Prelude (The Rhapsody Quartet) (21 page)

My stomach hurt thinking about it. It felt manipulative and wrong, but if it was the only way… I sighed, leaning back on the bed, into my palms. “Fine. Deal.”

“You say that as if you think I’m looking forward to going on your human date with you. Hardly.” He rolled his eyes, “Really it’s the last thing I’d like to do. Alas, duty calls, even if it involves watching teens snog.”

I blushed and bit my lip, pulling out my phone and checking the time. We needed to start walking to Harbor Estate, otherwise I’d be making Will wait. I pushed myself up, stalking down the stairs. We walked in silence along the beach. I tugged at my sweatshirt, trying to keep warm in the wind.

It wasn’t long before we’d reached Will’s house. He was sitting on the porch, wearing sunglasses, reading a textbook. It looked like he had his own homework this afternoon. When he saw me approach, he smiled, then looked a little disappointed when he noticed Glenn next to me. His lips twisted into a frown.

“Hey, Sarah,” he greeted me, pulling off the glasses. He dropped his voice down a little, “I guess I was under the impression that we’d be alone.”

I chewed my cheek, staring into his eyes reluctantly. Sighing, I said, “Will, this is Glenn, and you can’t see him or hear him… he’s invisible for the day, so just ignore him.” I frowned and turned to Glenn, narrowing my eyes and hissed, “
Happy
?”

I turned back to Will. His nostrils flared just a little, but he popped the sunglasses back on, smiling. “So, Sarah, is there anything you’d like to do?”

I shrugged, glancing over at Glenn. He appeared satisfied and, true to his word, dropped back several paces. I was still being babysat, but at least it was a
little
more private. I rubbed my forehead uncomfortably. “No, nothing in particular,” I answered.

I tugged at my baggy sweatshirt, feeling awkward. Guilt burned at me. I hated manipulating Will, and I wanted to take it back. Magic simplified things, but it took some of the illusion of our relationship away. It was painfully clear that I had the upper hand here.

“I have a shoe for you,” he said, moving back to the porch and retrieving it. He handed it to me.

I took it, confused, “But I left them both—”

He shrugged. “I really would like to see you more than once, Sarah. Since ransoming shoes seems to be doing the trick, I’ll hang onto the second.” He gestured to the beach, “Want to go for a walk?”

“Sure,” I agreed, my stomach a flurry of butterflies. He kicked off his shoes, and I followed suit, leaving all three of mine in a pile near his porch.

“You’re inimitable, Sarah, you’re—” he started. He cleared his throat, “You’re just… you’re unique. Different than the other girls.” We slowly walked along the coastline on the hard packed sand. The spray of the water soaked my ankles, and I rolled my jeans so they hit me mid-calf.

I was acutely aware that what he’d said was the truth. Unfortunately, he’d never understand how unique I was. Right now, our differences felt like a gulf dividing us. “Yeah…” I mumbled, because I didn’t know what else to say.

“You’re honestly…” He pursed his lips, as if searching for the right words. “You’re the peacock who’s trying to be a chameleon.”

I blushed and stared at my feet. The sand felt good as we trudged along, and our steps left deep footprints that were filled with little pools of water from the tide. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re trying so hard to fade into the crowd, that I’m finding myself—” He chuckled, running a hand through his hair, “I guess I’m doing things I didn’t expect I’d be doing.”

“Like what?” I asked, curious.

“Hmm…” he said with a sly smile, “like confiscating shoes to try to coax you out.”

I laughed. “You… surprise me, too,” I said honestly.

He tilted his head to one side, “Really?”

“Well,” I said, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. I ignored it and pressed forward. “Yes, actually,” I laced my fingers together. “You have to know. You’re popular, good looking,” I gestured back to his house, “apparently pretty well-off.”

“Careful,” he said with a laugh, “you might give me an ego.”

I stopped, digging my toes into the packed sand. “What I mean is, you don’t act like any of that matters.”

Will shrugged, “It doesn’t.”

“Then what
does
matter to you?”

The wind was blowing my hair in my face, but I didn’t care, staring up at him through squinting eyes.

He pulled off his sunglasses, folding them into one hand. He looked into my eyes carefully, the same way he had since that first day. It was unnerving but appealing all at once. Part of me wished he could see me clearly, that he could see the colors change.

