Raze cradled her head in her hands, cursing herself for ever going over to argos's room. Now he was asking her to formally declare a partnership? Gail would be furious! Argos waited for her reply but raze couldn't answer. She had just dug her own grave and this kid's as we'll they would both be six feet under.
Argos' grin fell when he realized raze wasn't as excited about what had happened as he was. She was silent now and he gave her space. His heart sank. He didn't feel like he'd made a mistake, but maybe Raze hadn't felt what he had. Impossible, he thought, he knew she could feel the connection.
"Argos," She croaked. He was listening in an instant. "You know how stupid this is right? Like this is such a bad idea."
He should have known he was setting himself up for disappointment.
"But I think I need your help."
Wait. What? Was that some obscure form of agreement? He could't imagine what she'd need help with, but he figured it would work out. Especially once they learned to control their power and capitalize on their combined strength.
"Is that a yes?" He asked, needing clarification before he let his hopes rise again.
She nodded. "Yes. That's a yes."
Without thinking, he grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug. She shrieked in surprise and squirmed away. "Never do that again. We are not friends, ok? We will never be friends, either. This is just a you scratch my back I'll scratch your's kind of deal."
He looked at his feet, embarrassed, "Sorry. I feel the same. Just got a little excited." She rolled her eyes, but on the corner of her lips there was a little smirk. Argos thought it might be because Raze wasn't as mean as she tried to be, but something besides making friends was on the girl's mind that Argos could't possibly know.
***
Raze got back to the quad late a night. Gail was already there and just the sight of her sister made her feel guilty and angry and scared all at once. She tried to act like nothing was different but she knew what shed done. She wasn't worried about Gail's anger, she was worried how hurt Gail would be. She knew her sister would try to hide it. But raze was positive this would put something between them. She knew something was permanently changed, no matter how good of an opportunity she presented the partnership to be.
Gail would accuse her of being selfish. She would pretend she didn't care that raze had decided to open up to someone else. She would say she hated Argos and everything he did. But she would never know the way raze felt in the grasp of his wavelength. Yes, she'd had some of that with her sister though any control they'd had had been worked for. With Argos it had just happened, which made Raze feel exhilarated and squeamish all at once but it she'd just have to get over it.
"Hey sis," Raze chirped, trying to sound light hearted.
"Don't play dumb with me, bitch." Gail huffed. "I'm not talking to you right now."
"You kind of are, though."
"Well I'm stopping right now."
"Whatever." Raze caught the glare her sister shot in her direction and shrugged. "You know if you and I could just have a talk like normal people, i think that would really help. If we don't talk about this, Gail, it's going to screw us over in the long run."
Gail didn't like the authoritative voice her sister was pulling and she really hated that for once Raze was being the quote unquote reasonable one, even if Gail didn't think it was very reasonable. "You're the one screwing us over."
Raze groaned in annoyance. "Gail, please. What, do you really think that if we found out where mom-"
"Don't say mom."
"Was, that we'd even be able to handle her? we're just kids Gail! We need training. Formal training. You're supposed to be the smart one. You know all this is true, you just don't want it to be. You want to find out where she is and rush right in but you're avoiding thinking it through because you know the whole thing is stupid. Get serious Gail. I've been thinking about this, a lot. And I know you have too, trust me, I know. Gail, I want to get back at her just as much as you do, but we really need to step up our game first...right?" Raze went from assertive to almost meed by the end. She'd been conditioned to follow Gail's orders and it just didn't seem right to question her judgement. But Raze knew she wasn't the one in the wrong here.
Gail gave her the cold shoulder and Raze's shoulders sagged. She could pick fights with anybody and verbally tear their throats out with no remorse but with her sister everything was different. She sat down beside Gail on the couch and Gail grudgingly shifted to give her room. Raze didn't try to press the subject any further. Gail put her legs of Raze's lap and stretched out.
"You're right," Gail muttered though the stretch. Raze stuck her tongue out at her sister.
"You're such a jerk sometimes you know."
