Thanks to everyone who has supplied me feedback up to this point!

Special Thanks to my sister who has surprised me with creating a Facebook Fanclub for Danny and Thomas. If you want to join, search for "Shadows Fan Club" and join our group! Every time I add a chapter, I post the info!

Chapter 10

Tryouts

Volleyball tryouts were after school. The girl's tryouts were in gym one, boys in gym two. After class Mel and I trotted down to the locker rooms and put on our volleyball gear before going to the gym. I noticed the gym was packed with many hopefuls, and I wondered if being a slayer would give me abilities that would be advantageous over the others. I really liked volleyball, and now I needed it. It was a hobby I could use to keep my mind off of all the craziness in my life.

Miss Carlyle was going to be our coach. She was in the gym taking names when I suddenly heard her address a particular student.

"Miss Wilcox, I thought you weren't going to join us? What made you change your mind?"

My eyes met Michelle's. If being an "almost" slayer had advantages over the other girls, I knew that being vampire certainly did.

"Let's just say that someone owes me a favor for this," her response was pointed at me.

"Ah, well whatever your reason, I am glad you are going to join us," Miss Carlyle responded back.

My head searched for Michelle, I sensed her easily. In fact, I found her practically screaming. She was annoyed and irritated. Worst of all, all of her negative emotions seemed to be directed at me. I tried to block her from my head.

During practice, it became evident that my abilities had enhanced in volleyball as well. My timing was precise, I wasn't breathless even after several block jumps and I could feel the strength within my body whenever I moved towards the ball. What was even more amazing was how the pace of the game was affected. Everything seemed to slow right down. I could react to hits, serves, tips and blocks automatically, like they were coming at me in slow motion. The only person that could hit a ball past me was Michelle.

"Holy crap Danny! Who are you?" Lori asked with skepticism.

"What do you mean?"

"Last week I lost count over how many times you wiped out in soccer class! Today, you move like a goddess!"

"She's just putting some effort in it. You should see her when she wants to beat her brother. She's unstoppable!" Mel stepped in; the memory of last Friday came flooding back to me.

"We'll, it's pretty impressive, whatever the reason for it," Lori commented.

Miss Carlyle then called for the group's attention.

"We will be having the second day of tryouts tomorrow. After that I will make some of the necessary cuts. For those of you that are still on the roster we will be having another practice Wednesday followed by a game on Thursday, after which I will make my final decisions."

"Who will we be playing?" I heard a girl ask from the back of the class.

"Mr. Raymore and his senior boy's team." Miss Carlyle said flatly.

I heard the girls from the glass groan. It was understandable. We were in for a butt kicking. The boys played at a higher net, and could hit A LOT harder then most of the girls on the team.

"Don't be so sour ladies!" Miss Carlyle tried to say with enthusiasm. "It's going to be fun. It will be a good chance for us to see who cracks under pressure."

"We already know who that is." The snide voice was unmistakable. "Danny's the most likely to fall on her butt or pass out. I'll bet on it."

Some members of the group giggled quietly at Sydney's joke. I tried to swallow my hatred. Miss Carlyle ignored the comment and dismissed us from practice.

The change room filled with Sydney's voice. "God, if she makes the team again this year I will be so annoyed. She must enjoy embarrassment. I just can't believe that anyone that klutzy can also be that stupid to keep coming back for more."

That was it. I had enough of her. I interrupted her conversation.

"Well, you know what I can't believe? That anyone with as big a mouth as yourself is too chicken to say what you have to say to my face!" My necklace was getting hot, but I did not stop my verbal attack. For effect I then copied her words from practice. "What? You think that no one's noticed that you're a coward? We've all noticed Sydney, but we don't expect you to notice anyone but yourself. It's because you're arrogant. I'll bet on it!"

She was mad.

She took a very aggressive, angry step towards me. I matched it with one of my own.

"Better arrogant than pathetic," Sydney said through hated words.

"Arrogance is the worst form of pathetic. It's also considered ignorant when you don't know that." I was feeling ferocious and it was all that I had inside of me to not physically put her in her place.

The locker room was silent. Everyone was staring at us. I could sense the emotion of the girls around me. Most were in awe, but Michelle stood out. She was concerned and worried. I was confused, her emotions made me think she was talking to somebody but no words came out of her mouth.

"Alright Danny, I'll say it to your face. You are a clumsy, ditzy, useless moron who uses her embarrassing inabilities as a weak attempt to get attention. I can't believe you can even show your face at school without being completely mortified." She looked at me triumphantly. She knew how to sink really, really low.

The word used for 'female dog' was the first thing that popped into my head.

