Chapter Five, Part One

Chapter Five

Kiho didn’t want to get up. Her mom was gone, off at some women’s retreat, so there wasn’t anyone to make her. She knew she had to get up anyway. She needed to think of a way to get Amanda’s dirty paws off of Damon. She lay in bed, trying to think of a good way to make someone break up with your best friend. The phone rang. Kiho looked at the caller ID. It was Lexie. Kiho snorted. As if I’d answer a call from her. She hates me. All she’d do is talk about how stupid and self-obsessed I am. The phone continued to ring for a while. The answering machine picked up. Kiho heard Lexie’s voice begin to speak timidly.
“Um, hi. I just called because I really need to talk to you, Kiho. I need to tell you about this dream I had. So, call me back. Bye.” Kiho did nothing. She was thinking. Dream? Why would she need to tell me about a dream? How lame is that? She picked up one of her books, and started to read about the other mythological beasts and gods. While she was reading about Aphrodite, and thinking how much she and Lexie were alike in their cruel traits, she paused. Jealousy! That was it! If Amanda thought that Damon was cheating on her with Kiho, she would drop him, and go right for Kiho’s throat, showing her true colors in the process. She dialed Damon’s number.
“Hey, Damon this is Kiho.”
“Hi, Kiho. What do you need?”
“I was calling because I wanted to see if we could just hang out this afternoon. Just us.”
“Sure. I don’t have anything going on. Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s see a movie. There’s a good one on at the dollar theatre.”
“Sounds good. See you there.”
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.” Kiho rubbed her hands together. She punched in Amanda’s home number into her cordless phone.
“Hello?” She disguised her voice. She pitched it higher, and spoke with a question mark at the end of her words. “Is Amanda there? Tell her this is Tina from school? Thanks?”
“Hello.” By Amanda’s tone of voice, Kiho could tell that she didn’t know any Tina’s from school. All the better.
“You don’t know me, but I saw you were going out with that hot brit?”
“Yes, I am. What about it?”
“Well, I heard there was this really fun dance thing going on this afternoon, and it sounded like something you and he would want to go to? Everyone thinks you’re such a cute couple? We really hope you come? It’s at school? Will I see you there?”
“I’ll ask Damon, it sounds fun!”
“Okay, bye?”
“Bye.” Perfect. He’ll have to tell her he’s going with me, and he wouldn’t blow me off. Then I just have to figure out how to flirt so a girl from his school would figure it out, but he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t expect it from me anyway. She got out of bed, got out of her pajamas, and pulled on a pair of baggy cargo pants. She went down stairs to eat some cereal, did a few math problems, but couldn’t keep her mind on it. She tried reading, but couldn’t pay any attention to that, either. She took a walk to the basketball court. Some of her friends were playing, but they were so bundled up against the snow, there wasn’t much action going on. She sneezed, and David turned around.
“Hey, Kiho.”
“Hey, how’s Damon?” She always asked David how Damon was, even if, like today, she knew how he was.
“He’s okay. His girlfriend’s a little peeved, though. She had some thing she wanted him to go to, but he was going someplace with you at the same time.” He looked at her. He’s probably expecting me to say something like “He should go with her, not me,” like I usually do. Not today, David.
“I guess she’s just going to have to wait, then.” Kiho said, saying it lightly, but with an air of being serious. David looked really surprised.
“Okay. Do you want to play?” He held up the basketball. “We worked all morning getting the snow scraped off the cement.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kick your sorry butts?”
“Nah, you’re too little.” He grinned. This was their usual exchange.
“All right, if you insist.” She grabbed the ball away from him, and shot it at the hoop. It missed, ruining her cockyness. “Who’s going to be on my team?” She tried to maintain her dignity and cool. It would have worked, but the guys were laughing too hard to notice. David regained composure first.
