I don't sleep Wednesday night either.
Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in that forest from my dreams. Running. Hunting. Free in ways I've never been in my waking life. And Scarlett's there, her platinum hair shining silver in the moonlight.
I wake up at 4 AM drenched in sweat, my sheets twisted around my legs like they've been through a tornado. My pillow has a rip in it, not just torn fabric, but deep gouges.
"This is insane," I whisper to the empty room. "I'm going insane."
There's only one explanation that makes any kind of horrible sense: Scarlett Jackson is doing something to me. Some kind of... I don't know what. Hypnosis? Drugs in my food? Dark magic?
The thought sounds ridiculous even in my own head, but it's the only variable that fits the data. Everything started going wrong the moment she walked into my life.
By the time I get to school Thursday morning, I've made my decision. I'm going straight to Ms. Alvarez's office and reporting this. Maybe she'll think I'm crazy, maybe she'll call my mom, but at least someone will know what's happening before I completely lose my mind.
I'm halfway across the parking lot when Ollie materializes beside me.
"Dude!" He grabs my arm. "I've been texting you all morning. Where have you been?"
"Home. Sleeping." The lie comes easily.
"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" He waggles his eyebrows suggestively.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come on, Danny. The hottest girl in school has been sitting next to you in every class. She's eating lunch at our table." Ollie punches my shoulder, which normally wouldn't hurt, but my skin feels hypersensitive. "You're totally bagging Scarlett Jackson!"
"I'm not bagging anyone." I adjust my glasses, which have been sitting crooked on my face all morning. "And can you please never use that phrase again?"
"Whatever you want to call it, man. Dating. Courting. Making sweet statistical love..."
"Ollie!"
"I'm just saying, this is huge! Danny Walter, dateless wonder since birth, has somehow captured the attention of literal royalty." He leans in conspiratorially. "What's your secret? Is it the glasses? Girls love the nerdy look these days. Or is it your sparkling personality?"
"There's no secret because there's nothing happening." We push through the main doors into the crowded hallway. "Scarlett and I are not together. We're not anything."
"That's not what it looks like from the outside." Ollie dodges around a group of freshman. "Blake Morrison looks like he wants to murder you every time she sits next to you."
Blake Morrison could absolutely murder me if he wanted to.
"Blake has nothing to worry about," I mutter.
"Really? Because Scarlett spent all of yesterday staring at you in the hallway. I watched her. Almost stalker-ish."
"She was watching me?"
"Like a hawk watching a particularly interesting mouse." Ollie grins. "A really cute mouse that she wants to take back to her nest and..."
"Okay, that's enough." I stop walking, my hands clenching into fists. "Listen, Ollie, I need to tell you something."
His expression shifts from playful to concerned. "What's wrong?"
I glance around the hallway, but Scarlett's nowhere in sight. "I think something's wrong. With me. Or with her. I don't know anymore."
"What kind of wrong?"
"I've been having these dreams. Every night. The same ones. And when I'm awake, I can... I can hear things. Smell things. Yesterday I accidentally crushed a pencil in my hand without even trying."
Ollie's eyes widen. "Dude. That's kind of awesome."
"It's not awesome! It's terrifying!" My voice comes out louder than intended, and several students turn to look at us. I lower my voice. "Something's happening to me, and it all started when Scarlett showed up."
"So you think she's, what, turning you into a superhero?"
"What is wrong with you man? I think she's doing something to me. I don't know what or how, but..." I run my hands through my hair, which definitely needs a wash. "I'm going to the counselor's office. I need to report this."
"Report what, exactly? That the hot girl likes you and now you have superhearing?" Ollie crosses his arms. "They're going to think you've lost it."
"Maybe I have." I start walking toward the administrative wing. "But I have to try."
"Danny, wait." Ollie grabs my backpack, pulling me to a stop. "Think about this for a second. What if you're just, I don't know, having a weird stress reaction? You've never had a girl interested in you before. Maybe your brain is just freaking out."
"That doesn't explain the physical changes."
"Puberty?"
"I'm seventeen, Ollie. Puberty happened four years ago."
"Late bloomer?" He shrugs helplessly. "I'm just saying, before you go accusing Scarlett Jackson of being a witch or whatever, maybe consider that you might be having a totally normal teenage crisis."