His hand strayed near my temple, pulling the loose hair from my eyes and cheeks. The wind caught it and blew it behind me.

“Making a connection,” he said softly. “That’s what matters.”

The sun was sinking down, staining the sky pink near the ocean and lighting up the tide to create an orange glow. My knees trembled, feeling weak. Will leaned forward. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. He was going to kiss me— I was sure of it. He moved closer, his head tilting just a little…

“Sarah!” Glenn called out.

I snapped back, looking at the elf. I glared, wondering what he wanted.

Will had gone rigid, standing there. His hands were balled into fists, and he had a strange expression on his face. “Are you okay, Sarah?” he asked in a whisper, not meeting my eyes.

“Yeah, just… give me a second, okay?” I trudged back to my bodyguard, my arms folded across my chest. “What do you want?!” I hissed.

Glenn grinned, “We never did establish how long you were going to be off gallivanting about tonight. I thought I’d clarify, that’s all.”

My eyes narrowed, “And
this
is the moment you chose?”

He shrugged, “I wasn’t really paying attention, Sarah.” He glanced at me coyly, “Why? Did I interrupt anything?”

I kicked at the sand, “No. And we’ll be done in an hour or so.”

Glenn shrugged, “Just checking…”

I wandered back to where I’d left Will. He was looking thoughtfully out at the waves, his sunglasses replaced over his eyes.

“Hey, sorry, I—”

He interrupted me, “I think we should probably call it a night pretty soon.”

“Oh,” I mumbled, disappointed, “any reason in particular?”

Will shook his head, “I promised someone back home I’d call tonight. If I wait too long, it’ll be rude. That’s all.”

“I’d like to see you again,” I said, surprising myself.

He smiled, “Really? I admit I’m a little shocked.”

“Well,” I said with a grin, “I still have another shoe to collect, right?”

Will laughed, “Yeah. I guess you do… so tomorrow, maybe?”

I bit my lip, nodding shyly. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Sisters Before Misters

I was surprised that Marin was home that evening. Most nights, she was busy with dates or other social engagements. Tonight, however, she was waiting for me on my bed, chewing gum and blowing bubbles with loud pops.

“So,” she said cheerfully, dragging the word out, “you had a date. With Will. Details.”

I smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. I folded my arms in front of myself. “It was… well, it wasn’t what I was expecting.”

Glenn trudged to his corner, propping his feet on the bookshelf. I grimaced, worrying that he might damage my book collection, but his lanky legs didn’t even rock the shelf as he relaxed into it.

“If all your dates are going to be like
that
,” Glenn said, rolling his eyes, “then I have a boring future ahead of me.”

It wasn’t a fair statement. Wouldn’t any date feel boring if you weren’t the participant?

Marin held her hands up, looking confused and shaking her head, “Wait, wait, wait. You can’t tell me
Glenn
went with you?”

I leaned forward into my hands and nodded glumly. “Unfortunately— for all three of us— yes.”

Marin was up in a flash, stomping over to the reading nook. She pushed Glenn’s legs down unceremoniously, scowling. “Really?! You won’t allow her to have a life?”

Glenn glared at her. “I’m her bodyguard, Princess! What do you want me to do about the next wraith that comes looking for her? Tell it to kindly wait, that she’s
on a date
?”

“You could let her go on her own if she’s around a
human
!” Marin insisted. “She’s not completely helpless, you know! Sarah’s so far wound up that—” She stopped talking, and I was grateful. The last thing I wanted to hear was how I needed to get laid.

“Yeah, but she’s a magnet for trouble,” Glenn rebuked. “She
should
be wound up. She should be vigilant, always on her guard.”

Marin snorted, “So your suggestion to save her life is to prevent her from having one? Yeah, perfect.”

I pulled out Aldan’s book, the thin and wide manual that Glenn had called childish. I flipped through it, letting the two squabble. Though they were talking about me, they certainly didn’t care about my input.

Flipping past the basic rules were the more advanced nuances. It appeared that every rule had a loophole, except the five most basic— even those had the Source of Magic side-note.

