Demon Girl (Keeley Thomson Book One) Read online

  Keeley pulled her hand away calmly. It took a bit of work, but not too much. Gary being with a bunch of old guys wasn't even close to the worst thing she'd ever picked up.

  The rest of the information sat in her head, or around it really, if the feeling could be trusted, waiting for her to access it at need. He wasn't a bad kind of person, but he'd walked into her on purpose. He had an agenda. A real plan. The second part of which should appear in...

  Keeley turned and saw the girl walking up to them, also blond. So good looking that the word glorious came to mind, light curls around her face as if arranged by a professional. She wore make-up, but it was perfect, just a hint of blush on the cheek, a tiny bit of red to the lip. Not meant to make her look hot, just smooth and shiny. After all, she wasn't trying to attract a boy right now was she? No, she wanted to get Keeley's attention. It was so obvious it practically screamed her intent.

  Keeley lifted her eyebrows at the girl, who just smiled at her warmly in return. It was really bizarre.

  The why of the whole thing didn't come across from Gary at all. He didn't know overly, just that he was supposed to stop Keeley from leaving and be ready to follow the good looking girl's lead.

  Darla Gibson. The head cheerleader.

  Keeley sighed. There was no good reason for the girl to be showing interest in her. None at all. That probably meant the reason was bad, didn't it?

  Wonderful.

  “Gary!” The bubbly and perky girl shouted as she jogged over, energy springing from her steps as if she mainlined caffeine or something. That or something stronger. It wasn't normal, that was for sure.

  “Great, I've been looking for you. Practice has been called off for today, do you want to hang out?” The girl didn't ignore Keeley, but didn't stare either. It was a carefully managed approach. Masterful even. Freaky.

  Unless Keeley was just wrong. She didn't know everything and while she normally got things right, that didn't mean perfect by any means. Maybe she was just making up a story to fit the situation? That was something everyone did all the time she knew. A part of how the mind worked. She wasn't free of that kind of thing either.

  The blond girl's very short cheerleaders skirt and form fitting top were in blue and orange, two colors that shouldn't have worked together, and didn't. They were the definition of clashing colors, second only to green and red in effect. On her it still looked good, which didn't make sense. Keeley pushed her thick turtle shell colored glasses up her nose with one finger again as she considered all this. The girl, Darla, was too perfect.

  Even the other cheerleaders couldn't compete. Keeley could tell, because two of them stood behind the team captain, watching, as if they were muggers, or street people come to beg from them.

  “Oh, that sounds cool. My dad will love to hear I'm dating the captain of the cheer leading squad. If you come over later and make out with me in front of him I'll give you a cookie.”

  They laughed, all of them, which confirmed Keeley's impression of the boy. Not only gay, but it wasn't some big secret, not if this group all knew. So just from the jerk dad? It made sense. Adults didn't talk to high school students as a rule in day to day life, so it might even work until Gary left home. It seemed like a lot of work to her, since the relationship there was pretty much doomed anyway, since homophobes rarely changed, but if it made life easier for now, that might make it worth doing.

  The blond smiled winningly. Kind of a go to move from the little Keeley had seen of her.

  “Great! Not a problem. Keeley... do you want to come? Kind of having a sleep-over tonight. No game this week, it seems like the football team has to forfeit for some reason. Not that those losers would have won anyway. Trying to run a shotgun defense is the stupidest thing I ever heard of... What the coach is thinking I don't know. That's not even a viable option... Anyway, we can stop by your house first if you want and I'll chat up your mom about it?” The girl didn't seem to want to give Keeley a chance to say no. Presenting things in a rapid fire fashion, without giving her a chance to do anything but go along with it?

  That was suspicious.

  Friends weren't an area that she had a lot of experience with. She'd had a few, back when she was younger, the last in the fourth grade. Since then she'd mainly just let the idea go. Most people didn't notice her overly and she was too busy to bother with them. Who had time to hang out when there was a whole world to explore?

  Of course people were part of the world too... at least she'd heard a rumor to that effect, on TV. A few times.

  Still, this had the feeling of a set up. A trick or prank. If she went she'd probably end up being left naked and drunk in a park or abandoned a hundred miles from home. Maybe beaten. You really couldn't trust bored cheerleaders, could you? For one thing, how did Darla even know her name? The other way around made sense, they talked about her over the speakers in the morning announcements at least three times a week. Keeley only had one class with her, and they didn't sit near each other there at all.

  “Eve, Hally? This is Keeley, she's new this year. I know her from math class, sort of. Good student, not stuck on herself and she made that killer poster for homecoming, so talented and showing real school spirit even though she's new here. If we met her earlier we could have gotten her on the squad with us.” The girl pointed through the glass at the poster, a small and rather charming grin on her face.

