Chapter Three-You're a Princess

Ashleigh felt a cool, wet rag wipe at her forehead. She tried to move her face away, but whoever was doing it didn’t seem to get the hint and kept wiping. She finally just reached up and shoved the hand away.
“Are you awake now?” someone asked with concerned. Ashleigh groaned. She knew that voice. It made her head ache throb twice as bad. She tried to sit up, but Ian anchored her back down gently with his arm.
“You need to rest. Don’t try to move too much,” he instructed. Ashleigh sighed and shoved his arm away.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “Let me up, you jerk!” She sat up again slowly because her head was spinning. She squinted up at him. He hovered over her with a sullen look. She reached up and patted his dark hair.
“Sorry, you’re not a jerk. I’ve just never fainted before in my life. I feel like an idiot. Help me stand up,” she told him. He took her extended hands and helped pull her up. The movement gave her supreme head rush and Ian had to hold fast to her so she wouldn’t fall back onto her bed.
“We’re in my room,” she realized. “Did you carry me here? Is my mom home? Did she see you?” Ian made a face at her.
“Calm down, she is not here. She left a message on your communication contraption, saying she will be late coming home. Which was quite good, under the current circumstances,” he said. He placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. “You’re still quite pale.” Ashleigh stared up at him, trying to weave through what he just said.
“Communication contraption? Oh, you mean the telephone. She left a message on the telephone. What time is it?”
“Six hours past noon,” he said casually. Once again, Ashleigh had to think for a moment to understand him.
“6:00, right, um, are you hungry or anything? Because it’s kind of late, and it’s been a bit of a long day,” she said faintly.
“You are in no state to fix meals. You need to lie down,” he insisted.
Ashleigh did feel very exhausted, despite the three-hour nap she just had. Ian must have felt her sag against him because he heaved her up and put her back under the covers of her bed again.
“If you will not rest, tell me what changed your mind into believing me,” he said. Ashleigh sighed and recalled Mr. Jenkins’s class room.
“The Algebra teacher wasn’t here today when I walked into his class. There was another man there, a really cute man,” she added with a slight grin, “and he was a substitute teacher for him. He was really weird, talked a lot like you, and he said he knew my dad. When I was going to leave, he grabbed me by the arm and told me, “Do not think I do not know. I am watching you””, she told him, imitating the man’s deep voice.
Ian’s hands were balled into fists now, the skin on his knuckles white and pulled taut. His face was a picture of pure fury.
“Did he say his name?” he asked as calmly as he could. Ashleigh closed her eyes tightly and tried hard to remember.
“It was a really long, complicated name, I think. Um, M-Marquis DeBerge-or DeBarge, whatever-Jean-something. It was really hard to say, and really long. He told us to call him Mr. Jean. He said my father wasn’t really a marine. Is he right?”
“I do not know your father’s exact position in the Organization. All I know is that I am taking over his current job while he takes on a more significant ordeal.” Ian was straining not to yell. “His name is Marquis DeBarge Jeanquenche. He is someone to look out for. A neutral enemy, who only helps those who helps him. Right now, I have no doubt he is helping the man who wants you captured and locked away for payment. Stay away from him as much as possible. More than likely, he is simply spying, but he could take action and try to harm you. I have got to get my classes changed to the same as yours, so I may protect you at all times,” he declared firmly.
Ashleigh felt suddenly guilty and placed her hand on his arm. Her eyes felt too heavy to open, which was just as well because she didn’t think she could meet his eye anyway.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry I called you crazy,” she said. His other hand came over hers and gripped it tight.
“Do not apologize. None of this has ever been explained to you. You had a right to suspect… my sanity,” he said forgivingly.
“You should probably go home and get some sleep, too. I bet your first day of school was tiring,” Ashleigh suggested. Ian was quiet for a long moment.
“This is the only place I have to go in your world. There is no where else,” he said quietly. Ashleigh knew what he was asking. And the answer was no.
“You can’t stay here. My mother would freak,” she told him sternly. Ian sighed as if she had just said the dumbest thing in the world.
“Your mother does not have to know,” he pointed out. Ashleigh pushed herself up on her elbows and stared straight at him.
“I am not keeping a boy hidden in my room,” she said. Ian smiled at her crookedly and stood from the bed.
