For a moment, Cole forgot how to breathe, and almost passed out.
The lemonade shattered in his hand, glass and juice making their way to the floor in slow motion. How did you react if someone you loved died? Were you supposed to cry? Or did they only do that in movies?
Slow motion, everything was in slow motion. That gave him more time, didn’t it? But if she was already dead… that didn’t help, did it?
By instinct he fell to his knees. He shook this girl, this gorgeous, attractive… no, no, he loved her too much! It had been only a few hours, and he loved her too much. It seemed cliché, but when you love someone, they don’t die in two hours.
And he’d never even told her…
“No, no! Oh God, no, no…” Cole began. How could she have been murdered this quickly? Something Kray had done had killed her!
Well, this was highly improbable.
Cole didn’t even argue this time. There was nothing he could do… but he could have prevented this… if he had stayed…
“I didn’t kill her,” a strange voice said. At first, he thought it was in his head, and ignored it.
“I didn’t kill her.”
Cole looked up and saw Kray. He didn’t notice the knife she was holding was bloodless.
“No…” he argued, “No, something you did…”
Kray shook her head. “Well, she’s dead now. There’s nothing to worry about!”
Something made the blonde look back at the shattered window when he noticed something odd- a knife on the floor nearby. He then looked at Autumn and saw a crystal clear glass shard near her neck, on the floor, as if somehow it had struck her and killed her. There was no blood- what? And the knife? It looked like someone had thrown it into the window…
But if Kray had had it- why did she need two knives? What was the second one for, if the first one was used to shatter the window to cleverly kill Autumn?
But he realized- if Kray had shattered the window that killed…
She had-
“Cole!”
Before he could accuse he felt the second blade on his neck.
So that’s what that one’s for.
“Cole… I want to introduce you to someone.”
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You know, Kevin had a particular, certain shade of green that always seemed to attract him. It was dark, forest green, Christmas-tree green, the kind that glowed and sparkled with life no matter what the season…
He found that shade in Natashas eyes. Right now, Kevin Jonas held her close, because this was one of those romantic, mushy times where that’s what you’re supposed to do.
Or, you know, if her eyes were brown, then he had a particular shade of trees and the ground that made him think ‘Nature!’ and instantly drove him toward it. The authoress can’t remember whether her eyes are brown or green, but either way, K2 adored her.
“Kevin,”
Her voice brought him back to reality, when he had been thinking about colors and Natasha.
“We should probably get out of here. Before Aaron wakes up,” she said suddenly.
Yeah, him…
“Oh, yeah.” Slowly, K2 stood up. He didn’t bother to look toward the closet where Aarons limp figure lay.
“And…” Natasha trailed off.
“Thanks. For, you know, saving me…” she paused again as they walked out of the room. Mushy romance wasn’t exactly her thing. “Uh- if I may ask- what happened to Jade?” she added.
An ‘oh, shi-‘ crossed his mind when he realized if he went downstairs he’d probably run into her again.
“Uh…”
“She’s still stalking you, isn’t she.” Nat said knowingly, small grin on her face at Jades impossibility. “That’s typical…”
Kevin half laughed, half grimaced, “Uh, maybe she got lost, or-“
As he was thinking of the hopeful possibilities he heard a scream.
The two exchanged a glance and immediately bolted down the stairs.
More civilians were panicking. The last thing Natasha remembered, a bunch of sorority girls had summoned Bloody Mary. But when she landed on the floor she realized someone had died. Was that normal?
Oh shit, okay, I’m leaving now!
Kevins eyes widened. Natasha paled.
“What’s going on…?” the dark haired girl asked, first to speak.
Kevin didn’t say anything.
Sapphire, meanwhile, bolted into the vicinity, followed by about 20 people. Suddenly she halted to a stop.
“Someone’s dead…” she murmured, finally realizing what was going on. “No! Now I’ll get sued!”
“Someone died and all you care about is a LAWSUIT?!” Dawn demanded angrily, stepping out of the way of the panicking people. She had had it with this prissy rich snob. And now all she cared about was money?!
“What’s wrong with that? I mean, it’s not like we can revive her or any-“ Sapphire began when Dawn grabbed a baseball bat and hit her rather violently over the head with it. The blonde stumbled backward, somehow still conscious and not bleeding, but it was likely a large bruise would form on her head later.
Some birthday this turned out to be. But Dawn couldn’t say Sapphire didn’t deserve it.
“What about the people Autumn meant something to?!” she asked. Like Cole! “Like Cole! Wait…”
She spun around. Cole, Kray and Gavin were gone.
“Where’s Cole?!”
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“Don’t speak!”
Cole was really confused now.
Kray shoved him into a random bedroom, having led him upstairs effortlessly. The door hit the wall behind her with a thud as the boy massaged his neck- he could still feel the cold metal pressed against flesh, even though the blade was in Krays hand now.
“What’s going on?” he asked carefully, when the door swung open and an older man walked in.