“You can have Kyle, Steven, and Pete. I’ll take the other guys.” Kiho shrugged. It sounded fair to her. She ran over to get the ball from the snowdrift it had fallen into after she’d missed the basket. She passed it to Kyle, who passed it to Pete, who passed it to Steven, who passed it back to Kiho. She lined up in the center, in front of David. He grabbed it from her, and she jumped to try and get it back. He laughed, and held it up with one hand, over her head. Big mistake. Pete came up from behind, and snatched it. He dribbled it away, and shot for the basket. It bounced out, and Kiho got it. She passed it to Steven, and he made a basket. They stopped. Kiho didn’t really want to play; she’d just been goofing off.
“So, where did Amanda want to go?” Kiho asked innocently.
“Some dance thing. I didn’t ask. Why?”
“Just curious. You know how I am.” Kiho shrugged.
“Yeah, I do.” David sounded suspicious. Kiho scooped up a lump of snow, and rolled it between her hands. Since she didn’t have any gloves on, her hands were numb in a minute. She acted is if she didn’t think it hurt, but her red hands showed otherwise. “Do you want my gloves?” David asked politely. Kiho almost felt sorry for what she was about to do.
“No, you’ll need them,” she responded, and his him right in the chest. He looked down in feigned horror.
“I’ve been shot!” he cried, and fell to the ground.
“Revenge!” shouted his friends, and they scooped up snow. Kiho was scurrying off already, right through the snowdrift. They caught up with her quickly, and picked her up.
“Hey! What are you going to do to me?” She squirmed around, trying to see what was going on, but her face was right in Kyle’s stomach. “Pu me dooo!” She shouted, his shirt muffling her voice.
“Okay,” they said, and promptly dropped her.
Right in the snowdrift. “HEY!” she shrieked, before her mouth filled with snow. She couldn’t see anything. She tried to swim her way out, but she was stuck, and her shoes were filling with snow. She stood up, and noticed that the drift was as tall as she was. She put her hands on her hips, and faked a glare at the guys.
“I’ll just have to cream you.” She squirmed. “For there’s snow in my underwear.” The guys laughed, and she ducked down. They probably thought she was burrowing out, but she was in reality making snowballs. She poked her head over the top, and started pitching them at people. Bam, Louis got on in the face. Steven was hit on the knee. Kyle got a direct hit to the chest. Finally, tired of the abuse, the tallest boy there, Ralph, waded into the snowdrift, picked her up, and set her down gently next to David. He acted as if he were dying.
“Kiho, Kiho, you’ve killed me, and broken poor Zelda’s heart. What do you have to say for yourself?” he said weakly. Kiho struck a heroic pose.
“I’d do it again. And again. And again.” David sat up, and laughed.
“Alas, no compassion. What did I expect?” He stopped, and looked at her. “You’re wet. You’re going to catch a cold.”
“I’ve already got a cold from walking home last night. Or did you not notice my watery eyes and rosy nose?” She sneezed, as if to illustrate her point.
“Ah, yes. The walking home. What was that all about?”
“I felt like taking a walk,” Kiho answered, close facedly. “Is that all right with you, King David?”
“Hmm, King David. I like that! I command you to call me that forever.” Kiho snorted.
“Fat chance. As if I’m ever going to call you King.” He tossed a little snow at her. “I’ve got to get dressed. Redressed, actually. Thanks to you clowns, my clothes are soaked. And I have a date this afternoon.” She declared that she had a date in a hoity toity voice, and the boys all whooped.
“Ms. Hottie has a date with David’s little bro!” Kyle shouted gleefully.
“Whatever, man.” David said, brushing some snow off of his broad shoulder. “She’s kidding. He’s got a girlfriend already.” He rolled his eyes.
“Hey, how can any girlfriend compare to our own Ms Kiho Hottie?” Steven joked. Kiho pulled herself up to her full height (which didn’t really do much for her), and declared,
“He’ll fall madly in love with me, just like you guys are.” She went back to her slumpishness, pulled her beanie over her ears and shivered. “I’ve got to go. It’s too cold out here, now that I’m soaked to the skin.”