"Yeah. I know. I like it that way." Gail sat up. "What did you want to have a normal talk about, anyway?" She didn't look particularly nice or what Raze would consider open-minded, but at least she wasn't telling her to shut up."
"I...Uh..." Raze faltered. Gail's eyes narrowed.
"Spit it out," she snapped.
"I signed the paperwork to be Argos's partner for school."
Gail's eyes went wide. "You did what?!" Raze tried not to look at her sister.
"I did it for us. We need him!"
"Says you!"
"Think about it Gail!" Raze begged but her sister was already kicking her off the couch. "We should capitalize on a partnership like that! Two weapons are better than one!"
"Translation: Four dead bodies are better than two!" Gail screamed in her sisters face. "You can't make that decision for someone else, Raze! You're the one not thinking! You're the selfish one! What the hell is going on in your stupid little head? I don't get it."
It took Raze a second to process the accusation. Gail spent most of her time being coldhearted and unapproachable that Raze forgot whyshe was like that. She hadn't always been, that was for sure. When they were kids, they were just like everyone else. Gail might've been a little introverted, but she always cared about people. But now it just seemed like she hated everything. Raze remembered all the stern lectures Gail had given her, while her sister was buttoning her shirts, wiping her nose, trying to get her to eat when she was too sick to do it on her own:
"Never let anyone love you again Raze. Don't love them either. You and me, we're already dead. Everybody else just doesn't know it yet. The won't get it. They'll realize you're so cute and nice and pretty and they won't want you to be dead anymore and then they'll cry, ok?"
That was when they were nine years old. Nine year old kids should never have to feel that, but Raze knew that in many ways it was true.
"Maybe we aren't dead anymore, Gail! Maybe-"
"Maybe WHAT Raze? Maybe we can kill a MONSTER? Maybe we can kill a monster and LIVE? Or is it maybe we can drag two more people into hell with us, misery loves company, is that it?"
"I know you like him."
"What?" Gail was derailed. She looked confused and livid and just plain ornery.
"Chide. I know you think he's funny. I've seen you trying not to laugh at the faces he pulls in class. I've seen you check the boards for his grades. Our names are always in the left column near the top. Wellington is in the right, at the bottom. I mean, so what Gail, so what if you guys would get along? Hav eyou ever thought of trying to be anything but a bitch to someone like that? Someone that, when we were kids, you would have hung out with everyday?"
"You're wrong about him. I don't laugh, that's a cringe. His faces aren't funny, they're stupid. And anyway, I look at all the grades to make sure I'm not falling behind." Her tone was defensive. Raze had hit a seriously raw nerve but she continued anyway.
"Well whatever, I think he seems nice."
"You think everyone seems nice. Even when they called you freak, you always laughed a long and you fucking AGREED."
"I only agreed because you always told me thats what we were!"
"WE ARE."
"YOU ARE." immediately Raze wanted to take it back. She covered her mouth and she could feel tears seeping into her eyes. "I'm sorry!"
Gail's eyes were ice cold. "Go away, Raze. Just leave me alone."
***
Monday rolled along and Gail was still not speaking to her sister. Chide noticed, Argos noticed, hell the whole entire school noticed.
"What's with them?" Chide asked his brother, pointing to the table in the cafeteria where Raze ate with her quadmate Jenn. Gail was nowhere to be seen.
"Who? Raze and Jenn? They're friends I guess."
"No stupid, I mean Raze and Gail."
Argos shrugged. "I haven't spoken to them"
"Looks like they haven't either."
"Not our business."
"You're not even the least bit curious? Who are you and what did you do with my brother?"
Argos shrugged and kept eating. "I'll ask her in class."
"No!" Chide almost spit out his soda. "No, no asking, no invoking the devil, no bringing satan's wrath down on our entire family."
Argos raised his eyebrows. "Satan's wrath, really? You're such an idiot."
"At least I'll have grandchildren to remember my name, you're gonna get murdered in your sleep before you're 25 the way you poke things with a stick." Argos snorted.
Deeper in the building, a bell rang for class.
