Addiction (Book One of the Addiction Series)

Adam is in my 5th period World History class, but his assigned seat is in the back, five desks behind mine. He waves at me when he comes in, but we don't really speak again until we're on the bus at the end of the day. This time I let him sit with me, although the closer proximity makes things more difficult

"Do you need me to move?" he asks, grimacing sympathetically as I shift against the side window, trying to do my deep breathing exercises.

"No," I grunt, closing my eyes for a minute. "I'll be okay in just a second. It's just...a lot."

"Sorry."

"No, no, don't be sorry! Just... just talk to me. Tell me something about your day."

"Okay. Well... let's see... I have Grouseman for AP English Lit, and he just assigned me a fifteen-page paper on Chaucer."

"I hate Chaucer," I mutter. "I'm an English major. I've read way too much Chaucer."

"Maybe you can help me then! I'm way behind everyone else, we didn't read Chaucer in my old school. Have you read The Canterbury Tales?"

"Every last one of them. Twice." I give him a wry smile. This is working. A bit, at least. It is distracting me. "I can help you."

"Great! Maybe you could come over to my house on Friday then? Or... wait, that might be a bad idea..." His face falls.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm staying with this family, they're friends with my dad... and they all have magic too."

"Ah." An entire house full of magic. I feel woozy just thinking about it. "Well... maybe you could come to my house then. I'll have to ask. But I think my parents will probably be thrilled... I haven't had anyone over for years."

"Awesome! Then on Friday I'll just get off at your stop. But now, I have to get off at mine."

I am a bit started to see that the bus has stopped, and that so much time has passed. For the first time since I can remember, I haven't been just hanging on from one second to the next, waiting for it to be bedtime so I can block out the world. I was enjoying a good, worthwhile conversation. I made a friend.

"Oh, okay! I guess I'll... see you tomorrow then?" It is a question. Nothing is a certainty for me. Hell, I'm not even sure this isn't all just some sort of hallucination I'm having, or that he's not some sort of imaginary friend I made up. It seems impossible that someone like Adam would actually, genuinely want to see me again (or see me for the first time).

"See you tomorrow, Danika Rose." He gives me a grin and a wave.

Then he gets off the bus, and that flopping thing in my stomach starts to flutter like wings.