11

You're not invisible, now.You just don't exist.

The Rifle's Spiral, Lyrics by The Shins

I snuck into the girl's locker room and took an early shower, By the time I was combing my hair out, the cheerleaders were drifting in for practice, including Adam's latest conquest. She unfortunately chose the sink next to mine and I was forced to endure her insipid chatter with her teammate as she did her makeup. A sideline glance revealed long, smooth blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and the kind of perfect figure that only exists in Hollywood. If you squinted, she sort of looked like me, but it was a stretch.

"So, Poppy, did Adam ask you to prom?"

Her lips curled into a smile. "Not yet, but I'm working on it."

OMG, her name was Poppy? I had to get out of here before I hurled. I was about to depart when her friend said, "I heard he just got dumped."

Poppy tittered unpleasantly. "More like he did the dumping. Wish I knew who it was."

"Bet I could pry it out of that Melissa girl," the friend said.

And no doubt Melissa would gladly fill them in, for she was no friend of mine. In fact, in taking inventory, I didn't count any of them as friends. The only person I trusted was Sally, and I couldn't monopolize her. She had a ton of other friends who were probably way nicer than me. With a sigh, I put Poppy behind me and made my way to Chem. Adam and Diana were chatting in the back, and Melissa and Faye had their heads together. That left only me, alone again. I saw Adam look my way, but ignored his wave as I took my seat on the far side of the room.

The lab was easy, and I had no problems finishing my work for the period. That gave me way too much time to think about stuff better left alone. Like how much I longed for Adam's company, even as I pushed him away with both hands. That we had been joined by destiny was beside the point. I would love him always, for destiny would never let me forget. But all destiny aside, I had to move on to greener pastures. And that was better accomplished away from Chance Harbor and outside my bound for eternity Circle.

The summer would be on us before too long, and I was determined to get out of town. Maybe some of my Blake relatives in England could host me for the summer, provided I earned my keep. The bell rang and I was almost out the door before Adam caught me. "It's nice to see you smile."

Was he talking to me? I turned around and said, "Oh, was I? Just thinking of summer."

"You're staying around, I hope. We can spend time learning more complicated spells and how to defend ourselves."

"I suppose you can do that, but I'm fully expecting to be somewhere else."

"What do you mean?"

I was saved from an answer by the sight of Poppy bearing down on him, so I scooted out of there with a half hearted wave.

I caught up with Sally and threaded my arm through hers. "How does England sound?"

Her eyes lit up. "It sounds wonderful."

"Think your Mom will let you go? I promise it will be cheap, and they'll let us drink in the pubs over there."

"I think she will, especially if it gets me away from all this Eben drama."

I'd been accused of being a drama queen, and I was sick of it. While I was out of town, maybe I could figure out a way to unbind myself from the Circle without harming them and also learn how to fry the witch hunters once and for all. "Tell me about it."

"I'm also taking bets on how long Adam and Poppy last before he dumps her ass."

My lips stretched into a smile. "They'll be done as soon as he nails her."

She winced, for that was exactly what had happened to me. "Ouch."

"Actually, it was only after I forced him to watch Game of Thrones that he threw the friends thing in my face." Her laugh was genuine, but mine was tinged with bile.

"Ah, the dreaded friend card."

We rounded the corner and were face to face with Adam and Poppy. Poppy looked between Adam and me and she was obviously smarter than she appeared, for she said, "You must be Cassie. I'm Poppy."

I couldn't very well ignore her outstretched hand, so I shook it. "Hey."

What the hell else was there to say? She obviously knew I was the ex and was taking great pleasure in cutting me down to size. In fact, her reptilian smile was giving me the creeps, so I said, "Well, I have to jet. Work and all."

I didn't give either of them a backward glance as I sprinted to Sally's car and jumped in. "Get me out of here. That girl is seriously bad news."

Sally looked worried. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, it's just...there's something about that girl I don't like."

"She's with Adam."

I sighed. "It's more than that. Is she new around here?"

Sally nodded. "Yes, she arrived last month."

Interesting. "How convenient."

"You think she's out to get you?"

Her and everyone else. I smiled and said, "Didn't think she swung that way."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't believe in coincidence, and that girl is here for a reason."

We swung by my house to get clean clothes. Before heading up the walk, Sally said, "Whatever you do, watch your back."

As I climbed the stairs to my room, I heard a large number of crows cawing and started to wonder if maybe there was some truth to the curse. They were gathered along the treeline outside and seemed to be serenading me. As I looked out, I felt eyes on me and noticed Jake staring at me from his window. With a frown, I pulled my curtains shut and grabbed some clothes, now dead certain that coming to Chance Harbor had been the biggest mistake of my life, and one I would never live down.