“Not a boy, but what about a stray tomcat?” he asked slyly. Ashleigh just stared at him.
“What are you saying?” she wondered, not sure she really wanted to know. Ian took a few steps back from the bed. He closed his eyes and his whole outline began to waver. Ashleigh watched in horror as his body began changing and shrinking down. His skin was replaced by orange fur; long, thin whiskers grew from his upper lip; his eyes enlarged and his ears moved to the top of his head and became pointed.
When the morphing stopped, an orange tabby stared up at her with slanted yellow eyes. Ashleigh stared back with a frozen expression, too shocked to move. Then, the tabby leapt onto the bed with her and began pawing at the covers next to her. Ashleigh jumped up off the bed and threw herself against the wall as far away from it as possible. She nearly fell to her knees when the room spun around her. She was still dizzy from fainting. Her heart would not stop pounding in her chest.
On the bed, the cat had shifted back into Ian, and Ian was looking up at her with a confused expression.
“Ashleigh, what is the matter with you? Why do flee from me like that?” he asked, standing from the bed. He tried to walk up to her, but she cringed away from him when he outstretched a hand towards her.
“You know I would not hurt you. Why are you so afraid?” he asked. He tried again to reach for her. He moved a strand of sweat-plastered hair from her forehead.
“I use my powers for you, not against you. You need not be so afraid,” he told her in a soothing voice. “Come here, before you fall onto your face. I can hear your heart racing. You need to breathe and calm yourself before you faint again.”
Ashleigh gathered her wits enough to make the most obvious statement of the year.
“You can…..turn into a little cat,” she squeaked. Ian frowned at her.
“Well, not just a little cat. I can make myself in the image of great, big beast cats as well, but I don’t think you could handle seeing such things just now. Come; lie down before you strain yourself. You worry me,” he told her earnestly. Ashleigh steadied herself shakily against the wall.
“You failed to mention that you could shape-shift. Maybe next time you shouldn’t leave out such important details,” she said with an edge to her voice.
“I’ll remember that next time,” he promised. He scooped her up in his arms before she could protest and carried her to the bed. He pulled the covers up to her chin. “Now stay here and do not spring up when I change this time,” he said firmly. He stood away from her and morphed back through the strange phases again. Ashleigh watched him cautiously as he jumped back onto the bed with her as a tabby. They stared evenly at each other.
It was a long moment before Ashleigh finally reached out from under the covers and stroked the top of his head. He was so cute, she couldn’t help but smile at the way he purred and pawed the covers. She laughed at him. It was so strange to see the uptight Ian as a cuddly little tomcat.
She was suddenly holding Ian’s face in her hand instead of a furry feline’s features. He was looking at her strangely. Ashleigh quickly snatched her hand away and turned away from his intent gaze.
“I’m…tired, so I’m gonna get some rest now. Um, you can sleep on the end of the bed-as a cat-if you like. Or, you could just go find a random chair or something. Please, don’t lean so close, I can’t think when you’re all in my face like this,” she said to him. He was almost nose-to-nose with her now.
“Do you know why I wanted to take on this mission?” he asked her in a low voice. Ashleigh shook her head nervously. With him being so close, she finally saw what Brandy had been talking about. He was very cute-extremely so, and it bothered her even more.
“When they were giving the description of the task, they showed me your image, and I couldn’t say no to the mission, to protecting you.” He placed a hand on her cheek. It was warm on her pale, cold flesh. “You were so fragile and vulnerable compared to any creature I had ever seen, your blue eyes so innocent, and all I could think of was shielding you from him.” Ashleigh licked her dry lips and exhaled shakily.
“Who is ‘him’?” she wondered, trying to distract him with something other than her ‘innocent blue eyes’. He stroked his thumb over her cheekbone.
“The one who is after you is called Serrano. He wants to use you, the charge of Leonardo Donguas Spesky, in some way we don’t quite know. He has been after you for quite some time now. My job is to prevent him from obtaining you. You understand, of course, that I would gladly give my life for you any day, princess” he said ferverently.
“Um, Ian,” Ashleigh said weakly when he leaned in closer. “Maybe you should go, you know, scout the house or something, just to be on the safe side?” Ian pulled back to look at her flustered expression. He sighed and sat back, looking practical.
