Shadows

“You’re my friend.” Adam clamped his hand on Dawson’s shoulder, meeting his eyes. “I got your back, but you need to be real sure about the road you’re traveling down.”

Dawson exhaled roughly. “I…don’t know — shit. I don’t know what you want me to say.” Mainly because he didn’t even know how to begin to put what he felt for Bethany into words. Maybe Adam had a point. Maybe it was the big L.

A keen sense of understanding marred with sadness crept across Adam’s face. “Look, what kind of future do you have with her? Is she worth pissing off and alienating everyone?”

“I think the answer to that is pretty obvious.”

“True,” he said, dropping his hand. “But this is huge. Know of any Luxen and human that have made it work? Lived to talk about it?”

Yeah, now entering Downersville, population one.

Adam gave a little smile. “I don’t envy you, because I really don’t think we can help how we feel. God knows I’m well familiar with that.” He winced, and Dawson wondered if he were talking about Dee. “I just worry, because I don’t think Dee and Daemon could deal if something bad happened. And I don’t think you could if something happened to Bethany.”

Dawson watched his friend leave. Adam had given him a lot of food for thought. Bad, cheap, leftover yuck food for thought.

But mostly, he was consumed by how he felt for Bethany. Because he was risking everything and everyone, and that was selfish. God, there was only one thing that could cause anyone to be that self-centered.

…

It didn’t take Bethany long to realize that there weren’t many Team Dawson-and-Bethany fans. Over the next couple of days, Daemon spent the bulk of English class glaring at his brother and ignoring her, even when she tried to be civil.

It also became easy for her to tell Andrew and Adam apart. The nice one was distant whenever they crossed paths or when he chatted with Dawson, but he smiled at her. The other, evil alien twin scared the living bejeebus out of her. Daemon’s glares had nothing on Andrew’s. He was someone she didn’t want to cross paths with alone. Luckily, Dawson stuck close to her side and by Friday, good news. Her trace had faded. Six days was all it took.

She and Dawson spent the weekend together, holed up in her bedroom. Door kept open, of course. Mom popped her head in, but each time, she brought cookies. There was a good chance that Dawson was falling in love with her mom.

The boy could eat.

He explained once, after his third Big Mac, that it had to do with their metabolism and the amount of energy they used. Trying not to be jealous, Bethany had poked at her cheeseburger, which she knew would go straight to her butt.

The boy could also cuddle.

When they felt relatively sure that her mom wouldn’t bust up in her bedroom or the living room, Dawson would hold her close, as if he needed to be touching some part of her. At times, his whole body vibrated.

She didn’t get to see him in his true form again, because of the trace it would leave behind, but with each passing day, Dawson loosened up around her. His new favorite pastime seemed to be popping out and appearing right in front of her, giving her a minor stroke each time he did it. He also moved a lot of things without touching them. These little actions didn’t throw off a lot of energy, but they were really neat to see.

Things were going well. And then she met Ash, formally, on Monday.

She’d seen the blonde in the halls every once in a while. Hell, it wasn’t like you could miss her. Like Dee, she was gorgeous, almost too beautiful to be walking the halls of high school. Ash seemed better fit for the catwalks of Milan.

Bethany was heading out of chem class, surprised when the lithe blonde spun around, bright sapphire eyes locking on hers. “Bethany?”

She nodded as she sidestepped a group of students.

Ash’s gaze slipped from hers, drifting over her plain cardigan and worn jeans. Ash’s finely groomed brows knitted as if she were looking for something Bethany clearly didn’t have. “I must admit. I am a bit confused.”

So was Bethany. “Care to explain?”

Ash’s blue eyes snapped to hers. “I’m not sure what Dawson sees in you.”

Whoa. Way to be blunt. Bethany had to force her jaw closed. “Excuse me?”

Ash smiled tightly and waited until another group of kids shuffled past them. “I don’t get what he sees in you, but I think you heard and understood me the first time around.” Then her voice lowered. “He can do better. And he will. Eventually he’ll grow tired of the greener grass and move on.”

Bethany was almost too stu

“What do you have to offer him other than risks?” Ash stepped closer, and Bethany had to fight the urge to back up. “You guys aren’t going to last. One way or another. So why don’t you do both yourself and Dawson a favor, and leave him alone.”

Bethany felt like a shaken soda can about to be popped open. Yeah, she knew she didn’t hold a candle to a girl like Ash, but geez, she wasn’t yesterday’s leftover fast food, either. But before she could let loose a doozy of an eff off, the taller girl pivoted gracefully and stalked away, moving among the other students effortlessly.

Bethany stood there, mouth agape. That did not happen. She got the whole unhappy about her knowing their truth part, but that seemed personal. Was she an ex-girlfriend of Dawson’s? God, wouldn’t that be her luck? She was competing against the memory of an alien Victoria’s Secret model.

Dawson was at the far end of the corridor. He turned, as if sensing her. “Hey…” The smile faded from his handsome face. “What’s up?”

She stopped beside him, glancing around. “So I just had a tiny chitchat with Ash.”

And there went the rest of the smile. “Oh, God, what did she say?”

“Did you guys date or something?” The minute those words left her mouth, she regretted them.

“What? Oh, hell no.”

Bethany folded her arms. “Really?”

To her surprise, he laughed and cupped her elbow, guiding her toward the dirtied window overlooking the back parking lot. “She and my brother are dating — well, not right now, but on and off for as long as I can remember.”

A

Dawson shrugged. “What did she say to you?”

Bethany gave him the quick and dirty version. By the time she finished, Dawson looked like he wanted to punch something. “Do they really see me as that big of a threat?” she asked.

His jaw ticked. “Yeah, they do.” He kept his voice low. “See, they don’t know you. And they don’t know any humans outside the DOD who are aware of them. This is new for them, but inexcusable.”

Part of her was glad he was so pissed, but she didn’t want to come between them any more than she already had. Forcing a smile, she stretched up on the tips of her toes and kissed the corner of his lip.

A shudder rolled through his entire body.

Bethany gri

“You know, I have an idea,” she said.

“You do?” He snaked an arm around her waist as his head dipped, ru

“Oh.” She flushed, pulling back. Students were practically gawking at them. “I was thinking maybe things would be easier if we didn’t act like it was a big deal. If we didn’t try to…stay away from them. Maybe if they got to know me…”

Bethany trailed off because he was staring at her like she’d just kicked a baby into the street. “Okay. Never mind.”

“No.” He blinked and then gri