Rpg Story so Far - Page 1
Cassie looked at the group of her friends, her coven. Through all of the bad things that happened the past few months they had all stuck together to defeat Black John, her father. She looked down at her and Adams clasped hands. ~I love you Adam. I can't believe we all made it. Actually yes I can, because we stood together. She told him with her mind and glanced at Diana, her best friend and 'sister'. 'Everything is going to be alright now.' she reassured herself. She smiled as she heard almost everyone come up with a reason to use the master tools. "Back to business I guess." she softly out loud and squeezed Adam's hand.
Susan watched the group get all excited about their own ideas for the master tools. She could actually care less what the coven did with them. She was much more interested in the coming Yule. 'I wonder what my mom is going to get me. Hopefully that cute peach cashmere sweater we saw a couple weeks ago on the mainland.' The bridge was in the process of being repaired so it wouldn't be long until she could go shopping again. 'Maybe I'll drag Faye. She needs something new to wear after doing the whole business suit thing to please Black John. Sure he was handsome but he was as old as the dirt in my back yard garden and now he's gone. Good riddance.' She smirked as Laurel brought up Environmentalism. 'Yeah right.' she suppressed a laugh. "I still want a birthday party," she mentioned for the second time as everyone babbled on about their ideas. Even Faye was back to her old self-talking about hexing people.
Sean looked down at the food in his lap as everyone discussed what they wanted to do with the tools. "I'll go with anything you guys suggest but a party does sound nice." he said somewhat cheerfully and smiled at Susan. He looked over to Cassie and Adam. 'Why does he always get the girls?' he thought with a sliver of envy as he looked away from the happy couple to Diana. 'Poor Diana, maybe she'll need a shoulder to cry on later. I've got a perfectly good shoulder.' He smashed down the rising hope blooming in him. 'Nah, Girls like her don't go for skinny guys like me. Hell she'll probably end up with Nick in the long run.' Sean took a bite of his sandwich and leaned back as talks of parties; hexes and the master tools flowed between the group.
Diana stood there and watched over the coven. She looked at Cassie and Adam. She was partly hurt but they were her best friends. Cassie was her sister. She was proud of Cassie. What she did took courage.
Faye wasn't even sure if she should be there. This girl had everyone
fooled, especially after the whole thing with Ol' Blacky. Cassie had
everyone wrapped around her little fingers, especially Diana. She smiled
and nodded at a joke, but no laughter.
'This girls is like the sun. The just revolve around her every whim.
Pathetic!'
Faye turned and headed to her car. She had plans to attend to...big
plans.
Cassie watched Faye get up and start to her car. Glancing at Adam she gave him a smile and stood up. "Be right back." She followed Faye to the ebony haired girls car. "Where do you think you're going?" She asked, trying her best to keep her voice light and cheerful. Best to not let Faye feel cornered her claws were just as bad as her bite. "The picnic's not done and there's so much to plan. Didn't I say we all needed each other? That includes you too." 'Miss greater than thou.' she added to herself suddenly. If they were going to remain a strong coven they were going to have to stay united. She respected the fact that Faye loved her privacy but today was a day for celebration not differences.
Suzan watched Faye walk away and Cassie follow her. 'Wonder what's up with that?' she wondered. Shrugging she took a bite of her powdered doughnut and relished in it's sweetness. It didn't matter to her that she was always picked out about the sweets she ate, she felt she had a lovely figure. Plenty of the guys on the football team thought so. With a grin she remembered the time she had worn to many orange crystals and was almost mauled by the entire football team. 'Now that part of witch craft I like.' she thought happily.
Clearing her throat she tried to get anyone’s attention that would listen to her. "I'm 'still' in favor of another party. Because of all this 'mess' the past couple of months we missed out on allot of party time and I know I'm not the only one who thinks that partying is what we do best. Especially when it's swimming in the winter. Right guys." She gave a wink to Sean who, she had noticed earlier, had glanced at her when she mentioned the word party.
Doug nodded his head. "I'm with Susan." He pushed
his fist into the air with a yell, "PARTY!!!" His
brother laughed with him.
"I agreed." Chris said. "We didn't get the skinny
dipping at our party, so you guys owe us!!" He
reached over to the portable boom box his brother and
him and brought with them, and hitting a button, let
loud music blare across the area.
Adam laughed at the coven members, but his eyes
narrowed slightly as Faye walked away. He knew that
deep down she was hurt, if not angry that she had to
share the leadership of the coven with Cassie and
Diana. He smiled softly at Cassie as she followed
Faye. She had a heart of gold. There was no denying
that. She had even made hard as coal Nick soften. He
shook his head slightly in disbelief. They were
together now. They didn't have to hide anything.
He turned his attention to Diana, standing there, the
moonlight reflecting off of her long blonde hair. He
would always care for her, you couldn't just throw
those feelings away. Even though they had shared many
kisses, and loving moments, in the end he realized
that he loved her only as a sister. He knew that she
too was hurt, and like Faye, Adam had no idea how to
stop the pain.
Over at the edge of the gathering, Nick sat alone in
the shadows. He took a deep drag off of his
cigarette, holding the smoke in as long as he could
before slowly exhaling. He ran a deeply tanned hand
through his hair and sighed. No more soft and
vulnerable Nick, hell that got your heart broke. He
knew that Cassie and Adam would be together forever,
their love was unbreakable.
And that's how Nick would be from now on to. You let
your shields down and you got burned, simple as that.
He flicked the end of the cigarette in the air,
letting the ashes flow to the ground. Deep inside,
Nick pretended that those ashes were his love for
Cassie, letting the wind take them away.
Suzan smiled as Doug turned the music. "That's more like it Doug."
she said standing up and hold a hand out to him. "Wanna dance
blondey?" She gave him an alluring smile. 'This place is turning dull
we need to lighten up.' She looked around Diana's backyard and saw
Nick flick away his cigarette. 'Poor guy, Cassie hurt him pretty bad
I guess. He's even gone back to smoking.' She tossed him a smile and
winked. 'It'll be ok Nicky. Even if you do kiss like an iguana you're
still hot.'
Sean watched Suzan stand up and offer Doug a dance. 'Lucky guy.' he
thought sadly then shrugged. Standing up he made his way over to
Laurel. "Care to dance environmentalist?" He asked and smiled what he
hope was a dazzling smile.
Cassie watched Faye as she silently contemplate which nasty comeback
to give the shorter girl. 'Come on Faye. Please.' she pleaded
silently and smiled as she heard music start playing in the back
yard. "Looks like the party started." she said cheerfully and nodded
to the back yard.
A sneer crept it's way on her face, "You know, that's quite alright.
I'll pass."
She turned and took a few steps toward her car and hesitated a moment.
Without facing Cassie she said, "You know everything may be just peachy in
that snow globe care bear world of yours, but out here things are still
rocky."
Faye climbed in her car and gave Cassie a meaningful glance, "I'm not the
only one who hurt people you know." She turned the key and the engine
roared to life. "I'll catch you later Care Bear, I have things to deal
with."
She pulled out of the driveway and headed home. Her mind was clouded in
dark thoughts.
Cassie watched Faye pull off and sighed. "This is going to be tougher than I thought." she said softly walking back to the group. She couldn't help but smile as she saw people dancing. 'Now this is more like.' Sitting down back beside Adam she rested her head on his shoulders. "The mighty panther has returned to her den. She's in a fowl mood today," she told him as she lightly touched his hand. Closing her eyes she relaxed against him. It felt so good not to hide from everyone now and not worry about little spies seeing them and their relationship being used for black mail. They were finally free.
Faye flopped down on her bed. The house was too quiet. Once again her
mom wasn't home. She glanced at her stereo and it turned on. Rob Zombie was
blaring out of the speakers.
With a growl of boredom she picked up the phone and speed dialed Deb.
The phone rang several times before the machine picked up. "Hey Deb, was
wondering if you wanted to have a little fun tonight, but I suppose you'll
be busy. Catch you later then."
After hanging up she tossed the cordless phone to the floor. 'There has
to be something to do.' A smile dance about her lips as an idea crept into
her mind.
"Nice."
