Mom waited in the kitchen, poised with her arms crossed, back to the counter, angled so the frown on her face was the first thing I saw when I walked in. I wondered how long she'd held that pose.
She began with a calm voice. "Do you want to tell me about getting sent to the principal's office after school?"
I slipped out of my backpack. "You'd think he would have given me a medal rather than suspend me from school."
Mom didn't smile. "Mind telling me why you got into a fight?"
"I didn't get in a fight. I intervened. I already went over this with Principal Romero. That kid was about to kill the other one, and I stopped him."
"Principal Romero said you beat on him."
"Well, it put an end to his rampage, didn't it?" I crossed the kitchen, opened the freezer, and frowned. "No more fruity pops?"
"Aurora, I'm talking to you."
"I can snack and listen." I opened the cupboard and pulled out a bag of pretzels instead.
"Aurora, I'm extremely disappointed."
I stopped mid-chew and looked at her. "Well, I'm sorry. I was recruited to fight. This is who I am now. It's what they expect from me."
"Agent Melcher said you could go back to your normal life."
"Right, Agent Melcher." I sneered. The pretzel sticks made me think of small bones snapping under my teeth. I chucked the bag onto the counter. "I don't get to make my own decisions anymore."
My mother's face dropped. "Maybe they'll reconsider in a year."
"Mom," I said firmly. "They'll never let me go." I grabbed an apple out of the glass fruit bowl on the counter and headed up the stairs.
"Where are you going now?" Mom asked.
"To get started on homework." I chuckled at the surprise on her face. "Much as I despise the idea of attending the UAA next year, I loathe the thought of repeating senior year at Denali even more."
And that was the truth. I could only play the recovering accident victim for so long before my teachers started expecting more participation on my part.
The upside of suspension was it forced me to stay in one spot and get my work done. No Mouseketeers. No Skipping. No Fane.
I'd already crammed more studying into one morning than I did during a whole week at Denali.
I joined my mom at the dining room table the next morning and spread my books over the far end. A plate of toast and a glass of pulpy orange juice sat by my side.
"I'm glad you're making this time count," Mom said. "Are you sure I can't make you breakfast?"
"Mom, I'm fine."
I'd never really been sure what my mom did while I was at school. To start the day, it seemed, she read the newspaper with a glass of diet soda.
An hour later, my mom got up, put her glass in the dishwasher, and took the paper in the recycle bin. She disappeared upstairs for a while then returned fully dressed with freshly applied makeup.
"I'm going to the grocery store. I'll be right back. Do you want anything?"
"More fruity pops," I suggested.
The solitude was nice. For the first time since the accident, I got work done. The sub sandwiches Mom brought back for lunch were a welcome break, regardless of the way the bread disintegrated like sponge cake inside my mouth.
The phone rang as my mom finished putting away the groceries.
She answered. "Hello? Yes. May I ask who's calling?"
I stared at my mom. She held the phone against her chest. "Aurora, there's a boy on the phone for you. Fane?"
I leapt out of my chair and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Aurora."
Even through the phone, his voice was silky.
My mother looked over.
I turned my back and spoke softly. "How did you get my number?"
"I looked it up."
I felt lightheaded in a good way. I wasn't sure if Fane would talk to me, much less call after the kiss. Scott hadn't called and he actually had my phone number.
"How's school?" I asked.
"All the boys are resting easy knowing Aurora Sky's not around to beat them up...for now."
I laughed. "They better not get too comfortable. The school's letting me return on Friday."
"I can't wait."
I gripped the phone around my ear. My heart hammered inside my chest.
"Do you have a piece of paper and pen?" Fane asked.
"Why?"
"I want to give you my phone number."
"Why Fane Donado, are you giving me your digits?" I asked in mock glee.
He chuckled. "Just write it down."
I grabbed a No. 2 pencil and piece of unopened mail from the counter, turning the envelope over to the back. "I'm ready."
Fane recited his cell number.
"Got it."
"Call me anytime."
"During class?" I joked.
"Anytime," Fane repeated.
"All right, see you Friday."
"Until then, Aurora."
My hands shook slightly when I hung up the phone.
"Who is Fane?" Mom asked.
I spun around and smiled innocently. "A boy at school."
"And his name's Fane?"
"Yeah."
"How do you two know each other?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Gym class."
"Aurora, I don't want to see you fall in with a bad crowd."
Laughter bubbled up my throat. "And you're assuming he's a delinquent because of his name?"
"Nice boys don't call themselves Fane."
