Fallen University: Year One

“Janice does. She’s loaded, and she offered to buy. Come on, you’re all out of excuses now! You have to come.” She batted her eyes at me pleadingly.

“Oh, fine.” I grinned. “It has been forever since I’ve had a good buzz.”

“That’s the spirit! Let’s go get ready.”

I grabbed my stuff and followed her down the staircase, shaking my head. I never would’ve guessed that between the two of us, she would’ve been the bad influence, but I was willing to let her have that honor this time.

Owen was wandering the hallway by our alcove. He smiled shyly when he saw us

and fell into step beside me.

“Hey, Piper. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks.”

“Good. Um…” He blushed and looked down at the floor. “I heard about what happened. About how your powers saved you. And I just wanted to say… if you ever need help healing or anything… well, you can count on me.” His dimples deepened and if he turned any redder, he would have looked like me when I wasn’t shifted.

“Thanks, Owen,” I said with a smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He beamed at me and waved goodbye as Hannah and I turned into the little alcove. My friend hid a smile behind her hand, shaking her head as we stepped inside our room.

I can’t believe how fucking weird my life has become.

Chapter Eleven

The teleportation wasn’t nearly as rough as it’d been the first time, probably because we were just jumping over a chasm instead of flying halfway around the world, but it still sucked. We went in groups of five. Hannah and I went first, along with three girls I didn’t know.

One of the girls was a third-year and had learned how to do the same teleportation trick Dru had done to bring us to Mönkh Saridag. We ended up just outside the town limits on a snowy path and hurried out of the way before the second group could land on top of us.

“So, Piper,” Hannah said breathlessly. “This is Janice, Gilda, and Moira.”

“H-hi,” I clipped out through chattering teeth.

“This way,” Janice said after nodding in greeting. She was a tall girl with a moon-round face and long dark hair that refused to stay inside her hood. She brought us to the pub, a circular building with a pointed roof. It radiated warmth, and I hurried inside. Several tables were occupied by locals. I froze just inside the door, not entirely trusting the situation. They all stopped talking and looked at us as we entered.

“Give it a second,” Janice said quietly. “Don’t stare at them. Follow me.”

She held her head high and strode up to the bar like she owned the place. The chatter started up again almost immediately.

“See?” Hannah whispered to me. “They don’t care. They’re so remote out here, they probably don’t want to make any trouble.”

“That’s it exactly,” Janice said with a little smile. “They know there’s something weird about us, but they don’t make a thing out of it. We’re just one of those little quirks of life.” She winked at me, then turned to the bartender and ordered an entire crap ton of alcohol.

A couple other small groups started to trickle in behind us, and she ushered all of us to a cluster of empty tables on one side of the room. I sat near the outside with Hannah, who seemed to be way more comfortable than I was. It was nice to be out after having been cooped up inside the castle at FU for the past month, but something was missing… or I was missing something.

The door opened once more, and realization hit me like a truck as my whole body seemed to relax.

The guys. That was what I’d been missing.

I couldn’t see them, but their signature scents cut through the crowd like a knife, almost as if it they were seeking me out. Somebody hadn’t come though, and I knew who it was before I even turned my head to look. Kai had apparently passed on the opportunity.

“Oh, hey, Piper! Look who’s here!” Hannah glanced toward the door and waved at them.

“Xero, Jayce, and Kingston,” I said without turning around.

“How did you know?” She looked back at the entrance again, and her face fell. “Oh, what are they doing?”

“Scattering as fast as they can.” I sighed. “Look, Hannah, it’s like I said. They don’t want this.”