Suzan smiled at Doug and bowed before walking away. She picked a spot a little bit away from the group and took her cell phone out of her pocket. Dialing Faye’s number she waited for the other girl to pick up. "What mischief are you up to now girl? And why aren't you including me?"
"Well all your talk of parties, I decided to have a last minute pizza
party. You wanna come?"
She made an appraising glance at her freshly polished nails. They were
back to her usual blood red.
'Glad to be back to my usual self. Just felt weird to be working for the
stuffed shirt, egotistical, freak.' She smirked inwardly...almost unaware
of the voice on the phone.
"I smell a change on the wind my friend. Big changes."
Suzan raised a shapely brow tossing a lot at Deborah who looked bored
out of her mind. "Who all do you want to invite? I'm sure Deborah
will come just to get away from the goody goodies," she said in a
hushed voice turning her back to the group. "And maybe the Henderson
twins. Diana is talking to Nick so that leaves him out." Suzan
wondered if Faye still had a thing for the ruggedly handsome Nick
Armstrong.
Faye tried to sound uninterested, "Oh I guess invite Nick too."
One of her kittens climbed into her lap. It was purring loudly. She
scratched under its chin and smiled. She kissed the kitten’s nose and set
it back on the floor.
Faye rose to her feet, "Make sure Cassie hears about it, but don't invite
her. Ok?"
On the other side of the backyard Suzan smiled at Faye's comment. "Oh
ok. I promise." As she clicked off the phone and walked over to
Deborah. Leaning over she whispered into Deborah. "Faye's wanting to
have a lil party, if you know what I mean and she wants you and Nick
to come. Do you think you can arrange that?"
Deborah looked over at Suzan, wondering what the hell she wanted. Of course, the only reason she was really so hostile is, well... her arm. It had been broken in the whole thing between Black John, so that meant no riding her motorcycle for a while. She paid a little more attention, however, when Suzan spoke to her.
Deborah smirked. *One of Faye's parties,* she thought, musing about how long it had seemed like it had been since Faye had had one of her parties. She glanced over at her cousin, who was chatting with Diana, the queen of sweetness and light, then looked back at Suzan. "I'll try to convince him, but tell her I can't make any promises." She made a beckoning motion towards Nick, hoping he got the hint to come over; otherwise, she would have to go to him.
Sean watched Suzan stand up and offer Doug a dance. 'Lucky guy.' he thought sadly then shrugged. Standing up he made his way over to Laurel. "Care to dance environmentalist?" he asked and smiled what he hope was a dazzling smile.
Laurel smiled, and looked at Sean. "Sure, skeleton," she said, getting up after taking Sean's hand. As they danced, she listened to the words of the song, picking up the beat and humming it to herself. It was nice, after everything that had happened since the beginning of the year, to finally get a break from it all. No more Black John, and surprisingly, Faye had broken out of her trance state, taking her coven's side in the end over the evil.
She smiled at Sean; proud he stood up for himself as well. "So," she asked him, "how's it been going?"
Sean smiled down at her and shrugged. "Better now that everything's
over. We can get back to being somewhat normal, I guess." Feeling
completely silly he dipped the girl and brought her back up and
grinned. His happy mood diminished a bit as the song ended. "So what
do we do now? Now that the threat of Black John is gone?"
"We try to continue, I guess," Laurel replied, grabbing a bottle of water from a cooler and handing another to Sean, "form our traditions to explain Black John, not hide him from our future generations..." She sighed. "Perhaps improve things with the outsiders, to let them know that we just want to live our lives like everyone else in the world..." Laurel grinned. "...Protect Mother Earth?"
Sean nodded to Laurel taking the offered water. "That sounds like a
plan." He said with a smile. 'Laurel's really got her head on
straight. Some of the other's are probably thinking of 'different'
ways to use the tools. Like the Henderson brothers or Faye." He
looked over to Deb and the others and noticed that Cassie had walked
over there. Nick seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder. Give a
small shrug Sean decided to keep his nose out of their business. If
it was any good then it would come out eventually and everyone would
know. Looking back at Laurel he gave her a charming smile and
asked. "Mind if I sit with you?"
Diana walked over to Nick, “Are you okay, Nick?” She smiled at him and watched the others having a good time.
Nick took another drag on his cigarette before
dropping it to the ground and crushing the glowing red
tip under his boot. "Just Peachy." He answered in
reply to Diana's question. "Just peachy." He looked
up at her, the moon reflected behind her, giving her
hair an unearthrel glow. "The bad guy has been
defeated once again, and Adam got the girl. Nothing
different, nothing unusual.
He reached into the small cooler beside him and pulled
a beer out. He offered one to Diana, then popped the
top on his. "Didn't think you'd want one. You know
we really need to change who's in charge of
refreshments for these things. Soda and doughnuts
just don't kick it." He titled his head back letting
the cold liquid fill his mouth.
He shut the cooler with his other hand and looked up
at Diana, wondering why she was really over there.
Diana shook her head at the beer. “No thank you. I know you hurt, Nick. I do to.” She looked over at Cassie and Adam. “I'm hurt to.”
Nick looked up at Diana, his eyes cold. "I don't
hurt." He told her. He shook his head, and set the
beer can on the ground. He stood up, and stepped on
it, crushing it as easily as he had the cigarette. He
picked it up and tossed it in the nearby trashcan.
"Catch you later." He told Diana, brushing past her
and headed towards Deborah's beckoning.
"What?" He asked when he reached her. He pulled
another cigarette out of his pack and lit it. He had
stopped smoking because Cassie had asked him. But her
opinion didn't count anymore.
Opening her eyes Cassie followed Adam's gaze to Susan and then to Deborah. "Poor Deb. She can't wait to get out of that thing." Looking around for Diana she spotted her talking to Nick. Even though she belonged with Adam she still felt a little tug at the sight of him. 'Smooth Cassie, you just got the guy you've been wanting for so long and you're thinking about the guy you ditched a few days ago. Nice.' She was beginning to wonder if she was more like Faye than she wanted to believe. Pushing the thought away she looked back up at Adam. "So what's the plan for tonight? Want to go to the movies? We've never been to the movies you know? Or," she added with a sheepish grin. "We could rent a movie and stay at your house and watch it."
"Now that sounds like a plan." He told her as she
mentioned staying at home. "I haven't got to snuggle
with you since I met you." He laughed, but made sure
his voice wasn't loud enough to carry to Diana. He
was after all the closest thing the group had to a
gentleman. "At least and not feel guilty about it."
"After things die down here, we'll run to the video
store and I'll let you pick something out. Just
please nothing to do with Witches."
Cassie laughed as Adam told her no witch movies. She blushed as she
realized how loud she had laughed and smiled shyly at Adam. "I
promise. No witch movies. What about Dracula 2000." she asked her
eyes twinkling with mischief. It felt good to be at ease with Adam.
She looked in the direction of Diana and Nick and caught Diana
looking at them. She quickly looked away. "Is it always going to be
like this... the guilty feelings?" She asked softly, trailing a fingertip along Adam's hand.
"I hope not, Cassie." Adam whispered down to her. "I
really hope not." He watched as Nick walked away from
Diana, and couldn't help but think that Diana was
alone now. He tried to shake off the ridiculous
thought. She still had Laurel and Melanie. And Adam
and Cassie were still her friends. But he still
couldn't help but wonder if he would have been as
understanding if the roles had been reversed.
"I'm going to get something to drink. You want
something?"
Cassie smiled at Adam and shook her head. "No I'm fine. I think I'm
going to see how Deborah is doing." She told him as she stood up. She
waited for Adam to walk away before making her way over to Deborah,
Nick and Suzan.
Susan smiled at Nick as he walked up to her and Deborah and leaned in
next to him and started informing him of Faye's party. "It'll be a lot
more fun than this place don't you think Nicky?" She gave him a smile
and looked over his shoulder, saw Adam leaving Cassie's side and
noticed that the she intended to walk over to where they were. Making
sure that her voice could be over heard she put a hand on Nick's
shoulder. "It'll be just a small party, you know how Faye is. She's
already chosen the list of people she wants there and you just happen
to be on it." She tossed a glance at Deborah that said, 'Help me to
convince him.'
