Chapter 33 - Sorry Carter

“Hey K,” Drake greeted Kerri cheerfully the next morning as she came in, followed by Arik. “Anything interesting happen last night?”

Kerri’s eyes widened. Arik, you bastard. She reached behind and pinched him.

He sucked in a breath. He doesn’t know, I promise.

“No, Drake,” Kerri said, smiling sweetly. “Why do you ask?”

Drake shrugged. “Just wondering.” He looked meaningfully at Arik.

Kerri pursed her lips. Arik, you bastard. She reached behind and pinched him again. Hard.

“Yow!” Arik yelped. “Stop that, it hurts.”

“That’s the idea,” Kerri replied dryly.

“What’d you do that for?” Drake asked her.

Kerri and Arik exchanged a look, and she saw a wicked gleam enter his eyes.

You tell him, and I will kill you, she threatened him.

“She did it because she thought I told you we made out last night.”

“What?” Carter and Drake shot up from their chairs, the latter squealing in excitement.

Kerri glared at Arik. He smirked.

“See,” he said, adapting a face of innocence. “I told you he didn’t know.”

“You…bastard.”

“You know, you’ve used that word so many times, it’s starting to become an endearment.”

Kerri gritted her teeth. “I’d give you a split lip right now, but—”

“But she still wants to make out with you tonight,” Drake cut in.

Kerri spun around. “Are you tired of life?”

Drake backed off immediately. “Whoa, hormone alert.”

“I bet she has her period right now,” Carter said. “Girls are always so moody at that time of the month.”

“I am not going to talk to you about…my time of the month.” Kerri picked up an apple that was on the table and bounced it off Carter’s head before sitting down next to Drake, who offered her his food.

“Thank you.” She took a banana and started eating it.

“We’re going to have to resume practise today, Kerri,” Arik said from where he was sitting across from her.

“Since when did you start calling her by her first name?” Carter asked him.

Drake gasped. “Does that mean you guys really made out?”

Kerri draped her banana peel over his face. “Yes. Shut up.”

Drake squealed. He took the banana peel at his face. “You,” he said pointing the banana peel at her face, “made out with him?” he asked, pointing the banana peel at Arik. Unfortunately, he seemed to lose grip and the banana peel went flying into Arik’s face.

Kerri laughed at the look of Arik choking on his food and trying to spit out the banana peel that was in his mouth. “Yes. And vice versa. But don’t throw anything at me.”

“I told you that you two were True Loves,” Carter said, smirking.

“Just because we kissed doesn’t mean we’re True Loves.”

“Arik must’ve loved Sitara a lot to think that she was his True Love. If he still made out with you after Sitara left that means he must love you a lot more. Which probably means you’re his True Love,” Carter said all in one breath, ignoring Arik’s glare.

“He doesn’t…love me,” Kerri said. “Does he?” she mentally added.

“Well, we’ll see,” Carter said, standing up and walking over to her. “Bear with me for a moment,” he told her. And kissed her.

Then suddenly, he wasn’t kissing her anymore. He was flying across the room. He crashed into a table of food, which crashed into the wall, cracking it. With a groan he slid down to the floor, touching his forehead gingerly and wincing in pain.

Open-mouthed, Kerri turned to stare at Arik. The hand he held out in front of him was still twitching. He was breathing heavily, and he had a look of shock on his face as he stared at his hand. Everybody in the dining hall had the same look of shock on their faces as they stared at him. He leapt off the table and shifted so that he was next to Carter.

“I’m sorry,” he said, apologising profusely. “I don’t know what came over me. I was just…I couldn’t…I don’t know what came over me.”

Carter smiled weakly. “Congratulations,” he croaked. “You two are True Loves.”

Drake took Kerri’s hand and shifted over to Carter as well.

“Carter,” he admonished. “You should know better than to kiss Arik’s—or anyone else’s, for that matter—True Love.”

“Well, at least now they actually know they’re True Loves.”

Kerri crouched down next to Carter. “Oh my God, are you okay?” she parted his blonde hair gently. “You’re bleeding. Oh God, somebody take him to the medical centre.” God, Arik, I can’t believe you just did that.

