"Is something stressing you out at school? What happened last night to make you tense? Is something going on that we need to know about?"

"Mom! Would you give her break. I don't sleep well after a midnight debrief either."

At that moment, Gemma would have handed Ruby a platter of stars if she'd been able to. She shot her a quick smile. Ruby's wink was subtle as she stood up.

"Alright everyone." Alistair offered his youngest daughter a hand up. "Let's take a fifteen minute break. Go get a drink, take some time out. I want you all back here at ten hundred and we're going to practice this until we get it right."

Gemma looked over her father's shoulder and watched the twins roll their eyes and stifle groans behind his back. She didn't know whether they were blaming her for the extended training session or not, but she didn't want to stick around and have their black looks aimed at her. Grabbing a towel, she wiped her face and tore up the stairs to her room.

Slamming the door behind her, she fell on her bed and gazed up at the ceiling. She blinked at the moisture building in her eyes and covered her face with the towel as the door crept open.

It was shut quietly behind her visitor. Gemma didn't want to look. She felt the bed shift beneath her as she was joined.

"So, what's up grumpy pants?"

"Ruby, leave me alone."

"Not gonna happen, you may as well 'fess up now."

Ruby pulled the towel from her sister's face and threw it across the room. Gemma watched it land on the lip of the laundry hamper. Gravity won and pulled the towel to the floor. She resisted the urge to stand and pick it up. Their mother hated mess.

Ruby placed an ice pack on Gemma's throbbing jaw. She winced at the cold, but held it in place.

"I have a problem."

"No kidding." Ruby's mockery made Gemma smile.

"I like a guy."

Her sister gasped and sat up with bright eyes. "I knew it! I knew you had a crush on someone. You've been all weird and moody for months now. Who is it?"

Gemma cringed. "Harrison Granger."

Ruby looked thoughtful for a minute then grinned. "Yeah, I think I know him. He is cute. A little skinny, but cute."

Gemma rolled onto her side with a groan.

"So what's the problem?"

"Ruby, don't ask me that! You know what the problem is."

"Not really."

Punching her pillow with a loud huff, Gemma flicked Ruby's hand off her shoulder.

"I never expected him to talk to me. I thought if he ever did he'd be as weirded out as everyone else, but he's..." She turned to look at her sister. "He's really nice." Turning back with a frown, she sniffed. "And I so can't go there! Why did he have to talk to me? Why couldn't he leave me alone?"

Ruby was silent while Gemma stewed. She could only imagine what her sister was thinking. She was probably trying really hard not to laugh behind her back. Gemma couldn't bear to look, so kept her face stuffed into the pillow. Eventually her sister sighed and placed a tender hand on her shoulder.

"Gem, this is high school. You only get one shot and you're completely wasting it. You need to go for this guy. Have some fun."

"How? Mom and Dad will see right through me and I don't trust myself to-"

"You've always been the perfect daughter. They won't expect you to break the rules. Mom even said she wanted you to make a friend."

"I don't think she had Harrison Granger in mind when she said that."

"So what? She'll never find out."

Gemma winced.

"Look, sweetie, you need to enjoy the opportunities that are coming your way now. I know you hate lying and that's why you push people away, but look how miserable you are. You can't spend the rest of your life trying to make Mom and Dad happy. At some point you need to decide when this life belongs to you."

Ruby squeezed her shoulder and pulled her around so they were face to face.

"You don't see Dom and I moping around every weekend. We know we can never get too close, but we can get close enough to have a little fun... and you don't have to lie to your friends, just avoid the subject of who we are."

"But I've screwed up before."

"Once! You were thirteen! She was your best friend. It was all new and you were trying to process it."

"What if she'd believed me? What if she'd told someone else?"

"But she didn't."

Gemma's eyes filled with instant tears. "No, she didn't."

She would never forget the look on Zoey's face after she'd told her. Her best friend's voice had dripped with disdain at Gemma's excuse for bailing on her. You know, I never thought you'd lie to me. She'd shaken her head and turned to leave. If you don't want to be my friend anymore, you should have the guts to say so. Then she'd left and three days later the moving company had arrived.

"I don't want to hurt him. I don't want to lie. I want to be in a relationship where I can be myself."

"Relationship? Sweetie, chillax! We're talking about a casual fling here. And stop putting such a negative twist on the whole lying thing." Ruby lay down, one arm resting behind her head. "Do you remember the legend that Mom used to tell us when we were kids... about the electus?"

"The chosen ones."

"Yeah, well, you know how their mother was killed and then they faded to gold dust, but returned and everything was back to normal? Lucia was alive again."

Gemma nodded.

"Well when they told Lucia about it, she knew right away that they held a powerful gift that needed protecting. So the village made an oath to guard their skills... and it wasn't just any oath, it was a blood oath. Secrecy was paramount to their survival."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm trying to make a point." She turned to face her sister. "Secrets are not always a bad thing, Gem. The oath needs to be honored or people get hurt."

"You're talking about Decimus, aren't you?"

Ruby nodded at Gemma's referral to the seventh member of the electus. According to legend, the seven babes had simply appeared on earth around 150BC. As they had grown, the three girls had fallen in love with the three boys. Decimus was the only one left without a mate... the black sheep that Gemma dreaded becoming.

"I don't want to make that same mistake he did."

"But you won't. You've had years of this stuff shoveled down your throat. Your first instinct is to protect your family... and that's what you'll do."

Gemma gazed up at the ceiling, tortured.