Cassie stopped a few feet from the trio. 'A party... Faye's having one
of her parties. Figures. I'm not going to this one.' She decided
firmly but deep down she knew she probably wasn't invited anyways.
She looked at Nick and waited for him to answer Suzan's
question. 'Come on Nick don't go back to the way you were and don't
get tangled in her web.' She stepped forward and smiled at them. "Hey
why all the serious faces." she tried to say cheerfully and looked at
Deborah. "How's the arm Deb? Better I hope." She slowly looked up
into Nick's eyes. "Hi Nick." she said softly ignoring the stare she
got from Suzan.
Suzan couldn't believe the nerve of this girl, well actually she
could, Cassie was after all the daughter of one of the biggest
nasties that ever came from the road. 'What is she planning on
doing? Have Adam to herself and keep Nick on the side.' She couldn't
help but admire Cassie in a way. After the junk that Faye, her and
Deb had put Cassie through the minute she came here the other girl
was still standing strong and now she was even one of the coven's
leaders. Suzan began to feel a little guilty about the way Cassie had
been treated but smashed them down. It wasn't in her demeanor to feel
guilty about anything. She raised a shapely brow as she contemplated
Nick. 'You gonna fall for her baby blue's again Nicky boy?'
"Faye's having a little bit of a party," Deborah answered, smirking a slight bit. Knowing about Faye's party had lightened her spirits concerning her arm, which still hurt. Luckily, though, she was now under the nice influence of some painkillers. She looked over at Suzan as she spoke, the girl's blue eyes sparkling.
The sight of Cassie coming over to their tiny little mini-clique hadn't escaped Deborah's notice. Her mouth was tempted to sneer a bit, knowing Cassie was a goodie goodie, but had a dark side to her as well, so the sneer remained hidden. Cassie had been there when it had counted for the fight, for the coven. Faye had been sucked to the other side. The only bitterness she held towards the girl was the way her cousin, who was like her brother, had been used. Nick had really liked Cassie. Now, he was just as jaded as before.
"It's getting there," she replied to Cassie, her voice cool, "but it could be better." She grimaced. "Still can't believe I was the only one who got trashed in that whole house disappearing bit." Then Deborah shrugged. "Guess there can't be much else to say about the whole thing."
Nick listened to what both Deborah and Susan were
saying, ready to decline. But then Cassie walked
over. Nick thought it would be easy to get over her.
After all she had left him high and dry. "Sure I'll
come." He answered, but his eyes remained locked on
Cassie's. "Nothing better to do around this place
anyways." He blew the smoke out of his lung, not in
Cassie's face, but off to her side. "I'll get my
things and meet you there."
Cassie couldn't deny that Nick's attitude toward her didn't hurt.
Turning to Deborah she smiled. "Well I'm glad it's better than it was
before. I'm sorry you were the only one that got hurt." 'She wasn't
though.' Cassie added sadly. 'In some way we all got hurt. Diana lost
Adam. I hurt Nick and killed my father.' This was the first time she
actually freely admitted that Black John was her father. 'Why did it
have to be him... why couldn't my mother just found a nice outsider
like everyone thought she did?' Snapping out of her reverie she
looked from Deborah to Suzan and finally to Nick. "Well I hope you
guys have a wonderful time at Faye's. Her parties are always...
interesting." She said with a small smile and started back toward
Adam but changed her mind and went off towards the water.
Deb nodded, then glanced over at Cassie's face, which was recoiling from the smoke clouds that Nick blew past the girl. Her blue eyes shone with disappointment, but she seemed to recover quickly, and turned her attention towards Deborah then.
Sitting down on the sand she gave into the emotions she'd been
feeling for so long and cried. Silent tears slipped down her
face. 'Great.' she thought angrily to herself. 'That's it, be a cry
baby.' Wiping the tears away swiftly she looked out to the ocean and
marveled at the sunset. 'It's so beautiful here.'
Susan watched Cassie walk away and knew that Nick's standoffish
attitude had affected the other girl. 'Good let her hurt as much as
he does. People shouldn't play with other peoples emotions, well
at least not there friends.' Glancing back at Nick she studied him for
a moment waiting to see if he would go to the poor little Cassie.
Deborah followed the same suit as Suzan, glancing at Nick after finding Cassie scrunched in a corner of the yard. Maybe they'd gone too far, but the girl just had to realize that she couldn’t' get everything she seemed to want all the time. It just wasn't fair at all. Not to anyone, even though it was nice to get your desires.
She smirked then, thinking again of Faye's party and the fun that would be had. Nick would be outnumbered; it would sure be an interesting time.
Laurel nodded towards Sean, and for a moment, paid attention to the conversation going on across the yard, between Nick, Cassie, Suzan, and Deborah. She frowned as Cassie walked away, looking seemingly fine, but Laurel saw the slight shaking of the girl's hands. What did they DO to her? She wondered, as Sean appeared by her side again.
Nodding, Laurel cleared a space for him. If you could ignore the leanness, Sean wasn't bad looking. Just a little scrawny. Unlike the other males of the coven, he wasn't gorgeous in the same way they were, so therefore didn't get nearly as many girls throwing themselves at his feet. There had been some, of course, but none he'd wanted. "Go right ahead," she told him, "I don’t' mind." She gestured towards Cassie. "What do you think happened there?"
Nick watched Cassie walk off from the group and
shrugged. What did she expect, for him to just drop
all of his feelings just like she did? He managed a
half smile at Suzan and Deborah, "I'll see you there."
He turned away from them and headed not towards
Cassie, but towards Faye's house.
Adam had noticed but not heard what had happened
between the group. He felt the anger rising in him.
He cut Nick off, grabbing him by the arm. "What the
hell did you do to her?" He asked, nodding his head
in Cassie's direction.
"I didn't do anything." Nick said, jerking his arm
out of Adam's grasp. The two boys stood there, eye to
eye, as if in a stand off. Neither one of them seemed
willing to be the first to break away.
Chris noticed the rising air of electricity growing
around them. Hell you didn't need to be a witch to
know when an explosion was on its way. He hated to
see the coven break up as soon as it really got
together. It was too cool. He ran over and grabbed
Adam by the arm, pulling him away from Nick. "Let's
Dance!!!" He hollered as Doug cranked the music up
even higher.
He jerked Adam around in a circle, his dance antics
nothing but goofy. "Come save me Cassie!!" He yelled
to the girl. "Adam's stepping all over my feet!!"
Adam laughed at Chris, but his eyes cut over to Nick.
He had a feeling that there was nothing but trouble,
especially if he went with Faye.
Nick glared back at Adam before turning and heading
down the road to Faye's. He knocked on the door once,
and leaned against the doorframe.
Sean shrugged as Laurel asked him what he thought. "There's no telling with that group and things aren't really peachy since Cassie broke it off with Nick. He really likes her you know." Sean looked at Laurel and smiled. "When Nick gives up something like his heart it's well, it's a big thing. She got under his skin I can tell just by the way he looks and even glares at her and Adam. He's hurt but Nick will be ok, he always is. Now Diana... I feel really bad about what happened to her. Her and Adam were like Ken and Barbie for years." Sean glanced toward Diana and then to Adam who at the moment was glaring at a retreating Nick.
Laurel knew. She'd seen Nick depressed, she'd seen Nick mad, she'd seen him indignant. But with Cassie, he seemed to change into someone different. Someone likeable. He'd been in love, and there was no denying that when Cassie broke it off, no matter why or how she had done it, it had cut him to the core. He'd gone back to who he was before her, with a little extra jaded-ness on top if it. She smiled sadly as Sean continued.
Especially after finding out all of the background on what Black John DID, Laurel thought, her mood saddened as she thought about it, Switching girlfriends like that on Nick and Deborah's parents... but they were under his spell, and weren't in control of themselves. That certainly explained some things about their parents, that's for sure.