I blushed as I looked at the pages. It was obvious Glenn was right— it
was
a children’s book. It had colorful illustrations and simple wording. It was embarrassing, but in the extras’ world, I may as well have been a child.

“No, no, no, and no!” I heard Glenn yell from the corner. He was getting worked up, but Marin wasn’t budging.

I glanced fleetingly at them. Marin gripped Glenn tightly by the ear, pinching it between her thumb and index finger. “You
will
meet me halfway on this, elf. You will!”

“Ow!”

I sighed, returning my attention to the book.

Morgan the witch wants to cast a love spell on Merlin the wizard. Why won’t this work?

I closed my eyes and tipped the book face down. It was a little condescending.

The corner had gone quiet now, and I wondered if one had killed the other. I bit my lip, drawing my gaze up.

Marin was sitting on the table, looking thoughtful. Glenn had a sour expression on his face, but his posture was relaxed. They were speaking quietly. Well, vast improvement to the yelling.

I stood up, abandoning the book, and walked to them. “Glad it didn’t come to blows.”

“It could’ve,” sighed Glenn. “But in the end, the Princess agreed to chaperon your dates half the time. I can’t say I’m thrilled to leave you to her devices, but at least it’ll save me from witnessing part of your foolishness.”

Trading out one for the other didn’t seem like much of an improvement. I supposed it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like I could really get to know Will properly, anyway. He was too human.

Marin grabbed my hands with a wide smile on her face. “Don’t you get it, Sarah? We can double date!”

I nodded, feeling glum. I enjoyed Will’s company around other people, but so far we hadn’t captured the same sort of magic we’d had the night of his party.

I was probably fooling myself. I
was
on drugs at the time.

“Glenn told me you’re going out again tomorrow,” she added, “so we’ll figure out something really fun to do.”

“Who are you dating now?” I asked her, leaning against the wall.

Glenn crinkled his nose and pulled one of my books off the shelf, thumbing through it.
Huck Finn
.

Marin shrugged, “No idea. I’ll see who looks good in school tomorrow.”

She said it so casually, like it was a buffet to pick through. Maybe to Marin it was exactly that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When it was time for my second date, I slid into Marin’s car and buckled my seatbelt. I’d mentioned to Will that Stacie might be tagging along, and he seemed as disappointed as I was at the prospect. I tried to be cheerful about it, but I hated the constant supervision.

She shifted the car into gear, and I waved a quick goodbye to Glenn as he watched us leave. He barely nodded back.

Marin smiled broadly, popping on some sunglasses as she drove along the beach. “So, I’m planning on dropping you off, leaving to meet my date, and I’ll pick you up around… I don’t know. Six? Seven? What’s a good time?” She turned to me, cocking her head.

My heart began to pound harder. “You’re letting me go by myself?”

She looked a little confused. “Well,
yeah
. Of course.”

“But didn’t Glenn insist—”

“Hey— sisters before misters, right? I’ve got your back.” She scoffed, “Screw him! He doesn’t understand.”

I leaned across the seat, hugging her tightly. She just laughed. “So you must really like him if you’re this happy to see him alone.”

I blushed. “I guess so… he’s…different than I’d have thought,” I admitted.

“Well, I’m glad,” she said as she pulled to a stop. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Just text me when you’re ready, I’ll pop back here in no time.”

“Thanks, Marin,” I said gratefully.

I slid out of the car seat, racing to his porch. I expected him to be outside, waiting like he was yesterday, but the house was quiet. For a moment I was flustered, but I gathered my courage and rapped on the door.

A mousy blonde woman answered with a smile. “Are you Sarah? You’re practically all Will talks about.”

I nodded, “Yeah… um…”

“Well, come in,” she said, laughing. “I’m Maggie. Mrs Sanders.”

This was Will’s mother? She was quite petite. Though she wasn’t ugly, she was plain with big glasses and stringy dishwater blonde hair. Her nose was a bit too long, and her teeth were big.

Will must have gotten his looks from his father.

“Nice to meet you,” I said stiffly.

Her eyes were soft, hazy. “I can see why he likes you. You’re beautiful. Very well suited for him.”

“Mom!” I heard Will say sharply. He was quickly descending the stairs of the loft with wet hair and a red face. “Sorry, Sarah.”