Power (Book 1)

Chapter 23

I couldn't change back.

I tried to will myself back to regular human form, but it was no use. I was stuck in this unnaturally hard, shiny version of myself.

Jake and I won a free class day, so we would get to pick what the class was doing tomorrow. I would've been happier, but you know- I was stuck like this.

I was sent to the nurse's office after gym. She couldn't help, her only advice being "take a shower and sleep on it." Not really sure how that affects refrax, but I would try it later.

Oh yeah- refrax was my word for this. The name just seemed to fit, for some reason. Kind of like refract, but with an 'x' instead of the -ct.

Jake told me I should go back to Afterlight HQ to check with Dr. Snow. I politely declined, since last time she didn't seem to be much help. She never did perform those tests on me, anyway. I would go, but to talk to Que, not to her.

I had to wear my hood up all day, along with gloves and long pants. Any light that touched the surface of my skin was instantly magnified and reflected everywhere around me, which was a real nuisance to people in the area. So until I could turn my refrax off, I couldn't be seen at all.

It was weird, actually. The refrax, I mean. My body felt harder, and tingled whenever I moved, but other than that I really didn't feel any different. Somehow, the diamond moved exactly like human muscles would, even though it was supposedly a solid object. It definitely felt like one. My body didn't seem to be as heavy as diamond, either.

There was one major downside to the refrax: I couldn't use my speed while I was transformed. It was gone, like someone had flipped the switch on it and turned it to OFF.

Cassie offered to take me to her house at the end of the day to try to find a solution to the problem. I said yes, after making sure her parents were cool with it first. I got her to call them and everything. She said it wasn't necessary since they would be at home anyway, but I pressed her to make sure it was okay with them before I came over.

Now, in Cassie's car, I'm mentally hyperventilating. I've never seen Cassie's parents before. What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm a freak? Or, even worse, what if they automatically label me as a bad person like Cassie did?

I didn't like the fact that Cassie was driving me- it should've been the other way around. I would have to make up for it sometime.

"Whatcha thinking about over there?" Cassie asked me cheerily from the driver's seat.

"Nothing important." I turned my head to the window next to me. Me diamond skin reflected off of the sunlight streaming through the glass. "I'm just antisocial."

"Antisocial?" Cassie snorted. "I see you and Jake talking all the time at school."

"But Jake and I are friends," I said.

Her smile faltered for a second. She stopped talking. I hadn't even realized what I'd said.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "It's just...Jake and I have been friends for two years, so we're really close. I don't have any problems talking to him. But you...I don't really know you like I know him."

"I understand," she said. But I could see the tears welling inside her eyes.

Cassie hadn't even been here that long. Two weeks, maybe. She may have made one or two acquaintances, but that was it. I was the exception. We had a shared moment of trust during the fight with Metagor. I had to try harder.

We pulled into her driveway. She turned off the ignition and took out the keys, putting them in her pocket. "Come on," she said, a bit icily. She started to open the door.

"Cassie, wait." I grabbed her arm, forcing her to sit back down in her seat. My cold, hard hand kept its grip on her.

"What? What do you want, Jay?" She finally looked me straight in the eye. Tears streamed down her face. "I've been having a hard time here, if you didn't know. All I wanted was to have at least one person I could depend on, someone who could depend on me. I thought that was you, but you can't even call me a friend."

"No, no Cassie. Look..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"See? You can't even have a decent conversation with me!" she exclaimed. "You-"

She was cut off instantly as I forced my lips to meet hers.

She seemed surprised at first, but she went with it, leaning in close to me so we could kiss harder. An explosion of passion and love bloomed between us. I could feel her hands running through my hair, mine on her back. I could feel the sweetness of her lips on mine. For that one second, it seemed as if the world stopped for us.

Then she pulled back, and it was over. She sat back down in her seat, breathing hard, probably thinking the same thing I was: we were definitely not friends.

And now I wasn't diamond anymore.