"Cornelia?" I asked timidly about 2 hours later. Irma was standing beside me trying to be as supportive as possible.
"Hey Will," she responded turning around. "What's up?"
"Well," I stammered trying to think of the best way to tell her. "Umm,see... I have something to tell you."
"Umm, ok," Corny responded looking sort of confused. She looked at Irma for a second and then gave all her attention to me.
"I like Caleb," I blurted before I could chicken out. "I didn't choose to like him, I just do. I don't want to, I mean he is your boyfriend and you are one of my best friends. I feel horrible and Irma told me all of ya'll were noticing how strange i was acting and she told me it would be best to go ahead and tell you."
Cornelia just looked at me for a couple of minutes and then started laughing. It was kind of weird having her laughing at my whole little speech when I was so deathly afraid while I was making it. "Is that all?" She asked in between her laughing fits. :That is why you have been acting all weird?"
"Yeah," I replied kind of confused. "So you mean you aren't mad?"
"Of course not!" She said. "Firstly, we are guardians if we start getting all mad at each other Phobos may take over Meridian. Secondly, of course you like Caleb, he is totally awesome. How could you not like him?"
I was so relieved she wasn't mad. I had made such a big deal over nothing. I still liked Caleb yes but at least Cornelia wasn't mad at me. I couldn't stand it if she was mad at me. "Sorry," I said as Cornelia stopped laughing all together. "I have to get home. I'll talk to you later."
After walking about half way to my house I noticed that I forgot my keys. "Damn," I said to myself as I turned around and started walking back. "They must have fallen out of my pocket when I was sitting down," I thought to myself.
"You really aren't mad at her?" I heard Irma ask Cornelia a few minutes later. They were standing where I had left them.
"Of course not," Cornelia said as I stopped walking and just listening. "I mean it's not like she has any chance with him anyways. Will is my friend and fellow Guardian but he likes me, not her. He isn't going to break up with me to go out with her."
"Cornelia," Irma said sounding annoyed. "I know but don't tell Will that. She really likes him and I think she knows he likes you not her but she can still hope."
It took me a minute to recover my thoughts. It was obvious that Caleb liked Cornelia and not me but it still hurt. It hurt to be reminded of the fact that no matter how much I liked him I had absolutely no chance.
Finally, they started walking away and I came out from my hiding place, got my keys, and returned to my empty house. I opened up the freezer door looking for ice cream. "YES!" I thought as I grabbed the pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Mom always made sure there was enough ice cream when she wasn't going to be home until late. I grabbed a spoon and went upstairs. Sitting on my bed, listening to music, and eating ice cream, my comfort food, was always what I did when I was upset.
What did I think was gonna happen now that I told Cornelia about it? Was Caleb going to break up with her and go out with me just because I told Cornelia? Yeah right. Firstly, he totally loves her and she loves him. Secondly, even if he did break up with her because he liked me, I couldn't go out with him. She is my best friend, it would tear us apart. How would we save the world with me dating her ex-boyfriend?
20 minutes later Irma showed up at my house. "We have a problem Will!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "There seems to be a whole chain of portals over by the park. Caleb and Cornelia found it. They called everyone but no one could reach you. What's up with your phone?"
I was about to answer but she cut me off. "Never mind. Just tell me later. We don't have time. Come one. Evey one is there waiting for you. Apparently some weird creatures have been getting through. Even Caleb doesn't recognize them."
We ran as fast as we could to the park. After we got there we transformed, like usual. Caleb waited a little impatiently for us to finish becoming the Guardians. "Come on," he said after we were done. "We have to close these portals before any more of these creatures come through."
So, I started closing the portals. It didn't take very long to close one, but there were like 30. "Who created all these portals?" I asked after I finished.
"We can talk about that later," Hay Lin replied. "We have to go get rid of those creatures before they do any permanent damage."
"Where did they go?" Taranee asked kind of anxiously before she flew up above the trees. After a few minutes she flew back down. "They are a couple blocks over that way," she said pointing to her left.
"Come on!" Caleb shouted running that way. It took me a minute to come out of my tired daze but after I did, I caught up with everyone else. They were already there getting ready to fight.
"Hello!" Irma yelled. "Earth to Will! Get you ass down here, now!"
"I'm coming!" I yelled back as I flew down to help my friends fight against those hideous creatures. They looked like a cross between trolls and leopards. They seemed to have the trolls stupid minds, thankfully. They looked around confusedly trying to find where the fire was coming from. Apparently they knew nothing of the Guardians of the Veil and their powers.
After Taranee's spurts of fire Cornelia wrapped them up in vines. Will just watched from above not really knowing what to do, which was unusual. Usually she was getting in there, doing whatever she could but for some reason she held back. She just watched as Irma flooded them with water and Caleb did as much as he could at keeping the creatures from realizing who was doing the damage.
"Dammit!" Cornelia yelled to my face. "Will! What the hell are you doing? Open a portal up before they do something. Come on, use your head!"
"Sorry," I said meekly as I flew down near the things and opened a portal. Hay Lin used her air powers and threw the creatures into Meridian and I closed the portal quickly. "So your sure there aren't any more of them that got through?" I asked every one after we transformed back into our regular selves.
"Yeah, we're sure!" Caleb said sounding frustrated. "Where were you? We called your house like 20 times? Then, you don't do anything to help and we have to yell at you to get you to open the portal."
"I'm sorry," I replied quietly. "My mom is switching something with our phones so they are all disconnected. I didn't think about it. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I've been having really horrible dreams. It makes it really hard to concentrate.
"Well, pull yourself together!" Cornelia screamed angrily. "We need you! If you can't pull it together Phobos is going to win." She grabbed Caleb's arm and they walked towards her house without another word.
"She has a point," Hay Lin whispered before she turned around and walked away. Eventually, Irma and Taranee left also leaving me all alone, to go home and cry myself to sleep to suffer from yet another horrible dream about a green monster tearing the Guardians apart.