Chapter 88 ~When Powers Stir~
(Fiona's POV)
I stopped by Xander's room on my way to school. I was about to open the door when I overheard Calvin and Xander discussing in hushed tones.
“You can't hide it forever.” Calvin said. “She deserves to know.”
I pressed my ears to the door to hear clearly, but Xander's tone was more hushed. I couldn't make out anything he was saying.
But this had only confirmed what I knew to be true, Xander was indeed hiding something from me, but what I never expected was that Calvin was in on it.
I was too curious to know what they were hiding.
With a deep breath, I opened Xander's door and walked in.
They both turned to face me, their demeanor one of guilt.
I crossed my arms across my chest as I stared at him silently.
“Fiona.” Xander cleared his throat uneasily. “Uh… I thought you were already in school, with Yara.”
“No.” I said coldly. “Yara had something to do so she left earlier.”
I made sure to let them know I was eavesdropping.
“How long were you by the door?” Xander asked quietly.
“Long enough to know that you're hiding something from me.” I said, anger pulsing through my veins.
Calvin looked extremely uncomfortable.
I glared at him. “I asked you and you lied to me that you didn't know.”
He looked away.
“It is nothing.” Xander said. From the way his eyes flickered, I knew he was lying. “Just trust me.”
“Trust you?” I scoffed. I knew what I just heard from the door, but I wouldn't push it.
And I knew that whatever it was they were hidden, it would definitely come to light eventually.
“I trust you, but if I find out you’ve been lying all along, I won’t let it slide.” I said quietly. “I mean it.”
“Sure…” He trailed off. “Let's just go. I'll drive.”
I walked a distance behind him as he went down the flight of stairs to the garage.
As he drove, we remained in uneasy silence till we reached NorthVale.
I went inside the school.
As I walked through the hallway, I bumped into Nova by accident.
I was expecting her to be nasty but she smiled at me which made me confused.
“Oh, hi Fiona.”
“Uh… hi Nova.” I answered, perplexed. “Sorry for bumping into you.”
“That's okay.” She brushed it aside. “You weren't looking.”
Okay… this was getting too weird for me.
“I'll just leave.” I said under my breath as I moved past her.
“Wait a minute, Fiona.” Nova called.
“Yes?” I turned back, half dreading what next she had to say.
“He hasn't told you, has he?” Nova arched her brows.
I froze on my tracks. “Told me what?”
An expression flickered across Nova's face.
“Oh, nothing.” She smiled. “It's just that Xander planned to give you a car as your prom gift.”
“Oh.”
“Okay. Bye.” Nova turned to leave, but not before I caught a coy smile on her face.
Nevertheless, I couldn't help the intense relief that washed over me. So he wasn't hiding anything bad from me after all, it was just a gift.
I exhaled again, a thousand-pound weight lifted from my shoulders.
___________
Yara walked up to me after school. She was beaming widely.
“Hey, Yara.” I smiled, confused. “Why so happy?”
“Don't tell me you forgot.” Yara deadpanned.
Forgot what?
“We're supposed to go to the boutique today to get our dresses for prom.”
“Oh, I forgot.”
“You seem happy. Have you changed your mind on moving away?” Yara pouted as she turned on the ignition.
“No.” I said dryly. “I found out what Xander was hiding.”
Yara pumped the brakes so hard that the tires screeched on the tarmac. “Really? What is it?”
“He wanted to surprise me for Prom with a car.”
“And he told you that?” She stared at me.
“Well, no…” Now that I was about to say it, I realized how stupid it sounded. “Nova told me.”
“What?” Yara chuckled humorlessly. “When did you both become so close?”
I shrugged. “She seemed pretty nice to me today.”
Yara shook her head in disbelief. “I’ve known Nova for way longer than you. Anytime she's being nice to someone, it's a recipe for disaster.”
I stared at Yara.
“She once put a toad in my lunch in preschool after convincing me we were best friends. She and Dakota, this one time, connived to shave off Penelope's hair in grade seven because Xander said she was the prettiest girl in the class, so no. Nova was not being nice to you.”
I shrugged. “So what do you think Xander's hiding?”
Yara groaned. “I'm too sober to think. Give me three glasses of Bourbon and I'll figure it all out.”
I chuckled despite myself. “You know, for most people, it's the other way around.”
“And I envy them for that.” Yara pulled into the parking space of the boutique. “We're here.”
I climbed out of the car, marvelling at the pretty space. “How did you even locate here?”
“Oh honey, I have my ways.” Yara grinned as we walked in.
The shop keeper walked up to us. Her heels were clicking delicately on the marble floors. “Welcome to Versace. What would you like?”
“We'd like to try on some of your custom dresses.” Yara said. “For Prom.”
“Oh… Congratulations in advance.” The shopkeeper smiled politely. “Come on, let's find you something that'll make them all stare.”
A frail old woman walked into the store. Her eyes never left mine.
I shifted uncomfortably but followed the store keeper and Yara to find the dresses.
Within a few minutes, we'd tried on at least a hundred dresses.
“I can't feel my arms.” I said to Yara and she threw her head back in laughter.
“YOLO.”
I almost rolled my eyes. I was this close to walking out of the store with the first dress my hand laid. So far, it was either too long, too short, too tight… not my color.
And I could see the old woman's eyes following me all through. I just couldn't make sense of it. She just stood awkwardly by the door and gaped at me.
“Try this one.” The shop keeper handed a perfect crimson dress to me.
“Ooh… that's the one I told you about.” Yara squealed. “I thought it was sold out.”
After a while, Yara found a suitable midnight blue silk dress. We handed to the counter to pay, when I began to feel suddenly lightheaded.
Suddenly my left hand started tingling.
The lights in the shop flickered.
Then one by one, the mirrors started cracking.
The shop keeper's face drained of color. Yara looked disturbed.
Was this coming from me?
I held onto the counter as I felt a strange surge in my chest.
I heard my name being called so faintly that it was almost inaudible.
Fiona… Fiona
I turned back to see who it was, but I saw nobody.
With disbelief, I listened and noticed the voice sounded familiar. It was Rhia, my wolf. “Rhia?” I thought I'd lost my powers, what was happening?
The old woman stepped closer to me. “The moon crest.”
She said simply then disappeared into nothingness.
Everything went back to normal. The lights, the mirrors.
I turned to Yara. “Where did she go?”
“What? Where did who go?”
“The old woman.”
Yara and the shop keeper looked confused. “Huh?”
With dread, I realised that I'd gone into a mini trance.
Hope surged in my chest.
Perhaps all was not lost, after all.