"I should turn him into the rat he real y is," Miranda said, apparently embarrassed she'd been fooled. Kylie completely understood Miranda's feelings, then she remembered seeing embarrassment on Perry's face, and she knew why, too. The last person he wanted to look bad in front of was the girl he had a crush on. "You know he likes you, don't you?"
Miranda's mouth dropped open. "No, he doesn't."
Del a snorted but didn't say anything.
"Yes, he does," Kylie said. "You should have seen him the other day when you ran off with Chris for the Meet Your Campmates Hour. He looked like a whipped puppy. And the whole time we were together, he kept asking questions about you."
Miranda stood there, her mouth agape. "If he likes me why hasn't he said something? We were even here together last year."
Kylie glanced at Del a. "You wanna help me out here?"
"Nah," she said with a grin. "I think you're doing okay on your own."
Kylie turned back to Miranda. "I wasn't here last year, but..."
"But what?" Miranda asked.
Kylie shrugged. "I don't think he knows how to tel you he likes you," she said.
"Oh, please. He's not shy."
"He's not shy being a class clown or the class smart-ass. But when you get him alone, he comes off pretty tongue-tied. Honestly, he wasn't half as annoying, either. I personal y think the downside of being able to change into anything is the fear that you don't know who you real y are."
Kylie stopped and considered her own words. "Gosh, I actual y sounded smart right then. Didn't I?"
They al laughed and started walking to breakfast. They were halfway there when Miranda swung around to face Kylie. "You real y think Perry likes me?"
Kylie chuckled. "Yes."
Del a raised her chin up and sniffed. "I smel loooove in the air."
"I'm not..." She paused and then said, "Did you smel it on him?"
"No," Del a admitted. "But that's because shape-shifters don't put out the same pheromones. I'm not attuned to what a horny bird smel s like."
They al giggled and then started walking again.
"He's cute, though, isn't he?" Miranda asked.
"In a way," Kylie said.
"Maybe a little," Del a offered, and then asked, "so, what are you going to do about him?" She placed her hand over her heart to add drama to the question.
Miranda shrugged. "Wait and see if he makes a move."
"Why wait? If you want him, go get him. Don't be a wuss."
"Right." Miranda flipped back her hair and put it up with the band she had on her wrist. "I don't see you putting the moves on any guy."
"That's because I'm not pining over anyone here."
"Liar," Kylie said.
"Please," Del a said. "Who do you think I got the hots for?"
"Steve, the tal shape-shifter with sandy-colored hair," Kylie said matter-of-factly. "You couldn't stop looking at his butt the other day."
Del a's mouth dropped open and she rol ed her eyes. "You are so wrong." She fanned herself with her hand. "But the boy is eye candy to the max."
They al chuckled. "What about you?" Miranda asked Kylie.
"I don't have time to pursue anything."
"You got the same amount of time we do," Miranda said.
"No, I don't." Kylie stopped walking. She hadn't told them about her two-week deal with Holiday, and for good reason. They weren't going to like it. "I ... Holiday agreed to talk to my mom about my going home after two weeks."
"Why?" both her friends asked at the same time.
"Because I don't belong here. I'm not one of you."
"Bul shit!" Del a said. "You just don't want to be one of us. You stil think we're freaks. I see it every time the word blood is mentioned."
Okay, she might have had a point about the blood.
Kylie stil shook her head. "It's not-"
"You can't go," Miranda said, interrupting her. "Who's going to stop Del a and me from kil ing each other?"
"Oh, screw it," Del a said, frowning, and looked at Miranda. "Let her go back to her safe little world where the only thing she worries about is if her daddy loves her. If she doesn't want to be friends with us, I certainly don't want to be friends with her. Hel , I didn't like the bitch anyway."
Del a shot off so fast Kylie didn't see her go. Miranda stood there staring. "She's just mad. She didn't mean that."
"I know." Kylie bit down on her lip, but Del a's words stil hurt.
Miranda twirled her ponytail. "I hate to say this, but I don't blame her. I'm mad at you, too." And then Miranda took off. Just great, Kylie thought. On top of everything else, she'd managed to piss off her two new best friends.
* * *
When Kylie got to the dining hal , Miranda and Del a were sitting at a different table from where they usual y sat. Kylie got the message loud and clear. They didn't want to be near her.
Fine.
Picking up her food tray, Kylie moved to her normal table, feeling a tad self-conscious about being alone. The door opened and Kylie looked up just as Derek walked in. His lips spread into a warm smile, one of his special smiles, that made her heart swel with appreciation. He started walking toward her, and relief fil ed her chest. She could real y use a friend right now.
She continued watching him, suddenly aware that his eyes and smile didn't seem fixed on her. Sure enough, he didn't stop at her table. Kylie counted to ten and tried to wipe the pain from her eyes before she turned to see where he'd gone. Peeking over her shoulder, she spied Derek cozying up with Mandy, his shoulder ful y against hers. Swinging back around, Kylie stared at her eggs and her emotions felt just as scrambled. She liked him, she didn't like him. What the hel was wrong with her?
Trying to decide whether attempting to eat was a mistake, Kylie heard Del a's I'm-pissed voice. Kylie looked up expecting to find Del a and Miranda going at it, but she was wrong. Del a had her nose in the face of another vampire chick. Then the girl pointed a finger in Del a's face and said something in a low voice that Kylie couldn't hear.
Kylie's first instinct was to march over there just in case Del a needed reinforcements. Del a had stood up for her against the she-wolf, but before Kylie got to her feet, Del a took off.
After managing to down at least a half piece of toast, Kylie went out front to find Del a. No Del a. Instead, some of the other campers were drawing names. She was so not in the mood to chat with someone for an hour, but neither was she in the mood to go back to the cabin where Soldier Dude might appear. Deep down, she sensed that her talking to him yesterday had somehow made him more determined than ever to make contact with her.