Look out for the <>!

Stella's POV

I wait outside until my cheeks hurt from the cold. But Gray never came back. 

I bit back tears as I walked into the school. One dance, that is what I got. It was magical, but not one magical dance will not make up for this. Leaving me, stranded at school. 

I don't talk to Alice about it when I join her circle. Instead, she wraps her arm around me, and we dance the night away. I wouldn't lie, I checked the gym door a fair amount, but I never saw Gray. When the dance ended, I went home with Alice. She never asked about Gray again. Probably because she knew. It was obvious.

I kept my face straight all the way home. Only the pillow kept my tears. How stupid was I thinking he would stay the whole time, with me? I am delusional. 

When I wake up the next day, I'm reluctant to go upstairs. Facing Bec and Dad is not something I want to do. They will ask questions I don't want to answer. I don't want them to demand Gray's head on a stake. Enough people want that. My family won't be one of them. Even if he left me stranded. 

When I finally make it upstairs, Dad and Bec are sitting at the kitchen island, waiting for me. It feels like a trap. I'm on edge, already thinking of what to say to them. 

"Hey! How was it?" Bec asks with a grin. 

Terrible. But let's not say that. Nope. That's no good. "It was as good as I thought it would be." 

"Amazing!"

I slide into an empty seat and peel a banana. Take deep breaths. Relax. They know nothing. 

"You must have gotten back late last night. Didn't hear you return," Dad says.

Thank goodness. That was kind of the point. "Went out with Alice and the crew afterwards. Sorry. Should have texted you." 

"Ah, it happens. Hey, I was thinking, want to go out biking this morning?" 

It's not like I want to be out in the cold. Did that enough yesterday night waiting for Gray to come back. "Sure. I'll come." 

Minutes later I am out in the cold, biking down a road with Dad. It's not ideal, but at least he won't be able to read my face if he asks any questions about last night. 

"What did you think of Gray?" I ask Dad as the icy wind hits my face. "What did you guys talk about?"

"Honestly, we just talked about you. He brought you up right away and told me he respected you and that he would do nothing to hurt you. He was very well mannered, more well mannered than I ever was at his age. Personally, I think he's a great kid. I give him my stamp of approval, if you want that."

But great kids don't leave people stranded at dances. I'm furious he did such a thing, but I also worry that there is a reason. The concern on his face, it told me something was wrong. If I wasn't so angry, I would text him. But I haven't. I probably won't.

"So, did he ask you to be his girlfriend yet?"

I frown as I thought about how he ran off after the dance. That was answer enough for me. He won't ask me. Probably will never. I'm barely a friend to him. That is where I'll stay. I hate it. "No."

"You'll get there. Man, that boy likes you a lot. He will get there, maybe he hasn't worked up the nerve yet."

"You think he likes me?"

"That's obvious, Stella." He chuckles. "So tell me how the dance was last night."

Here we go. What to say to a man who works with liars for a living. He'll see right through me if I'm not careful. 

"He's a good dancer," I say. His hands on my hips are something that I cannot get out of my mind. He held me with such confidence but with concern all at once. I wish he would just tell me his concerns. Help me understand him.

He laughs as he wipes a tear from his face, probably because of the cold. My eyes are tearing up too. Gosh, it's cold out here. "And did he kiss you?"

I wish. "No. Totally PG if you were worrying about something." 

He shakes his head. "Not worrying. Just wondering." 

"For my first homecoming dance, it will remain unforgettable."

"Hold up. This was your first homecoming?" he asks in shock.

I smirk as I push forward on the bike. He bikes faster than me. It's hard to keep up. Snow starts to fall around us, wetting the ground. "You may find it hard to believe, but I am not as popular as you were in school."

"I would think otherwise there because it seems like you have so many friends here."

"I have more friends here than I ever did in LA."

"Is that a good thing?"

I was so caught up with my predicable life in LA that over time the friends stopped calling because they knew I wouldn't adjust my schedule for last-minute plans. But here, my life is nothing but predicable and as stressful as it can be, it made me realize that predicable is too stiff. "I think so. I like the friends I have here."

"Good. I am thrilled how you are settling in..... Dang, can you believe that we've been biking for seven miles already?"

I shake my head as the conversation turned back to biking. "No, but time flies when there are wonderful conversations."

"You are superb at keeping up with me."

"Well, practice makes perfect." 

I never thought I would enjoy biking with Dad. But here we are on our third outing. It feels like it's becoming a habit now, just like our late-night conversations with milk and sweets. For a while, I thought my father would give me no time, but he is changing into something I never foresaw.

"You will be pro in no time."

