Flicker

II

"He really did that?" Sophie whispered to me in English.

"Yeah, he did," I said all too unenthusiastically, recalling Greyson's behavior with mild disgust. My own independence tended to get on Greyson's nerves, and his testosterone-fueled possessive tendencies got on mine. It was the only real thing we ever fought about. "I just don't get why he acted like that."

"Miss O'Reilly!" My elderly English teacher called out. "Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"

I gave a slight eye roll. "No, Mrs. Roberts."

"Then please keep your remarks to yourself!" Mrs. Roberts scolded.

I huffed. I guess Sophie and I would have to wait and talk later.

***
Bell chiming, I grabbed my book bag and walked out of class, smacking straight into a firm body.

"Ow! Geez, watch where you're-," I paused when I saw those chilling eyes. "Oh. Diamond. Hi."

"Amber," he said with a curt nod. "Have you seen Sophie?"

"Sophie? She doesn't have biology last period; she chose to take French instead." I said tentatively.

Diamond frowned. "I see. I thought she was taking the same classes as you."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess the schedule just didn't work out, you know? She's never really been into dissecting things like me."

At that moment, Greyson walked up, securing his arm around my shoulder. "Amber, where have you been? I've been waiting to take you home." Greyson turned to Diamond. "If you're going to talk to the coach about football, you're headed the wrong direction. The field house is that way," Greyson pointed towards the opposite end of the school. "No worries, I already put in a good word to Coach for you."

"I'll see you around, Amber." Diamond said, as Greyson steered my shoulders away from him. He quickly ushered me out of the building and towards his car.

"Greyson, slow down!" I cried, struggling to keep up with his brisk stride. "What's up with you?"

"I don't want you near him, Amber," Greyson said gruffly. "He's nothing but trouble."

"What? Why? Do you even know anything about him?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't need to. He reeks bad news. Just stay away from him," Greyson said as he climbed in his car, then called to me through the window. "Now get in the car, because you need to get home."

I clenched my jaw. "No."

Greyson stared at me. "What?"

"No!" I said defyingly. "You don't get to tell me what to do, or who I can't talk to."

I could feel the anger rolling off Greyson as he got out of his car, slamming the door. He grabbed my arm, pulling me close so that I was face-to-face with him. I stared up at him fiercely, refusing to be intimidated by his stocky figure.

"I'm doing this to protect you," he growled lowly.

"I don't need to be protected," I snapped back. "I'm not some fragile little girl."

Greyson's hazel eyes bored into mine for a few intense seconds, before letting go of my arm and storming to his car. "Are you getting in or not?"

I glanced at the school and saw Sophie and Diamond watching everything. "No, go ahead."

With that, Greyson peeled out of the parking lot, leaving me in the dust.

Still fuming, I marched back over to Sophie, who looked slightly terrified, and Diamond, whose eyes sparkled with amusement.

Cautiously, Sophie approached me. "Amber, are you-?"

"I'm fine," I interrupted. "Let's just go."

"I'll drive you," Diamond said, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

"Thanks, but I usually ride with Sophie," I said shortly. "Come on Soph, let's go."

"Oh, um, actually Amber, I have a, uh, a..." Sophie stuttered. She glanced nervously between Diamond and I.

"A what?" I asked.

"A-A chess club meeting!" She blurted. "Yes, we're meeting today for the first time."

"Uh huh," I said doubtfully. She gave me a sheepish grin.

"Okay fine. Let's go, hotshot," I said as I grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the parking lot. "Which one of these junky cars is yours?"

"That one," he said, pointing to a matte black Audi across the parking lot.

My jaw dropped. "No way."

He smirked. "Yes way. You were saying about my junky car?"

Turns out, his "junky" car could go pretty fast too. Especially when the windows were rolled down, the stereo turned up, and him hitting a country road at about ninety miles per hour.

"Shouldn't you slow down?" I yelled above the stereo, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the insides of the car for support. Hey, at least if I died, it would be in the nicest car I've ever been in! "I'm pretty sure the speed limit is forty!"

Complying with my request, Diamond slowed to the speed limit, turned down the radio, but left the windows rolled down. The gentle breeze sailed through the car, rustling my hair and making me feel like I was straight out of a movie. Lazily, I chided, "Now that you're done having fun, would you please take me home?"

"Take you home?" He paused for a moment. "I can't do that."

I suddenly sat up very quickly. "What do you mean you 'can't do that'?"

"I mean," he explained, "that it isn't safe for you to return home right now and so you're coming with me. Sophie's not even going back to your apartment tonight anyway."

I froze. "How do you know Sophie and I share and apartment?"

His eyes stayed on the road. "Because we've been following you, Amber, and we know about your- shall we say- 'special' abilities."

That's when I knew I should've listened to Greyson. But it was too late now, I was already stuck in a car with a crazy guy who probably wanted to kill me or sell me into slavery. I very quickly slipped my hand into my pocket.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Diamond said, but I pulled out my phone anyways. Not that it was worth anything, because my phone was now covered in a cold, thick layer of ice.

Panicking, I felt my hand heat up as the ice around my phone melted into a puddle in my lap. Diamond looked over, focused on my phone that I was now melting. I met his gaze, and knew that I really messed up now. I had only lived in this town for a year due to the last incident, but now I would have to move again. Diamond would leave and tell everyone about the freak girl who could melt things simply by wishing it, and I would be a wanted criminal. I could feel my temperature rising as I thought about this.

"Amber," Diamond called threateningly, and I glanced down at my phone. Or what once was my phone. Now, hot metal was dripping onto my leg, and while I was immune to flames, hot metal was not included. I cried out in pain as it burned my hand and leg, latching onto my skin like a silver parasite. After pulling the car over, in the blink of an eye Diamond wrapped one of his hands around my hand and the other around my leg, instantly halting the pain. A huge puff of steam rose from where our skin touched, and the metal that had once been eating my body was now frozen solid and covered in ice crystals. My eyes grew to the size of saucers. "How did you..?"

"Before you panic, please let me get you help," Diamond said in a low and calming voice. "You need some serious medical attention."

In shock, I watched Diamond get out of his car and come around to my side, where he gently unbuckled me and carried me into the tiny motel we had parked at.