“I understand the hint you are giving. I agree that it is probably too soon for any relations when we know nothing about one another,” he said thoughtfully. Then his expression brightened.
“I know,” he said, “I will first go take surveillance of your house. When I return, we shall tell about each other.” He stood from the bed excitedly and went to the window.
“I will only be a moment,” he said, raising the window. He morphed abruptly into a tabby cat once again and leapt out of the window. Ashleigh was alone for the first time in a long while. She needed a shower, and her stomach was roaring with hunger. More than likely it was fatigue from the long, stressful day she has had.
Ashleigh stood and walked to her dresser, took her pink flannel pajamas out of the bottom drawer, and walked into her bathroom. She removed her uniform, which was stiff and grimy from sweat, and adjusted the shower to her liking
Ashleigh made sure the door was locked and stepped into the shower. The hot water was a dream as it poured down on her. Her sore muscles and tired body thanked her graciously. She stayed in the shower for a good half hour before reluctantly getting out. Ashleigh got dressed and wrapped a towel around her head. She went downstairs to whip up something edible.

******
Ian came up behind her suddenly as she was flipping a grilled cheese sandwich on the stove. She jumped with surprise and nearly dropped her spatula.
“Don’t do that!” she snapped. He grinned at her and ruffled her hair like she was a little toddler. She shoved him away and turned back to the stove.
“You are quite jumpy,” he said teasingly. “What are you making? It smells delectable.” He looked over her shoulder curiously. She smacked him lightly on his wiggling nose with her buttery spatula.
“Have you ever heard that saying, “Curiosity killed the cat”?” she asked him menacingly.
“Of course not, that is ridiculous saying. It makes no sense,” he said flatly.
“It’ll make sense if you don’t back up and give me room,” she warned. He did so after a while, but he still hovered behind her like a hawk.
“I’m making grilled cheese sandwich, if you must know. It’s only the best kind of homemade food ever. Would you like to try one? I bet they don’t have anything like this on your planet,” she said lightly.
“It is not a separate planet I live on, and yes, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to sample one,” he said with enough dignity to make her laugh. Ashleigh flipped the finished sandwich onto a plate and handed it to him. He sat at the table with it and looked at loss. Ashleigh put her hands on her hips.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she asked impatiently. He frowned at her.
“I need a fork, princess,” he told her. Ashleigh struggled not to laugh in his face. He was so hopeless, it was positively adorable.
“You don’t need a fork to eat a sandwich. You use your hands,” she explained.
Ian stared at her in disgust.
“What kind of barbarian eats with their hands?” he demanded. Ashleigh snorted into her hand.
“Americans, sweetheart, that’s who. Now pick it up and try it,” she ordered. With a slanting look in her direction, he picked it up and took a small bite from it. Ashleigh turned her back just in time to hear his exclaiming reaction.
“This is incredible!” he declared. “It is the most wondrous thing I have ever tasted! What ingenious man concocted such a delicacy?” Ashleigh outright laughed at him then. She couldn’t help it. He was so strange and funny with his proper English talk. She was bent over double with laughter when he was suddenly kneeled in front of her.
“Are you in pain?” he asked seriously. Ashleigh couldn’t catch her breath right away. She nearly dropped to her knees and swatted his shoulder.
“No, you silly banana,” she choked. “The way you talk is so weird and funny; I just can’t help but laugh!”
“You are making funny of me? You should hear how you sound,” he said flatly. “I can hardly understand your slang sometimes.” Ashleigh gave him a cuddly hug, like she would a little child. Or, in this case, a kitten.
“Ha, making funny of you? Priceless! You're so serious all the time. I’m just kidding!” she told him. “You need to lighten up!” Ian’s arm came around her and they both went quiet for a long moment.
“Princess, I want you to know I did not intend to ruin your dance party,” he said out of nowhere. “I only want to protect you. If you and that boy have any relations with each other, then-“
“Oh, be quiet,” she said dismissively. She wiggled from his arms and gave his shoulder a pat. “I know you didn’t mean to. Besides, there’s still my senior prom. Hopefully by then, things will have settled down. I don’t have to go this year if you’re so worried.” Ian looked relieved and unsure all at once.
