Chapter 11: A Bloody Secret

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The second hand of the clock slowly turns. It's the last day of school (more like the last day of detention,) and there are ten minutes left on the clock. My team and Moonstone's, along with the more scary and troublesome kids in our school, have all quieted down. We all stare collectively at the clock. I feel a cold stare on my back and slowly turn to see Janet staring at me. The black eye shadow around her eyes, black lipstick, dark clothes, many facial piercings, and bangs that completely cover one of her eyes send a chill down my spine. Emo kids freak me out. I try to remember why she's here but find I can't. There's someone I know who will.

"Hey Amy," I lean over and whisper, "what's Janet in here for?" I ask as if we're prisoners.

"Hmm…" Amy looks Janet up and down. "No gem, so she's the other one."

"The other… oh," I say, spotting another emo girl with makeup so dark I couldn't see her as she blended into the shadows. I notice a smooth dark green gemstone on her forehead (she used to wear a hoodie with the hood always down and tight). Her name used to be Susie but now she goes by Aventurine. Huh, it's strange to see friends that aren't all hybrids or all humans. Well, besides Jonathan and I, but we're a special case. I'm really falling for him! Sapphire was wrong, Jonathan was a great decision.

"So what are the two of them in for?" I ask again.

"They had a plan to burn the school flag but Aventurine was too chicken so Janet punched her then Aventurine summoned her weapon and they got suspended for punching the assistant principal."

"I feel like you missed some steps…" I say, confused.

"Are you guys talking about Aventurine and Janet?" Jet leans over, totally invading my personal space, to gossip.

"I heard they pantsed the assistant principal," Bloodstone says.

"No, you heard all wrong!" Amy cuts in.

"Yeah, they stayed after school one day and trashed the assistant principal's office when she gave Janet lunch detention for stealing pens from the school store when it was actually Aventurine who stole the pens," Jet says.

"What? No, they got into trouble for kicking the assistant principal in the nuts!" Amy says.

"I feel like I'm missing something… and what do they have against assistant principal Loiks?"

"I'm telling you, they pantsed him!"
"No, they trashed his office!"

"They choked him!"

"Pants!"

"Office!"

"Headbutt!"

Instead of trying to get an answer out of them I continue staring at the clock, and try to ignore Janet's cold stare.

As they start to reach a conclusion on why Janet and Aventurine are in here, the bell rings and all arguments are forgotten.

"SCHOOL'S OUT!" Everyone in the room collectively screams. Jet, Bloodstone, Amy and I race out of there, second out the door only to Rick, the well-known school bully. It's clear why no one tried to cut ahead of him.

Since I'm still technically grounded we all head to my house, and Sapphire meets us outside my door.

"Wait outside," I tell my friends, "I have a plan…"

"Oh no, not your evil plan grin!" Amy exclaims, honestly scared.

"Mwahaha!" I say and open the door. I hear Sapphire whisper a quick, "you got this," and I know my plan will work.

"MOOOOOMMMMMMM!" I shout, and she pokes her head around the corner from the kitchen.

"What? I'm trying to cook here?" She has her 'I'm very annoyed so make this quick' face on.

"I know I'm technically still grounded but school just got out and I'm only grounded for two more days anyway so please let me go to the park with my friends!" I beg, pulling out my best puppy-dog eyes.

She sighs. "We've talked about this, Amber. I will not go back on my word."

"I'll get the groceries for you!"

She shoves a list, $60, and 3 bags in my hand and shoves me out the door with a quick "Have fun!"

"Well, that went better than expected," I declare cheerfully. We head out to Balrey Park.

Sapphire and I have a special surprise for the members of our group. We smile and spontaneously burst into laughs the entire walk there, earning many strange stares from the rest of our group. Strangely enough, by the time we get there I think Amy (of all people) might have a hunch as to what's going on.

"Now," I declare grandly, standing atop an old tree stump, "the moment you've all been waiting for. Today, our lesson is…"

Sapphire taps her phone, and a drumroll sounds.

"Merging!"

"Wait, seriously?" Amy and Jet exclaim, while even Bloodstone looks mildly surprised. Although there's something off about Amy's tone...

