Chapter Fifteen

Marcus

My eyes scan the room, looking for two people in particular. When I spot who I'm looking for, I can't pretend I'm not surprised, mainly because I wouldn't have guessed they'd be within a ten foot radius without some sort of a buffer. Zach and Jane are talking together in the corner of the room, and I'm watching them like a hawk. I try to read their body language and even though Jane is closed up, as she always is, I can tell whatever their saying isn't pleasant. Zach looks both exhausted and ashamed, while Jane seems to be about to burst, whether from sadness or anger I can't tell. I'm not sure, but I think I might just see her fist clench and I wonder if she'll really hit him. She doesn't though, and they keep talking. Until, her hand flies out and smacks him solidly across the face. I can't decide whether I'm impressed or afraid: probably a little bit of both. He reaches out for her and she immediately stumbles backwards and fleas in the opposite direction.

She darts through the room, skidding to a stop, a few feet away from me and slamming into one of the guys from the wrestling team. He says something, probably something very rude, judging by the heated blush that creeps onto her cheeks and down her neck, over her chest. Her grabs her shoulder and pulls her into his side, and I'm about to swoop in and put a stop to it when she grabs his arm and twists it into a decent hold. He's pulled in to this painful looking contortion, while she snarls something at him, before shoving him off and hurriedly shoving her way towards the door. I stand, transfixed until she makes it towards the door, and in a split second, with a glance over my shoulder in the direction of where I last saw Zach, I followed after her.

Jane

I shouldn't be so upset, I should be over this by now; I hate being this upset: I hate crying. This is what I really hate about Zach, he still has all the power; he can still hurt me and destroy me any time he wants. He knew everything about me, absolutely every heart wrenching or humiliating story he was privy to can so easily be turned into a weapon against me. I cared for him and trusted him so much and he betrayed me in the worst way possible. There had been plenty of girls before me and I was only kidding myself if I believed I was anything more. I fell for all the pretty words and thought because we had been friends it actually meant something, but Zach got bored of me just like any spoiled rich boy does with his toys.

We had always been good friends, but obviously once we crossed over into more than a platonic relationship, all of that lost any bearing in his eyes. Our relationship got a little difficult and a little more complicated and he found some one new. Well someone old in this case. Madison was one of his go to twits before he decided he wanted something "real." I should've known better, I should've known the tricks he used to get a girl to fall for him. I was so stupid, so, so stupid.

I burst out of the house, refusing to think about my most recent idiotic interaction with the male population of this ridiculous town. It's amazing, I'm not even talking about my jerk of an ex this time. Everything's just kind of happening all at once. A demigod that so freakin' powerful we're not even sure if they're a god, seeing Zach again, having to be back in gods' forsaken high school; I miss the days when the only things on my mind were whether to color the house Rock Star Pink or Fairy Princess Blue. Then again, considering that was also the period of time that I began wondering why the mail man had two heads and a tail, and why no one else saw it; I might want to go a bit further back.

I really, really don't want to think about what just happened. Some meat head, I don't know his name and I don't really think I'd care to even know that much about him, cut me off as I was making my way towards the door.

He had dipped his head and leered at me, clearly trying to get a look down my shirt, in the least subtle way possible. Then he had the audacity to say and I quote, "Going home already? Girl's like you should never go to bed alone." I blushed violently at his suggestion. Considering I had sworn my allegiance to a group of immortal maidens, I wasn't exactly used to such vulgar propositions. I did have a pretty good idea how to react when he decided a smart move would be to yank me close to him. First, I slammed my elbow into his side, hitting a pressure point quite nicely, then grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm easily into an arm bar. Annoyed out of my mind, I can't say I had very many lady-like words for him either.

Now, outside in the cool air, it's a little easier to think, which is a extremely bad thing. I don't want to dwell on this anymore, and I certainly don't want to waste any more tears on the past. There are much more important things to deal with: including the MIA demigod. At this point, I'm praying to all the gods, even my wretched father; that Zach isn't mixed up in this. It would be just my luck.

"Hey!" A slightly out of breath voice calls out to me, and I have to take a deep, deep breath to stay sane. It's just one thing after another, after another tonight. Why is it that the most determined, intuitive, and pesky guy in this fishbowl town have to decide that I'm interesting?! If it weren't for the fact that he might be a demigod, and he has easy access to the more recent activities of Zach, and could probably help me out, I might've killed him already.

Anna

It's so hard when we're apart and the rest of the world creeps in, but when we're alone like this, even when we're just talking, it's so easy. Everything seems to slip away and it's almost like I've struggled for breath all the time, and just by being in the same room with him, its ten times easier to breathe. That may just be the most cheesy thing I've ever said, ever. I'm not this girl, I don't get swept up in things, I'm always in control of any and all situations. For as long as I can remember, I've been set on exceeding expectations, or at least meeting them. Whether it's being at the top of my class, tutoring third graders, or a million and three other things, I'm always doing what somebody wants me to do. Somehow, this feels different from all of that, this is about me, and only me. Well, maybe there's one more person in the equation.

"Can I ask you a question?" His voice is soft, and completely fitting for the situation. After a few minutes (or hours, who really knows?) of passionate kissing, things had cooled down, and now we just relaxing, him with his back against the wall and me positioned in between the "v" of his legs. His arms wrapped around my middle and his warm body all around, makes me feel incredibly secure. His question's silly, even though we haven't been whatever this is for more than a few weeks, I trust him, probably more than I should. I nod and he kisses where my neck meets my shoulder, the same spot, he had been thoroughly entertained with earlier.

"You and Marcus Anderson were never a thing right?" I've heard him when he's vulnerable before, when the cool mask slips but I've never heard him like this. He's never sounded jealous. I'm this close to teasing him about it, when he shifts his weight, and starts fidgeting, cracking his knuckles. Big, tough, Jonathan Trenton is nervous, and I know it must be killing him, so I refrain from the joke that's on the tip of my tongue.

"No, Marcus and I have never been anything more than close friends. Why are you asking?" I ask, feeling him relax, and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"The guy hates me, and I think he's convinced I'm going to corrupt you or something." He grumbles. It's weird, we so rarely talk about stuff like this. We know what the general reaction would be from our school, no one would get it. It's weird enough that I'm friends with Marcus. While he's mischievous and a bit of a player, Jonathan's the guy that your mother has a heart attack when she sees him, and your father gets the gun before he can say hello. Marcus is the only one who has any inkling as to what's going on, and that's only because he knows me way too well.

"He'll get over it." I quickly end the conversation, knowing it wouldn't be going anywhere good. This is too good to over think, if it would just stay exactly like this, it would be perfect.

A/N: I genuinely feel like I've been writing the build up to the next chapter for months. I wrote a chunk of the next chapter weeks ago, and it has been the inspiration for the last few chapters, so please be a patient for just a little bit. The next chapter should be up in the next few days.