“Are you certain? This dance is important to you, isn’t it? I could make arrangements to where you wouldn’t even know I was around,” he said.
“I don’t think I would want you to be watching me without me knowing,” Ashleigh said. “That doesn’t count as privacy. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it; it’s just a dumb ol’ dance anyways. Being alive is much more important.”
“Very well, princess,” he said. Ashleigh furrowed her brows as she looked at him. He tilted his head at her expression.
“What is it, princess?” he wondered. Ashleigh wagged a finger in the air.
“That right there,” she said,” why do you call me princess?”
“It is what you are,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Kitty-cat say what!?” Ashleigh shrilled. He flinched back a little and Ashleigh took deep breaths to calm her. “What do you mean, 'That’s what you are'!?” she cried. Ian got to his feet with a puzzled look on his face, pulling her up with him.
“Do they tell you nothing? You do not even know that you are a princess?” he demanded. “Come, pull up a chair and I will tell you everything they have not!” Ian sat down at the table eagerly and waited for Ashleigh as she turned off the stove and sat opposite of him. She was no longer hungry now. This was too exciting.
“All right,” he began, and Ashleigh could see the excitement in his yellow eyes, too. “How should I start? Let’s see, in our world, Feria, you are the princess of a major kingdom called Dominia. It seems confusing, I know, but Feria is not another planet, it is a world that is double-parallel to yours,” he explained slowly. Ashleigh pretended she understood and nodded for him to continue.
“Your father is not your real father, but more like a guardian,” he went on. Ashleigh struggled to stay in her chair and not shout accusingly at the world that all was a lie. “You ‘guardian’ fell in love with the woman known as your mother. She is under the belief that you are her step child and that she and your ‘guardian were to keep it a secret from you. You were so young then that you don’t remember your real mother, the queen, who still remains in her throne in Feria, asking for constant updates of how her child is doing.”
“And my real father?” she asked frantically. Ian’s eyes were downcast.
“No one really knows how he is doing. He is hardly ever at the castle, or even his own kingdom. He is obsessed with taking down the man who is after his family so badly that he doesn’t realize that he abuses the heart of his queen. It is quite a sad sight, truthfully. I’m sure the queen tries to understand, but it hurts her deeply that he is never around.”
Ashleigh was on the edge of her seat, fidgeting and squirming and gritting her teeth. “Why can’t I stay in the kingdom?” she wondered.
“Absolutely out of the question!” he said severely. “It is much too dangerous for you to be there. Why else do you think we have gone through so much trouble to find you a home in your world?” Ashleigh raised her eyebrows at him.
“You don’t have to get snippy with me, boy-o. I’ll make you sleep outside tonight. I was just wondering,” she said reproachfully.
“I am sorry, but it angers me that they have told you nothing. I did not mean to get snippy, as you say,” he said. “Anyway, you’re being kept here so that you will be safe. You’re guardian was called off for something else, though I do not know what that is, and I am in his place as your current guardian. Does that answer your biggest questions?” he asked. Ashleigh was thoughtful for a moment. Then she nodded.
“For now it does. Wow, this is weird. I can’t believe I’m actually accepting this so well. If I go into shock, just give me a good smack in the face, and then I should be fine,” she said lightly. “Anyways, I’m not hungry anymore, so I’m going to get ready for bed. You can come on up if you’re tired.” He nodded, but didn’t make any move to get up. With a shrug, Ashleigh made her way back up to her bedroom for a well-deserved nap.
It was cold in her room when she got there. The window had been left un-shut. For a guardian, Ian was pretty careless. She went to the window to shut and lock it.
She walked back to her bed and slipped under the covers. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.
In her dream, she was Alice in Wonderland. She was looking for Ethan, chasing him everywhere to ask him on a very important date. There was a long, fancy table set for a tea party in the middle of the woods. It had come out of nowhere. The Mad Hatter stood at the head of the table with his back to her. He was teasing the Cheshire cat, hanging it by its tail. When he turned around, his face was Mr. Jean's.
"Hello, Alice!" he exclaimed in a chilling voice. "Have you come for your kitty-cat? He’s quite a funny one, isn’t he?"
Ashleigh looked at the Cheshire cat he extended to her. It glared at her.