“Kray. You were supposed to kill her, not kidnap the boy.” Gavin intoned firmly, analyzing what was going on. He dropped a large bag onto the floor, and it made a clinking sound as it hit carpet. So he’s a thief, too.
"What's going on?" he asked again, cautiously. If it weren't for this sudden kidnapping, he'd be grieving right now. But he couldn't- if he showed any vulnerability…
Kray was walking toward him. She tossed her knife into the wall flawlessly- she must have learned that trick from Gavin. The blade froze in the plaster and its momentum was cut off as she tossed her hair back and moved towards him, seductively, almost wantingly.
Cole backed up until he hit the wooden bedpost behind him. Cornered. This room was like a giant trap.
"God, Kray, don't rape that boy- can't you wait?" Gavin asked, annoyed. Cole paled, stumbling onto the bed to avoid her when he realized something.
She killed Autumn because she wanted me instead…
Oh, God- Coles mind went into overdrive as he tried to figure out what to do.
There was a creak, and like in some horror movie, a disheveled man stepped out of the closet. His spiky brown hair didn't look at all natural, and he swayed, but not for nearly the same reasons Kray had earlier.
He stared at the scene for a moment, wondering what had happened while he was unconscious to bring these people here.
"Who are you?" Aaron asked suddenly.
Kray ignored him and slipped onto the bed, leaning towards the blonde: "You're way too sexy for Autumn," she purred.
Cole lost it.
He lunged at this deranged girl, fist whirling; about to punch- surely an attack seemed like nothing compared to murder- when he felt something tug the back of his shirt the other way and threw him backwards onto the floor. The same thing happened to Kray, and she hit the ground.
Gavin let go of them.
"You bitch, don't provoke him!" he told Kray angrily. Cole was secretly relieved, as he had been really starting to panic, not to mention getting pissed off.
"Who the hell are you?" Aaron asked again, not appreciating being ignored.
Gavin rolled his eyes. "And you are?" the older man asked, not even looking in Aarons direction.
"Aaron."
"Gavin, then,"
Normally, he would have used one of his aliases, but most of them had killed their welcome by now and were now on wanted lists. Gavin, however, he hadn't used in awhile. He doubted anyone remembered it.
"Okay. And I know who you are," Aaron said, looking at Cole. "And you're… that girl who fell from the railing, right? Railing Girl?"
Kray giggled in response. Railing Girl!
"Oh God, Kray, you were supposed to kill the girl, not kidnap him…" Gavin repeated, and then turned to Cole.
"We need to get rid of you."
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Pause, freeze frame, oh my Atmos.
Cole had to get away from here. Without thinking, he sprinted.
And ran into a wall.
This was just typical, that when you're trying to get away from something, you get a concussion. He jumped back, room spinning, and somehow managed to get out through the door before Gavin or Aaron realized he was escaping. Stupid wall. Stupid, lousy sense of direction.
He bolted down the stairs and made to jump off the last few steps when he came across an angry group of civilians and a black haired girl- with a tube of red paint in her hand?- who yelled, "Cole, you're alive!"
“Yeah, I’m a- ack!”
Gavin bolted down the stairs after him, only about a minute behind, but that minute was enough. Cole burst into the crowd, and Dawn spun around; “What the-“
Gavin landed- IN the crowd, and barely managing to squash someone- and, in the sudden confusion that followed, Dawn accidently squirted him with a large amount of the red paint.
He stopped suddenly, and shook his arms to get off some of the paint.
“What. Did. You. Just. Do.” He hissed. Dawn paled.
“EVERYONE, RUN!”
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Cole ran through the crowd, and by doing so, disappeared.
He must have run through many hallways, because after awhile, the crowd seemed to dissipate and he became alone. Here, secluded, surrounded by baby-blue walls and away from Kray and Gavin, he felt his fear and panic seep away. He felt safe now.
His mind refocused back to what was really the matter- Autumn. The blonde wandered into a room to think and flipped on the lights when he saw someone.
A woman wearing Indian saris in bright, patterned colors was meditating on a nearby table.
I never get any time to myself around here…
“Salaam,” she said, bowing her head in greeting. Cole stared.
What kind of prep invites a crazy, Indian/Arabian woman to her party? He knew this lady was crazy because of the whacked-out grin she had on her face, as if the joke was on him.
This is so weird, he thought. I’ve GOT to be dreaming. No one smiles like that…
Oh Atmos, if that boy had run into another killer or pervert, then he had some serious bad luck.
“Don’t only Arabians salaam?” he asked, confused- his Middle Eastern knowledge wasn’t that great, but he knew some things. “I mean, ‘cause you’re wearing Indian clothing, and there, I think you say Namaste… or something…”
The womans smile faded and Cole trailed off.
“Do you want me to read your fortune?” she asked suddenly, and the grin returned.
“Uh…”
“Great!”
Said fortune teller suddenly grabbed his arm, yanking him forward. She pried open his hand to reveal his palm.
