Chapter 22: Chapter 22
Amora
I don't need the alarm to know what time it is. I always wake up mere seconds before it goes off, the only time I wake up to an alarm is when it's for Raven. I sit up and try to nudge her awake, my only response is angry grumbling and her middle finger.
"It's not my fault you decided you wanted to spend the entire night with two guys who are most likely psychotic. At least Ren."
The mention of Ren's name makes her stiffen, she sits up and yawns. "What makes you think Ren's psychotic?" I stand up and do a back bend in order to stretch. Raven doesn't even attempt to hide her disgust. She never does. I roll my eyes at her mock gag.
"Seriously? You don't see the obvious signs of psychosis in Ren at all?" she shakes her head. "In the way he talks, how he holds himself? He's always stiff, on edge. He's not jumpy but it's the eerie calm that alerts me. I bet he's very dangerous when pushed hard enough. Honestly, he kinda scares me."
Raven scoffs as she gets up to search through her piles upon piles of junk in order to find her next scampy outfit.
"Really? He scares you and not the one with the criminal record??"
I shrug, "Well as far as I know AJ's never been arrested and charged. So technically he's not a criminal. Technically. Though I'm not sure how he always comes away with no charges. It's like they can never prove he's the one who did it."
Her back is turned to me, but I can feel her roll her eyes, "I bet half of what makes him not 'technically' a criminal is Ren's doing."
I nod, "You're probably right, but that means the other half is just plain skill."
"Oh yeah? I bet without Ren, your boy would be rotting somewhere in a jail cell right now."
I shrug "I'll bet on that, we'll just have to ask them at school today." Raven strips off her shirt and switches it out for another one, this one, black and chainy, with just a touch of gray. She snorts,
"I wish we went to school with those hotties."
I stare at her with an eyebrow raised "We do."
She freezes, "What? No way! I would've noticed them!"
I shrug, "I doubt it, Ren's quiet. He doesn't draw attention to himself and AJ barely shows up to school at all. You actually have AP chemistry with Ren, I think. And a couple other classes with both of them."
She looks at me, mouth gaping "Seriously? And I've never even tried to get with either of them? Two of the hottest guys in my proximity and I didn't even bat an eyelash. Wow, I'm way more clueless than I thought."
I stand up, basically having to leap over piles in order to get in front of her mirror. My hair is a mess, and still damp from that annoying rain. I remember the feel of the wind rushing through my hair, sinking into my wet clothes. breathing in the cold air, as if I was breathing in ice. With my catlike senses everything can become overwhelming. He left me with a foreign feeling of calm. All my woes lifted off of my shoulders. He helped me breathe. But I can't even fathom what he must think of me now. I don't even want to look him in the eyes. But Ren, Ren must have been so jealous, I hope I get the chance to tell him AJ and I aren't going to happen. Ren loves him. I felt it. His feelings aren't just a whim. They're real. A genuine longing kept secret for the sake of a friendship that Ren has no idea just how strong it actually is. He probably doesn't even understand the extent of his emotion for AJ. He's too scared to realize it.
"Hel-lo?? Earth to Amora? I was talking to you. Are you alright love?"
I snap out of my negative reverie and begin tousling my hair so it looks somewhat presentable
"Sorry, I was just um…thinking."
Raven comes up behind me in the mirror. I can see the slight down curve of her lips as she looks at me with concern.
"Amora?"
she bites her lip and places a hand on my shoulder.
"Are you okay? You don't seem okay. I'm worried about you cat woman."
I roll my eyes, as if she has nothing to worry about.
"I'm fine Raven. Why are you so worried?" I move her hand off of my shoulder and turn to look at her.
"Because you're not fine Amora! I can see it!" She takes a breath to calm herself. She moves me back over to her bed and sits me down next to her. "It's just… I know you're not okay, no matter how many times you try to lie about it. And I… I love you Amora. Okay? You're the closest thing I have to real family. You're like a sister, to me and to Carter. My parents are always too wrapped up in their own misery they forget about how their unhappiness may be affecting their kids. It's like they don't even care. They never even try to listen to us, they're always too busy texting their secret lovers or too busy hating each other. You're the only one that cares, Amora. I hate it when you're upset. And I know you're hurting and I just wish you'd talk to me about it!"
I see tears, beginning to well up in her deep blue eyes. and I wrap her in a hug.
"I'm sorry." I say to her, not many people know this about Raven, but she is very emotional. She gets so afraid of losing people she loves that she forgets how to keep her calm. "You're right, I'm not okay. I just don't want to talk about it. With anyone, not just you. It's a burden that I need to keep to myself. So, I'll be fine, even if I'm not right now. I promise."
She pulls away, sniffling. "I hope you're telling the truth. I don't know what I'd do if I found out you were suffering, and I never even tried to help."
I stand up and move back over to the mirror. "Of course, I'm telling the truth."
I begin looking through Raven's mess in search for my hoodie that I left here the last time I slept over.
"ugh," Raven sounds from over by her bed "Well, that's enough of that boo-hoo nonsense. Crying twice in the past 24 hours? I must be PMS-ing."
My head snaps up to look at her "Twice? Did I miss something?"
Raven looks embarrassed, I'm just now noticing her lack of make-up, she's still way hotter than me but Raven never goes without make-up.
"Where's your make-up Raven?" her cheeks flush "Umm. Don't…worry about…that. It's nothing important."
I stand up straight and place my hand on my hip. "You're lying, I can hear your heartbeat Raven, remember? You can't hide things from me."
She rolls her eyes, "Whatever, so I'm lying, it's still not a big deal. It's just about Ren."
"Ren?" I ask, eyebrows raised "What happened between you two?"
"Nothing."
She said that too quickly. "Liar."
She rolls her eyes "It's not like we kissed or anything...well we did. But not in like a complicated relationship way.! He called me beautiful. Like…naturally beautiful. And I wanted to prove him wrong. That's all. It didn't work though. He's still convinced I'm 'naturally beautiful, inside and out no matter what I might think of myself.'" She shrugs at my look. "His words, not mine."
What? Ren called Raven beautiful? What about his feelings for AJ?
" Why did his compliment make you cry? That's insane!"
She shrugs again, "I thought he was trying to make me feel inferior." I sigh but don't respond. The only reason she thought he was trying to make her feel inferior is because she already feels inferior.
"We're gonna be late for school." I say as I walk towards her bedroom door. I turn and see that she hasn't moved so I'm forced to make my way back towards her and drag her out. Nearly making her twist her ankle while leaping over her trash mountains.
"Ughhhhh." Her groan follows me the entire way to school.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone