4. Reverie
Chapter 4
Reverie
I showed up to Prom with the varsity quarterback, hoping this would finally discourage Nathan in his relentless pursuit of me. Nathan hated Dane Taylor as far back as I could remember. They competed for everything, and Nathan usually came up as the winner. Football was the one thing they didn’t compete in because Dane was the quarterback, and Nathan was a first-team all-district running back. Nathan scored the winning touchdown at state this year, and even though they didn’t play the same position Dane was pissed that Nathan upstaged him and let his displeasure be known far and wide.
Since that first day of kindergarten, Nathan had never hidden how he felt about me—switching tactics from harshly bullying, to sweet cards and gifts. He was a true Psychopath. My fathers hated him with a passion. The girls in school could never understand why I wouldn’t go out with him. He was the best-looking guy in school, outgoing, cocky, intelligent, every teacher’s dream student. I knew the truth though, he was crazy, and he had no limits. I would have admired that if he had been Aurathion.
Nathan would pull me into the janitor’s closet and beg me to love him. When that didn’t work, he would date anyone and everyone to try to make me jealous. Spoiler alert, it worked, but I could never let it show. Once, he even tried to blackmail me by saying he would tell everyone I cheated on finals. The incident at the beginning of senior year was something I tried to forget. It should have made me hate him, but it had the opposite effect. I was apparently as fucking crazy as he was. Nathan would never accept defeat. Leaving for Emberhold would be my only relief.
Honestly, I thought I probably loved his crazy ass, but a relationship wasn’t possible with a human, no matter how much I wished otherwise. The Aurathion people needed as many strong Factions as possible. I knew where my duty lay, even at the expense of my heart. I would probably pine for the bastard for the rest of my life. We had already lost one world, and my people couldn’t afford to lose another.
As we walked into the building Dane leaned over and whispered in my ear,
“As soon as I show Nathan who the best man is, I say we get out of here.”
“Sure, we will. Let’s find a table and get a drink.” I rolled my eyes. Hopefully, somebody spiked the punch, or this night was going to last for fucking ever. I really hoped Nathan appreciated the lengths I would go to save him from heartache. He had also brought a date, but I was pretty sure he was hoping for the opposite result than me.
Dane led me to a table in the front for maximum visibility. I was well-liked at school. My parents encouraged me to participate in everything and enjoy being young. They wanted me to have a wonderful experience before being put in a position of responsibility and possible heartbreak. They knew better than most the devastation that could happen. Of course, as soon as we were seated, Nathan led his date to our table.
“Hello, Dane, I see you talked Reverie into coming with you. She must have had a mental breakdown.” Nathan sneered. His date giggled like an idiot. Apparently, Nathan’s plan was successful. I was jealous, but I couldn’t show it for the asshole’s own good.
“You’re just pissed because she knew I was the superior choice,” Dane puffed out his chest and smirked. This guy must have a death wish, Nathan was going to kill him.
“If she’s into small-dicked, idiots, then yes. She chose correctly,” Nathan growled. Not caring that he was insulting his date just by having this conversation.
“I should kick your ass,” Dane responded, eyeing me for approval.
“I wish you’d try you piece of shit! I’d wipe the floor with your pansy ass.” Nathan spit out.
“Let’s go!” Dane growled, trying to look tough. I noticed he wasn’t moving to get up.
“That’s enough out of both of you! I’ve made my choice, Nathan. Get over it.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“The fuck you have. There never was a choice. I’ve just been waiting for you to realize that.” Nathan had a crazed look on his face. Just when I started to reply, the principal stepped up to the microphone.
“It’s time to announce Prom King and Queen. When your name is announced, please come up on the stage.” Mr. Freeman spoke into the microphone. Pausing for maximum effect, he announced, “Your Prom King is Nathan Strauss!” Nathan gave me one more crazy look and then bounded up on stage.
Everyone lost their minds, screaming his name like he was some lead singer in a boy band. After the giggling cheerleader put the crown on his head, Mr. Freeman began speaking again.
“Now to announce our Queen.” After another ridiculously long pause, he smiled, “Reverie Hawthorne, will you please come up?” Dane half-ass clapped since he was pissed at Nathan for getting King. I walked on the stage, and when the football player started to crown me, Psycho gave him a look, he hesitantly handed the crown to Nathan, and he placed it on my head. He then leaned down and whispered,
“See, the whole school thinks we belong together.”