“Hmm…” she said, tracing- what was it called again, your heart line?- “You have… a long life ahead of you…”
The blonde nodded slowly, doubting she knew what she was doing.
“And ah… great love life…”
Cole shook his head. As if I needed to be reminded right now. He pulled his arm out of her grasp.
“No…”
The lady slid off the table. “I’m sorry, did I offend you?” she asked softly.
“Well… there was this… girl…” Cole started when the teller lowered her shawl, revealing her face.
“What the- Autumn?!”
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"Running, running running, running running running…" Dawn said cheerily as she dashed through the hoards of angry civilians with weaponry and from the madman.
"How can you be CHEERFUL when we could possibly get killed?!" Natasha asked, slightly ahead of her, as her longer legs enabled her to run faster.
"No, it's good, because at least the creepy guy is covered in paint, so at least we'll know who he is BEFORE he kills us!" Dawn smiled. Always happy. Or hyperactive.
Kevin sighed. "Yeah, we're gonna die."
"Or we could leave the party now," Natasha suggested. "As soon as we find… oh boy, we need to find Joe and Nick…"
"And Ophie and Cassie, and I don't really care about Gretchen, so yeah…" Dawn said, finally halting to a stop when she hit a large dining hall with an emerald chandelier dangling from the ceiling. The Moonstones and their jewels, hmm.
"Okay, well Cassie's going to be wherever Joe is," Kevin figured, and Natasha gave him a weird look.
"What, why?" she asked, pulling out a random, fancy wooden chair and sitting down.
"I could have sworn I saw them kissing while I was running from Jade upstairs…" K2 trailed off.
"Aww, Joe has a girlfriend!" Dawn giggled, making a heart with her fingers. "Cassie and Joe would really be cute together…"
"Now all we have to do is find them." Kevin added. Suddenly he realized something.
"In this house? It's ENORMOUS." He emphasized. Natasha groaned.
"We're screwed."
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Now he knew he was dreaming.
Cole jumped back to the wall.
“What’s going on?! You’re dead, remember?” he gasped. This was no imposter- it was definitely Autumn, in the flesh, the apparently not-dead flesh.
Autumn snickered. “You totally should have seen the look on your face…” she laughed, brushing long black bangs out of her eyes.
“What’s going on?!” Cole demanded, asking the same question he had asked several times earlier today. What’s going on?!
“Well, I turned into a fortune teller- isn’t that neat?”
“Uh, I don’t mean to sound rude…” Cole said, “But you’re… you’re…”
“I’m not a zombie, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she explained. “I didn’t die. I just looked like I died,” she added, with a smug grin on her face as she began to take off the foreign attire to show her more goth clothes underneath.
Cole blinked.
“WHY DID YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT?!” he asked, “You scared the living crap out of me! I thought you died! And then Kray almost raped me!” the boy vented, not necessarily yelling at Autumn but, well, venting, because when people get upset, they vent.
“Um, hello? Kray was trying to KILL ME. She had a freaking knife, I only pretended to die so she wouldn’t actually kill me- she’s so deranged right now, I doubted she could tell the living from the dead…”
I should have realized, Cole thought, she wasn’t even injured… she could have been holding her breath until when they checked if she was breathing…
“Yeah, I kind of noticed the whole Kray-is-deranged thing,” Cole muttered, still freaked out by ‘Railing Girl’.
“Sorry for, as you say, ‘scaring the living crap’ out of you… of course, if I had stood up straight, looked her in the eye and said ‘HEY, WHAT’S WITH THE KNIFE?’ she probably would have killed me, y’know?”
Cole managed to chuckle slightly, despite the circumstances. Autumn smiled, glad he wasn’t upset anymore.
“Just one question,” Cole said. “Where did you get the outfit?” he asked, looking at the red saris lying on the table.
“Think Sapphire likes Cheetah Girls.” One World, One World, One World!
“Oh holy crap…”
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“Do I have to sing you the happy song?” Dawn asked menacingly to the couple gone pessimists at their current situation.
Natasha bolted upright. “Pssh, of course not!” she said immediately and twitched.
Kevins eyebrows rose slightly, and he stood up as well. “Let’s just find everyone,” he said, “This place is really starting to freak me out…”
“Ditto,” was the collective response. Dawn looked up, armed with paint.
“Alright, I’ll check upstairs, and you do downstairs. Grab a shovel or something just in case someone attacks you. And the creepy guy is covered in red paint, so that helps,” she shrugged and grabbed a random pitchfork, remnant of the mob. K2 nodded and took a pitchfork as well, and Nat picked up a shovel, all weapons that some idiot had left in the dining room.
“Oh! And whatever you do, don’t die!” Dawn said cheerfully.
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Autumn grabbed the saris and started putting on the attire again.
“Why do you still need those?” Cole asked, and Autumn arranged some gold-colored jewelry.
“Because, half this place thinks I’m dead, and until I get out of here, I’m not risking get actually killed,” she explained, putting on some bracelets. She looked out in the hall cautiously; making sure no one was there, when suddenly she heard running footsteps.
