There were violet streamers draped from the ceiling of the gymnasium, long tables with chips and punch along the far wall, and people dancing everywhere. The entire room was dimly lit as Harlie watched them closely from her seat on the gymnasium bleachers. She watched how they interacted, teasing each other with their bodies and laughing as if the world was perfect. It never failed to amaze her how naive they could be, believing that everything is safe and that they will never get hurt. Maybe they do know the truth though. Maybe they just choose not to admit it. She wished fervently she could be like that. But her wishful thinking wasn't good. She was taught that at a very young age.
"Want something to drink?" Will asked, rising from his seat.
Harlie hadn't noticed how badly her throat burned or how much she was still shaking until now. She nodded, and Will caressed the side of her face one last time before he went to get the drinks. Harlie sighed heavily, trying to shake the thoughts from her mind.
I felt it, she thought. That flame. The flame inside me. It's getting stronger. My hands. They started to vibrate. They were shaking with power. But what power?
She closed her eyes tight and put her hands over her face. She tried to drown out the sound of the loud music, the laughter of hormonal teenagers, the voice inside her head. All of it was confusing her, not allowing her to think straight.
"Hey," someone from beside her said.
Harlie gasped and snapped her eyes open.
"Whoa! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," the boy said, shooting her a cocky grin. He looked handsome as he leaned back in his seat with his arms behind his head.
"You didn't scare me." she said, scooting farther away from him slightly.
"Uh-huh," he mumbled, chucking lightly.
She narrowed her eyes at him. The boy was quite tall for his age, which she guessed was sixteen. He had a humble, light toned face, smooth features that complimented his dark, edgy hair. He reminded her of Will, in a way. Except this boy had a scar on his eyebrow. She contemplated where he could have got it from.
"Knife," he said after awhile.
"What?" Harlie asked.
"A knife. That's how I got the scar," he explained.
She shifted uncomfortably. How could he know what she's thinking?
"I saw you looking at it."
Harlie hadn't noticed how intensely she was staring. She blushed. He laughed.
"It's no big deal. Chicks dig scars, 'specially when I tell them it's from a knife," he winked at her.
She rose one of her eyebrows at him and smirked. Is this boy really flirting with her? Doesn't he know who she is? That was when she realized she had never seen him at school before. She knew everyone who went to her school, she had to.
"Do you come to school here?" she asked, already memorizing his face.
"Nah, well at least not yet. I'm transferring here on Monday."
"Why are you here now?"
He laughed, even though she hadn't thought what she said was funny. "Just checking out the scene, you know? Seeing how everyone is and who is who."
She nodded, scooting even further away as he leaned closer.
"But what I want to know is who are you?" Harlie could smell his peppermint breath.
"Harlie," she said after clearing her head.
"As in Davidson?"
"No. As in none of your business."
This surprised the boy, but he nodded after awhile. He accepted the mystery.
"Well, I'm Edwin," he said, flashing her a wide grin.
"Nice to meet you, Edwin," Will said, coming up from behind Harlie. "I'm Will."
Will handed Harlie her drink before taking his seat beside her and wrapping his arm around her waist protectively.
Edwin's eyes darted between the two of them before he nodded and leaned away from Harlie.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys on Monday then. Nice to meet you too, Will. Bye, Harlie," he said, giving her one last look before jumping down from the bleachers.
After a short silence, Will finally spoke.
"I've never seen him before."
"Me neither. He says that he's transferring on Monday,"
Will grunted in response.
Harlie giggled at his manly reaction. He smirked at her giggle and kissed the top of her head.
"I don't like the way he was looking at you."
"He wasn't looking at me in any way," she assured him, placing her hand on his forearm.
"You don't realize just how stunning you are, do you?" he asked, nuzzling his face in her neck.
"And you don't realize just how jealous you sound, do you?" she laughed, playfully pushing him away.
"What?" he gasped in fake astonishment. "Me? Jealous? Impossible!"
"You're right," she smiled. "You're too amazing to ever feel the need to be jealous."
