My sneakers chirped against the tiles as I walked. It was weird. Whenever I took this path to class, my shoes would quack like a rubber duck all the way down the hall. After today's meeting with Mrs. K, I couldn't help wonder if she'd spelled the hallway to announce my presence. But with nothing other than the Science class and a few lockers, why would she bother?

Fortunately for me, sounding like a squeaky toy wasn't a problem tonight. Most resident students were likely still in the mess hall or back in their dorms so that only left me to cringe at the annoying sound.

"I'd recognize those squawking shoes anywhere." Chloe peeked around the corner, then ducked out of view.

Great. After all of Chloe's accusations from last night, she was the last person I wanted to run into. The temptation to turn around and take the long way to my dorm was overwhelming. I slowed to a stop and glanced back at the way I'd just come from.

After everything I'd been through today, nothing Chloe could dish out would be worse than that. Right? I took a hesitant step forward, continued down the hall and rounded the corner watching the tiles pass under my shoes.

"Oh, geez." I nearly collided into Jennifer McGee, Jake's sister.

"Haven't you caused enough catastrophes this week?" Her perfectly curled chocolate-brown hair bounced over her vintage pink sweater set. "Murderer," she said through clenched teeth.

"What did you say?" I answered.

Jenn crossed her arms and leaned all of her weight onto one leg. "Chloe told me everything. You may have the police fooled but not me. If you think pretending to be in love with my brother for the past two years is going to blind me to what you did, you're sadly mistaken." She took a long stride forward.

I backed up. "You're kidding. I had nothing to do with that."

"Funny, that's not what Chloe says."

Chloe stepped out of Jennifer's shadow with a broad grin.

Two-faced witch. Of course, she'd use this as her opportunity to get with the in-crowd at school. So much for being my friend.

"Don't believe everything you hear," I said in a flat tone.

"My parents fund the mayor's campaign, and you can bet they're demanding answers about my brother's death. And after hearing everything Chloe has told me, who do you think they'll find responsible?" She poked my chest with her finger.

I shoved her hand away. "Don't touch me."

"Or what? You'll do to me what you did to my brother?"

"Are you deaf?" I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms. "I didn't kill your brother."

"Maybe you missed the memo. I don't believe you." She furrowed her brows. "And just in case you're thinking about showing up for his funeral—don't."

Chloe shoved her bag into her locker. "I don't think you're invited," she whispered. "Or welcome."

"Watch your back, Jennifer. Believing lies will get you into trouble."

"The only liar here is you. As if you ever had a chance with Jake. Just look at you." She shoved past me, knocking me into the lockers.

I resisted the urge to smooth out my hair and tell her I was dating Jake. If I did, she wouldn't have believed me anyway. Besides, if she weren't related to Jake, I wouldn't care what she thought, unfortunately for me, she was, and some small part of me wished for her acceptance.

"God, you smell like a gym bag. There's this thing called a shower, ever use one?" She waved her hand in front of her face, wrinkling her nose, then walked to the end of the hall and around the corner out of sight. "Are you coming, Chloe?"

"Right behind you." Chloe shut the locker and jogged to catch up, but just before she turned the corner, she looked back. Her eyes flashed fire-orange, and her smile twisted and curled at the edges. "See you around—or not." She disappeared from view with her chuckles echoing off the walls.

I pursed my lips, feeling a little pissed off with myself for ever having been friends with her. I shook my head. "So not worth it."

Five minutes later, I'd made it back to my dorm, and to my relief, my thieving roommates were nowhere in sight. I was tempted to offer Aggie a year's supply of candy to keep an eye on the two of them. I stripped off my sweaty shirt, tossed it on the bathroom counter and kicked my jeans to the side. The steam from the shower had already fogged up the mirror and dripped down the glass. I stepped into the tub and pulled the opaque pink curtain along the rod. That's a good idea. I tipped my head back under the water, soaking my hair.

