LHK 27
Lionheart Kids [Ch. 27] Halestorm Pt. 7 Jack sighed boredly as he scrolled through his Tumblr feed without looking at anything. He’d met up with the girls at their fourth dress shop, but hadn’t actually seen any of them yet. All three of them were hidden behind changing room doors with the maximum number of garments the store would allow them, while he sat on an uncomfortable plastic chair outside. At least he wasn’t alone. Several other boys sat on matching chairs to both his left and right. Some of them were chatting together, but most were looking idly at their phones like he was while they waited on their dates to make a selection. He kinda wished he was alone. 'Thanks for bailing, Corey,’ he mentally grumbled, cursing himself for not being a little more selfish and asking his friend to stick with him. ‘Should’ve at least brought my DS.’ He skimmed over the games on his phone, and even opened up Google Play Store for a minute, but he didn’t really feel like playing anything. What he wanted was normality between his friends again. A nagging part of him felt like it was his own fault the cousins were being weird; that if he didn’t have a crush on Skye, everything would’ve be fine. He tried not to listen to that part. He tried to remind himself that the cousins had been a little secretive the entire time he had known them, even recalling the warning Lucilla had given him on their first day at the school. “You can never be sure in the Mythical World.” He didn’t want to think that way about Skye. He didn’t want to think that way about anyone. But he also knew firsthand that he couldn’t afford not to. He’d learned that on their first day of school too, when he and Skye had gleaned the darkness lurking in Rachel’s past; and then seen it for himself the first day of Gym, when the younger girl’s powers had gone out of control. ‘Why’d you have to be an angel, dad?’ he lamented, wishing he could’ve just had a normal life. That was all he’d ever wanted. That was all he had ever worked for. Instead, he was nephilim. A mythical creature. Something that he hadn’t even known existed. Even months after the revelation of his heritage, he was still having trouble reconciling in his mind that he wasn’t totally human. How was he supposed to live a normal life being what he was; knowing what he would know after attending the institute? He’d asked his dad how he managed, but the fallen angel’s answer hadn’t been very satisfying. Something about having existed too long to be bothered by things like that anymore and focusing on the things that were important to him, like Jack and his mother. Jack had rolled his eyes at how generic of an answer it had been. He’d asked his teacher and fellow nephilim, Mr. Alaker, too; but his answer hadn’t been any more helpful. “It was different for me, Jack. I didn’t have a place like the institute when I was young. I spent so much of my life pretending to be human that sometimes even I forgot I wasn’t. That’s how I got by. You don’t have to do that, though. You actually have a chance to spread your wings… so to speak. You whole generation is gonna have to figure out how you all want to live your lives in your own way.” He still hadn’t gotten a straight answer as to whether or not nephilim grew wings at any point. Any time he brought it up, the question got brushed off or the subject got changed. ‘At least give me that much,’ he thought longingly. What was the point of being half angel if you didn’t at least get wings? A notification appeared on the top of his screen, distracting him from reflecting. New Message from LuLuce it said. Jack still wondered why that was the name she’d programmed into all of their phones when she insisted that no one actually called her that. He opened their conversation and smiled a little at the newest message.LuLuce: [Are you ready to be dazzled?]Jack: [On the edge of my uncomfortable plastic seat.] He couldn’t help but wish he was even a little bit wittier as he hit send and then tucked his phone in his pocket. He stood up when he heard two of the changing room doors open and stepped forward to see his friends. “Ta da!” the ulfan girl announced with a flourish as she and Rachel stepped out together. She was wearing a halter top mermaid cut gown with a deep V-neck that plunged almost to her naval. The rose gold silk that clung to her curvaceous form was only a shade pinker than her hair, and looked like it would be pushing the limits of risqué for a high school event. Rachel, on the other hand, had on a sleeveless V-neck party dress made of black tulle over dark gray sequins. It seemed a little too simple and cutesy for a formal dance, but Jack thought that it suited the younger girl. She was still wearing her blue star choker, which complimented the dress nicely. She did a little pirouette into Lucilla’s arms, who twirled the younger girl into a dip before they both straightened into a hug. Both of their dresses had open backs, which Jack thought was perfect for Lucilla, but might’ve been a little much for Rachel. “So?” the ulfan girl asked as they ended their little performance. “Do we look fabulous?” Jack nodded. “More than fabulous. You look very cute in that, Rachel.” “Thanks, Jack,” she said a little shyly, blushing just a bit. “I haven’t worn anything this nice in a while.” Jack saw her thoughts briefly take a dark turn and got worried he would have to use his power again, but she banished them quickly. Between her friends’ support and her weekly visits with Dr. Taylor, she was getting better at not letting her past control her. “What about me?" Lucilla prompted. “Do I look incantevole?” Her mind translated the word as ‘ravishing’ for him. “Incantevole, indeed,” he agreed with a nod. He wasn’t the only one who thought so either. Most of the boys waiting were either flat-out staring or at least glancing with varying degrees of subtlety and interest at the two girls. ‘That kid’s pretty cute.’ ‘Damn! She fucking hot.’ ‘Shit. Why is a seventh grader turning me on?’ ‘Fuck, I wanna hit that!’ ‘Isn’t she the Gym class monster?’ ‘Why does Black Class have so many babes?’ ‘How old is she again?’ ‘Didn’t realize I had an elf fetish.’ ‘I’d like to bend her over one of those podiums at school and—’ He stopped actively listening there, but more than enough erotic visualizations still filtered into his mind from the line of horny boys to fill in the rest. Not that he could blame them. As much as he didn’t want to think anything demeaning about his friends, the tightening in his groin was proof of those visuals’ allure. Lucilla was beautiful, after all; and Rachel had a nubile, forbidden charm to her. He couldn’t help but briefly wonder what the boys’ would picture if they knew the two of them were going to the dance together. The click of a third lock distracted him their overwhelming torrent of titillating contemplations. The three friends turned toward the row of changing room doors as Skye emerged, sheathed in a simple dark green gown with spaghetti straps. Gold embroidering decorated the bodice before giving way just below her waist to a flare of green tulle. Her hair was down, falling freely from its usual headband around her shoulders. She didn’t exude the same mature sexiness as Lucilla, but was above the innocent charm of Rachel as well. Of the three girls, she looked the most like a high school girl attending a high school dance, and every boy present picked up on that. Her eyes were downcast and her cheeks were flushed, too embarrassed by all the eyes and lines of thinking that were being directed at her. She wanted to meet each and every one of those hungry gazes and block them out, but they were too intense for her to bear. Instead she focused on just one, peeking up meekly and looking into the eyes of her date. Jealousy was turning to hostility. As far as the rest of the boys were concerned, Jack wasn’t anything special. He wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t hot or athletic-looking; he was average at best. How did he end up friends with so many cute girls? As delicious as the begrudging thoughts of his peers were, the nephilim was too enthralled by the vision before him to fully enjoy their envy. “What do you think, Jack?” she asked timidly, her voice barely above a whisper. Jack swallowed bashfully, his own face reddening. He wanted to tell her how cute she looked, but couldn’t bring himself to say the words out loud. It was embarrassing. Years of being a social pariah hadn’t equipped him with the skills or confidence to tell girls they were pretty. He had to say something, though; if he stayed quite too long, she might take it the wrong way. He licked his dry lips with an equally dry tongue. “You, um… you look really… nice,” he mumbled, his voice hoarse and cracking. Several none-too-friendly mental comments toward his masculinity rolled down the line of boys, but Jack shut them all out. He knew that Skye was probably hearing them too, which was humiliating to think about, but he trusted her enough to know that she didn’t value any of their opinions. “Thanks,” she said quietly, casting him a nervous glance. She’d never worn anything like the dress she had on before. All of her worries and insecurities were bubbling to the surface. The approving deviant thoughts of the waiting boys were reassuring, but they were also making her even more self-conscious. She decided then and there that one of her goals while attending the institute was to learn how to block out the thoughts of multiple people with one sweeping glance. “Are you sure it doesn’t look… weird?” she asked Jack only, trying to pretend no one else was there. “Weird?” Lucilla chimed in loudly, breaking through the awkwardness and affirming that there were indeed others present. She took hold of both of Skye’s hands in both of hers and spread her arms out to get a better look. “Mio caro, non sei mai stato più bello.” ‘My darling, you’ve never been more beautiful,’ the telepaths interpreted from her thoughts. “You’ll be even prettier when your hair and makeup are done too,” Rachel added, throwing her arms around Skye’s middle. Jack wasn’t sure if she could get any prettier than she looked right then. “Th-thanks, Rachel,” the blushing girl mumbled. “Are you guys all decided then?” Jack asked, trying not to sound too impatient. As much as he could’ve stayed and admired them all afternoon, he also wanted to get on with the day. “I like mine,” the youngest girl declared, releasing her friend. “I might need a jacket or something, though.” “You’ll definitely need a jacket,” Lucilla agreed. “In case it gets cold that night.” The idea that any of them could be cold in Georgia baffled the nephilim. “Are you happy with that one, Skye?” the ulfan asked. “Or do you wanna try on more?” “What?” the girl started, finally looking up for real. “Oh, no… I like this one.” She hunted around the price tag. “This should be affordable. It seems silly to spend so much on a dress I’m only going to wear once, though.” “Don’t think of it that way,” Lucilla commanded her. “You don’t know that you’ll only wear it once.” Skye shook free of her friend and leveled her gaze at Lucilla. “Have you ever worn anything like this more than once?” “Not important. C’mon, Rachel, let’s go get changed; we’ve still got a lot of shopping to do.” She grabbed her roommate’s hand and pulled her back to the changing rooms, dodging the telepath’s question before she could read her mind. Skye sighed after them before turning back to her date. “Does this really look okay, Jack?” she asked more evenly. “Yeah, you look great.” Her shoulders sagged a little and the tiniest hint of a smile ghosted across her lips. “Great.” She paused awkwardly for moment, unsure if she should say anything else. Should she tell him then and get it over with? Would it be easier for him to accept if she was dressed like she was? Or would it be more difficult? She decided not to yet, telling herself it was because too many other people were watching. “I’ll, um… just go get changed, then.” As she turned and hurried back to her stall, he wondered if her hesitance had strictly been bashful uncertainty about their date, or something more. He wished he could just ask. Now that he knew the cousins really were keeping something a secret, he was dying to know what it was; if for no other reason, than just so the awkwardness between them would finally end. Corey had made it pretty clear that, whatever it was, it wasn’t an easy thing for Skye to talk about. And if that were the case, then the last thing the nephilim wanted was for her to feel any extra pressure to talk about it. He sighed and reminded himself that the secret had nothing to do with him. If the issue was strictly Skye’s, then he had no business prying. That made his resolve to wait until she was ready a little easier to accept. It didn’t make it any more pleasant though. Sometimes he missed being a social pariah.
MidnightDaybreak
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