How to Be Cliche (A Novel)

(35) Pretending

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                  "Get away from her or I'll blow your face off," Gary hissed. "Smiley."

                  My killer, the person who had forced Hunter and Sin to turn me into a hybrid, was standing right before me. It definitely wasn't the meeting that I wanted with the Emo jerk, since he was visibly loaded with two katanas, an machete strapped to a thick black lower waist belt, and a gun currently pointed at Sin's face. My initial reaction to Gary's abrupt entrance was to run up to him and mangle his neck with my bare hands. Something stopped me.

                  It was Sin's tight grip on my arm.

                  "He's armed, don't charge at him," Sin hissed.

                   Gary shot a bullet at Sin's head, missing and hitting the wall by an inch. "I told you to get away from her. Next bullet is between the eyes."

                  "This is obviously a huge misunderstanding," Sin said slowly, his deep voice soothing. He appeared to be standing up straight and strong, yet he was unnoticeable  leaning heavily into me. Didn't want to lose his masculine pride, I suppose.  Lucky me, I wasn't human any longer and could definitely lift up a two-hundred and something pound Creative Writing teacher with ease.

                  I turned my head slightly to Sin, keeping my eyes trained on Gary. "He's an assassin. And he's a horrible assassin if he thinks that you're Smiley, of all people."

                  "Pepper--" Gary started.

                  "I've heard you before--- I think I've seen you before," Sin interrupted, analyzing Gary's olive colored skin, thick muscles, longish black hair, and piercings. "Who are you?"

                  "You recognize me because I had you in class, Mr. Trinidad."

                  Sin inclined his head slightly to the side. "Gary. Pepper's friend."

                  Gary smiled tightly. "That's me. Gary the loner Goth boy. That's all you'll know me as, at least, because within the next five minutes I'm going to blow your brains out. I'm in this town for one reason and one reason only, and that's to execute you," was all my ex-friend said in a very calm voice. He smiled crookedly. "I'm sure you know exactly how that feels to hide your true identify from people, don't you, Trinidad? You'd think that after having me in your class for a month in a half and speaking to me after class about inappropriate drawings you'd recognize me almost immediately."

                  "I have a poor memory," Sin replied without hesitation. "I wouldn't know, because I have nothing that immense to hide."

                  "I bet you don't."

                  "'Listen, you can chat with me all you want, just let Pepper go if there's nobody else in the building. Clearly there isn't, if you're in here. This play looks wired down to the core with surveillance and guards."

                  "It's just you and her." Gary snarled a little. "That henchman Nacho is gone. He told me everything I wanted to know, nearly pissed his pants. But I'll get to that later. Why do you want Pepper gone so quickly now, Sin? I thought you liked her."

                  Gary had been listening in on our previous conversation.

                  The corner of Sin's mouth tilted upwards yet he didn't respond.