Lauren (Keegan's Chronicles Spin Off) (5 page)

She was almost to the science building, when Donald and Audrey appeared before her, seemingly out of nowhere. She hadn’t seen Donald in weeks. He looked good in his Batman t-shirt and loose jeans. Lauren’s eyes lingered on the new ink that snaked up his forearm. He had changed so much over the last several months. It was sad that they were growing up and going their own ways.

“Hey, guys,” Lauren said with a genuine smile. She was happy to see him.

“Hey, yourself,” Donald replied, his own grin wolfish.

“Hi, Lauren. It’s good to see you again,” Audrey said brightly.

Her breathtaking beauty always took Lauren by surprise. She had impossibly pale—almost white—hair, fair skin, and the lightest blue eyes Lauren had ever seen on a person. Tall and strong, Audrey still managed to keep her curves. Lauren would probably have hated the girl on principle if she weren’t so nice and so obviously good for Donald.

They weren’t exactly a couple, but they seemed to be headed that way. Both shape-shifters, Donald and Audrey made quite the contrast physically, with her long white hair and his spiky, bright orange hair.

“Haven’t seen you around much lately,” Lauren said as she shifted her bag to her other shoulder.

They fell into step beside her, and Donald shrugged. “Oh, we’ve been around. You’re the one that’s never available.” Donald’s eyes crinkled when he smiled.

“Not you, too.” Lauren groaned inwardly, relieved to see him smile.
Such a great sight
, she thought. He hadn’t smiled for months last year, and he was still a little jaded from his breakup with Keegan. She had shattered the poor boy’s heart, which seemed to be why he and Audrey were taking it slow.

Not that it was Keegan’s fault. She couldn’t resist Rourk if she wanted—he was her ideal mate. Hell, not many people could resist Rourk anyway, Lauren told herself with an internal giggle. Intense and deeply devoted to Keegan, he was also one badass warrior.

Still, they’d all worried about Donald after the breakup. On the bright side, Audrey seemed to pull him out of the darkness.

“Calvron gave me a lecture yesterday,” Lauren grumbled. “Can’t you guys just be happy for me?”

“We just miss you. That’s all,” Donald told her, throwing a lanky arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

Lauren froze, her eyes immediately darting around the campus for Tristen. He’d freak if he caught her being hugged by someone else.
I’m being stupid. He isn’t on campus. He never comes on campus.

“I miss you guys, too,” Lauren responded, edging away from his friendly embrace. “I wish there was more time in the day. Cheering takes up a lot of my life, and I’m so behind on school work.”

“Do you need some help?” Audrey peeked around Donald, one of her pale arms entwined with his. “I could tutor you if you want.”

Great—a beautiful brainiac
. Lauren eyed her. “What’s your specialty?”

“Pretty much anything you can throw at me. I have a photographic memory, so I can learn whatever you need and help you out.”

Another gift Lauren would love to have. She thought about it for a minute. The truth was she needed help, and she wasn’t going to pass on her own.

“Sure, that would be great.” Lauren pulled her phone out of her bag, and scrolled through her schedule. “I don’t have cheer practice on Thursdays. Would that work for you? In the afternoon?”

Audrey nodded. “Sure. How about three to six?”

Perfect
. Lauren would still be able to make it to Tristen’s around the same time he got home from work. Lauren stopped in her tracks and turned to throw her arms around the startled girl. “You are a lifesaver,” Lauren said, Audrey’s pale hair tickling her nose. She pulled away and glanced at Donald. “In more ways than one.”

Audrey’s musical laughter rang out. “Wait until you pass your classes before you offer up such high praise.”

Lauren’s face turned serious. She really needed to pull her grades up and quickly. “Thank you. I know you don’t know me that well, and it means a lot that you would take time out to help me.”

“Any friend of Donald’s is a friend of mine.” Audrey linked her arm through Donald’s and beamed up at him.

“Speaking of friends of mine, Keegan called today.” Lauren glanced at Donald to see his reaction. She caught a spark of interest in his bright blue eyes, but it disappeared before Lauren could be sure.

When neither of her companions said anything, Lauren continued. “Keegan and Anna are coming here for spring break.”

Donald ran his hand through his hair, leaving it even crazier than before, and looked slightly uncomfortable. “That’s cool,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Yeah. I guess Anna is in a funk because her new boyfriend is overseas.”

“That sucks. Is Rourk coming?” Donald asked, trying to sound casual as he stared off into the distance.

Lauren’s building was up ahead. “No, he’s gone too. It’s just the girls.”

“It will be good to see them.” Donald sounded sincere. Maybe he really had moved on. Lauren had no idea how much—if anything—Audrey knew about Donald’s past relationship with Keegan. She didn’t seem upset by the mention of Keegan’s name. Which was a good thing; there was enough drama going around without any added stress.

“Yeah, I can’t wait.” Lauren caught his blue eyes and said pointedly, “I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”

“Thanks.” He nodded in acknowledgment, and then draped an arm around Audrey’s shoulder. “Okay, we need to head in the opposite direction. I hope to see you around more, Lauren.”

“Me, too.”

“I’ll see you on Thursday. Do you want to meet at school or your house?” Audrey asked.

“My place works. What’s your phone number? I can send you a map.” They exchanged numbers and parted ways.

Maybe things were looking up, Lauren considered as she opened the heavy metal door to her building. If she had a tutor, she had a better chance of catching up with her classes. She would have given anything for a photographic memory. Imagine reading something once and always being able to pull up the info. School would be a breeze.

Perhaps in another life
. This time around she was stuck with electronics.

Chapter 6

A
nother long day
. Lauren fumbled through her purse in the dark, searching for her apartment keys as she walked down the sidewalk towards her apartment.