"Yeah, seriously," Sapphire says, blushing a tiny bit. "I know we put it off for a long time, but we didn't exactly want to be practicing in Amber's backyard."

"Okay, so teach!" Jet says, never failing to be his usual excitable self.

"First of all, pick a partner. Boys, I suggest you go together," I direct. "Since we have an odd number, we'll have to take turns. Amy, you'll be with me," I give her an "it's for the best so you two don't fight"look and she shakes her head.

"Or we could try a three-way merge," Amy suggests. I barely catch the brief expression of surprise that crosses Sapphire's face.

"That would be interesting," is all Sapphire says.

"Okay, then!" I agree, slightly confused but not about to back down. I know I can come off as kinda goofy and childish sometimes, but I think that's what makes me a good leader. I try hard to be approachable. "Sapphire and I discovered that the simplest and easiest way to merge is through dancing." Amy smiles.

The boys snicker at that, and I glare.

"Merging requires complete synchronization and trust in your partner, or partners," Sapphire continues. "I'd suggest finding a piece of music you both like, then both dance until you merge. I don't really have any other advice. We're all new to this, after all. Anything else?"

"I think we should dance to Human by Christina Perri," Amy says. "It's ironic." The boys don't take much more convincing than that. Soon Bloodstone's phone sings about being only human and we're all dancing. Jet and Bloodstone are surprisingly enthusiastic while the rest of us are being careful.

Jet and Bloodstone have a… unique dancing style, I'll put it that way. They look like characters in Fortnite half of the time, and the rest of the time they're going in circles chanting increasingly disturbing things about the end of the world.

But hey, whatever.

Sapphire seems uneasy, she slowly turns in circles eyeing Amy a lot. She must be nervous to dance in front of her since they aren't great friends. Amy is acting the same way. Amy makes weird popstar movements and that leaves me, doing some weird combination of Sapphire's ballet and Amy's sort-of twerking.

Slowly we all get more comfortable, and Jet and Bloodstone start actually dancing. It's funny really, once we all let go of being embarrassed and just have fun. Two flashes of light go of almost simultaneously.

"Hi," I say to the tall man with the dark black gem in front of me. I smirk because I'm taller than him.

"Hi," he responds.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Fire Black Crystal," he declares proudly. "You?"

"Kunzite." The name settles easily into my three parts and I begin to explore my own feelings. A silent knowing that this experience won't last long registers with the two parts of me that are unfamiliar with visions.

Every part of myself conceals something from the other parts. Deep secrets, backstories, etc. The part with the visions hides the most, while one lets everything show, except some of her feelings about her parents. The last hides one thing, and only from the adopted part.

I feel myself losing control.

Keep it together, Sapphire says. Just a little longer and we'll beat the guys.

Three is more unstable than two, and I lose.

As I get flung away from Sapphire and Amy only one thought is left on my mind after I see Jet and Bloodstone's merger collapse.

"What's your secret?" I exclaim, pointing at Amy. I mean, I expected secrets from Sapphire, but Amy? What's so important that she has the willpower to hide it? I know I'll get it out of her eventually.

"What?!" She says frantically.

"I know you were hiding something. C'mon, spill it!" Geez, I sound like Jet.

"I'm not hiding anything! Sapphire will tell you she can't see any secrets!"

"I don't," Sapphire says far too quickly.

"You can't see secrets, only futures!" I exclaim. "What is it?" I gasp, an idea striking. "Do you have a girlfriend?!" Amy's blush deepens to uncharted shades of red.

"No, no, definitely not…"

"You do!" I scream.

"Who's your GF?" Bloodstone asks.

"Yeah, who?" Jet asks.

"Tell us?!" Sapphire says in a strange tone that I can't quite place.

"Uh…" Amy mumbles, then shouts, "I don't have to tell you nothing and you can't make me! Shouldn't I be allowed to have secrets?" Everyone is stunned into silence from that outburst.

"She's right," Sapphire says, "we're all allowed to keep secrets."

"Yeah," Bloodstone says, "sometimes it's best not to tell."

