The Loner Read online

  “You kicked Tristen’s ass and activated your powers. Sounds like a good day to me. Kaci say anything to you after the match?”

  “She said good job or something like that, but it gets wilder.”

  “Really? How? Don’t tell me...she gave you her number or something like that?”

  “Nope. Our conversation actually ended there for the most part, but Summer asked me out to celebrate tonight. I... think it’s a date.”

  “What? That’s crazy, man. You’re going to go, right? Please tell me that you’re going to go. The fact that I have to ask you says a lot about our friendship. Do you know how rare it is for chicks to ask you out? That’s like, unheard of. She must really dig you.”

  “I mean, yeah, I’m going to go, but I don’t think it’ll be like all that. I mean, it is a date, but not like a date-date, if that makes sense. Before today, I barely spoke to her. It’s not like she’s been crushing on me for the past two weeks. I think she’s just happy for me. I’m the new kid, and I just got my powers. I think she’s just being nice.” I shrug.

  “Dude, are you listening to yourself right now?” Tyler places his hands on both sides on his head and screams. “She isn’t your therapist, she’s a chick clearly flirting with you! Is she hot?”

  “I mean, s—”

  “Bro, just say it!”

  “Yeah, she’s hot,” I admit, not knowing why it feels wrong to say it. “She’s super chill, too, but a bit edgy.”

  “Perfect, you need a little bit of edge in your life, Aiden. This is perfect. Yessssssssss!”

  “That’s funny. She said the same thing, but not really.”

  “Brooooooooo.”

  “Okay, okay. Chill with the theatrics. I got it. I’m going to go, and I’m going to see how things pan out. It’s just weird how quick all of this is happening, man.”

  “Nah, enjoy the process. She just knows what she wants. Life’s too short for walking on eggshells around someone and wondering if they’ll like you back. Dating sucks. If she’s putting in the work, she definitely has a thing for you. Just be grateful that she’s showing it in a normal kind of way.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Last semester, one of my buddies got pushed down the stairs by a girl he was talking to.”

  “Well, did he deserve it?”

  “That’s the thing—he didn’t. Super sweet and chivalrous. All that jazz...but the girl was a healer. She did it as an excuse to strike up a conversation.”

  “Ugh. Okay, well, I don’t think Summer’s like that.”

  “She just might be a keeper then.”

  “Dude, you don’t even know how she looks or her personality,” I say flatly. I’m pretty sure Tyler’s just being obnoxious at this point because he finds it entertaining to mess with underclassmen.

  “She have social media?”

  “Dude, I don’t know.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know? Let’s look her up.”

  “Whatever.” I break away from the door frame and begin to walk to my room. “It’s not that ser—"

  “Found it.” I snap my neck back towards his room and see her profile on his screen. I then move closer, pulling up a chair to sit beside him.

  “You really did...” I say, mystified by his ability to creep. “You know what, this is wrong, I’m just going to go. I’m not going to cyberstalk Summer. That’s crazy. I need to focus on activating my powers. I shield my eyes while rising from the chair as I begin to turn away.

  “Your loss, man. She’s kinda cute. Interesting too.” I remove my hand from over my eyes, plant myself in Tyler’s chair, and scoot in closer to the screen.

  “Okay, maybe I'll just take a peek.”

  “Good call, my man. Good call.”

  Chapter 5

  “You got this, A.” Tyler gives my shoulders a quick rub and gives me an affirming tap on the back. “Now hurry or you’re going to be late.”

  “You’re hyping this up way more than it needs to be, dude. We’re just teammates. This is casual, nothing serious,” I say to him while he steps out from behind me and pushes me out the door.

  “Right, just a casual encounter with your hot classmate who invited you out to the park...at night...alone. Got it. So there won’t be a problem if I take a shot at her tomorrow then, right? I’m sure a ton of dudes are sliding into her messages every week.”

  “W—”

  “Go!” Tyler shuts the door in my face, the wind almost forcing me to completely shut my eyes. An array of heads pop out from my dorm hall and I give them a sheepish, dismissive wave, letting them know that everything’s cool. Slamming doors in the middle of the night isn’t too common here, or anywhere, really, so that’s just another strike against me for getting the wrong kind of attention.