“Oh crud.”
Cole looked out. “What?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t Aaron, Kray, Gavin, or anyone else they should be worrying about.
Autumn suddenly sighed with relief. “Never mind, it’s Dawn… with paint… and a pitchfork…”
Oh God, what is she doing.
“HI, Cole!” the girl said, stopping when she came to the two and waving wildly. She then looked at Autumn, but because her hood concealed most of her face in the shadows- not to mention the hallway was almost pitch black, for no apparent reason- she didn’t recognize her. “Who’s…?”
Cole shot a glance at Autumn. Okay, just tell her. It’s Kray we’re trying to get not to figure out here… does that make any sense…?
“It’s me, Autumn.”
“OH, HOLY SHI-“ Dawn began, eyes wide, when Cole gave her an alarmed look and she quieted suddenly. “Did you revive her?! Is she a zombie?!” she asked, in a whisper.
“I never died,” Autumn explained, “Look, it’s a long story, but right now we’re trying to avoid Kray and Gavin…”
“This day- err, night- is so weird,” Dawn muttered, shaking her head. “Anyway, I’m just looking for Cassie, Joe, Nick and Ophelia so we can get the heck out of here before someone ACTUALLY gets killed. Oh, and I’m glad you’re alive, by the way.”
Autumn grinned. “Yeah, me too,”
“You’re looking for people?” Cole clarified. Dawn nodded.
“’Cause there’s a huge crowd back in the foyer,” he offered. The girl nodded.
“I know, I was there awhile back. I think we should check the upstairs first, because if any sane people are trying to avoid that crowd, they’d be there- and Kevin said he saw Cassie and Joe there…”
“Kray’s probably still there…” the blonde boy lamented, and Dawn cursed under her breath.
“Whatever. We’ll just be careful.” Autumn decided.
“And prepared!” the other girl raised her pitchfork into the air and cackled evilly.
Oh boy, Autumn thought. She had sugar, didn’t she?
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Suggestive themes much? Lol, I couldn't resist...
Chapter 4
He never thought he'd fall for a goth girl.
Cole felt he already knew the person who'd fallen into his arms. He'd dreamt of her, had dreams of falling in love with a girl he met at a wild party. Is that normal? Of course, Dylan always say it was because his brother had had too much ice cream before bed- which was somewhat true- but Cole, for the most part, had just found interest in the dreams. He never thought they were an omen.
Then again, the dreams hadn't had the girl falling into his arms from a thirty foot railing. She must have been really lucky to land like this, and Cole because he'd finally found… err, well, he didn't know her name yet…
Kray wasn't so lucky.
She had missed the Sprouse by about ten feet, landing instead on a thin carpet. Her head made a sickening crack as it made contact with the ground, and other partygoers panicked. But Kray wasn't even unconscious.
No, the girl was sitting upright, delirious. Blood trailed from her lip and more of it ran through her hair, coming from her scalp.
She had a soft, knowing smile on her face as she stood up. Her eyes weren't normal anymore- they were a washed out tone of grey flecked with a little gold, reminiscent of their previous color.
Nobody knew what to do. Thinking she was relatively okay, the panicked people scattered- civilians- not wanting to get involved anymore.
Tumbling down the stairs the loud footsteps of Davis filled the air, but no one even noticed him. He spotted Kray and figured out instantly.
Damaged.
He could tell by her eyes she had hit her head, hard. Deranged people were easy to spot out. He used to work with the insane, his job as a physiatrist had driven his thirst for murder. Insanity was contagious, wasn’t it, Gavin?
He knew some deranged people were extremely gullible.
“Hey! You!”
Kray looked up to see a man on the stairs. “Hi,” the girl said faintly, watching him with interest.
He walked down the rest of the stairs. He knew this girls name, he heard someone yell it as she fell.
“Come with me, Kray.”
Surprisingly, she looked confused.
“Who’s Kray…?” she asked finally.
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"You know you're mine anyway."
Natasha shook her head. She wasn't owned by anyone, she knew. Did Aaron know?
She now remembered fully just what it had been like being Aarons girlfriend monthes- years?- ago. For a brief moment, she had forgotten it slightly, only a vague memory of a twisted man- although he wasn't over 25, for sure- and being beaten when Kevin ran in and started yelling. That wasn't anything like this; this was what she had been missing all these years- months?
And this time she didn't think she could count on Kevin saving her.
Natasha sat up. Aaron, meanwhile, stood up and looked down to her.
"There's easier persuasion then this, you know," he said, and the girl was momentarily confused. "I don't need to tell you to get back with me."
You don't? Pssh, of course you don't. I could kill you…
"As I said, there's an easier way."
Like what- wait, is he saying-?
"Kevin isn't coming for you this time…"
I know that!
"…so maybe it'd just be easier for you to get back." He finished, not realizing the last two words were part of a song. "Before anything- worse happens." He threatened. Natasha heard his knuckle crack. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! If Kevin was anywhere, she silently begged him to get here faster, because she was sure she couldn't take on Aaron herself. Natasha hated the idea of herself as a damsel in distress, but what was worse was being Aarons girlfriend.
