We crept towards the voices, our movements decidedly quieter than our targets. Harmony and Jemina, despite growing up in small town Mississippi, were not equipped for treks through the woods. I already knew they would be wearing impractical shoes and heavy makeup, the latter which would remain perfect in this heat only because of magic.

But I wasn't particularly interested in either of them- it was Ash I wanted to see. My gaze fastened on Flannery's back, but I kept picturing his face when he saw me. Would it be filled with guilt? Or happiness? Or maybe concern?

"I don't understand why we had to come out here to get ferns. We have them in Black Brier," Harmony whined, her voice carrying through the woods.

"Ferns?" Flannery swiveled her head around and mouthed the word at me as though it were foreign.

"I didn't ask you two to follow me out here."

"Is that Ash?" Flannery hissed, and I grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to the ground.

We were nearly upon them, their shapes flashing between the trees. Ash seemed to be searching for something, dropping into a crouch and studying the ground before moving on. His sister and mine stood behind him, their arms crossed and lips drawn into flat lines. This made me giddy.

"Yes, we should go back. Class is going to be over in five minutes," I whispered, answering her question. 

"Please, do you think anyone is going to learn anything for the rest of the day? It's almost ninety degrees out today."

"Doesn't mean they won't give out detention slips."

"Let them try. I'll tell them it's a safety violation or something. After Lorie Cross passed out running her mile last year, they're nervous as hell about that kind of stuff."

"Fine, but what are we doing out here? Nothing interesting is happening."

"Did you hear something?" Jemina asked, her head snapping up and her eyes narrowing in our direction.

Flannery and I pressed ourselves into the ground. I could feel the damp earth soaking through my white blouse. My nose filled with the smell of soil and something sickly sweet- something rotting. Kudzu wrapped around the towering pines on either side of us, and it crept over the ground and choked the bushes. I shuddered, imagining what types of creepy crawlies were hiding in the thick vines.

When Jemina's attention turned back to Ash, Flannery whispered to me, "who are these girls? Is he just a big player?"

"Goth Barbie is my sister, Harmony," I explained. Her blonde hair hung down her back in limp strands, and her complexion was sallow. Not her best look, and if it was anyone else besides Harmony, I might identify the lurching in my stomach as worry over her health.

"I'm guessing the other one is related to him?"

"Twin sister."

"Damn. Is he going with your sister? She's definitely making eyes at him."

"She wishes," I muttered, attempting to strain my neck to see further without being too obvious.

"You did say the dude was weird. Why is he looking for plants?"

"His family is into natural medicine," I said, settling for my favorite type of explanation- the not a lie but not a complete truth type. Kept me in the gray zone of my morals.

"Let's just go home. I'd like to get some sleep before the parties tonight," Jemina said. She pulled on Ash's arm, but her brother didn't budge.

"You can go back without me."

"Papi is going to be furious."

"Is that why you followed me? Because he told you to?"

"No," she returned, though her voice held a questionable waver, "I followed you to make sure you weren't trying to hang out with Rose, and it's funny your search for ferns led you to her school."

Something sharp jabbed between my ribs, making me suck in a sharp breath. It struck again, more forceful. I glared at Flannery.

"Is that really necessary? That hurts."

"They're talking about you!"

Rolling my eyes, I pushed up on my knees and started to crawl backwards. I knew exactly who they were talking about, and while I would love nothing more than to eavesdrop, Flannery shouldn't be present during this conversation. Harmony and Jemina liked nothing better than tearing me down for my lack of magic, and there wasn't any type of explanation I could offer to cover that one up if they started squawking about it to Ash.

"It's none of your business who I spend my time with."

As much as his words warmed my heart, they were the exact opposite of what he needed to say right now. I could almost predict what The Shining twins would say next.

"Flannery, come on."

"No," she insisted, her eyes glued to the scene before her. "We can at least stay long enough to hear what she's going to say."

Rats. Rats. Rats. 

This wasn't going to be good. We needed to be gone, or they needed to change the subject. My friend wasn't budging, and without Harmony's gift of telepathy, there was no requesting the latter. So, I did something reckless.

"Shit!" Flannery screamed, leaping to her feet and shaking her hand. I scrambled behind a tree, hoping she wouldn't tell them I was with her.

Tiny, red blisters were forming on her skin everywhere the fire ants had bitten her. It hurt just looking at them. I knew full well how bad those little suckers hurt- from past experience and current. I'd received a few bites myself when I poked the ant bed to rile them up.

"Flannery?" Ash's voice was surprised. "Were you on the ground?"

I couldn't see her. I didn't dare sneak a peek, but from the breathy way she spoke, I knew she was trying to come up with a good excuse for being out in the woods. Alone. Please, please let her know she should be alone.

"The air went out in school," she half shouted, half mumbled. "And it's, um, like a lot cooler here. So, yeah."

"Were you spying on us?"

I cringed. Jemina asked the question with more honey in her voice than Remy put on his biscuits. It wasn't for being sweet but for catching flies. Curling trembling fingers around my locket, I reminded myself they couldn't hurt me, but they could hurt Flannery.

