"Watching him die was the most horrible thing I've ever done, but then he revealed himself to me. I swore that as long as we both remained on this Earth we would stay together, and we have."
"Wow." Lucian sat back in his chair and looked at Sofia's serene face. "That's quite a story."
"Love stories usually are. Aren't you finding that out for yourself?"
"Am I?" Lucian wondered aloud. "I don't know what to think."
"Sometimes our heart knows the way when our minds feel lost."
"How could it be?" he protested. "I've seen eternity, all of it, from the beginning. Samara is just a simple human girl, but when she touches me…." His voice faded as he remembered the feel of her hand on his.
"When she touched me, it felt like the world wasn't even real. Nothing was real but her breath and skin and eyes. She was all that mattered."
Sofia laughed softly. "Waking up to emotion is something all of us have had to deal with. It's not easy. As soon as you crossed over your detachment began to fade. That's an unavoidable part of living on the Earth."
"Isn't that dangerous?" he asked. "The last thing I need is to lose sight of who I really am."
"You're right," Sofia agreed, "it is dangerous. But, maybe there's more to you than you know."
Chapter 30
"Okay," Carin demanded a few days later. "I've tried to be nice and polite, but I cannot stand it one second more."
She glanced down, flipped open the folder in front of her, and started writing as Mrs. Ferrison passed by, highlighting words at random. As soon as the coast was clear, she dropped the highlighter and stared at Samara. "What is going on?"
Samara blushed. She flipped open her own folder and hid behind it. "I don't know what you mean," she said innocently.
"Of course you do! Lucian didn't talk to anyone for weeks, and then all of a sudden you're coming into P.E. together every day. Not one day. Not two. Every single day for the past two weeks.
"And," she crowed, "you're happy! Something has to be going on between you two."
"Because I'm happy?" Samara fought the urge to giggle at the frustration on Carin's face.
"Yes! You've been nervy and mopey and dark since the first day of school. Now you're all glowey and smiley, and you're wearing perfume.
"Please," Carin begged, "please, please, please give me something!"
Samara watched Carin squirm in her chair for a few seconds before she gave in. "We've been meeting in the library during lunch. He's helping me study for Advanced Physics. We both have P.E. right after that, so he walks me to class."
"And…," Carin pried.
"And I really enjoy spending time with him, and he does make me really happy."
"And you love him! I knew it!" The words tumbled out of Carin's mouth. "You have to ask him out!"
"I didn't say I love him," Samara protested.
"Well do you?"
"I don't know. Unlike some people," she said, staring pointedly at Carin, "I don't fall in love every other week. Or ever."
"Never?" Carin squawked loudly.
Mrs. Ferrison shushed them from across the office, and Samara ducked her head behind her folder. "No," she whispered.
"That is so sad!"
She looked around the edge of her folder and saw Carin shaking her head sorrowfully. "Why? Most girls date a lot of guys they think they love, but that can't be the real deal. The high point of a love can't be a Friday night keg party. Right?"
When Carin gave her a look of total confusion, Samara realized she was probably asking the wrong person. "Never mind. All I'm saying is that I don't want to sort of fall in love with fifty different people. I'd rather find one person and fall completely, deeply, in over my head."
"That is so beautiful," Carin sniffed. "Really.
"Now, let's make a game plan. How are you going to ask Lucian out?"
"Honestly," Samara laughed, "were you even listening?"
"Yes!" Carin huffed. "I was listening. I heard you say you've been waiting for one great love, and now I'm telling you that you should ask Lucian out!"
She whipped out her planner and ran her finger across the calendar. "Homecoming is in two weeks. Do you have a date?"
"No."
"Well, there you go." She snapped the planner shut in satisfaction. "Seize the moment. Carpe Diem and all that."
"No! I'm not going, and I'm not asking him out."
"Okay," Carin sighed dramatically. "If you're determined not to pursue the greatest love affair in the entire history of West Wimberley, then I can't force you. I'm going with Ronnie Batres. He has the most amazing car. It doesn't top that Mustang Jack Stone drives, but a girl has to make some concessions, and-"
She broke off mid sentence and stared over the top of Samara's head. Samara wondered what could possibly shut Carin up, but before she could turn around she heard a familiar voice. "Good morning ladies," Jack said as he leaned casually over the counter. "Are my ears burning?"
Samara waited for Carin to answer, but for once she seemed unable to produce any sound. "Hello Jack," Samara said, turning to look at him. "What are you doing in the office?"
"Ms. Bellise sent me to get a few copies." He pointed to Mrs. Ferrison, who was running pages through a scanner. "So, what are you talking about?"
"Homecoming," Samara said grudgingly. "And your car."
"Intriguing," he said.
"Do you have a date yet?" he asked Carin. She still seemed unable to speak, but she nodded her head vigorously.
"And how about you?" Jack asked. He looked away from Carin and turned the flood of his attention onto Samara.
Despite her lack of interest in him, his closeness still made her pulse race erratically. "I don't think I'm going," she said. "I really don't enjoy overblown social functions. Or dancing."
"Come on," Jack cajoled. "I don't have a date yet either. Come with me so I won't be lonely."
