"I heard about the dance. The boy."

Evelyn.

Maura's footsteps faltered, surprised by the girl's sudden appearance beside her. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, immediately on guard.

How had Evelyn found out about the incident with Justin? She'd told no one, and she was sure Justin had been too drunk to remember almost swallowing her face. They'd passed each other in the hall just last period, and his eyes had swept over her without even a flicker of recognition. She was nothing more than some random face in the crowd, which she was totally okay with. Besides, he was sporting an impressive black eye thanks to Luke. There's no way Justin would own up to getting his ass kicked by the new kid.

"Your date left early?" Evelyn said, a questioning note in her voice.

Maura breathed a little easier. "Oh. You're talking about Colin."

"Yes. Colin. I had forgotten his name."

Maura brushed past a throng of students clustered in the middle of the hallway. "There was an accident at the auto shop where Colin works," she explained. "His dad got hurt. They were at the hospital all night. He'll be okay, though."

"Oh. Such a shame," Evelyn replied with a cluck of the tongue. She paused, and then: "Lucky for you Luke was there to save the day."

"Uh-huh. He's a . . . he's a real life-saver," Maura replied carefully. Something about their conversation struck Maura as strange. She stopped at her locker and spun the dial, aware of the other girl's unrelenting gaze.

"I had a feeling you would come around," Evelyn said. "All you had to do was give him a chance."

"What can I say? I guess he's growing on me."

"Our mother will be happy to hear that."

"Your mother?" Maura slammed her locker door and began weaving her way through the hall once more. "What does your mother have to do with anything?"

"She's been worried about Luke. He's been so sullen lately. Hearing he finally has a girlfriend will please her."

"Well, I'm not sure we've reached the point of labeling our relationship, but I know for a fact I'm not his girlfriend."

"Did something happen? I thought you had a pleasant evening." Maura pretended not to hear, and Evelyn laughed. "Fine. Keep your secrets. I'll learn them soon enough."

"I'm not keeping secrets," Maura said. "If you want the truth, I don't want to get involved with anyone this close to graduation. Parting ways and all that, you know? I'm sure there will be a million other girls Luke will want to date once he goes off to college."

"Perhaps you're afraid of getting your heart broken," Evelyn said.

Maura reached her classroom and stopped just outside the doorway. She turned to face Evelyn, clutching her books against her chest. "I'm not afraid of getting my heart broken."

Evelyn continued to hover, showing no signs of leaving. "The bell's about to ring," Maura said. "Don't you have a class to get to?"

Evelyn bit her bottom lip and grasped Maura's arm. "I want to apologize for my behavior. From before. It was entirely abominable. I honestly don't know what got into me."

Maura glanced over her shoulder at the sanctuary of her classroom. She wished this strange girl—this odd faery, if that's really what she was—would leave already. "You already apologized," she said. "And anyway, I suppose I've been touchy lately with finals and graduation coming up."

Luke had once advised her to tread lightly around Evelyn, which meant pretending she knew nothing about their world. That part, at least, wasn't difficult. She didn't know anything about their world, if faery worlds even existed.

"Regardless," Evelyn said. She turned then without another word and sauntered off, leaving Maura staring after her in confusion.

**********

Colin wasn't in school that day, so Maura took a detour to his house on her way home. She knocked on the door and was immediately greeted by a puppy barking. The door opened a few moments later with Colin looking adorably sweet in a pair of plaid flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt, his hair standing in disheveled spikes. His smile was disarming.

"Hi," he said, obviously pleased to see her.

The dog ran out to sniff Maura's legs, and she reached down to stroke his head and ears. "You weren't in school," she said.

"I took the day off to help my mom out with my dad—get him used to taking it easy for a change, you know?"

"How is he?" Maura asked. The car under which Colin's dad had been working had slipped partially off its jack. He'd suffered several broken ribs.

Colin smirked. "Impossible. He's not used to just sitting around." His smile fell then, and his shoulders rose and fell. "We could have lost him, Maura. We were really lucky. Just a few more inches and . . ." He shook his head, his words trailing off. "Thank God some of the guys were there with him when it happened. He's never had an accident like that before. He's always been really careful."

Maura reached out to touch his hand. "I'm so sorry, Colin. I can't imagine how scary that was for you. I'm glad he'll be okay, though."

Colin nodded and turned his hand over so that their fingers twined. "Do you want to come in?"

She grimaced inwardly and squeezed his hand. "I can't stay long. Can we . . . can we talk?"

"Uh-oh," Colin replied. "That can't be good."

Maura gestured to the porch stairs and they sat down side by side, close enough so that their arms touched. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact, the skin-to-skin contact felt really good. Maura took a deep breath. "I like you, Colin." From the corner of her eye, she saw him nod.

"I like you, too," he said. "So why do I get the feeling that you're breaking up with me?"

"Were we ever really going out? Exclusively, I mean?"

"I guess not," he said. "Though I had high hopes. I feel like we never got a chance to get started."

Maura sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. Like, you don't even know how sorry I am. There's some stuff going on in my life right now, stuff I can't talk about or explain, stuff that doesn't make much sense to me. It wouldn't be fair to you if we were more than friends right now."

"What about Luke?" There was no animosity or accusation in his voice when he asked the question, but the words still stung.

"What about him?"

Colin turned so he was facing her. He reached for her hand, and she let him take it. "I see the way he looks at you, Maura. It's the same way I've been looking at you for as long as we've known each other, only you're too much in your head to notice."

"My issues have nothing to do with Luke," she said, though even she could hear the lie in her voice.

Colin released her hand and rose. "Here's the deal, Maura. I like you. Probably more than I should. I can't help it. I'm not going anywhere, so get in touch with me if you change your mind about us."

Maura looked down at her lap and nodded. She didn't deserve someone as good as Colin. "Thank you," she whispered.

She heard the door open behind her and Colin whistled for the dog, who obediently scampered inside the house after him. Seconds later, the door closed again, and she was all alone.

*****

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