Labelled by Blood

      The day was chilly. The sun had clouds trying to pass by and the grass smelled sweet. Parker and I sat for a minute longer. He stole glances at me out of concern. I stole glances at him out of curiosity.       "So," he said, "how was your weekend?"       I nodded. "It was good. Too good, actually. Well, almost."       "Almost? What happened?"       I told him about it all. Jesse. My parents. The gym. He took it all in without saying a word. I didn't know I could talk for so long. After I finished, I shrugged and fiddled with a dried blade of grass that found its way onto the bench. I flicked it and watched it pathetically travel not even a foot.       "Oh, so that's why almost."       "Right."       "And Jesse said he'd be here today?"       I checked my phone. No. He never said. I knew he didn't come on Mondays. I think he has, like, three times? But that was still so many where he didn't. Parker read my silence. Had to. Because he didn't ask again, instead taking out his sketchbook and framing me with his fingers.       "Mind if I?"       I felt a surge of panic. But Parker was a friend. Friends draw each other all the time. He wasn't the creep from the gym. And he might do a good job.       "Uh, go for it."       He gave a toothy half-smile and sketched away. I got tired of just sitting there and popped in an earbud. Today was a LoFi kind of day. He didn't stop. A little while later he pulled away from his sketchbook and looked at his creation. When he was satisfied, he turned it over for me to look at. Every line felt deliberate, but it also looked like he scrawled lines without rhyme or reason. He got everything. Not perfect, of course, but stylized. He made me look so. Cool. The way my bangs swoops over my forehead. The way my nose suddenly clipped into my nostrils, giving me a pointy and sharpish kind of look. My eyes. Big, but not lost, and looking right at the camera. Not clumsy. Even my lips looked purposefully aloof. I looked like someone who couldn't care less.       "Wow." I whispered.       He laughed and set down his book. "I only draw what I see. Like it?"       I nodded eagerly. Then shook my head and furrowed my brows. "No, you changed stuff. You had to."       He shook his head and booped my nose with the eraser of his pencil. "Nah. I don't like doing that stuff. I want to capture what makes someone beautiful, y'know? Why change what's real?"       For some reason, his words made me tear up. Why change what's real? Why paint a version of something that didn't actually exist? He was right. Why bother. I reached into my backpack and grabbed a couple of sodas. I handed him one and we drank to his divine portrait. When I checked my phone again, we only had a few minutes of lunch, left. I sighed.       "Say," Parker said. "About Jesse--" but he cut himself short. "Speak of the devil!" He beamed like someone who saw a long lost cousin.       Jesse walked into the courtyard with his hands in his pockets and hood up over his head. I stood up instantly. I ran to him and gave him the quickest hug ever. He actually pulled me back in.       "Alex. Sorry I didn't show," he said.       "Right. No. Um, don't even worry," I said.       Jesse forced a smile. His eyes said everything for him. Parker joined us and him and Jesse did their dumb handshake. Then Parker handed him something in a small box. He told Jesse it was for later. Jesse pocketed the box and then we just talked. Well, they mainly talked. I chimed in every now and then, but they were catching up. Parker told us how his trip was and how he was dying to be back. He told us he was jealous we got to train so much and warned us that he wasn't totally left behind. We got all giddy for what new stuff he had.       His vestige was special. His necklace, a gold chain with a gold pendant that looked like a cross between a wisp of fire and a wing, became a mace imbued with a fire strim. While I had to toss my stapler to summon my rifle, he just had to grab his pendant and knock on his collarbone a couple of times. Plus, he could kind of use it like a wand and more directly call fireballs, waves of fire, or even just have it burst through with each strike. He wasn't able to use it for movement like Jesse's explosions, but Parker did a lot of agility training and could scale any building and just was dexterous. It was stupid impressive for how calm and cool he looked.       Before we could keep going, the bell rang. Parker groaned and immediately headed out, saying he was excited for our training after school. I started to do the same, but Jesse caught my arm. I stumbled and he pulled me in to a kiss. A real, full kiss. I lingered, my brain catching up but also trying to slow down the moment. We held it for a solid five seconds, maybe more. He pulled away right as the door coming into the courtyard opened up with a burst of students rushing to their classes. It was like he knew they were coming.       Then he ruffled my hair with a different kind of playfulness before walked away. His class was on the opposite end of school from mine, so I didn't have a chance to say anything. I was in a daze. Some kids made a comment, I think, but it could've been about anything, really. When I finally gathered my thoughts, I headed to my next class. I plopped down and buried my head in my hands. My heart swelled and I wanted to just jump and scream, but I needed to stay calm. I was in speech, now, and I hated this class. I took my notes out and kids came in pairs like a faucet leaking too much water.       Mrs. Burgess came in with her usual peppy smile that was so sincere we thought she liked watching us fumble our failed attempts at professional speeches. She projected some bell work and I got right to it. But my thoughts kept going back to that kiss. It was special. More than we've ever had before. And he chose today. Why? What made today so special? Was he just afraid he might lose me? We had Parker, now. If that thing were to come at us, it'd have to deal with all three of us.       And, even if it showed up tomorrow, we'd have all evening today to catch Parker up to speed on how things operated now. Jesse and I were in sync when we were in action. Silent. Almost telepathic. I knew when he needed me to cover him and when he needed me to go for the kill. Parker would catch on quick, he was always the best fighter between all of us. Probably because he didn't have anything that really let him afford mistakes.       