Same Band... New School... New Species?!

Same Band...New School...New Species?! - 20

"Don't even think about going back there," I said instantly, sensing what they were all thinking.

"We're not going back," Nix sighed. "As soon as you got here we had a flight booked. We're getting on a plane in three hours."

"Good," a great sigh of relief escaped me. "I'm ready to get the hell out of here."

"Three hours is long enough to go back for a visit," Ink looked Nix right in the eye. It was like the whole room was holding its breath.

"No." Nix said firmly, returning Ink's stare evenly. "It's not."

"I think it is." Ink took a step towards the door.

"Don't." Nix stood up.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. I met Frost's eyes and saw that I wasn't the only one that was lost. Sure Ink and Nix had butted heads when we were younger, Ink isn't exactly a sweet, conforming person... he had a problem with Nix being our sort of natural leader, but he dealt with those issues. At least I thought he had. However now there was open challenge in his posture and his voice.

"Guys-" I said weakly. "This isn't the time to be infighting."

"Crys is right," Nix told Ink stonily. "Let's just sit and be calm till we go."

Ink said nothing and for a long moment I thought he was going to walk out the door. He didn't... thank the Lord.

"Fine," Ink crossed his arms and leant against the wall near him, looking forwards. There was an uneasy air.

"So," Sparrow laughed with unease. "Let's get back on track. Maybe Darren Cross could tell us who exactly he is."

"Good question," I looked over at him. "Who are you exactly Darren Cross."

"The guy who saved your little butt," he grinned.

"You always have an irritating answer to that question don't you?" I grumbled.

"Why yes, I believe I do," he nodded.

"Then let's be more specific," Nix turned to face him completely. "Where are you from?"

"A town."

"Called?"

"Scottsdale," Darren Cross seemed to be greatly enjoying frustrating us. "That's in Arizona."

"Well I already guessed he was American," I muttered. The accent made it pretty clear.

"Have you done a lot of travelling?" Nix pressed.

"Yup."

"How do you know Crystal?" Nix gave up with the background check and just launched straight into it.

"Everyone in our world knows who Crystal Goldbridge is," he glanced at me for a moment.

"Chimes," I reminded him. He just grinned.

"Because of her parents?" Lyle asked.

"Yeah, because of them," Darren Cross nodded.

"How did you know where she was last night?" Nix took control again.

"Cuz I was on my way to rescue her," he shrugged like rescuing people he'd never met before was a regular occurrence for him. Who knows, maybe it is.

"How did you know I needed rescuing?" I demanded, annoyed by the way he kept skirting the questions.

He looked at me again, this time for a long time. I returned the stare and tried very hard not to squirm.

"An acquaintance told me," he said finally.

"Who is this acquaintance?" Nix asked, his voice wavering towards anger. Sparrow and I exchanged nervous glances. Nix never lost his temper... it simply did not happen. Only Darren Cross was pushing it.

"Someone I haven't known long," he shrugged.

"This is pointless," Nix snapped, standing abruptly. "We should change location now until the plane comes."

"Is everyone packed?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, we are," Lyle nodded.

"Let's go then," Sparrow pulled his bag up.

"Where to?" Darren Cross asked.

We all stared at him.

"What?" he looked around. "Don't think you're leaving me here."

"We don't even know who you are," Nix stood directly in front of Darren Cross, staring him down. They were almost the same exact height so the stare worked, not to mention that Nix is terrifying at the best of times. He was always the one to keep us safe and together... so he had a mean glare that he reserved only people he considered our enemies.

Darren Cross wasn't the least bit fazed by it.

"I don't know who you are," Darren Cross shrugged.

"I don't trust you," Nix's tone was warning.

"You don't have to," Darren Cross crossed his arms and leant against the wall, perfectly at easy. Nix visibly tensed. "I'm only here for Crystal." What?

"We are here for Crystal," Nix's aura darkened to the natural eerie feeling that Darren Cross had naturally. "We don't need you."

"Yes, cuz you all did such a good job last time," he smirked, looking around the room at my brothers. Ink clenched his fists.

"Hey!" I jumped up before anyone else had the chance to. "It was my fault, I made the decision to go. This has nothing to do with my brother's ability to protect me."

"He's right."

Everyone in the room, including Darren Cross, turned and stared at Frost.

"Fro-"

"No Crys," he cut me off before I could even think about what I was going to say. "He has a point, we can't protect you. We're all human, they're not."

"So what?" Ink demanded, straightening up and facing Frost. "You want this guy to just come with us back to England? For all we know the rescue was just a lie, he could be a frickin spy."

"A spy?" Darren Cross burst out laughing. "Sorry, I'm not even close to a spy."

"All we have is your word for that," Ink took a step towards him, his temper spiking. Unlike with Nix, we were all used to Ink's temper. We all knew that if we didn't calm him down soon, this would get very ugly very fast.

"Ink-" Sparrow took a step towards him.

"Do you trust him?" Ink turned to Sparrow.

"No," Sparrow didn't back down. "But at least think about it, he might be useful."

"I doubt it," Ink snapped.

"Ink-" I started.

"Don't Crys." He didn't even look at me.

I grit my teeth, anger rising. This was my fault, the only reason we even met Darren Cross was because of my situation. I should have a say in this. I was about to tell Ink as much, but Sparrow put a hand on my arm. I looked over and saw his warning look. He was right, it was not a good idea to provoke Ink right now.

"He's coming with us," Nix said after a moment of silence.

"What?" Ink turned to him in furious shock.

"He can help us," Nix picked up his bag. "Now let's go."

And that was the end of that. Ink looked like he wanted very much to say something, but one serious look from Nix shut him up. Personally I had no idea what to think about Nix's sudden trust in Darren Cross... but if Nix trusted him it was just about good enough for me. Just about... there was still a lot we didn't know about him. Still, Frost had a good point, Darren Cross was the only one here right now that could really help against the school. I just hoped that he was on our side...