“I’ll walk you home,” David said. “I’m heading that way anyway. See you, guys.” The guys waved, and David and Kiho walked to Kiho’s house. They didn’t say anything. Kiho could tell that David was trying to puzzle her out. Her distraction of the snowball fight hadn’t worked, and she hadn’t thought that it would. He was still wondering if she was trying to break Damon and Amanda up, and if she was, why. She could tell by his expression. She could also tell that he wasn’t going to ask her.
She’d known David almost as long as she’d known Damon. They weren’t as good of friends as she and Damon were, but she could read him pretty well. They’d started hanging out together a few years ago, when he discovered that she liked sports a lot. They’d started out with him teaching her the finer points of many different sports, and then they’d just kept playing together. They never really talked about anything, and besides sports, had nothing in common. He walked to her driveway, then headed back the other way.
“See ya,” he called over his shoulder.
“Yeah, see ya,” Kiho called back.

Lexie opened the door into Aunt Zelda’s room slowly. She slumped in. “I tried to call Kiho to apologize, but she wouldn’t pick up the phone,” she stated apathetically. Aunt Zelda looked comforting, but had a look on her face that said, very clearly, “I hate to say it, but I told you so.”
“I know, I know,” Lexie sighed. “I was just so angry. Anyway, I have a date with Mark tonight, and of course I need a chaperone. So I was wondering if you’d go.”
”Well, where are you going to go?” Aunt Zelda asked slyly.
“Movies, dinner, coffee shop, maybe. Nothing planned yet.”
“Okay, I’ll go. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You explain to Mark that he has to treat me like a teenager, not an adult.”
“Damon and Amanda are going to, so you won’t be a third wheel, or whatever. I was going to ask Kiho, but-“
“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me. I’ll go anyway. In order to make sure you don’t all start kissing in public.” She rolled her eyes.
“Are you sure you’re a goddess? Because you don’t really act like one at all.”
“I know. I like being mortal. Except for the fact that I have no magic. And the part where I can’t do whatever I want. Other than that, I like it. Mortals are far more interesting than some goddesses I could name.” Aunt Zelda looked up, and stuck her tongue out. “I simply can’t stand Aphrodite.” Lexie laughed. She understood now why Aunt Zelda always told stories about the gods of ancient Greece, and about why she was so partial to Athena. She was Athena!
“Aunt Zelda, did you have anything to do with my name?”
“I didn’t, but I think Zeus might have. He’s always doing nice things, right when you hate him the most.”
“Hate him? Why did you hate him?” Lexie didn’t know that Aunt Zelda was mad at Zeus, too.
“Well, I didn’t really hate him, I was just frustrated with him. He could have solved all of this by just being nicer to Hades. Hades would still be evil, but at least he wouldn’t be mad at us, right? Then he sent me down here and I thought it was unfair that I had to cover for his mistake, at first. Now that I think about it, Hades would have pulled something like this no matter what. So I’m not mad at Zeus any more, but I was slightly peeved with him when I first came down here. He’s so sweet, once you get to know him. Most of us are like that. Apollo seems full of himself at first, but he’s really very caring and sensitive. And Hera seems too jealous, but what do you expect from the wife of Zeus? She’s not even my mother, but she takes care of me as if she is. Not that I need taking care of any more.” Lexie smiled.
“That’s… So beautiful, Aunt Zelda,” she said, and faked a sniffle. Aunt Zelda smacked her in the face with a pillow.
“Be respectful, missy. I just so happen to be a very powerful goddess.” Lexie giggled.
“You can’t to do anything to me until you’re back up in the sky for good!” she taunted. Then Lexie was struck by a sudden thought. “What about David? I mean, you aren’t going to be here forever, and he’s in love with you.” Aunt Zelda sighed and shook her head.
“I don’t know, but it really isn’t any of your beeswax, young lady.” She tossed another pillow at Lexie, but her heart wasn’t in it. Lexie could tell that she’d stirred up a problem that Aunt Zelda had been thinking about for a while.
