CHAPTER 6: NOT TIED UP TO ANYONE

After practice, Jill checked her phone to see that Ace texted her with, "Dropped Grim off at your place. Next time you give him to me, I'm charging you, lol." And she felt a pang of terror—Grim being on his own for so long couldn't be good.

She rushed home to Hallowgrim dorm, but it was too late. Grim had eaten everything in the fruit bowl, and several boxes of food before the ghosts forced it away from him. Well, in hindsight, it could have been much worse.

"C'mon, I left plenty of food for you!" Grim whined. "And besides, you can always get more! Don't you have that allowance and the job at the Mystery Shop?"

"I don't have any shifts at the Mystery Shop for awhile," Jill reminded Grim. "Mr. Sam gave me the week off when he found out that I was a Stargazer—he said that I had to focus on my Starsending duties."

"And how are those going?" Philip asked.

"It's… okay," Jill said. "But we have a lot more Wishing Stars to collect, not to mention we need to get the song and dance down-pat. And Idia isn't even cooperating…"

"Seems like quite the ordeal," Ezekiel admitted.

"Are jerks still tryin' to pick fights with ya?" Grim asked, watching Jill as she got some granola and water for herself. "Ya know, I can make quick work of 'em!"

"I appreciate that, Grim," she admitted. "But I can't let you get into trouble. I'm a Stargazer—Mr. Crowley wants me to take care of this with the other three. So I need to learn how to be strong. To fight my own battles…"

After Jill's paltry dinner, there was a knock at the door. She answered it at once, and it was Deuce in his P.E. outfit.

"Jill, I'm ready to grant your wish," Deuce announced dramatically. "Is this a good time to teach you self-defense?"

While having a cute boy like Deuce on her doorstep already felt like a wish come true, Jill suddenly felt nervous. "Right, hold on. I need to get out of my robes!" she said.

Deuce stepped inside while Jill flew up to her room. She carefully took off all the fancy accessories, peeled off the layers of her robe, and got dressed in her own P.E. uniform—the perfect outfit to be sparring in.

When she came back downstairs, Deuce was in an empty room, one of many within the mansion. The Hallowgrim residents were working to clean it and later fill it up as a guest room.

"Alright, I'm ready to be strong!" Jill announced, stretching out her arms.

"I don't know how strong a single session will make you… but I'll do my best," Deuce said nervously. "Teaching you any specific martial arts would take too long, so I think I'll show you street fighting."

"Street fighting?" Jill echoed. "Like… fighting in the street?"

"It's like freestyle fighting," Deuce explained. "Not committing to any specific style, just doing whatever you're able to do."

"That… doesn't sound encouraging," Jill said worriedly.

"C'mon, Jill! Knock his block off!" Grim said, lounging near the doorway. The ghostly trio floated nearby, looking amused.

Deuce took a breath and walked around Jill in a circle. "So, the key to fighting is understanding your body's limits and using your strengths against your opponent. Looking at you, though, well…"

"I know I'm not the most fit," Jill admitted. She only did exercises in P.E. class, and she was at the bottom of the class. Not that she could blame her gender for it—there were countless athletic girls out there, Jill just wasn't one of them.

"You're average height, and you're, um… kind of skinny," Deuce said sheepishly. "So it might be hard to use any strengths on such short notice."

"I'm 5'7, that's tall for a girl," Jill told him. Not that it mattered. She was a big target, and didn't have the power in her limbs to defend herself if someone hit her. She had never physically fought anyone before—sure, she'd been bullied by classmates even back in Kentucky, but they stuck to verbal and emotional abuse. It all made Jill feel as if she was meant to be a punching bag.

"Well, one thing you can do is exercise more frequently," Deuce said. "That should help strengthen your core muscles. You could join a sports club like us. I'm in Track and Field Club, and Ace is in the Basketball Club."

"I haven't joined a club yet… but I've already crossed out all the sports clubs," Jill said. "Maybe I'll just do morning exercises?"

"That would help," Deuce agreed. "Repetition is key to learning anything. If P.E. isn't giving you enough exercise, you should do some daily exercises on your own to—"

"C'mon, fight already!" Grim said. "All this talkin' is boring!"