Cassie heard Chris's laughing voice over the roar in her head and looked up to see him dancing with Adam. Smiling she stood up and pushed her dark thoughts away. She saw Nick out of the corner of her eye walking in the direction of Faye’s. 'Like a lamb to a slaughter, good luck Nick.' She thought sadly. Running up to Chris and Adam she took Adam's hand and pulled him away from Chris. "Let's dance you and I." she said softly in his ear and pulled him close. "I'm ready to get out of here, some of the group is going to Faye's for a little 'party' and I'm sure Laurel and Mel will stay with Diana." She kissed him softly on the cheek while they danced, enjoying the skip in her heart from just being close to him.
Adam held Cassie tight even though the music was fast.
"Let's go then." He said in her ear. "Do you want
to tell them that we're leaving?" He asked her as he
pulled his keys from his pocket.
"You don't have to tell them what were going to do
though." He told her, wiggling his eyebrows. Raj
heard the keys jingle and jumped up from his resting
place. He bounded over to him and patiently waited.
Suzan watched the interaction between Adam and Nick with interest. When Nick stalked off she glanced at Deborah. "Sooo you think we should head to Faye's now or let her have some 'time' with Nick?" She asked with a grin.
At first, Deborah shrugged. She wasn't sure if she was quite ready to go yet, but then again, she'd rather have company arriving at Faye's than nothing. "Sure, what the heck," she told Suzan, accepting the girl's help up, "let's blow this pop stand."
Faye began to sift through her closet to find an out fit. She
wanted
something particularly spicy.
All the while her kittens sat on her bed watching her go through her
wardrobe. They obviously thought their human had gone entirely insane.
Finally she settled on a little number. A tight, leather, mini
skirt. A
flowing red silk shirt with a deep V-neck. A silver anklet with tiny
bells
wound around her right ankle. About her neck was an amber pendant,
inside
was an entrapped baby scorpion. She also wore small-hooped earrings.
She smiled inwardly at the thought of how much the amber pendant had
cost. Funny how something the size of a dime could oh so much more.
Faye padded, barefoot, to the pantry to fetch the candles. She
spent
just as long arranging the candles as she had picking her clothes.
Everything had to be just right.
Her mother had come home for a short time. Faye wasn't too
surprised
when her mother said she had a boyfriend and was going to stay at his
house
that night. Her mother was apologetic, but Faye couldn't have cared
less.
'You may be old, but you still have the looks mom...go use em.'
Faye's mother left her fifty dollars for dinners and to rent some
movies
before she left. As soon as her mother was gone she went to putting
the
finishing touches on the house.
Faye answered the door with a cat-like smile. "I didn't expect you
so
soon. Haven't even ordered the pizza yet, but that's ok. It gives us
some
time to talk."
She ushered him into the living room. "Do you want something to
drink?
Beer? Wine?"
She paused a moment. Something was wrong. She stood close to Nick,
looking into his eyes. "What do you want to happen tonight Nick? This
is a
night for my friends. Susan gets her men, Deb gets a laugh, and I get away
from
Care Bear and Diana. What do you want?"
"A beer would be fine." Nick said coming into Faye's
house. He sat down on the living room couch and
started to put his feet up on the coffee table. Then,
remembering whose house he was in, stopped and ended
up crossing on foot over his knee.
"I don't know what I want, Faye." Nick said softly,
not really caring if she heard him or not. He
chuckled, "But the being away from Cassie is a bonus."
Faye returned from the kitchen with an icy mug of beer and a glass of
wine. "I know I not exactly the most cuddly person and all," she paused as
she handed him the beer mug, "but I’m here for you Nicky. I'm here for all
my friends."
She sat down next to him, the sterol turned on with a glance. It quietly
played a song by Nirvana. She sipped at her wine a moment. "Don't want you
to get the wrong idea." Her smile was sincere.
"If you do want something, just let me know. I'll get whatever you want.
Figure it's about time I act like a friend."
She stood up and walked to the kitchen. "What kind of pizza you want?"
She shouted from the kitchen.
'I'm going to make it up to you Nick,' she thought as she dialed up a
pizza parlor.
'A petite little brunette.' Nick answered her in his
head. "Anything with meat is fine. Glad it's not
Laurel ordering." He called out to her. He took a
long drink of the beer, and laid his head back on the
couch with a sigh.
He would get over Cassie. Hell he didn't love her, he
had just grown kinda fond of her in the short time she
pretended to like him. He wondered briefly what Faye
was up to. Being...well, sweet. But Nick had grown up
with Faye. He knew that looks could be deceiving. He
took another drink, starting to feel the slight buzz.
He could handle is alcohol. Always had been able to.
Slipping drinks out of the garage fridge with Chris
and Doug back when they were 14. But using the beer
to drown his sorrows, Nick had a feeling he would soon
be drunk.
She ordered the pizzas and returned to the living room. "Do you want
another beer, or would you like some water?"
Faye took the mug before he could answer. She wandered into the kitchen
and refilled the mug, but only half way. She set her glass on the counter
and returned to the living room.
She leaned over the back of the couch and handed him the beer. "Don't
make yourself sick."
Faye could smell a bit of cologne underneath the cigarette smell. "You
know Nick, I do care. You probably don't believe me, but I do care.
"Don't you worry about the care bear. She's out of your hair."
She looked up when there was a knock at the door, "Can't be the pizzas,
they're never this quick."
Cassie smiled at Adam and reached down to ruffle Raj's fur. "You ready to go boy?" she asked the dog in a cheerful voice and was rewarded by a happy sounding bark. Taking Adam's hand they walked over to Diana and Melanie. "Well, we're going to head out of here. Adam's got a couple of errands to run in town. We'll see you at school tomorrow?" Letting go Adam's hand she hugged Diana and whispered in her ear. "I love you Diana, you know that. You're my best friend." She stepped away and gave Melanie a small smile.
Diana looked at Cassie and gave her this I know look/smile. “Yeah we'll see you there.” Diana smiled at Melanie as they went inside the house.
Raj was jumping around impatiently, which caused Cassie to give a soft chuckle. Looking up at Adam she took his hand and turned towards everyone giving them a small wave. "See you guys tomorrow." She called out and led Adam to his car. Relaxing against it she gave a sigh of relief. "Well that's over. Have you decided what movie to rent yet? I said Dracula 2000 and you said nothing with witches soooo..." She let the sentence trail off as she tugged on his sweater, drawing him closer.
"Dracula sounds fine." He said nipping at her neck,
"but don't get mad if it gives me any ideas." It
didn't take long to get to town, and Adam drove to the
video place he had a membership to. He got out and
opened the door for Cassie. The place still had
boards up on it's window from the hurricane.
"My lady." He said with a bow. "No, Raj, you wait
here." He said as the dog tried to push past Cassie.
Suzan watched as Adam and Cassie made their exit. 'Wonder what they’re going to do tonight now that they don't have to sneek around.' She smirked and turned to Deborah. "Well let's go then, the pizza she awaits." Suzan walked over to the Henderson twins and gave them a smile. 'Nick shouldn't be the only ones there. It'll be too weird. "Hey Chris, Doug, you wanna go hang out at Faye's?" she asked with a wink. "She's ordering pizza and I'm sure she's got plenty of booze stocked up there." She glanced over at Sean. 'Hmmm He's talking to one of the goodie goodies... maybe he'll just have to miss out on this party... three girls... three guys... oh the possibilities."
Sean watched Adam and Cassie walk away and had to smile. 'It's only fair that they get alone time after having to wait so long.' He noticed Suzan and Deb making their way across the lawn and stop over where Chris and Doug were. 'First Faye then Nick, smells like Faye's up to something.' He nodded toward the twins, Suzan, and Deb. "What do you think they're up to. Seems like everyone's leaving here. Faye left and Nick left but...he went in the direction of Faye's house. Now Cassie and Adam have left but I doubt that they're going to Faye's." A thoughtful look crossed over Sean's face. He was never one to pry in anyone's business but the way keeping secrets had taken it's toll on the coven the last couple of months had him curious about what everyone was up to.
Laurel pursed her lips, noticing that everyone was leaving the yard. Had the party ended and someone just not bothered to mention it to her or Sean? She doubted it, something was definitely up. Paying attention, she continued to listen to Sean.