That reminded her, what about Jade? Was she really…?
"I'm not getting back with you." She said firmly, decisively, cutting out of her own thoughts. "Why are you even asking, when you know what I'll say?"
"Out of politeness."
Nat stifled the urge to laugh at the hypocrisy of his comment. Is it polite to nearly kill people?
But then, before she realized, she felt herself hitting the wall again, much more roughly and much more painfully. Who knew walls could be weapons? Well, she hadn’t, anyway.
She fell to the ground slowly and only then realized how badly she'd been hit.
That was right before she passed out.
"You know," Aaron muttered, after the girl had fallen, "You don't have to be this way."
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Kevin was hiding.
The only place Jade couldn't follow him into was the boys’ bathroom. In most homes, bathrooms were multi-gender. But apparently the Moonstones were too elitist for this and instead insisted on different-gender rooms. There were several multi-gender bathrooms scattered around, the largest of which was not very pleasant after the knife incident, and so Kevin found himself here.
But he knew Jade was waiting near the door. She's gotten a lot clingier…
Maybe she's afraid of losing you again?
Kevin shook his head, and in doing so suddenly spotted another door. What restroom has two doors? He wondered, but didn't question it. Either way, it was an escape. The Moonstones were so weird.
He ran through the door and found a stairwell. Apparently this led to the second floor. He dashed upstairs, passing a couple kissing- wait, was that Joe?- and down several more rooms. Where are they? He thought, if I were Aaron, I would go…
He stopped at guest bedroom number 15 and saw two figures.
One was on the floor.
The other was Aaron.
“Nat!” he gasped, his girlfriend was unconscious. Had he gotten here in time? Kevin sprinted to her, his dash taking a split second to get to her in the small size of the room- I feel sorry for the guests. The man- boy?- knelt next to her and shook her slightly, when he realized that shaking someone wouldn't wake them up if they were unconscious. Would it?
Aaron saw him, of course.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, “Shouldn’t you be with Jade?!”
Kevin had almost forgotten he had to do something about the other one.
That guy nearly killed your girlfriend! You don't even know if she's okay…
He came back, that jerk freaking came back!
And he set you up with Jade! It yelled, emphasis on Jade, because her name drove him crazy, and in a very bad way.
He was furious. Quickly, he got up and stormed to Aaron, wanting to finish this- and fast, too. He let all his rage funnel into a single punch that went whirling into Aarons face, knocking him backward, because no one was there to stop him, no one to take pictures and sell them online- "Look, Kevin Jonas is such a jerk for hitting this guy!"
Then, to finish it off, he kicked Aaron right in the crotch.
Hard.
The man hit the wall roughly on his way down. “Get. A. LIFE!” K2 yelled, punching him again. He’d have to remember that whenever he was angry now Aaron could be his own personal punching bag.
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Of course it was easier to get someone to stir up a crowd for you. That way, if someone gets killed, you won’t be the one who gets arrested…
Kray felt like she was going to die.
For one, she couldn’t see, her vision reduced to a green blur, dots swarming the edges. A killer headache deluded her, she felt like she was going to throw up. Movement took an eternity and sound echoed, reverberated, in her mind, partygoers’ screams repeating themselves over and over again. And so she swayed, both arms clinging to a small chain dangling around her neck, the cord half broken. There are too many people! Her subconscious screamed; nowhere to go!
“You’re Kray,” a male voice said. Kray shook her head. What’s wrong with me? She thought. You’re Kray…
“Okay,” the girl whispered, not caring if he heard or not. Standing took effort. Okay…
“I need some help.” I need some help. “Will you help me?” Will you help me?
She didn’t have the strength to even think to ask what type of help he meant. Thinking took effort too.
“Yes,” Yes…
“Good. Take this,” the man said, handing her a small blade. Who first? Good, take this… “…and go find someone for me…”
And go find someone for me…
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Not so seductive now, pretty boy…
Damn…
Natasha, meanwhile, woke up to the sound of her boyfriend yelling to someone, “GET A LIFE!”
She bolted upright and saw a figure in the closet and Kevin standing nearby, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. If anyone finds out I knocked out Aaron, I’m so screwed… he thought, calming down slightly.
“Did you… is that Aaron…?” she started to ask.
Kevin jumped. "Nat! You're okay!" he said, so relieved. He went to her again, sitting next to her. Even if she's injured, she really is gorgeous…
She's injured, right; she's injured… not that badly. Kevin only saw a few cuts, which in themselves were bad, but it was better then broken bones and bruises- although if she'd gotten any, he wouldn't know until later. But she was smiling, so that was good, right?
He somewhat nodded. “Well, err, yeah…” he said. Way to overreact on your punching bag! His conscience yelled. Of course, he didn’t regret beating up Aaron, but apparently his subconscious did.
Natasha started to laugh.