Me neither. He was still looking at his hand with an expression that was a mixture of shock and suspicion.

“I…I’m so sorry,” Arik told Carter. “I’ll…I’ll bring you to the medical centre."

“No,” Drake said, helping Carter up. “You’re staying with Cinderella. I believe you two have some talking to do.” He put an arm around Carter to support his weight and shifted off.

Kerri turned to stare at him. “You…that was…totally unnecessary.”

He bit his lip. “I don’t know what came over me.”

She was about to say something when she realised that everybody in the dining hall was still staring at them. “Nothing to look at,” she called to them. “Get back to eating your breakfast. It’s none of your freaking business.”

They turned back to their food, muttering between themselves.

“I know I said no public display of affection,” Kerri said to Arik. “But that doesn’t mean you have to show public display of…violence!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just…I still can’t believe I did that.”

“Well, neither can I.” She crossed her arms, biting her lips. “This is going to get to the boss, isn’t it,” she said after a pause.

Arik sighed and nodded heavily. “Sorry.” He walked over so that he was standing right in front of her. “Are we allowed to publicly display our affections now?” he asked meekly.

She half sighed, half laughed as he pulled her into a hug. “We really need to clear this up.”

Arik clicked his fingers. “Done.”

Just then, Mandy walked into the dining room. “Ricky!” she called.

Kerri and Arik exchanged a look.

Okay, okay, I’ll do it. But why now?

Things can’t possibly get any worse.

You wanna bet? He led Mandy out of the dining hall, saying that he needed to talk to her. I’ll be back in about five minutes. Don’t be surprised if I have a slap mark on my face when I come back.

She wasn’t surprised when he had a slap mark on his face when he came back.

I was wrong when I said that things couldn’t possibly get any worse, wasn’t I?

Pretty much.

Sorry.

You should be. He grabbed her hand and shifted.

***

“We have to be professional now,” Arik warned her.

She smirked. “I don’t think I’m going to have that problem. You, on the other hand…”

He sighed. “Just drop it. Please?”

“Okay, okay. What are you teaching me today?”

“Show me your powers first.”

She held her hand out in front of her and a ball of golden light that was about the size of a football hovered over it.

Arik’s eyes widened.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It seems to have…grown quite a lot.” Arik pointed at her power. “Only people who’ve lived for at least a hundred and fifty years old can have that much power.”

Kerri stared down at her hand. “Oh wow.”

“Okay, now show me fire.”

She held out her hand, felt her Mark glow and divided the head from the cold. Fire erupted from her hand and towards a couple of trees nearby and set them ablaze. They both gasped.

“Hurry,” Arik said. “Put the fire out.”

Kerri bit her lip and held her hand out against the trees and ice blasted out, freezing the trees completely. “Oops.”

“It’ll melt.” Arik blinked a couple of times. “Shift.”

“To where?”

“Anywhere within my eyesight.”

She closed her eyes and drew up a map of the meadow they were in. She smirked and shifted.

“Kerri?” Arik looked around him. “Kerri? Where are you?”

She waved to him from on top of a tree.

He sighed. “Get back here.”

“If you insist.” She shifted and landed right in front of him so that he gasped in surprise.

“Have you practised at all during these few days except for with Joshua?” he asked her once he regained his composure.

“No.”

Arik gave a low whistle.

“What? What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Uh okay, today I’m going to teach you how to...control your fire and water. We’ll start with fire.” He clicked his fingers and a flame appeared between his fingers. Kerri watched as he drew it out with his other hand and the fire got bigger and bigger and danced around them both.

“That’s so cool.”

“You try.”

She frowned. “Don’t you have to teach me how?”

He waited patiently. “Just try. I have a feeling you’ll be able to do it.”

She summoned up fire and hesitantly drew it out into a long shape. Then she drew it so that it was long and thin and looked like a whip. She smirked at Arik, who paled.

“No, don’t—” he stopped talking and jumped to avoid the fire whip. “Are you crazy? Stop!” Ice thrust out of his hand and only just froze the whip, the ice melting into water almost immediately.

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