Laurel frowned then. Faye leaving first was never a good thing. Sure, the girl had an aversion to the rest of them, and so did Nick. There was still something off about it.
That was for certain. Unless Cassie had decided that one of Faye’s parties was NOT what the coven needed at the moment. Faye’s concept of fun was vastly different than hers. “If we take off,” she said, emphasizing the we because maybe she and Sean could do something that consisted of what she thought of fun, “I think we should at least tell Diana we’ll see her later.”
"You're right, it would be rude just to leave with out saying good
bye." He was actually looking forward to spending time with Laurel.
She was a sweet girl and she was always nice to him, for that he
would always be grateful. He stood up and after quickly brushing the
grass and dirt off his pants offered Laurel his hand. "So what do you
want to do? Take in a movie or something?"
So he had some sense in him after all, Laurel thought. Courtesy was always a positive point when it was genuine and it came to Laurel. Some people could be so insensitive. Accepting Sean's hand to pull her up, Laurel pulled her hair up as he asked her his next question.
Truthfully, she had no idea. A movie sounded really good, but what would they go see? Everything was probably still closed after the storm had hit the island. Laurel scrunched her brow together as she thought, and suggested, "We could go see if anything's open first?" She shrugged. "Then we could come back to the road, and, I don't know, assure our parents we're just fine?"
Sean nodded, "Sounds like a plan." He had almost said date but he
afraid that Laurel would have would have laughed in his face. He was
used to it from outsider girls but if one of his own, especially
Laurel, did it then it was hurt, a lot. Laurel was completely sweet
unlike Faye, Deb and Suzan. For some reason her opinion mattered to
him. He walked over to Diana's back door and opened it for
Laurel. "After you miss." He gave her a smile that he hoped would
come off as charming.
Laurel nodded, and followed Sean through the yard. She spotted Diana inside, and she was cleaning up. Maybe they should at least offer to come back later and help. Melanie was there, so maybe Melanie could stay with Diana. Help mend someone who'd just lost her entire romantic world. Sure, she said she was okay on the outside, but Laurel seriously doubted she was.
"After you miss." He gave her a smile that he hoped would come off as charming.
"Why thank you," Laurel said, smiling. At least Sean was being courteous, instead of grabby. She remembered a time when that's what he was. She felt bad that they'd been ignoring him so much, that they'd not paid as much attention to him, and that Black John had gotten to him. They had, of course, buried the belt with the piece of lodestone in the buckle, and made sure that the lodestone had been completely crushed before they had done so.
Deborah nodded, and followed Suzan over to the Henderson twins, Chris and Doug. She was explaining about the party, so Deb took the opportunity to look around at everyone else. They all seemed to be scattering like wild animals - except in a more orderly fashion. What’s up with all the leaving all of a sudden? She wondered, silently telling herself that she should mention to Cassie that maybe they should all sit down and talk about what had gone on. It wasn’t like they had... Watching Chris and Doug take off, Deb nudged Suzan. “Let’s am-scray.”
Chris and Doug decided to go along. Heck everybody
else was leaving, might as well follow the more fun
crowd. "Might be more fun to go spy on Cassie and
Adam." Doug said elbowing Chris in the side.
"Shut up." Chris told him with a laugh. He filled a
bucket of water up and set it by the fire so no one
would forget to put the fire out. He knew that Laurel
or Melanie wouldn’t, but he didn't think that they would
want to carry the water.
They started towards Faye's as well, not too far
behind Suzan and Doug. Doug ran ahead, popping Suzan
lightly on the rump as he passed her.
Nick watched as Faye opened the door. He didn't really
care who it was. He could be at home working on his
car right now, but he did feel that being part of the
coven was important. He needed to show up and join in
the lovely festivities every now and then.
He decided that he would stay for a little while, then
head back to his own house. He suddenly remembered
something that he had heard. Faye had told everyone
that he kissed like an iguana. Cassie obviously
didn't think so. He'd eventually have to correct her
on that. But not now, not in front of anyone.
Faye smile as she let the others in. "Wasn't sure if you two would
show,"
she said as the twins bustled into the living room.
'What are you thinking about Nicky? Wish you would just believe
me.'
Chris turned on the big screen TV. Halloween 2 was on HBO. "Help
yourselves to the kitchen. There's beer, pop, wine, and some other
stuff.
Pizza is on it's way."
She turned to get something from the basement. As she walked past
Nick
she let her fingers glide across his shoulder.
Suzan glared at Doug's retreating back as he went past and slapped her on her bottom. 'Boys.' she thought gruffly as her and Deborah walked into Faye's house. She heard Faye telling the twins where everything was and saw the tall ebony maned girl trail her fingers over Nick's shoulders. 'So it begins.' she thought with a smirk. 'Oh poor Nick, used by one and then another. Wonder how long Faye will keep him around before she gets bored.' Walking into the kitchen she poured herself a glass of Faye's 'special' wine and went back into the living room, sitting down beside Nick.
"Well the party over at Di's is dying down. Sean's still talking to Laurel, Diana and Mel went into Diana's house and Cassie..." She trailed her sentence off glancing at Nick out of the corner of her eye. "Went with Adam somewhere." She took a sip of her wine and leaned back. 'Why am I torturing him like this?' She asked herself but knew the answer anyways. 'Cause I like to.' Tossing her hair over her shoulder she gave Chris a dazzling smile then glared at Doug. "I'll get you back later for that Dougey."
"I'll be waiting." Doug said wiggling his eyebrows
at Susan suggestively. He blew her a kiss before
leaning back on the couch and placing his hands behind
his neck. Unlike Nick, he didn't particularly care
where he was, and threw his feet up on the coffee
table. "This is the life."
Nick glared at Susan, then downed the rest of the
beer. 'Bubble head.' He thought to himself.
Nick watched as Faye walked past him. Yeah, she was
definitely up to something. Might as well be the first
to fin out. Nick stood, stretched his arms above his
head, and followed behind Faye. He pulled a cigarette
out of his pocket and lit it as the basement door fell
shut behind him. "Need some help?" He asked her, his
voice rough, ragged, and so damn sexy.
Suzan sneered as Doug propped his feet up on the table. 'Some people don't have manners.' She noticed as Nick got up and followed Faye down to the basement. 'Hmmm interesting.' she thought with a grin. Glancing at Chris she patted the spot beside her. "Hey Chris why don't you come sit next to me?" she asked sweetly giving him a come hither look.
Faye lifted the sheet from a large box in a dark corner of the basement.
She cooed softly at the raven as she turned on the lamp.
She looked up at Nick, "Don't want them to think I was going soft."
She glanced into Nick's steely eyes; I think a car hit him. He's
here
just until the wing heals then he's out," she said, trying to sound
like her
usual stern self. "You won't tell anyone will you?"
Faye put a hand on his shoulder as she stepped back so he could see
the
ebony bird. "If they think I've grown soft, then they'll never take me
seriously."
She turned the light out and covered the box, "He needs to sleep, I
just
wanted to check on him."
She turned to leave and bumped into Nick. Their lips brushed. Her
eyes
widened, her hand on his chest. "Um...sorry."
She rushed back upstairs. Nick could hear her snarling at the twins
for
using a vase as a football., "Put that down you circus freaks! No
football
in this house, with that vase!"
Nick stared up the stairs a bit taken back. He
believed Faye had just tried to kiss him. What in the
world was going on? And now she was caring for an
injured bird??? He shrugged and started back up the
stairs. Maybe all the business with Black John had
changed Faye. Nick highly doubted it, but just maybe...
Suzan flipped Faye's TV off much to the twin's dismay and turned the
radio up. The bass pumped through the speakers at a decent level and
she stood up sitting her glass down on the coffee table. Completely
ignoring the twin's who were being there normal self she walked to
the door, opened it and stepped out unto the porch and waited for the
pizza man to show up. 'Ah lovely New England weather. I could really
use that sweater now.' She thought as she remembered the peach
sweater that she fully intended on persuading her mom to buy for
her.
Faye was in the kitchen starting up the coffee pot. She heard the
twins
grumbling about the TV. She leaned out and glared at the TV. It
winked on,
but in mute. She grin as the twins started jeering at the football
game.
