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He found himself wishing he sat in the back of every room, instead of the front.
No, he found himself wishing he’d cut school.
At the final bell, he stormed out the side door. He didn’t want to ride home with his brothers. He didn’t want to work a job with Michael.
Cars were lined up illegally in the fire lane, parents who couldn’t be bothered to sit through the heavier traffic on the other side of school. But trees lined the grounds beyond those vehicles, dense woods that led the way home. Nick headed for the crosswalk. He’d cut through the woods and clear his head.
Maybe after three miles of fresh air, he could get it together to spend a few hours slinging pavestone or planting bushes or whatever Michael needed help with.
Heavy clouds swarmed the sky, trapping cold air near the ground. Or maybe he was doing that. He cast his senses far, feeding power into his element. Reckless and dangerous, but he didn’t care. Wind whipped through his hair, feeding on his temper to blow loose debris along the curb. A notebook flipped open to spill papers across the quad. Girls shrieked and scurried to catch them.
Rain spit at his face, and Nick pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt. It kept out the cold and his classmates, especially since not too many students came out this side of the building.
The hoodie didn’t keep out sound, however. A car door slammed; then a voice called out as he slid between two sedans.
“Windy out, huh, douche bag?”
The air brought the words right to him. Nick stopped and lowered the hood. Tyler stood by the curb, two cars up, leaning against his truck.
What was he doing here? Nick gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists.
He hated that his first thought was to wish Gabriel was here.
Especially when Tyler moved away from his truck to approach him.
Thunder rumbled through the sky overhead. Wind blasted Nick in the face and pulled at his clothes. He called for more, asking his element to rip Tyler’s face clean off.
Nick knew better than to fight him physically. Tyler fought dirty enough to give Gabriel a run for his money. Nick couldn’t suffocate him, either, not with his senses so scattered. The wind pulled his power in too many directions. Thunder cracked and rolled again.
He begged for cold, and the next blast of wind was downright arctic.
“Go away, Tyler,” he said, keeping his voice low. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
Tyler laughed in his face. “I’m not allowed to pick up a girl?”
Nick froze. Was Tyler here for Quinn?
Then Nick thought of that second bruise on Quinn’s cheek, and he started forward. Quinn was exactly the type of girl to fall in with someone like Tyler, someone who’d make promises to take care of her, but would then turn around and backhand her across the face. He thought of Adam’s history, and fury made his voice tight. “You leave her alone. She has enough problems without you screwing around with her.”
Tyler shoved him back. “Yeah, and what do you know about it?”
“I’ve seen enough. You keep your hands off her.”
“Jealous?” sneered Tyler. “That’s funny.” Then he hit Nick in the chest again, hard enough to knock him back, toward the woods.
Nick shoved him back, feeling his wind pick up fistfuls of twigs and rocks to pelt them at Tyler.
Bonus: twigs and rocks pelted Tyler’s truck, too.
Nick had the satisfaction of seeing Tyler fall back a step, an arm raised to protect his eyes. A rock hit his face and drew blood. Then a small branch hit his upraised arm with enough force to tear his shirt—and the skin below it. Nick caught the scent of blood on the wind.
Tyler surged forward to grab Nick’s arm. “Cold out. Maybe I should light something on fire.”
Nick swung a fist and called for stronger wind, but Tyler ducked and caught his wrist. They struggled, but Tyler had him by a good thirty pounds. He twisted Nick’s arm until Nick thought his elbow might give out.
More thunder, more wind. Trees began to sway.
Tyler applied more pressure. “Aw,” he said. “Is that painful?”
