laughed, a feral sound on the precipice of hysteria. Aidan studied my face as if he thought my next move might be to cry. Which was entirely possible. "Let's find a seat. I need to sit down." I handed in my play summaries to Mr. Peters on the way to my hideout toward the back of the auditorium. Aidan shadowed me.
We settled into adjoining seats. Aidan thunked his messenger bag on the floor between his feet and leaned down to unbuckle the straps and flip back the flap. His legs kind of spread out, and his knee rested against mine. My awareness jumped from the funnel cloud whirling in my head to the side of my knee. Aidan's warmth seeped through his faded jeans, through my leggings, and sent a warm tingle careening up my leg. He extracted the library's copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream and held it aloft. " Know why we are going to ace this?'
I shifted sideways in the seat and drew my feet up under me. "No. Please, inform me."
He placed the book in my hand. "What is this play about?"
"I don't know. Trust? Relationships? Magic?"
"Right. And who knows more about magic than anyone in this auditorium?"
I sat a little straighter. "We do."
"We? I was thinking you."
"I have high expectations." And I secretly asked the love spell to bring me someone magical, and it brought you.
"Wow. No pressure." Aidan rolled his shoulders. "Okay. To Team Magic."
Goose bumps sprouted on my arms. "To Team Magic. But let's not get overconfident. A Midsummer Night's Dream is pretty complex. Maybe we should pick something easier. "
"Romeo and Juliet or The Taming of the Shrew?"
"I'm not sure." I searched the sheet. "The paper is due by the twenty-sixth, the day before Thanksgiving."
"And we have to present our scenes by then, too. So we have three weeks." Aidan's eyes rolled upward, as if he were calculating. "We should decide on something by this weekend." His pale gray eyes brightened like storm clouds backlit by the sun. "We could do a goth version of Romeo and Juliet ."
"Or make them gypsies and have them first glimpse each other in a fairy forest."
"Maybe we should rethink A Midsummer Night's Dream , but keep the part where they wake up together in a bower."
I snatched the play from his hand and teasingly hid it behind my back. "Do you even know what a bower is?"
"Sure I do." Aidan's hand slipped behind my back. "It's a leafy nest or shelter or—" His fingers pulsed against mine as we wrestled for the booklet. Triumphant, he held it aloft, just out of my reach. "But we could make it the burned wreckage of an armored tank and set the play on a war-torn street."
I rolled my eyes. "Sounds much more romantic than a fairy forest."
Aidan's lips slid into a sly grin. "Ah. So milady desires romance and magic?"
I remembered the love spell and collapsed like a pricked balloon. "Fine. We'll go for war."
Aidan hesitated, then handed me the play. "We're Team Magic. Let's not make love a battlefield. Life is hard enough."
"Agreed." I deposited the booklet into his open bag. "Can we do a parody?"
"Slick. Mr. Peters didn't say we couldn't." Aidan shifted in his seat. "Everything okay? You seemed kind of distracted earlier."
The dream shivered into my conscious mind. A sick feeling twisted my stomach. I couldn't tell him I was worried Amy would end up back in lockdown or drop out of college. And forget saying anything about Teen Wytche and how curing it might help Amy. I 'd rather he not think I was demented. Okay, maybe it's too late for that.
"Family problem."
The bell blared. We both flinched. Aidan hoisted his messenger bag. It had seen better, cleaner days. I stood, and since he blocked the aisle with his long legs, I waited for him to get the hint. Aidan rose and we joined the stream of drama geeks heading out the door.
"There you are!" Parvani strutted onto the path and fell into step beside us. Her perfect ballerina posture and three-hundred-dollar designer heels added four inches to her five-foot-two frame. Her clipped,
We settled into adjoining seats. Aidan thunked his messenger bag on the floor between his feet and leaned down to unbuckle the straps and flip back the flap. His legs kind of spread out, and his knee rested against mine. My awareness jumped from the funnel cloud whirling in my head to the side of my knee. Aidan's warmth seeped through his faded jeans, through my leggings, and sent a warm tingle careening up my leg. He extracted the library's copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream and held it aloft. " Know why we are going to ace this?'
I shifted sideways in the seat and drew my feet up under me. "No. Please, inform me."
He placed the book in my hand. "What is this play about?"
"I don't know. Trust? Relationships? Magic?"
"Right. And who knows more about magic than anyone in this auditorium?"
I sat a little straighter. "We do."
"We? I was thinking you."
"I have high expectations." And I secretly asked the love spell to bring me someone magical, and it brought you.
"Wow. No pressure." Aidan rolled his shoulders. "Okay. To Team Magic."
Goose bumps sprouted on my arms. "To Team Magic. But let's not get overconfident. A Midsummer Night's Dream is pretty complex. Maybe we should pick something easier. "
"Romeo and Juliet or The Taming of the Shrew?"
"I'm not sure." I searched the sheet. "The paper is due by the twenty-sixth, the day before Thanksgiving."
"And we have to present our scenes by then, too. So we have three weeks." Aidan's eyes rolled upward, as if he were calculating. "We should decide on something by this weekend." His pale gray eyes brightened like storm clouds backlit by the sun. "We could do a goth version of Romeo and Juliet ."
"Or make them gypsies and have them first glimpse each other in a fairy forest."
"Maybe we should rethink A Midsummer Night's Dream , but keep the part where they wake up together in a bower."
I snatched the play from his hand and teasingly hid it behind my back. "Do you even know what a bower is?"
"Sure I do." Aidan's hand slipped behind my back. "It's a leafy nest or shelter or—" His fingers pulsed against mine as we wrestled for the booklet. Triumphant, he held it aloft, just out of my reach. "But we could make it the burned wreckage of an armored tank and set the play on a war-torn street."
I rolled my eyes. "Sounds much more romantic than a fairy forest."
Aidan's lips slid into a sly grin. "Ah. So milady desires romance and magic?"
I remembered the love spell and collapsed like a pricked balloon. "Fine. We'll go for war."
Aidan hesitated, then handed me the play. "We're Team Magic. Let's not make love a battlefield. Life is hard enough."
"Agreed." I deposited the booklet into his open bag. "Can we do a parody?"
"Slick. Mr. Peters didn't say we couldn't." Aidan shifted in his seat. "Everything okay? You seemed kind of distracted earlier."
The dream shivered into my conscious mind. A sick feeling twisted my stomach. I couldn't tell him I was worried Amy would end up back in lockdown or drop out of college. And forget saying anything about Teen Wytche and how curing it might help Amy. I 'd rather he not think I was demented. Okay, maybe it's too late for that.
"Family problem."
The bell blared. We both flinched. Aidan hoisted his messenger bag. It had seen better, cleaner days. I stood, and since he blocked the aisle with his long legs, I waited for him to get the hint. Aidan rose and we joined the stream of drama geeks heading out the door.
"There you are!" Parvani strutted onto the path and fell into step beside us. Her perfect ballerina posture and three-hundred-dollar designer heels added four inches to her five-foot-two frame. Her clipped,
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