The Light and Fallen (10 page)

Lucian frowned as he tried to think of the
best way to explain. "It means there are deeper levels of
reality."

Samara looked skeptical.

"Pretend you have two paperclips in a chain.
If you jiggle one paperclip, the other one would move too,
right?"

Samara nodded. "Yeah."

"Those two paperclips are entangled. Because
they're connected, they affect one another. Bell proved that once
things have been entangled, they stay connected forever."

"That's impossible!" Samara exclaimed.
"Paperclips don't move after you take them apart."

"In some ways they do." Lucian smiled. "It's
all about what you can't see."

Lucian tried to think of something that would
make it easier for her to believe. "Forget the paperclips," he
said. "That was a bad example. Too tangible. Think about a person
instead."

Samara closed her eyes. "Okay."

"Now think about the connection you have.
Does it go away when you're not together?"

"No," Samara whispered.

"That's what Bell discovered. That distance
is irrelevant. No matter how far apart you go, you'll be connected
forever."

Two hot tears fell down Samara's cheeks
before she could stop them. She dashed them away and stuffed her
notes back into her textbook. "I think that's enough studying for
one afternoon," she said.

She grabbed a cookie and leaned back in her
chair. "We've been spending a lot of time together, but when I was
talking to Carin on Friday I realized I still don't know much about
you."

Lucian rolled his eyes. "Was Carin asking you
a lot of questions?"

"Of course, but that's not why I want to
know. I realized that I might really like you, and it makes me a
nervous."

A smile bloomed across Lucian's face, and she
felt the tips of her ears burning. "Stop it!"

"You don't have to be nervous," Lucian
reassured her. He shifted and Samara thought he was about to reach
for her hand, but at the last second he pulled his fingers back
across the table.

"How do I know?" she demanded. "You could be
full of deep, dark secrets."

Lucian gave her an exasperated look. "What do
you want to know? I can't promise I'll have an answer for
everything, but I'll try." He laced his fingers together in front
of him and waited

"Where are you from?"

"I've lived a lot of different places," he
hedged. "I'm not really
from
anywhere."

"You must've gone to a great school. You know
more about Physics than anybody in my class."

"I've never been in school before," he
admitted. "I guess you could say I did a self-study."

"Like home school?" she asked. "Did your
parents help you out with that?"

"I don't live with my parents," he said. "I
live with guardians, but they do give me lots of guidance.
Actually, they love that I'm in a regular school now. They're
really pushing to have the whole experience.

"Speaking of the whole experience, what's the
deal with Homecoming?"

"Don't change the subject!" Samara
protested.

"I'm not." Lucian raised his hands
innocently. "I'm just trying to learn. People keep talking about
it, and someone even left a note on my windshield telling me they
were available. It seems kind of important."

Samara shrugged. "I guess. It's just the
usual thing-big game, big dance, big dresses."

"So it's something everyone goes to?"

"Some people go. Not everyone."

"Are you?"

"No plans to," she said. "Someone asked me,
but I said no."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

She laughed. "I think I see everyone enough
at school. As much as I want to anyway."

Lucian leaned forward, and Samara's breath
caught in her throat. "As much as you want to see of me?" he
asked.

She could feel her heart beating erratically
at his direct question and considered lying, but she knew he could
read the truth in her eyes. "Never," she whispered.

"Would you go?" he asked. "With me?"

He reached out and grazed her cheek with his
fingertips, and she was flooded with a rush of adoration. "Why do
you even want to go?" she protested feebly. "You didn't even know
what it was."

"I want to go because it would be a new
experience for me," he said. "And as you so thoughtfully pointed
out, it's more time I can spend with you."

"Fine," she relented. She felt dizzy; she
took a deep breath and tried to control her thoughts. Everything
about him drew her irresistibly in and overwhelmed any sense of
logic or reason. "Do you even know what to wear?"

"Nope!" Lucian smiled in satisfaction, the
battle won, and took a big bite of cookie. "I'll let you show
me."