She couldn’t see anything. The night seemed darker than usual. Lauren missed the stars; half the time, she couldn’t even find the moon in the sky because of the tall buildings around her apartment complex. Back home, she could see plenty of bright stars, and she could have found her keys by the light of the moon. She felt a wave of homesickness.

Lauren realized the motion-activated light by the main entrance must have blown out. She gazed up at it—black. That explained things. Lauren’s fingers grasped the familiar shape of her cell phone and she pulled it out, pushing the button to illuminate the screen. It didn’t help much. Lauren cursed under her breath.

When would she learn to get her keys ready before she left her car? Or better yet, she could just put them on the key ring with her car keys. She’d always kept them separate so that, if she lost her car keys, she could still get in her house and vice versa. In hindsight, perhaps just putting an extra key on each key ring would work better. She made a mental note to make it to a hardware store to get copies made.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Lauren griped. She shoved her phone back down into her purse and stomped across the grass. She found the sensor embedded in the ground next to the sign with the name of her complex.

Reaching down, she laid her hand on the little black box and closed her eyes, sending her awareness through the circuitry. It took less than two seconds for her to find the problem, a short in the connection. She quickly ran through the wires in her mind and found the frayed one. She rolled her eyes; a classic case of not properly taking care of the wires.
They really should switch to solar powered lights.
There was certainly enough sun in California. She pieced together the wire, her palm growing warm. When she felt the energy return to the light, she stood up. The light turned on with her motion.

A cool breeze caused her short cheer skirt to fly up. Annoyed, Lauren ran her hand down the front, smoothing it back down. Goose bumps covered her legs. She couldn’t wait to get inside. She was a sweaty mess and needed to take a shower before she went over to Tristen’s. She had hoped he would make it to the game that evening, but he didn’t show up. He had yet to come watch her cheer.

She reached into her bag again in search of the keys, aided by the bright-as-new light.
Eureka!
Her hands grasped the key chain and pulled the keys out. She shouldn’t have been surprised when the keyring caught on her favorite lipstick and launched it down the steps.

“What else?” Lauren moaned, shaking her fist at the tube as it fell down another step. She stepped down to grab it, but the little sucker kept going, and she had to chase it down four steps before she could toss it back in her purse.

Lauren entered her code and turned her key in the lock, sighing as the door opened. Too tired to take the stairs, she made her way to the elevator. Her legs felt like jelly from being on the sidelines at the game. It was cool in the elevator and the intercom played staticky muzak that sounded suspiciously like a famous heavy metal song. It beeped her arrival, and Lauren let out a breath she hadn’t noticed holding as it opened on her hallway. Her footsteps echoed loudly down the long corridor to her apartment.

Relieved to be home, she unlocked her door and turned the knob, swinging the door open. Lauren dropped the keys on the ground and covered her mouth, her heart beating overtime at the sight that greeted her.

“Tristen!” Lauren closed the door behind her before her neighbors could see. Her living room had become a lush wonderland. Bright green foliage, colorful flowers, and huge redwood trees took the place of her apartment. A fine mist filled the humid, tropical air that rested on her skin.

She loved her boyfriend’s gift of illusions.

She giggled with delight as her wings spanned open behind her. Accustomed to living with humans, she rarely let her wings free. She flapped them a few times and glanced around, looking for Tristen, but he was nowhere to be found. Her shoes gone, she wiggled her toes on the soft moss with delight. Her hair hung down in big, swooping curls. A quick glance down showed her a flowing, white strapless dress that swirled about her feet. She felt beautiful.

A warm breeze ruffled her dress, and she tilted her face up, enjoying the sensation. The sun shone down upon her. It was so real.

This was the guy she had fallen in love with. How long had it been since he’d surprised her in such a way? Too long. When they’d met, he had always swept her off her feet when she least expected it.

“Where are you?” Lauren tiptoed forward. He had to be in the apartment somewhere. His gift only worked nearby. She peeked in what used to be her kitchen, finding a large pond with huge lily pads. A bright green frog hopped from one pad to another. She dipped her foot in—warm as bath water. A large orange and black koi swam past her, tickling her toes.

A cobblestone path led towards what used to be her bedroom. A slow grin spread across her face. The large stones felt warm and smooth on her feet as she made her way down the path. She could hear birds chirping, and the sounds of an animal skittering among trees.
Maybe it’s a monkey
, she thought with glee.

Vines formed a curtain where her bedroom door should have been. She pushed them aside and stepped through.

Tristen sat off in the distance, on a large log. His black and purple wings fluttered when she walked in, and a warm smile spread across his face. “I thought you might need to relax after the game.”

“You have no idea. I hoped you would show up at the game, but this is a thousand times better.” Lauren glanced around, taking in the natural beauty of her very own rain forest.

“This is really amazing. I knew I loved you for a reason,” Lauren teased.

“Is that so? Why don’t you come over here and show me how much you love me.”

Lauren quickly crossed the small wooden bridge that separated them, barely glancing at the babbling stream of colorful fish beneath. She ran the last few steps across the grass, picking up the hem of her dress so she wouldn’t trip.

Tristen stood as she got closer. He looked even sexier than usual, if possible. He had on black pants and a black button-down shirt, open at the collar and untucked. It was just snug enough to show off his strong shoulders. His inky black hair fell across his forehead, and his pale eyes stood out against his olive skin.

“You’re stunning,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled her into his arms.

“Not so bad yourself,” she said playfully. “So, what’s the special occasion?”

Tristen shrugged and gave her his sexy half-smile. “I guess I just wanted to show you that Calvron wasn’t the only one who could bring magick into your life.”