"Sometimes secrets can hurt people you really care about." Jet says. Jet and Bloodstone share a look.

"Fine," I say, "but for the record I'm not hiding anything. My life is an open book." I'm grateful Amy and Sapphire don't immediately contradict that.

The rest of the day, by unspoken agreement, is spent on normal combat stuff. I end up leaving early to fulfil my promise of grocery shopping, which isn't as dull as I would've thought when I realise my mom gave me just enough extra money to get an ice cream bar. However, the whole time as I'm walking home, my mind keeps wandering to Amy, and what she'd have enough willpower to keep a secret.

A girlfriend, it has to be a girlfriend. What else would she care that much about?

But that doesn't make sense. Why would she keep that a secret from me? Maybe her girlfriend isn't out yet. That would make sense. I still think she'd trust me enough to tell me. I can keep secrets. She knows that.

Wait, what if she likes me too. Crap, that would just be the worst. I can't deal with all this. And, she knows I'm with Jonathan! Maybe that's why she'd hide it.

Could I ever even like her? I don't know why my mind is wandering here from there but… if she liked me… how would I feel about that? I've never thought about Amy in a romantic way before. Now I find myself doing just that…

She's really pretty, even if I've never noticed it. Her dark skin and wild hair just add to her charm, I couldn't imagine her being any different. She usually has her hair in some crazy hairstyle, like cornrows with purple weave, or pigtails that make her look like Harley Quinn.

And her smile… it's priceless.

She's also funny, and loyal, and trusting… most of the time. She'd sacrifice herself for me in a heartbeat. She'd sacrifice herself for anyone one of us without hesitation. Even Sapphire. I remember when we were little, the games that we'd play…

Oh no.

I push that out of my mind and replace it with images of Jonathan and what I know about him… which I suddenly realize is very little. I like him, what I know about him, but I don't even know that much. Jet could help me, they went to camp together. Maybe I should call him. Maybe I should call Jonathan.

To keep my mind off of Amy I decide that that's the best course of action

"Hey babe," Jonathan says.

"Hey," I say. "I was just randomly thinking about you. So... wanna go out tonight?"

"Uh, sure, why not? Where do you want to meet? Our place in the park or a restaurant?"

"Let's actually go somewhere for once," I decide. "Burger King is always good."

"Ok, when?"

"Meet you in 20?"

"No, I have a friend over, maybe at 7?" I'm slightly disappointed but whatever, I can wait 2 hours.

"Ok, sure. See you then."

In the meantime my thoughts wander back towards Amy so I quickly divert them, segueing to a different train of thought.

I hang out with her and Sapphire a lot. I feel like we've gotten way closer ever since we revealed our gems, but that makes me realize something. I should hang out with Bloodstone and Jet more. I call Sapphire all the time as well as Amy. I even hang out with each of them just the two of us sometimes. I should do the same with Bloodstone and Jet.

What happened to my relationships with them? I can't remember the last time I talked to either of them about non gem stuff, well besides the whole love triangle situation. We used to be really great friends, always getting into trouble at school. One time we broke into the teacher's lounge after school and stole all the snacks in the vending machine, then put those gross fitness bars in the empty bags. Me, Jet, and Bloodstone shared the bounty of glorious snacks, and I have to say it was so satisfying watching them trying to figure out who did it.

But what happened to that? What changed? Ever since we all revealed our identities as hybrids, I feel like my whole life turned upside-down. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it feels like I've been distanced from my friends. I need to reach out to them, repair our fragile bonds, not just for my sake, but for the sake of the team.

It's an hour before my date, and after wasting the last hour watching youtube and NOT calling Jet or Bloodstone, I decide to get ready. I put on my favorite short dress, now that it's warm enough to wear it, and spend half an hour playing video games, accidentally seeing my reflection and brushing my hair, then going back to the game to repeat the process. Finally, with 20 minutes till 7 I head out to Burger King. If I'm slightly late it will keep him hungry for longer.

I arrive and look around, he's not here. I choose a booth to wait at.

Half an hour passes, I get up to get my burger.

