The Haven High Book Series (Wattys2017)

Chapter 42

 Lauren popped out and in to existence in a matter of seconds and the experience was exhilarating. Nothing made you feel more alive like the threat of never existing again. 

In her as per usual graceful manner she landed on Quinn when she came through, and he went sprawling on the cement floor with her on top of him which made him exclaim, "Geez, Nash, I didn't know you cared that much."

She joked back, "Come on Walker you've got girls falling for you all the time."

They both laughed, but it was interrupted by a long slender hand being shoved in her face and a tight lipped response.

"You guys are causing a scene. I thought we were going to try and keep a low profile." Zach said snarkily as he pulled her to her feet.

She dusted off the knees of her jeans with a smile still plastered on her face -- One that her ex-best friend didn't return.

Quinn seeming to notice the awkward moment announced unceremoniously, "I suggest we split up and team up; we'll get a lot more accomplished that way."

"Look I see the perfect place to start." He pointed to the back of the room," Lauren's you're with me," he shouted. And grabbing her arm, he took off like a shot towards the area he had pointed.

Lauren looked back to see Zach's eyebrows do that weird thing they do when he's extremely pissed. They end up looking like a unabrow; he frowns so hard.

She knew she shouldn't find it funny, but she couldn't help the laugh that exploded from her lips.

Quinn finally came to a stop at the back of the room where a crowd of market patrons had gathered to see a female Salamander juggle fire and swallow it. Knowing that Salamanders are fire spirits or elementals, and can't be harmed or burned by the flames made it less fun to watch, until the red skinned beauty pulled Quinn in the circle and handed him a torch that was lit on both ends and started using his hands to juggle it.

Lauren couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she was in her alien way. Her skin was bright red and she had the most interesting yellow eyes with light orange irises. Her bald head was lined on either side with delicate yellow and orange strips and her cheekbones were so sharp it looked like you could get a paper cut on them.

She was expertly juggling balls of what looked like molten lava and every once and a while she'd throw them straight at Quinn and he had to use his speed and reflexes to bat them back to her with his torch.

Lauren laughed so hard when he gave her a please save me look. He looked like he was going to have kittens.

She wasn't worried, though; she trusted his reflexes.

He eventually got into the swing of it and actually started having fun – he was even hamming it up for the crowd – when he spied her admiring his technique (yup that's what she was admiring) he gave her a big toothy grin and waggled his eyebrows at her.

It was so much fun to hang with Quinn, she almost started to truly feel happy.

The last week had been a week from hell; she couldn't believe so much had happened in such a short period of time. She felt like a totally different person then she was before she walked into that ball and in a lot of ways she wished she hadn't, but if she hadn't she would have never learned about her brother.

With that thought the anger she was trying to suppress at the council and every other adult in her life at this time started to bubble to the surface. The teachers must have known it was her brother and not a one of them ever breathed a word of it to her. Were they that cowed by the council, or did they simply not care?