Everneath Chapter 17 Summary

  • In the now: Nikki puts on a short black dress with longer sleeves, in order to hide the mark that's been growing on her left arm. Then she goes to the dance at the Meier Farmhouse.
  • Nikki sees Jack and Jules dancing, which hurts and makes her feel totally alone. Cole asks her for a dance, and even though she's not thrilled about it, she agrees.
  • Cole tells Nikki that she doesn't belong there, but she turns it around on him. He says he's only staying for her, though, so frustrated and hurting, Nikki lets Cole take away some of her pain.
  • Cole comments on how Nikki says she hates him, but is apparently okay with using him to take away her pain. But he doesn't mind, since he'll do anything to be close to her.
  • When Cole takes the stage, he tells Nikki to watch. Somehow he summons a purple fog, which only Nikki can see; it probably represents emotions from the crowd that Cole can steal.
  • Will shows up and asks Nikki to dance. Then Will asks Jules to dance, so Jack and Nikki end up dancing together.
  • Jack tells Nikki that he and Jules agreed to come to the dance together months ago—Nikki says she thinks he and Jules are a great couple, and Jack says they're not together.
  • Suddenly the music shifts to something loud and hard, and Nikki notices people nearby starting to fight. Jack is affected, too, because he tells Nikki that if she's going to leave, she should just do it, because losing her once was hard enough.
  • A nearby fight interrupts their conversation, and suddenly everyone is yelling. Nikki finds Cole, who looks tired and broken. He explains that for beings like him, when their hearts crack from pain, their emotions can leak out and have an effect on everyone nearby.
  • Nikki feels like this whole thing is her fault, so she makes sure Cole gets home to his condo. She realizes that Cole is trying to convince her that his feelings for her are real, and that Cole is trying to keep her away from Jack at any cost.
  • So Nikki decides to go tell Jack everything. She doesn't know what'll happen, but if Cole's trying to prevent it, maybe there's something to it.