Starcrossed (11 page)

Maybe if I could convince Rigel that Sean wasn’t at all interested in me romantically, the two of them could actually be friends. That would sure make
my
life easier, plus it would be fun if the four of us could do stuff together.
 

I imagined us all going to Dream Cream or over to Rigel’s or the O’Garas’ house. Rigel and I could both learn about life on Mars and we could tell Sean and Molly stuff about Jewel, and Indiana—and Earth. With that hopeful picture in mind, I started rehearsing my explanation for Rigel when I saw him coming toward me.

“Rigel, I really was going to—” I began, when he cut me off.

“No, M, it’s okay. I’m sorry I was such an ass, saying that and then leaving.” He held my gaze and took my hand so I’d know he meant it. “It’s just, well, Sean made a crack this morning about you asking him to walk you home and it pissed me off. At
him
, I mean, so I was a real jerk to take it out on you.”
 

He said it in a rush, his eyes pleading for forgiveness—not that there was anything to forgive. But then I realized exactly what he’d said.

“Wait. Sean said I
asked
him to walk me? That is so not true! He insisted, even after I told him not to.”

Rigel started to glower, so I kept talking before my rosy vision of the future crumbled completely.

“It’s just because the O’Garas are all about me having to be protected and stuff. Really. It wasn’t like, ‘walk a girl home,’ or anything like that.”
 

I believed that, didn’t I? I willed Rigel to believe it, too—and his frown eased a little bit.

“Okay. I didn’t really think you’d asked him. I should have known he just said it to needle me. But . . . why would he do that if he doesn’t like you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on in his head. But honestly, he hasn’t come on to me at
all,
I swear.”

Finally, Rigel smiled. “I guess I can let him live, then. Though sometimes I wonder if you’d notice if a guy
did
come on to you.”

I smiled back, my insides finally warming the way they normally did when I was with Rigel. “If I don’t notice, does it really matter?”

He gave my hand a squeeze and I reveled in the wonderful rush it gave me—
so
much better than that stupid tingle I got from Sean.
 

“I guess not. C’mon,” he said, still smiling, “let’s get to class.”

Now that I’d smoothed things over, I was able to relax and enjoy Rigel’s nearness during my next two classes. It was clear Rigel still didn’t like Sean, but maybe my fantasy of us eventually hanging out with him and Molly wasn’t
completely
impossible. It would just take a little more peacemaking on my part. Maybe I could get Molly to help, too.

I headed to lunch hand in hand with Rigel with that goal in mind, but we hadn’t even entered the lunch line when Sean came up to us, a tense look on his face. Molly was hovering nervously behind him.

“Hey. Rigel,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about what you said this morning and I think we need to talk. Any chance we go someplace more private?”

Rigel shot me a quick, concerned frown then nodded. “Sure. Courtyard?”

“That’ll be fine. See you there in five.” Sean stalked off toward an empty table but Molly, trailing behind him, gave us a backward, worried glance. Which of course started
me
worrying.

“What was that about?” I demanded. “What
did
you and Sean talk about this morning? Is this just about him walking me home or is something else going on?”

“I’m not sure.” Rigel sent a glare Sean’s way. “But it’s probably time we settled things.”

“What, like, ‘let’s settle this outside?’ No way. You two are
not
going to—”

Rigel patted my arm reassuringly, which didn’t reassure me at all. “Don’t worry, M. I’m sure we can keep things . . . civilized. I just need to make it clear to him how things stand, that’s all.”
 

He grabbed a tuna sandwich and a carton of chocolate milk and I did the same, except skim milk instead of chocolate. I kept glancing over to where Sean and Molly were sitting, just the two of them, trying to hear what she was saying to him. She looked really earnest about whatever it was, but they were speaking too softly for me to pick their words out of the rest of the cafeteria noise.

Rigel and I went to our usual table, but he barely nodded at the others, just wolfed down his lunch and stood back up less than two minutes later.
 

“I’ll let you know how it goes,” he said to me.

Ignoring Bri and Deb’s questioning looks, I watched him head for the door, then saw Sean get up a second later to follow him out. Molly immediately came over to our table, still looking worried.
 

