JD, because while worrying was fruitless, it beat being assaulted by a new batch of information.

Despite everything that happened between them, Cadence never stopped loving her best friend so worrying also came natural when she allowed herself to do it.
He's not taking care of himself, and it's probably my fault. I wish he'd understand.
We make better friends than lovers. There's someone better out there for him than me. Someday he'll see that. I'm not the girl who is going to make him want to change.

He had a lot of ex-girlfriends, most of whom he claimed to love like they were “the one.” What made her different? She wasn't prettier or any better than the others. All she had going for her was that she had known him the longest. Every single thing they did that annoyed her so much in the past, she had done herself once she and JD became involved. And she hated herself for it. It made her easy to replace.

There was more too it, though. Something was missing and she couldn't quite put her finger on what that was. A near-death experience clouded her judgment. JD had almost been lost to her forever and the adrenaline of it all had her jumping without thinking through her feelings thoroughly.

Once the moment passed, all of the problems in their relationship became clear. The truth about her feelings for him...she still wasn't sure what that was. What she did know was she felt better about herself with him as just a friend. She liked herself more, liked him more. He treated her better. As much as she loved him, she needed more time to heal from the hurt before she could allow herself to love him completely. All the more reason for them to be apart. She wasn't positive and if there was a next time in the future for them, she needed to be sure.
I don't think I'll ever be cut out for dating, anyway. It's way too complicated, and that's not just the bitter part of me speaking.

At least things were getting better between them. The awkward tension seemed to only occur when they were in the car now. Only then were they ever in close enough proximity to one another. Their best conversations happened when he drove her home, and after he walked her up to her apartment door, she had a hard time not giving him a kiss goodnight.

She missed the feeling of his lips against hers. Those quiet, shy, moments, where he got flustered and let her see through the walls he'd put up. She loved him most then because that was when he was the most honest. No guessing was needed to figure out what was going on inside of his head. Everything made sense.

But those moments didn't equal much in all of their time together. Ninety-percent of the time, she felt as though he were hiding his true self from her just like he did with the rest of the world.
I'm an idiot for thinking I could be the one to make him stay. He only wants me now because he can't have me anymore.
Cadence let out a quiet huff and patiently waited for independent work time to begin. Once she had her homework assignment written down for later, she got up to get the hall pass to stretch her legs and get away from JD. She'd spent more than enough time dwelling on a subject she wanted to move past. It seemed the harder she tried to push forward the more the past wouldn't let her go.

She took her time walking down the hallways of Morningtide High School. The building was so big in comparison to most schools. Four wings surrounded the central area where the cafeteria and student lounge were located. Each wing had three floors of classrooms and lockers, sans the wing that had the gymnasium and swimming pool. The school was twice the size of her apartment complex. Most of the students who attended were part of the rich elite. The boundaries of the city just barely included JD's house, while Cadence was supposed to attend Lunar Falls but had opted for Morningtide. What would things have been like if she'd gone there instead?

Perhaps she'd have fit in better with her classmates, but she was more than happy with her mother's decision. Morningtide was a fantastic school, and the size made it perfect for escaping. There were plenty of places she could roam in solitude for a few minutes. One thing ruined her grand plan to clear her mind, or rather, one person did.

Alan.

Like usual, he popped into the hallway out of thin air. It took a lot of getting used to because he liked to do it at the worst times. The middle of class, into the bathroom while she was in the middle of using it, going home on the bus—and it was always unannounced because he never called in advance. In the past she made the assumption that Alturans had some kind of message delivering system like email or cellphones. If that kind of technology existed, though, she'd never seen him use it.

Since meeting him, a number of rules had been put into place. No popping into bathrooms anymore, for example. She wanted to ban him from the bedroom, but that was harder to do in the chance her mom might have been home. Alan could make himself invisible to anyone he desired, which was another handy trick, but she couldn't exactly “talk to herself” in the middle of the living room, all the same. On the plus side, she didn't have to answer questions like where all of his clothing was if her mother couldn't see him.

Because another thing Alturans did differently was the way they dressed. Even on the coldest of days, the most she'd ever seen him in was a pair of pants and a vest that showed off his perfectly chiseled tan abdomen. The guy was like some kind of a god with his beautiful smile, blue eyes, blond hair, just perfect to behold—and he didn't even realize it. On Altura, he was considered unattractive. It boggled her mind.

One major problem with invisibility, however, was explaining doors opening on their own and knocking sounds coming from nowhere. Her mom would not believe the excuse of ghosts. In that regard, school made for a better meeting spot. There were a lot of places she could conveniently take the hall pass too for a brief conversation when needed.

