Unafraid

great, Seersh, I’ve had a really great time with you and the squad, but I can’t do this.”

“Why? Because everybody’s going to find out you’re gay?” she asked, fists on hips. “We interrupt this pep rally for a school news bulletin, everybody already knows!”

“Yes, okay!” he admitted. “I’m proud of who I am, but why do I have to advertise it to the entire school? To every bloody school in Western Europe?”

Saoirse had no idea what it was like to be gay, but she did know what it was like to be embarrassed because of who you were, so she understood what Nakano was going through. She also knew that after the shock of seeing Nakano standing in a field of pom-pom girls wore off, the crowd was going to flip out watching Kano do all his acrobatic vampire tricks. She had to find the right words to convince him that if he chickened out now he would never forgive himself. Subtlety had never worked for her before, so why start now.

“If you wimp out now and watch this pep rally from the bleachers instead of showing this school and this whole crowd how brill your moves are, you will regret it for the rest of your life,” she spat.

“And when you’re 192 and I’m dead, I’ll come back as a ghost and make you remember that you gave up a chance to be a superstar cheerleader just ’cause you were scared.” She took a breath to let her words seep into Nakano’s brain and his heart, but saw no change; it looked like she hadn’t made an impact. One last try. “Do not deprive these people of seeing the Kano triple twist backflip,” she whispered reverentially. “It will make them believe in the impossible.” What a terrific closing argument! Saoirse seriously thought she might try for a career as a lawyer, she could be very persuasive when she wanted to.

And successful. Nakano couldn’t resist, partly because Saoirse’s words and enthusiasm swayed him, but partly because he really did want to show off. Why not use his powers for good? Entertain the troops, make them see just how incredibly talented and superior he really was without plunging his fangs into any reluctant necks. It could be a nice change of pace. “Let’s do this!”

Some girls marched, some pranced, others just walked out onto the gym floor, but all of them worked together to shield Nakano from the audience in the bleachers until Talisa gave the command and the squad parted to reveal who they were hiding in the middle of their huddle. That’s when the crowd gasped. Collectively and loudly. And that’s when Nakano’s conviction waned. Saoirse’s pep talk was forgotten, and all he wanted to do was flee, run into The Forest and never come back again.

He peered into the crowd and saw his friends staring at him with their jaws open, incredulous looks etched into their faces. He didn’t have to read their minds; he just had to use his vampire hearing to listen to what they were saying to one another.

“This is why Kano quit the swim team a second time?” Michael asked Ronan rhetorically. “To be a cheerleader?”

Shaking his head Ronan replied, “Funny, I never thought of him as the cheery type.”

“Nakano’s a cheerleader now,” Fritz whispered to Ruby, who was just as surprised.

“I thought it was an all-girl squad,” she remarked.

“Technically, it still kind of is,” Ciaran quipped.

Oh really, Eaves, Nakano thought. Tell me what girl can do this?

On the first beat of the music Nakano took all the nervousness and anxiety and fear that he had been feeling and put it into motion, three continuous backflips to be exact. While the girls on the squad cheered, shook their pom-poms, and did cartwheels and some other basic gymnastic moves all around him, Nakano began a routine that would immediately attain legendary status at Double A. He flipped, he flew, he twisted, spiraled, and contorted in the air and at some point, possibly after his double flip over a small pyramid of cheerleaders, the audience forgot all about how weird it was to see a guy cheering with a bunch of girls, and they started cheering for him. Saoirse was beaming as Kano threw her up into the air so she could do a Russian split and land in his waiting arms.

“Told ya so,” she said, a bit out of breath. Not waiting for a reply, she jumped out of his arms to join the rest of the squad and give Nakano ample room to finish the routine. The crowd was now screaming so loudly the music couldn’t even be heard. No matter. Kano didn’t need music, just the satisfaction that thanks to some encouragement from a friend he hadn’t run.

Standing between Talisa and Saoirse, Nakano didn’t have to use any preternatural skill to know what the crowd thought of him. They were standing, stomping their feet, chanting his name. When Saoirse gave him a hug, he was so happy he couldn’t speak. And when Fritz and the others ran toward him and bombarded him with accolades and praise, he just smiled and felt his cheeks grow warm.

“Blimey, mate!” Fritz exclaimed, his hands gesticulating wildly, even the one that was holding onto Ruby. “Where’d you learn to do all that stuff?”

When you’re a vampire it sort of comes naturally. “Practice,” Nakano replied.

“You were amazing!” Michael cried. “I can’t believe you kept it a secret.”

“I can’t believe I had the guts to do it.”

“Are you bonkers?” Ronan shouted. “You’re Olympic caliber with moves like that.”

“Thanks, guys,” Kano said sheepishly, not at all used to such attention. “But you should all thank Saoirse. She’s the one who convinced me to join the squad.”

“Of course she did,” Ronan said. “Always full of surprises.”

Before they could all agree, Coach Blakeley announced that the first swimming race was about to begin and that all the teams needed to gather around the pool. As the group split up, Ciaran pulled Saoirse aside with Michael and Ronan close behind. When he spoke he made sure no one else could hear them. “So I heard someone had a right fine adventure this morning,” Ciaran said, his eyes shimmering with excitement.

Fussing with her pom-poms, Saoirse confirmed the rumor. “I know, I know, first non-water vamp to see The Well,” she replied.

“Which is bloody amazing!” Ciaran exclaimed.

“You’re not missing that much, though,” she said. “It’s a bit on the cold side.”

Ignoring his sister, Ciaran rambled on, his excitement building. “No! You can breathe underwater, and The Well is protecting you even though you’re human!” He turned to Ronan and Michael, who were still impressed by the morning’s events. “Sis, I don’t know what you are, but clearly The Well thinks you’re bloody special!”

Now that she had actually seen The Well, seen with her own eyes what her family and their race prattled on about and praised, she wasn’t sure she shared their opinion. If she was so special and if she had this unique connection to this thing, this mysterious and all-powerful entity, why wasn’t she more excited? Why didn’t she think her life had just gotten a huge upgrade and she was standing on the corner of Amazing Avenue and Smashingly Brilliant Street? Maybe because she had had more fun being tossed in the air by Nakano in front of a crowd of applauding spectators. She wasn’t sure.

Thankfully, boring self-examination could be postponed, because just then Blakeley’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “Let the games begin!”

Sitting in the bleachers David tried to push all worry from his mind and concentrate on the mundane competition that was playing out in front of him. It was sheer willpower that prevented him from ripping those damned T-shirts that Ruby had designed from the backs of the students. Wherever he looked he was assaulted by a red T-shirt with the number three and two white roses that spelled out three hundred. It was like Rhoswen was all around him, suffocating him. He had to ignore them, act as if they weren’t there, or else he’d lose his mind. He looked forward to watch the participants, marvel at their lithe, sculpted bodies, their muscular frames clad in tiny bathing suits in so many different colors, each representing a different school. He had no interest in them sexually, that was perverse, but they were a distraction, and he did appreciate and admire the discipline required to attain such physical beauty and supremacy. Nothing simple was ever achieved easily; he knew that better than most everyone. Except perhaps Brania.

“The competition is off to a rousing start,” she silently declared.

Looking straight ahead, David didn’t turn to the right where Brania was sitting next to him. He focused on Morgandy, in the middle lane of the pool, a few strokes ahead of his nearest competitor.

“Because I saw to it that it was planned meticulously.”

What a perfect segue, Father. Thank you. “I have a plan,” Brania said. She was also staring at Morgandy as he prepared to flip and swim the last lap of the race. She, however, had no interest in