It's been a while. I warned you that updates would be few and far between, but I hadn't realized that they would be this few and far between. Sorry for making you wait!
I have the next three chapters after this one mostly done, and after some final proofing they should be ready to post. I've done some serious outlining of the story's ups and downs, and I think you will like what I have planned.
Remember the T rating. If the rating changes, I will make sure to let you know in bold print.
For all your disclaimer needs, refer to chapter one!
Chapter Four
Will was just getting ready to snuggle into bed – at ten o'clock despite needing to get up early the next morning – when her cell phone rang. VMJ's most popular song played obnoxiously loud. Startled out of deep thoughts (okay, fantasies) about Seth's human form, she shrieked and grabbed for the phone. She missed, and it clattered to the floor, adding to the din. Seth, who had been curled at the foot of her bed, was already holding it up for her when she got up to retrieve it.
"Good boy," Will said absently as she checked the caller ID. It was Hay Lin, much to Will's surprise. It wasn't like her to call people late at night. Will's brain screamed emergency! and she answered the call quickly.
"Hello? Hay Lin, what's up?" she said, trying to sound casual while frantically hoping it wasn't some Meridian crisis.
"Will?" Hay Lin's voice was thin and trembly, a sharp contrast to her usual enthusiastic happiness.
"Hay Lin, honey? What's wrong?" Will automatically switched into comfort mode, which she usually reserved for Cornelia's Caleb meltdowns and Taranee's exam panics.
There was a silence filled with only sniffles from the other end. "Eric just broke up with me," Hay Lin finally said, and Will could hear her burst into tears.
"Oh. Oh, Hay Lin," Will said, feeling immensely compassionate. She knew exactly how Hay Lin felt.
"Okay, hold on for a second. I will be right back." Will assured Hay Lin that she was not abandoning her, and scrambled out of her room to find her mom. She was sitting at the kitchen table, working on something that looked suspiciously like boring paperwork.
"Hey, mom, is it okay if I go out for a bit?" Will asked, knowing what the answer would be. "Hay Lin's boyfriend just dumped her."
Surprisingly, Will's mom was sympathetic. "You stay out as long as she needs," she said.
Will gave her a hug and ran back to her cell.
"Hay Lin, you still there?"
"Yeah," she said miserably.
"I'll be right there. Stay put," Will said, and then added, "Hon? It's going to be okay," in a softer tone.
Hay Lin assented, and Will hung up to change her clothes. She almost tripped over Seth, who had followed her out of her room.
You're leaving, Seth said. It wasn't a question.
"Sorry, pup, you can't come this time." Will said. This was a girl-only situation. Seth's presence would make it awkward. "You're in no shape to be going out. You need to heal," she said instead.
But I need to protect… Seth's protests fell on deaf ears. Will dressed in whatever she found on the floor, dragged a brush through her hair, and was heading out before Seth was through explaining why it would be dangerous for her to go out alone.
It wasn't that Will didn't agree with Seth – she did, wholeheartedly – but she knew Hay Lin wouldn't appreciate a male intruding on her misery.
Will's mom donated a two-liter bottle of soda and a quart of chocolate ice cream to her cause, and then Will was gone. Seth was left in the apartment.
On her way to Hay Lin's house, she called Cornelia, Irma, and Taranee. Each of them immediately agreed to meet at Hay Lin's house and bring lots of comfort food.
Will jogged up to Hay Lin's front door, dreading encountering a teary Hay Lin and hoping the ice cream hadn't started to melt. The door was unlocked, so she let herself in.
She heard Irma's voice from Hay Lin's bedroom, so she tiptoed into the room, goodies in hand, after grabbing some spoons and cups from the kitchen.
The door was open, and when Will opened the door she saw Irma and Hay Lin sitting cross-legged on her bed, along with a pizza box and a bag of chocolates.
"Hey," Will said, trying to smile as she walked into the room. Hay Lin looked better than she expected. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she wasn't quite the wreck Will had pictured.
"Oh, good, you brought soda!" Irma said in her usual boisterous voice, and poured the sugary beverage for all of them.
Within ten minutes all five of the girls were gathered in Hay Lin's room, bingeing on leftover red velvet cake, pizza, and an unending supply of chocolate. They offered the usual condolences.
