Love/Hate (Aspects Book 1) Read online

  As she approached, the monster turned to look at her with glowing orange eyes and she realised what she had to do. Making sure to stay steady on her skates, she launched the ice pole into the air and, through some stroke of luck, it struck the creature right through the eye.

  The monster gave a pained screech before collapsing, blood squirting forth to coat Claire.

  She turned as she felt a thud on the ice behind her. The creature from the roof had landed, looking for the other one to respond to its call.

  Claire had no weapon left, but she was acutely aware of Lindsay cowering in the corner behind her. She refused to move, staring the creature down. She figured that she could be a distraction until the Aspects defeated the creature, keeping it from getting to her friend.

  Instead of moving to attack, the creature just stared back at her, cocking its head a little and, for a moment, seemed almost cute, rather than deadly.

  That lasted all of two seconds before she heard a shout of “Get down!”

  The monster hissed at the sound as Claire looked for the source, only to get knocked down to the ground a moment later.

  As the shock of being tackled wore off, Claire realised that it was Hate who had knocked her to the ice, though thankfully she hadn’t hurt anything on her way down.

  She looked over Hate’s shoulder to see that the monster was convulsing, orange blood pouring from its eyes and mouth as it thrashed around in a way that would have probably led to it striking her if Hate hadn’t pulled her away. A second later, Hate struck out with a bolt of black lightning, finishing the job.

  As it collapsed, Claire was faced with Hate, who, surprisingly, pulled off her mask to reveal a girl around her age, with sparkling dark silver eyes, that likely would have been almost black if not for her Rena genes, and deadly sharp cheekbones that belonged on a glossy magazine cover.

  Hate regarded her closely for a few moments with an expression Claire couldn’t decipher.

  And then, she smiled, and Claire couldn’t help but smile back. The smile coupled with the after-battle rush of serotonin to make her feel all warm and fuzzy, every place their skin lightly brushed up against each other burning with heat as Claire suddenly found her breath catching.

  “That was... impressive,” Hate told her, not moving from above her.

  Claire shrugged as best as she could in her position, trying to remain nonchalant as she struggled to maintain eye contact. “I’m good at fighting.”

  “That much is clear,” she said, her smile widening. “Thanks for the assist.”

  “No problem,” Claire replied, a little breathlessly.

  “Hate?” Vengeance called, approaching. “We need to get back. The others will be missing us.”

  Hate’s smile immediately disappeared as she replaced her mask before climbing to her feet. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said before turning back to Claire and offering her a hand.

  Claire took it, getting smoothly back to her feet.

  “See you around?” Hate asked.

  “Yeah,” Claire replied, though she couldn’t help but twist her hair in her hands as the Aspects left, pretty sure that she would never see Hate again. The thought caused a pit to form in her stomach that felt pretty ridiculous after such a brief conversation. But then, none of Claire’s previous crushes had made any sense either.

  She moved over to Lindsay and started signing instead of talking. Her words still weren’t quite past short answers to direct questions yet and Lindsay struggled with auditory processing when she was stressed.

  “Are you okay?”

  Lindsay shook her head, pointing to her arm. She had a large gash down it.

  “Anywhere else?”

  Lindsay pointed to her leg. The blade of her left skate seemed to have caught her right leg while she was moving away, but it was just a scratch.

  “That it?”

  Lindsay nodded.

  “Girls?” Claire heard Madame Sanderson call from the door.

  “Here,” Claire called back, just as she would answer a register.

  “Oh, thank God,” she said, moving over to them. “Are you okay?”

  Claire pointed to Lindsay’s wounds.

  “Wait here. I’ll get the nurse.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Claire tried not to think about the fact that Lindsay wasn’t speaking to her as she concentrated on her striking drills. Lindsay was still struggling with what had happened a few days before and Claire knew that her presence was just a reminder. It still hurt, though.

  “I think that’s enough for today,” her instructor said to them, and Claire was less than thankful for the reprieve. In truth, the monsters had rattled her as well.

