Chapter 9
Things couldn't have gotten worse.
Jessica Wakefield looked out in the dim light of the rapidly darkening sky to see Elizabeth running toward her direction. She and Lila had given up waiting behind the library building, and had started walking up the gym stairs, especially after that crashing noise they had just heard. Just what was going on in there?
And, to top it all off, Elizabeth had to come running in to interfere.
Lila made an impatient clicking noise in her throat as Elizabeth approached them. "Jessica! Lila!" Elizabeth cried. "Have you seen Steven?"
The two girls shrugged. "Can't say I have," Jessica said nonchalantly. "Why are you so worried, anyway?"
Elizabeth faltered. "I… I don't know." She shook her long braid back. "I didn't see him coming out of the gym, and… I guess I got worried."
"Oh, don't worry," Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "He's probably still savouring the victory. You know how he is."
Before her sister could reply, however, Lila let out a small cry of distress. "Oh, Gods, no…"
The twins turned to look in Lila's direction to see Amy and Danielle running toward them. Jessica stamped her foot in frustration. "This isn't a damned club meeting, Liz!" she said furiously to her sister. "Why did you have to bring them along, too?"
"I didn't," Elizabeth retorted. "They just came along – I told them to wait for me."
While Jessica and Elizabeth glared at each other, Amy and Danielle had caught up. "What's up with the hurry, Liz?" Amy said, catching her breath.
"Yeah," Danielle concurred. She reached into her pocket and brought out a small blue notebook. "At least think of a better excuse next time – I have your notebook with me, because you didn't make any notes."
Elizabeth blushed and faltered again. "I came here because… I was worried about Steven. Nothing more to it."
"For Pete's sake, Liz," Lila snapped, "Your brother's seventeen, not seven. He can take care of himself."
Elizabeth shot Lila a dirty look. Neither of them had gotten very well along with each other. "What are you two doing here in the first place, then?"
It was now Jessica's turn to falter. "Well, we're waiting for…"
She was interrupted by Lila grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the gym doors. "Enough with the talk already," she said. "Let's go in."
And with that, the two of them disappeared into the gym.
Elizabeth, Amy and Danielle looked at each other, before Elizabeth sighed and walked toward the gym doors herself. "Might as well go in," she said, pushing open the doors. Her two friends nodded, and followed her in.
Nothing could've prepared them for the sight that was about to greet them.
Just when everything had been going well, for a change…
Steven kneaded his knuckles against his pounding forehead, languishing in the murky depths of despair. Bruce was alive, alright, but he just didn't seem to wake up, how much ever Steven had shook him and called his name. Even emptying his water-bottle on the guy's face hadn't done the trick. Steven was now more than just scared – he was terrified. What if he had gone too far with his magic? What if Bruce was in a coma he might never wake up from? And to top it all, Steven's bruised body was also sending constant distress signals to his brain.
What's a guy to do in a situation like this?
"Bruce, please," Steven muttered, shaking the boy's shoulder again, with a strength born out of utter hopelessness. "Wake up… if you do, I swear I'll make you vice-captain of the team…"
To his surprise, Bruce shifted slightly, groaning. His eyelids fluttered open, and he slowly pushed himself onto his elbows. "Wha –?" he started groggily, before Steven clapped him on the back, letting out a whoop of joy. "You're awake!"
Bruce winced, then blinked at Steven in confusion. What the hell…?
Steven knelt down next to him, and extended his hand. "Can you stand up?" he asked. Bruce nodded, and with Steven's help, rose shakily to his feet. "What happened?" he muttered.
Steven shrugged. "I don't know – one moment we were just standing here, talking, and the next, the whole damn gym was falling on top of us." He shook his head in a disapproving manner, letting out breath through pursed lips, trying to hide his delight at finding Bruce all right again. "Faulty construction, I suppose. Or maybe an earthquake."
Bruce frowned. "I don't remember us talking… in fact, I don't remember anything at all after the game – it's… it's a blank." His brow knotted as he tried to recollect. "I just remember… a lot of pain…"
Putting an arm around the younger boy's shoulder in a sympathetic manner, Steven was just about to say something friendly – Friendly to Bruce? Yup, this magic has sure turned my life upside down – before the gym doors opened, and Jessica and Lila entered.
And right on their heels, Elizabeth, and her friends, Amy and Danielle.
And he had wondered how the evening could get any worse.
Almost as one, the jaws of the five girls dropped, eyes widening. Steven took a look around himself, and could immediately understand their shock. What had previously been an immaculately polished and well-kept gym now looked like it had been hit by a hurricane, and then scavenged by a particularly gigantic rat. The hole in the bleachers where he had pulled out the wood to defend himself, looked particularly prominent, Steven mused despondently.
"What… what just happened here?" Jessica managed to gasp out, finally. Before Steven could reply, Bruce spoke up, his voice carrying an uncharacteristic dull quality. "Apparently, there was an earthquake, and the whole freakin' gym fell right on top of us."
"Earthquake?" Danielle tilted her head. "There was no earthquake… at least I don't think I felt anything…"
"Still, you never know," Amy said diplomatically, shrugging her shoulders.
"Whatever," Bruce muttered, and pushed past Steven and the girls, striding toward the gym doors. Before he reached out to push them, Steven's voice stopped him. "Bruce!" he called. As the boy turned his head, he continued, "You are okay… right?"