"Man, you are in so much trouble!" Duncan's
booming voice reverberated around the living room as he laughed.
"You know that don't you?"

Lucian sank deeper into the couch cushions.
"I think I might be. I wasn't planning to ask her, but I couldn't
help myself."

"That's sweet. Except now you gonna have to
dance!"

"It can't be that hard," Lucian argued
feebly.

Duncan moved to the center of the living room
and struck a pose. "It's probably easier than it used to be." He
took a few sweeping steps around the room, then spun in front of
Lucian with a flourish.

Lucian gave him a desperate look. "Is Sofia
here? Maybe she can teach me."

"Nope. She's got some business to take care
of tonight. I'll show you."

"Are you sure," Lucian asked dubiously.

"Yeah," Duncan said. He stretched out a hand
to Lucian. "I'm just messing with you, it's not really that
hard."

"Okay." Lucian pulled himself off the couch
and stood beside Duncan. Even though he was tall, Duncan still
dwarfed him. Lucian was at least four inches shorter, and about a
third as wide. "Are you the guy or the girl?"

"I'm gonna be the girl. She's shorter than
you are, right?"

Lucian nodded. Duncan tried to crouch a
little nearer to Lucian's height, but gave up. "I can't do that,"
he huffed. "Hurts my knees.

"Now your hands'll go in the same place
either way," he said. He grabbed one of Lucian's hands and threw it
onto his shoulder. "That one goes up there, and the other one goes
on my waist."

Lucian found himself looking at Duncan's chin
and glanced to the side awkwardly. "Okay, you're the guy so you
have the lead, and hopefully she'll follow. Go on," Duncan urged.
"Take the lead."

Lucian wasn't sure what he was supposed to
do. Surely there was more to dancing than where to put his hands.
He could feel Duncan shift impatiently and took an experimental
step to the right.

"There you go," Duncan encouraged as he
stepped to the right too. "Now back to the left."

Duncan stepped away after Lucian took a few
more tentative steps. "That's all there is to it!" he said. He gave
Lucian a jarring clap on the back. "There's more you could do, but
that should get you by." He laughed. "Just keep your head up, and
try not to step on her feet."

When Lucian pulled into the driveway the next
Saturday, Samara was waiting. He couldn't help noticing how
effortlessly gorgeous she was. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, she was
adorable. He hopped out of the truck and met her in the driveway.
"Ready to go?"

He offered his arm and guided her to the
passenger door.

"I could get it," she said.

"I have no doubt. But this gives me an excuse
to hold your hand." He lifted her palm to his mouth and brushed it
gently with his lips before he stepped back and slammed the door
shut.

He climbed back into his own seat and buckled
his seatbelt. "What are the plans for today?" he asked. "I'm at
your mercy."

"I thought we could go to the mall first, and
then grab some lunch?" She glanced over uncertainly.

"Sounds perfect," he reassured her. He
followed her directions across town, and soon they pulled into a
parking spot near the front door of a department store.

"Ready?"

Samara giggled as they headed into the store.
"This is kind of weird."

"Why?" he asked. "Don't people go shopping
together?"

"Well, yeah. But usually girls go with other
girls. I don't know who guys go with. Their moms maybe?"

Lucian held the door open for Samara. Her
hair ticked the bottom of his chin as she passed beneath his arm,
and his breath caught in his throat. "I'd rather be shopping with
you than with anyone else."

They went straight to the men's section and
Samara flipped through a rack of suits. "Do you have a color
preference? Black? White? Gray?"

"What about this one?" He pulled out a purple
pinstripe and held it up to his chest.

"Hmmm…." She pretended to mull it over. "It
is rather eye catching, but I think we might clash." She shoved the
row of hangers apart and pulled out a charcoal gray jacket. "Try
this."

Lucian held it against his shoulders. The
fabric was heavy and soft against his skin. "What do you
think?"

"Much better." She nodded approvingly. "Less
conspicuous. Way easier to coordinate." She turned and dove into a
bin of dress shirts.