"Eric was just a huge loser, Hay Lin, don't take it personally," Cornelia said around a mouthful of ice cream.
"No, no, Eric's a nice guy," Hay Lin said, "It's just me. There's something wrong with me that made him stop liking me." She visibly wilted.
Her friends rushed to comfort her. A self-esteem crisis was the last thing Hay Lin needed. But with all their effort, Hay Lin continued to say that it was her fault.
Will finally said to her, "Hay Lin, you're beautiful, you're fun and talented, and you're a powerful air guardian. How can you possibly feel bad about yourself?"
Cornelia and Taranee offered more praises and Irma said simply, "You're badass, Hay-Hay!"
But Hay Lin continued to shake her head and repeat the same self-deprecating things. At midnight, Hay Lin's mother came to tell them that maybe they should get some sleep. She offered to call them a cab, but they assured her that they could make it home okay.
The girls cleaned up quickly and repeated the same things to Hay Lin that they'd been saying all night. She continued to be miserable, and when they were leaving she had crawled beneath her covers and tears were flowing freely again.
It was pitch black outside, and it somehow looked way creepier than it had three hours earlier. The girls exchanged wary looks before going their separate ways.
Will walked at a fast pace, glancing furtively around her. Her mom had told her about all the things that could happen to a young woman alone in the city. She hadn't elaborated about nighttime threats, simply telling Will not to be alone at night under any circumstances.
…Which Will was doing right now.
Her heart thumped uncomfortably loud, and she fingered the Heart of Kandrakar through her shirt. Its weight was warm and reassuring.
A half-dozen times she started and nearly united when she heard sounds around her. They turned out to be cats and raccoons, and she laughed at herself for being so jumpy.
About halfway home, she became aware of footsteps behind her. She thought it was just a false alarm like all the others, and did her best to ignore them.
But they got louder and closer, and finally she looked over her shoulder. It was a tall man who looked years older than her. He wore a shirt far too large for him and pants that hung off his hips. He walked with a swagger that made Will's mind flood with panic.
When he saw her looking, he grinned wide.
Will walked faster, and then – propelled by her furiously pounding heart – broke into a run.
At least she tried to. The man had caught her by the arm and wrenched her around so she faced him. The tightness of his grip made her cry out.
"Hey Red," he said in a grating voice. His breath was rank with beer.
"Don't – don't –" Will stuttered, unable to string together the words to tell him to leave her alone.
"Aw, don't be like that, baby," he said, pulling her up against his chest with another yank on her arm.
Will's mind frantically tried to remember quintessence. Tiny sparks flew between her fingertips, but that was it. She couldn't defend herself.
Well and truly panicking now, Will thought back to the tae kwan do classes she had taken when she was six. Something about breathing… and proper stance? No miracle self-defense move came to her, and Will was ready to give up.
"Yeah, come on, let's have some fun, huh?" the man was saying, starting to undo his belt. If it were possible, Will panicked even more. She began hyperventilating.
"Stop that," the man said, then when she couldn't stop he hit her across the face. The force of it knocked Will to the ground. She saw stars. She took the opportunity to scoot herself away from him until her back met the brick of the building behind her.
Her face burned where his fingers had touched it. Unconsciously, Will's hand came up to touch her cheek. The small contact hurt.
She looked up at the man, whose pants were around his ankles. He didn't have anything on underneath them. He knelt beside her, slurring vague threats and promises of how good it will feel as he reached for the buttons on her jeans.
Suddenly, of some unknown force, Will's hands lifted toward the man and humongous bolts of lighting crackled out of them. Will felt the force of the attack through her whole body. Her attacker was thrown backward into the side of a dumpster, his head hitting its metal side with a bang that resounded through the alley.
Will sat there, stunned and unable to form a coherent thought. After long minutes she managed to get to her feet. All the junk food she had eaten rebelled in her stomach, and she turned just in time to throw up everything she had just eaten. It splattered sickly onto the brick wall and cement below.
She began to make her way home, pausing along the way to lean against buildings and force her breathing to a normal rate. When she finally arrived at her apartment door, she heard frantic scratching and whining on the other side. Her mind sluggishly tried to remember why those sounds made sense.