A strange anger – an anger that Bruce couldn't even explain to himself – rushed into the fifteen-year-old's eyes, and he growled, "I don't need you worrying about me, Wakefield."
With that, he strode out of the gym, slamming the doors shut behind him.
Lila let out a small gasp, and ran out of the gym herself, calling, "Bruce!"
Absolute silence reigned as the doors closed behind her. Steven shifted his attention back to his sisters, and his eyes narrowed. "So: what are you two doing around here? Shouldn't you be at Casey's or something?"
Before Elizabeth could open her mouth to answer, Jessica replied coldly, "What we were doing here is none of your concern, Steven. Besides, we heard the loud crash in the gym, and just had to come and check it out…"
"Yeah," Elizabeth concurred. "Some crash, this is. Are you okay?"
Steven nodded. "Yeah – just a few bruises." And probably a cracked rib or two, but let's not get into that.
"In reality," Danielle began suddenly, "We didn't come here because we heard the crash." Steven looked up sharply at her. Danielle continued, "We were on our way to Casey's when Liz suddenly freaked out and rushed back here, because she thought you were in trouble." She smiled, her smile a mixture of awe and amusement. "And she was right, wasn't she?"
Steven's and Elizabeth's eyes met that instant, and an indescribable feeling lingered in the air. "Yeah, she was right," Steven muttered. It was getting really confusing – had Elizabeth sensed that Steven had been engaged in a fight? Or was it really good intuition? Whatever it was, it seemed like his secret was edging closer and closer to being discovered…
Suddenly, he thought: maybe confiding in somebody was not such a bad idea. But then again, that person might be a Raydevil… He shuddered as he realised the implications of his current predicament. Anybody around him could be a Raydevil. Friends, family, teachers, team-mates… suddenly, the people he had considered to be the closest to him had become his greatest enemies.
He tried to imagine Elizabeth or Jessica, or Joe, or even his father try to fight and kill him like Bruce had just done. He couldn't bear the mental images that popped into his head. Was this his new destiny, living under a canopy of fear and danger wherever he went? To live in constant fear of his very friends and family? If it was, he didn't like it very much. But he had no choice in the matter, did he?
He sighed. Choices didn't matter anymore. He had already chosen. What obstacles would come on his path, he didn't know. But he was sure of one thing:
He would just have to face them when they did.
"Are you okay?"
Bruce Patman froze on the walkway outside the school and turned sharply. Lila Fowler was standing a few steps behind him, delicate brow pulled together in a concerned frown. The night breeze gently pulled at her skirt and loose chestnut hair, and her blue eyes seemed to glow in the dimming light. Bruce shook himself inwardly and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, yeah," he said in an exasperated tone. "I'm okay. Now just leave me alone." With that, he turned to go again, but Lila had caught up by his side. "You didn't have to snap at me, you know," she said.
"Well, if you'd just leave me alone, maybe I wouldn't have to snap at you," Bruce retorted, irritated. On top of the fact that he had just found himself under the debris of a collapsed gym (with Wakefield, of all people!) with no recollection of how or why he got there, Lila just had to come and start another fight! What was one to do to get some peace, for once? He had enough on his plate already without Lila spoiling his evening further.
Maybe the worst thing of it all was that Lila looked breathtakingly beautiful that night…
Pull yourself together, Patman, he told himself sternly. Once again, he began to resume his walk away from the school. Lila ran up to keep up with him. "Bruce, wait," she said. "I have something to say to you."
Bruce stopped short and raised his eyebrow at her, in a fashion he knew irritated her. "Oh?"
She frowned for a moment, but soon seemed to regain her composure. "Listen," she began. "I'm sorry about the other day, when – when I insulted you in front of Jessica." She shook her head. "I really am. Even the date the other night was not good."
The molten triumph that Bruce felt gushing through his veins at that moment materialised into a smirk on his face. "I see," he drawled. "So you came all the way here to admit to your mistake?" He gave a short chuckle. "Didn't think it was possible for you to do that."
Lila looked as if she were to come back with a sharp retort – as was their custom – but instead, she just sighed. "I wish we didn't have to fight like this, Bruce," she said, her voice carrying a sincere note that was quite alien to Bruce. "It seems so pointless… we only seem to be hurting each other, and… and building up resentment." She started talking faster now, nearly stumbling over her words. "I'm hoping… that the relationship between us will be… something other than resentment from now on, and… um…"
"Lila," Bruce interrupted, eyes wide. "What exactly are you trying to tell me here?"
She took a deep breath. "What I'm trying to tell you, Bruce," she said, "is that… I like you. As in… really like you."
Bruce took a step back in astonishment. Lila looked levelly at him. "I suppose I've liked you for quite some time, now… but it's just recently that I realised it myself." She shook her head. "Ironic that Jessica noticed it before even I did." She took a step toward him. "I had been waiting outside the gym to tell you…"
Bruce couldn't believe his ears. He was tempted to pinch himself to check if it was all a dream. But then again, if it was a dream, he never wanted to wake up from it. "This… this is so… out-of-character, Lila," he stammered.
Lila raised her chin, holding her head high. Defiance shone in her blue irises as she said, "I had to tell you sometime or the other – a Fowler is never afraid of confrontation."
Bruce suddenly, inexplicably found himself smiling. Typical Lila. He stepped closer to her and his smile widened into his most charming grin – a grin that was amplified at the sight of Lila gaping in delighted wonder. "A Patman is always honest, too," he said quietly. He gazed into her eyes.
"You free this Saturday night?"