"Yeah, well you are way more simple that that. In fact, to put it simply, you're …"

"Danny, STOP!" I was cut off by the voice that entered my head.

I was angry. I wanted to argue with the voice, the sweat, angelic, comforting voice.

"Leave her alone, Danny."

Thomas's tone was steady, but very authoritative.

"Danny, LEAVE HER ALONE. She's not worth it. You and I both know that." I felt calmer with each word he spoke.

"Well what? That's all you got?" Sydney's voice snapped me back to reality. My angel was gone.

"You're not worth it Sydney. And I don't have to put up with your crap. Neither does anyone else." I wanted to say more, but it would just flare me up again. I grabbed my bag and left the locker room without changing. I wanted to go home. I was willing to run there if I had to.

I was thundering down the hall when I heard the rushed steps of Mel in the distance try to hustle to catch up with me. I ignored her.

I turned the corner to get to the main hallway and stopped instantly. Thomas was standing in the middle of the isle, with emerald green eyes burrowing directly into me.

I did not know what to say. What are you supposed to say to someone whom you are running away from for reason's you don't know? What do you tell them, when you see how much they care about you and it makes no difference? There weren't words to describe how I felt for the boy who was standing in my path, my escape to home. I said nothing. I just stared at him for an infinitely long moment.

"Geez Danny, you're hard to catch when you're mad! I thought you weren't going to wait…" Mel then caught a glance at Tomas, who was piercing me with his eyes. My eyes did not break contact with his to acknowledge her arrival.

"How was practice Mel?" Thomas continued to stare into me while he spoke.

"Umm…" I could sense how awkward Mel felt, but I did not break my gaze with Thomas. "Pretty good I guess. Nothing compared to Danny and your sister, they were both amazing."

"I am sure they were," his voice was heartfelt, but his body was as rigid as a statue, one that did not advert its gaze.

"Ah, sorry to interrupt guys…" Mel almost seemed embarrassed by this point. "Danny, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted a ride home. Mom gave me the car today…"

My response was almost absentminded. "No thanks, I feel like running. I will take the trails home."

"What? Are you sure?" Mel was disbelieving.

"Go with her Danny."

"Why?" My response was out loud, though his command was not.

"Because it's going to be dark soon and you live almost five miles out of town!" Mel thought my question was directed at her.

"I will see you later, have a good night ladies." Thomas's eyes broke contact with mine. He did not answer my question. It didn't matter; I had to obey his request.

"Good night Thomas," Mel responded to him as he glided past us. She was relieved that our stares were broken.

It took me a moment to come to my senses. I had to refocus my thoughts before I could speak. There was a recognizable loneliness in my heart again.

"Um, ok. Sure. I changed my mind." I finally turned to look at Mel. "Let's go."

Mel waited until we got into the car before she started with the questions.

"What was up with you and Sydney? It looked like you were going to tear her head off."

"I wanted to…"

"Yeah, I could tell. Then all of the sudden you just… stopped?"

"She wasn't worth it."

"Yeah, you said that. Don't get me wrong, she totally deserved what you dished out. I liked it actually…"

I laughed.

"… and what was that with you and Thomas in the hallway? You both seemed so lost."

"I'm not sure. I just froze. I didn't know what to say to him."

"I don't think you needed to say anything Danny. You both looked hurt, and well, it was like you were starving for each other. It gave me a really weird vibe to interrupt the two of you."

"Sorry." I didn't have any explanation for what happened. I didn't like making Mel feel uncomfortable.

"Danny…" I could sense Mel trail off in thought. "Promise me you will tell me what is going on with you. I want to help you. I will understand. I promise. I will believe you no matter what it is…"

"I promise, just give me some time to sort it out first." I really wanted to tell her everything. I felt like I was going crazy, I never had to keep anything from Mel before.

Mel then pulled into my driveway and I hopped out of the car.

"Thanks for the ride! See you tomorrow!" I yelled at her as she put the car in reverse. She waved in response.

The next three days were uneventful and repetitive. They started with me waiting for the bus with the smell of wet dog in the air. Then I went to class where everyone still seemed captivated by the new car in the lot. I could not sense Thomas even though I knew he was there. After school Mel and I would go to practice, both relieved that we made the initial cuts. Once practice was over, Mel gave me a ride home. The biggest difference during this time was that Sydney seemed to be able to keep her mouth closed around me. That was nice for a change.

All too soon, Thursday afternoon approached and were about to play the senior boys. There were 16 of us left, and Miss Carlyle wanted a team of only 12. She placed the first six girls, which included Mel, out on the court against the boys. Mel was playing against Thomas. I don't know if it was because she was my best friend, or if it was because she was truly that good, but she was easily the most talented player on that line up. I was happy to sit on the bench and cheer her on, but I was also watching Thomas. His speed, coordination, and timing were completely graceful. He placed the ball anywhere he wanted, his spikes found the open court with a hit harder than I've ever seen. He wasn't even trying, but he made no mistakes. I wondered why he would even bother doing something that seemed to lack any sort of challenge.

