As I was plucking a piece of a dead pine needle out of my hair, I heard a branch snap from behind me. I skidded to a halt and spun around, my gaze skimming through trees. But I couldn’t see anything but branches and snow. I was about to turn back around when a huge gust of wind whipped through the air. I heard another snap, this time much, much closer. Okay. Okay.  It is just an animal…a deer or something.

Yeah, maybe it was some kind of forest animal, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. I whirled back around and hurried to catch up with Alex, who hadn’t appeared to have notice I’d fallen behind.

As I tried to catch my breath and calm down, I heard it. Not a snapping twig. No, this sound was way worse. A crackle, like the one I’d heard in the school parking lot the day I’d first seen the glowing yellow eyes. Fear rocketed through me. I had no idea what to do. Turn and sprint back to the car? Try and explain what was happening to Alex?  Neither sounded appealing.

My heart drummed in my chest as I shot a glance over my shoulder. Only trees and snow. I turned back around, only to end up slamming straight into Alex. My forehead banged against his shoulder, and a fire ignited under my skin. I gasped, backing away from him.

Holding his hands out in front of him, he cautiously stepped away from me. “You okay?”

I nodded, rubbing my forehead. “Sorry. I wasn’t watching were I was going.”

“Yeah, I got that.” He nodded at the trees behind me.  “What were you looking at back there?”

“Nothing.” My voice squeaked a little.  “I just thought I heard something, but it was nothing.”

He eyed me over carefully, then apparently satisfied by my answer, spread his hands out to the side of him. “Well, this is it.”

“Huh?”  I stared at him blankly. “This is what?”

“This is what I wanted to show you.”

Funny, but my near panic attack had made me forgot why we’d came up here in the first place. “Okay…” I glimpsed at all of the trees and snow around us. What was so special about this particular spot? It looked just like every other spot. “It’s…nice, I guess.”

He laughed a genuine, heartfelt laugh. The kind of laugh that made his green eyes light up. “Gemma, this right here,” he pointed to a spot on the ground in front of him, “is what I wanted to show you.”

For a brief second, I got lost in the way he’d said my name in a normal, anti-hating voice. But I quickly forgot all about it when I caught a glimpse of what he was pointing at. In the middle the crisp white snow, right between our feet, a small spot of dirt showed through like the snow had instantaneously melted away after it had landed there. And the dirt wasn’t brown, but black and ashy.

I looked back up and found Alex watching me with curious eyes.

“What?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He shrugged. “No reason.”

I shook my head. Whatever. “So what is it,” I asked, pointing at the ashy spot.

“Well…” He tapped his finger on his lips. “See, there’s this legend that about twenty years ago, a star had fallen from the sky and landed right here.” He pointed to the strange spot. “And I’m not just talking about a meteorite, but an actual star.”

I frowned. He was joking. He had to be. “If a real star hit the Earth then you and I wouldn’t be standing here, talking.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong,” he said simply. “It wasn’t a whole star that fell, but a small piece that broke loose when the star began to spin too quickly. And when the piece hit this spot, the snow has never been able to stay here. It’s like the heat of the star is still trapped there, and it melts the snow away.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” I told him. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to…”

“Trying to what?”

I sighed. “Pull one over on me.”

He grinned. “Now why would I do something like that?”

I rolled my eyes. “I think the real question is why wouldn’t you do something like that?”

He deliberated this. “Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from. But I’m not.”

We both stood there for a moment, staring at one another, my blood boiling from the electric heat.

“So if this actually did happen, then why haven’t I heard of it before?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Because hardly anyone knows about it.” He paused, before adding, “Even some mediocre high school astronomy teacher.”

“Mr. Sterling isn’t that bad,” I said. “And he knows a lot about astronomy.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “He isn’t that bad? Wasn’t he was the one who put you and I together in a group?”

That stung. “Yeah…but…” I had no idea what to say.

“Relax.” He cracked a smile. “I’m just kidding.”

I tucked my hands up into the sleeves of my coat. “Kidding about the star or Mr. Sterling?”

His smile broadened. “Mr. Sterling.”

As much as I was glad to hear that, I still wasn’t feeling too ecstatic about the idea that he was still trying to convince me that an actual piece of a star had fallen. The idea was absurd. A real piece of a star—I’d never heard of anything so insane. Okay, I take that back.  I guess I had.

But still…

“So, why is it that people don’t know about this fallen star?” I asked, making air quotes.

“Well, for starters, the piece was only about the size of a baseball.” He hesitated, shifting his weight to the side. “And …well supposedly, there was this secret group who came and collected it before anyone could discover it had fallen.”

I stared at him like he was crazy. And, who knew, maybe he was.

“You think I’m lying.” He crossed his arms and leaned in toward me. My heart reacted with a jolt that nearly knocked the breath out of me. “But I’m not.”

I had to catch my breath before I spoke. “How am I supposed to know whether you’re lying or not? I don’t know you at all. I mean for all I know, you could be the world’s greatest liar.”

He pressed his lips together, pausing before he said, “Yeah, you’re right. You don’t know me. But taking you out here was me trying to let you get to know me.” He moved in closer to me, and I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face. “But you’re not making it very easy on me.”

“I…” My mind clouded, and it wasn’t until he moved away from me that I could think clearly and process words again. “So what you’re saying is there’s a group that took the fallen star?”

He nodded. “That’s what I’m saying.”

“So who is this group?”

“Now that’s a secret I can’t tell you.”

I sighed. I was so confused. Confused about why he’d brought me up here. About why he was telling me this. About everything really. “So, what happens if I touch the spot?”

“Why don’t you try it and find out.”

I stared apprehensively at the ashy spot. There was something off about it. The color, the charcoal texture, the way the snow didn’t cover it.

“Don’t worry,” Alex said, “I’m pretty sure you won’t start on fire or anything.”

“Pretty sure,” I muttered. Well, that was reassuring.

I took a deep breath and bent down, letting my fingers brush up against the spot. It didn’t feel hot or anything. Not even warm. But there was something off about it. Something different, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. It almost felt sparkly….or maybe it was more electric.

“Feel anything?” Alex asked.

“Not really.” I let the tips of my fingers rest against the spot for a few seconds longer, then pulled my hand away and stood up. “It’s not even warm.”

“Huh…” He furrowed his eyebrows as he studying me over.

My pulse sped up like a bolt of lightning had shot out from the sky and zapped me in the chest. You’d think after a couple of weeks of feeling it, I’d have gotten use to it. You’d think, being the key words. But that wasn’t the case. In fact, I could still barely remember how to breathe whenever I felt it.

The wind started to pick up again, twirling flakes of snow around in the air like pixie dust. The sky had become shaded with clouds. Sundown was nearing, and it looked as if a storm might be moving in.