He did that for me! She thought, He did that for me…
“What, what’s so funny?” Kevin asked, for a second worried. A strange thought of Nat laughing because she was about to turn him in crossed his mind- he knew she’d never do that, but his subconscious was apparently very annoying.
“You… you did that for me…” she stuttered and trailed off.
No one said anything. Did couples even have awkward silences? Awkward…!
Natasha didn’t know yet, but Cassie always said that awkward silences made for the best kisses…
The two inched closer and pulled together, as if some random cue had just gone off. He held her, he didn't want to let go… a hug? A kiss?
The bad guy, meanwhile, was unconscious.
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“So… what is your name?”
There’s your groundbreaker, Cole.
Autumn dropped to the floor, her feet hitting the polished floor with a successful thud. The girl was a few inches taller then the Sprouse, but she ignored this- how old was he again? Which one, Cole or Dylan? No, this had to be Cole, she could tell.
“Autumn Rush.”
“Ah… Cole Sprouse,” he said. Autumn felt a surge of satisfaction; she had guessed him correctly, apparently.
“And thanks for saving my life,” the girl said before she started to walk away, Kray and Gavin already on the other side of the room, out of view.
“Wait!” Don’t let her go, you idiot!
Autumn spun around.
“I… uh… do you… uh… want to, err, dance…?” Smooth, Cole.
Autumn turned red, her cheeks blushing a pale pink. “Well, I…”
“Okay, let’s dance!” he said, taking her arm and dragging the girl to the dance floor- apparently the Moonstones could afford a dance floor as well, but was that even surprising?- Cole couldn’t let his dream girl get away.
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Ophelia Crobe climbed into the cellar.
Gretchen followed.
-And Ophie groaned. Not looking back, she muttered, “You know, you don’t need to follow me around all the time,” she said, annoyed. The girl dropped to the floor and her fall echoed in the small space.
“But didn’t you say you were summoning aliens?” Gretchen let the trapdoor swing shut behind her, and the room darkened. Ophelia lit a flashlight and looked around.
“It’s dangerous for humans to summon,” the blonde tried to explain.
“And what are you, non-human?” the other girl asked, adjusting the glasses on her nose. “Hmm?”
Ophie rolled her eyes and struck the cigarette lighter as well. “Earth goods are tricky to summon with…” she muttered.
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
What, do you think you’re some kind of alien?
Cherry groaned. Ophie was so… weird. “So, how do we summon them?” She failed to ask why.
“You really aren’t going to go away, are you?” Ophelia snapped. Gretchen flinched.
“Is… something wrong?”
Ophie shook her head, “In here, in here, I can feel it…”
Gretchen looked confused, as always.
The blonde rolled her eyes again. “They always said that at the base of something you can learn everything about a place. This would be the very center base of Sapphires house. And I can feel something’s wrong. It’s giving me a killer headache.” She finished. Ophie didn’t mention just who ‘they’ were.
“So you came down here to figure out what it is?”
Ophie nodded.
“It could be the knife thing. Or those two girls who fell from the railing earlier,” Cherry mentioned.
“Two girls fell from the railing?! Are they okay?!”
“I thought you’d know! You said you could sense this!” the brunette argued, protested. What kind of sense is this?
“I can only sense things to come,” Ophelia said, “It’s kind of annoying, actually.”
“Are you really an alien?” Gretchen asked, confused again, and changing the topic as she commonly did.
Ophelia didn’t say anything, she couldn’t. Was she really so insane to think she was a different species?
Was she?
“Someones here,” the girl said, “Someones in this house, and they really shouldn’t be.”
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Dance, dance! Impress her!
He accidently stepped on Autumns toe.
She pulled back. “Uh, may I ask why you asked me to dance…?” she asked cautiously. Cole shook his head.
“I… err… I know you…” he stuttered. No you don't! Well, in a dream. Kind of. Uh…!
“You know me?”
Cole was confused on how to explain this to her when a strange song started playing itself in his head.
I know you… I walked with you once upon a dream!
Get out, Sleeping Beauty!
“Kind of…”
Autumn nodded slowly, wanting for him to continue.
But there was no way he could sing that song. He blushed, feeling his cheeks grow hotter. This was something unusual for him to do, which of course surprised him, and threw him off guard.
“Uh…”
The girl sighed. “You know what, forget it…” she started when Cole shook his head again.
“To explain it to you, I think I’d have to… err… sing.”
This is just like High School Musical…
Autumn blushed, “Oh, um, you don’t have to-“
“Good, I’m not singing,” Cole laughed. Not that song, anyway.
“Do you like me?” she suddenly asked. The dance, him and a song, it kind of fits, actually…
What kind of a question is that? Cole wondered, Pssh…! Girls…
“Yes,” he said after a moment. This was exactly like his dreams. Dreams plural. He had to like her…
“Uh, I saw your show.” She added, breaking him out of his thoughts. “You’re really cute in it…”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“Wait, what do you think I’m saying?”