"Don't just stand there, princess," it said with Ian's voice. "Help me!" Mr. Jean laughed and laughed at the squirming cat while Ashleigh stood there helplessly. Her ears ringed from the sound of whistling teapots.

"Help me, princess! I have no idea how to shut this vile machine off! It will not stop its crazed wailing! Wake up and help me!" Ian's voice cried, piercing her dream. Ashleigh sat up fast, her ears still ringing. Ian was sitting beside her, shaking her alarm clock violently. She snatched it from him and stabbed the snooze button with her finger. The ringing went away.
"Why would anyone want to acquire a machine whose function is to make you bleed out your ears?" he demanded. He rubbed his ears sullenly.
“It let’s me know when it’s time for school. Ugh, I’d rather just stay in bed, though,” Ashleigh sighed. She through the covers off of her and sat up beside Ian.
“Go outside while I get ready,” she told him. “I guess we can’t let people on the bus see us getting on together. Maybe I-we- should just walk again.”
“Very well, I will go make sure there is a clear coast,” Ian said.
“You mean you’ll see if the coast is clear?” she corrected him. She stood up and stretched lazily. “All right, you do that. I’m gonna grab me a shower and get dressed. You should hurry so that you can, too.” Ian nodded and went to the window and opened it. He changed into a tabby cat and left without a glance in her direction.
“Hm, seems like this is gonna become a routine,” she said to herself. She gathered her uniform from her dresser drawer and went to take a hot shower.
When she got back into her room, Ian was sitting on the bed waiting for her patiently.
“The bus has already come by and left. We can go now,” he told her. Ashleigh glanced at the alarm clock wildly.
“What? I was in the shower that long? We have to hurry!” she exclaimed. She snatched her book bag from where it hung over a bed post and ran out of her room with Ian right behind her.
“Today is a “b” day,” Ashleigh explained to Ian as they paced down the sidewalk. “That means we go to our 6th-10th periods. It should be on your schedule, so I’m sure it won’t be hard to figure out. On “a” days, we have our 1st-5th periods, which you most likely already figured out.”
“Why must they make things so complicated?” Ian wondered. “Why can we not have all periods in one day?”
“There’s not enough time in one day for all ten periods. It’s easier than you think. Anyways, I guess you’ll have Chemistry class with me on sixth block, right?” Ian glanced at his crumpled schedule as they walked. His face was smug.
“Of course, I do. I also have the next two, French and Woodshop, with you.”
He paused, and she could hear the frown in his voice when he spoke again.
“I do not have Art with you. I won’t see you again until we are Library Assistants. That is two whole hours! This is so frustrating. I have to get three classes changed now.”
“Calm down, boy-o, it’ll be okay. I mean, Mr. Jean was just a substitute for Mr. Jenkins, so he wouldn’t be here again, right?” Ashleigh inferred.
“It is never certain what that man is capable of. He always seems to find a way,” Ian said darkly. Ashleigh didn’t really know what to say to reassure him, so she just kept quiet on the rest of the way to school.
Ashleigh tried to distance herself from Ian as much as possible while they were in front of the other students, but he always seemed to manage to cling to her.
“Whoa,” Jennie exclaimed when she saw Ashleigh and Ian together, “ way to pick ‘em, ‘Shleigh!” Ashleigh blushed deeply.
“I didn’t pick him,” she said warningly to the goofy girl. Ian wrapped his arm around hers.
“It was more like me picking her,” he smiled confidently at her. Jennie smirked and lifted her eyebrows up and down.
“Woo-wee, ‘Shleigh, you’d better put a leash on this one!” she chided. “Well, any who, I’ve got to go find my bf, so I’ll see you in Art class.” She walked off in her dreamy state.
“Let go, people are looking,” she told Ian, who still held her arm. He held tighter to her.
“So? Let them observe us, princess. It does not matter to me, and it shouldn’t matter to you, either,” he said lightly.
“It does matter to me! They’ll think we’re together! And then the rumor will get around to-Gah! Ethan!” Ashleigh squeaked as the boy appeared before them. He smiled strangely at the two of them.
“I always run into you two at the wrong time,” he speculated. Ashleigh searched for something to say, but Ian interjected her.