“What’s going on with Rigel?” Bri asked just as Molly got there.
 

I was trying to decipher the same thing from Molly’s expression, since I couldn’t ask her outright, so I just answered vaguely, “Not sure. Actually, I just realized I should probably—”

“I was thinking that, too,” Molly said before I could finish. Her gray eyes were wide and troubled.

“I’ll, uh, see you guys later,” I said to Bri and Deb, who were looking really curious by now. Explanations—meaning, whatever I managed to make up—would have to wait.
 

Molly and I took our trays, dumped our uneaten lunches and headed for the exit.
 

“What
is
going on?” I demanded quietly the second we were in the hall. “Do you know?”

“Not exactly, but I think it’s my fault,” she said miserably, walking so fast I had to trot to keep up. “After he got back from walking you home last night, Sean asked what we’d been talking about because he’d overheard the last little bit. I told him and he, well, I don’t know when I’ve seen him so upset. He seemed calmer this morning, but I’m afraid—”

Though her worry was contagious, her explanation didn’t seem to make sense. “Wait, you mean you told him what I said about Rigel and me being bonded? Why should he be angry about that? What does it have to do with him?”

She didn’t answer, but gave me a look that was almost scared. Did that mean Rigel was right, that Sean already had a crush on me or something? But that was crazy. He barely knew me!
 

Before I could demand more information we reached the courtyard, which was empty except for Sean and Rigel. They weren’t fighting—yet—but they definitely didn’t look happy with each other. I pushed open the door and stifled a hiss when the cold wind hit me in the face. It was freezing out here! But half a second later, the cold was the last thing on my mind.

“—some nerve, barging in here and throwing around accusations,” Rigel was saying. “None of this is any of your business, anyway.”

Sean loomed over Rigel until they were almost nose to nose. He was several inches taller, though Rigel was broader through the chest and shoulders.

“The Sovereign’s welfare is the business of
all
of our people. You’d know that if you were any kind of patriot. You can’t put your own selfish feelings ahead of her safety.”

“I’d never put
anything
ahead of M’s safety!” Rigel nearly shouted. “You don’t have a clue about anything you’re assuming. Maybe you should—”
 

“I should what?” Sean said, leaning even closer.
 

They both shifted their stances, squaring off against each other, their hands clenching into fists. This was
not
my idea of civilized!

“Um, guys?” I said, loudly enough to distract them from each other.

They both whipped their heads in my direction, then relaxed slightly, taking a half step away from each other—but their fists didn’t unclench.

“Get inside, M,” Rigel said to me. “You shouldn’t be here right now.”

I heard Molly gasp from just behind me, and at the same time Sean snapped, “Don’t tell her what to do. Who the
efrin
do you think you are?” Then Sean turned to me and said, in a gentler voice. “It’s cold out here, Princess. I’m sure you’d be more comfortable inside.”

By now I was about equally irritated at both of them. “How about neither one of you tell me what to do? I’m not going anywhere while you two are acting like a couple of barnyard roosters. If this ridiculous display of testosterone poisoning is because of me, I absolutely ought to be here. Right, Molly?”

I glanced back at her. She gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look, but after a second she nodded. “Right. You guys need to calm down. You don’t want to get in trouble, do you?”

Sean glared at her, jaw rigid and blue eyes blazing, but then he took a visible deep breath. “Molly, why don’t you take Emileia back to the cafeteria?”

“Molly’s not taking me anywhere,” I informed him, feeling a hot rush of anger despite the cold. “Do you both
want
to get kicked out of school for fighting?”

The two of them looked at me, then at each other.

“Gee, who will protect me if both of you are suspended?” I deliberately laced my voice with sarcasm, but I could tell they both took the question seriously.

After a long, tense moment, Sean moved away from Rigel and took a step toward me. “I just wanted to explain to him that just because he happened to be the first
Echtran
you ever met, and the first one to tell you about . . . about everything, it doesn’t automatically give him some
claim
on you.”

