Chapter One

The Boy

It was the first day of sophomore year, and Chloe Saunders had already been given several nicknames: Blondie, Red, and, unfortunately, Stutter.

Mr. Davidoff, who taught first block World History, had zeroed in on her with a friendly smile and asked her to run some papers down to the office.

She accepted, being the idiot she was, and now she was horribly lost.

"Lost?" asked a voice from behind her, and she turned, spotting a familiar dark-skinned girl with coppery hair.

"M-maybe," Chloe answered, blushing furiously under her friend's knowing smirk.

"You think you wouldn't get lost by now," Rae lamented with a laugh, slapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders, and they headed off to the office.

"Oh. One moment please." The receptionist smiled warmly before wiggling around, careful not to bump her bulging belly on anything, and waddling away.

Chloe glanced around curiously. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure stalking in: long legs, powerful arms, and a muscular physique. Backpack hanging off one shoulder. Baggy jeans, heavy, thick sweatshirt, hood up. A Goth kid maybe.

The guy pulled open the office door and shook the hood off his head, wiping the rain from his cheeks. With a staggering height and shaggy hair that hung in his face, obscuring his features, he certainly was a sight to see.

Some of the workers in the office gave him a second glance, some disgusted, others lustful, before going back to work.

"R-rai-raining, huh?" Chloe said softly, glancing back at the guy.

The guy stared her down for a long moment before shrugging a shoulder and heading to the waiting chairs. When he sat down, he dwarfed it like a giant.

Smiling to herself, she began to swirl her finger in the air, drawing circles calmly, and kept her eyes on the clock.

Ten-oh-five.

Ten-ten.

"Hey."

Startled, she whipped around to see the guy standing up, looming above her, and something wet splashed over her sneaker and pant-leg. Confused, she looked down to see a puddle at her foot. Thinking there was a leak, she glanced up. No leak.

"Hey." He was talking again.

His eyes pierced her in a million places. They were hard, stained-glass green, cutting into her. "Red, over here. Do that again."

She looked around.

No one was paying attention.

"That finger thing. Again. Circles."

Unsure of why, she repeated it again, not paying attention to her hand but to the young man in front of her. His cheeks looked flushed, like he was excited or maybe sun-burnt, and he was staring at her intensely, eyes cold, like a predator watching prey struggle before going in for the kill.

"Look down."

She did so slowly, uncertain of what she would find, and let out a yelp of surprise. A ball of water had formed under her fingertip, wavering, ready to be commanded.

"Is something wrong?" The pregnant receptionist was back, holding the stack of papers that needed to be copied, and the bubble popped, splashing over the blonde's pant-leg.

"No," the guy cut in sharply, and his eyes slid to Chloe's.

When she turned to leave, he caught her elbow and bent down to whisper in her ear, "If you want to know more about what you are, stay after." With that said, he straightened up and turned to the waiting receptionist. The door was swinging shut behind her as the boy leaned over to say something to the pregnant woman.

The only evidence of her first day of school's surprise was a damp pant-leg and the whisper of water droplets coating her hand.

"Did you find the office alright?"

She blinked hard. "Yeah, it was—" She paused, looking for the correct word but settled on the one that came to her. "—Interesting."

Mr. Davidoff simply smiled at her when she came back in twenty minutes late and took the paper. "Yes," he said to her as she took her seat, ignoring Rae's curious look and her other friends' matching Cheshire smirks, "a very interesting subject indeed."

For the rest of the day, slugging through her final classes, Chloe was only half-listening to the lectures of poetry and scientific classification. Her mind was elsewhere.

Of course she knew about the Gifted, who didn't?

They were magicians and entertainers, celebrities and millionaires. Every little boy and girl and other wanted to be one of the Gifted.

Yet, somehow, it didn't seem that glorious. Having to control your emotions so not to do harm, even in moment of turmoil. Having to learn to control your element, until you were a master.

That spawned a new thought: how was she supposed to keep it from her super-nosy Aunt Lauren?

Or control it, at the least?

How in the everloving hell did she, known for her endearingly annoying clumsiness, end up being Gifted?

So lost in her thoughts, Chloe didn't notice the black-haired girl in a turtleneck sneak up behind her until it was too late. She shrieked in surprise and pulled away, wide-eyed.

"You look ready to cling to ceiling like a cat," Beth observed in her calm, monotonous voice before sliding her turtleneck back over her mouth.

Rae snorted with laughter as Kari bounced up and down, red-and-gold dreads bobbing with her excited hops.

"Let's go! I want ice cream!" she said excitedly, readjusting her bright leg warmers.

"I-I ca-an't," Chloe muttered, pulling away from Kari's embrace.

Rae shot her a smug look. "I saw you chatting up the new guy. Didn't know you liked the broody type."

Ignoring her bright red face, the blonde continued. "I-I ha-have to st-stu-udy for a t-te-est V-Vul-ulture ga-gave us." The lie slid off her tongue like fluid.

Kari pouted. "That evil witch! I hate her! She's a meanie pants!"

Unable to hide smile, Chloe nodded. "Y-yeah. B-but I n-ne-eed to ta-ake her class to g-gra-adua-ate." She hiked up her backpack higher on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Beth asked, gnawing her lip just as Rae slid an arm around Kari's shoulder and hollered, "Go get 'em, girl!"

"I-I'm sure. G-go ha-ave fun."

Beth scurried down the hall to join the first day rush of exiting students, and Chloe turned.

Now where do I find this asshole?