  The black haired, and probably too cute girl, Eve, nodded. Her hair was short and sporty and she looked like her grandmother was Latino. Lineage left a mark on form, even if most people didn't see it all the time. It worked, leaving her face just soft enough not to look mannish even though Eve was pretty lean. She wasn't the tallest one in the group, Darla was by nearly two inches, but she was still about five-seven, the same as Keeley.

  “That's... Awesome. That poster is better than anything I've ever seen here. People just keep stopping to stare at it. Are you planning to do that for all the dances? If so we should coordinate with you, because I'm betting that a lot more people will be going now. We need to make sure the dance meets up with the hype.” The girl actually seemed excited by the prospect.

  So did the coppery red-head with light skin next to her. Hally. Her look was different, but kind of fresh and happy seeming. Like a puppy. Excited by everything.

  “Oooh, good point. I wonder if we could get the budget increased? I'd love a live band, if they don't suck. Even a professional D.J. would be good. Last year we got the A.V. Club and... Well, it wasn't stellar. I had to go home and look up who Barry Manillo was. It made me sad.”

  Darla nodded, and turned suddenly, walking away. Everyone else followed her instantly, as if tied to her with string. Keeley held out longer, but the girl just tossed her hair a little and looked over her shoulder.

  “Everyone riding with me? I don't know if you drove yourself Keeley...” She said as if it were just natural that anyone else would have a car. Because you know, people just gave those out on the street corner.

  Keeley was torn. It wasn't that she hated people or didn't want friends, she really did, but a barefoot walk back from the middle of a desert would suck. Should she take the chance or not? Finally she started walking along too. Deciding that the normal thing to do would be giving in to peer pressure. Gary, if nothing else, seemed like a nice guy. Not all rapey or anything. Unfortunately not all into making out with her either, but she really didn't think he'd let them do anything bad to her.

  The parking lot was half empty already, since no one wanted to wait around for too long after school. They had to dodge a few cars and a few horns got beeped at them. Not to get them to move, but to get the cheerleader's attention. They all waved and smiled at people.

  A few girls even called out to Gary. It was interesting to watch. Couldn't they see that the boy wasn't their type? It was written all over his face and the way he held himself after all. Maybe they thought they could change him? Like that worked.

  When they got to the little red sports car, just big enoug
h for four, Darla gestured to the front seat. Looking at Keeley winningly.

  “You can sit up front. Passenger seat... unless you want to drive?” She said sounding genuine about it. She even held the keys out.

  It was a stick shift, and Keeley could drive it, even had her license in her pocket, but everyone else looked uneasy for some reason. Panicked even. A little unfairly, but then they didn't know her. They didn't even know if she knew how to open a car door yet.

  “I'll pass, just to keep everyone else from having a fit, I think. Maybe later though? This looks like it would be fun to drive.”

  “It is. We'll do that tomorrow then, if we have time, after we dump the chickens in the back or distract them with nick-nacks. OK, everyone pile in on Gary and see if you can't change his sexual orientation for him. It will make his dad happy.” She laughed and so did Gary, but the other two kind of did have to squeeze in with him. If you didn't know better you'd think Gary was a real player, which, if Keeley got the gist of things, was the plan. Other guys were certainly giving him envious looks as Darla pulled out of the parking lot carefully.

  The car was smooth, the engine so quiet it could barely be heard at all and she drove perfectly. Not just well, but following the law to the letter. It was the same way Keeley drove herself, so it got her attention. Signaling for each lane change and driving exactly the speed limit, until she hit elm street, where she slowed to twenty-seven miles per hour, which let her drive without hitting any red or yellow lights at all after the first stop. Timed lights. She hadn't asked how to get to Keeley's house, but was driving there by the fastest route.

  Because that wasn't suspicious at all.

  Turning to look at her, brown ponytail flapping just a bit in the wind, since the top was down on the convertible, Keeley tried to look curious without being accusing. It was rude to just assume someone wanted to do horrible things to you as a joke, wasn't it? At least until they proved it one way or the other.

  Darla winked at her, a playful smile on her pink lips.

  “Obviously I've been watching you. Don't worry, I just want to make sure I pick good friends, I'm not trying to pick you up or do anything weird. Not too weird. Well, maybe a little...” The girl kept looking out the front of the car with perfect concentration.

  “I do have a guy I want you to “date” for a bit. Gary's boyfriend, Rob. That way they can both get in to the homecoming dance without a lynch mob attacking them. We're still a little provincial here that way, I'm afraid. He's cute though. You'll like him. He likes girls too, so he may even dance with you.”

  Oh.

  “Well... That beats the being left out in the country thing then, doesn't it?” Keeley said without explanation.

  That just got a nod from Darla.

  “Trust me, I wouldn't do that to you anyway. After the way you just got a sixth of the football team suspended for three days and on probation it's pretty clear that no one sane would want to mess with you. I know I like to consider myself pretty sane most days.”

  Keeley felt the color leave her face. Or at least the blood.

  She knew? Already? Keeley stared hard, getting the girl to wink at her again without looking away from the road at all.