If I messed up, I was probably far enough for it to not be too dangerous for me. If Jesse messed up then he turned into a magician and vanished with a puff of smoke. But Parker? No. He had to be in the thick of it with only his gut instincts, reactions, and forethought. He always beat us in our one-on-one scrimmages. It made Jesse realize he can't just depend on overwhelming his opponents all the time and I knew I had to get better at close-quarters. But when we were a team, I shouldn't ever have to worry about that.       Mrs. Burgess reviewed the bell work and then we jumped into today's work. I didn't have to publicly speak, not today. That'd be on Wednesday, so the rest of class was spent going over the kind of speech we'd be giving and how she was grading us. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled. We had to give an elevator speech, which was basically us selling ourselves to the class in the length of an elevator ride. Which, apparently was a minute and fifteen seconds. What kinds of elevators she rode, I'd never know.       I was stumped. She told us to focus on our "qualities,' and what "made you stand out." I needed help. Nothing about me stood out. I aimed for invisible Which meant I aimed for mediocrity. And the world liked me best when I stayed in that label. It's why I couldn't ever be as confident as the twins. Or as popular. And it's why my grades would always be average, maybe just above. And why I couldn't join the decathlon.       While I stewed in my own extra-ordinary-ness, the rest of the class came up with their own speeches. While some of them made me realize I might've had something worth talking about, most of them just shot me down faster than I could shoot a soda can. So even that part of me wasn't special.       Mrs. Burgess went around the classroom, checking in with some usual kids. They were the ones who always needed help on this kind of thing. She passed by me and I didn't see if she caught a glimpse of my depressingly overwhelming cons-over-pros list. If she did, she didn't mention it. If she didn't, that wasn't surprising. Either way, class came to an end and it was finally time to leave. I was packed up five minutes before the bell rang and was the first out the door. I wasn't sure why I was. After all, Jesse always met me at the bus stop at the same time every day. Didn't matter if Parker was there or not.       I rushed through the hallways, the air thick from body odor and the never-ending clouds of intermingling colognes and perfumes meant to cover it up but ending in a musty smell so strong, my tongue tingled from the abhorrent taste. I dodged past swinging lockers and cheerleaders and athletes making their ways to practice. Turning a corner, a teacher stepped out and I bumped into them. It was Ms. Rohd. She yelped. I fell on my butt. I thought I heard the sound of my stapler hit the scuffed tiles, but I didn't.       A boy rushed out. "Mom?" He saw us and helped her up first.       I took his hand after. "Thanks," I whispered. "Sorry."       "Oh, Alex," Ms. Rohd chuckled, "I should be sorry. I was in a rush and didn't look both ways."       Her son had hung back by the doorframe to her classroom. He had a journal and his hand scrawled away. Wait, was this Ava's boyfriend?       "Tobias," Ms. Rohd stated flatly, "thank you very much for the hand." He looked up and nodded with a gentle smile. Then he kept writing. Ms. Rohd shooed him from the door and locked her classroom. "Tobias, go and find the twins. I have something pressing I need to get done today and I'm sure Ava wouldn't mind seeing you."       This drew him from his lyrical drawing and he beamed. "Sure! Can I borrow $20?"       Ms. Rohd scoffed but didn't protest. With a flick of her wrist, a twenty appeared from her purse. He didn't snatch it. He was as gentle taking it from her as he was helping me up. "Be home by sundown. And make sure you tip the cashier boy well, you three bother him enough as it is."       He nodded and rushed past us. He nearly bumped into me and apologized. I caught his gaze and he paused. He shuffled uncomfortably and I spotted his eyes flicker towards Ms. Rohd. He opened his mouth to say something before deciding to smile and apologize again. I nodded once and he was off.       That was weird.       Ms. Rohd told me he was always a bit socially inept. I appreciated her honesty, but the way she interacted with her son. She'd never shown this side of her in class. She seemed to know the twins well, though.       I awkwardly bid her farewell and then bolted. Pushing past the double doors, I skipped steps down the concrete stairs and saw Jesse already talking to his friends as they headed in. they formed a wall right in front of me. I stopped. I had to.       "Excuse me," I said, trying to squeeze past them.       "Wait, J-dog," one of his friends started, "ain't that your girl?"       I winced. Did I stay and talk? Or did I leave? Usually I was out before or after they headed in. I don't think I'd ever faced them head on.       "Yeah, she's smart, isn't she?" another asked.       "They." Jesse said, correcting them.       The beating in my chest went from hyper speed to stasis. My ears grew hot. My stomach flipped like a pancake in a skillet. Did he really just say that in front of them?       "Oh, my b," one of his friends said.       "Shit," the other said, an arm raised up toward me.       I shrank. This was the same thing Parker and Jesse did when they greeted each other. I looked to Jesse who gave me a tiny nod. I tried to imitate what he and Parker did earlier.       "Sh--they're alright," the one said.       I didn't know what was happening. But my face had broke out into a massive smile, even if I was sweating buckets.       "J," another chimed in, "why aren't you going with them? Be a man, man."       The others ribbed him, a couple of them ruffled his hair and he laughed and pushed them off of him. One stayed quiet and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. Jesse's smile looked genuine and full of joy. He stepped away from them, up to me. He extended an arm out. My eyes shot up to his then down to his arm, then back up to his. His smile never faltered and his eyes trailed down to where my arm hooked his.       "I thought," I whispered. Almost just mouthing it.       He shook his head, "no. I thought." His foot launched from the rough concrete underneath and I was pulled along with him. His friends had already moved on. They didn't seem to care. But I thought. I thought they would've. Huh?