I tried to convince Elyssa to save a bit of the rancid grease so we might decorate Ms. Foreman's office with it. Elyssa gave me a look which would stop a charging bull dead in its tracks, so I took that as a "no".

Ms. Foreman smiled in a kind, yet purely evil way as we came to tell her we were done. She checked her watch. "Goodness gracious, children. It certainly took you long enough." She giggled gleefully, reminding me of a wicked witch. "If the janitor gives his blessing, perhaps I can find something less demanding for you two tomorrow," she said. "You may go now."

We trudged out to the parking lot. I felt for Stacey's presence but didn't sense it. I did not feel comfortable knowing that creepy chick could be lurking nearby.

"Well this has been an interesting week," I said. "In a way, I'm going to kind of miss it once tomorrow is over."

Elyssa stopped and glared at me. "You're insane, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little." That brought a tiny smile to her lips. "Seriously, though. What's wrong with you today?"

"I already told you that," she said. "I didn't get enough sleep."

"Why not? Watching too much late night TV?"

"Is it really that important to you?"

"Yes, because you're important to me."

She sighed. "We're not going down this road again are we?"

"What road?"

"The one where you do stupid crap because you want to protect me or get all touchy-feely."

"If caring about what happens to someone is touchy-feely, then I'm sorry. I'm not a real man. I'm just an idiot who believes in common decency."

"Save your feelings for someone who needs them, Justin. In case you hadn't noticed, I was doing quite fine until you started showing concern. Just look where that got us."

"You ungrateful—" I shut my mouth before anything really nasty slipped out.

"You want gratitude?" She belted out a laugh heaped with scorn. "So that's what this is about. You do it to feel good about yourself." She gave a knowing nod. "Well find someone else who can show you the gratitude you so desire."

I stood there, fists clenched and blood pressure rising. Then I walked over to her. Grabbed her around her slender waist. Pulled her to me and planted a kiss on her soft lips. She tensed. I braced for a possible knee to the groin. Instead, she kissed me back, echoing my passion. I pulled her tighter against me.

She smelled like spring flowers, leather, and a little bit like the grease traps. It was an odd, but unexpectedly nice combination. Her body burned hot against mine. The caged animalistic part of me clawed at the flimsy barrier I'd erected to keep it at bay. I couldn't hold it off much longer. I broke off the kiss before the dark side of my lust tore down the wall. I stared into Elyssa's large tremulous eyes. Her raven locks framed the creamy fair skin of her face. I had never realized just how beautiful she was until that moment. I brushed a stray lock from her face and tucked it behind her ear. My heart pounded, so filled with desire and yearning, I had to take a deep breath.

She looked so vulnerable and scared that I wanted to kiss her again. But I couldn't. It was all I could do to hold my demonic sexual urge back from groping her essence. When "demonic" becomes a common adjective you use to describe yourself, you know you have a problem.

"Why'd you have to go and do that?" she asked softly, tracing her finger along my chest.

"Because I really like you."

"Why do you like me?"

I groped for an answer but the only thing that came to mind was, "I just do."

"You just do? Aren't you supposed to tell me how beautiful my eyes are, and how firm my butt is?"

I laughed. "Well, both are true."

"Have you been looking at my butt? How do you know it's not all saggy without my skinny jeans to hold it in place?"

"Only one way to know," I said and gave her a playful slap on the rear. "Gee, do you work out?"

She gave me a playful push and giggled in a girlish way I hadn't heard since cleaning the trophy cases. It felt good to snap her out of the bad mood cleaning the grease traps had inspired.

She took my hand and idly traced the palm with her fingernail. "Justin, we need to take this slow. I have an…unusual home life and I'm afraid you might not want to be with me anymore once you get to know me." A single tear glistened at the corner of one eye.

I took her hand and kissed the smooth skin of her wrist just beneath the palm. I put her hand to my cheek and closed my eyes. It felt good. It felt like…home. "I don't think a crazy family will drive me away, Elyssa. This feels right."

Her lips brushed mine. "I hope so."

I pulled her in for one last lingering kiss before she got in her car and drove away.

I thought back to Katie and the hope and certainty I'd felt about her. About the horrendous disaster that had become. A knot of fear crept into my throat. I hoped I wasn't about to repeat the past.

