Shimmering Chaos (Enchanted Chaos 2)

Either this girl has got super strength or she’s pretending to like me.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I manage to get out then pull my hand away from her’s, resisting the urge to massage my aching fingers.

She gives me an exaggerated friendly smile. “We should totally hang out sometime. I know how hard it is to make new friends.”

“Okay, yeah. That sounds awesome. Thanks.” I force a smile and try not to squirm, but her crazed smile is really starting to creep the hell out of me.

“Awesome.” She gives me one last fake smile then turns to Easton, a real smile settling on her lips. “Are we still on for the party this weekend?”

“Actually, I’m not sure if I can go. I may have to do some family stuff,” Easton replies, half distracted by his phone.

Her smile fumbles, but she hurriedly plasters it back on as he glances up at her. “Well, let me know if you’re down. Tammy’s party is going to be amazing.” She waggles her fingers at him then she takes a seat in a desk a few rows up and leans over to talk to girl with long, brown hair sitting the desk across from her.

“Is that your girlfriend?” I ask, trying to ignore the subtle nasty glances Jane and the brunette are giving me.

Easton shakes his head and stuffs his phone into his pocket. “We’re just friends.”

I raise a brow at him. “Does she know that?”

Easton shrugs. When I continue to stare him down, he lets out a groan.

“Look, I don’t do anything to lead her on,” he insists, slumping back in the chair. “I’ve even told her I just want to be friends, and she says she’s cool with it, so...” Another shrug.

“She may say that, but I think she likes you,” I tell him.

“I know, but I don’t feel the same way about her. She’s a good friend, though. Always has been.” He combs his fingers through his hair and sighs. “I have a feeling that one day I’m going to lose her as a friend when she realizes I won’t ever reciprocate her feelings. And that just makes me sad.”

“Maybe she’ll eventually move on and then you guys can be friends,” I suggest. “Or maybe one day you’ll end up falling in love with her.”

He shakes his head. “Nah, I don’t think that’ll ever happen.”

“You never know.”

“Maybe I do, though…” He trails off as the bell rings and the teacher walks into the classroom.

I can’t help wondering what he meant, like maybe somehow he knows what the future holds for him. In this new world I’ve been thrown into, anything seems possible.

My first two classes aren’t too terrible, but third period I end up having alone and it sucks. A lot of creatures stare at me, even through class. Even the human students stare like I’ve sprouted a unicorn horn out of my ass or something. At one point, I actually glance at my ass to make sure nothing is poking out of it.

As third period

ends and no one says a damn word to me, I realize that people here aren’t friendly. Luckily, Foster meets up with me to walk me to fourth period.

“I don’t think anyone likes me very much,” I remark as we walk through the hall, getting stared at. “No one but you or Easton has said a word to me.”

“Humans here are just like that with new students,” Foster explains. “I think mostly because they’re waiting to see if you’re going to end up hanging with the popular, snobby side of the school or not.”

“The popular side of school?”

He leans in and whispers, “There’s a divide in our school, between the elemental protectors and humans. The elemental protectors created the divide mainly because we risk our powers being discovered if we spend too much time around humans. But anyway, that divide somehow became a label. And because you’re spending time with Easton and me, it means you probably got labeled as being part of the snobby, popular side.”

“But then, why are no elemental protectors talking to me?”

“Some will eventually. But even our kind is cautious around Easton and me because of our last name.”

“Because you’re so powerful?”

“Well, that and the Everettsons have a reputation,” he explains. “Mostly because of Porter. But all of us have done stuff that makes creatures cautious around us.”