“Well, I’d better go now.” Lexie said quietly, and left the room. She felt bad, and promised herself that she wouldn’t ask Aunt Zelda anymore questions like that, especially when they were having fun.
She went to her room, and pushed the play button of her CD player, and got out her journal. She grabbed a pen off of her nightstand, and began to write.
Dear Journal,
I’ve had a very stressful life, lately. Sorry I didn’t write yesterday, but I was busy. Remember Mark? The guy that I’ve been crushing for the past three months? He asked me out. I went with him to the dance last night. He danced almost all the dances with me. We sat out a few, and Damon danced one with me just for fun, because we’re friends. Kiho made me really angry, and you know how that hardly ever happens. I didn’t feel like myself at all. I was really surprised that I blew up at her, but I felt like it was justified. Today I tried to call her to say sorry, but she wouldn’t even pick up the phone. I know she was there, but she didn’t even want to talk to me. I really wish I hadn’t gotten so angry with her. Now I don’t even have a chance to make it up to her!
Anyway, I’m going on a double date with Mark. Damon and Amanda are going to. Aunt Zelda is going along to chaperone. She might bring David along. That would be fun. I wanted to ask Kiho, but I didn’t get a chance to. We’re going to go see the new movie “Pride of the Tribe.” It looks funny, and I think I’ll like it. I…
Lexie trailed off. The whole entry was lame, and she knew it. She didn’t want to write down what she was really worried about, for fear someone might get a hold of it, but she needed to vent somehow. She didn’t want to bother Damon again, and Aunt Zelda probably wasn’t in the mood to talk right then. She finished her entry
This is lame. I’m going to read, or something.
Love,
Alexandria Athena Dulcinia
She always used her full name in her journal. It seemed to ring, somehow. Although the teen side of her thought her name was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard, and she told her friends that, the real Lexie loved it. It fit her, somehow. She sighed, and pulled out a random book from the shelf, and read.

Aunt Zelda was lying on the floor. She always did when she needed to think about something. Lexie’s question had indeed raised questions she had been asking herself for some time, now.
“Could I ever really belong in the mortal realm?” she asked the ceiling seriously. “It’s not as if I’ve never pretended to be mortal before. It’s not as if I really like it so very much up with the other gods. I’m not pretty or particularly anything up there.” This was a lie. She was considered the smartest goddess there was, and everyone came to her for advice, even Aphrodite, but somehow that wasn’t as nice as being loved. Really loved, not just lusted after. She had hardly believed that David was in love with her when she’d first thought of it, but it was now obvious to her, and many other people, that it was indeed the case. She sighed. He was only a few years younger than her as a mortal, but as a goddess, she was ancient. She would always have to hide that side from him, and that was tough enough as it was, and they weren’t even dating yet, officially. “What do you think, ceiling?” she asked. “It isn’t like I have anyone else to ask. I know that those nuts,” she gestured weakly towards the sky, “Would say to just leave him, and Lexie would just say to stay here. She doesn’t understand what it’s like to leave everything you know. They don’t know what it’s like to be in love.” She lay there pondering for a while, until her head began to hurt. She stood up too quickly, and felt a little dizzy. She sat on the bed, and looked at the clock, then at her stomach. It growled. “Time for lunch,” she said loudly, as if to dismiss any serious thought still lingering in the room. She rubbed her tummy, and opened the door. Into the kitchen she journeyed, and pulled a box of Fruit Loops from the pantry. “Hardly Ambrosia, but it’ll do,” she muttered, as was her habit, and went to the refrigerator for some milk. She thumped it, a bowl, the cereal, and a spoon on the table. It made a satisfying cacophony. Lexie entered the room a few minutes later with an annoyed and worried expression. As soon as she entered, it was only annoyed.
“I thought maybe you’d killed yourself somehow,” she said, and grabbed a bowl and spoon for herself. They poured their food, and munched quietly.
“Did you know,” said Aunt Zelda suddenly, “That these things are almost pure sugar?” She was looking at the side of the box. Lexie nodded. Her mouth was full.