Harlie gasped as Will gathered her in his arms and jumped down from the bleachers. He carried her toward the dance floor and spun her around before letting her down. She laughed happily, throwing her head back, allowing all the tensions she was feeling to fade away for now. The flame inside her started to flicker again, but she barely noticed it. She was too distracted by how close Will was dancing with her. Their bodies felt as if they were melting together. She wrapped her arms around his neck while his arms circled around her hips. Everytime one of them pulled away, the other one got closer. By the end of the song, both of them were out of breath and it felt as if electricity was flying around them. Harlie stared up at Will, mirroring the dorky smile he had on his face. Will placed his hand on her neck.
"You're hot," he said.
Harlie giggled again, shaking her head.
"Harlie, you are literally hot. Your neck is burning my hand," he said, pulling away from her. His eyes immediately widened as he touched her arm. The same heat was there.
Harlie's eyes widened with fear, as she looked to him for help. She felt it now. The flame had grown. It was stronger now, much stronger.
"Will," she gasped, grabbing her head. "My head. It burns!"
Instinct took over and Will quickly took her in his arms again, carrying her toward the exit.
Harlie felt as if her whole body was on fire now. It traveled like lightning through her, setting every cell ablaze. She trembled at its intensity and tried hard to stifle her screams. Will fought through the crowd as fast as he could. He had to get her help. He was going to take her to the main house.
Will could feel the heat coming from Harlie's body through both of their clothes. She had begun to sob and one of her hot tears sizzled on his hand. He cringed at the slight pain and begun to run faster. Harlie noticed something that Will didn't as he hurried toward the door.
Those two watching eyes.
Nothing could distract him while she was in pain though. He finally made it outside, and the cold October air greeted them happily. He hoped to coolness helped Harlie, but he knew by the piercing scream she let out that it didn't.
"It's gonna be okay, Harlie. I'm going to get you help. It's gonna be okay," Will kept repeating, running toward his car.
Harlie moaned loudly in pain, trying to wriggle free from his arms. Will tightened his grip on her. He could smell her burning dress.
When he got to his car, he gently put Harlie in the passenger seat and fumbled with the seat belt. She flinched at every touch, and bit down hard on her lip. He was starting to panic as he got in the driver's seat and sped out of the parking lot. He drove like a mad person all the way to the main house. When they arrived, he got Harlie out of the car as quickly and gently as he could. He could barely hold her, it felt like he was holding fire instead of the girl he loved. She had stopped crying. Now she just laid there with her eyes shut tight as she shook violently. He didn't know which was worse.
"William?" Mrs. Farewell asked from the doorway of the house. She stood out so boldly against the dark brown color of the house in her sky blue dress. Her glowing blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that made her look years younger. But Will would never be fooled. He knew the strong power that lurked within her was way beyond comprehension. He watched as a daunting look came over her face as she studied them from the porch.
"Harlie!" she gasped. "Quickly, Will, bring her inside!"
Harlie started to hyperventilate as Will jogged toward the house. She had never felt pain this intense before. It felt like it was eating her flesh, melting her eyes, disintegrate her bones. She wanted to scream, but her throat was too dry and it hurt to move at all. Everytime she tried to move, her body was struck by a whole new wave of fire traveling through her blood. She wanted to open her eyes at the sound of Mrs. Farwell's voice but her vision was blurred. She didn't like that she was practically blind while Mrs. Farewell was so close. She didn't like it at all.
She reached over and grabbed Will's hand. She opened her mouth to scream from the pain but nothing came out. She didn't care how badly it hurt her though, she wanted to make sure Will got her message.
"I know," he whispered to her. He was thinking the same thing as her. She found comfort in that, but not enough to block out the fire. Will stumbled a little getting through the door and he placed her down softly on the couch. She laid there, curled up in a ball, hiding behind her veil of hair.
"What happened?" Mrs. Farewell demanded. "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," Will said, his voice cracked. He hadn't even noticed that he had been crying. "We were at the school dance and we were dancing and then she just started burning up."
"Has this ever happened before?" she asked, rummaging quickly through her cabinets in the kitchen.
"No, I don't think so. I've never seen something like this happen to her before, ever."
