The next few days at school I suffered under the minor celebrity status my lucky save earned me. Nelson thought it hilarious and never lost an opportunity to make the most of my notoriety.

‘Make way, citizens of Wrickenridge, for the hottest new property in women’s soccer!’ He jogged backwards in front of me as Tina, Zoe, and I headed for Science.

‘Nelson, please,’ I mumbled, aware of the laughter around us.

Tina did better: she dug him in the ribs with one of her talons. ‘Give it a rest, Nelson.’

‘You her agent, Tin girl?’

‘Yeah, and she ain’t giving you an interview.’

‘You’re a hard woman.’

‘You’ve got that right. Now back off.’

‘I’m already gone.’ Nelson turned and ran to his class.

‘That boy is a major league pain in the butt,’ pronounced Tina.

‘He thinks he’s funny,’ I offered.

‘He is—about half the time,’ said Zoe, curling a lock of her dead straight hair round a finger thoughtfully. ‘I always figured he gets at Tina because he likes her so much.’

‘Repeat that and die,’ warned Tina.

‘He’s had a thing for you since fourth grade and you know it.’

‘I don’t want to hear this. Not listening.’ Tina flapped Zoe away.

Zoe considered she’d won that exchange so dropped the subject. ‘So, Sky, you gonna come and watch the school baseball team today? We’re playing Aspen.’

‘If I do, will one of you explain what’s going on?’

Zoe groaned. ‘Don’t tell me—you don’t know the rules of baseball. Where you been living all your life? Under a rock?’

I laughed. ‘Nope. Richmond.’

Tina elbowed Zoe to get her to lay off. ‘Sure, we’ll fill you in, Sky. Baseball’s fun.’

Zoe gave Tina an arch look. ‘Zed’s on the team, you know.’

I pretended interest in a leaflet pinned to the notice board outside the lab. ‘I could’ve guessed.’

‘An extra reason for coming along.’

‘Is it?’ I replied airily.

‘That’s what they’re saying.’

‘I would’ve thought it a reason for giving it a miss.’

Zoe giggled. ‘I’m more of an Yves girl myself—those cute little glasses and studious air gets me every time. He’s like a hot Harry Potter.’

I laughed as Zoe expected, but my mind was working over-time. Was everyone speculating about Zed and me? Why? We were the least likely pairing in the school. Just because he helped me up in front of the year and stared at me for the rest of the afternoon …

‘Look who it is!’ crowed Tina, elbowing me in the ribs.

Enemy at twelve o’clock: Zed was just leaving the lab, in conversation with another boy. I tried my commando camouflage technique, hiding behind Tina.

‘Hi, Zed,’ said Zoe in a falsely girly voice.

I withered with embarrassment. It made us sound like a bunch of groupies.

‘Oh, hi.’ Zed’s gaze skimmed us, then scooted back to me, just visible between Tina and the wall. Letting his friend go on ahead, he stopped in front of us. ‘I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you, Sky. You made an awesome save.’

Damn him—he was laughing at me.

‘Yeah, I thought it pretty unbelievable,’ I said ironically.

‘I’m telling everyone you got lucky.’ Zed tweaked the strap of my bag back on to my shoulder.

My stomach did a flip. The gesture felt almost territorial. And what was this? Zed Benedict being nice to me.

‘And I say I had a little help.’ I gave him my hardest stare. What was his game? Had he really told me what to do? It was driving me mad not knowing what was real and what I had imagined.

‘You’re rumbled, Zed: we all know you didn’t bend the ball like you usually do.’ Tina gave me a worried smile. She hadn’t missed the casual way he’d touched my bag strap.

Zed held up his hands in surrender. ‘I was just lulling Sky into a false sense of security. Next time I won’t be so easy on her.’

Zoe hooted, enjoying the flirtatious undercurrents to the conversation even if Tina and I weren’t. ‘No way. Zed Benedict, you built up this image of the meanest guy in the year and now we know you’re a sucker for little blondes looking all dewy-eyed and defenceless.’

‘Zoe!’ I protested, her remark too close to the bunny stuff for comfort. ‘Don’t make me out to be dumb.’