She unlocked and opened the door, only to be victim to an onslaught of licking from Seth.
Are you okay? What the hell happened? Seth asked as he steered her into the house.
Will was unable to answer. Something registered in her mind that she must be in shock.
She made her way toward the bathroom and brushed her teeth furiously. She avoided looking in the mirror; the mark on her face might cause her to hyperventilate again.
Seth kept pestering her and trying to get her to tell him what had happened. She just shook her head.
All at once everything came crashing down again. The vague out-of-body sense was gone, and every vivid detail filled her mind. Sobs wracked her body and she sat down heavily on the bathroom floor.
Seth left her side for the first time since she arrived home. She heard him barking in her mother's room. After a minute her mom walked into the bathroom, awake and confused.
Will allowed herself to be comforted and put to bed by her mother.
"Will, honey. I don't know what happened, but you need to sleep now." Will's mom said as Will climbed into bed. "You can tell me in the morning, if you're ready."
"But school –" Will mumbled, already half asleep.
"You're not going to school tomorrow." Her mom said firmly.
And Will floated away to dreams that were not nearly as menacing as real life.
Hay Lin dreamed of dragons that undulated around her and then abruptly hissed at her and left. A butterfly that landed on her petals – somehow it made sense that she was a flower – and then abandoned her in favor of a better, prettier flower.
She woke in a better mood than the night before, but still way down on the happiness scale than usual. Hay Lin dressed in her only gray t-shirt and forwent her short skirts for long, restricting jeans.
She trudged into the bathroom, dreading seeing her puffy eyes. They looked fine, however, and she put on as much makeup as she usually did (none) and fixed her hair before picking up her bag and trudging out the door. Normally she sat at the kitchen table with the rest of her family to enjoy breakfast, but today she didn't want to see people.
For the first time in her life, Hay Lin wanted to be alone.
She didn't allow herself to think about Eric. "It would only make me cry again," she said out loud, making a passerby stare. She didn't care about what he thought, but not for the usual reason. Today, caring just felt like too much effort.
Maybe I should think about school instead, she told herself. School and school-y things, like tests and teachers. And I'll get to see my friends!
Hay Lin almost smiled at the thought of her friends. They would make her feel better.
Even if she didn't deserve them. They did so much for her, just because she had to be stupid and cause Eric –
No, he's taboo.
Let's think of positive things, Hay Lin thought. Like butterflies!
But that made her think about her dream, and a raincloud slowly formed over her head.
Every thought led back to how she didn't deserve Eric, how it was her fault – not his, never his – that he had broken up with her. She just wasn't good enough.
Her thoughts went in miserable circles all the way to first period. She had always been good at geography, so she was in the sophomore class instead of the freshman one. Will was in this class with her; Will would cheer her up.
But when Hay Lin turned the corner and went into her geography classroom, Will wasn't in her seat. Hay Lin's heart fell. She hadn't realized how much she had been looking forward to seeing her friend.
Will never showed up, even though Hay Lin held out through the hour that she would arrive. Perhaps she was just late, Hay Lin thought, but not without worry.
The day passed slowly and all of Hay Lin's thoughts were colored with either worry or self-blame. She had kept Will out too long last night, Eric broke up with her because Hay Lin wasn't funny enough, wasn't pretty enough, wasn't good enough…
Just before lunch, Hay Lin grabbed Taranee and Irma when she saw them walking toward her in the hallway. "Have you seen Will today?" she asked, trying to make her voice sound less strained.
They exchanged glances, and told her that no, they had not.
"But Matt will know why she's not here," Irma said confidently as they stood in the lunch line. "Will would have texted him or something."
They rendezvoused with the rest of the group at their usual table in the cafeteria. Immediately they could tell by Matt's face that he didn't know the reason for Will's absence either.
"Does anyone know what's up with Will?" Matt asked the table. Everyone shook their heads, glancing at each other to see if anyone else knew.
Hay Lin completely wilted. Now Will wasn't here, because… well, Hay Lin couldn't think of any reason why she wouldn't be. It was probably her fault. Because of her stupid problems, Will was home sick, or exhausted because she was kept out all night…
"How are you?" Cornelia was asking Hay Lin. Startled, Hay Lin began to say that she was feeling a little better, but Matt interrupted her.