  She turned, only to see Hate standing in the doorway as everyone left. Her mask was noticeably absent and Claire wondered if the masks allowed them to move around the city freely while not fighting. She’d never really thought about what the Aspects did in their free time, besides give occasional interviews to trashy magazines.

  Not that Claire read such things... At least, not much...

  Hate was wearing tight black jeans, with the same boots as last time, and a red tank top with a black leather jacket over it. Claire could feel heat rising to her face as she tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

  “Hey,” she greeted, trying not to be shy.

  “Hey,” Hate replied, smiling a little.

  “Checking up on me, Hate?”

  Her eyes darted a little. “You probably shouldn’t be calling me that in public.”

  “Then what should I call you?”

  That stopped her dead in her tracks. “Oh, um... Huh. You know, I’ve never had to give a name before.”

  “Well, what was your name before you became an Aspect?”

  Hate’s gaze dropped a little. “We’re not really supposed to use our old names anymore...”

  “Well, I have to call you something,” Claire figured.

  “I guess just stick with Hate and... I don’t know... Try to keep it quiet?”

  Claire nodded. “So, are you just here to check on me?”

  “I... Well, kind of,” Hate admitted with a sheepish smile. “I was actually... I was wondering if you liked coffee.”

  Claire frowned, a little confused by the question. “Just in general or...?”

  “With me, specifically. I mean, I was wondering if you wanted to go. With me. For coffee.”

  “Now?” Claire asked.

  “Well, I mean... If you’re free.”

  “Give me five minutes to shower?” Claire asked, cursing a little as the words left her mouth. She knew she was going to need more than five minutes. Her fine motor skills meant that she took a little longer than most to get clothes on and off. She hoped that there was still some of that dry shower left in the can in her locker.

  “Of course,” Hate replied.

  Claire hurried to the locker room, thankful to find a half-full can of dry shower. She sprayed herself vigorously before throwing her light grey zipper hoodie over her sports bra.

  “Ready to go?” Hate asked as she arrived.

  “Yeah,” Claire told her as they headed out of the community centre.

  “So, you’re deadly with a make-shift spear and you spend your after-school hours practising Baguazhang? And here I thought my combat skills were impressive.”

  Claire shrugged, folding her arms with embarrassment. “I’m pretty sure that throwing that ice pole was a fluke.”

  “Then what’s the story behind the Baguazhang?”

  “Don’t I get a question now?” Claire asked, in an effort to change the subject as they walked through the park, towards the high street.

  “Technically, I’ve only asked the one, but okay.”

  “What combat skills do you have?”

  “All of the Aspects learn Krav Maga to help us in battle.”

  Claire frowned. “And that actually helps against monsters?”

  Hate sighed. “All you’ve seen is the Dragon. T
he Aspects learnt their lesson after the Death Flora.”

  “Death Flora?”

  “Yeah. It’s got this flower thing on top which gives off mind-control spores. Rena and Half-Bloods are immune but Humans go feral and start attacking everything. But usually we then specialise in a weapon as well for dealing with the rest of the monsters. I like my unggeom. My hate manifests as this sort of electricity, though I guess you saw that last week, and I can channel it through the blade.”

  “But you didn’t have it last week?”

  She sighed. “I didn’t think I’d need it. So close to Love’s death... my hatred for the monsters should have been at an all-time high...”

  “I’m sorry,” Claire said. Death was always a touchy subject, she knew.

  Hate shrugged. “It’s fine. So, my turn with a question. Isn’t St Cecilia’s an arts academy?”

  Claire nodded, making a hum of agreement.

  “So, why do you go there? What’s your art?”

  “Technically that’s two questions.”

  Hate raised an eyebrow and Claire couldn’t help but smile.

  “Okay, fine,” she conceded. “I’m a ballet dancer.”

  “A bad-ass ballerina? I can’t say that I expected that.”