Chapter 14

The insistent beep of my alarm clock awoke me extra early the next morning so I could get to the school gymnasium in time. On the way out, the house phone rang. Nobody ever called that line but telemarketers and I almost ignored it until I saw the caller ID. I snatched the handset off the cradle.

"Yes?" I said, trying to muster a deep voice.

"This is Willis. I couldn't get you on your cell so I called the backup number you gave me."

"Mhmm."

"I've decided not to pursue this any further. Ever since that Conroy fellow showed up at our offices and warned us off the investigation, weird shit has been going down. Thousands of rats swarmed our offices two days ago. Yesterday every car in the parking lot turned upside down—on their freaking roofs. Oh, and that's not even the best part. Today, my wife's stupid little Chihuahua came up to me at breakfast and told me—in English—I had one more day before really bad things started happening."

"He talked to you?" I gasped, trying to keep my voice pitched low despite the crazy stuff this dude was telling me.

"My secretary told me she was outta here if I don't do something. Frankly, I'm this close to checking out myself. I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm done. I'll refund half your fee. And by the way, I think they have someone tracking you because a young guy with a long wooden staff came around here asking about you. You'd better watch your back."

The line went dead. I stared at the phone for a moment. Dad had mentioned the Conroys before. Who were they? Why was he trying to find them? And how could a dog talk? Before my transformation, I'd never have believed such a crazy story. Now I wasn't so sure.

I glanced at the time and hurried out the door so I could get to school.

Elyssa had saved me a seat on the bleachers next to her. I pecked her on the cheek and took her hand in mine. Carpe diem! I thought, because I wasn't sure how to say "Seize the hand" in Latin. I was determined not to make a waste of this relationship by being timid.

Ash and Nyte showed up. Neither looked the least bit surprised at the sight of me and Elyssa holding hands.

Ash glared up the bleachers at Nathan and his dimwitted toadies as they harassed a group of bespectacled nerds reading a Kings and Castles rule book. "I wish I was bigger and stronger. I'd punch those goons until their noses broke."

I knew the feeling. Unfortunately, raw power hadn't helped me one bit in my quest to overcome the bullies. Especially not when the bullying ran up the chain of command that was supposed to prevent it.

"Fighting isn't the answer," Elyssa said, her eyes darting to me. "Especially not with the football-is-god attitude in this place."

"But they've stolen our dignity," Ash said. "They've taken our very identities."

Elyssa sighed. "This is high school, not real life. These morons think they're the big fish, but they're swimming in a small pond."

"More like a cesspool," I said.

She grinned. "Exactly. Anyway, once we're out of here, you'll never have to worry about them again. Nathan and his roid-ragers will get some random girls preggers and drink themselves into obesity by the time they're thirty. Those prissy cheerleaders will lose their looks after whoring around and doing drugs in college and will end up living with rednecks in trailer parks."

"Do you have a crystal ball?" I asked. "This is amazing. She can predict the future. And it's a nightmare."

"You think I'm joking." Elyssa raised an eyebrow in disdain. "I know what I'm talking about. The circle of life you've heard about just keeps on repeating itself in high school after high school across the nation."

"What you're forgetting is we'll have a whole new set of douchebags to deal with in corporate America," Ash said.

Nyte shook his head fiercely. "I will never work for the man."

"Are you gonna be a rapper?" Elyssa asked. "'Cause they're the only ones allowed to use that term."

"I've never seen a ginger rapper," I said with a laugh.

"I'll be Carrot Ice." Nyte flashed a contrived gang sign.

We groaned.

The bell rang, so we stood to leave. Ash scooted first into the stream of students walking down the bleacher steps since he was closest to the end. Nathan barreled down the steps behind him and plowed into his back. Ash jerked like a car had struck him and plummeted down the three remaining stairs while his books and papers scattered onto the basketball court.

"Watch that last step," Nathan said. "It's a doozy." The two thugs, who I'd learned were named Adam and Steve, guffawed like it was the funniest thing in the world and kicked the books further onto the hardwood court as they walked past him.

Elyssa clenched my arm so tight it hurt. I winced, but she didn't notice, instead focusing a stare of pure hatred on Nathan. I touched her hand. "Loosen up a little?" I gasped.