Finding Fae

Nando didn’t look too shocked to see Malachi there in the morning. He actually looked a little bit excited to see him there, which was a nice change from the barely concealed hostility from Zane and uneasy tolerance of Blaine.

“I have an idea that I think will help,” Malachi said over breakfast.

“Okay,” Nando prompted as I flipped the pancake.

“Obviously, there’s a lot that needs to happen in order for this Awakening to, you know, not kill anyone,” he said as he poured syrup on his stack of still hot pancakes. Jerk stole mine instead of making his own.

“That’s an understatement,” I snorted.

“The other four seem to have a decent handle on most of it, but you were taught how to fight by a Demi. There’s no way in hell any of them would be able to give you enough of a challenge to allow improvement,” he said and took a big bite.

“He’s right,” Nando agreed as he washed his plate and set in the drying rack. “Ben’s more of a smoke and mirror guy, Blaine or Zane would be the best bet, but you move too fast for Blaine and if you hit Zane, it looks like you have enough force to actually hurt him. I’m not a fighter, obviously. I’m the medic or the cheerleader.”

“If you put on a skirt and start waving pom-poms around, I will hit you,” I laughed.

“Thanks for that mental image, Fae,” Malachi groaned.

“Hey, don’t act like all of this,” Nando motioned to himself, “Isn’t sexy as hell.”

“God, I wish I had your confidence when I was thirteen,” I laughed. “I wouldn’t have stuttered so much when I told Nick O’Bannon I liked him.”

“Do I want to know what happened?” Nando winced.

“It was terrible,” I shook my head. “I didn’t even feel that bad when we left town the next day.”

I took the pancake off the heat and turned off the stove before tucking into my food.

“Well, I agree with Malachi,” Nando said with a cup of coffee in his hand. “From what I saw, he’s the only one of us that stands a chance and you need the improvement he can offer.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “But we have the problem of convincing the others to deal with.”

“Ben won’t be a problem and Blaine might be a little hesitant, but he’ll be on board,” Nando said taking a sip.

“Zane, on the other hand,” I nodded.

“Not my biggest fan,” Malachi finished.

“I think you should try to be as low profile as you can for the day,” Nando said with a face. “I’m pretty sure he’ll try to start a fight with you. Let us try to talk some sense into him.”

“How often will these lessons be?” I asked.

“Every night,” Malachi stated calmly. “At least until we figure out the style that suits you best.”

“I seem to do just fine,” I said.

“You manage well enough, but Demi’s have a very dense skeletal system,” he said as he went to clean up his plate. “They can take the damage of a close quarters blow like it’s nothing. You can’t.”

“How do we know that, though?” Nando asked. “She could very well be a Demi.”

“Demi’s Awaken at sixteen,” Malachi shook his head. “Well, the females do. Unless Fae’s hiding a johnson...”

“Last I checked, we’re good,” I glared at him.

“Not a Demi,” Malachi winked at me.

“That’s another fae of the list, at least,” Nando grinned. “I didn’t know that about Demi’s.”

“They keep their females, and most information about them, heavily guarded,” Malachi shrugged. “We’ll be late if we don’t leave soon.”

---------

Once again, I was reminded how much I hated this place as some jock with a bad case of after practice B.O. ran me over in the hallway. “On accident”, of course. The smell made me want to retch even as I made my way into Science class.

“You’re early,” I smiled as I sat down next to Zane.

“I was worried,” he said, looking me over from head to toe. “You smell different.”

“Like I got turned into a skid mark in the halls by the B.O. Champ?” I rolled my eyes. “That’s about right.”

“No, you smell like King,” he said, his jaw ticking a little.

“I know you don’t like him, Zane but he made a good point this morning,” I said.

“This morning? Please tell me that ass didn’t show up at the house again,” he growled softly. “I bet he didn’t use the door again.”

“That’s beside the point right now,” I huffed. “Look, he’s annoying and a pain, but he’s Bonded. It’s not like we can just snap our fingers and have it abracadabra-ed away. The important part of this is that he has something I need, just like you and your brother and Ben and Nando. Fighting it isn’t going to do anything.”

“What point did the serial stalker make?” he said, changing the topic.

“That, out of all of you, he’s the best option to teach me how to fight better,” I said.

“Not happening,” he said bluntly.

“Stop being stubborn, Zane,” I hissed.

“Trouble in paradise?”

I rolled my eyes and turned to see Rex looking smug, as always.

“You know, Science is almost as large as Algebra, Rex,” I glared at him.

“The difference is I’m further away,” he smirked.

“Doesn’t matter if I chuck at you, does it?” I smiled sweetly.

-------

“Are you stupid?” Blaine asked me point blank in English when I told him and Ben about what Malachi said.

“Clearly, she’s not,” Ben said, eyeing Malachi. “I mean, it makes sense. You saw her trying to lay Mal out the other night. Do you honestly think that any one of us stood a chance? Gary taught her too well in what he knew.”

“I hate that you’re right, but I can’t argue with it too much,” Blaine glared at Malachi. “What does Zane have to say about this idea of yours?”