She nodded, reading labels on the numerous bottles she was grabbing.
"Found it!" she cheered, smiling to herself. She walked over to Harlie and forced her to sit up. Will looked away from Harlie's trembling body, he couldn't bear to watch her like this. But he knew he had to, he had to be here for her. He went to her side and grabbed ahold of her hot shoulder. It burned his hand but he kept it there.
"Sweetie, I need you to drink this," she said, raising the tiny bottle to Harlie's lips.
"What is that?" Will demanded, staring at the bottle.
"It will help her," she explained, giving him a hard look.
Harlie wished she could see what was happening. She wanted to see what she was about to drink. Well at least she did, until Mrs. Farewell knocked her knee against Harlie's leg. She opened her mouth to scream again as the fire passed through her leg and Mrs. Farewell carefully dumped the contents of that bottle into Harlie's mouth. It went down her throat roughly, but as soon as it did, Harlie's violent tremors began to slowly stop. She could actually breath now and her heart beat wasn't going as fast. She opened her eyes but they were still blurry. She could barely make out the shapes of Will and Mrs. Farewell. Slowly, Harlie's feeling on the outside was coming back to her. She lifted her hand to wipe the sweat off of her face. But this simple action made her shake with effort. Her body felt like it weighed a ton and she was suddenly exhausted.
"Here," Will said, propping a pillow behind her head as he gently moved her into a different position on the couch. After Will made sure she was fine, he looked over at Mrs. Farewell.
She had a look of amazement on her face. Her eyes were wide and he could tell she was shocked, but there was a hint of something else there too. Anger. Will wondered why she would be angry though.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Farewell?" Will asked, eyeing her closely.
Mrs. Farewell took her time tearing her eyes away from Harlie.
"Hmm?" she asked. "No, I mean yes. I'm perfectly fine. I was just surprised that this potion actually did its job sufficiently." She walked back toward the kitchen. Will looked over at Harlie, she had drifted off to sleep. She looked so peacefully and tragically beautiful. Then he looked back at Mrs. Farewell with rising anger in his eyes.
"You mean you weren't sure if that was even the right potion before you poured it down her throat?" he asked in a strained voice.
"Nothing is ever one hundred percent, William," she explained, shuffling through one of the drawers in the kitchen.
"You could have killed her if it wasn't right," Will said. He didn't say it as a question, but she answered it as if it was one.
"There was a very slight possibility," she said. "As there is in anything." She looked up at Will. He thought he saw fear flash in her eyes for a moment, but Will blinked and then there was nothing but cold, blue eyes.
Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he spoke.
"Where is everyone?"
"On their way back from the meeting."
"What meeting?"
"The meeting that was scheduled for today, William,"
Will ran his hand through his long hair in frustration. Mrs. Farewell smiled slightly.
"How come no one told me or Harlie about the meeting?" Will asked, trying not to raise his voice.
"The two of you needed a break," she explained, walking back toward Harlie. Will followed after her. They both stood there, staring at Harlie as she breathed soundly and deeply.
"She is quite something, isn't she?" Mrs. Farewell said. "Once she develops all of her gifts, she'll be very powerful. As will you all in due time."
Will stayed quiet.
"I think though," she mused aloud. "Harlie has a little something extra in store."
"What do you mean?"
She met Will's gaze before she spoke.
"I mean that if we don't watch her very closely from now on, things can turn bad for all of us."
"I still don't know what you mean," Will said, becoming more exasperated. "What do you think happened to her earlier?"
"It's only a guess on my part, but I do believe our Harlie is gaining an affinity for fire."
Will stared at Harlie. She was so petite and gentle. He couldn't picture her being able to summon fire from her body at command.
"But gaining an affinity is one of the rarest gifts one of our kind can get, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," she said. Will thought he saw that fear flash behind her cold eyes again. "We must be very cautious."
"You can't seriously believe Harlie would do anything stupid with her power, do you?" he asked, baffled.
"The key to survival is to trust no one, William," Mrs. Farewell said. She gave Harlie a lingering look before she walked quietly out of the room.
Will watched her leave, utterly stunned.