I eat it slowly for the next 20 minutes and then it's gone.

I text the girls.

HELP! I THINK JONATHAN JUST STOOD ME UP! I'VE BEEN WAITING AT BURGER KING, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET OVER AN HOUR AGO! Sapphire, who must have known I would text thanks to her future vision, swoops in right away, with her accomplice, who really shouldn't be answering her phone. Seriously, Amy never responds this quickly.

TEXT HIM, Sapphire responds.

KICK HIM IN THE NUTS IF HE EVER SHOWS UP! Amy makes me laugh. She's so funny.

DON'T DO THAT, my voice of reason instructs me. TEXT HIM, BUT DON'T WAIT ANYMORE IF HE DOESN'T RESPOND.

KICK HIM IN THE NUTS!

THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA! I laugh and suddenly receive a notification.

It's a text. From Jonathan.

AMBER! I'M SO SORRY, I GOT DISTRACTED AND MY FRIEND HAD AN EMERGENCY BUT IT'S ALL BETTER NOW. ARE YOU STILL THERE? I CAN MEET YOU IN 20… As mad as I am I have to admit, it's sweet that he helped his friend. Nevertheless I do not want to see him right now.

IT'S OK BUT DON'T BOTHER COMING. I LEFT 30 MINUTES AGO ANYWAY.

I AM REALLY SORRY, MAYBE WE CAN MEET UP ON SUNDAY? 3?

SORRY, I HAVE A FRIEND COMING OVER. It's a lie but I don't care.

AMBER… I SAID I WAS SORRY.

I KNOW YOU'RE SORRY, I THINK ITS SWEET THAT U HELPED YOUR FRIEND. BUT YOU STILL SHOULD'VE TEXTED ME EARLIER.

I KNOW, LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU?

...HOW?

I'M COMING BY YOUR HOUSE TOMORROW AT 6 TO GIVE YOU FLOWERS. WHETHER YOU WANT THEM OR NOT.

I'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.

AMBER…

GOODNIGHT. I stop texting him. He doesn't bother to respond. I text Amy and Sapphire as I leave.

I don't feel like talking to anyone on Saturday, but I know I need to see Jet or Bloodstone. Despite all that, I don't even try calling them until around 2pm. I try Jet first, I need info on Jonathan, but he doesn't pick up. Strange, he hardly ever forgets his phone. Unless he's ignoring me… no, it's probably nothing. I call Bloodstone instead.

"What do you want, Amber," Bloodstone asks, his voice more expressionless than usual.

"Hello to you too, Bloodstone," I reply. "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out at some point. It feels like I haven't gotten to talk to you or Jet much lately."

"There's a good reason for that you know."

"Even before that," I counter. "Like, ever since all the gem stuff started happening I barely get to see you guys."

"We literally hang out almost every day after school for gem stuff."

"I mean just us. You know, like old times?" I realize how awkward this is.

He sighs. "Fine."

"Yay! Oh, can you try calling Jet? He didn't pick up."

"No." His tone is very final. I don't even try to argue.

"Ok, then. When do you want to-"

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He hangs up. Typical Bloodstone.

I use the ten minutes of waiting to do a quick once-over of my room and hide anything that might be embarrassing for me, or triggering for him. Like the little red heart that says J+A in it that Jonathan gave to me. I've been staring at it all day.

Bloodstone doesn't knock on the door. He doesn't even use the door. One moment I'm about to go downstairs, the next I hear my window open and see a certain hybrid tumble head-over-heels across my bed and onto the floor.

"Geez, dramatic much?" I ask. "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing," he mumbles. "Just didn't feel like talking to anyone else."

I frown, and go over to shut the window, but he beats me to it. I catch a glimpse of a girl running down the street.

"Who was that?" I ask. Then the pieces click into place. "Ohmygoshdoyoufinallyhaveagirlfriend?!" I scream, and Bloodstone covers his ears.

"What no I don't know what you're talking about," he says quickly, but his cheeks are bright red, giving him away.

"Wow, first Amy, now you? Well, tell me! Who is it?"

"No one you know," he mumbles.