  After class, Tyler and I spent most of the evening looking through Summer’s profile and him sharing his dating stories. Summer’s page was pretty barren unless you had her as a friend, but I did manage to get insight from Tyler sharing his dating experiences. I didn’t have much to offer. Dating was never really something that I got to do. I went to an all boy school for high school, and I spent most of my time at home with my parents after school. They kept me close when they were around. I wasn’t too fond of it back then, but now, I’m glad that I had that time with them. They were just trying their best to show that they loved me. School was hard for me, anyway. Not because of grades, but because of the recurring theme that seems to be dictating my life. I was an outcast there, too, so it wasn’t like I had anyone to hang out with if I wanted to. Things are actually starting to look up here though. This could be the start of something new...as long as I don’t mess this up...and I’m not just talking about with whatever it is that Summer’s doing. If I get kicked out of the academy, I’ll go back to being that same lonely, unhappy kid that I was before I came here. I mean, things aren’t perfect here, but at least I’m not alone.

  I make my way through the campus until I find myself at the edge of the park. Summer said to meet her at North Campus at ten, but I manage to show up five minutes early, just in case. I look around to find her, but after a while, I realize that she’s nowhere to be found. So just like any other millennial, I do what I do best when there’s nothing else to do. I pull out my phone. Luckily, Tyler’s only a few keystrokes away.

  Me: She’s not here.

  Tyler: She said at ten, right? Give her a bit. Deep breaths.

  Me: I looked around. Can’t find her. Think she ditched me.

  Tyler: You looked for her? Lol. If she saw you awkwardly prancing around then you def lost points. Haha.

  Me: Ugh.

  “Hey.” I look over my shoulder to see Summer in a navy-blue sundress with flower prints. “Texting your girls, I see.”

  “No, just my roommate,” I say, flustered by her sudden appearance.

  “I was just kidding. Relax.” Summer shrugs and I notice something I didn’t see before in her hand—a bottle of alcohol that she’s casually holding by the neck. “So, you ready to do this?”

  “Do...what?”

  “Celebrate.” She raises the bottle up and gives it a shake.

  “Summer!” I step closer to her and force her hand down, wary of any potential onlookers. The Academy is a dry campus, and Summer clearly doesn’t care. “Are you trying to get us kicked out? That’s a—Are you nuts?”

  “Simmer down, dude.”

  “Simmer down? It’s illegal!”

  “It is, and you’re making a big scene about it. Honestly, you’re being overdramatic. If we were out at some bar, no one would blink twice.”

  “But we’re not at a bar.” I growl. “We’re on campus.” Summer walks past me, shaking her head, and spins around so that she’s facing me as she walks backward.

  “Hate to break it to you, Aiden, but what I’m doing here is hardly a revolutionary idea. You know how many people drink at the academy?” She pauses and takes a swig from her bottle. “I don’t know, but I really don’t care. Not
my problem, but hey, if you want to go back to your dorm, I’ll see you tomorrow, no sweat off my back.”

  “I...”

  “Look, Aiden.” She throws a hand up into the air. “If we get caught, I’ll like, freeze the bottle or something. They’ll never know. You’re making a big deal out of nothing... Last chance before I take off.”

  “Fine,” I force out. “I’ll go. But it is a big deal. I can’t get kicked out of the academy over something like this.”

  She just doesn't get it. It’s everything to me...my chance to break free.

  “I won’t let that happen, Aiden. If shit hits the fan, I’ll take the fall. But realistically, you probably would get put on probation. Probably.” She shrugs.

  “Whatever, let’s just go. You being out in the open isn’t making this any better.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who stopped me to get on your soapbox.”

  “Okay, well, I’m off it now.”