“Why do you think you can’t stop shaking after you eat six bowls?” she asked after she swallowed.
“I thought I was just jumpy. I feel really happy for a while, though.”
“That’s called sugar high,” Lexie said knowledgably. “Then when you’re really tired, feeling sick, and are upset, that’s sugar low.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“Apparently, since you do it at least twice a week. Don’t you eat pure sugar up there?” She looked up.
“It’s not pure sugar. It’s something else. I don’t know where we get it.” Lexie looked at her.
“You don’t even know where you get your food?”
“Hey,” Aunt Zelda said defensively, “ You don’t know where McDonald’s food comes from, and you still eat it.” Lexie shook her head.
“That’s different. You don’t even know what it is!”
“Okay, so tell me, what’s in a McDonald’s hamburger?”
“Meat. Beef.”
“Yeah? What else?”
“That’s it.” Aunt Zelda gave a knowing laugh.
“Ha. We gods see everything that goes on in your little world. If you knew what was in those suckers, you’d never eat them again.” Lexie looked slightly green. Aunt Zelda gave a triumphant smile.
“I’m going to go to Damon’s house. Want to come with me?”
“Sure. Let me get my gloves.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you outside.” Lexie grabbed her coat off the hook, and went to wait outside on the porch. She pulled her gloves out of her pocket, snapped them to get all the lint off, and pulled them quickly on. Her fingers were already cold, and she’d been outside for only a few minutes. She shivered, and rubbed her hands together. Aunt Zelda peered out the window in the door.
“Is it cold?” she joked.
“No!” Lexie called. “It’s really nice out today. Tropical, almost. I should be wearing shorts!” Aunt Zelda laughed, and came outside.
“Ooh,” she said as she shivered. “Let’s hurry up and get to Damon’s house. We’ll walk.” Aunt Zelda preferred walking to driving, even though she liked cars well enough. Lexie didn’t argue. It was beautiful today. The snow sparkled over everything and was unblemished by foot prints and car tire marks. There were a few petite marks from where birds had landed on the surface of the snow and hopped about for a bit before taking off again. They oohed and ahed over them jointly.
“If Artemis was here, she could tell us which species of bird each track was from, and whether it is male or female,” Aunt Zelda said once. When Lexie looked skeptically at her, Aunt Zelda asked, “What? Do you not believe me? I am mortally wounded. She really can. Cross my heart and hope to die.” She put a hand over her heart.
“You can’t die, Aunt Zelda.”
“Oh, right. You get the idea,” she said, shrugging, and wrinkling her nose. Lexie closed her eyes, and nodded, shrugging slightly.
They arrived at Damon’s house, and Lexie knocked, her entire body shivering. David opened the door, and ushered them in.
“Do you guys want some hot chocolate?” he asked, concerned.
“That would be great!” Aunt Zelda said with enthusiasm.
“Thank you,” Lexie added politely. She looked around the dim hallway. A few pictures hung on the wall papered walls, and a crumbling bouquet hung over the door.
“Is Damon here?” Lexie asked, as they entered the kitchen.
“No, he left a little while ago. He was going somewhere on a date with Kiho, or something.”
“Oh.” Lexie’s face fell. David smiled wryly.
“That’s the same reaction Amanda had, but for different reasons.” Lexie blushed.
“Here’s your hot chocolate.” He offered her a mug, and she could see the white of marshmallows over the rim. She took it in both hands.
“Thank you.”
“And here’s yours,” he handed Aunt Zelda hers with great ceremony. They all smiled.
“So, are you here for a reason, or just a visit?” He finally asked.
“Since when do I need a reason to visit my best student?” Aunt Zelda teased. “We just decided to drop in. Lexie wanted to talk to Damon, but I guess she shall have to settle for little old you.” Lexie nodded.
“You just aren’t up to my standards, David. So sorry.” She tried to look sad.
“I’m terribly sorry that I’m so unsuitable for you. I shall depart anon.”