"Oh! Grim, you're right." Deuce straightened up, glaring at his opponent. "Let's start. Hit me, Jill!"

Jill immediately moved to punch him, but he quickly stepped back. "Too slow!" he taunted. Jill tried to hit Deuce over and over again, but Deuce was no slouch—he was simply a blur as he moved around her. She was losing steam, and he was only getting started.

"Aw, Jill, are you already tired?" he asked in a mocking voice. "Ready to give up?"

"No—!" Jill bristled, and she moved to punch him again. Just as he shifted to the right, Jill stuck out her foot so Deuce fell onto the floor. Immediately, Jill felt terrible for that split-second cheating.

"Woohoo! Finally!" Grim cheered.

Deuce blinked, then got to his feet. "That was good, Jill. I think you got the hang of street fighting!"

"Huh? But I couldn't hit you…" Jill trailed off.

"I told you, you need to use every strength. When you're in a no-holds brawl, you can't expect the other guy to fight fair." Deuce took on a wicked grin. "So you can't always fight fair, either. Find your opponent's weakness, and strike it as hard as you can!"

"Any weakness?" Jill gawped. Deuce was encouraging her to get creative, but to what extent? She didn't really want to go poking eyes or kicking stomachs. She'd have to be careful on how she approached her next brawl.

"My! You're like a completely different person, Deuce!" Gregg commented. "A scary face like that belongs in Hallowgrim!"

Deuce lost his smile, regaining his composure. "Ahem! So, um… I dunno what else I can teach you at this point. Keep exercising, and fight however you can… only when you have to, of course. And remember, if you're overwhelmed, you can always ask us for backup."

Fight however you can. Jill once again thought of Azul, how he used his position and connections to win fights rather than get his hands dirty. She still envied that type of strength, but she knew Azul had to work hard to get it. Maybe one day, she'd be strong like that… until then, she would have to prove herself to the naysayers of this school.

"Thank you, Deuce," Jill said warmly. "I think I get it now."

"You think you can fight the other boys?" Philip asked worriedly.

"Sure she could," Grim said. "Jill can get all the Stars, no sweat! Cuz I'm gonna watch her and make sure my wish comes true!"

"Well… I'll see you all tomorrow," Deuce said awkwardly, brushing dust off his uniform. "We'll both be busy trying to get this Starsending off the ground."

"Of course," Jill said. "Deuce, before you leave… can I ask one more thing?"

"Yes?"

"You say you're not a fighter… but were you one in the past?" the goth asked. "Because sometimes you seem more aggressive."

Deuce turned away, his position tense. "…I'm aggressive?" he asked quietly.

"No, but…" Jill bit her lip. "I've never seen you in a fight before. I feel like you're avoiding me recently—like you don't want me to see you fight…"

Deuce sighed, shaking his head. "It's true," he admitted. "I want to take care of the rough stuff by myself. I don't want you to see me… like I used to be when I was a stupid kid."

"Stupid kid?" Jill repeated curiously.

"It's nothing," Deuce said quickly. "I only fight when I have to, since I'm a Night Raven student now. So let's not talk anymore about the past, please."

"…I'm sorry," Jill finally said. She finally understood how much pressure Deuce was under, being reminded of some unpleasant past. And maybe by requesting his help, Jill was actually hurting him without realizing it. Some friend she was.

"Nothing to apologize for," Deuce assured her. "We just need to focus on the future, right?"

"Right. I'll take care of the rest of my Stars," Jill said. "I'll work hard and get strong enough that I won't need anyone to protect me. Who knows? Maybe I'll be the one protecting you one day."

"I know you will." Deuce turned to give her a warm, hopeful smile. "I really need to get going, though. Later!" And then he left the house.

"Sheesh, someone's got a dark side," Grim commented.

"Everyone does," Jill told him. Well, maybe not her. But everyone else at this school seemed to have some kind of duality. Either way, whichever side she was dealing with… she had to handle everyone.

As a Stargazer, she was feeling the weight of the school on her shoulders.

Author's Notes: Deuce isn't going to fully confess to his delinquent past here, that'll come in Book 1. Here, Deuce is trying to start the school year with a clean slate.