Glitch

they
    are. But talking with you just feels so . . . natural.”
    “Even though I might agree with your mother?”
    “No, you’re diff erent,” he said fi rmly. “I’ve watched you
    discover emotion, discover the world around you. I mean,
    before having the visions of you, I’d never felt . . .” He stopped
    himself abruptly. “Okay, getting ahead of myself. I realize
    the fact that I’ve had visions about you might seem kind of
    gnangy.”
    It’s a violation of your privacy. I’m so sorry. He looked
    down. It’s just that the more time I spend around someone,
    the more I see in my visions. I’m sorry— I keep trying to
    control it.”
    Adrien looked away, biting his lip.
    “And you saw me?” I asked. “You came to the Academy
    for me.” Even as I said the words, plea sure bloomed at the
    thought. I smiled. He’d come because of me. Or he’d come
    because of my ability. I frowned at the thought. That was
    the logical reason.
    “I’m sorry.” He cringed, seeming to mistake my frown for
    something else. “I know, creepy again. I fi rst had a vision of
    you over a year ago. You were here. We were talking, like we
    are now. Cracking hell!”
    He smacked his forehead.
    “It was probably this very moment I saw. Isn’t that
    amazing?”
    “But that’s not why you came to the Academy, not just
    105

    Heather Anastasiu
    because you saw us talking.” I tried to contain the ner vous
    excitement tingling in my stomach. This was what I had
    been waiting to talk about ever since I opened my eyes.
    Without the Link and its constant instruction, I was com-
    pletely lost. This boy had off ered me escape, but I had no
    idea what came next. He did.
    “No.” He paused, and my stomach sank. “I had other vi-
    sions of the future— the farther- off future— at least I think
    so because you looked diff erent than you do now. I saw that
    you’re going to be an integral part of the Rez. Not just
    that.” He bit his lip again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to
    tell you this without cracking you out. I’m not even sure
    how much of my visions I should tell you— if it will shunt
    up the future somehow if you know ahead of time. I don’t
    really know how this all works yet.”
    “Just tell me,” I said, the desperation clear in my voice.
    “Ever since I started glitching I’ve felt so lost and confused.
    You’ve seen what I’m supposed to do, what I’m supposed to
    be. Please. You have to tell me.”
    He was quiet another moment, looking down so I couldn’t
    read his face as he searched for what to say. I reached over
    and touched his hand lightly.
    He looked up and I realized how close we were, both of us
    leaning in together. I blinked a few times, suddenly light-
    headed, but not like before when I’d passed out. Being so
    close to the smooth dark skin of his face, getting lost in the
    shifting shades of his green eyes, it felt like my insides were
    fl uttering and melting. Not like when I was ner vous or afraid,
    but in a nice way. In a really wonderful way.
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    G L I TC H
    This was what it felt like to be connected to another per-
    son without the Link. I couldn’t describe the feeling, but I
    felt the pricking behind my eyes. This was what it felt like
    not to be alone. And Adrien was right— I didn’t have words
    to describe this feeling. It was what I’d always wanted be-
    fore, but didn’t even know existed. It was mystery and it was
    beautiful.
    My hand was resting on his wrist, and I trailed my hand
    up his forearm without thinking about what I was doing.
    The texture of his shirt was so rough compared to the
    smoothness of his skin. My fi ngers traced up his shoulder
    and then over the soft skin of his neck. I felt his skin warm
    and his pulse quicken at the touch of my fi ngertips, respond-
    ing in a way that was totally diff erent from logic and pro-
    grammed electrical impulses.
    I kept going, awed by the growing sense of connection,
    the feel of the curly hair at the base of his neck, the way his
    breath ruffl
    ed my eyelashes. The pools of water gathered at
    the edges of my eyes, brimming over. He suddenly trem-
    bled and leaned in closer, eyes open wide in surprise.
    We sat there like that for a moment, faces so close and
    my heartbeat pounding in my chest in a frantic fl urry. He
    stared at me intensely, his jaw clenching and unclenching
    until, with a sigh of release, he closed his eyes and leaned
    in. His lips ever so gently touched mine, and suddenly I
    felt