“I don’t think your date agrees,” I whispered back.
“I don’t give a shit.” He bit out.
The principal broke into our conversation, asking, “Would the royal couple grace us by leading the first dance?”
“Yes, we would,” Nathan pulled me onto the floor. “Right Here” by Staind started playing. How appropriate, I thought. Nathan had to have something to do with it. As we started dancing, Nathan said into my ear, “If you think bringing him to Prom means shit to me, you’re wrong.”
“It had nothing to do with you!” I lied. I hoped, convincingly.
“Bullshit! I’ll bathe in that motherfucker’s blood with a fucking smile on my face if he thinks he’s taking you anywhere after Prom. Just try me, Reverie.” He warned.
“You’re crazy,” I hissed. I knew I was taking a chance bringing a date. Nathan hadn’t responded well in the past when I had threatened him with Dane, and apparently, that hadn’t changed. I was running out of ideas, and I didn’t know how much longer I could resist him. Why couldn’t he just cooperate?
“Yes, I am. And you would do well to remember that.” Nathan hissed back. After the dance was over, he dragged me out a side door. Before the door could shut, Dane pushed through. He didn’t have time to say a word before Nathan turned, getting in his face, “Get your ass back inside, or I’ll beat you until you’re bleeding out of every opening on your mother fucking body. Then I’ll cut you into pieces and feed you to Mr. Ferguson’s hogs.”
The crazed look in his eyes must have led Dane to believe him because he turned and went back inside without a word. Nathan jerked me around and smashed his mouth into mine in a violent clashing of lips and teeth. With my training, I could have put him to the ground, but I was so tired of fighting my feelings where Nathan was concerned. As we kissed, Nathan bit my lip, in the clash of teeth, his tongue must have been cut. When our blood mixed, I felt the ball of power in my chest expanding and the next thing I knew, we were lying across Grumpy’s lap on the couch.
“What the actual FUCK?!” He yelled and stood up, Nathan and I spilled onto the coffee table. The table broke, and popcorn and drinks spilled everywhere. Mom ran in from the kitchen with Pop following right behind, after Grumpy screamed in a peculiarly high voice, “Adelaide!” Pop never let him forget it. It’s been brought up frequently in the months since “the incident,” as we’re now calling it.
Nathan looked up at me as I lay on top of him. He had liquid dripping down his face and a piece of popcorn sticking to his cheek.
“I think you have some explaining to do.”
I couldn’t help myself and started laughing hysterically.
Passives find their designation after performing the ritual for the first time. When a Nexus/Faction bond is made, the Faction will immediately develop an ability. Usually, this ability is found in the Nexus family line. Occasionally, if a Faction member had a strong Nexus in their background, they might develop an ability from their line. In most cases, the Nexus doesn’t develop any abilities until their Faction is complete. Forming the bond without the ritual was unheard of. But this was getting crazy. I had no idea what the hell was going on! Chloe and her brothers must be losing their minds, wondering what happened!
Chloe-
We were in chaos.
“What in the actual fuck?! What just happened?” Zane yelled. We had all jumped to our feet in shock. The coffee table was on its side. Drinks were spilled. I was hyperventilating.
“Calm the Hell down!” Zeke shouted. “Just fucking calm down.” He walked over to me and put my hand on his chest. “Just feel me breathing, inhale in, exhale out. As my breathing evened out, he said, “There you go, Booger.”
“I will junk punch you right now if you call me that hideous nickname again. Then I’ll tell Mom.” I took a deep breath and narrowed my eyes on the asshole. Zeke visibly shuddered.
“No need to make serious threats like that. I’m just trying to help.” Then we realized we hadn’t heard from Zane for a few minutes. When I looked over, I saw he’d plopped back down on the couch and was staring into space.
“Hey, are you alright?” I asked him a little worried because of the look on his face.
“Yep, but I just realized something,” he looked at Zeke.
Then they both turned to me in perfect sync, and said, “Reverie has a Faction.”
I really hated it when they did that.
Reverie-
I slowly exited my jeep and looked around to ensure nobody saw anything. Lucky for me, it was dark. Also, only incoming first-year classes started tomorrow so the campus was mostly deserted. Passives were inside, preparing for the first full day at Emberhold, thank God.