  Claire shrugged. “So, what do you do for fun? Or do you just brood?”

  Hate let out a bark of laughter. “I swear, I don’t brood that much. Just enough to keep my power level up.”

  “Your power level?”

  “Yeah. I am the literal embodiment of Hate, so my power works better when I hate stuff.”

  “Like what?”

  She shrugged. “When I was younger, I used myself as a target a lot. Then Empathy practically pleaded with me to stop a couple of years ago. Now I just fixate on small annoyances. Currently, I hate the local burger place for not selling mozzarella sticks all of the time.”

  “That I can definitely get behind,” Claire told her. “But then, I’ve been told that I’m a cynical person, so I guess hating things just comes naturally.”

  Hate grinned at that, though it faded after a moment and she looked a little sheepish. “In all honesty... I’m not even supposed to be here. We’re supposed to avoid our opposite emotion and, well, for me that means not going on anything resembling a...”

  “A date?” Claire asked, realising where she was going.

  “I wasn’t going to use the word,” Hate said, sheepishly. “I was trying to be all cool and casual.”

  Claire couldn’t help but grin. “Says the girl who is breaking all of the rules to be here with me.”

  “I know, I just... I didn’t want to come across as... creepy, I guess...”

  “Says the girl who tracked me down without so much as a name to go by.”

  “You’re not helping!” Hate protested with a groan.

  Claire’s grin widened as she twirled in front of Hate and gave her just the barest of pecks, barely brushing her lips.

  Hate’s face was going a dark pink as Claire pulled away.

  “I was really hoping that we would meet again,” Claire told her, more than a little surprised by her own confidence, though the way her heart seemed to be tugging itself out of her chest to get to the girl in front of her might have contributed.

  “I... We should definitely do that again,” Hate told her. “And again. And again.”

  “Coffee first,” Claire told her, moving back to her side. “I haven’t slept all week.”

  “You having nightmares from the fight?” Hate asked and Claire couldn’t help but be touched by the concern in her voice.

  “No, actually. My friend isn’t doing so well, though, and I’m worried about her. The stress is causing insomnia.”

  “That sucks.”

  Claire shrugged. “I’m used to it. I can’t sleep if they so much as change the lunch menu to food I don’t like. Just one of the annoying side effects of being Autistic.”

  She waited with slightly baited breath. Some people reacted negatively to the A-word. Some people just pitied her or told her “Oh! My ex-boyfriend had a brother with autism!” before spewing out a bunch of misinformation, some of which was quite hurtful.

  “Tell me about it,” Hate gushed. “I have this really annoying habit of going into hyperfocus in the evening. No sleep for me.”

  “Wait, you’re...”

  “ADHD,” Hate clarified.

  Claire grinned. “Fist-bump for neuro-cousins!”

  Hate joined in with the gesture, sporting a grin of her own as they entered the coffee shop. Claire had been letting Hate steer her and was glad that she'd picked her favourite place.

  “So, what do you do for fun?” Claire asked as they waited in line. “You didn’t say before.”

  “Oh, I’m pretty good with oil pastels,” she replied, ducking her head a little sheepishly. “That’s usually what sends me into hyperfocus.”

  “Awesome.”

  “So, what do you do outside of classes?”

  Claire shrugged. “I mostly watch TV and mess about online.”

  “Oh yeah? What shows do you watch?”

  Claire twisted her hair in her hand, sheepishly. “I’ve been watching that ice dancing reality show recently.”

  “Is that why you were at the ice rink?”

  “No, that was just a school trip. A reward for not getting detention all year.”

  Hate snorted. “I’m pretty sure if I had to go to school, I would be in detention all of the time.”

  “I’ll admit, there were a couple of close calls.”

  “How’d you get out of them?”

  “Lying, mostly.”

  Hate smirked as she reached the front of the queue. “Hazelnut latte with whipped cream, please,” she said before turning to Claire. “What do you want?”

  “Filter coffee, please.”

