Potent Potential

Potent Potential - Two - Confrontation or Conversation?

Two - Confrontation or Conversation?

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I sat through lunch with Mercy and Charlie, fidgeting the entire time. I wasn't nervous, I was just impatient. Surely the big 'captain-in-waiting' was pissed at the fact that I hadn't run to him to show my deference. Shit, I still couldn't believe it. The Rowan Pierce was actually at school.

"Hey, is your cousin here to keep an eye on you?" I addressed Mercy, who looked up, wide eyed, from the fashion magazine she and Charlie had been exclaiming over. She'd already won Char over but Calum was stubbornly silent around her and Missi kept pointing out any faults in her appearance, whether it was expression or a speck of dust.

As to me, she hadn't appealed to me yet, but if she had some inside info on her cousin, my impression of her would rise up a notch.

She shrugged. "I seriously doubt that. We don't get along all that well. He's a little rough for my liking."

I caught Char's eye. Calum, Missi and I were never going to get along with her. Did she have a princess personality? Too rough? I hardly got through a day without grappling with somebody. If she was the type to sit around, look at fashion and do her nails, I don't think I'd survive trailing her around each morning.

"Oh, so you don't know why he's actually decided to rock up at school?"

She raised her eyebrow and flipped to the next page of the mag. "You worrying about him? Geez, if I were you, I'd enjoy my moment of peace before he hunts you down and makes you serve him for the rest of your life."

I wrinkled my nose. "I don't fancy becoming a slave for my lifetime, so I guess I'll just have to kick his ass when he finally grows some balls and visits me in person." Honestly, I could be truthful to myself, he was someone I wished didn't exist. If he forgot about me, I'd be happy. Yeah, I was nervous, but no one else was going to know that.

Merce snorted. That girl ought to stop doing that. It would ruin her 'princess' image. If that's what she was going for... What was the opposite of rough? ... Fragile. How uncool. She'd have to find a guy, or girl depending on her preference, to take care of her. I nearly shuddered. To be utterly dependent on someone else, the thought made me slightly ill.

Suddenly Charlie stood, her eyes widening. "Shit, Jacksy, there's trouble coming and there's no doubt it's headed towards you."

I turned, trying for nonchalant, hoping like hell Rowan hadn't already appeared. Instead I saw three of the twelfth graders, grinning malevolently. Yeah, trouble was definitely headed my way. I recognised the faces, knew that, one-on-one, I could take them on but all at once? No way in hell.

I slid two needles out of my bracelet and held them lightly in my hand, careful not to touch the tip where the paralytic resided. I turned on my cold stone face as they approached and straddled the bench so that there was space at my back.

"Rowan's giving you a chance to walk to the study room without force," sneered one of the guys as he got close enough not to raise his voice. They all stopped in a line about three metres away from where I was sitting. The guy on the left was rolling his shoulders, readying for a fight. But I was thinking... What would look better? Being dragged in, half-beaten to death and most probably unconscious, or walking in with my head held high?

"Just give me a second to go to the ladies room, okay boys?" I said sweetly. The guy on the right stepped forward with a frown but the one in the middle held him back with a small gesture of his hand.

"You've got a minute," was all he said.

I rolled my eyes and strode to the nearby bathroom. Once inside, I took a deep breath, fixed my hair and repeated my mantra, 'Clear Mind, Strong Heart, Proud Spirit'. This was easy. I'd have a lot more difficult confrontations in the future. I squared my shoulders. This Pierce guy was going to see me as fearless, he was going to respect me for having my chin up and looking him in the eye. My grey eyes were hard, less dreamy and more steel. Once again, I wished for a darker colour to make me more formidable but I was stuck with cloudy grey. Gross.