"Yeah, and nice boys aren't always nice, either."
"What do you mean?"
I shook my head. "Nothing, forget it. I'll be in my room."
I tried on five different tops Friday morning before settling on a sweater and skirt that touched my knees.
When I reached school, I avoided C Hall and the risk of running into the Mouseketeers. I wandered the halls until I heard his voice.
"Welcome back."
Instant shiver.
I turned and smiled. I focused on Fane's upper lip, the one that was slightly smaller. Seeing him grin made me want to kiss him again.
"Aurora Sky," those lips said. I want to show you something."
"What?"
"Come with me."
We walked side by side down the empty hall and out the doors into the student parking lot. The cold bit into my bare flesh. Fane led me to a familiar Pontiac Catalina.
"This is my car."
I folded my arms over my chest.
Fane planted a boot on the bumper. "This thing's a tank."
I looked it over. "It's certainly ugly enough to be."
"Very funny, but it could go through a brick wall and still hold its shape. Last year, this woman in a Dodge Neon ran headfirst into me in her sedan. Wasn't her fault, really, she was skidding on ice."
My eyes widened.
"Don't worry," Fane said. "She walked out of it just fine. But her car..." Fane shook his head. "That thing crumpled like an accordion." He moved his hands together to demonstrate.
A smile spread across my face.
"The tank?" Fane gave it a shove with his boot. "Not a scratch."
"It sounds very safe," I said. As Fane grinned I added quickly, "But I'm still not ready."
"Just know that I'm here for you when you are and, at the risk of my reputation, I'm no speed demon." Fane lowered his voice. "The tank is more of a coaster. She doesn't like going over fifty."
I laughed. "Thanks. I'll remember that."
Fane opened the back door. "Go on, have a seat."
Was he crazy?
"I'm not..."
"We're not going anywhere. I just thought it might help if you eased into the whole auto rehabilitation."
"Is that what they're calling it these days?"
"Step one: Get inside the car."
I smiled and shook my head at his antics, but couldn't resist playing along for the moment. I lowered my head and climbed onto the back bench. The burgundy upholstery was old and torn.
"Where are the seatbelts?"
Fane climbed in after me. "Buried under the seat someplace." He shut the door behind him. "How's this?"
I looked out the side window at the parked cars then out the front overlooking the west side of the school building. I nodded. "Fine for now. What's step two?"
"Step two involves lips - yours and mine. The surest way to get over a car phobia is by creating positive associations."
Hearing the words caused a thrum inside my chest. His lips haunted me. They were wicked. They were wonderful.
Fane twisted one of the fringes at the end of my scarf.
I stared at the red thread wrapped around Fane's finger. "What about Valerie?"
Fane released my scarf. "I broke it off."
"What? When?"
"First thing Tuesday. I told her that she and I had a good run, hoped there were no hard feelings, and wished her the best."
After one kiss. I should know better than to be a sentimental sap, but my heart was on fire.
"Did you tell her why?"
"I told her I met someone else."
My stomach did a flip-flop. "Did you tell her who?"
Fane chuckled. "As delightful as the spectacle would be, I don't want you two to get into a cat fight in the girls' locker room. Valerie's got claws and I couldn't bear to see so much as a scratch on you."
"Excuse me," I said, sitting up. "Did you not see the way I took down that kid in the cafeteria?"
Fane watched me with an amused half-grin.
I stood on my knees and leaned over him. "Don't let this girl-next-door act fool you, Fane. I'm learning martial arts. I take kickboxing." I stretched my leg over his lap and straddled him. "I could pin you down and keep you down."
Fane looked up at me. "I wouldn't stop you."
He leaned forward as I leaned down. When our lips touched, the world outside his car melted away.
I ran my tongue over his teeth. His back molars were sharp. I retracted my tongue. Fane must have sucked a mint earlier; a hint of peppermint lingered on the tip of his tongue. Our lips moved together softly. I cupped his face in my hands and closed my eyes. Fane ran his hands down my back.
His lips were divine - like soft caresses against my own chapped lips. The windows began to fog, steamed by our heavy breath.
Fane managed to lower me to the bench of the car and cover my body with his own. His hand slipped up my bare thigh, but went no further. He stroked my skin softly. Wave after wave of pleasure rippled through my body.
We stopped kissing. I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. My lips parted slightly. Fane caressed my skin as though touching me was the greatest privilege in the world. I wondered if he was aware of the fact he could do anything to me right then, and I'd let him.