"C'mon, I have a right to know!" I say. A tiny part of me feels bad for pressuring him, but I'm too excited to care.

"No, you don't!" he says forcefully. "I thought we were allowed to keep secrets!"

"Why do you need to, though?" I ask. I'm backing down for now, but my mind is racing, trying to make connections. "Unless you think I'd get mad…"

Bloodstone's blush is reaching uncharted levels. Like, worse than Jet levels.

"Whatever your train of thought is, stop right now!" He declares, and his voice cracks from panic.

"You think I'd get mad if I found out…" I ponder. "So that means…"

"Stop it!" Bloodstone screams, cutting me off. "Just stop. Whatever you're thinking, stop. You're always poking your nose into things! Can't you just leave me alone?"

I stop, shocked. I don't think I've seen Bloodstone yell since… 3rd grade? That sounds about right. I think that was the time he threw a desk at the teacher and broke his nose. That was the only time I'd seen him angry.

"Ok," I say slowly. "Sorry."

Bloodstone changes the subject to talking about his RPGs, and while I couldn't care less, it's nice to not be talking about how we're going to survive the next monster attack, or whether we'll have another run-in with Moonstone's team. Eventually it gets late, and I get hungry. Bloodstone leaves via the window- don't ask me why- and I actually use the front door, for once. I'm not grounded anymore, after all.

We head over to Burger King in the downtown area, and as we're eating I notice Bloodstone keeps looking out the window nervously, and he's fidgeting under the table. Bloodstone doesn't normally fidget.

I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, but instead I stop just around the corner and watch Bloodstone. Almost immediately he walks out the door, and I stealthily follow him.

Just outside, Pearl is sitting on a bench. Bloodstone approaches her from behind, startling her, but they laugh it off. I can't hear what they're saying, but I watch Bloodstone's happy, blushing expression as they talk, and she gives him a kiss on the cheek before hurrying off. Bloodstone comes back towards the restaurant, and I make a beeline for my seat.

"Oh, hey," he says when he sits down. "I, uh, got us more ketchup packets." he places a few on the table. I don't buy it.

"You and Pearl, huh?" I say. His face turns bright red.

"Uh… it's not what it looks like…"

"You don't have to be such a drama queen, you know," I say. He looks up, startled. "I mean, yeah, you're dating the 'enemy', but Moonstone's the real enemy here, not Pearl. Besides," and now I can't help but grin. "It's a classic Romeo and Juliet!" My head fills with all the romance novels about forbidden love that I've ever read.

Bloodstone bursts out laughing for a moment, but quickly falls back into serious mode. "Don't you dare tell anyone else about this," he says.

"If you don't want me to, I won't. But trust me when I say this- most of the time, secrets aren't meant to be kept." With that, I make a dramatic exit, though I'm considerate enough to dump the remains of my burger in the trash on the way. And yes, I had that line planned in advance, just waiting for the right moment.

I have to admit, I was kinda surprised. I didn't really think Pearl was Bloodstone's type. But even I have to admit they look cute together. I don't think I've seen Bloodstone blush so much in one day.

"Amber, wait," I turn around to see Bloodstone catching up to me. "You don't understand."

"Don't understand what?" I ask, confused.

"If Moonstone finds out, she'll kill her. That's Pearl's words, not mine. And knowing Moonstone, I'm not sure she's being metaphorical."

I stand there for a moment, letting it sink in. Then I say, "Moonstone is a total bitch. Tell Pearl she shouldn't be hanging out with her anyway."

"But-"

I cut Bloodstone off. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. I get how important this is to you."

"Thanks," he says gratefully.

When I get home there are flowers on my bed. What is it with guys and climbing in my window?

Author's Note: Hi guys! Sorry about the late update, NaNoWriMo just started and BOTH of us are doing it for our own stories… yeah, that's gonna be pretty hectic. So, for the month of November, we will be updating every other week, since we won't have as much time to write. I'm sure you all understand.

Anyway, Thanks for reading this chapter! Our next chapter, Sharing Isn't Always Caring, is from Jet and Bloodstone's perspectives and features emotions. Many emotions.

Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review!