“Listen, boy who is called Ethan,” he started oddly, “I do not want any problems with you. What had happened yesterday had been a misunderstanding. I am not Ashleigh’s courter; I simply am here to look out for her. So, if you have feelings for her, then that is fine. I just want her to be safe. Do you understand?”
Ashleigh could only gape up at Ian with an impressed look. She couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of his mouth!
“Really, man? So, you’re saying that you don’t like Ashleigh in that way?” Ethan asked unsurely. Ian shook his head.
“No, that isn’t it. Of course I have feelings for her. But you are obviously her choice, so I will not stand in the way of you two having each other.” Ethan’s brows shot up.
“Well, dude, I’m impressed. It takes a real cool man to say something like that. Thanks, bro,” Ethan said appreciatively. He eyed Ashleigh cautiously. “You know that he thought this?”
“Oh, um, I-I guess I know now,” she said lamely. Ethan’s smile was bright.
“So, I’ll pick you up at 8:00?* he asked.
“Say what?” she asked quickly. Ethan laughed at her and shook his head.
“For prom?” he reminded her. Ashleigh bit her lip and peeked up at Ian hopefully. He sighed and shrugged indifferently.
“Okay, well, 8:00 it is,” she agreed, masking her glee. Ethan grinned at her.
“I’ll see you around, huh? You, too, Guardian Angel,” he said to Ian with a nod.
“I am no Angel-”Ian began technically.
“He’s kidding,” Ashleigh told him as Ethan walked off laughing. “Thanks so much for doing this, Ian. It means a lot.”
“Yes, well, I’m sure you’ll make it up to me with one of those delicious grilled finger foods you made yesterday when we get home,” he said. Ashleigh hugged his arm that was still in hers tightly to her.
“As many as you like,” she promised.
*****
Ashleigh halted in the doorway of her Art class 7th period, causing several people to bump into her. She couldn’t believe it. Her whole day had been perfect. And now this had to happen. Now he had to happen!
“Good afternoon, dear scholars! It is nice to see you all so eagerly at my door, but it would please me so much more if you were all seated at an easel,” Mr. Jean said gallantly to Ashleigh and the lined up students behind her. Ashleigh’s face flushed with embarrassment. She inched in the door and sat at the easel furthest from him. Not that it helped much. He strolled with easy steps to where she sat and placed a friendly hand on her shoulder. She shuddered because he creeped her out now that she knew who he really was.
“My dear scholars, from now on, I will assume the position of your Art instructor. Mrs. Reed was in a horrible accident that will no longer permit her to teach you. But that is sad news, and I want this day to be happy. So, we should begin. Today, we will attempt to paint out what I’d like to call, “Conflicting Emotions”. Tell me how your feelings express and oppose each other through the colors of you oil pigments.”
Ashleigh could tell the way he described things was confusing to the class. She was getting used to it, though. She picked up her brush and opened a tube of purple paint and squirted a tiny bit onto her pallet. Mr. Jean was still hovering over her with his hand on her shoulder. It was beginning to irk her.
“Do you mind?” she whispered venomously at him under her breath. His grip tightened painfully.
“Is that anyway to talk to your instructor? Remember your manners, young lady,” he said tauntingly. Ashleigh gritted her teeth together.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked earnestly. “What good can come out of helping the bad guy?” Mr. Jean masked his laugh by pressing his lips together. He smiled that smile that made him look like the Mad Hatter from her dream. He had something up his sleeve. She just hoped it wasn’t a teacup.
“Aren’t you clever? Don’t give me the speech that all of Feria has already given me. I chose to live like this, it’s what I enjoy. It is all I know” His speech reminded Ashleigh of a song she knew.
“No, there ain’t no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good…”
“The ‘bad guy’ you speak of is not as smart as you think and extremely desperate, princess” he said with delight. Ashleigh whapped his arm.
“Don’t call me princess,” she snapped. It sounded wrong when it came from his foul, evil mouth. “What is he desperate for? What does he want with me?” Ashleigh asked. With a sigh, Mr. Jean loosened his grip on her shoulder and rubbed the sore spot. She was sure he’d given her a bruise, but she’d rather hurt than him touch her with his icky hands. He leaned close to whisper in her ear.
