Secrets of the Harts

I stared at him, wondering if this was his idea of a joke. But when I saw him narrowing his eyes at me; I realized that he was being serious for once. So, I answered, “No.”

He shot me a look. “Give me a reason.”

I could have given him 50 reasons but in the end, I simply said, “Just because.”

“Does this have something to do with Owen?”
“What?”
“Owen. That guy means something to you, doesn’t he?”

The sudden tightness in my chest few almost familiar, like someone you knew well but disliked. I blinked hard, trying to read from his body language how much he knew. His posture was relaxed; his signature lazy smile still on his face but his green eyes never wavered from my own. There wasn’t much I could glean from just studying him. But I really did not want to answer that question.

“So he does.”
I asked, “How do you know him?”
“You told me all about him.”

Again, I could not tell if he was telling the truth. “No, I didn’t.” I would never speak about Owen if possible. Besides, if I had, he would not have had to ask me that question. He would’ve automatically understood. “How do you really know him?”

He smiled cagily. “Oh never mind about that. You’re going on a date with me, princess.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Which part of ‘no’ do you not understand?”

“See, the thing is—though you don’t like me very much, or so you think, I don’t mind being a rebound for this Owen guy. I’m giving you a chance here to get over him. So why shouldn’t you go on this measly date with me?”

It was too bad that I knew him too well to believe him. “What do you get out of it?”

“Have you wondered why I go out of my way to talk to you, princess? It’s because I genuinely like you.”

“So you’re trying to pass off a whole month of annoying and irritating me as some sort of grade-school way of showing that you like me?” I tried not to let my disbelief seep into my words, but I could hear it in my tone.

He stood up, moving closer to me and I took a step back. It wasn’t even a conscious decision but I could tell from Dylan’s reaction that I had disappointed him somehow. Why was he was so concerned about how comfortable I felt around him? But it did tie in, in a horrible way, with how he said he ‘liked’ me.

“Whether you believe it or not, that’s what really happened.” Dylan shrugged. “As embarrassing as it is, I’ve never really had to go after a girl before.”

There was an implication that girls usually either went after him or that he hadn’t had to try to get them to like him. I would’ve found his arrogance aggravating if I was not busy trying to read what he really meant, because there was absolutely no way I could believe him.

Was there?

“So…what do you say? Saturday, 7pm? It’s just a date.”

The way he’d asked me was not like the way Owen had approached me. I didn’t even know why I was comparing them, especially since it was clear that Dylan didn’t like me that way (right?) and Owen had. Or at least Owen had until a few months ago.

And Owen should not mean so much to me, not after so many months alone.

It took me a moment to realise that I was trying to convince myself that a date with Dylan was not the worst idea in the world. Why was I doing that?

“Silence means consent, princess.”

“Wait. If we’re really going to do this, I need you to promise me something,” I said, slowly.

From the quick, amused smile that flitted through Dylan’s features, I would say that he’d been surprised at my lack of complaining. That probably meant that he was not as conceited as he pretended to be. Filing that thought away for further analysis, I continued, “I don’t care how you accomplish this but you need to persuade Luke to ask Tia out on a date. And he has to actually take her out, not just pretend to ask her.”

“I didn’t know that you cared so much about Luke.”

His tone suggested some kind of jealousy which caused me to grin. If only he knew that it was not Luke I was really thinking of but Tia.

“How’d you know Tia anyway?” Now he looked slightly suspicious.

I shrugged, opening the door. Looking over my shoulder, I said, “Maybe you’re not the only one with friends, Dylan.”

7 December 2009
In the end, Luke had asked Tia out to the movies during lunch yesterday.

He’d asked her, without looking at her in the eyes and I’d thought that Tia was going to reject him when I saw the shock in her eyes. But then she smiled and said yes. When she smiled though, I could’ve sworn that Luke had smiled in return, which must have meant something. I had an idea what it meant but I was not totally sure of it…yet.

The fact that Dylan had managed to get Luke to do something like that sort of impressed me as well. It either meant that he really wanted this date with me (which I thought to be highly unlikely) or that Luke was so close to Dylan that he didn’t mind doing something he disliked for Dylan (this seemed more possible). Either way, I had gotten Tia a day with Luke and in the end, it was all that mattered.

I walked to my study table and pressed the button which connected me to the Agency.
Calloway’s face popped up and she glanced impatiently at me before shifting her gaze back to something outside of the camera’s range. It was probably a case file.

I tried not to let how she had brushed me off annoy me, but it had been a while since I had communicated with her and so, I still felt that flash of irritation. I had not used that button since Calloway had told me that there was an influx of cases and that I should not contact her until there was a day where I was let out of school again, since it was then where there was the danger that I could be found.

Frankly speaking, I was hoping that they would have lost interest in me since I’d disappeared for a few months. But I knew that they weren’t that easy to get rid of, especially not when they knew I had stolen something of theirs.

“I’m leaving the school again today.”

She pursed her lips and finished whatever she was writing. Then she looked up at me, paying full attention, and I was struck by her cold beauty.

When I was younger and first adopted by Calloway, I’d liked to imagine that I really was related to her in some way. That I would eventually possess her beauty and intellect, though I was not sure what it was about these two combined that attracted me. I knew that I wasn’t the only one captured by those though. I had studied her work before—her icy beauty and intelligence had helped her in many cases.

Now though, I was not so certain that I wanted any of her characteristics.

“Can’t you stay in school today, Kristen? All of our field agents are out and there’s nobody that can-”

“I don’t need anyone to shadow me today.” I refrained from adding that with Dylan around, I doubted that they would choose to act. Dylan was just too conspicuous and they preferred to keep a lower profile. “I used to operate alone. I’m certain that I’ll be able to keep myself safe.”

She eyed me, her eyes cool.

I returned her gaze, though I knew that my eyes probably reflected whatever irritation I felt. Suddenly, I felt like a normal teenager, trying to fight for more independence from my parents. A rueful smile developed on my face. It would’ve felt amazing for me to have that sort of experience, even though I knew it was most ordinary.

“Well, if you are completely sure.” Calloway paused. “Keep yourself safe.”

That little bit of emotion was different from the Calloway I knew. But I nodded and she disappeared from the screen.

Taking a breath, I started preparing for my date.