  “Perfect. Glad you can join the rest of us down here on earth.” Summer walks into the park, bottle in hand, and keeps going, leading us into the forested area separate from the trail. I guess it was a good idea that she wore combat boots instead of something more casual. “Hey, you want a sip?” She casually turns back at me with a smile and I avert my eyes towards hers, hoping she didn’t see and think I was checking her out.

  “Yeah, sure.” I grab the bottle from her and take a quick swig. “It’s sweet,” I rasp.

  “Almost doesn’t taste like alcohol, right?”

  “Yeah,” I say after clearing my throat. I’ve never had alcohol before, but I didn’t want her to know that. “Also, nice boots.” Yikes.

  “Thanks.” Summer snags the bottle from me and takes a sip. I follow Summer until we make it to a clearing away from everything else. We both take a seat on the grass, her beverage of choice being the only thing that separated us. On the way there we’d both been casually drinking, passing the bottle between us, leaving it well below half. “Aiden?”

  “Yeah?”

  “All that stuff they say at the academy is bullshit, but you still have to play your part.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They have us here, studying the history and learning about bloodlines and the way that powers work, but I think it’s all mumbo-jumbo. To the teachers, it’s all about the history and everything, but for the students, it’s all about survival. Sink or swim. Everyone’s so competitive out here, and the classes we’re taking are making it that much worse,” she says to me in a moment of serenity as she looks up to the stars. “What are they really training us for? You ever stop and think about it? There are people outside of the academy who have powers that live perfectly normal lives, but we’re training for battle. Why is that?”

  “I...don’t...”

  “When we graduate, are we going to get enlisted to some kind of magical army? Normal people don’t fight like we did today. It’s only the advanced students that do what we do. Do you think that you’ll work an office job or something?”

  “I—”

  “Aiden, I know that your powers today were a fluke. Tristen was going to beat you if I didn’t show up when I did...but that’s okay. I can help you. Stand up. The other students are going to be coming for you now that you’re a top dog, and you need to do well so that they can keep you around. You don’t want to get kicked out, do you? Or do you?”

  Top dog? I think as I stand to my feet. Summer rises and walks behind me, exiting from my field of view. Kicked out?

  “Extend your hand.” I do what she says, stretching my hand and pointing it at the nearest tree. I can feel the sweat building under my clothes even though it’s nice out. I hope she doesn’t notice. Crap. Am I drunk? Why am I dizzy.

  “Everyone has a trigger...something they pull from to bring out their powers.” She scoots in closer, running her hand down my arm until she grips my forearm firmly, her body pressed to mine. “Emotions,” she whispers. “The stronger, the better.” I feel her breath against my neck and I feel the hairs all over my body stiffen. “For some, it’s fear. For others, rage... Love... Loss... Desire, too. What’s yours, Aiden?” I feel a tingling sensation stem from the fingertips of my outstretched hand, and then, a faint rush of warmth. “I bet you I can guess which one,” she muses. “Tristen’s been making your life hell ever since you got here...but then...enough was enough.” The warmth from my fingers transmutes into something tangible, a faint glow of darkness barely visible as it dances like a roaring flame. “You finally had the chance to shut him up for good. To make him think twice before messing with you.” The dark flame grows, and I’m sure that by now Summer clearly sees it. The flames don’t scare her. In fact, she almost seems enticed by them. Happy to draw out my power. “You were sent here for a reason, Aiden. And you showed him.”

  A reason? Yeah, I was.

  As she continues to speak, a flash of what happened that night my parents died overtakes my vision. There’s a heat that I feel in my chest and the sensation of a growing void, hollowing out my stomach. “Aiden? Aiden?” I blink and the vision ceases, and so does the flame. “Aiden, they’re here.”

  “What?” I fully snap to my senses just as Summer pulls away from me, tossing my trauma aside and focusing on the same danger that she identified. “Crap.” We’d beaten Tristen today, sure, but that didn’t stop his goons from coming around. He must have overheard us talking when he walked by after training. I glance over at Summer and see an array of ice beginning to aggregate in her palm. The wind kicks up and her dress ruffles, but she doesn’t take her attention away from Tristen’s goons. They aren’t in advanced classes like us, but they still have magic, and we’re outnumbered two to three.