  “Really?”

  Claire shrugged. “I’ll put milk in it to cool it down first.”

  Claire reached into her pocket to bring out her card, but Hate waved her hand away.

  “The best thing about fighting monsters without choice is that the government covers your expenses.”

  Claire frowned but nodded, putting her card back. “Fine, but I’ll get the next one.”

  “Okay. I assume you must not be hurting for cash if you go to St Cecilia’s.”

  Claire’s gaze dropped to the floor as she shrugged. “I... Yeah. I get an allowance until I’m eighteen.”

  Claire was glad for the distraction of their coffees arriving. She followed Hate to go and sit in the corner booth, more than happy to sit with their knees just barely touching as they got to know each other.

  CLAIRE WAS LATER THAN she expected in getting back to the Academy. Hate had been called away on Aspect business, so she'd walked back alone, practically skipping as she went. She was cutting it close for curfew, she knew, so she hurried a little. She didn’t like being out at night anyway. Monster attacks were much more likely when the sun went down, even with the artificial lights keeping the streets from darkness.

  “You’re cutting it fine,” Madame Hilton, the elderly groundskeeper, told her as she slipped through the gate that Madame Hilton had been in the process of shutting.

  “I know,” Claire said, doing her best to look apologetic.

  Madame Hilton just gave her usual grunt. “You want to be careful out at night. There have been some worries about security.”

  Claire raised an eyebrow. “Worries about security? Like what?”

  Madame Hilton shook her head. “Nothing you need to worry about.” She was never one for gossip. In fact, she was rarely one for talking to students, apart from yelling at them. But she'd been impressed with how respectful Claire had been when she'd first arrived, which Claire found vaguely amusing. All she’d done was say “Excuse me, sorry,” when she'd almost bumped into her. Though it was true that most of the students came from wealthy families and had a sense of entitlement about them. They set a low bar for being polite to the teachers, never mi
nd the rest of the staff.

  “Is it monsters?” Claire asked, folding her arms over her chest, holding herself like she might break.

  She doubted it was monsters. The academy had large, thick walls which would protect the students more than easily in the event of an attack, even if they were brick instead of Rena metals. But Madame Hilton knew about the events that had led to Claire attending the academy and would most likely tell her the truth if she thought she was concerned about the past repeating itself.

  Madame Hilton shook her head. “You don’t need to worry about that, ma chérie. This school can stand a few of those beasts. No, our problem is Human in nature. The security cameras have noticed the same man lingering around, just outside the campus.”

  “Ew.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Have they called the police?”

  “No. They don’t want to risk any negative publicity. The next time he’s spotted on the cameras, I’ll go and have a word with him. If he doesn’t leave for good, then we’ll call the cops.”

  Claire nodded, feeling mildly unsettled.

  “Now, go on. Shoo. If you don’t sign in before curfew, your outside privileges will be revoked.”

  Claire did as she was told and hurried in. There was no way she was getting trapped in the Academy while Hate was outside.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Claire rocked back and forth on her heels, twisting her plait between her fingers. Her school uniform felt too tight and had far too many buttons, digging into her skin and driving her mad.

  “Claire,” her teacher said with their usual sighing tone.

  “Madame.”

  “Your history grades are slipping.”

  “Am I failing?”

  “No, but-”

  “It’s not a core subject.” Claire felt her anxiety blossom into a horrible pit in her stomach as she realised that she'd cut off the teacher in her haste to make her point.

  Her history teacher, Madame Borde, glared at her. “That doesn’t mean it’s not important.”

  Claire frowned. She didn’t attend St Cecilia’s to learn history. She attended because their ballet program matched her skill level. The only requirement she had to meet in her academics was to get Cs in English and Maths, and three other subjects. She had mid-level Cs in English, maths and science, a high C in drama and she was even scraping a B in textiles. She was barely scraping a C in the rest of her subjects, and they periodically dropped down to Ds, but she didn’t care. She only needed five.