Read Online Collide by Alyson Kent - Free Book Online Page A

with
both hands on the other strap. I slowed my pace a little, and heard
more footsteps as they came closer, and closer . . .
    A sudden flapping of wings over my head
startled me, and I cried out, spun on my right foot and swung my
book bag off my shoulder and out in an arch. There was a satisfying
thud that jarred the bag in my hands along with a cry of pain and a
crash as my weapon of choice connected solidly with whoever was
behind me. I finished my swing and pulled back for another one when
the person I had smashed to the ground groaned and held up their
hands.
    “Damn, Alexander, I know I said your book bag
should be classified as a weapon, but I never expected you to use
it as such!”
    “Akira, oh my god!” I cried as I recognized
that honey accented voice instantly and my eyes slowly picked out
his features from the shadow he had fallen into. I dropped my book
bag and went to his side, crouching down as he slowly sat up and
rubbed his right arm.
    “Nice aim,” he said, his voice dry.
    “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you
behind me,” I said and reached out to lightly touch his arm, but
jerked back when I felt a strange, hot spark arch between us. He
didn’t seem to notice my withdrawal, as he was too busy being
preoccupied with rubbing his arm and wincing. I was suddenly angry
as my infamous temper took over the worry, and I snapped, “You
should have said something instead of skulking behind me! Why did
you hide in the trees when I turned around the first time, were you
deliberately trying to scare me? If so, then you deserve more than
a bruised arm!”
    “What do you mean, ‘did I hide in the trees
when you first turned around?’” he asked, and even in the semi dark
I could see his eyes sharpen on my face, bruised arm seemingly
forgotten.
    “I thought someone was behind me, and you
were, but when I turned around after I heard your footsteps no one
was there, and there are no bends for a ways back, so I would have
seen you if you hadn’t ducked and hidden from me,” I groused.
    “Alexander, I assure you, I was only behind
you for thirty seconds before you went all caveman and clobbered
me. I was just about to call your name when you hit me with that
monstrosity you call a book bag. You must have been hearing
things.”
    “I was not hearing things!”
    “Whatever,” he said and climbed slowly to his
feet. He casually brushed his pants off and I noticed dark,
elongated shapes falling to the ground. I bent down and picked up a
jet-black feather.
    “What did you do, fall on some poor raven
when I hit you?” I asked. I looked curiously at the sheer amount of
feathers that were scattered around him. I thought that the
majority of them looked like primary flight feathers, if I
remembered correctly from my brief stint as a bird enthusiast
(short lived, and Maria had threatened to never speak to me again
when I mentioned possibly finding a real stuffed raven to display
in my room), but I could also see what I thought were smaller down
and secondary feathers mixed into the grouping.
    “Are you sure you didn’t hit some poor raven
at the same time you hit me?” he quipped back and stretched his
neck. He let out a deep groan of pleasure when it popped
loudly.
    “Oh, ick,” I said and slung my book bag back
onto my shoulders. “I don’t know how you can stand doing that, the
sound alone makes my stomach churn.”
    “Feels good,” he replied with a cheeky
grin.
    “I’ll take your word for it. Are you, um,” I
hesitated, sighed. “Are you all right?”
    “A little bruised,” he said and rotated his
arm a little as we resumed walking towards the food court, “But
nothing that’s going to affect my game.”
    “What were you doing behind me in the first
place?” I asked, not realizing how tense I was until the lights of
the food court came into view and I felt my book bag drop about an
inch as my shoulders relaxed.
    “When I asked the old man that was in the
bookstore where you were,