The Seven Devils (YA "New Adult" Romance) by Sara Danvers Read Free Book Online

detentions!” he barked at us.
     
    I nodded quickly to Neil and then ran down the hall towards my Geometry classroom.
     
    ***
     
    Walking down to the band room at the end of the day, I didn’t know how to feel. I was both nervous and a little excited to hear what Erin and Melanie had to say about Neil. I wanted the mystery to be over, but not if it meant I wouldn’t be comfortable seeing Neil anymore. As far as I could tell, he was one of the only people in the school I could actually relate to; the only one I had any desire to spend time with.
     
    “Ellen!” Melanie cried when I sat down beside her. “Are you alright? Is it true that you fainted at lunch?” I said that I had, but that I felt fine now.
     
    I glanced past her to see what Erin was up to. Erin saw me looking and gave me a gloating look that just screamed “I know something you don’t know” and she then pretended to be too busy polishing her trombone to speak to me. Melanie rolled her eyes and we both grinned and unpacked our instruments.
     
    Class seemed to drag on and on and I found I couldn’t lose myself in the music as I usually did. I couldn’t wait to hear whatever it was Erin had to say. At the end of class she stalled for quite awhile, putting away her instrument and organizing her music. I could tell she loved having some sort of control over me and I couldn’t believe I was letting her use it. I waited with a patient look on my face. This was for Neil, I told myself. He wanted me to know.
     
    Finally we all went out into the hall together, which was already nearly empty. “Well,” Erin said, “I guess you’re just dying to know about Neil, am I right?”
     
    “I’m curious,” I said nonchalantly.
     
    Erin’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell her,” she said suddenly, looking at Melanie. “Maybe it’s not our place.”
     
    Melanie frowned slightly and said, “You told her you would tell her. You should keep your promises.”
     
    Erin yawned and said, “Oh, I guess you’re right.”
     
    I waited. A little less patiently than before.
     
    “The thing you need to understand is that there are two different theories. The first, which Melanie here believes, is that you can’t trust him because he can make you do things you don’t want to do. With his mind. Some people say that he secretly studied hypnotism. There was this girl, Candise, who used to be in our grade and everyone knew he had a huge thing for her. Anyways, she kept saying she couldn’t sleep at night because she kept having these weird dreams about him. And like, out of nowhere, just in the middle of class or whenever, she’d see his face. Like POW! There’s his face, just out of nowhere. She was scared out of her mind. She said she kept hearing a voice telling her to ask Neil out. It was like, so scary. She finally convinced her parents to transfer her to a different school.” Melanie nodded gravely. Erin continued, “They say he can make you do things. I hear he made this one girl take off her clothes in front of him. And he made this other girl… you know… do things for him. Sexual things. He’ll control you. Unless you’re slutty and give him that sort of thing willingly. That’s just how he is. He has also killed at least one person.”
     
    She stopped talking and I stood there staring at her for some time. “Uh-huh. So that’s theory one?” I asked.
     
    “I hear he worships the devil and has a shrine to him in his bedroom,” Melanie said nervously in a whisper. “He does Satan’s work. It’s why he always wears long sleeves and long pants, even in the summer. His body is covered in tattoos showing he gave his life to the evil one.”
     
    I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. “And what’s theory two?”
     
    “He’s faking it,” Erin said. “Either he had some sort of power at one point and lost it, or he’s just been faking it the whole time. Maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and