A rumbling engine from a nearby car woke me from my trance. More engines revved until an entire fleet came to life around us.
My eyes opened. "What time is it?"
Fane glanced at his wristwatch. "Eleven thirty."
He sat up when I pushed onto my elbows. "It's already lunch hour?"
There was a glimmer in his eye. "I didn't notice the time passing, either."
I felt dazed when I sat up. I couldn't see out the windows. They were completely fogged and icing over.
"China Garden's nearby," Fane said. "Why don't we walk over, and I'll buy you lunch?"
I smoothed my skirt down my legs, which Fane was admiring rather closely. "Sure, let's go."
We were the only students exiting a car. I spotted Valerie across the lot staring our way. Her eyes narrowed the instant she got over her shock. Sure, I could gloat, but I'd rather forget about her altogether. So much for keeping a low profile.
Fane walked on the outside of the sidewalk and took my hand. It made me grin. I never figured Fane as the hand-holding type.
He reached in his pocket. "Mind if I smoke?"
"Now you're asking?"
"Well, yeah, we're together now."
Together. I grinned so wide I could feel it in my nose.
"Go ahead," I said. "Light one for me, too."
Smoking wasn't on the list of resolutions, but I might as well add it.
Fane chuckled as he pulled his pack of American Spirits out of his coat pocket. "I don't think so."
"What?"
"They're not good for you."
"Oh, and they're good for you?"
"I'm immune." Fane pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took my hand in his free one again.
"Must be nice."
I squeezed his hand. When he looked at me, I smiled.
The lobby inside China Garden was blissfully quiet. The Denali crowd stuck to McDonald's, Subway, and the supermarket deli. A hostess appeared and led us to a booth behind a bamboo partition. She handed us plastic menus.
"I'll have the vegetable chow mein," I said when a waitress came by to take our orders.
Fane looked across the table. "Are you a vegetarian?"
"Yep, despite my mom's best efforts to 'entice' me into eating meat again."
Fane smiled at the waitress and handed over his menu. "I'll have the same thing."
The waitress nodded and left.
"You don't have to do that," I said.
Fane smiled. "I want to. Besides, I don't really care what I eat."
I shrugged. A smile spread over my cheeks when our eyes locked. I fidgeted on the booth's vinyl bench.
Fane watched me closely. "You're cute."
My cheeks flushed with heat. "What about you?" I asked. "You call me a baddie and it turns out you're Mr. Soft and Fuzzy - a gentleman."
"A gentleman," Fane repeated. His eyes lit up and he laughed. "Mamma would have been so pleased."
I stared at Fane. Mamma? In addition to the word he chose, he used a faint Italian accent to say it.
"Does your mom not live in Alaska?"
"My mom is dead."
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. It was a long time ago."
"Oh," I said again. "Were you very young?"
"It didn't seem like it at the time, but looking back? Yes, I'd say I was quite young."
"Hot tea," our waitress announced. She set down a small white and blue porcelain teapot with two small cups.
Fane poured tea into a cup and pushed it toward me.
"Thanks." I took a small sip.
"What about you?" Fane asked. "How are things at home? Are they still trying to make you eat cookies?"
I nearly snorted the tea out my nostrils. "I can't believe you remember that!"
Fane leaned toward me. "How could I forget? You looked like an angel who'd lost her way to heaven."
I set my teacup down. "I'm no angel."
And I had the mark of the devil to prove it. Fane seemed pretty dark, but I doubted he'd look at me with the same adoration if he knew I was a secret assassin for the government, engineered to hunt down and kill the reanimated dead. He might even be the type who would feel sorry for vampires. I doubted he had much respect for authority or the government. And somehow, I doubted he would take too kindly to the idea of guys sinking their teeth into me - undead or otherwise.
Luckily, he'd never know that side of me. Superheroes got to have their own separate lives, and my alter ego was no longer all doom and gloom. Who would have guessed that a boy named Fane would have made it feel right again?
When I thought about it more, I was struck by something even more unimaginable.
If I hadn't gotten into the accident, I never would have gotten to know Fane the way I knew him now. I never would have felt his touch or kissed his lips or seen his smile. And that would have been the real tragedy.
On the way home from school, I stared out the bus window dreamily. The world outside no longer existed. I lived in my own world and I liked it there.
I took great big steps up the hill leading home, skipped up to the front door, and leapt inside. The smile on my lips died when I looked over and saw Mom waiting for me in the front parlor, with Agent Melcher sitting beside her.