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Cassie pulled away.
“I can’t do this,” she said, shaking her head, red hair swaying around her face.
“Why not?” Joe asked affectionately, playing with her hair again. That look in his eyes…
“Taylor, Taylor Swift, you can’t cheat on-“
“I broke up with her.” the Jonas said, cutting her off. “I don’t cheat on people, that’s just wrong.” And I think I really like you. “And I really like you,”
Cassie looked up.
“You do?”
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“Wait, what do you think I’m saying?”
“Whatever you want it to be,” Cole said with a smile.
“You’re a good flirt,” Autumn whispered.
Autumn and Cole, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-
Grr…
First comes love, then comes marriage, then- okay, I’ll shut up now. Go ahead.
Kiss…
Meanwhile, Gavin had turned to see Autumn and Cole talking together.
And he grinned, because he knew someone that, if they died, would break a certain celebrity’s heart.
And so he gave the knife to Kray.
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An hour passed, tick tock, and Hannah Montanas singing blare faded into Taylor Swifts, ironically.
What time was it now, nine? Ten, even? It was getting late, yes it was.
Autumn and Cole sat behind a couch facing one of the larger windows, the view was pretty, there was a small pond in the back and trees… wait, were ponds romantic? The party refused to die down, and Autumn was beginning to wonder if this was one of those all-nighters.
Are ponds romantic? Cole wondered, They should be…
“Uh, I’ll go get some punch,” he said. He figured Dylan would be near the refreshments, and he needed... he…
He’d never admit it to anyone but his twin, but he needed girl help.
He trailed off awkwardly and walked off, as Autumn hadn’t said anything. I really like her, he thought, how do I impress her?
Meanwhile, Autumn was thinking about other things.
No, she was thinking about the same thing, really.
He really likes me… I’m actually attracting celebrities…
What do I do, what do I do?! I can’t do this…
Somethings wrong.
Autumn felt different all of a sudden, and it wasn’t love. What’s going on now?
She felt colder, hollower- was it like the dementers kiss? Of course, Harry Potter dementers didn’t exist, but at the thought the girl jumped up and looked around. Of course, even if by chance there was a dementer, being a muggle, she wouldn’t have been able to see it, but she didn’t think of that, did she?
Well?
Autumn looked around again. Where did everyone go? The room looked darker, grayer.
Is this a nightmare?
CRACK!
She woke up on the floor, Cole watching her worriedly.
“I got you punch,” he said, “You uh, had a nightmare…”
Why was it so vivid?
Wait, when did I even fall asleep?
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Ophelia shook her head. “No… no! No, someones going to get killed…”
Gretchen looked alarmed. Ophelia kept shaking her head, stumbling and holding onto the wall. A strange thought crossed her mind, was she being possessed? Would that even make any sense?
“Ophie, stop, I’m sure it’s not-“
“Someone’s going to get killed!” Ophelia shrieked. By now she was breathing heavily, in sharp breathes. What’s wrong with you?! She didn’t feel drunk… she hadn’t drunk anything anyway…
Something was coming over her. Thoughts, too many thoughts…
You think you’re an alien… that’s idiotic! How could you not be sure?
Doubts, doubts, too many doubts… why now? Ophelia groaned, stumbling still. What is going on?! This didn't make any sense, not like it ever did.
She felt sick, very sick.
“Are you okay?” Gretchen voice filled her mind, but Ophelia wasn’t listening. Was this some sort of alien side effect?
For a moment, that excited her, an alien side effect meant the girl really was alien, but she had no way of proving…
“You’re a Seer, so you’re seeing this…” Gretchen tried to think. Is she a Seer? Is she an alien?
What if she just thinks shes an alien… what if she’s insane?
“Ophelia!”
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Dawn, meanwhile, had formed the angry mob. They had all found pitchforks up- err, down?- in the garage, and about twenty of them stampeded after Sapphire, now in tears. This is fun!
She was the only one not having a major dramatic moment right now.
That might have been soon to change…
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Cole suddenly dropped the punch.
“Whoops! I’ll get a new one,” he said artificially, his cheeks practically radiating a red-pink color all over the room. He needed more girl help; he needs to impress her, giggle!
Dylan better still be at the refreshment table… he thought hopefully. Err, how do you romantically help a girl with a nightmare? I’ll be right back…!
Autumn suddenly had a ton of questions.
Where the heck does Cole keep going?
She’d have to ask him later…
What about the nightmare…?
It seemed so vivid…
Wait, do you feel like someone is watching you?
She didn’t know it yet, but Kray was lurking in the shadows with Gavin’s knife, blending in well with the grey walls, her figure merging with the colors, almost.
Anyone who saw her- which would be none- would have said she looked creepy, but no one saw her, of course.
Autumn jumped again. What’s got you so fritzy?
“Autumn!”
A singsong voice cooed behind her, and Autumn saw a deranged girl holding a knife. Kray! Kray, what’s happened to you…?