“It’s quite a petty thing, actually. He wants what he thinks only you can give him,” he said quietly. “He wants your love, little princess.” A shocking chill went up Ashleigh’s spine and she was speechless. When Ian had told her about the big, bad guy, she pictured something like Grendel or an evil Shrek. What would a nasty beast want love for? If he wanted to be accepted so badly, why was he evil?
Mr. Jean laughed quietly and patted her shoulder empathetically.
“Don’t look so surprised, princess! You’re a beautiful girl and impeccably innocent. Is it so hard to believe someone has loved you just from the sight of you? I don’t quite understand myself why he would go through so much trouble for a single girl like you. There are many fish in the sea, as your world says. But he’s very obsessive, so there’s no way to reason with him. Well, you’d best get started on your painting.”
Mr. Jean left her stunned and wondering wildly if what he was telling her was true. Ian would be outraged. Maybe she shouldn’t tell him. He already knew that the guy was after her. That was all that mattered, right, that Ian kept him away from her? No need to get him all upset over a simple thing like this.
Ashleigh was half-way done with her painting when the bell rang. She set her canvas next to the other students and left before Mr. Jean could tell her anymore horrifying things. Ian was coming down the hall towards her when she stepped outside the door. She offered him a false smile, and he smiled back.
“Are you ready to proceed?” he asked lightly. She nodded, exhaling with relief that she didn’t even have to tell him Mr. Jean was her teacher. She followed him closely to the library, afraid that a nasty ogre was going to snatch her up from behind and carry her off to become his wife. Ian’s strange excess body heat comforted her and made her feel safe. She stepped on Ian’s heels accidently from time to time. He gave her a confused smile.
“Are you all right?” he asked. Ashleigh nodded and fought the urge to just burst into a river of tears. A monster loves me! I don’t want to marry Godzilla! She wanted to squeal. But she kept quiet.
It was nice to step into the quiet library. The room was freezing. Mrs. White waved Ian over to show him how to check books in and out while Ashleigh filed books back away onto the shelves. Ashleigh sat down at one of the reading tables with a sigh when she finally put away the last of the books. Ian sat beside her and leaned his head on her shoulder heavily.
“School is so tiring here. It never ends,” he groaned tiredly. Ashleigh leaned her cheek on against his hair and gave a short laugh.
“This is every day for me, boy-o. You’ll get used to it,” she told him.
“I seriously do not think that I will,” he said. “So, how was Art class?” Ashleigh stiffened at the question and searched in her mind how to answer the question.
“It was different,” she said, and that was the truth. He didn’t say anything else about it, so he must have accepted her answer. She sagged with relief.
“Well, Trig irritated me. The teacher is so fussy! He seemed so angry when I answered things correctly. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” he asked.
“Yeah, Mr. Jenkins is like that. You have to ignore him,” she said. She tucked her cold fingers under his arm to warm them. If anyone saw them, they would probably figure that Ian was her boyfriend. But it wasn’t that. He was just so cuddly, and maybe that was because she’d always been more of a cat person anyway. Dogs were loud and slobbery, but cats were civilized, sophisticated creatures and don’t usually require too much attention.
“You should wear warmer clothes,” Ian said disapprovingly.
“What are you, my mother? I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” she shrugged.
“It’s my job to worry about you,” he reminded her flatly. He took off his jacket for the second time and draped it over her. His summery scent submerged her. The jacket was warm from his body heat. She slipped her arms through the sleeves without protest and put her hands in the pockets.
“Thank you,” she said grudgingly, surprising him.
“…You are welcome,” he said quietly. She hadn’t known his arm was around her until he’d tightened it just then. She knew that this would look like a serious case of PDA in front of Mrs. White. Ashleigh cleared her throat and shifted away from him.
“Um, I need to go to the bathroom,” she lied meekly.
“I’ll come with you,” he said quickly. Ashleigh sighed and rolled her eyes.
“You can’t come with me into the girl’s restroom. Just stay here and wait, it won’t kill you. I won’t be long,” she told him firmly. He frowned deeply at her, but said nothing as she got up and asked Mrs. White for the red, wooden hall pass. She glanced at Ian wanly and went on out into the hallway. The hallway was empty, and the drafts from the double-door exits being opened and closed made it cold. Ashleigh pulled Ian’s jacket tightly around her with a shiver and made her way to the bathroom.