She started slicing up some chocolate cake to have with her coffee.
'Cute sweet little Care Bear would offer everyone a piece of cake.
Perfect
Little Care Bear!'
She winced when she felt the knife bite into her palm. She looked
down
to see herself holding the knife in both hands. "Brings out the worst
in
me," she grumbled as she rinsed off her hand in the sink.
She placed a slice of cake on a plate for herself and poured some
coffee.
She took the rest of the cake and went to the kitchen and set the
platter
on the coffee table, "Dig in."
Faye noticed Deb's eyes narrow on her cut left palm. "Just a
scratch,"
she mumbled and returned to the kitchen.
Sitting at the table she sipped at her coffee and ate her piece of
cake.
Suzan's eyes widened as Faye brought in a chocolate cake. She
hurriedly sliced herself a piece and began to eat. She wondered if she
should grab another piece before or after she finished the first
ones. There was no telling how much would be left after the twins got
into it. She decided half-heartedly against the second slice. 'Need
to watch my figure if I want to fit into that sweater I'm going to
get my mom to get me.' She ate her cake in silence and sneered as she
glanced at the TV. 'Stupid football game, I really hate this time of
year. Football everywhere all the friggin time.' When she was done
she pushed her plate away and smiled at Faye. "Thanks, just what I
needed." Looking down at her nails she wondered if she could squeeze
in a nail appointment after school tomorrow.
Deborah had been just as aggravated as the twins when Suzan turned the television off, but had dealt with that. She wasn’t' surprised when she noticed Faye peek out of the kitchen, glaring, and turned to back on. She smirked for a second, and then looked back at the game, and then Nick. He seemed… all right, if you called sitting there and nursing a beer all right. Then Faye came out, with some cake. The first thing Deborah noticed was the slice on Faye's hand.
"Just a scratch," she mumbled and returned to the kitchen.
Nodding, Deb watched Faye go back to the kitchen. Picking up a throw pillow, she threw it at Nick, hoping to snap him out of whatever daze he seemed to be in. "Go talk to her," she suggested, as she noticed the pizza guy pull up and Suzan at the door.
Chris and Doug both dove into the cake with out any
thoughts to calories or fat. Nick declined, sitting
in the back of the room, away from the others. He
noticed that Suzan only took one piece. Was everyone
in the coven changing? Well, Chris and Doug were
still Chris and Doug. Cassie and Adam were together,
that was the biggest change of all, Suzan eating one
piece of cake, Faye being nice to him, he had even
noticed Laurel and Sean hanging out together before he
left.
Freaky. He heard the doorbell ring. "Pizza's here."
He said to no one, letting his head lean back against
the back of the chair, and let his eye close.
Nick's eyes flew open as the pillow fell into his lap.
He looked around and saw that his cousin was the
culprit. He looked at her in amazement. 'You want me
to talk to Faye?' he mouthed to her. When she
nodded, he shook his head.
'Oh what the hell. Either that or leave.' He threw
the pillow back at her, a bit harder than intended and
went into the kitchen.
He looked down at her hand. "You alright?" He asked.
Back at the door Suzan opened it up to reveal a somewhat cute pizza
guy. "Why hello there," she drawled and stepped aside for him to
come in. "I'll go get the money." She smiled at him and went into the
kitchen. She noticed Faye sitting at the table and Nick standing over
her. She raised a shapely brow, grabbed the money that was on the
counter and went back to the front door. Taking the pizza from the
guy she handed the boxes to Doug. "Here make yourself useful." She
glared at him, still plotting what she could do to get him back for
the slap on the rear. She turned back to the pizza guy and placing
the money in his palm she closed his hand giving it a little
squeeze. "Keep the change." She said as she pushed him out the door.
She giggled as his walked dazedly back to his car. Closing the door
she walked back into the living room and plopped down next to
Deborah. "Wonder what made Faye hurt her hand." She said and
curiously glanced toward the kitchen door.
Faye looked up at Nick; she hadn't realized he had come back into the
kitchen. "Yeah, fine. I just cut it when I was slicing the cake,” she
hesitated a moment. "My hand slipped."
She stood and took her full plate to the counter.
"It's strange," she said quietly without looking up. "Things have
changed so much almost over night. It's kind of weird if you think about
it."
When her honey eyes locked on Nick, there was something strange in them.
Tears? Couldn't be, this is Faye, the ice lady.
"I....” She hesitated a moment then returned to her seat and sipped at
her coffee some more.
"You want to hang out sometime?"
Faye's face was almost emotionless. Something like worry glittered in
hers. Waiting for an answer.
Nick raised an eyebrow at Faye. She seemed serious.
But he was still talking about Faye here. Well, why
not, Armstrong? He asked himself. What could it
hurt. He was strong enough that Faye couldn't make
him do anything. And being with her might just help
take his mind off of Cassie.
Faye might just want to use him to anger Cassie...
That made the decision for him.
"I'd like that." He answered her. "I'm not as classy
as you Faye, you've known that for a long time. But
if you want to get together some time, I'd be," he
paused, unable to find just the right word to describe
just how he would be feeling, "well, it'd be fun."
She smiled, "I'd like that."
Faye took a thoughtful sip of her coffee? "Classy? Who said you
need to
be classy?"
Setting her mug down she stood up close to him. Her vanilla perfume
was
a gentle and welcoming scent. "Who said you need to change Nick?" She
asked softly in her husky voice. "If someone can't take you for who
you
are, then to hell with them. Change should only be if you want it."
"You want something else to drink?" She walked to the fridge and
tossed
him an inquiring glance.
"That's a welcome feeling." Nick said aloud, but more
to himself than to Faye. He shook his head at Faye
offer. It was almost absurd. Him and Faye alone,
well sort of considering most of the coven was in the
other room only a few feet away. Nick didn't know if
it was the beer or what, but he rather enjoyed being
in there with Faye. She was a knockout; you didn't
need to be a witch to see that.
What a concept - Nick and Faye. The both were beyond
a doubt the toughest emotionally in the group.
Neither one of them gave themselves up easily, but
when they did, it seemed to be a disaster. Faye with
Black John, and Nick with his daughter.
He knew that deep inside Faye was hurting from having
to share the leadership of the coven with both Cassie
and Diana, her only 'enemies' in the group. Why not
both help each other heal those wounds. Was it
getting hot in the kitchen? Nick pulled the collar of
his t-shirt away from his neck.
'God I sound like an idiot.' Nick looked over his
shoulder as he heard Susan send the Pizza boy off.
"Do you want me to get you a piece of Pizza?"
"Wonder what made Faye hurt her hand." Suzan said and curiously glanced toward the kitchen door.
Deborah wondered that herself, and beckoned for Chris to join her and Suzan. So, maybe they weren't the staying up late talking about what kind of shoes everyone was wearing, but if someone was hurt in the coven, they were concerned. And this was Faye who was acting off, not one of the goodie goodies.
"I know," Deb said, settling down into a more comfortable position for her arm, "it didn't look like a little scratch. It looked like a slice right down the middle of her hand." Deborah frowned, wondering if it had been there since before they got rid of Black John, and they'd all been too concerned with getting rid of him to notice. Of course, Faye had run off with him herself, and likely it would have been her own fault. But Deborah figured it had just happened in the kitchen. "Maybe Nick'll get it out of her. When he wants to, he can be concerned."
Nodding, she said, "Pizza sounds good."
She followed him into the living room.
Nick grabbed two paper plates, and lifted a slice of
Pizza on to each of them. Then remembering to grab
her a napkin first, set one plate down in front of
Faye. He ate the pizza slowly, content to watch the
others. Chris a Doug ate with a flair. Waving the
pizza around every time their team scored a touchdown.
But even they were smart enough to make sure no sauce
fell on Faye furniture or carpet.
