Free The Cupid War by Timothy Carter

to Cynthia or Lucy, but not Trina. Ryan could be paired with all three girls, and Cynthia was open to the entire group. Trina …
    Fallon hesitated. If she could hear his voice, she might feel his hand. He would wait before he tried her.
    The bell rang, and all around the main foyer students got up and headed for their classes. Trina, Cynthia, and Ryan went down the left corridor, and the others went right. Fallon followed Trina, hoping to catch her alone. It was luck, then, that they were with Ryan. Fallon could have smacked himself for not guessing who’d be waiting at his locker.
    â€œHi, guys!” Susan said, all smiles and cheeriness. Fallon knew that for the act it was. As soon as Susan got Ryan alone, she’d want to know why he didn’t come after her. And she would not be happy about it.
    â€œJust keep right on walking,” he said, touching Ryan’s heart again. It didn’t work, but Fallon hadn’t really expected it to.
    â€œEverything all right?” Cynthia asked Susan as they stopped by Ryan’s locker.
    â€œYeah, everything’s peachy,” Susan said. “I just need to talk to Ryan about something before we go to class.”
    Ryan looked back at Cynthia and Trina, his eyes pleading.
    â€œWe’ll catch you later, Ryan,” Cynthia said.
    â€œDon’t leave him alone with her,” Fallon implored, speaking right into Trina’s ear. His voice visibly startled her, but she quickly regained her composure.
    â€œBye Ryan, Susan,” she said, and walked quickly after Cynthia.
    â€œOh, come on!” Fallon called after them, but if Trina heard, she didn’t show it.
    â€œYou’ve got English now, right?” Susan asked while Ryan opened his locker. “I’ll walk you there. My class is on the way.”
    â€œWhat did you want to talk to me about?” Ryan asked as he sorted through his schoolbooks.
    â€œWell, I … ” Susan said. “I just wondered if you were mad at me.”
    â€œYou bet he is,” Fallon said, but Ryan said no.
    â€œIt’s just that you didn’t come after me when I left the group earlier,” Susan said. “When you didn’t, I figured you must be mad at me.”
    â€œI’m not mad at you, Susan,” Ryan said. “I just wanted to stick with my friends.”
    â€œSo I’m not your friend?” Susan asked.
    â€œNo! That’s not what I’m saying,” Ryan told her.
    â€œIf a friend of mine walked away,” Susan said, “I would have gone to see what was wrong. I’m not saying I’m mad at you for not doing it, I’m just saying what I’d do.”
    â€œI’m sorry, Susan, okay?” Ryan slumped down against his locker. His face said he wasn’t going anywhere for a while, and he knew it.
    â€œSo you’ll come next time?” Susan said, sitting down beside him.
    â€œYes,” said Ryan helplessly.
    â€œThank you,” Susan said, and she took his hand and squeezed it in both of hers. “You’re a true friend.”
    Fallon turned and walked away. He couldn’t take any more, and there was nothing he could do. Susan had her claws in him, and Fallon knew Ryan would need help to pull those claws out.
    And that help was going to come from Trina, whether she liked it or not.
    It took Fallon a while to find Trina. Guildwood Mills had a lot of classrooms, each one packed with students. Fallon’s ability to walk through walls, however, made his search much easier.
    Finally, in a French class on the school’s southwest side, he hit pay dirt. Trina was sitting in the middle of the first row, next to the wall. Fallon slipped into that wall and sidled up to her, then squatted beside her desk.
    Trina, who had been slouching in her chair, sat up suddenly. She knows I’m here, Fallon thought.
    â€œHello, Trina,” he said. “I want to talk to you.”
    She slowly turned her head to look,