Touched by Darkness (Young Creator Trilogy) by Christiane Shoenhair Page A

his arm over her shoulder.
    “I thought you were dating Eddie
. Will he appreciate you getting all chummy with
Trish’s cousin?” This comes from Kristina. Crap,we didn’t think of that! It seems like a lifetime
ago since we were last here, and even though our life has changed so much over the last few
weeks, things didn’t play out the same here. Mine and Chelsey’s eyes meet in a panic. How are
we going to explain this?
    Rescue comes from a source I would
n’t have expected. “We weren’t really dating and
figured out that we should just stay friends.Isn’t that right,Chelsey?” Eddie says from behind
us. I didn’t even realize that he’d come over, but talk about perfect timing.
    “That’s right, it was a mutual decision.” Chelsey gives Eddie a grateful smile. One thing
that I’ve learned about Eddie is that he can’t be trusted, and I wonder why he is being so nice.
What’s in it for him?
    “Too bad that your and Keagan’s
relationship didn’t end so well.” There it is, this must
be the reason he decided to come over here… to rub the whole Keagan situation in. My heart is
pounding like a racehorse in my chest and I can feel all eyes at the table on me.
    “What’s he talking about
,Trish?” This from May. I steady myself, and just as I’m about
to tell them, I notice Keagan making his way into the cafeteria. He looks around and walks over
toward Porsche, taking a seat next to her.
    “Porsche happened
. Keagan finally realized that Porsche is smoking hot and made the
decision any hotblooded teenage boy would make.” He smirks, and with those words walks
away.
    This whole situation is so strange. I don’t know what I thought would happen when we
came back to Dalton, but I didn’t think Keagan would’ve rubbed salt into the wound that he had
unintentionally opened. Looking up, I see the shock on all of my friends faces. Then there’s Sam
and Chelsey, who know the whole situation and have nothing but compassion for me.
    “I don’t understand
! You and Keagan were like perfect for each other. Keagan had finally
dropped his dark brooding mood and you were like a caterpillar turning into a beautiful
butterfly.” I can’t help but laugh at her comparing me to a bug. However, I feel terrible when I
notice how serious May is and rein my laughter in.
    I hear laughter from Porsche
’s table, and when I glance over my shoulder I notice that
they are looking at an iPad. Some of Porsche’s minions are pointing at me and laughing. Unease
settles over me and my stomach gets a sinking feeling. I don’t need any more drama in my life. I
glance at Keagan to see if he will shed some light on the situation, and notice the horrified look
on his face. When his eyes meet mine, he starts shaking his head and mouths,‘I’m so sorry’.
NowI’m really scared.
    It seems that Porsche
’s table is drawing more and more people, and whatever they are
watching keeps causing everyone to look at me. There is a part of me that really wants to know
what’s on the iPad, but then there is a part of me that’s happy I don’t know. Keagan tries to take
the device from Porsche, but the result is other people pulling out theirs. I guess it’s a good thing
that cell phones are not allowed in the education buildings, otherwise I don’t doubt everyone
would be watching it. Keagan seems to give up when he throws his hands in the air, gets up, and
marches out of the lunch room.
    “So are you going to tell us what’s
going on?” Kristina asks, bringing me back around. I
notice that all of my friends are looking at either me or the situation at Porsche’s table.
“Like Eddie said, Keagan decided that Porsche is more his style. As far as whatever they
are looking at, I have no idea what they are watching. But it scares me, especially since Ican’t
think of anything that would cause that sort of attention.” The bell rings, bringing lunch to an
end. I look down at my Cajun Chicken pasta with