  Gramm, Justin, and Travis; all pyros.

  Summer’s strong, but she’s not invincible. Would they even attack her? She didn’t do anything wrong. Hell, I didn’t either, but Tristen’s beef has nothing to do with her.

  “Well, look what we have here,” Justin says as he steps from the trail and into the clearing. “Two academy rejects both in one spot. Who would have thought? I guess all the freaks really do come out at night.”

  “What the hell do you want?” Summer growls.

  “Nothing that concerns yo—” Summer shoots a blast of ice just inches away from Justin’s feet, impeding his progress. “Leave us alone.”

  Justin smirks and takes a step forward.

  “Do you really th—” Summer balls her hand into a fist and the ice on the ground shifts into a cluster of spikes. Justin eyes Summer’s display of power but doesn’t back down.

  “I said, leave us alone. Tristen lost to us, fair and square. Deal with it. If he has a problem with us, he should come here, himself.”

  “Damn, Aiden. I didn’t know you let girls fight your battles. That’s low, even for you.”

  “Tristen’s the one sending bitches to do his dirty work,” Summer says with a snarl. “Now get out of here before you get hurt. I’m not going to say it again. Why do you think that asshole sent you in the first place?”

  This is bad. They aren’t backing down and Summer doesn’t seem to be, either. Come on, Aiden. Do something.

  I extend my hand out in front of me and try to aggregate the power in my body to a simple focal point. Fear’s my trigger, right? Well, I’m pretty freaking scared right now. I’m not going to let them hurt Summer, or me either. I’m done being a doormat. As I concentrate, I begin to feel a warm rush of power move from my core to my fingers, and a puff of violet flames begin to outline my hand. The flames stabilize, but holding them like this is more than I’ve ever managed to do intentionally. It’s stressful, but I’ll have to manage. “She’s right.” I step from behind Summer and stand by her side, my dark flame slowly dancing in the wind. I try to feed more of my power into the flame, and it works. The flames twist and grow unstable for a moment, but I manage to rein it in while still saving face. “Fighting on campus grounds isn’t permitted, but you guys have made these past two weeks a livin
g hell, so I think I can make an exception to the rule. If you want to take your shot, then go for it, but you’re out of your league. Tristen didn’t tell you what happened to his suit, did he? I blasted through it... Almost took him out with one shot. You guys think you can fare any better? You’re welcome to try your luck.” I keep my flame steady as they silently debate amongst themselves on whether or not they want to take me up on my offer. Luckily, they don’t. The three boys fall back into the woods, leaving Summer and me to ourselves.

  “Those guys are such assholes,” Summer says, shaking her head. I watch her power down, displacing the ice in her hand as well as the spikes she’d formed earlier. “I hate them.”

  “I’m pretty sure you hate everyone,” I muse with a smile.

  “You’re right, I do.” Summer scoffs. “I almost wish they would have attacked us. You did good...and your powers,” Summer’s eyes gravitate to my glowing hand. “Looks like you’ve got it under control now.”

  “Nah, this... This was a fluke.” I let go of the building force coursing through my body, sending it back to my core. My shoulders relax and that strange sensation of heat I felt empties out through my pores. The flame in my hand fades shortly after...and I don’t think Summer has any idea of how thankful I am for it. If Tristen didn’t have his suit when I hit him, he would have been dead. Every time I use my powers someone ends up getting hurt, or worse. I wouldn’t be able to curtail the academy’s discipline if I seriously injured those three, which is crazy because they clearly didn’t care about hurting us. Funny how things work.

  “Well, it’s progress,” Summer says flatly, returning to her usual cold self.

  “I think it’s because I’m buzzed.”

  “Buzzed?” Summer snorts. “Dude, we’ve been drinking mango punch. You think I’m crazy enough to drink out in public on school grounds? I’m not a psycho.” Summer shakes her head and grabs the bottle from the ground.

  “But it’s label—”

  “I know what it says.” She pauses to take a swig and wipes her mouth with her forearm. “I did it on purpose.”