Read Chameleon (Supernaturals) for Free Online Page B

spun it around.
    “Careful. That chair is—” Russ straddled the chair and it held his weight effortlessly. “—just fine,” I said, completely confused.
    “Seems in perfect condition to me.”
    Russ grinned really huge at me but I couldn’t share his good mood. I was not ready to face him yet.
    “What are you doing here?” I cringed when I said this and knew that I sounded completely terrified of him.
    “You didn’t think I was going to miss your first date, did you?” Russ glanced toward the exit Conor had just scampered through and smirked. “Seems like it’s going well.”
    I couldn’t believe he was laughing and joking with me as if nothing had happened. “No, Russ, I mean what are you doing here? You said you were going to give me time.”
    Russ’s brow knitted in confusion. “It’s been two hours.”
    “Two hours is not time enough for something like this!”
    I waited for Russ to get serious but he continued to be his casual self. After he stole the punch from my hands and downed it, he shrugged like everything was cool. “You want to dance with me?” he asked as he put the empty cup back in my hands.
    I stared at the cup like it was the one who’d just asked me to dance. “How can you act like nothing happened?” I shouted.
    Russ glared at me, mad for drawing even more attention to our conversation, but if that’s what it took for him to be serious, then so be it.
    “I’m just being me. What do you want me to do? Start acting weird around you? That will only make this harder.”
    People were really staring at us. The rumors had been insane today at school. I could only imagine what my classmates were thinking now. I let go a half-crazed laugh. Whatever they assumed it definitely wasn’t the truth.
    Russ watched me—like he was afraid I was cracking up. Truth be told I might have been. After all, I’d just learned that my best friend was Harry Potter.
    Russ pinned me with a serious look and spoke in a low calm tone. “You’re going to accept this. You will be the one in a thousand who can handle the truth.” He paused a minute—I think to steady his voice. “You have to. I need you to.”
    I felt the blood drain from my face. I don’t know what scared me more, his confession or all the raw emotion he was throwing at me. Russ had his heart on his sleeve for the first time in his life, and he was begging me to handle it with care.
    “Dani.” He pulled my hand into his.
    I’d been so stunned that I’d forgotten what happened when we touched and the surge of energy surprised me. I ripped my hand away from his, flinching when I saw naked fear in his eyes. I wanted to tell him it was okay but that would have been a lie. I was scared.
    When our skin came into contact, this wave of energy so warm and addictive came rushing through me, filling me up as though Russ was matching up with me in some strange way. I’d been able to pass it off as my own crazy hormones before, but now I wasn’t so sure.
    Who knew how warlocks worked? I sure as hell didn’t. Were humans physically addicted to them? Were they dangerous? Was it something that just happened, or something that Russ was consciously doing in order to make me like him? I didn’t want to think Russ could do that, but apparently I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. After a minute of staring at one another while our classmates looked on, I reached up and fingered the jewelry hanging around my neck.
    “I knew that would look good on you,” Russ said.
    I was grateful for the change in subject. I blushed as I clutched the necklace. “I hope you don’t mind that I wore it.”
    I’d put it on tonight because it reminded me of Russ— my Russ, my best friend, the person who I loved more than anything in the world. I’d found it comforting. Even if I couldn’t handle being near him, I still had a piece of him. But now I realized the necklace he gave me felt warm and tingly just like him and it scared me just as much.
    Russ