I tried to remember if Nathan had told me his dorm assignment. The Psycho must have left out that important information. Cell phones were useless here, so mine was still in my backpack. Going back in alone was always an option. I felt like I could trust the Moons, but let’s face it, I had only just met them today. Nathan was a psycho, but I never mistook his craziness for stupidity. He was wicked smart, and I needed his input to handle this situation. Since lying to myself was ridiculous, I could admit I wanted to feel his arms around me. I needed his strength and confidence because getting abilities before my Faction was fully formed was insane. Maybe I could reach him through our connection. My parents had been able to do it, but it wasn’t reliable anymore since losing two of their Faction members. I shouldn’t have been able to do it, but tonight, it seemed like anything was possible. I didn’t have anything to lose in trying.
Nathan always seemed to know where I was. Maybe it was because of our connection? Or, maybe, it was because he was a stalker. I may never know the truth. Here goes nothing.
At first, I didn’t feel anything. Then, slowly, a warmth built in my chest. I could see in my mind’s eye the well of power that lived there. It was a bright amber ball of light. I was familiar with what it looked like even as a Passive. Mom had taught me to access it through meditation even then. Now, there was a pale green light surrounding it completely. Wow, it was beautiful. I could feel Nathan’s essence imbued in it and when I concentrated on the green ring, I could feel him surrounding me.
Suddenly, I could smell his unique scent and feel his obsession and deep love for me; it brought tears to my eyes. Despite everything we had put each other through, I never had any doubt about his love and devotion.
“Nathan, can you hear me?” I concentrated harder on the ring that surrounded my power. “Nathan, hear me!” I pleaded. “Hear me!”
Suddenly, I felt him in my head.
“ What is this? Oh, my sweet Nexi! Your mind is such a beautiful, fascinating place to be. I can feel you all over me. Cookies and honeysuckle.” He sighed dreamily.
“Nathan! I need your help!” I knew how wonderful it felt but I wanted him here physically.
“Need me, you say?” he asked suddenly alert.
“Yes, I need you!” I repeated slowly.
“I just needed to hear it one more time. How may I be of service?” The shithead asked.
“Even in my head, you’re an asshole!” I huffed out. “I’m in the parking lot in my jeep. I seem to have developed your teleportation power.”
“What? That’s awesome! Wait, did anyone see you? Do I need to kill a witness? I’ve already decided on a plan to dispose of bodies while we’re here.” Nathan spits out in quick succession.
“No witnesses! No need to dispose of anyone! My roommate and her brothers are the only ones I’ll have to answer to. I’m unsure how much we should share with them, but I can already tell they’re decent people who’ll keep my secret.” I hoped so anyway. Strangely, I already felt invested in my friendship with Chloe, and I had a feeling the twins were going to have a vested interest in my safety. Nathan made a grunting noise and spoke.
“I’ll be the judge of that when I meet them.”
“What’s your dorm assignment? We need to decide how we’re going to play this.”
“It’s Dorm A, room 402. But I’m just going to head your way,” Nathan said.
“ That’s OK. I’ll just-” I jumped back.
“Too late, I’m here. No way I’m letting you walk in the dark by yourself.” Nathan growled, glancing around the parking lot.
“I hate when you do that!” I snapped even though I was happy he was here.
“That may be so, but I’m not wasting precious time when you might be in danger,” Nathan pulled me into his arms, one of my favorite places to be.
“I love that you want to protect me, even though I’ve had way more combat training than-” Nathan interrupted me.
“No need to rub it in my Nexi,” he frowned. “I may not be on your level yet, but my determination to keep you safe rivals any training you may have had.”
I stared at him for a moment. As crazy as he was, that was probably true. I suddenly pictured him being Hannibal Lecter and biting off someone’s face.
“OK, point taken. Can we get out of here?” I asked. “My temperature runs hot, but I’m starting to get a little cold in my shorts and T-shirt.”
“Absolutely!” He pulled me in close and transported us to his bedroom.
“Here we are. Where all your perverted dreams are soon to come true.”
“What the actual hell? When did you get that kind of control?!” I was in complete disbelief.
“Just recently. Like as in this exact moment.” Nathan smirked as he walked over and fell back onto his bed.
“Are you kidding me?” I tried to keep my train of thought when I saw his shirt ride up as he stretched—that delicious six-pack and the thin trail of hair that led to such a lovely dick. Now, it was my turn to smile dreamily. Looking slowly back up to his face, I saw a devious smirk aimed my way.
