A Dance with Darkness: An Angelfire Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) by Courtney Allison Moulton Page B

curve of his lips, the little line beside his right eye that appeared when he smiled—a smile I felt I’d seen a million times before. “No, I don’t need the trash can.”
    “Okay …” I started to walk around him back to my friends.
    “Do you remember me?” he asked.
    Other than having a distinct sense of déjà vu, I was very sure I didn’t know him. “I think I might have seen you yesterday at school.”
    “That’s it?” His expression showed that he felt hurt.
    Yeah, he was really weird. “I’m pretty sure. Are you looking for someone?”
    “No,” he mused. “You’re Elisabeth Monroe, right?”
    “Ellie, yeah. Do you go to my school?”
    “No, sorry. You’re having a party Saturday, aren’t you?”
    Good grief, did the whole world know? “Yeah. How’d you hear about it if you don’t go to my school?”
    “A friend.” He smiled.
    “You okay, Ellie?” Landon had joined us. He looked annoyed, almost hostile. “Who’s this guy?” He stared at the boy up and down.
    The stranger’s smile faded. “Just call me Will.”
    His words triggered something in the back of my mind, just as his smile felt familiar to me. I felt as if I’d heard him say that before.
    “Don’t talk to her, man,” Landon said, taking a step toward Will.
    I put a gentle hand on Landon’s chest. “Landon, chill, he’s not bothering me. I was just throwing my cup away. Let’s go. Nice meeting you, Will.”
    I nodded to Will and led Landon away. “What’s your problem?” I asked him once we were out of earshot.
    “Nothing—don’t worry about it. He shouldn’t be talking to you.”
    “I thought you were going to punch that guy.”
    “If he touched you, I would’ve.”
    I blinked in surprise. “Well, he didn’t.”
    He huffed. “Good.”
    I tried not to laugh. Landon had been my friend since the sixth grade, but he was a boy, and boys made no sense to me.
    My dad actually made it home in time for dinner, to my astonishment, but as soon as we all sat down at the table, I wanted him gone. Dinners recently had mostly been spent with my parents trying to get me to talk. I didn’t need to talk about Mr. Meyer. I wasn’t ten years old and I wasn’t traumatized. I was just sad. That was natural and to be expected. I didn’t need to be babied about it.
    I dreaded school the next morning. It was going to be today all over again times a thousand. Not to mention I still had that math test on my schedule. What a way to spend my birthday.
    My dad’s fist slamming on the table jarred me brutally from my thoughts. I sat up like a shot.
    “That’s not the point.” His voice was frigid and harsh, as if he were holding back an angry yell.
    “It’s not?” my mom asked. “This is the first night you’ve been home all week. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out her nightmares are a result of her lacking a father figure.”
    “That is ridiculous. Don’t give me that psychobabble, Diane.”
    “I’m just trying to find a solution,” Mom said tiredly. “Her teacher was murdered. If anything, that will start the nightmares again. We should take her back to Dr. Niles.”
    It was as if she’d totally forgotten what I had told her that morning. I wanted to chuck my spaghetti into both their faces and scream, Hello! I’m right here! It was almost more comical than enraging when they argued about me as I sat right next to them. When they totally forgot about my presence in a room, they made it obvious that they cared more about fighting with each other than about my mental health.
    My dad huffed. “If you feel that’s necessary.”
    “There are a lot of things that I feel are necessary.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    She stared at him. “You know exactly what it means.”
    “Don’t play mind games with me.”
    It was nights like these that made me wish I had a dog. I needed an excuse to get out of my house and go for a walk. Anything to get the hell out of there.
    “You’re never home, and when you