  “What? It was obvious. I watched you set the whole thing up. Brilliant in fact. Because of the thing with Maria?”

  From the back seat there was a giggle.

  “What was brilliant?” Hally, the red-head said, her hair whipping around madly.

  “Keeley's poster.” Darla called back loudly, ignoring most of what they were really talking about.

  “Oh, yeah! Hey, um, could you help me do up something for my room? Like a wall montage or something?” The girl said suddenly, sounding confident and like they were friends already.

  Keeley shrugged and turned halfway around just as they pulled into the driveway of the off mint-green single level ranch she shared with her parents.

  “Sure? Why not?”

  Darla grinned.

  “Great, now, everyone on best behavior, we want to liberate Keeley for the weekend, so we need to convince her mom we're not cannibals and won't bring her back missing limbs, or too pregnant.”

  With that the stunning blond that made Keeley more than a little jealous, got out and walked toward the front door like she owned the place.

  Chapter two

  “Um, mom? I'm home... I have people with me, as amazing and baffling as that sounds.” Keeley called out loudly enough to be heard through the whole place.

  That wasn't hard to do, after all it only had three bedrooms and one level. The carpet was new though and if the furniture looked a little sparse in the living room, it also looked nice, clean and fresh, since they'd gotten it that way when they moved. Dad's new company apparently took care of employees like that, footing the bill for moving expenses. The whole place seemed sharp and clean even. Her mom worked, but at home, so she spent part of her day making sure the place stayed nice. A big part.

  OCD nice. A bit of a mental problem really, but that part of it worked out pretty well. They were always tidy and had clean clothes to wear, didn't they? It got hard at times, especially if they wanted to go anywhere as a family, since her mom had to check – and recheck – the stove, oven, all the showers and faucets, the iron and every other appliance in the place before they could leave. Even if they were unplugged and hadn't been used for a week. Three or four times usually. The drugs for it she took helped a bit at least. They still didn't go places too often. Moving had been... fun.

  An adventure in mom management.

  The woman that walked out of the office slash bedroom looked a lot like Keeley, she knew. Just older. Brown hair, brown eyes and cute, but slightly buttonish nose. Trim enough, but a little round cheeked. Her eyes and smile sparkled though, above the nice white shirt and brown vest she was wearing even though she had shorts on. A lot of people dressed like that in the area, or close enough, so no one thought twice about it. Her mom, only in her late thirties, looked good, Keeley realized. Good enough that the look she was giving Gary probably could have led to something inappropriate if the guy hadn't been gay. It was a little off-putting to come to that kind of understanding.

  That was something she'd only recently gotten about her mom. She liked guys. Not just dad, but most of them. The only thing stopping the complete meltdown of her parent's marriage was how distracted her dad was and her mom's habit of staying in most of the time. Her father was the jealous type, so he pushed her to do that, and given her natural predilection, it just worked for them. Sort of.

  “Hi, honey. You brought home friends? Well... Make yourself at home. Would you like some cookies... or, I don't know, what do kids like as a snack these days? We have some wine...” The tone said she was joking, thank god, and everyone chuckled at it.

  Darla grinned and stepped a little closer to the older woman.

  “Oh, no need to put yourself out. We just want to steal your daughter away for the weekend.” Darla dimpled and gestured at the others, making introductions. Bold ones. Saying things that would be too blunt for most people, most of the time. Then, Keeley's mom was used to her, so maybe that helped in this case.

  “This is Hally, she's traditionally a “C” student and I'd like to line up some tutoring for her if that's alright, with Keeley, I mean? If her grades drop too low, she's off the squad, but she's really nice.” She shifted to Eve and patted her on the back.

  “Eve here is from a broken home and a bit free with what she does with guys, but is a very loyal friend and really, what she does with the guys is her business, don't you think?”

  Keeley's mom nodded knowingly.

  “I've always thought so.”

  “I know!” Eve reached forward and shook the older woman's hand firmly. “I mean I practice safe sex and everything, so it shouldn't matter, right?” Her voice was earnest and heartfelt, almost painfully so.

  Keeley saw the laughter in her mom's eyes but nearly winced anyway. It was weird, even she could see that
.

  Darla moved to Gary and put her arm around him.

  “This is Gary. He's gay. Also my boyfriend if anyone asks. His real boyfriend, Rob, is going to be coming around here to “date” Keeley. If she likes him I mean. Just for dances and stuff, this isn't some weird baroque comedy or something. I just want to be up front so that when Keeley comes in with other guys you don't worry too much. Oh, and your daughter is also my new best friend, so I guess I'll probably be around too. I hope that's alright? I know, “cheerleader” but don't worry, we'll make sure our grades stay high enough. It's not like school is hard.”

  “Sherry Thomson.” She said, smiling hugely. Her hand out to each in turn, taking a longer time holding Gary's hand than the others, by about three seconds. No one else seemed to notice, but it was nearly enough to embarrass Keeley.