As you already know, the dance was in the courtyard with a DJ playing music and kids stumbling everywhere. Seriously, it's completely stupid, surely someone must've said that the stones were a health hazard! Anyways, there always kind of cool and people all seem to be happy so everyone always goes. Everyone, I say. They're always packed to the brim.
"Alright," Sadie said as we entered the courtyard, "Don't stray far if you aren't accompanied with a friend. Stay safe, have fun."
She put her arm through Walt's and casually strolled off. Carter awkwardly lead Zia off and left me (awkwardly) alone with Christina. I looked at her and she smiled. One of those smiles that made me think 'What is air' and its kind of my weakness.
"Do...you want to dance?" I asked slowly. She nodded and I offered her my hand. When she grabbed it, I thought, 'Wow, she's beautiful,' for no reason at all, of course.
Bast sighed in my head, 'Jake, you are never going to get married.'
'We're not even dating!' I thought back as I stopped and put a hand on Christina's waist traditional like.
'Alright then,' Bast said, sounding like Sadie with her sarcasm.
"...Jake?" Christina asked, snapping me out of my reverie, "Are you alright?"
I looked at her, "Oh, yeah, Bast is just...being annoying."
She laughed and my heart went 'ka-bump' completely by itself, "Well, I probably wasn't any less annoying. I just wanted to ask if we were going to just stand here or actually dance."
"Oh, yeah," I stumbled over my words, "Uh, yeah lets do that."
The DJ switched the music to a slower song which I recognized promptly as "Let her Go" by Passenger. We danced, all the while looking over the others shoulder for any sign of...well, anything.
"So, we didn't get to talk much," Christina said, "About Amy and what not."
"I've just...I don't know, come to peace with it, I guess?" I shrugged, "Maybe it's fate that the two girls that I lo-" I stopped myself then went on really fast, "that I know just happen to be one."
She considered that as I twirled her before she said, "You dance well."
"Amy taught me," I said which probably wasn't the greatest idea, being that I was dancing with another girl, "I was, ah, never an expert."
Christina laughed again then laid her head hesitantly on my chest. I prayed to the gods she couldn't feel my heart racing. I'd been close to girls before, yeah, but this was different. This time it felt like an angel was dancing with me. I never would get used to dancing, never will.
Suddenly, Christina jumped and yelped, "Ouch!" And immediately I went into awkward-mode.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to touch you! I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, I-" I rambled but she stopped me.
"Jake, you weren't even touching my body. I just felt a-Oh my gods!" She yelped again and people started staring but that was the least of my worries. At her feet were two jet black scorpions with sharp pincers.
Seeing no other options, I stepped on it, "Quick question: are scorpions native to Brooklyn?" The look on Christina's face told me no. I grabbed her hand and ran with her to Carter when the courtyard gate was thrown off its hinges. It came towards the crowd of kids like a frisbee and a lot of them screamed, ducked, or ran for cover. I pulled Christina down and my head just barely missed the gate before it crashed into the amplifiers near the DJ. I was on my hands and knees looking around when Christina cleared her throat. I looked down and I had the mind to kill myself. Christina was literally lying under me the entire time and I was being an idiot looking around and whatnot. I let her up then grabbed her shoulder.
"Find Sadie and Walt. I'm going to figure out what the hell that was," I shouted over the loud screams of many children. She nodded then, before I could react, kissed me on the cheek which did not do better to keep my focus. She sprinted off and I went to the front gate.
That turned out to be a bad idea. As soon as I got to the gate, a wave of scorpions poured over the remains of the gateway. I went to town on those beasts with my knives and guns. I'd just fought off the last of the group when blood-chilling hissing came from outside the gate. A giant scorpion the size of the Impala crawled through with a woman on her back. I was about to attack when the woman raised her hand. The scorpion crawled towards me a few steps then stopped. In the light, I saw the woman. She had dark gray skin and long gray hair with a scorpion crown on her hair. I racked my brain for a name and got one immediately.
"Serqet," I hissed like a cat, "Why do you come into the mortal school?"
Serqet, of course, also hissed but this time it was louder, "You have made an enemy of Kamehea and Set. So I have been sent to tear you apart!"
The giant scorpion arched its tail and another larger wave of scorpions rushed forward. I was completely surrounded and I could hear Carter, Zia, Walt, Sadie, and Christina trying to get to me.
I got real angry, real fast. I growled like a tiger and Gabriel, my ever alert hawk, swooped down and grabbed two talons-full of scorpions and threw them far away. I started to rise until I was surrounded by a glowing green cat avatar. My knives were replace by claws and my hiss sounded like a trunkful of snakes. Serqet reared up her giant scorpion and I jumped at her, claws outstretched, while her scorpion charged me. I knew I was outnumbered and outgunned but there wasn't anyway I was going down without a fight. We attacked and I became vicious.
