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Those eyes were aimed, laserlike, insip of strawberry-flavored sugar water after relaying Derek’s history, released the straw just long enough to snark "It appears you have a visitor"

"He could be here for you," I absently said

"Uh, no Jason Shepherd does not make trips to St Sophia’s to see ue sound, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with her assessht; my stomach fluttered Had this boy--this boy with those ridiculous blue eyes--coht before I irl, I remembered that I was still irritated with Jason and wiped the dopey smile off my face I’d show him "distraction"

"Shepherd," Scout said e reached hi?" She ain I realized I’d found Scout’s pacifier, should it ever prove necessary--strawberry soda

Jason bobbed his head at Scout, then looked at lanced at Scout, who checked her watch "You’ve got seven minutes before class," she said, then , and I’ll stick it in your chair"

"Thanks," I said, and made the transfer

Jason and I watched Scout trot down the sidewalk and disappear into the building It wasn’t until she was gone that he looked at ain

"About yesterday" He paused, eyes on the sidewalk, as if deciding what to say "It’s not personal"

I archedhim off the hook that easily

He looked aet his lips, then found ain "When you were in the hospital, we talked about the Reapers About the fact that we’re in the minority?"

"A splinter cell, you said"

He bobbed his head "In a way We’re like a resistance movement A rebellion We aren’t equally matched The Reapers--we call them Reapers--they’re not just a handful of ifted--all the Dark Elite--except for us"

"All except for you?"

"Unfortunately That ainst us, Lily" He took a step forward, a step toward ic, I don’t want you wrapped up in it Not if you don’t have a way to defend yourself Scout can’t always be thereand I don’t want you to get hurt"

An orchestra could have been playing on the St Sophia’s grounds and I wouldn’t have heard it I heard nothing but the pounding ofbut the blue of his lash-fringed eyes

"Thank you," I quietly said

"That’s not to say I wasn’t bitter that you ignored e of my lip "Look, I’m sorry about that--"

Jason shook his head "You saw the mark, and you needed time to process We’ve all been there I mean, you could have chosen better coet away To escape" Jason looked down at the sidewalk, eyebrows pulled together in concentration "When I found out who I hat I was, I ran away Hopped a Greyhound bus and headed to randmother’s house in Alabama I camped out there for three weeks that suain His eyes had switched color fro ani intense

"You’re awolf?" I said it like a question, but I suddenly had no doubt, and no fear, about the possibility that he was so far scarier than Scout and the rest of the Adepts

"I am," he said, his voice a little deeper than it had been a o Goose bumps rose on my arms, and a chill slunk down my spine I wondered whether that was a co Hood syndrome, maybe

I stared at him and he stared back at me, my focus so complete that I actually shook in surprise when the tower bells began to ring, signaling the end of the lunch period

"You should go," he said When I nodded, he reached out and squeezed my hand Electricity sparked up my spine "Goodbye, Lily Parker"

"Goodbye, Jason Shepherd," I said, but he was already walking away

He’d walked to St Sophia’s to see me--to talk to me To explain why he hadn’t wanted s, mark or not

Because he orried about et hurt

The moment I’d shared with Jason had been so incredibly phenomenal, the universe had to equalize And as the chosen brand of karh school junior?

Tords: pop quiz

Magic in the world or not, I was still in high school, and a high school that prided itself on Ivy League admissions Peters, our European history teacher, decided he needed to ensure that we’d read our chapters on the Picts and Vikings by using fifteen multiple-choice questions I’d read the chapters--I was paranoid enough to ical hysterics notwithstanding But that didn’t meanstapled copies of the test on our desks

"You have twenty minutes," he said, "which means you have a little more than one minute per question Quizzes will account for twenty percent of your grade, so I strongly recommend you consider your answers carefully"

When the tests were distributed, he returned to his desk and took a seat without glancing up

"Begin," he said, and pencils began to scribble

I stared down at the paper, ht of a blue-eyed boy who’d worried for me, and who’d held my hand

Twenty minutes later, I put my pencil down I’d filled in the answers, and I hoped at least a few of them were correct But I didn’t stress over it

Infatuation apparently made me intellectually lazy

16

Scout waited until dinner to interrogateMonday, we’d been blessed with brand-new food Since I didn’t eat chicken, it was rice and etables for me, but even simple food was better than dirty rice or stew Or so I assumed

"So, what did Mr Shepherd have to say?" Scout asked, spearing a chunk of grilled chicken with her fork "Are you engaged or proet his lavaliere? Did he pin you?"

"What’s a lavaliere?"

"I don’t know I think it’s a fraternity thing?"

"Well, whatever it is, there wasn’t one We just talked about the ized"