Picking up her own slice of pizza Suzan took a bit and rolled her eyes as Chris and Doug celebrated a touch down with a slice of pizza. 'Morons.' She thought to herself and glanced at Faye and Nick. 'Hmmm they sure look cozy.' She turned her attention back to her pizza, picking the toppings off one by one and popping them in her mouth. When she was done she once more resisted the urge for seconds. She wanted that sweater to much and she figured that after she got it, wore it and then got tired of it she would discard it and eat like normal. 'A girl's got to keep up a good image and that sweater would make me a lovely image to behold.' She wiped her hands with a napkin then sat back on the couch. The party was starting to seem dull and she had to stifle a yawn.
Doug laughed and took a bite of his pizza. He had a
twenty-dollar bet with a boy from school over who
would win the game. And with a bit of will power, and
sheer luck, His team was pulling ahead. He went to
sit back down on the couch, but caught his sneaker on
the edge of the coffee table. He flailed his arms
trying to catch his balance, but it was useless. He
tumbled sideways, straight into Suzan's lap. Upon
landing, he quickly wrapped his arms around her neck
and grinned up at her. "If you wanted me to sit in
your lap, Suzan, you could have just asked." He
batted his eyes at her.
Was the whole coven hooking up or something? Chris
thought shaking his head at his brother. Seemed he
was getting a thing for Susan. Nick and Faye were
sitting awfully close together. Laurel and Sean were
kinda paired off back at Diana's. And of course there
was no separating Cassie and Adam. That meant he was
the only guy with out a witch chick. Diana wasn't
really his type, too goody goody, but hot nonetheless.
Melanie the brain? He almost laughed aloud at that.
That left... He looked sideways out of the corner of
his eye at Deborah. 'Eh...” he shook off the
thought with a shudder. Better to be single than beat
up by a girl.
Suzan shuddered and pushed Doug off her lap. "As if." she said and rolled her eyes. She caught Chris looking at them and gave him a wink. 'Why do I get the other brother all over me? That's just my luck I guess.' She was half tempted to shove a piece of pizza in Doug's face but that would ensue a food fight and Faye would have her hide for that so instead she stood up and giving Doug a dark look headed back into the kitchen for a refill on her wine.
The little bit of Faye's wine she had drank was already giving her a slight buzz and she had to giggle at Doug's antics even though he was entirely not her type. Uncorking the bottle she poured herself another glass and drank half of it. It wasn't bitter like most wines and had more of a juice flavor to it. Replacing the half she drank she went to the doorway to the living room and leaned against the frame. She looked at the people that had been her friends for years and wondered what the rest of the school year held for them.
Faye noticed that Susan seemed bored. She grinned inwardly. "Who’s
up
for a swim?"
She hadn't even taken a bite of her pizza yet. She tugged at
Susan's
hand, "Come on. Let's go guys."
Flashing a smile at nick she asked, "How about you? You gonna come
and
have some fun?"
Nick laughed, "No suit." He said starting for the
door. "It's been nice Faye." He said lowly to her, so
only she could hear. "Maybe next time." He gave a
short little wave to Deborah. "Catch you at home,
Deb."
She pouted, "Is that a no? Why don't ya pick up a suit and stop by
the
beach for a bit. I think a swim will do us all some good."
Faye threw a sidelong glance at Deb hoping that she would help out.
She
was certain that the twins would be up for swimming.
She was doing her best to pull her group back together. Things
needed to
get back to the way they used to be. Faye knew all too well how much
more
comfortable solid ground is. The whole thing with Black John turned
everyone's own little world upside down. Change was cool, but they all
needed to be together all the same.
Faye's own pedestal had crumbled from beneath her. Things were
changing
about her and within her. She was like a new born trying to develope a
New
Faye or the old Faye. She still wasn't sure yet and she wasn't about
To let
The others know. She had earned their respect over the years and one
Little
nervous breakdown would throw it all down the drain.
One thing was for sure; her mind was still set against the care
bear.
She had plans for her...big plans. Just Faye and Care bear. No more
power
plays. Bringing her friends in it left so many rooms for error. She
could
not let the girl hurt anyone close to her again.
"Ok, let's go, everybody! I have suits for you and Deb if you don't
have
yours," she said to Susan.
~*~*~*~
Cassie got out of the car and pushed Raj gently back away from the door and closed it. Taking Adam's hand in hers they walked to into the store. She as thankful that they were open for business. Stopping in the horror section she looked up at Adam. "Does this seem real to you? I mean, are we really together picking out a movie to watch, alone." It all felt like a dream and she was afraid that any minute she would wake up back in California, alone with just her mom and her unicorns to greet her before she got up for school. Leaning over she snatched Dracula 2000 from the shelf and gave Adam and wink. "Vampire movies are so..." she let her sentence trail off with a sigh and leaned toward him. "Seductive, don't you think." She couldn't help the mischievous glint that came into her eyes. 'No one's stopping us now.' She thought happily.
Adam laughed, "I wouldn’t exactly call them
seductive. More like pain inflicting." He took the
movie case from her and walked up to the counter. He
told the clerk his video number and waited while he
retrieved the movie from behind the counter.
"Where's your girlfriend?" The pimply-faced clerk
asked putting a paper on the counter for her to sign.
"Haven't seen you two in here for ages."
Adam blushed slightly, concentrating on signing his
name. He pushed the paper back across the counter and
handed the boy a five-dollar bill. "We broke up." He
told him, even though it was none of his business
really.
"You’re kidding me!" The boy said as he rang the video
up on the cash register. He shook his head in
amazement as he counted out the change. "You guys
have been coming in here as long as I worked here, and
that's been three years now." He dropped the rest of
the change into Adam's hand. "And who's this, your
little sister?"
Cassie walked up to the counter and stood beside Adam and caught the end of the conversation. They were talking about him and Diana breaking up and obviously it had upset the guy at the counter. 'What was it like a soap opera for him, geez.' The color drained from her face as he asked if she was Adam's sister. She opened her mouth to make a nasty comment but stopped herself. 'That's not me. Although I'd love to tell him where he could stick his curiosity.' She thought with a smirk but quickly recovered giving him a smile. Linking her arm through Adam's she gave a soft laugh. "His sister? You must be joking." She looked up at Adam and gave him a questioning look. 'To be sure he'll set this guy straight.' She thought to herself, her face beginning to flush. She was beginning to wonder if she would have to live in Diana's shadow when it came to her relationship with Adam. Everyone in town seemed to be used to seeing him and Diana together.
Adam laughed as well. Might as well get used to the
scrutiny. At least for a while. He had worried
about what the coven would think, but the
interrogation by outsiders, that hadn’t crossed his
mind. "No, this is Cassie. She moved up here earlier
from California." He pocketed the change and took the
movie off of the counter. Hmmm, Cassie was his
girlfriend, but she was also so much more than that.
How do you honestly say that someone's soul is
connected to yours? 'She's my honey bunches of
oats? Yes indeedy she's my sweetie? She's my cherry
pie? Sweetie peetie?' "She's my girlfriend."
"Wow." The clerk said as he watched Adam and Cassie
leaving. "Would have never seen that one coming."
Cassie gave the clerk a glance as they walked out of the door. ‘Never seen that coming eh?' she thought with a smirk then hid it before Adam could see it as they headed outside to Adam's car. Opening the door she petted a very happy Raj before climbing in and closing the door. She wondered what was going on at Faye's party. Mostly she was wondering what Nick was doing at Faye's party. She attempted to push the thought of Nick away but for some reason she kept seeing an image of him on the beach the night her father had tried to get into her mind. He had been so concerned and a little angry with the girls for letting her walk off so far. 'Poor Nick. One of these days I'll make it up to you.' She thought silently and smiled at Adam. She had everything she wanted and yet she still felt empty.
Adam pulled his car up in front of his house, and let
it idle a second before cutting it off. "You
alright?" He asked, turning in his seat to look at
Cassie. He hoped she wasn't thinking about Diana. Of
course he still felt terrible about it, but they
couldn't dwell on it forever. Especially when his
grammy was out visiting her friends.
Raj stuck his head into the front seat, tongue hanging
out and looked from Cassie to Adam, then back again.
"Alright boy." Adam said, opening his door, and
letting the dog bounce over him and out onto the yard.
He turned his attention back to Cassie. "I'm not
letting you out until you spill it." He said smiling.
