Wingspan(Paranormal, Young Adult) MAJOR EDITING**

ninety two

i glare at toby mad at him for being so rude.

when i look back to apologize for his actions the headmistress was standing across the room holding a narrow pitcher of water in her grip minding her own business as she watered green plants that hung from the ceiling.

on her side it looked like mother nature had thrown up. from where i sat it looked like the holster store came alive and made itself comfy. 

i consider the red mark on tobys cheek as i contemplated what he was getting at by ruining the nice conversation i was having.

i sigh. "i take it she doesn't know about you." i whisper only for him to hear.

joshua stood close by his sister next to the fireplace looking everywhere but in her eyes. i couldn't say for sure if they got into it or not. 

-at least for the mean time i didn't have to worry about butting heads with the twins. 

toby grimaces looking away. "it was a necessary persuasion. do not concern yourself about what i had to do. i did it to protect her and to protect you. she only perceives information i feed her as being the truth." he says keeping eye on the headmistress as she hypnotically fed water to herbs from across the room.

i grimace. i So hoped Toby would never let me roam around like a zombie. 

the place had a balcony full of pots with over grown plants in them spiraling downwards touching cold hard ground.

what he said didn't bother me like i thought it should have. i knew he did persuasion to insure her safety. and for that i was eternally grateful as i didn't have many friends and i'd considered the headmistress as someone whom i cared deeply about.

i look down at the flower mug in my hands.

for sure grandma would have liked to see the extensive fine china. still, i couldn't get past the color of the tea. naturally my defenses flared up.

after all i'd never seen anything quite like it before and because of the unknown i couldn't stop from obsessing. the mug i was holding onto was filled with strange black liquid ever so lightly touching the gold rim of the cup.

"if i drink this will i remember?" my voice cracked. a whole lot of 'what if' scenarios made it harder to decipher truth from illusion. would i wake up worse than the headmistress and forget my name?

toby leans forward touching my arm.

i didn't stop him from trying to comfort me. it was reassuring to know i had someone walking through it with me every step of the way.

"the worst it can do is calm your nerves. after that you'll fall into a deep sleep." he nudges me to go on and drink it.

i stare back at him unsure of the side effects it might cause. "will i wake up?"

without giving me any warning toby stands in front of me.

his movements were always swift and deliberately planned out. i just didn't know what he was trying to prove in that instance.

i stare back at him grimly. 

"i'll tell you what." he says crossing his arms. "when morning comes, you can ask me anything you want." 

the look on his face when he said that told me he had no idea what he was getting himself in to.

when time came i wasn't going to let him divert the conversation like he usually did. i had questions. like what was an archon and what was this war they were going on about?

"deal." and to prove my word i drink every drop of the tea and pass the empty cup over to him after i'd emptied it.

toby grins. "see? nothing to worry about." he walks over to the headmistress giving her the dirty cup to be washed.

i hug my legs together for comfort. i hated to admit that i was getting all warm and relaxed on the inside. 

"where are you going?" from my position on the armchair i watch toby latch on his leather saddle.

i never saw it before and so that's how i knew it wasn't his backpack. for my sake, it was best to keep whatever he was hiding a secret that way i would never have to needlessly worry about the big bad.

when it came time to say his goodbyes toby didn't bother with formality.

judging by the looks of it danika and joshua were both all too familiar by his self-reliant attitude. the headmistress was suffering from the delusions of persuasion and so she had no clue that toby was even in the room.  

the sound of my name brought me out of my thoughts. "What?-"

"i said it will be danikas pleasure to see you off to your room." toby tells me grinning as if he knew what i thinking.

i look at him with hopeful eyes all the while mentally pleading that he stick by my side instead.

toby shakes his head at me. it was annoying how he could read my mind like that. he forges on ahead with quick stride never once stopping.

i stifle a yawn mumbling. "okay." i called out to toby just as he opened the wide door. i'd figured toby had other stuff to do considering how long he'd been cooped up with me.

"get up lets go." danika barks as she passes by me on her way out hitting me in the shoulder.

"where to?" i ask stumbling to get up. my head was feeling light weight and my body sluggish.

the bitchy looks i was getting didn't help. 

danika looks at me over her shoulder annoyed that i wasn't going fast like her. 

"in less than ten minutes your body will drop to the ground and you won't wake up. you're heavy, im not going to carry you're drooping body up the stairs just because you won't pick up the pace."

eager to sleep and because i didn't feel comfortable letting danika touch me i followed her to my dorm. once we got to the girls dormitory i called out directions since she didn't know where i lived.

But it was still a long long time before I was able to put my questions aside and drift off to sleep.