The Hand of Crimson

Chapter 5: Lies

When I got there, it didn’t take long before I realized the only thing people were talking about today was the fire from last night. I hated it. But apparently, there were a lot of people who had died in the fire. I just hoped they’d assume Roman had too. It was all I could think about despite the mental blocks I’d put in place to stop myself from thinking about it. I was still thinking of it when Chip came up to me at my locker, startling me.

“Hey there.” He said, his voice soft as always, but it still made me jump. “Are you okay? You look a little spaced out.”
“Hey. I, uh, I’m fine.” I muttered, really not wanting to talk to him. I didn’t know why but I just didn’t want to speak to him. Not now. Not with all of this shit. It seemed a little strange, but I just missed Jennifer. A lot.
“I know you were at Melody Lane last night with Jen. You did get out alright, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I got out.” I mumbled, not caring to tell him what really happened. I was trying my best to get out of there. If I’d wanted to speak to him, I would’ve texted him or called him. I would’ve contacted him. But no. I couldn’t care less right now. I was still elated after my feast that morning and although it was still terrifying, it had given me a fresh perspective on things and given me a sense of power and joy in my life.
“Look, its understandable if you’re a little shocked from the disaster last night, but you can talk to me, okay? That’s what I’m here for.” He murmured, clearly concerned. He put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly.
“Yeah, sure.” I mumbled, shrugging his hand off, sending a clear signal that I just didn’t want to speak to him about anything and that I didn’t need nor want his comfort.

I headed off to class, ignoring Chip. I didn’t want to speak to him and even if I did, I couldn’t tell him about any of this. But I stopped myself from thinking about that. I’d felt bad enough about all of this already. And I was looking forward to seeing Jen in class. I didn’t want to spoil that excitement. Besides, I didn’t know how long I was going to be feeling this good and powerful. I thought I should make the most of it instead of moping around talking to Chip.

I grinned at Jen as she walked into class. I was already seated, excited to see her, even though I’d seen her yesterday. It felt like forever ago. She looked at me, dumbfounded.
“You’re in today? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” She asked, taking a seat next to me and eyeing nervously. It was almost as if she was concerned for me or worried or something. I knew why, but I couldn’t admit that to her. I didn’t want her to know I was that close to doing that to her. I didn’t want her to associate me with danger. I couldn’t let her know that I was that monster that had ripped Roman apart that morning.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
“You didn’t look so good last night.”
“What do you mean? I went straight home last night.” I replied, deciding to play dumb and hope she didn’t catch me in a lie. She looked at me, furrowing her brow, but didn’t say anything. She just stared at me, clearly wondering if what she’d seen last night was a dream. I just stared back, trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible. But I soon found myself getting lost in the tempest of her blue eyes.

Luckily for me, the teacher started the register and snapped me out of my reverie. I tried to focus my attention on the teacher, but it was hard with Jennifer sat next to me. It was difficult to listen anyway, but this time, the air between Jen and I was electric. It was strange, like something had brought us closer. I had no idea what it was. I guess my focus wasn’t helped by the fact that my vision was ridiculously blurred. I could barely see anything. When I pulled my glasses off to try and clean them, everything cleared up. I could see perfectly. My brow furrowed as I looked around, seeing everything in perfect detail. I’d never had good sight and for it to have cleared up in one night was very strange. But then again, a lot of strange things had been happening to me lately, so I just shrugged and chalked it up to whatever the hell had happened last night. Though, when I got home, I’d have to do some serious research into what was actually happening to me. For now, I just put my glasses in my bag and focused as much as I could on class.

After class had finished, Jennifer turned to me, scrutinizing me again. “Something wrong?” I asked, finding how she was looking at me a little unnerving.
“No, its just… Have you done something different with your hair or something?”
“No, why?”
“Oh, its just that you look different today… Prettier somehow.” She mused. My eyebrows shot up. I hadn’t had time to look in the mirror that morning, but that was one hell of a compliment from Jennifer.
“I- Thanks.” I muttered, blushing under her gaze. I wasn’t quite sure how to react to that.
“Keep it up and you’ll soon be up to my level.” She chuckled, getting up and slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Did something happen to your glasses, by the way?”
“Uh, no. I got sick of wearing them so I got contacts.” I lied, walking out with her. I couldn’t tell her the truth and this was probably more believable anyway.
“Huh. Suits you.” She muttered as we walked out into the hallway. I smiled a little to myself as we walked. I wasn’t used to getting compliments like that from Jen, but I quite liked them. It was nice. I felt a happy little flutter in my chest as I smiled, but pushed it down, trying not to consciously notice it.