“Good word, anon.” Aunt Zelda said. “I like it. But please refrain from departing anon. I like you, even if my little niece here doesn’t. She has no idea what she’s missing.”
“Don’t I know it.” David struck a pose. Aunt Zelda rolled her eyes. They continued to talk and joke, but Lexie wasn’t paying attention anymore. She was thinking about Damon and Kiho. A date? They’re going on a date? He probably didn’t mean it like that, but if he didn’t, why was Amanda upset? She might have wanted to go somewhere with him. That’s probably all. She wasn’t sure, but it was better to think that than to have to worry about Kiho even more. If she liked Damon, it was no wonder she was trying to get rid of Amanda. Lexie couldn’t believe that Damon would go on a date with Kiho, though. Not if he knew it was a date. Lexie didn’t understand exactly what was going on.

Damon sat at a table in the bookstore’s café, reading a magazine. The café was usual, quotes on the walls, deep, sophisticated colors, like dark purple, green, tan and brown. There were a smattering of tables, only large enough for two or three, and bookshelves filled with food related topics surrounding. The hip young workers all had their hair dyed, and multiple piercings. Most of the girls wore almost no make up but heavy eyeliner. Damon shrugged mentally. Whatever floats your boat, he thought, and took another sip of his latte. Damon was addicted to coffee, and had it every morning, at least. Most days he had it much more often than that. In fact, he was wearing a shirt that read, “I love coffee!” as he was drinking. Though his older brother tried to tell him that it would stunt his growth, he just laughed. Damon was almost as tall as his brother, who was (average height for men) and he was still growing. He was sitting across from Kiho, who was actually dressed rather nicely, as opposed to her usual “throw whatever on, and brush hair” look that she usually went for. She had hardly said anything so far, just looked at him.
“Are you okay?” he finally asked her with a worried look. She looked up from her magazine.
“Yep. I’m fine. Why do you ask?” she said quickly. He shrugged.
“I don’t know. You just seem to be acting a little funny.”
“Oh, well, I do have a little cold. That’s all.” She sniffed. He nodded, downed the remnants of his drink, and set his magazine and the empty cup on the table.
“I’m finished, what about you?” Kiho hurriedly finished her drink, and stood up.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“All right, then.” He grabbed his coat, and swung it on to his arm. She slipped into her coat as well. They braved the growing cold of the outside, and hurried to Damon’s car.
Damon’s father was poor, but Damon had a job, and had managed to save enough money to buy a nice car. He hadn’t bought it new; he couldn’t afford it, and thought it an unnecessary waste. His father had been furious, but Damon had started breaking out of the mold his father had laid for him. Damon was a straight A student, and though his father didn’t want him to, he was planning on going to college. He’d bought the car because, in order to get a better job, he’d needed one. His father had insisted that he could just keep on with his old job, that he wasn’t going to be anything anyway, but Damon ignored him. Lexie and Kiho had both been impressed. Damon’s father was a scary man, and he was the only adult they still considered a giant. Kiho claimed that she would have stood up to him, too, but Damon told her that no matter how high she stood up, his father wouldn’t even see her. He’d been rewarded with a light kick in the shins, but he’d laughed.
“So, where’re we headed?” He asked her. She seemed to think for a moment.
“Let’s go home. I’m kind of tired.”
“Okay,” she said, looking at the clock. 3:45. It would take another 15 minutes to get home, but even then he would have plenty of time to get ready. He hadn’t wanted to make Kiho feel unwanted, but he’d been worried that she’d want to spend the entire day with him, then he’d have had to turn her down, because of his date with Amanda, Mark, and Lexie. Probably Aunt Zelda and David, too. All of their parents (minus Damon’s) required for there to be at least one adult at every date they had. Damon didn’t mind. He wasn’t planning on doing anything bad, anyway. He never did. Neither did Lexie or Kiho, and Kiho had told her father as much one time, before a date with someone. Mr. Braeden had responded with, “You aren’t planning, but something bad might happen without a plan.” He’d smiled then, but looked at Kiho hard, as if to say “I’m not joking. This is serious.” Kiho had nodded, rolled her eyes, and left with her mother to go get the boy. Soon, she just borrowed Aunt Zelda on a regular basis. Her parents trusted her, and Aunt Zelda didn’t mind. Normally when Damon went on dates the girl’s mother came but with Amanda, her mom knew Aunt Zelda fairly well. They worked at the library together. Kiho cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry about Amanda,” she said softly. He was surprised. It wasn’t like Kiho to give a straight out apology like that.