He draped the suit over his arm and watched
in amusement as she shoved through the white and pastel colored
shirts. She dug into the bin until her head was nearly submerged in
the sharp, crinkling plastic.

"Here!" she cried finally. She held a cobalt
blue shirt up. "This one. This one will match your eyes."

He laughed at her enthusiasm. "Is this all I
need?"

"Almost." She pointed Lucian toward a
curtained area in the back corner of the store. "Go try that on and
I'll look for a tie."

He carried the shirt and suit obediently to
the dressing room and ducked behind the curtain. He hung the
clothes one of the hooks, and then peeled off his t-shirt.

As he stood in the dim light of the dressing
room he realized that unlike the small mirror over Duncan and
Sofia's sink that only showed his head and shoulders, the gleaming
three way mirror in front of him let him see his entire body. He
twisted his torso from side to side and looked at himself in the
mirror.

He heard a rustling beyond the curtain and
quickly buttoned up the dress shirt and slipped on the coat Samara
had selected. He was trying to decide if the shirt did indeed match
his eyes when he heard her voice.

"Aren't you ready yet?" she teased, her voice
brimming with mock impatience.

He peeked around the edge of the curtain and
saw her sitting on a chair, twisting the end of a rolled up tie in
her fingers. When she spotted him her eyes lit up, and she sat
straighter in her chair. He stepped out of the dressing room and
turned in a small circle. He waited for a response, but when she
didn't speak he turned hesitantly. "Do you like it?"

Samara sat frozen, staring at him, so still
he wondered if she was still breathing.

"Yes," she said finally. She stood and walked
slowly over to stand beside him. "It's perfect."

She straightened his jacket, brushing her
hands down his chest and arms before she handed him a delicately
patterned silver tie. "I thought this might look nice with the
shirt."

He took the tie from her, and it dangled
awkwardly over his fingers. "Can you help me?" he asked. "I don't
really know what to do with this."

Samara stepped in front of the mirror and
faced Lucian. He tried to ignore the warmth of her body as she slid
her arms around his neck and pulled the ends of the tie over his
shoulders. "First you put it around your neck," she said.

She turned the edges of the tie flat and let
her hand linger on the back of his neck. He could hear her
breathing faster and see the throb of her pulse in her neck.

"Then you cross the ends and loop this bit
back under." She bit her lip in concentration. "Back up again, then
down through the loop…." She tightened the knot and straightened
Lucian's collar over the tie. "It looks great."

She stepped to the side so he could see his
reflection in the mirror, but his eyes followed her. "I think
you're right," he said. "Perfect."

After a brief detour through the shoe
department, Lucian checked out and carried all of his bags to the
truck. He piled them behind his seat and turned to Samara. "Well
that's done," he said. "And more fun that I would've imagined."

He twirled a strand of her hair between his
fingers. "Ready for lunch?"

She nodded. "Are you in the mood for anything
particular?"

"I thought I was at
your
mercy," he
teased. He tugged her hair gently. "What about a picnic?"

"Sure. Do you want to stop at a sandwich
shop?"

"Nope." Lucian turned and pointed to the
floorboard behind her seat. "Sofia packed us a basket." He winked.
"Just in case."

He drove across town and turned into a large
park that Samara had only been to a few times. Picnic pavilions and
fountains were scattered across the grounds, and a winding narrow
path led down to a small lake. Lucian pointed to a jetty that
extended out into the shimmering water. "I thought we could eat
there," he said.

He hopped out of the truck and jogged around
to open Samara's door. He lifted her out, then pulled an oversized
picnic basket and a quilted blanket from behind her seat. Together
they wound their way across the park and down a narrow wooden
boardwalk to the lake.

Lucian took Samara's hand as they stepped off
the path. She clung to him as they picked their way across the
sharp boulders at the water's edge, and when he stepped onto the
flat ground at the top of the jetty he raised his arm high and
swung her across the last few inches. They were both laughing when
she landed next to him, half staggering into his arms.