Since they were alone in one of the smaller side hallways of the school, she didn't mind greeting him verbally.

“Hi,” she said, smiling. He tended to make her want to do that a lot with his gentleness and quirkiness. Those two traits always made everything better.

He waved. “I wasn't planning to interrupt your day, but I need your advice. And only yours.”

“Okay...” She bit her lower lip, trying to thwart the warmth spreading across her cheeks. When he said how much he needed her, she couldn't help but be flattered. Before she gained her gift, she'd been the school bimbo. It was a nice change to be wanted for her brains. “This sounds serious. I only have a few minutes and then I'm expected back in class.”

“Right, of course. I just...” He paused, and that wasn't like him. Alan always had his words carefully planned before he spoke. “This is a personal problem, and I don't want to make it the entire group's business. If I asked to speak with you in private in front of anyone else, they'll wonder. Your mother has been home more in the evenings, so I don't feel comfortable visiting your house. I'd been hoping since you were in the hall that meant you had time. Stupid of me, since I know your education system demands you be in a desk until the end of your designated shift.”

She had to suppress a laugh at his formality. He was close to her age, after all, yet he only communicated with an air of prestige. Probably to make sure they all knew to respect him as an authority, or something equally as ridiculous. He was an alien, which in and of itself was enough to earn him the respect he deserved. When it was just the two of them, he didn't feel like her alien boss. He was her friend. Shouldn't that have helped him relax, even a little bit, around her?
Then again, the last time we chatted as just friends, I accidentally kissed him. Which was stupid. I can't believe I let myself get caught up in all of my emotions so easily. At least he understands even if things are a little weird between us.

Cadence had been quiet for too long. He was staring at her with large puppy-like eyes. Which made him look absolutely adorable and didn't help things much. The guy was gorgeous. She continually forgot he was an alien because he was so human in appearance, and when he wasn't an alien, he seemed to grow in attractiveness.

Ugh, stop standing there with your mouth open and say something!
“Next hour I am an aide for one of my teachers. If I ask nicely, she might let me go do it in the library. There's usually no one there. I'm sure we could find a place to talk.”

“Thank you,” he said, his smile growing bright. “I'll go wait there.”

He disappeared into thin air before she could say anything else. Cadence made her way back to class. The minutes dragged on as she waited for the bell to ring. Ten minutes should not have felt like an hour. When class dismissed, she gave JD a solid shove to wake him back up. Lucky for her, their teacher was standing on the other side of his desk waiting to have a chat with him about his sleeping habits. Bad for JD, good for Cadence. It allowed her to make a clean break from the room. If she talked to him too much, she knew she'd let her meeting with Alan slip out on accident and then he'd demand to come along.

Keeping secrets from JD was hard. He had a way of wanting to make her spill everything inside of her. She knew she could trust him and he made it so easy. When he wanted to, he could be an amazing listener and whatever she told him he never shared it. He was one of the few people who knew everything about her life growing up and about what happened to her father. More proof that he made a better friend than a boyfriend since he only seemed to listen when they weren't dating. She still hadn't mentioned her oops kiss with Alan to him and it bore into her soul.
I give him a hard time for not being honest with me, yet I can't be completely honest with him. Doesn't seem right.
The timing was all wrong. JD was too hung up on her. Nothing was going to come of the moment anyway, so did anyone else need to know?
JD will freak out if he found out now. No, it can stay a secret until we can all look back and laugh. Or forever. That would work too. Accidents happen. I don't need to hear about every single mistake he's ever made, that's for sure.

At the beginning of next period, she checked in with Mrs. Peterson, the teacher she worked for, and got permission to take the stack of packets she was supposed to put together down to the library. She even told the truth for why she had to go: her friend needed her. As long as Cadence returned ten minutes before the period ended with her work done, that's all that mattered.

Alan waited for her near the main entrance. He was browsing popular book titles on display, his hands in his pants pockets. Every so often he moved out of the way of an oncoming student. His interest seemed deeply focused on the back synopsis of “A Tale of Two Cities.” Moments like those showed Cadence how much he cared for her culture and her planet. He wanted to learn and she respected that. Some of his comrades were not interested in learning a thing.

She coughed quietly into her shoulder. Alan gazed over at her with his steely blue eyes and a soft smile formed on his lips. Cadence quickly averted her gaze away from his and got a key to one of the private workrooms, subtly tilting her head for him to follow. Once there, she spread her work out on a table, getting organized while she waited for him to start talking.