If Aggie watched them, I'd get rid of two problems—my meddlesome roommates' thievery and being the target of Aggie's pranks. I grabbed the bottle of shampoo, poured a pink ribbon of soap into my hand and scrubbed my hair clean. The tiny silver keys on my bracelet jingled, and the hot water dripped down my face, soothing away the endless aches from my day. My ankle looked better than it did this morning, but the dark plum bruises still marked my skin. That was the one benefit of being a necromancer, at least my injuries healed fast.

The warm air chilled and a loud bell chimed in my head, announcing the presence of a ghost. I turned off the tap and wrung the water from my hair. "Jake?"

"Yeah..." he answered in a long drawn out uncomfortable way.

"What are you doing in here? This is the bathroom." I grabbed the thin plastic curtain, wrapped it around me and peeked past the edge. "When I said see you back at my dorm, I wasn't referring to in here."

"Your two evil roommates came back. When Tammy started pulling off her shirt, I fled." He stared at the floor with his hands in his pockets and shuddered. "This was the closest door out, and now I'm not so sure this escape route was the best option." He swayed back and forth scuffing his foot against the ground.

Already hyperaware of my nakedness, the plastic curtain crackled in my grip, reminding me I didn't bring a fresh set of clothes in with me. My sweaty clothes next to the sink stunk so bad I could smell them from behind the curtain. No way I was putting those back on. I peeked around the wall, and my towel still hung on the rack where I left it two days ago, which was a miracle in itself since Tammy had a habit of stealing it like everything else I owned. The towel it is.

Not being able to reach around the wall and see what I was reaching for at the same time, I held the curtain in against my chest and blindly swiped at the towel rack. When my fingertips brushed the soft fabric, I yanked my precious towel from the rod and quickly wound the plush sheet around me. The old porcelain tub squeaked as I stepped over the edge onto the tile floor.

Jake stared at my toes then slowly dragged his gaze over me clutching my towel. "Scratch that, the scenic detour was absolutely the best decision I've made all day."

My cheeks warmed, and I backed up until my butt smacked the door, making it rattle. "Clothes..." My voice cracked. "I should—yeah, you know, get some."

"Or you could join me on the other side of this invisible wall." Jake tilted his head, letting his hair fall into his dreamy sky-blue eyes. "Clothes are definitely optional."

Water dripped down my legs and pooled at my feet. Only two days ago, in English class, I fantasized what it'd be like to kiss him. And now? My mouth went dry, and I tried to swallow. I stood face to face with Jake McGee, wearing nothing but a towel.

"I can't." The words spilled from my lips, making me wish I could take them back almost as quickly as I'd said them. "Not that I don't want to. Well, what I mean is, yes to the first part. But to the second, I can't or at least not yet... " My cheeks got hotter with each nonsensical word I uttered. "I just mean no to the no clothes thing, and yes to joining you." I groaned and dragged my hand down my face. "Once I find my clothes, which I should get."

Kill me now. For the first time ever, I wanted to use my powers and disappear. Ironically, that would only land my towel-clad butt right in front of Jake.

The corners of his lips turned up, and he let out a chuckle. "You're super cute when you're flustered." He placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door a crack. "You should get some clothes."

I stared at the brass knob. How did he—?

His eyes sparkled. "Hurry up, so I can tell you what I found in Kennedy's office."

"You were supposed to be picking up papers not searching her office. Do you want her to ban you from the building?"

"Relax." He shrugged a shoulder. "She never saw a thing. Besides who said I couldn't do both?" He shoved the door open wider. "Go get changed." Jake grabbed the edge of the wood, preventing me from passing. "Unless you changed your mind about my earlier offer."

"You wish." I ducked under his arm and closed the door behind me.

"You're my girlfriend, Tessa, of course I wish," he hollered beyond the door. "If I didn't think of you that way, we shouldn't be dating. But after seeing you in that towel, I'm sure glad we are."

Thanks for reading more coming over the Christmas holidays!