‘Miss Congeniality shows her temper! I knew you had to have one somewhere,’ said Zoe, fascinated by my prickly response.

‘You’d be like that if you had to live with looking like I do. No one takes me seriously.’

My temper only rose a notch when all three of them snorted with laughter. ‘So I’m a joke, am I?’

‘Sorry, Sky.’ Tina held up a hand to prevent me storming off. ‘It’s just that you looked so fierce when you said that … ’

‘Yeah, really scary,’ agreed Zoe, struggling not to laugh. ‘Like Bambi with an Uzi.’

‘And, just so you’re clear, none of us think you’re dumb,’ said Tina. ‘Do we?’

‘Definitely not,’ Zoe chipped in.

‘But I have to agree with Zoe,’ Zed said, suppressing a grin. ‘You don’t do mean as well as me. Maybe I should give you lessons. Be careful, won’t you?’ He brushed his hand lightly down my arm and walked off, leaving my insides doing a little tap dance.

‘Man, that’s one cute butt,’ sighed Zoe, enjoying the rear view.

‘Don’t talk about his butt,’ I said crossly. That set them off again. ‘And stop laughing at me!’ Had he been warning me again?

‘We’ll try, but it’s hard when you say things like that.’ Tina nudged me. ‘Tell us it’s your butt to protect, then we’ll stop looking, won’t we, Zoe?’

‘Well, I might look but I’ll stop saying stuff.’ Zoe grinned, ignoring the rest of the class filing into the lab. Teasing me was far more enjoyable than anything the Biology teacher could offer.

‘It’s not my butt,’ I ground out.

‘But I think it could be yours. He’s definitely circling you.’ Zoe shouldered her bag.

Tina stood back to let Zoe go in, then dropped her voice. ‘We were just joking, Sky, but, seriously, I get the impression Zed’s up to something. I’ve never seen him act so, well, so nice around a girl.’

I glanced down the corridor to check he’d really gone. ‘You noticed?’

‘Hard to miss. Last time you were both together, you almost drew blood.’

‘Yeah, but he’s still Mr Arrogant.’

‘And then some.’ She tugged my bag strap to make her point. ‘He’s always kept his distance before. I wish he would now. He’s not your type.’

I frowned. ‘So what is my type?’

‘Another Bambi, I guess.’ She smiled at my groan. ‘I mean someone who will be gentle. I can see you going for romance, long walks, roses—that kinda thing.’

‘And Zed’s not that?’

‘You don’t need me to tell you that. For a girl with a tough shell, that’d be OK, but you’re more a marshmallow, aren’t you?’

Was I? ‘Maybe. I don’t know what I’m like really.’

‘You’ll be careful?’

That’s what Zed had said. ‘I don’t know what to think. He can’t expect me to fall for him after the way he’s treated me.’

‘Just you remember that.’

‘I don’t know he’s after me.’

Tina glanced at her watch and tugged me into class. ‘Don’t you?’

I was fast learning that Wrickenridge High School was obsessed by sport. I’m not even thinking of the absurdity of cheerleading; it went much deeper than a weird desire to wear short skirts and shake pompoms. For one, we were all expected to turn out to support our team even if we didn’t play. It was so unlike England—I didn’t know if my sixth form college even had a team.

‘OK, so baseball is about how fast you can get a team out and then how many runs you can score when you’re in?’ I repeated, helping myself to a generous handful of popcorn. Zoe’s father, manning the refreshment stand run by the PTA, had given us an extra large serving and treated us to drinks. ‘You swap over once three men are out.’

Tina settled her shades over her eyes and stretched out her legs. It was cool at this altitude but the sun was really powerful. ‘That’s it.’

‘And they choose to wear these peculiar uniforms because …?’ I thought even Zed struggled to make the baseball strip of long white shorts look cool. They resembled teens gathered for a bizarre kind of pyjama party.

‘Tradition, I guess.’

‘Protection,’ countered Zoe—she turned out to be a bit of a baseball fanatic. Had her own catcher’s glove and everything. ‘Need to cover the skin if you slide for home.’

The teams were milling about. Aspen had just annihilated our batsman and were now up for their inning.

‘And Zed’s our best player?’