“I never said it did.” Rigel also moved my way, like he was trying to get between Sean and me. “But just because you happen to be Allister’s precious nephew, you seem to think you’ve been appointed her protector or something. Like you have some claim on her yourself. You don’t.”

Sean rounded on him, fists coming up. “Talk about not having a clue—“

“
Both
of you stop talking about me like I’m some piece of real estate in a land dispute,” I interrupted, trying to maintain my anger to keep away my fear. “Sean, Rigel and I are together. Bonded. Deal with it. And Rigel, that bond doesn’t mean you have to go all macho on Sean. He hasn’t threatened me in any way, I told you that.”

But they both still looked like they wanted to start pummeling each other, glowering ferociously. “He’s the one who—” Rigel started to say, at the same time Sean said, “You don’t really think—”

“Hey!” I did shout this time. “Aren’t I supposed to outrank you guys? Just stop it! I want you both to . . . to shake hands and then back away from each other.”
 

I knew I was pushing it, but I didn’t back down. I just waited.
 

And waited.
 

Finally, a little to my amazement, Rigel gave a quick nod and extended his hand, and Sean did likewise. It had to be one of the most perfunctory, unwilling handshakes in history. Then they moved away from each other, which was what really mattered.
 

“Good,” I said. “And if I hear about you fighting later, I’ll . . . I’ll tell Shim and Allister to come up with some kind of suitable punishment, on top of anything the school does.”
 

I wouldn’t really do that, but I definitely wanted them to
think
I might. I turned to Molly.

“You’ll let me know if they do, won’t you?”

She nodded vigorously, her eyes still wide. Then the warning bell rang and she seemed to snap out of her trance, or whatever it was.

“Come on, Sean, let’s go,” she said to her brother.
 

He sent one last, warning glare at Rigel, then nodded, first to her and then to me—though the one to me was more like a little bow—and followed her out of the courtyard.

I let out my breath, only then realizing how on edge I’d been. Then I turned to Rigel. “So what was that about? Really?”

He didn’t meet my eyes right away, so I reached out and took his hand. The second I touched him, I gasped at the roiling emotions I sensed—anger, fear, jealousy, and again that tinge of sadness I didn’t understand.
 

“Rigel?” I prompted, alarmed.

He looked at me then, apology written on his face. He’d clearly registered my worry. “I’m sorry, M. I really need to learn to control my feelings better.”

I gently tugged him toward the courtyard door, since we needed to get to class. “I don’t
ever
want you to hide your feelings from me, Rigel. But you can’t let Sean—or anyone else—goad you into doing stuff you shouldn’t. What did he say to get you that upset?”

We went inside, into the lovely warmth of the hallway. Rigel put an arm around me and rubbed my arm to warm me faster. “It’s my fault you’re cold, too.”

“Never mind that. I’m fine. Answer me.”

Rigel sighed, then nodded. “Okay. As far as I can tell, Sean totally freaked out when he heard we were bonded. He doesn’t believe it—thinks I just made it up, like some kind of come-on line, to take advantage of you.”

I snorted. “Molly didn’t believe it either,” I told him, “but I thought she’d at least decided to give me the benefit of the doubt. Guess Sean wasn’t willing to do that.”

I was kind of ticked Molly had told him at all, since it had led to so much trouble, but that wasn’t fair. It’s not like I’d asked her not to. In fact, I’d half hoped she
would
tell him, so he’d be less likely to flirt with me. I definitely hadn’t expected it to backfire like this.

“Still, I shouldn’t have let him get to me like that,” Rigel said. “It put you in the middle and that’s not fair.”

“No,
he’s
the one who put me in the middle,” I pointed out. “Except I’m not really in the middle at all. I’m on your side, Rigel. Always. No matter what.”

To my relief, I felt the negative emotions start to drain out of him.
 

“Thanks, M,” he said as we reached the door to our History class. “I’ll do my best not to make you put that to the test.”

“I appreciate that,” I answered with a grin. “And I’ll do my best not to make that promise harder for you to keep.”

I wished I could believe Sean would help with that, too, but I knew I couldn’t count on it. My pleasant fantasy of all four of us becoming good friends was apparently just that—a fantasy. Unless I could somehow fix things.