Starcrossed

bit to take her to school. Then he jumped out her window and flew away. Helen decided there was no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep, so she got up and made a big elaborate breakfast for her dad.
    “You okay?” Jerry asked between mouthfuls of pancake, syrup, and bacon.
    “Considering? I’m great,” she answered honestly as she sipped her coffee.
    “How are things with you and Lucas?” he asked cautiously.
    “Weirder ’n hell,” she replied with a smile. Then she shrugged and laughed. “But what can you do?”
    “What can you do?” her father repeated. His chewing slowed down as an all-consuming thought hijacked his motor skills.
    Helen knew he must be thinking about Kate, but an instinct told her to let him be. He still needed more time, and when he was ready he would come to her to talk about it.
    Lucas picked her up as planned; they sparked and blushed at the sight of each other. Just sitting in the same car with him put Helen in such a good mood that when one of her favorite songs came on the radio she danced in her seat and somehow convinced Lucas to sing along with her as they drove to school. He would deny it later, but he got really into it, and Helen stopped to listen to him with her mouth hanging open.
    “What?” he said, stunned when he noticed he was belting out the refrain all by himself.
    “You have a beautiful voice! Is there anything you’re not good at?” she asked with exasperation as she hit his arm playfully.
    “Apollo also happens to be the god of music. Now quit complaining and sing along with me,” he said, turning up the volume until the bass was rattling the car windows.
    Helen’s voice was not nearly as pretty as his, but she made up for her lack of skill with sheer enthusiasm. They finished the song together, and even stayed in the car after they had parked to play the instrumental ending. Lucas was on steering-wheel drums, and Helen was lead air guitar.
    “God, we sound amazing! My guitar solo was just inspired!” Helen enthused as she hopped out of the car.
    “We should tour,” Lucas agreed as he took her hand and led her into school.
    They were getting stares, but Helen didn’t care. She didn’t feel stomach pains anymore. She could relax now that she knew the Curse Cramps would only come as a result of her using her powers in front of normals and not from any other kind of attention. She began to wonder how many of her past episodes had been real, and how many had been brought on by the fear of them. It was a relief to know that she had some control over the curse, and for the first time in her life, Helen felt like it might actually be okay to be a little bit different.
    “Aren’t we old news yet?” she asked him with a sly glint in her eye.
    “I don’t know. Let me check CNN,” Lucas said, pulling out his phone and pretending to open a browser. Helen gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth.
    “Oh no, my phone! I forgot to tell my dad it’s broken again!” She stopped dead in the hall as she remembered how Hector had made her take a little swim with it.
    “Hector will buy you another phone. A better one,” was all he’d say as he kissed her forehead. “I’ll make sure of it.”
    “That sounds really bad,” Helen groaned, but the bell rang and she had to run or suffer Hergie’s wrath.
    The rest of the day was as near to perfect as a day spent in high school can get. Helen felt hugely energetic, Claire was a ninety-pound ray of sunshine, and Ariadne, too, seemed in fantastic spirits as Matt helped her with her golf swing in the auditorium at lunch. Matt was the captain of the golf team, and Ariadne was thinking about joining, although first she had to learn how to play.
    “No, you’re still gripping the club too tight,” Matt directed her gently. “Think of it as a rapier, not an ax,” he said, unwittingly hitting the metaphoric nail on the head for her. Her swing instantly improved.
    “Cassie, why don’t you put that book down and come learn how to golf?” Ariadne called to her cousin.
    In response, Cassandra opened another book.
    “What are you looking for, anyway?” Matt called.
    “Charms or spells in ancient Greek myth that protect against wounds,” she said as she wiped a hand over her face. The gesture reminded Helen of Lucas. If Matt found Cassandra’s response strange, he let it go easily enough and focused on Ariadne and her “stance” instead.
    “How much longer do you think we have before we get caught