When Ashleigh entered the restroom, she stood in front of the mirror instead of going into one of the stalls. She looked at her thin frame and her tired face. She felt she hadn’t had hardly any sleep because of that weird dream. She wanted to go home and curl up in her bed. Judging by the faint circles under her eyes, she needed to. She hadn’t even put the slightest bit of make up on this morning. She looked at the time on her Jeff Gordon wrist watch. It was only an hour and twenty-seven minutes until dismissal bell. She could hold out that long at least.
Ashleigh looked back up at her reflection. Her ash-colored hair was in every kind of disarray. She tried to pat it down here and there. Ian’s jacket was too big for her and made her look like a scruffy bum. To think that Ethan had seen her looking like this. Oh well, at least she was warm. She had to start remembering to bring a jacket to school. Tomorrow, she would have to actually put some effort into how she looked. She would go to bed really early and wake up even earlier. Maybe then she can actually live up to the kind of girl that Ian- Ethan- deserved.
“Oh, look at you!” she snapped at herself in the mirror. “That dumb ol’ cat-boy-person has got you thinking crazy stuff! Who cares about what he thinks of you? You don’t want him! You have Ethan now, the guy of your dreams! Be happy with that!” She stared herself down.
Ashleigh didn’t even know him anyway, no matter how cute and thoughtful he was. And he was her ‘temporary guard’, so there couldn’t be any relationship. After her dad came back, he would be leaving, and they’d go on like they’d never even met. It was for the best anyway. She couldn’t like two guys at one time! So, from now on, she’d think of Ian as an overly protective brother and nothing else.

*****


“There are some certain exceptions for your outing with this boy, Ethan,” Ian began in his authorized voice as soon as they walked into the house. Her mother’s car wasn’t in the garage, but she would be home soon. She had to keep her end of the bargain as quick as she could. How many grilled cheese sandwiches could one guy eat anyway? Two or three?
“I will have a date as well so that I will be able to keep an eye on you. There will be no wandering off out of my sight. You will stay in the chaperoned area, and you will not over-exert yourself with dancing. Do not leave your drinks sitting around, do not leave with any strangers, and be home before midnight,” Ian listed
“God, you’re worse than my father! Anymore room on that list of rules?” Ashleigh asked sardonically.
“Yes,” he said with an odd smile, “ there is room for one more requirement.”
“Oh, yeah? And what is that, master?” she said with narrowed eyes.
“Save a dance for me,” he said simply. Ashleigh blinked with surprise and almost blushed.
“Oh, sure, I guess there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that.” She dropped a tablespoon of butter numbly into her heated pan. It sizzled loudly and was the only sound in the kitchen. Ashleigh was lost deep in her thoughts as she fried the sandwiches. Save him a dance, that’s an innocent enough request. It wasn’t like it was going to mean anything, at last not to her. She’d just do it to be polite, and then go right back to dancing with Ethan. There wouldn’t be anything weird or awkward about it….
“Do you expect me to eat all of these?” Ian asked her suddenly, staring nervously at the plate of piled up sandwiches. Ashleigh perked up from her daze and looked at him in a lost manner.
“Say what?” she asked absently. He nodded towards the plate. There were at least ten sandwiches stacked up on it. Ashleigh slapped her forehead and laughed placidly.
“Sorry, guess I got into it,” she chuckled. “What you don’t eat, wrap it up and put it in the fridge for later, okay? I think I need o go lie down.” She turned the stove off and started up stairs.
“Are you all right?” he called after her. She waved him away and went on up to her room without answering. She locked her bedroom door behind her and went to the window to shut the curtains tightly together before undressing. If people were after her, then they were probably watching her every move. The last thing she wanted was some weird little monster seeing her in her undies. She got a long-sleeved cotton nightgown from her closet and put it on.
Just a little sleep is all I need, she thought faintly as she fell onto her bed. Then I’ll feel perfectly fine. She curled up into a ball and didn’t bother pulling the covers over her. She hoped Ian was smart enough to get up here before her mother got back. It would be pretty bad if her mother walked in and a strange boy was sitting at her table eating a mountain of grilled cheese sandwiches. She shrugged the thought away mentally, too tired to care at the moment. He’s a big boy; he could take care of himself.