Fairy Rings

Chapter 10

Last time:
"Grandma, what should we do?" my voice trembled at the fate I was looking at. It didn't matter what I chose; I still had Theos eyes on me.

"First, you need to get ready for school." grandma said, seemingly no longer caring about my problems save for a slight shake in her wrist.
"Grandma, He is going to be at the school!" I screeched.
"What! That's not possible." Grandma said, jumping up. Her eyebrow twitched in anger.
"Obviusly not. Hes' been following me for days. In school, at home, and even at Vicky's house, I can't escape him."
"This is a real problem. This fae of yours is much stronger than the one my sisters dealt with."
"What do you mean?"
"Most fae can't leave the rings. Damit all! Take these." Grandma threw a sack at my face. I fumbled to catch it. I was not going to be the quarterback any time soon. I pulled the drawstring bag open only to see two things in it.
"Grandma, what is a necklace of beads and salt going to do for me?" I asked, trying to keep the skepticism out of my voice.
"First of all, those are not beads. They are dried rowen barries. They are going to keep that fae from dragging you into the rings, at least willingly. The salt should help. There should be enough for a small barrier. Nothing perfect but should bide you enough time for me to get to you."
"Grandma, I don't think salt and berries are going to keep me safe from a person with Magic."
"I didn't either, but we all learn with time." grandma snapped, her tone sharp and bitting. I flinched a little, seeing this grandma's eyes softened, grabbing my hand in her own.
"If you don't believe me, at the very least, take them for my own comfort."
"Fine, but how am I supposed to use either of these things."
"Ware the Barrys around your neck, and as for the salt, put it in a circle round you. Be safe and don't let him get you alone, and for the love of God, don't let him touch you."
"Grandma, don't you have something I don't know more."
"Of course I do, but your school would probably prefer you aren't carrying around a knife off you go. We will talk more about this tonight," Grandma said, shooing me away, Practically kicking me out the door. I walked along the path to the school. Something I had done every day had taken on an eerie edge. I jumped at every sound. I even had to fight down a shout when a squirrel scuttled along the path. Leaping out in front of me mear feet away. My muscles were tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Theo to walk out of the bushes and... and do what I didn't know. Drag Me to the circle get me addicted to some sort of Fae drug? Make me dance into oblivion. Get me somehow obsessed with him.
"The fae only has as much power as you give them," grandmas phrase echoed in my head, but despite that, I still breathed a sigh of relief as the high school appeared over the horizon. Vicky was hanging out with some of her other friends at the front of the building. Only fiftyish of the 70 students stood at the front of the school. Small towns mean no one forgets when a person goes missing, but it won't get the same media coverage, and not as many people will look for a nobody. I approached Vicky latching onto her like some sort of social leach. Her friends barely glanced at me. It was a sort of unspoken truce with us. I was only there because Vicky was my friend, and they were there for the same reason. Just because we liked the same people didn't mean that we got along. Vicky was my friend, but the sides that she showed me were different from those she showed her other friends.
Sometimes it made me wonder if we would be friends if we were from another town.
"Emmy, How is Theo treating you?" Vicky asked, a teasing grin forming across her face. Her friends seemed to perk up at that.
"Oh um, fine," I said, a rough scratchiness to my voice.
"Is there something wrong with your throat?" Vicky asked, all immediately switching to her mama bear persona. I dropped my hand. I hadn't even realized that I was clenching it as though putting my hand there would prevent Theo from choking me again.
"I am fine. It's just a little scratch up." I waved her off.
"Ok, just be nice to it. I wouldn't want you to lose your voice."
"I don't think I am going to lose my voice."
"You have one of the necklaces already?" Maddison, the whininess in her voice more pronounced than usual.
"Um, neckless?" I asked, my hand shooting up to the rowen Barrys strung around my neck.
"They have gotten popular lately, but I didn't realize that someone like... you would have gotten your hands on them so quickly. Then again, that new kid seems to have the hots for you," Maddison said, trying to remain civil despite that disgusted look on her face. I noticed that she had a long beaded neckless around her own neck. I looked around. More than a handful of the students wore the barries either around their neck or attached to their phone case. Some of the boys were even wearing them.
"Why is everyone wearing rowen barries?" I started to feel like my grandmother was going crazy rather than providing me protection.
"The new kid has been selling them." She said, shrugging.
"I-I see." I stuttered out. The bell rang out, telling us it was time to go to class. I tried to keep with Vicky all day, sticking to her side at all cost. I only realized that Theo wasn't even here at lunch.
'Good, maybe he was only here to play for a short while to make sure that I was thoroughly messed with before going home to his little treehouse in the woods. Wait, where do the fae even live? Is it like pixy hollow or something?" I thought to myself, taking an angry bite of my sandwich. Not noticing that Vicky had gotten up to get lunch from the cafeteria.
"Gem, if you keep eating like that, you going to hurt your teeth." a voice chuckled next to me. My hand snapped to my throat before I could stop them. I looked over to see Theo in all his horrific beauty, but this time, he looked different. He still had his messy brown hair and wild green eyes, but his pupils had changed to be more cat-like, and his limbs seemed longer than a human's in an enthralling way, but his ears are what I really latched onto. They weren't human anymore but drawn up into a sharp point, but that isn't what made me question their existence. It was the fact that it looked like someone had taken a sodering iron and attached a metal leaf to the back of it, the veins melting back into his skin, the edge looking razer sharp enough to cut a tomato cleanly. I couldn't wrench my eyes away. Instead, I found my hand reaching to touch the metallic points. Theo grabbed my hand before I could feel them, interlacing our fingers.
"How very forward of you, Gem. I was hoping you couldn't see this yet." Theo singed. I couldn't stop myself.
"Is this some sort of game to you? Are you even Theo?" I asked each word seething. I yanked my hand from his own. The silence was almost too much to take Theos smile, seeming less like goodwill and more like mocking.
"Of course, not My Gem. I like you too much for this to be a game. I would never lie to you about what to call me, but I do suspect that you would much rather I disappeared than spend a second more with me," he said.
"Though I would suggest never trying to remove yourself from my presents again." making a show of interlacing our fingers again, the threat heard loud and clear this wasn't a game to him. I just didn't know what that meant for me.