Samara snorted. "Somehow I doubt there is any chance of that. I thought you were dating Amber."
"That was yesterday." Jack leaned closer, and she felt her mouth go dry. "Today I'm asking you."
Samara turned around in her chair and took a deep breath. She didn't even like Jack, but his magnetism was still unnerving. "I don't think so, but thanks for asking."
She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head and willed herself not to look at him. Mrs. Ferrison passed next to her and gave Jack a stack of copies. "Here you go dear. Now you remind Ms. Bellise that she needs to take care of this before class, all right."
Mrs. Ferrison puttered off to answer the phone and left the three of them alone. Jack stared at Samara a few seconds longer before he picked the copies up off the counter. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
Samara waited until she heard the office door shut to breathe a deep sigh of relief. "Carin!" she exclaimed. "What is wrong with you?"
Carin blushed. "I'm sorry! He's never really talked to me before, except to ask me your schedule. I think my brain went into shock or something."
"I guess it did," Samara teased. "I think that's the longest you've ever not talked."
Carin looked shell shocked. "I can't believe you turned him down. Again! I know you're all about Lucian but still…."
She looked at Samara wide eyed. "He looks at you like you're the only person in the world."
"Yeah," Samara agreed, "he does. He looks at a lot of people that way. I think that's why he's so dangerous."
Chapter 31
"I'm glad you invited me over." Lucian glanced around Samara's small kitchen and tried to decide where to put his books. Her house was the first one he'd been invited to, and it was very different from Duncan and Sofia's. All of the furniture was painted with bright splashes of color, and every surface was covered with a fine dusting of flour.
"I figured it was time we got out of the library."
Samara grabbed a cloth and swiped it across the table. "Just overlook the
mess. My mom's going through a bit of a baking phase at the moment, and she's not so great at putting things away.
"The good news is that we have snacks." She reached into the microwave and pulled out a plate stacked with cookies. "It's kind of weird, but if you knew how things have been you'd understand. The baking is a definite improvement."
She grabbed two glasses from the counter beside the sink and started rinsing them out. "Are you okay with water?" she asked. "You can check the fridge, but I don't think we have anything else."
"Sure," Lucian murmured distractedly. The light streaming in through the kitchen window framed the delicate curve of her neck. She was leaning over the sink, her face was half hidden by her hair. He couldn't help but be transfixed; she was so beautiful.
She filled the glasses with water, and he quickly looked away before she caught him staring. She handed him a glass and perched on the edge of the table. "Okay," she said. "Are you ready to explain the secrets of the universe?"
"What?" For a confused moment Lucian wondered if she had somehow discovered the truth. Could she know?
Samara rustled her class notes. "Bell's Theorem."
She skimmed the page looking for the exact definition and started to read in a stilted voice. "Bell's Theorem of Interconnectedness says no local theory of hidden variables can accurately predict quantum actions." She dropped the page and it floated back down to the table. "I have no idea what that means."
Lucian frowned as he tried to think of the best way to explain. "It means there are deeper levels of reality."
Samara looked skeptical.
"Pretend you have two paperclips in a chain. If you jiggle one paperclip, the other one would move too, right?"
Samara nodded. "Yeah."
"Those two paperclips are entangled. Because they're connected, they affect one another. Bell proved that once things have been entangled, they stay connected forever."
"That's impossible!" Samara exclaimed. "Paperclips don't move after you take them apart."
"In some ways they do." Lucian smiled. "It's all about what you can't see."
Lucian tried to think of something that would make it easier for her to believe. "Forget the paperclips," he said. "That was a bad example. Too tangible. Think about a person instead."
Samara closed her eyes. "Okay."
"Now think about the connection you have. Does it go away when you're not together?"
"No," Samara whispered.
"That's what Bell discovered. That distance is irrelevant. No matter how far apart you go, you'll be connected forever."
Two hot tears fell down Samara's cheeks before she could stop them. She dashed them away and stuffed her notes back into her textbook. "I think that's enough studying for one afternoon," she said.
She grabbed a cookie and leaned back in her chair. "We've been spending a lot of time together, but when I was talking to Carin on Friday I realized I still don't know much about you."
Lucian rolled his eyes. "Was Carin asking you a lot of questions?"
"Of course, but that's not why I want to know. I realized that I might really like you, and it makes me a nervous."
A smile bloomed across Lucian's face, and she felt the tips of her ears burning. "Stop it!"
"You don't have to be nervous," Lucian reassured her. He shifted and Samara thought he was about to reach for her hand, but at the last second he pulled his fingers back across the table.
"How do I know?" she demanded. "You could be full of deep, dark secrets."
Lucian gave her an exasperated look. "What do you want to know? I can't promise I'll have an answer for everything, but I'll try." He laced his fingers together in front of him and waited
"Where are you from?"
"I've lived a lot of different places," he hedged. "I'm not really from anywhere."
"You must've gone to a great school. You know more about Physics than anybody in my class."
"I've never been in school before," he admitted. "I guess you could say I did a self-study."
"Like home school?" she asked. "Did your parents help you out with that?"
"I don't live with my parents," he said. "I live with guardians, but they do give me lots of guidance. Actually, they love that I'm in a regular school now. They're really pushing to have the whole experience.
