Ethereal Entanglements by Lee French

where being mopey about this actually fixes anything?”
    “Yeah, Drew,” he snapped, “just get over it.” He shoved her aside and spread his arms to shout at the sky. The light rain splashed on his glasses. “Be happy! Take lemons and make lemonade! Everything is awesome!” Letting his arms fall, he glowered at her. “I’m sorry I’m not the Chosen One and can’t just take this and smile.” His eyes rolled up. “Shut up, Kay, this isn’t about you.”
    Claire didn’t know how to react, though she understood that Kay spoke inside his head. “That’s not what I meant.”
    He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “It’s what you sound like.”
    “Sorry.” She groped for something else to say, wanting to keep him from abandoning her to spend time alone. “I just…I miss the regular you. You’re so angry and grumpy, even when you’re not.”
    Hunching his shoulders, he turned his back on her. “I know. C’mon. Sooner we get this taken care of, sooner we can go check out haunted Portland. Because that’ll be more fun than you can shake a ghost at.”
    Claire smirked as she hurried to catch up with him. “That almost sounded like a joke.”
    He nudged her shoulder. “Should I be more uniformly grumpy?”
    “No.” She took his hand and kissed his cheek. Noticing their surroundings, she recognized the streets she’d roamed on her bicycle after school and houses where her friends lived. What would happen if she knocked on Alicia’s door? Did Alicia even live there anymore? Would they recognize each other? The questions circled in her head, souring her mood.
    They couldn’t find the cemetery soon enough. Claire led the way through the neighborhood to an unmarked, one-lane road. Backyards lined one side and a long stretch of dead grass with a tall juniper hedge lay on the other. With every step, dread settled on her shoulders. She hadn’t been back here since the funeral.
    The idea to come here hadn’t bothered her. Being here made her want to turn around and walk away. She plodded up the road, wishing she could pack cotton around her heart to protect herself from those names. She’d have to see her little brother’s name etched in stone. The last time she saw him, she’d rolled her eyes and told him to stop touching her stuff. Then she went to Alicia’s house for a sleepover and never got to go home again.
    Drew glanced at her, then squeezed her hand. With another few steps, he seemed to make a decision. “Do you have to get the dirt yourself?”
    “What?”
    He tugged on her hand to make her stop and face him. “I can go find the graves and get the dirt. You don’t have to go in there.”
    Claire gazed into the distance, not seeing the grass or the gray skies. If he went in and she stayed out, that meant admitting she couldn’t handle it. She lifted her chin. “I’m not a coward.”
    “I didn’t say you were.” He managed a weak smile. “I know I’m being a pain, but you’ve dealt with a lot in the past few days too, and this is one more thing. I know how hard it is to go see this. It’s not cowardice to let someone help you.”
    “A Knight—”
    He laid a finger on her lips. “Knights are mostly dumbasses, so far as I’ve seen. Be better than that. Justin tries to do everything himself, but you don’t have to. You’ve got Enion, you’ve got me. Even Mutt will help if you ask. I can’t go back to being normal, to just trying to get good grades and a regular job. That’s tough to swallow, and I’m trying. I can’t help being upset about it. That doesn’t change the fact I’m part of this world now, Claire, and I don’t need to be protected. I’m not your damsel in distress. Let me help so I can—” He sighed. “So I can do something besides act as your ferry service.”
    Claire leaned against him and nodded. “You’re right. I’m trying to protect you and I don’t even know what from. Go ahead. I’ll wait here. I can always come back another time.” She