Chiara Marino and the Demons of Darkness

Chapter 18: Secrets, Demons, and Backflips

Chiara pushed her brother's door in while softly tapping. "Adrian? Can we talk?"

He looked up from a sports magazine and glared as if she were making his life miserable. Still, he set the magazine down and waited.

She closed the door and stood with her back against it.

"So. About the dance..." she said slowly.

"What about it?" he grumbled. Then he realized what she was saying and sat up in attention. "No way. Don't tell me..."

"There's this friend," she said quickly. "It's not like we're interested in each other. But we're both going to be there at the same time, so, you know, it makes sense that we'd run into each other."

Adrian sat back in his chair with a smug smile. "This is a big one. I'd say," he scratched his chin, "dishes for a month."

"Okay," she agreed. "But seriously, you can't go back on this."

"Whoa, whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa." He sat forward. "Done deal? You sure you don't like this kid." His eyes widened. "Is it that cupcake boy? You seemed really into him. I've seen him walking in the halls with you, too. Hm. This might cost you extra."

Chiara's heart was racing. "We're not dating," she tried desperately to convince him. "We're just friends."

"I don't know. I've seen the way he looks at you."

"How does he look at me?" she asked eagerly.

"I don't know. Made it up. But I totally caught you!" He slapped his knee in triumph. "You have a thing for him."

She scolded herself for giving everything away so easily. "Fine. I sort of do," she admitted. Then she added bitterly, "But it's not going anywhere."

"Poor widdle Chiawa," he mocked. "He doesn't wike you?"

Chiara gritted her teeth, biting back her humiliation.

Adrian leaned back again. "This is going to cost you extra."

"How much?" she asked.

"Your allowance for a month on top of dishes."

Chiara sighed dismally. "Fine," she agreed.

She suspected he had humiliated her just to get her to accept the new terms. But her deal was done and now she could stop worrying about Adrian and start worrying about every other aspect of the dance.

***

Chiara waited near the doors of the gymnasium after finishing her volunteer work. She couldn't get her nerves to settle. She spotted Adrian dancing with a pretty blonde and pouted over the double standard. He didn't need to bribe anyone in order to dance with whomever he wanted.

But she wouldn't let that injustice ruin her evening.

She smoothed her red dress and felt along her hair to make sure it was still pulled back neatly. Then she admitted that she was worrying too much about her appearance.

This is not a date, she reminded herself. This is about revealing my secret, learning his, and subsequently changing my life forever. So no pressure.

A gust of wind shook the windows. She instinctively watched the doors, though she wasn't exactly sure why.

Then she started to fret, What if he's fighting monsters? What if he's in trouble? What if he's hurt?

She checked her phone, looking for a message or call from "Patricia." Finally, she saw him enter the gym in a hurry. He spotted her and jogged over. She tried in vain to keep her lips at an appropriately casual smile.