"Speaking of the whole experience, what's the deal with Homecoming?"
"Don't change the subject!" Samara protested.
"I'm not." Lucian raised his hands innocently. "I'm just trying to learn. People keep talking about it, and someone even left a note on my windshield telling me they were available. It seems kind of important."
Samara shrugged. "I guess. It's just the usual thing-big game, big dance, big dresses."
"So it's something everyone goes to?"
"Some people go. Not everyone."
"Are you?"
"No plans to," she said. "Someone asked me, but I said no."
"Really?" He raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
She laughed. "I think I see everyone enough at school. As much as I want to anyway."
Lucian leaned forward, and Samara's breath caught in her throat. "As much as you want to see of me?" he asked.
She could feel her heart beating erratically at his direct question and considered lying, but she knew he could read the truth in her eyes. "Never," she whispered.
"Would you go?" he asked. "With me?"
He reached out and grazed her cheek with his fingertips, and she was flooded with a rush of adoration. "Why do you even want to go?" she protested feebly. "You didn't even know what it was."
"I want to go because it would be a new experience for me," he said. "And as you so thoughtfully pointed out, it's more time I can spend with you."
"Fine," she relented. She felt dizzy; she took a deep breath and tried to control her thoughts. Everything about him drew her irresistibly in and overwhelmed any sense of logic or reason. "Do you even know what to wear?"
"Nope!" Lucian smiled in satisfaction, the battle won, and took a big bite of cookie. "I'll let you show me."
Chapter 32
"Man, you are in so much trouble!" Duncan's booming voice reverberated around the living room as he laughed. "You know that don't you?"
Lucian sank deeper into the couch cushions. "I think I might be. I wasn't planning to ask her, but I couldn't help myself."
"That's sweet. Except now you gonna have to dance!"
"It can't be that hard," Lucian argued feebly.
Duncan moved to the center of the living room and struck a pose. "It's probably easier than it used to be." He took a few sweeping steps around the room, then spun in front of Lucian with a flourish.
Lucian gave him a desperate look. "Is Sofia here? Maybe she can teach me."
"Nope. She's got some business to take care of tonight. I'll show you."
"Are you sure," Lucian asked dubiously.
"Yeah," Duncan said. He stretched out a hand to Lucian. "I'm just messing with you, it's not really that hard."
"Okay." Lucian pulled himself off the couch and stood beside Duncan. Even though he was tall, Duncan still dwarfed him. Lucian was at least four inches shorter, and about a third as wide. "Are you the guy or the girl?"
"I'm gonna be the girl. She's shorter than you are, right?"
Lucian nodded. Duncan tried to crouch a little nearer to Lucian's height, but gave up. "I can't do that," he huffed. "Hurts my knees.
"Now your hands'll go in the same place either way," he said. He grabbed one of Lucian's hands and threw it onto his shoulder. "That one goes up there, and the other one goes on my waist."
Lucian found himself looking at Duncan's chin and glanced to the side awkwardly. "Okay, you're the guy so you have the lead, and hopefully she'll follow. Go on," Duncan urged. "Take the lead."
Lucian wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Surely there was more to dancing than where to put his hands. He could feel Duncan shift impatiently a
nd took an experimental step to the right.
"There you go," Duncan encouraged as he stepped to the right too. "Now back to the left."
Duncan stepped away after Lucian took a few more tentative steps. "That's all there is to it!" he said. He gave Lucian a jarring clap on the back. "There's more you could do, but that should get you by." He laughed. "Just keep your head up, and try not to step on her feet."
Chapter 33
When Lucian pulled into the driveway the next Saturday, Samara was waiting. He couldn't help noticing how effortlessly gorgeous she was. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, she was adorable. He hopped out of the truck and met her in the driveway. "Ready to go?"
He offered his arm and guided her to the passenger door.
"I could get it," she said.
"I have no doubt. But this gives me an excuse to hold your hand." He lifted her palm to his mouth and brushed it gently with his lips before he stepped back and slammed the door shut.
He climbed back into his own seat and buckled his seatbelt. "What are the plans for today?" he asked. "I'm at your mercy."
"I thought we could go to the mall first, and then grab some lunch?" She glanced over uncertainly.
"Sounds perfect," he reassured her. He followed her directions across town, and soon they pulled into a parking spot near the front door of a department store.
"Ready?"
Samara giggled as they headed into the store. "This is kind of weird."
"Why?" he asked. "Don't people go shopping together?"
"Well, yeah. But usually girls go with other girls. I don't know who guys go with. Their moms maybe?"
Lucian held the door open for Samara. Her hair ticked the bottom of his chin as she passed beneath his arm, and his breath caught in his throat. "I'd rather be shopping with you than with anyone else."
They went straight to the men's section and Samara flipped through a rack of suits. "Do you have a color preference? Black? White? Gray?"
"What about this one?" He pulled out a purple pinstripe and held it up to his chest.
"Hmmm…." She pretended to mull it over. "It is rather eye catching, but I think we might clash." She shoved the row of hangers apart and pulled out a charcoal gray jacket. "Try this."