"There's nothing normal about any of this." I pull away from his grip and continue toward the counselor's office. "I'll see you at lunch. Maybe."
"Danny, seriously, don't do this!"
But I'm already pushing through the door to the administrative wing.
Ms. Alvarez's office is tucked at the end of a quiet hallway, her name printed on a brass plate beside the door. Through the window, I can see her sitting at her desk, typing something on her computer. She's young for a school counselor with dark hair pulled back in a neat bun and glasses that make her look kind and approachable.
I knock before I can lose my nerve.
"Come in!" she calls.
I push open the door and step inside.
"Danny Walter, right?" Ms. Alvarez looks up from her computer with a warm smile. "I don't think we've officially met. I'm Ms. Alvarez. Please, sit down."
I sink into one of the chairs. Now that I'm here, I don't know where to start.
"What brings you in today?" she asks gently. "Is everything okay?"
"No." The word comes out strangled. "Everything is very not okay."
Her smile fades into professional concern. She pulls out a notepad and pen. "Tell me what's going on."
"I think..." I take a breath. "I think Scarlett Jackson is doing something to me."
Ms. Alvarez's pen pauses. "Doing something to you? Can you be more specific?"
"She transferred here last week, and ever since then, I've been having these... episodes." I gesture vaguely. "I can't sleep. I'm hearing things I shouldn't be able to hear. My strength is different. And she keeps showing up everywhere I am, asking me weird questions about supernatural stuff."
"Supernatural stuff?"
"Like fate and destiny and dreams. She asked me if I believe in unexplained phenomena." I lean forward. "And then she said she's been dreaming about me. Every night. The same dreams."
Ms. Alvarez writes something down. "And that makes you uncomfortable?"
"It makes me think she's doing something to me! Some kind of... I don't know, hypnosis or mind control or..."
"Or?"
The word gets stuck in my throat. "Dark magic."
The scratching of her pen stops. She looks up at me with an expression I can't quite read. "Dark magic?"
"I know how it sounds." My hands are shaking. "I know. But I can't explain what's happening any other way. She's doing something to me, and I need help."
Ms. Alvarez sets down her pen carefully. "Danny, have you been under a lot of stress lately?"
"Of course I'm stressed! I just told you..."
"I mean before Scarlett arrived. School pressure, family issues, anything like that?"
"No." I slump back in my chair. "Everything was fine before she got here."
"And now everything is falling apart because a girl is showing interest in you?"
The way she says it makes me sound paranoid and pathetic. "It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?"
I stare at my hands, "I'm changing. Something inside me is changing, and I don't understand it. And the only new variable is her."
Ms. Alvarez is quiet for a long moment. "Danny, I'm going to be honest with you. What you're describing sounds like anxiety, possibly combined with sleep deprivation. These physical symptoms you're experiencing; hyperacusis, perceived changes in strength, they're all consistent with extreme stress."
"But..."
"However." She holds up a hand. "I can see that you're genuinely distressed, and that concerns me. I think it would be helpful to bring in her parents for a conversation about what you're experiencing."
She stands up now.
"I need to contact the appropriate people about this situation, yes. It's school policy when a student makes serious allegations about another student." She moves around her desk. "But Danny, I promise we'll figure this out together. You're not alone in this."
I grab the door handle. "What does that mean? Who are you calling?"
"I need to speak with Scarlett's guardian about these accusations. If you're saying she's harassing you, that's something we need to address." She checks her watch. "Why don't you go to class, try to take it easy today, and we'll reconvene once I've had a chance to investigate this properly?"
"You're calling her guardian?"
"Luna Jackson is listed as her guardian, yes. I need to hear her perspective on what's happening."
Relief floods through me, followed immediately by guilt. I just got Scarlett in trouble with her family. But what else was I supposed to do?
"Okay," I say quietly.
"Danny, I want you to know that your concerns are being taken seriously. If you feel unsafe or harassed by another student, that matters." Ms. Alvarez's voice is firm. "But I also need you to understand that these accusations are serious. We need to be very careful about how we proceed."
I nod and pull open the door, escaping into the hallway before she can say anything else.