“Aaron,” I said breathlessly.
“Yeah?” He pulled back and looked me in the eyes.
“What’s going on here?”
He looked at me and blinked.
“I am just having some alone time with my girlfriend,” he said, looking confused. “I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“Oh, I know you won’t. I just don’t have an urge to be deflowered against a wall,” I said, laughing.
He laughed too. “I think you and I both know that we are past the deflowering stage.” He paused. “Listen, my dad offered to get all of us a hotel room in the city tonight so that we don’t have to go back to Midvale in the middle of the night.” He rubbed his fingers up and down my bare arms, giving me goosebumps. “If your mom will let us, you and I could spend the night together.”
I sighed. This was something that I had been trying to avoid. Yet, at the same time, I wanted him. I needed him. So, I nodded, and he handed me his cell phone to call my mother. She seemed hesitant at first, but then gave in when I told her that Shawn and Adam would be in the same room with us, along with Nadine and Kim. She added that it was an excellent way for us to keep safe, but to get home as early as I could in the morning. It would then be time to put our noses to the grindstone, figure out how to get Wesley back, and save the world from a hybrid attack.
“She said it’s fine,” I told Aaron as I gave him his phone back.
“Great. I’ll call my dad and have him set everything up for us.” He leaned in and kissed me again. “God,” he groaned, “you have no idea how hard this is right now.”
“How hard what is?” I asked, cocking my head to one side.
He laughed. “How hard it is not to just ravish you right here.”
The darkness in me squealed, but the light was trying to maintain control.
“We should probably get in and tell the others,” I said, touching his face.
His eyes were smoldering, and his lips were ever so inviting, but I had to get away before I did something I was going to regret.
“Yeah.” He looked crestfallen, but he kissed me on my cheek and escorted me back inside. “I’m just going to run to the bathroom,” he said, squeezing my arm affectionately.
“Okay. I’ll find Adam and Shawn.”
I watched him walk away, then said hi to a few people before going into the dance hall and scanning the floor for my brother and Adam. Shawn was standing in a corner with Kim talking. She had a huge smile on her face. I still wondered though, if she thought this was a set-up, or if she had now accepted the fact that my brother had really wanted to ask her. I spotted Nadine next. She was sitting at a table with a very pissed-off look on her face. I scanned the room a little more and found Adam talking to one of the girls from our choir class.
I took a few steps toward him when suddenly I started to feel dizzy. The room was spinning about me, my feet quit working, and I went down like a ton of bricks.
Adam was at my side before my head hit the floor, cradling me in his arms. There was a concern in his eyes as he looked down at me. His face was in focus, but I could see nothing else around him clearly; it all kept spinning out of control.
“Dawn?” I felt him squeezing my hand.
“Adam,” I gasped, “something’s wrong. Get Shawn.”
He caught Shawn’s eye and motioned for him to hurry over. My brother threw himself down on the other side of me. I motioned for both of them to come closer.
“The possessed are here,” I said in a weak whisper.
“How do you know?” Adam asked me, his eyes narrowing.
“This is what happened with Miss Masters. First when it took form and again when it left.” The dizzy feeling was decreasing, and the boys helped me to my feet. “Keep your eye out. Don’t antagonize it. I just have to find out who it is so we can help the person it’s possessing.”
“Yeah, okay. Let’s get you to a table. You need to sit down,” Adam said as they led me to a seat.
I took Nadine’s hand and lay my head on the table. “I’ll be okay,” I assured her. I lifted my head and looked at the boys. “Aaron’s dad is getting a hotel in town so that we don’t have to go to Midvale after dark. Mom said it was okay for you and me, Shawn. Adam, you’ll have to call your dad.” I rubbed my forehead with my free hand.
“I was already planning on staying at your place,” Adam said, putting his hand on Nadine’s shoulder. “Will your mom be okay with it?”
Nadine looked up at him and frowned. “I told her I was staying at Dawn’s, so I think it will be okay.” She looked at me and winked. “You feeling okay now?”
“Yeah, low blood sugar probably,” I lied.
Aaron joined our little group, looking anxious. “What happened? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she just needs to eat something,” said Shawn, glancing at me.
I mouthed a surreptitious thank you to him, and he smiled.
“Did she tell you what my dad is organizing?” Aaron asked.
“Yeah, everything’s cool. I just need to ask Kim,” Shawn said, walking away from us and over to the girl in the corner. She looked uncomfortable by herself.
I leaned to whisper in his ear.
“Is anyone looking at us?” I questioned.
His eyes shot around the room at the faces of our classmates. “Looks like Debbie Morano is somewhat amused by all this,”