I chuckle. "I hardly doubt that. But I enjoy doing this with you."

"And I love biking with you, too. This has been too much fun."

"What are we going to do when the snow covers the paths?" I ask as the snow starts to come down harder. It's only going to get colder as the weeks go on. Snow will over everything so deeply that it would be impossible to bike.

"I know you aren't interested in skiing but..."

"I'll try skiing." 

At this point, I will try anything. Who knows, it might grow on me like biking did.

"We can start small."

"That's the best way to do it."

For a moment, we were silent as we continue down the trail. The flurries continue to get heavier, hitting my face with more force. I want to suggest giving up, but don't want to appear like a quiter so I stay quiet. 

"I'm really glad you are here with us. You have really added a lot to our lives."

"I'm glad I am here too," I say. 

Coming to Jackson was never my first choice, but now that I am here, I wouldn't want it any other way. Jackson is home, just like LA is.

"Well Stella, the snow is getting bad, so how about we call it quits for today."

"I couldn't have agreed more."

"Ok. I have to run get coffee and have a quick meeting with a coworker. I'll meet you at home?"  He asks as he pulls in front of a small coffee shop.

Home was only a mile away, and I was fine handling this on my own. "That's fine with me."

"Want anything?"

"Nah, I'll see you at home," I say and peddle down the bike path, trying to quicken my speed to avoid slipping on snow.

The snow continues to hit my face, making it harder to see. The roads are getting slicker. I have to get home quickly. 

I push harder but I was not prepared for the loud bang that startled me. I jump, falling off my bike into the snow. 

I look around for the source of the sound and see Grayson opening a small archway gate. On the other side of the gate is a green field with birds chirping, a stark different from the snowy scene I sit in. The sun shined on the other side, but here is only gray. I was never a believer in magic, but something tells me that this is not earthly. My heart speeds up. The school is right; Grayson isn't like everyone else. He is hiding something.

<>

My butt turns cold and wet as I sit in the snow watching Grayson stumble out of the gate. He waves his hands while saying something that sounds like Latin, then the gate vanishes with a popping sound. What replaces it is just a wooden archway to a field. 

No more sun or chirping birds. Just snow. 

I rub my eyes, fearing I imagined all of it. But I know what I saw. My brain is not that creative. 

Gray coughs as he falls to the ground. My attention turns to him, seeing his bare arms covered in whip marks. He pays no attention to me as he wipes blood off his face.

Unable to sit and watch any more, I stand from the ground. "Are you ok?"

He jumps to face me. "I'm fine," he says as he gets up from the ground, confirming that he is not fine, in fact, he is less than fine.

"What is this?" I ask, pointing to the archway. I have passed this archway many times before and thought nothing of it, but clearly I'm wrong. 

"Stella, you need to leave," he says firmly as he spits blood from his mouth.

"Why? I already saw what I wasn't supposed to see, so what was there left to lose." 

His face twists up as if he ate something sour. 

I will never share his secret, I just want answers. If he will not answer that question, the least he could do is answer why he looked like he was beat up. "What happened to you?"

"Stella, I am serious. Leave."

I shake my head and watch him pull his black hoody over his injured body. He is alone in this field with snow falling heavily and he wants me to leave. Not this time. I cannot. Not while he is in this state. "I just watched you come out of nowhere. It looked like another world over there. Where did you go? And what happened to you?"

He shakes his head, staring at me. Finally he sighs as his attention turns to the ground then back towards me. "You want to know the truth? You want to know some answers. Fine, you can have them. I killed him. The school was right. I am a killer. In cold blood. He ran through this gate." He points towards it. "and I let him knowing that the beasts on the other side could kill him. And they did. Within minutes. I didn't bother to save him, I didn't even pull his body out for his family. He died, and I watched from this side. Stella, I warned you, I am dangerous and you need to leave."

He spoke with such spite and hatred as if he really is a bad guy. His words dig into me like a knife in a wound. I thought he was different, I really thought he was a good guy that those were just rumors, but he spoke with such conviction as if he did do what the school said. My eyes well up with tears. "You aren't a killer," I say, trying to give him another chance to get out of his statement. There has to be more to the story, and I need to find it. Grayson couldn't be a killer.

He glares at me. I take a step back. "You don't know what I am, Stella. Now go, it would be better if we never talked again."

I cannot move. There is a tone in his voice that makes me think he doesn't mean it. He couldn't mean it. We are friends. 

"Stella, leave. I would hate for you to be killed too. Do us both a favor and stop being my friend," he says firmly.

I give a sharp nod, getting the picture. Whatever Grayson and I have is over. He is a killer; he killed what we had. 

Without another word, I leave him alone in the field.