Crave (Harlequin Teen)

and said goodbye instead.
    When I called Carrie and Michelle, I didn’t mention the changes in my appearance. For all I knew, I was the only one who would notice them.
     
    But when I returned to school Monday morning, too late to meet Anne at the picnic tables for tutoring, I felt more like a freak than ever. While some of the changes in my appearance might be my imagination, the bigger chest size definitely wasn’t. I’d gone up a full cup and a half. Mom and I had been forced to do emergency shirt and bra shopping yesterday so I’d have something to wear to school that didn’t scream slut.
    Still, even with the bigger shirts, I felt conspicuous in the main hall before first period. So I made sure to carry my notebook against my chest. The freshmen boys weren’t exactly kind in their comments toward the curvier girls in our grade, and I so didn’t need more hall harassment in my life right now.
    Unfortunately, even my notebook couldn’t block what happened next.
    “O. M. G. Worst boob job ever!” Vanessa called out to me, laughing as she and her sister passed by, their voices somehow loud enough to carry over the noise of the hall even though they didn’t sound like they were actually yelling. Magically amplified? I wouldn’t doubt it. They would want everyone to be sure to hear them torture me.
    And then I felt it. It was like a poisonous gas spreading over my skin, seeping past my shirt to make my skin crawl. And alien…whatever it was, the sensation definitely wasn’t coming from me.
    What the heck was it? Nobody had warned me about this.
    It had to be either magic-or vampire-based. Or had the Brat Twins hit me with a spell just now? I would have to call Mom as soon as I could find a restroom where I could talk in private.
    I kept walking, forcing my hands to be still when all I wanted to do was scrub the vile sensation from my skin. I tried to think about something else, anything at all.
    But then I had to refocus on the weird sensation, because it was changing now. In fact, the farther away I got from the Brat Twins, the more the sinister feeling of evil intentions faded away. Now it was more a mixture of stuff I couldn’t sort out. Kind of like cobwebs made of worry, happiness, sadness and fear all twisted together. Maybe I was going insane from learning too much crazy crap about my family and myself this weekend.
    Unless…somehow I could sense others’ emotions now?
    Oh, Lord. When I concentrated, it grew worse, until I could feel each person’s mood as they passed me. Experimenting, I matched up what I felt with each person’s facial expression and overheard bits of conversations, and was able to piece clues together. Happiness nearly made me laugh from its tickling sensation. Worry was heavy and cold, an ice chunk sliding down my skin. Love was warmth and softness, heated cotton balls. Anger, a knife that slashed and ripped across my skin.
    I managed to make it the hundred yards to my locker, then closed my eyes and tried to think about something else. Anything else to make the overwhelming mix of emotions go away. Something soothing. Something…
    Tristan’s eyes staring down at me. The sound of his voice, low and husky, whispering my nickname, asking me if I was okay. His hands on my shoulders, warming me through my shirt in algebra class.
    After a few minutes, the sensations of others’ emotions faded away. My shoulders, which had scrunched up near my ears, eased back down, and I could breathe deeply again.
    Okay. So now I could sense others’ emotions. It wasn’t an ideal development, and I definitely could have used a little warning. But at least I could control it if I stayed calm.
    Was it magic-or vampire-based?
    It had to be magic-based, some sort of natural Clann ESP ability, right? Which meant no cause for alarm, no vampire abilities developing here. It wasn’t exactly normal. But maybe all the descendants could do this and just didn’t show it. Even Tristan.
    Oh, crap. Could they read my emotions around him? Could he tell—?
    Face burning, I cut off that thought and headed away from my locker, debating whether to call my parents or Nanna and let them know about this new development. Then again, why should I? They’d wanted me to tell them about new developments so they could help me deal with them. But I’d handled this one on my own. All I had to do to control it and block out everyone’s emotions was to stay calm. There was no need for the rescue squad. Yet.
    Okay,