‘He could be. He’s a bit erratic. Drives Coach mad.’ Zoe popped her soda. ‘All his brothers, apart from my lovely Yves, were in the team when they were at Wrickenridge, but none of them went on for a sports scholarship. Coach Carter is trying to persuade Zed—his last chance at a Benedict—but he can’t get Zed to commit.’

‘Hmm.’ I watched Zed run his fingers over the ball. His face was stern with concentration but somehow distant as if he was hearing a strain of music no one else could. His first pitch beat the batsman by miles. The spectators screamed their approval.

‘He’s on form,’ noted Zoe.

‘Hi, girls!’ Nelson jumped down beside Tina, goosing her in passing.

‘Sheesh, Nelson, you made me spill my popcorn!’ she proested.

‘I’ll help you pick it up,’ he offered, eyeing her lap.

‘You won’t.’ She brushed the kernels off her legs quickly.

‘You’re spoiling my fun.’

‘Now that makes me feel a lot better.’

Nelson sighed dramatically, then settled back to watch the match. Since our conversation in the music room, I’d felt a lot of sympathy for Nelson and hoped his long term play to gain Tina’s affection would succeed. She wasn’t giving him much encouragement.

‘Zed’s in the zone today,’ he remarked as the first man struck out.

‘Yeah.’ Tina absentmindedly offered him a handful of popcorn, too absorbed in the game to remember she was cross with him.

‘He keeps looking up at this section of the bleachers between pitches, doesn’t he?’ Nelson took a gulp from her can.

‘I wonder why,’ Zoe said innocently, before spoiling the effect with a giggle.

‘He doesn’t even know I’m here.’ I blushed as I realized I had as good as claimed to be the reason for his interest.

Nelson crossed his legs alongside Tina’s. ‘He knows, sweet thing, he knows.’

‘Hold it a moment.’ Zoe took a picture of me with her phone. ‘I wanna capture this for posterity. The girl who caught the attention of the mighty Zed. All us locals have struck out with him.’ She showed me the image for my approval; she’d used an app to add a crown but I still looked just a little better than on my school ID. ‘He only dates girls from out of town. I think that’s one of the exes down there, Hannah something, cheer captain of the Aspen team.’

I felt a totally irrational curl of jealousy. The girl had glorious legs from here to her armpits and a river of sleek auburn hair—the absolute opposite to me. Cheerleading, which I thought utterly ridiculous, was in her interpretation very sexy. I just hoped Zed hadn’t noticed.

Of course he had. He was male, wasn’t he? And he was welcome to her.

Tina, Nelson, and Zoe were still debating my love life while I was lost in my green-eyed haze.

‘Being English means she’s probably exotic enough for Zed’s taste. Not from boring old Wrickenridge,’ speculated Tina.

That was the first time anyone had implied that being English was an advantage. I’d been trying to blend but maybe difference was a good thing?

‘I think it’d be better if he left Sky alone,’ said Nelson, revealing his protective streak. Now I’d come to know him better I was considering recasting him as Doctor Defence.

Tina nodded. ‘Yeah, we’d better gang up against him, keep her out of his way.’

Zoe poked her with her programme. ‘What? And spoil the fun? Just think—Zed dating a girl from Wrickenridge—it’d be the most exciting thing to happen here since the Gold Rush.’

‘And you’re not prone to exaggeration,’ said Tina, deadpan.

‘Never!’

‘Excuse me, guys, I am here, you know. It’s nice of you to plan my love life or lack of it for me, but maybe I have an opinion,’ I said, half amused, half exasperated by them.

Tina offered me her popcorn. ‘And that is?’

‘Actually, I haven’t a clue—but I’m working my way to an answer. As I said to you before, Zed and me—that’s not going to happen. I don’t even like him.’

Zoe rolled her eyes at me. ‘Sky, you don’t need to like a guy like that. You just need to date him—once or twice would do it. It’d set your reputation up for the rest of your life.’

‘What? Use him?’

‘Oh yeah.’

‘Zoe, that’s sick.’

‘I know. I’m great, aren’t I?’

Excitement in the crowd built as a second player struck out.

