Page 53 of Mistaken Magic

Therewas so much concern in that simple phrase.Ithit me hard, and coming from such a beautiful girl made it feel like it meant a little more.Ishoved an entire piece of the orange into my mouth, then wiped under my eyes to make sure no tears had broken free.Thatone little phrase had somehow made the shame feel a little less important.

"Whyare you being nice to me?"Thewords just fell out.IknewIshouldn't have asked, and now it was too late to take it back.

Hereyes jerked out toward the open land and her face stilled. "Becausebeing alone sucks.It'seven worse when you're all alone while surrounded by everyone else."

"Likeyou'd know."

Slowlyshe nodded. "Ikinda do.Torianhates when we do favors for people, but fuck him if he gets pissed."

"Ithink the jesters hate me because of you four.Becauseyou keep being nice to me."

Herentire face dropped and her shoulders slumped. "Doyou want us to leave you alone?"

"No,"Iassured her. "Aspen, you're kinda my only friend here, and the guys?Well,Torian'san arrogant shit, andI'mpretty sureHawkehates me, butWilderhas been almost friendly a couple of times.It'sjust that people like you don't usually talk to people like me.Now,I'mjust...Idunno.Idon't know what todo."

Sheturned to look at me. "Whatdo you mean?"

"Liamgot me in here, andIdon't want to mess this up.Hewent out on a limb for me.Itold himI'dmake good grades and stay out of trouble, but the only way to deal with people like the jesters is to getintotrouble!Ihate the idea of ignoring it - of letting them think they won like that - butImade a promise toLiam, andIdon't break those!"

"Sochange the deal," she said. "Ifboth parties agree, then there isn't a problem."

Myeyes narrowed. "Isthat a fae thing or something?"

Hereyes dropped to my lips, and she smiled. "Yeah.Um, you should read the stories about making agreements with the fae.We'vegotten better since living here, but some things are hard to change."Thenshe reached out and brushed my hair back behind my ear so she could see my face. "Whatdo you want us to do?"

"Thisisn't your problem,Aspen."

Herfingers stilled just above my ear. "Butit's our fault, you said.Theypick on you becauseItalk to you.Idon't want to stop talking to you, soIneed to fix this."

"No,Ineed to fix this,"Iassured her. "Nooffense, but if you stand up for me, they'll just get worse."

"Sohow doIhelp?" she asked. "Ihave never been powerless like this in my life!"

"Idon't know,Aspen,"Isaid. "Lynnand her friends made it clear they don't want anything to do with me anymore.Nomore sitting with them at lunch.Imean, not thatIblame them, but it still hurts.I'llfigure it out, though."

"I'lltellLiamit's my fault," she offered. "I'llmake it clear this is on me."

"Aspen..."

Thosecold blue eyes of hers turned on me. "He'lllisten to me,Rain.Atleast let me do that?You'reso strong and so willful, it's hard to resist, butIwant to help because we made this problem.Justlet me do this one thing?"

"Ok,"Irelented. "Ijust don't want to take advantage of your friendship.Imean... whatever this nice thing is."

Buther eyes had just warmed, and her smile was back and brighter than ever before. "Friendship," she assured me. "Definitelyfriendship."

Chapter Twenty-Four

Unfortunately, my torture wasn't over.Thenext day, the jesters had to try it again.Thistime it wasn't the girls, though, but rather a pair of guys inHistoryofFaerie.Theykept looking at me, then over toWilder.Oneshook his head and the other laughed.Twice, the teacher cleared her throat to make them stop, but it didn't last long.Whenthe bell rang to release us,Ifinally found out what the big joke was.

"HeyLorraine,we're trying to figure it out.Whichone did you fuck to get the special treatment?Youeating the pussy or suckingWilder'scock to keep him off the ice princess?Neverwould've guessed fucking a normal would be so exciting."

Wilderheard.Asthe guys were heading through the door, he caught up and shoved - hard - sending the bigger one face down into the mass of students.Theboy hit the ground, a very unattractive grunt bursting free even as his stuff scattered around him.Standingbraced for anything,Wilder'sface turned cruel, andIswore his lips pulled back in a snarl.

"WhoIfuck is none of your business.WhoAspenfucks isn't either."Heglared at the second man. "Andher name isRain!Tellyour girlfriend to stop crawling onTorian.He'snot impressed."

Everythingseemed to happen at once.Theguy on the ground surged forward, but metWilder'sfoot in his gut.Thesecond one swung, butHawkewas now atWilder'sside, and he slammed the jester into the wall.Someonescreamed, and the next thingIknew, teachers were spilling out of classrooms, including the one we'd just left.

Aspengrabbed my arm -Ihadn't even known she was here - andTorianappeared beside her.Howthe hell had the entire court gotten here so fast?WilderandHawkewere in that class, so it made sense, but these two?Whatthe hell?Myhead was whipping around, trying to keep track of what was going on while staying out of the way of the guys throwing fists at each other.

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