Page 81 of Mistaken Magic

"Really?"

Keirnodded. "KindawhyIthinkAspenis a better resource for this than me.I'dsayTorian, but..."Hemade a face. "I'mnot opposed to you thinking he's a dick."

"Soyouarehoping for a threesome,"Irealized.

Keircaught my arm. "Iamnot.Aspensaid she's a lesbian.Imay be a guy, butIget what that means: not gonna happen.Sotake everything you know about human guys and flush it,Rain.I'mnot human.Iwill never be human.NeitherwillTorian,Wilder, orHawke.Forsome reason, you keep being pulled toward those of us who are pure-blood, while the part-bloods despise you.Well, as a general rule.I'msure some are ok with you, but the jestersdefinitelyhate you.Andin the middle of all of this is one pretty girl who doesn't say thank you.Whodoesn't flinch whenIspeak the truth or call her out on lies.Whoisn't scared of her suitemate's magic."

"Itake it that's not normal?"Iasked.

"Nothingabout you is normal," he admitted. "You'reso close you can pass for it if you tried, but there are all these little things.Theplants reach for you.Thebirds come to you.Areyou pulling at us as well?Youare something new, and new is interesting.You'rebeautiful, smart, and bold in a wayIcan't get enough of.I'mhelping you becauseIcan't stop thinking about you.Isthat honest enough to ease your worries?"

"Yeah,"Ibreathed. "It'sjust kinda weird becauseI'veonly been here a little over two weeks."

"Ididn't sayIwas in love with you," he pointed out. "IsaidIlike you.Ihave a crush on the new girl."Heturned me back toward the dorms and leaned in toward my ear. "AndIthink the new girl smiles a lot when she looks at me.Makesme wonder if she might have a crush on the 'other' pure-blood fae.Ialso don't expect an answer to that."Hemoved his hands to my shoulders, guiding me from behind. "Afterall,Idon't want to make things weird.Kindasounds like you have enough to worry about withAspen."

Ijust ducked my head and let him steer me to the doors at the back of the building. "Somehow, you don't make this weird,"Iadmitted asIreached out to open one.

Hefollowed me in, then reached over to push the button for my elevator. "Friendsfirst," he told me. "That'sallI'mgoing for.Ijust think it's nice to know someone who gets as excited about slinging around those sticks asIdo.Butthat's the thing,Rain.Friendsfirst."Andhe glanced up pointedly, indicating my suitemate. "Andif you need an ear,I'min roomD412.Goodluck.Hopeshe can help with your bird."

Withthat, he turned away, walking off just as the elevator dinged to announce the car had arrived.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Imade it to my room, thinkingKeirhad a really good idea.First, the weird crow thing was an excuse to talk.Second, friends first was a pretty smart way of thinking about this.Forboth him andAspen.Thehard part was how to start this talk.Iwas mulling over a few ideas whenIstepped inside my room - and saw a new plant on my desk, just inside the door.

Thisone was small, blue, and covered in little pink flowers.Itwas clearly not like anything found onEarth.Ialso knew it was fromAspen.Inever locked the door that led to the bathroom.Ihadn't felt the need to, withAspenon the other side.Ithad been my way of encouraging her to visit, and clearly she had.

Glancingback,Isaw that not only was my door open to the bathroom, but on the other side, hers was as well.Anxietyhit me like a wave, soIreached out to pet the plant, hoping for a little encouragement.She'dgifted me another of her beloved flowers, so she couldn't be mad at me, right?Thiswas like her way of apologizing, or saying we needed to talk, or something?

Pullingin a steadying breath,Idecided to just get it over with.Still, whenIturned for the bathroom door, it felt like the distance between me and it grew.Iwas sweaty from my weapons class.Pullingoff my coat,Idropped it on the back of the chairand debated changing, but that would only delay the inevitable.Thedistance hadn't grown, my nervousness had - andIwas not going to wimp out now.

Imarched forward with all the determinationIcould muster.Fromthe bathroom,Icould see her feet on her bed, soIpaused on her side and tapped at the door frame.Immediately, she twitched, shifting things around out of sight before sitting up.

"Yeah?"

"Hey,"Isaid, peeking my head into her room. "Isaw the flower.Ialso wanted to ask how oftenIshould waterGlow."

"TheMoonShinewill roll up its leaves when it needs attention," she explained. "TheAvalonPetticoatwill want some once a week.Iusually do the weekends."

"Cool,"Isaid. "I'lllearn how to grow them one day.Um..."Ishifted in place, feeling my pulse racing. "So,Ialso wondered if you knew anything about crows, andIkinda wanted to, um, apologize forSaturday."

"Youcan come in," she told me, moving to sit on the side of her bed and looking about as nervous asIfelt.

SoIcrossed the threshold and stepped into her room. "Ididn't, uh, expect that.Youto kiss me,Imean."

Shenodded, staring at her hands in her lap. "Idon't know whatIwas thinking.I'mnot sureIwas.Youwere just - "Shestopped, her eyes jumping up. "Ilike being your friend,Rain."

SoImoved to sit on the bed beside her, turned soIwas facing her. "Ilike being your friend too,Aspen.I'mnot mad you kissed me.I'mreally not.I'mjust confused."

Shenodded. "Ihate myself for that."

"No,"Ibreathed, reaching over for her hand. "Aspen,I'venever kissed a girl before."

"Becauseyou're straight," she said. "Figuredthat out.It'sjust you're so open and accepting.Younever make me feel like it's weird for you, soIjust hoped that maybe..."

"It'snot weird,"Ipromised. "Well, not weird that you like girls.I..."Ilaughed because we were both doing the same thing.Stammering, basically. "Ilike you,Aspen.Ijust don't know what kind of like it is, andIdon't really know you that well.You'relike this icon of the perfect girl.Thepopular oneIalways wanted to be, you know?Andthen you keep being nice to me, andIlike it.Ilike when you share yourPixyStixwith me, andIkeep thinking about you kissing me."

"Bad?" she asked.

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