"I texted her three times already and she hasn't replied!" Matt said. He punctuated his outburst by banging the table with his fist. Hay Lin shrank. Cornelia didn't really care about how she felt.
And why should she? Hay Lin wondered. Will's disappearance was a far more pressing problem. Hay Lin's little breakup withdrawal was her own fault. They shouldn't care.
Hay Lin didn't touch her sandwich, but nobody noticed. She expected them to nag her and all but force food down her throat – but they didn't.
Through the rest of lunch, Hay Lin's thoughts and the group's guesswork about Will went in circles, descending Matt and the girls deeper into worry.
After lunch, Hay Lin had a study hall. She wasn't looking forward to the free time. Learning kept her mind busy and away from Eric.
She sat in the back of the room in a seat that had never been claimed. Usually she sat in the front, and was as vivacious and enthusiastic as she always was, but today the corner enclosed by bookshelves matched her gloomy mood.
The period was rowdy, full of drama and laughter. Hay Lin, contrary to her partying nature, tried to concentrate on math homework.
"Hey, your name's Hay Lin, right?" A girl sitting next to her leaned closer to Hay Lin and smiled.
She has a cute smile, Hay Lin thought. She smiled back hesitantly. "Yup, that's me," she said.
"That's such a nice name! I was stuck with Sidney," she wrinkled her nose. Hay Lin could tell she didn't really mind about her name.
"My parents came from Taiwan," Hay Lin explained. "I was named after my great-grandma."
"Wait, hold on. Your parents run that great Chinese restaurant around the corner, right?" Sidney said. She scooted her desk closer.
"The Silver Dragon? Yeah, I help out there sometimes."
"Are you serious? I love the General Tso's chicken! Do you know how to make it?"
Hay Lin somehow didn't want to disappoint her. She didn't want Sidney's smile to go away. "No, I only wait tables," she admitted.
"That's still cool," Sidney said, her enthusiasm not dampened.
"But I could get you the recipe," Hay Lin said in a rush. She wanted Sidney to be happy. "My grandma's the chef of the restaurant."
"Nah, I would never use it. I haven't got the time," Sidney laughed. "But it's nice of you to offer."
Her face was one Hay Lin would love to sketch. Her skin was sun-kissed and warm. She had a retroussé nose and lips that didn't need artificial color. Her hair was a shocking blue, and full of curls and personality. Hay Lin wondered why she didn't notice the bold color before. On Sidney, it didn't look outrageous. She made the color work.
Hay Lin liked her eyes. They were the prettiest sea smoke color.
All of the sudden, Hay Lin felt immense nostalgia. Eric's eyes weren't that pretty. For some reason, this made tears come to her eyes. Eric's eyes were pretty, but not this pretty. She buried her head in her arms.
She had ruined the conversation. Now Sidney wouldn't talk with her anymore. This made the tears turn into a positive flood.
"Hey now, what's wrong?" Hay Lin felt a hand on her back. Sidney wasn't ignoring her. Her hand felt nice.
"Nothing," Hay Lin tried to say, but it came out choked.
"Don't lie to me," Sidney said. Her voice was gentle. Hay Lin wanted to trust her. No one else cared about how she was doing – they had better things to worry about – and now a total stranger was trying to comfort her. Warmth rushed through Hay Lin.
Hay Lin raised her head from the desk. "My boyfriend dumped me," she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
Sidney folded Hay Lin into a hug. She didn't try to attack Eric or offer empty condolences. Somehow the simple contact was better than the chocolate and excuses her friends had offered.
The hug lasted a while, but it wasn't awkward. When Sidney began to pull away, Hay Lin found that she didn't want her to. They separated, and Hay Lin smiled. It was a true smile.
Author note: I like this chapter. Writing Hay Lin is fun. Because I feel like being mean, here's a preview of chapter five:
…Until a knock sounded on her door. They all looked up, and Taranee began to stand. "No, Seth can get it," Will said. Seth was already trotting toward the door. When he reached the door, he paused, sniffing loudly. Then his hackles rose and he snarled more terribly than Will had ever heard before.
Happy New Year!