Zoe leapt to her feet and did a little victory jig. ‘If nothing else, that boy is hot, hot, hot! Coach is going to kill himself if he can’t get him to try for a scholarship.’

Nelson whistled. ‘He must: he’s too good to waste his talent.’

But then something changed. I could see it in the shift of expression on Zed’s face. His distant look faded, leaving him somehow more present, more like everyone else. His pitching went from remarkable to just very good. The next batter managed to hit him almost out of the diamond. The Wrickenridge students groaned.

‘He always does this,’ complained Zoe, ‘gets so far then backs away. He had Aspen beat and now …!’

And now they were fighting back. Zed shrugged and relinquished the pitching spot to a team mate, leaving him the honour of finishing off Aspen.

He could have done it. I knew that in my bones. Zed could have fried them but he chose to back off. Like Zoe said, it was maddening.

‘Why does he do that?’ I wondered out loud.

‘Do what?’ Tina crumpled up the programme and chucked it in the bin. ‘Draw back from the kill you mean?’

I nodded.

‘He loses interest. Maybe his heart’s just not in it. The teachers are always telling him he’s too arrogant to work on his inconsistency.’

‘Maybe.’

But I wasn’t so sure. He still played well, but I’m sure there was an extra edge he wasn’t showing anyone. He was purposely keeping his play slightly blunted. I wanted to know why.

Wrickenridge beat Aspen but the man of the match went to a player in the visiting side. Zed melted away into the crowd around the captains, not seeking any attention. He accepted an enthusiastic hug from Hannah of the long legs but swiftly detached and moved on to shake hands with the opposing team. I knew about playing just to be a part of something—that was what an orchestra was about, not the individuals—but yet his unwillingness to stand out struck me as odd. He could have been the soloist, but he settled for second fiddle.

‘Drive you home?’ offered Tina. ‘I’m giving Zoe and Nelson a lift.’

The others lived at the other end of town from me and she was always picking me up and dropping me off. And with only two seats, it was more than a squeeze—it was illegal. Besides, it might not do her any harm as she would drop Zoe first and then be alone with Nelson …

‘It’s OK. I’d like to walk. I’m going to pick up some groceries for Sally.’

‘OK. See you tomorrow.’

The cars were queuing to get out of the car park. I stood back as the Aspen bus drew out, taking a wide swing to clear the corner. I then set off, leaving the crowds behind. The further I walked, the quieter it became. Mrs Hoffman scurried past, heading down the hill—Judge Merciless on a mission, shining slightly with a self-righteous blue. I rubbed my eyes and thankfully she went back to normal. She waved but fortunately was on the other side of the street so I did not have to stop and chat. Kingsley the mechanic drove by in his truck and tooted his horn.

In the store, Leanne, the sturdily built assistant who I had got to know over the past few weeks since the dill sauce episode, grilled me for a replay of the match as she packed my shopping. It continually surprised me how much local people cared about the fortunes of the school team. They treated it like Man U, not a bunch of teenage amateurs.

‘How you finding school?’ Leanne packed the eggs away carefully on top of the bag.

‘It’s good.’ I grabbed a new graphic novel from the rack and tossed it into the basket. My parents made a point of despising them, which was probably why I liked them so much.

‘I’ve been hearing nice things about you, Sky. You’ve a reputation for being very sweet. Mrs Hoffman has taken quite a shine to you.’

Yeah, a blue shine according to my batty brain. ‘Oh, well, she’s … she’s … ’

‘Unstoppable. Like a heat-seeking missile. But it’s better to be on her good side than her bad,’ Leanne said sagely then ushered me out. ‘You should head back before it gets dark, you hear?’

Shadows stretched across the road like big ink stains seeping into the ground. I felt cold in my light jacket and increased my pace. Wrickenridge was always vulnerable to the sudden changes of weather, the reality of life in the mountains. It was like living next door to our old neighbour in Richmond who had been a particularly cantankerous old man. I’d never known when his mood would change—one moment bathing me in grandfatherly sunny smiles, the next spitting out a hail of insults. Just now a light fall of sleet began to fall, splatting the pavement with coin-sized patches of slush, making it slippery underfoot.