"Don't," Ash commanded. "It was good to see you again, Flannery. If you see Rose, tell her I said hello."

"Sure thing. Nice to meet y'all!"

Ten seconds passed. Thirty. A full minute went by before Flannery yanked me out of my hiding spot. Her dark eyes flashed with irritation.

"Just what the hell was that all about? Leaving me to be the one caught," she snapped, before putting a blister in her mouth and sucking on it.

"Your hand alright?"

"We're not talking bout my hand."

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to keep up with her, her anger making her faster than even my long legs could handle without breaking into a jog.

"Sorry doesn't make me not look like an idiot."

"You don't understand. Harmony makes my life a living hell every time I get close to Ash, and his sister is worse than she is. You would've been caught in the cross-hairs. I panicked."

She slowed to a stop, causing me to crash into her back, nearly sending us both to the ground. Through the treeline, I could see our classmates where we'd left them, and the teachers were discussing something near the fountain- most likely whether or not to cancel school until the air was fixed.

"I did try to get you to leave."

"You did," Flannery admitted, walking over to our abandoned notebooks. "But come on, what were they gonna do? Jump us?"

Jump us... steal your voice, turn you into something slimy, or give you the worst case of backne you've ever seen... "Maybe. Or maybe they would've just waited and taken it out on me when I got home today."

"Damn girl. You're making me glad it's just me and Charlie. Is your other sister a bitch, too?"

"Caly?" I thought the question over while opening my notebook. Caly usually tried to be a buffer between Harmony and me, but lately, she stayed to her self. That didn't make her a bitch, though. "No, she's nice enough, but she's older. I don't spend time with her like I used to."

"Is that why you've never invited me to meet your family? Because of Harmony?"

The tension from earlier returned, and once more I felt as though I were in a small space, the walls-made of the lies I'd spun- closing in on me. Forcing me to choose a world.

"I guess. My family isn't exactly what you'd call traditional. They're all their own special brand of crazy."

"Honey," Flannery said, her tone turning light, "you're not southern if you don't have crazies in your family."

"Um, have you ever had your aunt walk around with a poppet of your father, threatening to stab him in the groin area?"

I figured that was a safe enough story to tell. A lot of folks in these parts believed in or were familiar with voodoo dolls. We weren't too far from the Louisiana state line, after all. And it was true. Mama had to force Aunt Ophelia to put down the needle after a run in with Daddy in the supermarket, and this had been while my parents were still married. Somehow, Aunt Ophelia had it in her head my father was responsible for her tomatoes doing poorly that summer. Turns out she just had a horn-worm infestation. Course, she probably blamed Daddy for that too. He didn't have much luck with the Amherst women.

"No," Flannery laughed, "but my Grandmama said she hexed Granddaddy's high school sweetheart. Made her eyebrows fall off and they never grew back."

"Really?"

Could Flannery's family have witch ancestry? Or maybe they were just one of the few impotens who had what they liked to call a sixth sense? Either way, I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about that possibility. Here I was with a grade A witch pedigree, and I couldn't light a candle with anything but a match.

My friend winked. "That's her version of the story. Grandaddy said Larabell had alopecia."

"Attention all students. We will dismiss early today due to issues with the air conditioning system. For those of you who do not have rides or need assistance with making arrangements for care until your parents or guardians are available, please meet with Sister Maria at the fountain."

"Hells yeah," Flannery shouted, pumping her fist in the air before gathering her things. "I needed an extra day to study for my World History test. Wanna meet at Hastee Tastee's? Charlie will be there."

"I'm not sure how I feel about you shipping me and your brother together."

"Um, it would be epic. We'd be the best sis in laws ever, and y'all would have the most beautiful babies."

"Whoa!"

I threw up my hand to stop her from going further, but I couldn't stop my lips from stretching into a grin so wide it was almost painful. Strange, this feeling spreading over me. This is what it felt like to be wanted? I couldn't think of a single family in Black Brier who would be excited to add me to their number, not even Willow's parents were completely at ease with my lack of magic.

But Flannery just wanted me. It didn't matter to her that I was different. That my skin was white and hers was black. That she was Baptist, and I was, well... we avoided that conversation. She cursed like a sailor, and I blushed if I said anything more coarse than rats. She had a different boyfriend every week, and I'd never been kissed.

"You look goofy. Stop grinning," she hissed. "Unless, it's my dumb brother who has you so googly eyed. If so, carry on."

We'd reached our cars, and I threw my book bag in the front seat. Leaning in to start the car, I turned the air to full blast and hung over the door while I waited for it to cool. Flannery did the same thing, both of us looking like we'd showered in the few seconds we were in the heated interior.

"Thought you were all about Ash?"

"That boy is pretty, but I'm not sure what to think about him. How can he be so nice and have such a ratchet sister?"

I arched a brow. "You just met one of mine."

"I think you ought to be careful. Don't go letting him hurt you, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," I said, saluting to soften the serious edge of the conversation.

"So, Hastee Tastee's?"

No one expected me home for hours. Mama didn't need me at the shop because it would be closed. 

"Why  not?"