“See something you like, my Nexi?” Trying to get back on track, I took a deep breath.
“The last time you successfully teleported two people was that very first night. After that, you could only teleport yourself. Everything you tried to take with you disintegrated. You blew up so much fruit, you even made a ‘Save the Watermelons’ shirt, trying to be funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. It was funny. Grumpy just has no sense of humor.” Nathan pouted “I feel more powerful. I can’t explain it, but I knew it wouldn’t be a problem.” He looked at me seriously, “I would never chance that beautiful melon of yours exploding.” I just stared at him.
“We’ll circle back around to that later. How much should we share with the Moons?” Nathan walked over to me, picked me up, and laid me on his bed. He then plopped down beside me and rolled me up in his arms.
“About teleporting or us? I also want to point out that I deserve brownie points for holding in the many jokes going through my mind about that last name.”
I rolled my eyes and looked around his room. The room had no personality at all. There was just a grey comforter folded down, black sheets, and two pillows. Nathan had such a massive presence that I was a little shocked.
“Where is all your stuff?” I asked curiously.
“I didn’t bring it,” Nathan kissed my head. “I know this space is only temporary, and as soon as you bring in another Faction member for me to rule over, we’ll be moving to the housing.” I didn’t even know where to start with that last sentence.
“Sure, that makes perfect sense and exactly what I get for asking. Back to my original question, what do we share? Chloe and her brothers were raised in the Aurathion community, so they’re going to realize I’m either Nexus or Faction.”
“Why are her brothers already here? I thought it was just the first years until after initiation.” Nathan started running his fingers through my hair, removing the hair tie and undoing my braids.
“We didn’t have time to get into that before I teleported out.” All the tension I’d been holding left my shoulders. The combination of Nathan’s presence and the fingers running through my hair was like taking valium. “Mom told me that older students who are teacher’s aids come early. Also, some of them come to check out the incoming Passives hoping to find a Nexus or add to their Faction. I’m sure one or both of those apply to them.”
“So, we can ditch this place after a couple of years?” I could hear the joy in his voice at the thought.
“Maybe. Depending on the completion of our Faction and how much training we need. My parents can help with some of that, but the Academy offers a lot of advanced courses that are important for us to take. We’ll have to decide when we get to that point.”
“I’ll have to decide if any of these Passive wanna-be Faction are good enough for my Nexi,” Nathan smiled gleefully. I knew he was looking forward to putting any Passives that wanted to join our Faction through some shit. He truly was a disturbed individual.
“So, back to the Moon issue,” I reluctantly sat up and looked at Nathan. “Well, I trust your instincts, so if you think they’re trustworthy, be honest,” Nathan lifted his hand and cupped my face tenderly.
“Really? You just said you would need to check them out.” I looked at him in surprise.
“Do you think you’re going alone to tell them?” He looked at me like I was unhinged. “I’m going to be there, and if they do something I don’t like, I’ll just kill them where they stand.” He looked thoughtful, “Do they have pig farms here? Never mind, I’ll stick with my original disposal plan.” This was the guy that looked at me like I was unhinged?
“Sometimes I think I’m the crazy one,” I stared at him in amazement.
“You’re not crazy.” He kissed the top of my head. “Your super Nexus powers did pick me after all.” He pulled me back down into his arms, “It stopped me having to go through with my kidnapping plan.”
I’d like to say I was shocked by that statement but, nope, it sounded about right. I heard the door open in the living room.
“Oh shit. You have a roommate?” I didn’t know why I was surprised. As far as I knew, everyone had at least one.
“Yes. Some massive dude. I mean, I could still kill him, but I’d have to take him by surprise.” he deepened his already deep voice.
“I never doubted you, Psycho.” I kissed his cheek, stood up, and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s get to it. It’s getting late, and we still have some explaining to do.” I held out my arms, “I’m ready.”
He looked at me in confusion, “Ready for what?”
“To zap out of here. I can’t do it yet because I’m not sure how it happened the first time.” I was going to have to find a place to practice, for sure.
“Why don’t we just walk over?” He looked confused. I stared at him, blinking slowly. It was becoming a habit. But seriously, who could keep up with this guy?
“OK. Sounds good.” I just let it go, maybe Elsa had it right. “Let’s just walk back.”