Cassie tried to give him a smile but before she could even try to her
dismay her eyes filled up with tears. She couldn't lie to him. Their
whole relationship started on lies. "I just. What happened back at
the video store really bothered me. Is that what is going to be like
at school too. People giving us weird looks because I'm with you and
Diana's not?" She wiped away a tear and looked out her window. "To
everyone I'm just second best. I love Diana. She’s like a sister to
me but I can't help but be envious of the history she has with you."
She thought of Nick and how he must have felt trying to add up to
Adam in their relationship and knew exactly how he felt.
Adam took her hand in his. "We'll make out own
history, Cassie. We have from now until forever." He
paused, looking in her eyes, searching for something.
"You're not saying that you want to cool things off
with me before they even get started are you?" He
asked, forcing a chuckle, but only half kidding.
Cassie looked down at her hands that were in his. Half of her wanted
to say yes. That everything was still to weird but the other half
was shouting no. That she had waited so long to be able to be with
him. Looking up she gave him a reassuring smile and leaned forward
resting her forehead on his. "No I don't want to cool things off.
Actually it's the exact opposite." Lifting her face she pressed her
lips softly to his forehead. "How long is your grandmother going to
be gone?" She asked softly. Cassie couldn't believe how brave she was
being but maybe being 'close' to Adam was what she needed to drive
away all her fears.
Her knight and shining armor finally carrying his damsel off into the
sunset. All of her dreams were coming true. She had a group of
friends that were more like family and her mother was finally free of
the memory of her father. She only wished her grandmother was still
alive. Just the thought of her grandmother was like throwing ice
water on Cassie's heated emotions. 'She wouldn't want me to act like
this. She’d want me to wait.' Pulling away from him she looked
towards his house. "I think we should go inside now." She said almost
shakily.
Adam nodded, confusion in his eyes. He pulled the
keys from the ignition and pocketed them. He grabbed
the video from in between the seats and got out. He
walked around and opened Cassie's door for her,
holding out a hand to help her up. He led the way
inside, and stuck the video in the vcr. "You want
something to drink, eat?" He asked heading for the
kitchen.
Cassie nodded and sat back on the couch, "Something to drink will be
fine. Thanks." Tucking her feet beneath her she relaxed and looked
around Adam's house. His grandmother was a lil weird at times but she
still kept the place up nice. Bracing her elbow on the arm of the
couch and rested her head on the palm of her hands. Closing her eyes
she thought of all the things that had happened recently. Finding out
Black John was her dad, her grandmother's death, and defeating the
man that called himself her father. She was beginning to drop off to
sleep and opened her eyes. 'I really need to get more sleep.' She
thought to herself remember the two hours she had gotten the night
before.
'Must have been all the excitement and talking to my mom till about 6
in the morning.' She was so happy to have her mom back to normal, she
was afraid that her mother wasn't going to pull through it like she
did. She had had so much to tell Cassie about growing up on
Crowhaven, meeting John Blake and falling in love with him. Cassie
could hear Adam moving around in the kitchen and thought she
understood what her mother was talking about last night. It was easy
to forget everything when you're in love.
Adam fixed both he and Cassie drinks, heated up a
microwave popcorn, and headed back into the living
room. He set the stuff down on the table and pushed
play on the remote control. The lights were off, the
television emitting the only light. He watched the
shadows play across Cassie's face. She was so
beautiful. And he didn't have to hide his feeling
anymore. That was the best thing about it. If he
leaned over and kissed her right now, he wouldn't have
to worry about Diana finding out.
Should he? Cassie didn't really look like she was in
the mood for any smooching. Instead, Adam offered her
some of his popcorn.
"You're right, it would be rude just to leave with out saying good bye."
Cassie gave him an impish grin and scooted closer to him. Resting her
head on his head she snuggled closer to him and grabbed a handful of
popcorn. Turning her gaze she was the TV as the opening credits began
to play. 'Hmmm Johnny Lee Miller. Nice.' She thought to herself and
smiled. She's seen previews for this movie but she had never had the
chance to watch it. Munching on the popcorn she reached over with her
free hand and took Adam's giving it a little squeeze. "This is nice,”
she said softly.
They were able to watch the movie without any
interruptions, well except for Raj wanting to be let
out once. Being with Cassie was really no different
than being with Diana. He thought at first that it
would be different, a bit awkward. He felt just as at
ease with Cassie, and there was a bit something more
with her. Even in the dimness of the living room, he
could see the slight shimmer of the silver cord
connecting them, heart to heart.
It was a bit unnerving, seeing something like that.
Being connected with another. But Adam was glad that
it was Cassie. The movie credits began to roll, and
Adam cut it off, regular TV coming on its place.
"Good movie." He told her.
Cassie took both the remote control and the popcorn from him and clicking off the TV she sat both the remote and popcorn on the coffee table. Sitting back against the couch again she turned and gave him a sweet smile. With a stretch and a mock yawn she laid back on the couch and propped her feet up on his lap. "Now you rub my feet... after all I've had a 'tiring' week." She said as she covered her eyes with the back of her hand and watched him from under her fingers, trying not to giggle. It felt so good to be in his house with him and not have to worry about Faye's little friends watching them and or that Diana might walk in at any minute. She wiggled her toes and finally giggled. Uncovering her face she looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Already the little domesticate." Adam said laughing.
But he pulled her shoes off and set them down beside
the couch. "Gee, Cassie, ever heard of Dr. Scholl's?"
He kidded her, waving his hand in front of his nose.
He started rubbing them, gently massaging them. Then
after a few moments, he locked his hand around one
ankle, and with the other, began tickling the bottom
of her foot.
Cassie gasped in surprise then the gasp turned into a fit of
giggles. "Oh... stop... please." she said between laughs. Tears were
rolling down her eyes and she couldn't quite catch her breath.
Pulling her foot out of his grasp she quickly launched her attack,
pushing him to the floor and rolling on top of him. "Surrender you
knave!" She said and gave another little laugh as she attempted to
pin him down on the floor. She was happy for once that Raj was
outside; he would be right on top of them if her weren't. She looked
into Adam's eyes and gave his wrists a little squeeze. "I said
surrender."
"Never!" Adam said laughing as well. He easily
flipped her over and straddled her. He held her arms
above her head with one hand, and used the other to
tickle her sides. "I am Conant the Conquequer. You
will never over take me." He stopped tickling her,
and his laughter slowed to a silence.
"I take that back. You've already won me over." He
leaned his head down to hers, pressing his lips so
gently against hers.
She thanked him with a smile.
Cassie responded immediately kissing him in return. She held nothing
back from this kiss, giving into all she had felt when she saw him on
the beach the first time and then later at the Halloween dance. There
had been so many times where she had wanted to do what she was doing
right at that moment but her guilt and her love for Diana had held
her back. Now that Diana had given her consent Cassie was free to do
what she pleased to Adam. Taking the advantage of him being occupied
she rolled him over and gave him a quick kiss standing up. "Be right
back I forgot my purse in your car." She didn't want to tell him the
reason she was getting her purse because she was afraid he might
think she was moving to fast.
She had taken to stowing her birth control pills in her purse when
she started staying the night at Diana's so she wouldn't miss taking
one. Before Adam could ask her where she was going she was out the
door and into the cool night air. When she got to Adam's car she
retrieved her purse and turned to go back to Adam's house but
stopped. She looked down the road and saw Nick standing in Faye's
doorway talking to whoever was inside. 'Wonder why he's leaving
the 'party' early.' She thought as she clutched her purse. She said
his name softly and closed her eyes. She wondered how things had
gotten so complicated. She was sorry she hurt him but she had warned
him of her feelings for Adam but he had taken the chance anyways.
Nick nodded and closed the door behind him. He looked
down the road towards Cassie's house. He didn't have
to look to far. She wasn't at home; she was standing
in Adam's driveway. Without thinking Nick started
towards her. When he reached her, he noticed her eyes
were closed. "Cassie, you okay?" He said softly
looking towards the house. So help him, if Adam had
hurt her...
Back inside, Adam propped himself up on his elbows and
shook his head with a chuckle. Cassie sure was going
to be a handful.
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