“It’s okay. She should have asked farther in advance if she wanted to book me,” he joked. “I’m a busy fellow. All the girls want me.” They often joked about how popular Damon was.
“I really don’t see why,” Kiho said, and started to add some other good-natured insult, but broke off. “I mean, you’re very handsome, and she must be really disappointed. I’m sorry.” Handsome? What is she talking about? She never gives compliments like that. He wrinkled his forehead.
“Thanks, but she’ll get over it. Not to sound callous, of course.” He smiled, but Kiho seemed uncomfortable, somehow. She sighed. “Are you sure you’re quite all right?” He was getting more worried. “Do you have a fever, or anything?” Kiho looked confused.
“No, why?” He shrugged, feeling embarrassed. She was probably wondering why he kept asking her that. She might be insulted, and if she was, he couldn’t really blame her. He would have been, too. He looked over at her quickly, so see if she was, but was confused by what he saw. She was looking at him queerly, and when he turned, she looked away swiftly. He shook his head slightly, and went back to driving. They soon arrived at her house, and Kiho unbuckled her seatbelt.
“I would drive you closer, but I can’t very well get up to your front porch.” He grinned, but she said quietly, “You could walk me up.” He stopped for an awkward second, and then got out.
“All right. I will.” He opened the door for her, took her hand, and walked her to the door. He was still smiling, thinking this was a game. Before she opened the door, she looked at him, and started to talk, so he turned to face her.
“Thank you so much for taking me. I really needed it.” She paused, and Damon got the odd feeling she was expecting something.
“Well, it was no trouble. Coffee and books. Great fun.” He went back to his car. He waved at her, and she waved feebly back. That was altogether odd.
Someone else thought that, too. Kiho’s next-door neighbor, who just so happened to be Amanda’s best friend.

“I can’t believe it!” Amanda shouted into the phone. “Was he seriously going to kiss Kiho Braeden?! He insisted that they were just friends!”
“Well,” Jessica said, “She wasn’t looking at him like I look at you, that’s for sure. She definitely doesn’t think they’re just friends. In fact, I think they both know that they’re more than friends.”
“I don’t believe it.” Jessica gave an indignant snort. “I don’t mean I don’t believe you, I’m just saying that maybe you were just mistaken. Or maybe Kiho thinks they are, but Damon doesn’t know. He is a guy, after all. He doesn’t even know that I’m in love with him, and you know how obvious that is.” She paused to sigh, and then went on. “He might not have any idea that Kiho Braeden is in love with him, too. He might not know that she wanted him to kiss her.”
“I didn’t get a really good look at his face,” Jessica admitted. “It’s possible he had no idea.”
“It’s even possible that she doesn’t know. I know that sometimes you’re friends with someone for so long, you don’t even know you’re in love. I can’t imagine that Kiho would do something like that when she knows he has a girlfriend. She didn’t seem to dislike me at all, at the dance. I’ve got to go now, Jessica. Mom wants me to do the dishes. See ya!”
“See you later,” Jessica said, and hung up. “I don’t care what Amanda thinks. Kiho so knew that she was in love. She couldn’t possibly been unknowing. Not from the way she was looking at him.” She looked out her window at Kiho’s house. “I just hope Damon figures it out before she tries something.”

Lexie was all ready for her date, but her heart was troubled. If Mark was the dark one, should she even be going out with him? Her life, and possibly more, could be on the line.