Page 68 of Mistaken Magic

Onthe other side of the pond,IsawAspen'ssilver hair.Shespun inWilder'sarms, doing something almost like a pirouette.Besidethem,Hawkehad found another girl and was grinding against her like he was trying to get a date.Theyweren't the only ones, though.IsawLynnand her friends, plus plenty of people whose namesIdidn't know.

ButIgot spotted quickly.Aspenbroke away fromWilderand hurried over to catch my arm.Grinning, she pulled me back to the space they'd taken over, then gestured for me to start moving.Laughing,Igave in and joined her.Themusic wasn't really my style, being a little more dubstep thanItypically went for, butIcould bounce to it.

Whenthe song ended,Torianstood, making everyone look at him. "What'snext?" he called out.

"Isthis a common thing?"IaskedAspen.

Shenodded. "Usedto be.Hedid this pretty much every weekend last year.Firsttime this year, though."

ThenHawkeleaned in so his mouth was beside my ear. "Decidedsomeone deserved a little fun."WhenIglanced back, he was pointing at me.

"Youdid this for me?"Iasked, completely confused. "Why?"

"Soyou'll get your nose out of those books,"Wildersaid as a slower song began to play.

Aspenopened her arms in an invitation to dance. "Wanna?"

Butthe look on her face was braced for rejection.Justyesterday,I'dlearned she was a lesbian.Sheassumed that meantI'dbe weird about having fun with her, but this wasAspen!Shewas the prettiest girl in school, possibly the most fun personI'dever met, and my only real friend here.

Istepped in awkwardly and began to sway with her. "HaveIbeen dubbed a nerd or something?"

"No," she said softly, draping her arms around my neck. "It'sjust that we don't wipe away favors.Wewanted to pay you back, and you seem lonely.Toriansaid you're our friend.Allof ours, so we're celebrating that.Therest of the school just gets to enjoy the side effects."

Sheglanced away and a shy smile touched her lips.Whenpink appeared on her cheeks,Irealized she was being self-conscious, and it was kinda cute on her.Somethingbetween us had changed yesterday, butIwasn't quite sure what.Iknew she liked girls.I'dstood up for her.Ihad every intention of continuing to do so, too.Icould see how that would be a little weird for her, but her shyness made me feel a little protective.

"Irealized something last night,"Isaid as we slow-danced. "Ican't remember the last timeIhad a best friend, andIkindathink of you that way.Imean,Iknow we don't really know each other that well..."

Shehugged me tighter. "Allmy friends are guys,Rain.Ijust don't want the fact thatIkinda think you're cute to be weird."

"Notweird,"Ipromised. "Besides,I'veseen some gay couples around the halls sinceI'vebeen here.See?Notweird at all.Believeit or not,I'mok with you - or anyone else - liking whoever you like."

Herteeth caught her lower lip, yet she still managed to smile around it. "Backat my last schoolIgot in so much shit for it.Icouldn't be out, wasn't allowed to take a girl to dances or things like that, and…"Shetipped her head back to where the atrium was full of people. "Nowthey give me shit about havingWintermagic.It'slikeIcan't win.EversinceIgot toEarth, things have just been hell."

"Ithought you were just a baby when you leftFaerie?"Sohow would she know about those things?

Aspenlaughed. "That'swhatImean!There, marriages are contracts only.Notfor love.Relationshipsare free and open.Sexand families aren't the same.Aperson can be married and still have five lovers.Mymother was with a woman.Myfather had an entire harem of lovers."

"Wow,"Ibreathed.

Shenodded just as the song ended. "Andthat's one more thing that makes you interesting, you know.You'reso much like the fae, and yet you're also completely human."Thenshe pointed down. "Andthey seem to like you."

Ifollowed her finger to see a flower leaning into me.ThinkingofGlowupstairs,Ileaned down to pet it.ThatmadeAspenlaugh, butWilderplayfully tugged her back and moved before me.Anew song began to play, this one a little faster.

"Myturn," he teased, spinning me around so he could press his chest up against my back.

Andwe danced.AfterWildercameHawke, thenIfound myself withJefffrom my biology class!Slowlybut surely,Imoved from partner to partner.Themusic changed from pop to metal and then to country.Othersjoined in.Plentyof the students were older, clearly the college-age type, but everyone was here to have a little fun.

Apair of guys were grinding on each other with the pulse of the music.Girlsspun each other around.Friendsclustered together, groups were forming, and smiles seemed to be everywhere.Musically, everything possible was offered.Atone point,Iended up with a guy who didn't look any more fae than me.

Eventually,Iwaved off the next offer and moved toward the base of the silver oak to catch my breath.Thesight of a tall golden man leaning against the trunk made me smile.ItwasKeir.Hesaw me, then turned to grab something.Bythe timeIreached him, he was holding out a red plastic cup filled with something that looked a lot like thin syrup.

"Whatthe hell is that?"Iasked.

"Tasteit," he teased.

Myeyes narrowed. "Isn'teating and drinking your stuff supposed to be a bad idea?"

Keirjust laughed. "OnlyinFaerie.OnEarth,Ihear it's a mortal insult to refuse.Tasteit,Rain."

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