“He’s... stubborn,” I groaned. “I knew it would be hard to convince him that this was the best idea, but he’s not even trying to listen anymore.”

“It is the best idea, which is probably why he’s being such a dense jerk about it,” Blaine shook his head. “I’ll handle it, but you have to promise you won’t interfere.”

“Why would you ask me that?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Zane isn’t the easiest person to deal with. He has too much loyalty and protective instinct, which is why he’s fighting this so hard,” Blaine sighed.

“It’s the dog in him,” Ben shrugged.

“And here I thought the only one with dog like tendencies was you,” I said innocently.

“Touche,” he grinned widely.

“He sees Malachi as the enemy,” Blaine continued. “It’ll take a lot to convince him otherwise, but he still remembers how Malachi made things worse for you.”

“I didn’t, actually,” Malachi butted in. “I didn’t stop them, but I didn’t make any of it worse.”

“Not intentionally,” Blaine said. “Zane doesn’t see it that way.”

“So it’s not going to be a one day operation,” I rolled my eyes. “When we’re on a time limit. Of course.”

“Like I said,” Blaine smiled and I saw a flash of pale skin and black eyes and needle like teeth. “I’ll handle it.”

-----

Lunch came and went and the twins were no shows. Ben didn’t seem worried and Nando only fidgeted a little bit, but I kept looking around the cafeteria, looking for them. History was a nightmare. I couldn’t focus to save my life until after class.

“Fae, they’re fine,” Nando said. “This isn’t the first time those two have gotten into it before and it won’t be the last.”

“They’re fighting, aren’t they?” I asked.

“You have to understand that those two both have the potential to be very aggressive,” Nando sighed. “It’s been a while since the last time and they need to get it out of their systems. Blaine is getting tired of Zane being so moody and Zane is irritated that Blaine seems like he doesn’t take anything seriously.”

“Ben doesn’t take anything seriously,” I rolled my eyes.

“No, we all take it seriously, Fae,” Nando corrected me. “We just do it in our own ways. Ben jokes and teases, I garden like a fiend. Zane and Blaine just don’t always get along.”

I got to Algebra and flopped to my chair with a heavy sigh and laid my head on my desk.

“You don’t handle stress well,” Malachi said, looking at me slightly amused.

“Whatever could have given you that idea?” I muttered.

“I noticed the power twins were missing at lunch,” he let the amusement fade until he was completely serious again. “Negotiations aren’t going well?”

“Zane is the only one who’s completely against it,” I groaned.

“It’s not really his choice to make, is it?” Malachi asked. “It’s your Awakening, your life on the line. If you really think that it’s a good idea, go with it. He’ll get on board or he won’t, but it’s not his decision to make.”

“Are you saying this because it’ll mean you won’t have to keep breaking in or do you actually mean it?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“I really mean it,” he nodded. Then he smirked. “And I won’t have to break in all the time.”

“You two seem chummy,” Rex said as he walked down the rows of desks. “If getting hit with a book was all it takes, why aren’t we laughing like that, dearest?”

“Call me that again, and I promise, you will loose teeth and I will use them as trophies,” I glared.

“You really don’t know when to shut up, do you Noble?” Malachi shook his head.

“Zip it, Rex,” I held up a finger. When he opened his mouth to say something back “We are not starting another “who’s packing more” contest with me in the middle. You two have a problem, deal with it elsewhere.”

“I didn’t start it,” he glared at Malachi.

“I finished it,” I snapped. Then I turned to Malachi. “Can you not instigate?”

“I make no promises, but I’ll try,” he glared back at Rex.

------

“Sweet merciful haven,” I muttered as I got to Art class. It was a very welcome relief to be left alone for a while.

The bullying was still very much a thing, but it was a minor annoyance compared to dealing with Malachi and Rex shooting glares at each other. At least they were being quiet about it for a change.

“That looks wonderful, Fae,” the teacher said while I was working on the drawing of the lady in the woods. “She’s quite lovely looking, isn’t she?”

“It took me forever to get her face right,” I nodded.

“Copying a photo?” she asked.

“No. A dream,” I shrugged. “I’ve been having some pretty vivid ones lately. I’ve never seen her before, but she stuck with me.”

“Those are always the best dreams,” she smiled and left.

Art class was, thankfully, still the decompression I needed at the end of this hell and I felt less anxious about two brothers at each others throats. Still worried, but not like I was before. The stress had already taken a drain on me though, and my feet were dragging as I met with Nando and Ben after class.

“You look like you need a vacation,” Ben wrinkled his nose at me.

“Thanks,” I rolled my eyes. “Who’s taking Gary’s room tonight?”

“I am,” Ben smiled. “Loads of fun will be had.”

“Teaching, Ben, not tricking,” Nando sighed.

“It’s all the same thing,” he shrugged.

I climbed into Ben’s car and leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. I expected us to start leaving, but he just sat there.

“Why are we waiting?” I asked.

My answer came in the form of the back door opening and Malachi getting in with a huge grin.

“Now we go,” Ben said with a smile.

“Conspiracy,” I muttered as I slumped into the seat again.