Tempted (House of Night #6)(64)

Hey, I'm on your side, baby! He bumped me with his shoulder, and then stretched all long and obvious before reaching an arm around me. Uh, Heath, could you do me a big ol' favor? Stevie Rae asked. Sure! Could you go down to the kitchen--that's through the common room and to the right--and try to scare up somethin' for us to eat? They always have a bunch of sandwich stuff in the fridges. You can search for chips, but the closest you'll come is probably pretzels or those good-for-you baked chips. Yuck, Heath and I said at the same time. So is that okay? Would you do that? Yeah, Stevie Rae, no problem. Heath hugged me and gave me a sloppy kiss on my forehead before bounding out of bed. At the door he grinned back at Stevie Rae and said, But next time you want to talk to Zo alone, all you have to do is say so. I'm human and I play football, but I'm really not stupid.

I'll keep that in mind for next time, she said. He winked at me and took off. Goddess, he has a lot of energy, I said. Z, I can't go with y'all to Italy, Stevie Rae blurted out with no preamble whatsoever. What? You have to! You're earth. I need the whole circle there. You've circled without me before. Aphrodite can step in if you help her. She can't be earth. It zaps her, I said. But I know you've given her spirit before, and it worked fine. Just give her spirit again. Stevie Rae, I need you. My BFF bowed her head and looked completely defeated. Please, please don't say that. I have to stay. I don't have any choice. The red fledglings need me even more than you do. Not any more they don't, I said earnestly. They're here at the school, with a whole bunch of adult vamps. Even if the adult vamps are acting all weird, their presence will be enough to keep your kids from rejecting the Change.

It's not just that. It's not just them. Oh, no! Stevie Rae, you are not still thinking about those bad fledglings. I'm their High Priestess, she said quietly, pleading with her eyes for me to understand. They're my responsibility. While you're gone, before you have to go down there and do something awful to them, I can try once more to reach them--to get them to turn back to their humanity. Stevie Rae-- Zoey! Listen to me! It's a choice. I made the right one. Stark made the right one. The kids here are all on the right path, too, and we used to be bad. Like you said, you know how horrible it used to be for us, but that's changed. We're different now because we're choosing to be different. I can't help believing that those other kids can choose good, too. Just let me try. I don't know. What if they hurt you? Stevie Rae laughed, and her short blond curls bounced around her shoulders.

Ah, heck, Z! They can't hurt me. They're inside the earth. If they try anything with me I can call on my element to kick their butts, and they know it. Maybe they were meant to die, and that's why they can't get their humanity back, I said softly. I can't believe that, at least not yet. Stevie Rae went to her old bed and sat across from me, just like she used to before our world started to explode around us. I want to go with you. I really do. Heck, Z, you're in more danger than I am! But I have to do the right thing, and that's to try to reach those other kids and give them one more chance. Do you understand? Yeah, I do. It's just that I've really missed you and I wish you were coming with me. Tears filled Stevie Rae's eyes. I've missed you, too, Z. It's been horrible keeping stuff from you. I was just so scared you wouldn't understand.

I know what it's like to keep secrets. It sucks. Seriously, that's an understatement, she said. We're still best friends, right? We'll always be best friends, I said. Grinning, she launched herself at me and we hugged so hard that Nala woke up, grumbling at us like she was someone's mom. Heath chose that instant to burst back into the room. Arms filled with food, he stopped and stared. Yes! I have died and gone to girl-on-girl heaven! Ohmygoddess! I said. Heath, you are nasty as roadkill--stinky, disgusting, middle-of-the-summer-opossum roadkill. Eesh, that's disgusting, I said. Well, that's your boyfriend. But I brought food, he said.

Fine, you're forgiven, I said. Hey, just so you know, I'm sleepin' right here in my old bed. So there won't be any groping and making out going on because I'm not cool with that. Stevie Rae was talking to Heath, but I answered. Uh, I have two words for girls who make out with their boyfriends with other girls in the room: Not okay. So you don't need to worry about that stuff going on over here. I patted my bed. Heath is going to be good because we already talked about how our relationship is based on more than sex. Right, Heath? Stevie Rae and I skewered him with our eyes. Right. Sad and tragic, but right, he admitted reluctantly. Good. Let's eat, then I'll help Z pack, and then we can get some sleep. Finally, Stevie Rae said.

I was just drifting off to sleep, snugly curled into Heath's strong, familiar arms when it hit me: Heath really couldn't come with us. Heath, I whispered. We gotta talk. Changing your mind about that no-making-out thing? he whispered back. I elbowed him. Ow, what? he said. I don't want you to get mad, but you really can't go with me to Italy. The hell I can't. Your parents will never let you miss that much school. We're on winter break. No, you were on ice storm break. The storm's clearing up. You'll be back at school in a day or so, I said. Then I'll make up my homework when I get back. I tried a different tactic. You've gotta stay here and focus on your grades.

It's your last semester before you go to college. If you mess up your grades now, you mess up your scholarship. Look, this is simple. Broken Arrow has that online grade book thing, remember? How could I forget something as totally annoying as my parental units being able to gawk at my grades and assignments every single day? Then I clamped my mouth shut because I realized what I'd said. See! I can get my assignments online. I'll stay caught up. You can even help me. Or, better yet, Damien can help me. No offense, Zo, but I think he's a better student than you are. I know he is, but that's beside the point. Your parents will never let you go.