As I turned down a quiet street, I heard someone approaching at a run behind me. It was probably just a jogger but still I couldn’t help the nervous leap in my pulse. In London, I would have been really worried; but Wrickenridge just didn’t feel the kind of place for a mugger to hang out. I clutched the handles of the shopping bag, planning to use it as a weapon just in case.

‘Sky!’ A hand landed on my shoulder. I swung the bag with a yelp—only to find Zed behind me. He caught the bag before it hit him.

‘You almost gave me a heart attack!’ I pressed my hand to my chest.

‘Sorry. I thought I told you that you should take care walking home alone after dark.’

‘You mean some boy might jump out and give me the scare of my life?’

He gave a flicker of a smile, reminding me of his alter ego, Wolfman. ‘You never know. All kinds of odd people in the mountains.’

‘Well, you’ve certainly proved your point.’

The smile became a grin. ‘Here, let me take that.’ He eased the bag from my fingers. ‘I’ll walk you home.’

What was this? Had he had a character transplant? ‘No need.’

‘I want to.’

‘And you always get your way?’

‘Nearly always.’

We walked on for a little while. I cast around for safe topics but everything I thought of sounded lame. I was uncomfortable in such close proximity to him after all my wild imaginings about him—I never knew if he was going to maul me or play nice.

He broke the silence first. ‘So when were you going to tell me you’re a savant?’

How’s that for a conversation stopper? ‘A what?’

He halted me under a street lamp. Flurries of sleet slid through the pool of light then winked out in the darkness. He turned up the collar of my jacket.

‘You must realize how amazing it is.’ His eyes fixed on mine—their colour intriguing, unusual to one of his Hispanic appearance. I’d tag them as borderline between blue and green. The colour of the Eyrie River on a sunny day.

Still, I couldn’t understand the expression they held now. ‘How amazing is what?’

He laughed; the sound rumbled deep in his chest. ‘I see. You’re punishing me for being a jackass. But you have to understand that I didn’t know it was you. I thought I was warning some ditzy stranger to prevent her being knifed.’

I pushed his hands off my collar. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I had this premonition a few nights before we met at the ghost town—you get them too?’

This conversation was beyond weird. I shook my head.

‘You running down the street in the dark—a knife—screams—blood. I had to warn you—just in case it would do any good.’

O-K. I thought I had problems but he was seriously disturbed. I had to get away from him. ‘Um … Zed, thanks for worrying about me but I’d better get back now.’

‘Yeah, as if that’s going to happen. Sky, you’re my soulfinder, my partner—you can’t just walk away from me.’

‘I can’t?’

‘You must have felt it too. I knew as soon as you answered me—it was like, I don’t know how to say this, like the fog lifting. I could really see you.’ He ran a finger down my cheek. I shivered. ‘Do you know what the odds of us finding each other are?’

‘Whoa. Go back a little. Soulfinder?’

‘Yeah.’ He grinned and tugged me closer. ‘No half life existence for us. It’s taken me a few days to get over the shock and I’ve been waiting to speak to you so I can break the news to my folks.’

He had to be winding me up. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him back. ‘Zed, I’ve not a clue what you are talking about. But if you expect me to … to … I don’t know what you expect, but it’s not happening. You don’t like me; I don’t like you. Get over it.’

He was incredulous. ‘Get over it? Savants wait all their lives to find the one and you think I can get over it?’

‘Why not? I don’t even know what a savant is!’

He thumped his chest. ‘I’m one.’ He prodded me. ‘You’re one. Your gifts, Sky—they make you a savant. You must get that at least.’

I’d plotted stupid stuff in my head, but this was way beyond anything I could have thought up. I took a step back. ‘Can I have the shopping bag, please?’

‘What? That’s it? We make the most astounding discovery of our lives and you’re just going to go home?’

I took a quick look round, hoping to see someone. Mrs Hoffman would do. My parents even better. ‘Um … yes. Looks like it.’

‘You can’t!’

‘Just watch me.’

I tugged the bag from his fingers and hurried the last few yards to my house.

‘Sky, you can’t ignore this!’ He stood under the street lamp, sleet settling in his hair, hands fisted at his side. ‘You’re mine—you have to be.’

‘No. I. Don’t.’

I slammed the front door.