''You know how they came up with the word Lunatic?'' he asked.
I shook my head, feeling like I probably didn't want to know the answer. His lips pulled up on one side in a mischievous, lopsided grin.
He stepped closer. ''Because all of the worst m...
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The stupid, stupid boy in front of me had consumed my waking and dreaming moments for so long that it was difficult to tell myself that he was real. Tucker Joy was standing in front of me in a dark hoodie and jeans looking as if he weren't tormented like I was. He was. I knew he was- but now he guarded his emotions from me.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked.
"How's school?"
I gave him a strange look. "I'm probably failing everything. They don't have courses like How To Cope With Supernatural Bullshit or I'd probably be passing with flying colors."
Despite himself, he seemed to smile. It was infectious, of course. But he was stalling, and I wanted to know why.
"Tucker, I have easier ways to get you to tell me what you want to talk about."
I wiggled my fingers at him, and he raised an eyebrow. Quickly, I realized how that might have come off.
"I- I meant daemon things... not... other things..."
I let my words fade off into my perpetual shame. Boys had never affected me like this, but when I was around him, my tongue was lead. It also didn't help that I hadn't seen him in a few days. It was like I'd cut myself off from a drug and there he was, in front of me and taunting. He didn't seem to notice, instead, he just shrugged.
"They'd both work."
Before I could process what he'd said he began walking. I ran to keep up with him.
"Are you aware of what day it is?"
"Thursday?"
He nodded. "What is tomorrow?"
I rolled my eyes. "Well, unless there's been a major shift in management I'm going to go with Friday."
He stopped walking and so did I, grateful for the break. His strides were much longer than mine. Tucker looked down at me, grasped my wrist, and proceeded to drag me through the woods, despite my protests.
"Tucker, what the fu-"
But, we'd arrived. And he was pointing up.
Through the overhead branches of trees, streams of luminescence shined through. The moon was peeking around the thicket of the forest. Tucker's eyes darkened when he looked up. I glanced at his face and noted how the moonlight angled his cheekbones so they were sharper and shadowed. The reflection of the moon in his hardened eyes was almost as beautiful and terrifying as the moon itself. It was almost full.
"It's tomorrow," I whispered.
"Yes."
His eyes didn't waver from the emerging moon.
At that moment, I forgot everything. I forgot my reasons for keeping my distance. I forgot my father. I forgot the Codex. Owein. My mother. Everything. They all disappeared.
