A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 11 New Life, New Rules

Chapter 11 New life, new rules

Callin groaned and rolled over, wrapping his pillow tight over his head. It did not block out the heavy pounding on his door.

"Callin, if you don't get up right now, I will break down this door and throw you out of bed." Ahleena called to him, her tone calmly conversational, as if she hadn't just threatened him with violence.

"I'm not hungry." He called back, hoping she would just go away and let him sleep in.

He had only been here at the mansion for two weeks now, but he had begun to learn that Ahleena did not take no for an answer. He had learned that she was a strict, demanding teacher, and expected her students to match her own rigid discipline. It grated on him, and he found himself nearly constantly in a battle of wills with her, as he hated the idea that any part of his life, any part of any decision he would make, would be controlled by another, now that he was free.

"It doesn't matter. You will join us all for breakfast."

Callin heard how dangerously calm her voice was. He knew she was ready to carry out her threat. He threw his pillow off to the side and slid out of bed, feeling a wild surge of impatience and frustration spiking up inside. The shock of the cold floor on his feet seemed to fuel his irritation, and his fists curled tight.

Abruptly, he decided to see if she really would break down his door. He was curious what she would actually do if he simply didn't obey her. He sat back down on his bed, grinning darkly at the prospect of irritating Ahleena.

"No. Keep moving, go harass Raina or something. I'm not coming down for breakfast." He called, tensing up in anticipation.

Callin twitched in surprise when his doorknob burst through the door and tumbled across the room. The door swung open and Ahleena stepped through, her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes cold.

"That was a mistake." She stated, advancing steadily.

Callin stood up, readying himself, settling into a balanced crouch. "Nah. Just wanted to see what you would actually do." He said nonchalantly, despite his racing heartbeat, keeping his fists up and ready.

Ahleena stopped, looking at him closely. Callin narrowed his eyes. It was never a good thing when Ahleena examined him like this.

"You're scared." She stated, as if she had read that in him, as if it was an answer to something.

Callin frowned. "You don't scare me, Ahleena."

She shook her head with an annoyed glare. "No, you're scared of the others." She said, folding her arms and locking her eyes on him. "You're scared of the social aspect of eating breakfast with everybody, especially your peers."

Callin opened his mouth, then shut it. He wondered how Ahleena could read him so well, and he had only known her for two weeks now. He knew she wasn't using her telepathy, as he didn't sense her trying to read his mind, and he knew the touch of her mind quite well already, even though she had only spoken to him telepathically once so far.

It was true. He had no experience with others his own age. Growing up in an underground lab didn't allow for him to learn how to act, how to react, how to think, when in a room full of other teenagers. The core of the issue, though, was that his fierce attraction to Carmen made him nearly forget to keep his walls up, and without his walls pulled high, his sensitive nose and hearing simply overwhelmed him with information.

He could scent the general mood of each teenager in the room. He could tell if they were in pain, if they were embarrassed, if they were angry, and nearly any other emotion, if they were feeling it strong enough. It affected their scents, it affected their body language, and it was simply too much for his animal instincts to deal with. Now, facing Ahleena's accusing stare, he could only shrug as casually as possible. As if what she had said wasn't really true. Because he didn't really want to admit any weakness such as this to her, or even to himself.