Fall For Me ((The Tate Chronicles #1)) (9 page)

“We better get to P.E. before Mr Bruner makes us hit the deck and do twenty for being late,” I said.

“I’ll walk with you. See you later Emma,” Archer said, giving her a wink.

The two of us headed towards the school hall slash basketball court slash gym while Ryan hung back. When I glanced over my shoulder I caught a glimpse of Emma’s smile. Way to go Ryan, at least it looked like romance was working for one of us. A few minutes later Ryan ran to catch up. He threw me a high five, unable to contain his excitement.

“Date tonight. Starting in the common room, then maybe a nice walk and a nightcap in my…”

“You hurt her and I’ll break you.” Archer stopped and got in Ryan’s face.

“Hey, I would never do that.”

“Easy, Archer,” I said, touching his arm. “Ryan’s a good guy. He won’t hurt her.”

Archer was not exactly big but I wouldn’t call him small either. He looked as if he could hold his own and I definitely didn’t want to get on the wrong side of him. We walked the rest of the way to class in silence. I couldn’t help wondering how I would fare if and when I actually did start dating Grace.

We changed quickly then took a seat on the stage at the far end of the basketball court just as the ten minute bell was ringing. The class was chattering noisily until Mr Bruner walked in. He began raving about the fitness obstacle course set out in front of us and I was paying absolutely no attention. My eyes were scanning the faces trying to find Grace. I knew she was in my class but I couldn’t see her.

“Where’s your sister?” I whispered to Archer.

He didn’t reply, just pointed to the big timber framed glass doors at the entrance to the hall. I could see Grace running across the school grounds. Even at a run she looked so elegant, like she was flying.

GRACE

T
he doors burst open and I came to a screeching halt. Charlotte wasn’t with me and I looked around wondering where she’d gone. The entire class was staring at me after witnessing my abrupt entry. I mouthed,
sorry,
and gave Mr Bruner a sheepish look, then hurried across the basketball court and quietly sat down next to Archer. He shook his head. Suddenly, I was very aware of who he was sitting next to. Being so close to Josh made my heart flutter.

“As I was saying,” Mr Bruner bellowed, “teams of two, one full circuit around the court. Complete each station before you move to the next.” Then he blew his whistle. The class sprang to their feet and spilled onto the court, sneakers squeaking on the polished wooden floor. “Grace, could I see you for a moment please?” I approached my gym teacher with a little trepidation. He was a large man with thick arms and towered over me considerably, although that was not a hard thing to achieve. “I trust you have a reason for being late?”

“We lost track of time, Sir,” Charlotte said.

Mr Bruner spun around, a little startled. She must have snuck in and she flashed him her beautiful smile. Mr Bruner blinked; face blank for a moment then shook his head.

“Very well, please don’t let it happen again.”

Mr Bruner seemed to forget she was also late and he waved us both away. Charlotte had just used her glamour on our P.E. teacher and I shot her a thank you smile as we ran to the change rooms.

We changed into our sports uniforms—consisting of navy shorts and a gold polo top, they were quite unflattering. Somehow Charlotte made it look good. I didn’t feel the need to hide from her since she knew what I was. Normally I would have gone into one of the toilets to change.

I caught her standing motionless, head tilted to one side, staring at me. I was standing so she could see most of my back and I knew what she was looking at.

“They’re beautiful, Grace,” Charlotte said.

My back was smooth with no blemishes, besides the rose coloured lines that ran next to my shoulder blades. Each one was about six inches long and the two lines almost joined in the middle, forming a V-shape. I didn’t really know what to say, no one had commented on my scars before.

“Thanks,” I said, hesitantly.

“You have wings in there?”

“Yeah, but they haven’t been out for a while. It’s a bit risky, and with orbing it just isn’t very practical.”

“Don’t they get cramped?”

“Like you would not believe,” I said. “Sometimes in battle I unfurl them, makes me look bigger.”

Laughing, we went back to the court where Archer was waiting by the rope ladder.

“You first,” he said.

“No one else wants to buddy with you?” I teased.

“Odd one out I guess,” Archer shrugged. “Now climb like I’m hot on your tail.”

I heaved myself onto the bottom rung and looked at my brother with a wide grin.

“I want you all the way to the top, Grace,” Mr Bruner yelled from the other side of the hall.

Great, now everyone was looking at me again. I did as he said then
jumped
down to let Archer start his turn climbing the rope ladder.

“Why were you
two
late?” he asked, as he dropped back to the floor.

“Just talking and lost track of time.”

“About Josh I bet.”

“Actually, no,” I said.

“He came and sat with us today. He was asking where you were.”

“Really!”
I said a little too enthusiastically.

“Gracie, you need to get your head out of the clouds and stop dreaming about something that can never, ever happen,” he said.

I hated it when he used his big brother scolding voice. Who did he think he was? He was only a couple of minutes older than me anyway.

“Why?” I said, looking to the ceiling. “It’s nice up there. You should visit some time.”

I heard Charlotte chuckling as she slid back down the ladder. She’d climbed it three times while we were having our discussion.

“Ryan asked Emma out, too,” he said.

“Wow, that’s great … or not?” He looked a little mad. “Emma will be fine, Arch, she’s a big girl. You can’t wrap her in cotton wool.”

He scowled. “Since she’s out tonight I thought we could case the cemetery.” Archer glanced sideways at Charlotte. “Maybe see what we can find. A change of scenery would be nice.”

