Chapter 2: Zoey

I could sense something about Marla that wasn't right. She seemed very much like a normal fledgling who'd just been Marked nearly a month ago. And she was actually really pretty. Her hair was pitch black and her skin was about near the whitest I've ever seen. But something about her was...off. She was really nice, but her friend Karissa reminded me very much of my ex-best-friend Kayla (Who went after my human almost-ex-boyfriend Heath). It was obvious Karissa has a thing for Stark, and it just downright pissed me off. Anyway, I considered Marla as part of our group. But the feeling in my gut which meant that Nyx was sending me a sign had been screaming at me that I should keep a close eye on her. I knew that, somehow, she was more than what she appeared to be. Whether she knew it or not.

"Zoey? Did you hear what I asked?"

"Huh? What?" Was my brilliant answer. I heard Aphrodite snort unattractively and I stifled an eye-roll at her. Damien shot Aphrodite a quick glare, and continued.

"I asked, 'Have you contacted Stevie Rae yet?' and you were just staring off into space."

"Oh, well hell. I guess after defeating Kalona and Neferet, I've sorta forgotten to call her." Yeah. I burned the bitch Neferet right up. I hadn't really defeated Kalona, though. Something about Grandma's blessing had turned him good. And Nyx had accepted him into her realm again, obviously knowing she could trust him. That reminds me, I really need to call up Grandma, too!

"Well, I'm sure Stevie Rae's okay. She did what we thought was nearly impossible. She turned the evil Red Fledglings good. So, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Stark spoke.

"Still, don't you think Stevie Rae would like to hear from Z? I mean, don't you think she would like to hear from her best friend?" Damien argued.

"If Stevie Rae wanted to talk to Zoey so badly, she woulda called her by now, don't ya think?" Aphrodite pitched in.

"Why don't you shut up?" Erin said.

"Or drop dead? Personally, I'd prefer the drop dead more," Shaunee added.

"Guys! Guys! Stop! It's alright, I'll just call Stevie Rae up and see what she's been up to. No biggie. Goddess, you all are just so hard to live with sometimes." I stopped the chaos against Aphrodite and she gave me a "thank you!" look. I smiled back at her. And Darius put his arm around her and kissed her. At least somebody loved her for her bitchy self.

"Hey, um, Zoey?" Marla asked me. I turned next to me. She must've sat there while I was in my head again.

"Yeah?"

"We're friends, right?" Marla was so shy around me. She didn't have to be afraid of me. It was actually a little insulting, but I ignored it.

"Of course, Marla. You're part of our group. Why?"

"I was just asking. You guys all have these supercool powers over affinities. I am just a newbie kid so...I really don't know."

"Just be patient. Nyx gifts us all. There's something special about everyone. And you'll discover it about yourself. So don't get worked up about that, okay?"

"Yeah. But I've seen the way you look at me. Like you think I'm hiding a secret. I just want to tell you that I have no majorly bad secrets to keep. So why-?"

I didn't want to lie to her. So I'll just spit it out. "Well, something about you is different than the other fledglings. Different than us. I have that feeling, and trust me, that feeling is never wrong. I know."

"Well...I don't really understand. I don't' mean to be annoying. I'm just kinda new at this stuff. I don't have problems in the classes, but with the affinities and such. The Red Fledglings...I don't get that stuff." I knew exactly how Marla felt.

"Sometimes, it takes a while to understand something. You have a lot of time here at the House of Night. And if you don't understand, we'll help you as much as we can. We're all friends here. Anyway, you just have to be patient and let it come to you. Trust me, it will. Nyx never keeps anyone in the dark." Obviously, what I said made Marla very satisfied and she nodded happily. I smiled back at her. She was really nice. I knew whatever that feeling was that I had about her, it wasn't bad.

"Thank you so much, Zoey. I'm glad all of you guys have accepted me." Then we all burst into random chatter.