"Do what I do, Gem. Don't think of it as lying. Think of it as protecting the ones you love."

"That's why I push people away, Rube, because I love you guys."

"Yes... and we love you too, which is why you need to stop hiding and go enjoy your life. It's not like you're proposing marriage. We're just talking a couple of dates and a few kisses. Go to the movies, make out a little. Enjoy it."

Gemma felt a smile tugging at her lips. She shuffled her body and swung her arm around her sister. "Thanks, Ruby."

"Girls! Break's over!"

They both groaned then giggled as they sat up.

"Ready to go kick Dom's b.u.t.t?"

"Always. I heard Dad mention pulling out the weapons later too. We can broad sword his a.s.s."

This sent them into fits of giggles as they wove their way through the house and down into the bas.e.m.e.nt for another round of training.

Gemma felt lighter when she woke the next morning. She took her time getting ready, choosing her skinny jeans and brown leather boots for a change. She tied her hair back into its usual ponytail and ignored Ruby's suggestion of a little make up. There were still lines that needn't be crossed.

She felt confident that the day would go well. Everything had been planned. She would find a way to casually b.u.mp into Harrison, then she'd smile, say hi and maybe even throw in a comment about seeing him in History. This small exchange would win his forgiveness and they could begin one of those smile and wave friendships that would slowly grow. It would be perfect.

She drove through the school gates and spotted her heart's desire getting out of his Stingray. He pulled the shades off his face and flung them onto the dashboard. Reaching back inside, he grabbed his book bag, flung it over his shoulder and ran a hand through his waves of thick hair.

Gemma let out a dreamy sigh, caught herself and frowned, knowing she had spent the morning in la-la land. Have fun with this guy? Was that some kind of joke? Not even a whole movie spent together and she knew the prospect of falling for him was inevitable. An unconscious smile spread over her lips as she remembered his Jackie Chan moves.

She watched him ascend the stairs with an arm wrapped around his stepsister's neck. He must have been ha.s.sling her about something because she wiggled free and gave him a firm punch in the arm. He laughed and made some other comment that revealed her two neat rows of braces.

The metal gun smile disappeared when Dana and Chelsea called Harrison's name and rushed up the stairs towards him. Gemma knew how Rosie felt. Pulling her key from the ignition, she got off her bike and grabbed her bag. The bell was ringing as she snuck in the back door and headed for homeroom.

The whole casual b.u.mping into Harrison thing was going to be harder than Gemma thought. She knew he had Italian second period so scuttled through the halls hoping to catch him coming out, but she was too late. As she neared his locker, she saw him surrounded by Darren and the girls. She'd rather die than draw their attention.

She stood watching them for a moment then saw Harrison's head turn in her direction. Taking the chicken's way out, she whipped through the bathroom door and made a beeline for the back stall. Five minutes should be enough time for them to disperse. She didn't care if she was late to cla.s.s.

With a huff of self-disdain she plonked down on the lid of the toilet and dropped her face in her hands, resisting the urge to scream.

"It was so pathetic. I swear he was checking her out. He was supposed to be driving me home, but he couldn't keep his goo-goo eyes off the freak show."

Gemma recognized Dana's voice. Her muscles tensed in response.

"She was walking right in front of us. It was kind of hard not to spot her. Anyway, who cares if he was checking her out, it's not like you guys are dating. What's the big deal?"

The tense pause as Courtney's question hung unanswered in the air was physically painful. Gemma knew exactly which freak show they were talking about.

"The big deal, Courtney, is the fact that cold little cow has caught the attention of the best a.s.set this school has had in a long time. I don't get it! He's gorgeous, charming, funny, sweet and she's... uch... such a freak! He could do so much better!"

"Meaning you."

Gemma picked up the third voice in the room as Chelsea's. Her miffed tone was not to be missed.

"Or you. I mean whatever! Anything has got to be better than Hart! She could have any guy in the school, but no, she treats them all like clumps of dog poo, then Harrison turns up, completely available, and she pounces on him before any of us get a chance!"

"She's hardly pounced. They haven't even spoken to each other. Don't you think you're over-reacting?"

"Stop standing up for her, Courtney. Dana's trying to make a point here!"

"What point?"

"The point that Little Miss Perfect doesn't deserve him."

"I think you're being way too harsh, D. She's not as horrible as everyone thinks."

"Are you serious?" Chelsea sounded incredulous.

Gemma felt her chest squeeze with grat.i.tude then deflate with guilt. Wasn't Courtney the one who always smiled at her? Gemma cringed as she thought of all the times she'd looked the other way. Dana was right; she was a cold cow!

"Besides, Dana, don't you already have a boyfriend?"

"If you're talking about Paul Hobbs, I'm going to ring your little neck Courtney Taylor. Ugh. I could kill that guy for thinking we were an item. One drunken kiss six weeks ago and I'm still paying for it."

One of them stifled a giggle.

"Shut up, Chelsea!"

"Sorry, Dana."

Gemma heard the rustle of a bag being opened then the twist of a lip-gloss tube. Dana's next words were m.u.f.fled due to the make up application and Gemma only just caught the end of it.

"... like she's cast a spell on him."

"You know when she first came here, I thought she was a witch?"

"She probably is."

"You guys..."

"Don't try and deny it, Courtney. The only guy in school that's not afraid of her is Jordan."

"And he totally should be. You know she actually broke his nose that time he tried to kiss her."

"And a couple of ribs."

"Dana, you made that part up to make the story sound better. You told me that yourself."