We continued walking down the hallway before we got to her locker. “Any plans for tonight?” She asked me as she dumped some textbooks into the locker.
“Nothing really. I do have some research to do, but that’s all. You?”
“I thought I might try and sit in on the football practice tonight. The coach said they aren’t doing it because of the fire, but they’re gonna do a few drills at the park. Not too much, just a couple drills. But I can’t miss out on seeing Jonas all hot and sweaty. He’s so fit, I can’t wait to see what he looks like when he’s practicing.” She grinned as if she was imagining it. I felt a bubble of anger and jealousy rising in my chest at her words. It was strange since I’d never really seen the appeal of football players and I’d certainly never had a thing for Jonas. But I was definitely jealous. I tried to ignore it, but I felt the heat of my anger rising to my cheeks.
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.” I muttered, trying not to let the venom into my voice, but I heard it seeping into my words anyway.
“Yeah, I will.” She said, turning to me. “Are you okay, Needy? You look kinda blushed. Actually, you look positively green with envy.” She giggled, seemingly taking pleasure in my jealousy. My blush deepened under her gaze. I’d never wanted her to realize it. I’d never even wanted to realize it myself.
“I- I’m not. You know I’m not interested in those kinds of boys.”
“Oh, yeah right. How could you not be interested in fit, muscled men with big you-know-whats.” She giggled, smirking at me. I turned beet red at that, unable to meet her eyes.
“I… Uh, because I have a boyfriend.” I muttered quietly, my voice barely more than a whisper. I knew I didn’t sound very convincing, but I didn’t need to. Why should I have to justify myself to her? I didn’t.

As if on cue, Chip rounded the corner, walking towards us. I still wasn’t in the mood to speak to him, but I didn’t really have a choice unless I wanted to let Jennifer know something was up. And I definitely didn’t want to do that. What was worse was if I acted strangely with Chip, she’d think something was wrong with our relationship and after what we’d just been talking about, I couldn’t let that happen.

I forced a smile onto my lips as he walked up to us. “Speak of the devil.” Jen muttered as he walked up. “Hey, French Fry.”
“Hey, Jen. Do I have to remind you that my name is Chip every time we talk?”
“Sorry, its just that you’re so dull and forgettable.” She hissed, pretending she barely even saw him standing there. I just rolled my eyes and greeted Chip with a hug. He seemed surprised, but wrapped his arms around me anyway.

“I guess you’re feeling better than earlier.”
“Yeah, I think I am.” While I was feeling better, I wasn’t sure why. Nothing had changed. I’d still killed a man this morning. I was still experiencing weird things. And I still didn’t really wanna be around Chip. The only difference was that I’d been around Jennifer a bit.
“Good. I don’t like it when you’re moody.”
“I wasn’t moody.”
“Needy, you acted like you wanted nothing to do with me.” I blushed at that, a little embarrassed by my earlier behavior. My eyes flickered over to Jen, but she was on her phone, pretending not to pay attention, though I had no doubt that she was listening in anyway.
“I guess I was a little moody.” I chuckled, trying not to seem too embarrassed about it.
“Its okay, you seem better now, so its okay. Anyway, I’ve gotta get to class. I just stopped to say hi.” He smiled at me like he was going to say something else, but then walked off, presumably to class.

I drew in a deep breath, steeling myself as Jen sidled up to me now, he was gone. She looked up at me from lowered lashes, a smirk spreading across her lips like she knew something secretive.
“So, you’re having problems with Chip?”
“No, who told you that?” I muttered, looking away.
“I think its pretty obvious given how he was saying you were acting, and you were about to turn into a lime with how green you were with jealousy when I mentioned Jonas. Maybe you’re gonna take my advice and get yourself a real man soon, and then dump him right after he’s served his purpose.”
“His… Purpose?”
“Yeah, sex. Duh.” She replied, looking at me like that was the obvious answer. Again, I rolled my eyes and kept quiet, but in a way, she was right. Things weren’t right with Chip. I didn’t know why and I didn’t know what was going on, but I just didn’t want to spend time with him lately. It might just be mood swings or something, but it was just another strange thing that was happening to add to the long list.

We were just about to head off to our next class when Collin walked past. He flashed me a dazzling smile as he walked past. In response, I waved to him, glad to see him in such high spirits. His belt chains clinked as he walked past. His rings twinkled in the harsh lighting as he waved back with a grin. He looked rather pleased with himself. Honestly, it was kinda nice to see him. Everyone else seemed so upset after last night. At least he seemed like he was in good spirits.

When my gaze meandered back to Jen, she was looking at me pointedly with a raised eyebrow. “What?” I muttered, feeling butterflies fluttering in my chest when I met her eyes.
“So, you’re having problems with Chip, you’re jealous of me seeing Jonas and now you’re staring lustfully after Colin?”
“I- No. That’s not how it is… I mean I’m not. At least I don’t think…” I trailed off, having to think about it. Jen just continued staring at me. Her expression was hard to read. She looked kinda amused by it. But she also looked kinda jealous for some reason, almost angry actually. And somewhere in that mix, I think there was a strange sense of appreciation and almost pride. I shook my head definitively. “I’m not having problems with Chip. I’m just not myself today. I was a little jealous of you and Jonas, but I don’t have a thing for him so I don’t know why I would be jealous. And me and Colin are just friends, okay?”
“If you say so.” She scoffed, clearly unconvinced. “Anyways we’ve got to get to class to.”
“Right. Lead on, Macduff.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.” I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t keep the grin off my face at her ignorance. Anyone else, I would’ve just found it annoying, but with her, it was different. It was always different with her.