Krys
I miss May. We used to be best friends and since getting my bird DNA we barely talk anymore. Steve found out about our group so he and Hunter are friends again but I don’t want to tell May. She’s shy and quiet and scared easily. What would she say if she found I had to battle for my life on a daily basis. I sit with her at lunch everyday but we just never talk. It’s become routine for us to sit with Hunter and Steve. One day, she isn’t at lunch. “Where’s May?” Steve asks. I feel guilty since he realized her absence before me. “I dunno. Do you Krys?” Hunter asks. I shake my head. “Maybe she’s sick.” I reason. “Why don’t you text her?” Steve asks. “Don’t you have her number?” I ask him quickly. “Yeah but you’re her best friend.” He points out. “But she . . .” I begin. She’d respond to Steve in a nanosecond. But that’s because she likes him. I can’t tell Steve that. “She what?” Steve asks. If he was a puppy, he’d be wagging his tail now. “Never mind. I’ll text her.” I pull out my phone and quickly ask her where she is.
She doesn’t respond all day. Not during school. Not after school. By the time Le Café closes I’m worried about her. I decide to ask B.B to locate her on his map. “Can you find regular people on there?” I ask entering his office. “Yeah. Who are you looking for?” he asks. “My friend. Her name is May. She wasn’t at school and she hadn’t texted me.” I know I’m overreacting but I have a gut-feeling something’s wrong. “Sure.” He types random things onto his keyboard. “She’s in the city. She’s probably just going somewhere with her family.” He reasons. I shrug. I take a sigh of relief but this makes me tenser. “I can give you her exact address if you want.” B.B offers seeing my concern. “Please do.” I say softly. He hands me a slip of paper and I dash out of his office. We don’t live far from NYC. I just take a train there and I arrive in less than a half-hour. I find the address B.B gave me and find an old run down house with broken windows and rotting wood. I try to open the door but it’s locked. I yank the doorknob but it doesn’t budge. I see an abandoned alleyway near the house. I slowly trudge down the alleyway.
While I’m walking a rusty, metal garbage can topples over and the lid pops off. I see a girl crawl out. She has golden hair, pink skin and big, vivid green eyes. May! I run over to her and throw my arms around her. Even if we haven’t been close for a while, I still feel relieved to know she’s okay. “Krys?” she asks wearily. I look at her and realize she’s a little scratched up. “What happened? What were you doing in the garbage?” I demand. “No time to explain. We need to get out of here now!” she insists. “Why?” I ask. Three portals open up in front of us and Nick, Joe and Matt appear. “Shit.” I mutter. “Leave us alone!” May cries. She isn’t surprised to see them. They must have something to do with her disappearance at school. I realize I have to transform. My fingers wrap around my gem. Is it really worth it? She might judge me. And I might piss off the rest of my group. But Jake and Steve know about us. So why not? I lift up my gem and transform. “Krys?” May asks shocked. She looks at me like I’m no longer the girl she used to stalk Steve with and stay up all night chatting. I feel a rush of anger. I look over at Nick, Joe and Matt. I didn’t care when they attacked me or played with me or hurt my friends. But they can’t just ruin my normal life. I run at Nick as fast as I can and tackle him. May stands shocked. Nick kicks me off him onto the dirt. He looms over me.
“Nick,” Matt begins softly. “Keep your fucking mouth shut, Matt!” Nick yells. I jump to my feet. May steps to my side. “Leave her alone!” She shouts. I stand shocked by my best friend’s sudden bravery. “And God Matt, help her for Pete’s sake. I’ve been stuck with you all day and it’s beyond obvious you like her.” she adds. Matt backs away staring at the dirt. Nick looks over at Matt and kicks him down. Matt looks up sadly and nervously. “What the fuck was that for?” I demand rushing over to Matt. I kneel down beside him and realize something. He’s covered head to toe in bruises and cuts. Nick’s kick clearly isn’t the only pain he’s been suffering.
I look over at Nick and Joe. Are they beating him up for liking me? Probably. I wonder if maybe Rob and Scotch were hurting him too. They said they wouldn’t kill him but maybe they’d just barely keep him alive. I shudder at the thought. I don’t want him to have to go through that for me. I look him in the eye. “You have to get over your feelings for me and fight me. It’s not worth them beating you up.” I whisper. Matt looks away. “Yeah . . . it is.” He says confidently. Our eyes lock. Here’s the scrawny skinny boy who would give up everything and risk his life just to see me. I can’t hate him for that. I can’t give him more pain by always rejecting him. I wrap him into a tight hug. Nick steps forward but Joe grabs his arm. “Just leave.” He says firmly. Without a word Nick and Joe teleport away. I just keep holding Matt and he hugs me back tight.
May and I take Matt back to Le Café. I still have a lot to explain to May but first, I give Matt the white healing medicine and his injuries are gone. The rest of my group talk to May while Matt and I go to the top floor of Le Café. The top floor doesn’t have many rooms. Apparently B.B lives here since there’s a bed room. There’s also a bathroom. Another room is a room with a white bed. It’s the room we use to heal people in our group. That’s where B.B keeps the healing medicine. I remember waking up there after Joe shot me a long time ago. Me and Matt sit on the white bed. “Are you okay?” I ask. He nods a little. “You can’t be on two sides forever.” I persist hoping to get Matt to leave Nick and Joe. Matt just shrugs. “You know Rob and Scotch will kill me and my family if I leave them.” He insists. “I wouldn’t let them.” I say. He laughs. “What? Jenny said they’re not that all that tough and she got away from them.” I point out. Matt rolls his eyes. “Barely. Besides . . . I can’t just abandon Nick and Joe.” He looks at his hands. Before they’d been scratched up and red but now they look fine. “Just . . . try to stay safe.” I whisper. “I will. I’ll be fine.” We lock eyes again. He leans forward to kiss me but I quickly turn my head and kiss his cheek. He steps back and teleports away. I frown wondering if I really only want to kiss his cheek.