The first six girls lost marginally.

For the second game Miss Carlyle put the next six girls on the court, which included both Lori and Sydney. I tried to be sportsman like when Sydney did something good, but it was hard. It was even more difficult to keep the cheers to myself when she screwed up. I felt a little embarrassed at that. Again, the game wasn't even close. Our girls were defeated.

"Ok, Ladies! Last game! Let's have the last four on who haven't played yet along with … Mel and Sydney…" Miss Carlyle tried to sound peppy. "Make it hard on those boys ladies!"

My mind focused. It reached out to the five other girls on the court, including Sydney, and somehow bound us together. We were able to play like one.

Michelle was unstoppable at middle. She blocked the boys more times in the first twelve points of the match then all the other girls from the last two games. Mel was able to read the hits from the boys perfectly. What Michelle didn't block, Mel scratched off the floor. Then there was me, I've never felt bouncy before, but suddenly I felt like gravity could not hold me. With every block the boys put up, I felt challenged and found myself hitting over them. I could feel the sting in my fingertips from snapping my wrist down on the ball when I hit. I was hitting the ball hard, very hard.

That's when Mr. Raymore called a substitution. He pulled Mark from the court who seemed upset at himself. I momentarily felt guilty that I was using my advantages against my friend, but then I saw who was to take his place in the middle. I was going to need those advantages, hitting around Thomas was going to be a lot more difficult.

The game suddenly became annoying, Thomas was blocking me, now not just with his mind, but physically on the court as well. Then there was his hitting. The previous game his attacks always seemed to be targeted at the open floor, but now he was hitting at ME. I felt like he was trying to teach me a lesson.

After the fourth straight block in a row on me, Miss Carlyle called a time out. As she addressed the group with some changes in strategy I heard a very low, soft whisper in my ear.

"He's testing you." No one else could hear Michelle over the cheering in the gym.

"Use your mind to control him. Direct where he jumps, slow his hits down…"

The whistle blew and we took back to the court. I drew in my focus. I no longer held the group together, instead my mind focused on a new target. Thomas.

It was tricky. On my next attack I tried to prevent Thomas from jumping to his full height. It worked, I got the ball past him, but my concentration limited the strength behind my hit and the ball was dug.

The game continued to become closer and closer in score once Thomas was on the court. When Sydney was front row, Thomas didn't allow one of her hits through. He let a few of Mel's hits past him, but most of those were passed up easily by the libero. When he was in the back row he was even more annoying because his skills were extraordinary. He dug every ball perfectly into the air just before it touched the ground. We couldn't find the floor with the ball.

"Let yourself feel for him, Danny." Again Michelle had another tip.

"What?"

"He can evade your control because you won't allow yourself to feel how you truly feel about him. In a way, you are blocking your own ability to touch him. He knows how to use that."

Even though we were nearing the end of the game, I experimented. I started to open my heart and thought of Thomas. Then I found him. Michelle was right. I've been searching for him for the past week and found nothing. Suddenly there he was, and in that very same place I found him, I found love. I realized I was already in love with him, but I was lying to myself about it. Suddenly the familiar stabbing sensation hit my chest like a bulldozer and I closed down. I could not stay in the place I found him. It hurt way too much. I fell back into my place of denial, and I could no longer sense him.

My eyes looked up across the net and found Thomas. He was staring at me. He felt me touch him. He knew what I had done.

The last few points of the game were a blur. I could not fully control Thomas the way that I needed to, and he punished my team for it. We lost.

Michelle looked at me after Thomas got the game winning spike.

"You know you're tearing him apart."

"I'm sorry, I really am."

"You are also hypocritical," her tone was annoyed.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Take a look around you Danny. Take a look at your FAMILY."

"What's wrong with my family?" Now I was annoyed.

"Nothing. That's my point. We don't judge you or your family, just because you're different."

"Just because my mom is gone a lot and my dad raised us doesn't make us different!" I spoke defensively.

"Do you honestly think that that is what I am referring to?" She was cynical.

"I haven't a clue what you're referring to."

"Well I hope I am there the day you open your eyes Danny." She then lowered her voice an octave. "Or at least be there to see your face when someone opens them up for you."

I was mortified. I didn't realize that I did anything to Thomas's family to get them this mad at me. And what the heck was she talking about anyway? Just because I prefer to not get involved with a vampire I am suddenly a hypocrite?