“Great idea, Charlotte can come with us,” I said. Somehow I didn’t think that was the response Archer was hoping for.

We moved around to the next obstacle and fell silent for a while. It was kind of hard to talk while running at a spring board, jumping then vaulting over a horse. We still had the balance beam, trampoline and parallel bars to go. Of course the three of us could complete each station with ease, and I caught Josh watching us several times.

The balance beam was a cinch. Why Mr Bruner included it in the line-up was beyond me. By the time we’d moved on again to the trampoline I understood. I hadn’t really been watching any of the other students and I took a couple of minutes to glance around the hall. It amazed me how bad some people were with this stuff. I guess I took being coordinated for granted.

Archer was showing off doing somersaults on the tramp. I watched, shaking my head, with my hands on my hips. Charlotte looked impressed.

“You going to get up there with him, give him a run for his money?” a gentle voice said.

Josh had wandered over while Ryan was mucking around on the parallel bars. Blood rushed to my face and my heart quickened. Josh was standing close enough for our arms to lightly touch. He was trying to imagine what I’d look like on the trampoline, then his mind wandered to other thoughts of what I’d look like and I quickly closed him off, blushing even more. I could feel the heat from his skin against mine and it took all my strength not to lean into him.

To be safe, I took a small step away and concentrated on my exhibitionist of a brother. Everyone knew Archer and I were great on the tramp, I just didn’t like showing off as much as he did. He came to a graceful stop in the middle of the mat.

“Come on Sis, tandem somersault? Or a double twist if you’re game.”

“I could out twist you any day, Arch.”

I flicked myself up onto the mat and stood facing him. My head was a little clearer now I wasn’t standing next to Josh. Archer stepped back until we were both towards the edge, then we began to jump in unison. We mostly used our connection hunting, or if we wanted to annoy one another, but it was also immensely helpful for things like this.

I’d forgotten how much I loved the trampoline, not having been on one since last year. The feeling of weightlessness and gliding through the air was magic. It almost compared to flying, but not quite.

We should put one of these in the clearing,
I said as we came out of a twist in perfect time. The entire class had stopped to watch. He laughed, and everyone thought it was due to him having so much fun.

The bell sounded, scattering the class in the direction of the change rooms—Mr Bruner didn’t even get the chance to dismiss us.

“You know, it’s a shame Hopetown Valley doesn’t have a gymnastics team,” Josh said as I jumped from the tramp. “You two are really good.”

“We just do it for fun, don’t we?” I elbowed Archer.

“Yep, just for fun.” He grinned at me.

I knew better, Archer always made a competition out of everything.

JOSH

Early Tuesday Night

A
fter P.E
.
all I could think about
was
Grace. She was amazing and I was totally smitten. The way she moved through the air jumping on the trampoline was beautiful. I kept finding more and more reasons to wonder why I had wasted so much time with Abby.

By the time we started heading back to the dorm at the end of the day, I think Ryan was sick of hearing Grace’s name. I probably would’ve been, too, if I were him. When we reached the front gates I had an idea.

“I’ll catch up. I just want to talk to someone first.”

“Let me guess, Grace,” he said. “See you in a bit.”

I leant against the big sandstone pillar and waited. Grace and Archer hadn’t left yet; their black Defender was still in the school’s car park. After a few minutes I spotted them walking across the yard. A huge grin was plastered on my face and I must have looked like a bit of an idiot. Archer glanced at me angrily as he walked passed.

“I’ll wait in the car,” he said without breaking stride.

With raised eyebrows I watched as he walked to the car and got in the driver’s side.

“Is he always so intense?”

“Just around you,” Grace replied.

“Great. That makes me feel just … great.”

The way Grace looked at me made my heart beat faster, and for a moment I was lost for words. I reached out and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her cheeks glowed, and my fingertips tingled where they brushed her skin.

“I was wondering what you were doing tonight?”

Grace wrung her hands. She tensed as soon as I asked the question and I immediately wanted to take it back. A pained expression crossed her face and I took her hands in mine. She relaxed a little, opening her fingers so our palms fitted together.

“Sorry, I can’t tonight. We have plans.” She glanced at the car where Archer was frowning at us. “Besides, it’s a school night.”

We laughed, and still holding her hands I stepped closer, leaning down until my forehead almost touched the top of her head.

“Why do I feel so drawn to you, Grace? I can feel you pulling me in, like a magnet.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding it for a second. When she exhaled I felt a tremble course through her body and it flowed into me, making me shiver. Her hair smelled like rain, fresh and sweet.

“Because … I’m sorry, I have to go.”

Grace pulled her hands free and ran to the car. She didn’t look at me until they were driving out of the car park. The expression in her eyes stirred something deep inside me. I knew she felt it, too, but I couldn’t understand why she was fighting it. Girls, why were they so complicated?

On my way back to the dorm I didn’t see the figure come flying down the steps. It took me by surprise and I almost fell between two large roots of the Moreton Bay Fig that stood across from the girls’ dorm.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” Abby said, planting herself in front of me.

Great, just what I needed, and here I was thinking I’d got through the worst of it since she hadn’t spoken to me all day. I looked at her with a blank expression and waited for her to continue, not wanting to add any fuel to the fire.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” I replied. “It’s over, you need to accept that.”

Abby’s face began to crumple. “I don’t know what I did wrong, Josh,” she said quietly.

My heart twinged with a little sympathy but I wasn’t going to fall for it. Sure, I felt bad after breaking it off with her, but she knew how to be manipulative and I was tired of being one of her pawns.