“I don’t want to do this… but some guy said I should…” the girl said softly, her comments real meaning hidden in the strange tone of her voice.
The knife was so sharp…
What the hell? Autumn stepped back, should she have seen this coming?
“I’m sorry, Autumn,” Kray said like a drunk three year old- clueless, innocent and unaware, but now a killer. What’s going on?
Something’s off.
Autumn felt colder, like in the nightmare. Was she dreaming again? She pinched herself, no, not dreaming, oh shit.
Something was coming over her, something… supernatural?
What?
Autumn took in a sharp breath. At that moment a breeze ran through the back of the house, it shattered several windows into hundreds of little pieces that fell onto the carpet.
Autumn hadn’t been hit, but suddenly, she collapsed.
How could she die if nothing had hit her?
Kray looked confused, knife paused in midair- she hadn’t done anything. Cole walked back and turned pale, then turned to Kray.
“You killed her! You actually killed her!”
--
People, civilians, alien species and government authorities:
CONCRIT IS FREAKING LOVED.
Not only do I need help on the romance scenes, apparently I’m screwing up the death one too…
DON'T YOU JUST LOVE FLUFF!!!
*glomps everyone*
--
Chapter 3
Bullseye target.
The knife pierced through the air, finally landing as it tumbled into an opposing wall. The terrified screams of partygoers concealed Gavin Davis’ laughter, effectively hiding who had thrown the knife.
Behind the wall the blade had lodged itself in was the sorority group. The sharp metal piece was in the center of the mirror, the blade facing out, pointing at them and the mirror shattered because of the impact.
All of them screamed.
No one noticed Autumn was actually laughing- clearly she knew what had happened. The others, however, didn’t, and shrieked in panic.
“I’m sorry, Mary Worth!”
“We’ll never do it again, Mary Worth!”
“I believe you exist, Mary Worth!”
One of the girls was actually crying. Cassie ripped off the blindfold.
Suddenly the door opened and an unsuspecting Joe Jonas walked in.
“Is everything okay…?” he asked slowly. Apparently he had heard the screams.
Cassie, who, on top of her whole Bloody Mary encounter, had suddenly met Joe Jonas, was shocked.
So she panicked and in a split second bolted out the door.
Joe spun around, “What the-?”
“Oh, Joe…” one of the girls said flirtatiously all of a sudden, although mascara running down her cheeks (from previous tears, most like) ruined the effect. “Come to me…”
Joe panicked as well and dashed out the door as Cassie had.
“Hey! Wait up!”
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“What was that all about?!” Sapphire demanded. Nick was her man, and Nick was supposed to fall in love with her tonight- that was her plan. She didn’t want Dawn going around fanglomping the celebrities- ESPECIALLY Nick.
She felt like Dawn had stolen her man, and no one ever got in the way of Sapphire Moonstone and a guy.
It wasn’t right. This was her party, after all!
Dawn shrugged.
“I only came here so I could destroy your party, anyway,” she remarked.
Sapphire was furious, “What- how-“
“Like this!”
In a split second Dawn had squirted a tube of red paint- wait, where was that from?- all over the refreshment table and jumped on, sliding across the wood on her stomach as bowls of food toppled to the floor.
“Whoo!”
Nick Jonas, standing off somewhere nearby, laughed. This party is great!
“You little-“ Sapphire shrieked and ran at the girl, who hopped off the table covered in paint.
“What, you want a piece of this?!” Dawn demanded, jumping around and preparing for some sort of fight.
“You want a fight?!” Sapphire yelled.
Dawn slugged her.
“OH, NOW IT’S ON-“
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Cassie ran for her life.
The sorority girls really were creepy. And somewhat- no, really- concerning. She was glad she was out of there.
But Joe…
Like most teenagers, Cassandra Charm had a crush on one of the Jonas Brothers- in her case, Joe.
And Joe had actually… she had actually… she had actually met him!
Cassie swooned.
Suddenly someone ran into her.
“Sorry, running from some creepy goth-“
The boy who had run into her looked up.
“You’re the… blindfold girl…!”
Cassie jumped in surprise. “Hi!” she said, a little too quickly, a little too enthusiastically, at seeing the Jonas again. “Yeah, that’s me. Though you can call me Cassie,”
“Joe Jonas.”
She laughed, “Trust me, I know you. Everyone does…”
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“Take that, you bitch-prep!” Dawn yelled from across the room, chasing after Sapphire.
A crowd of people were cheering her on.
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“OH MY JONAS, ARE YOU DATING KEVIN?!”
Like everyone else, Natasha ran. She didn’t notice the crowd of panicking people as the shock of the knife incident had mainly dissipated among those in the foyer, only a few random civilians still wondering what had happened. For the most part, they thought it was some drunken, crazy person gone loco. They didn’t know how wrong this was.
And Natasha had no idea where she was going.
Meanwhile, Aaron had spotted Kevin and was making his way through the crowd toward him. Aaron had a fake grin on his face, sarcastic, as if he was plotting something. Several fangirls followed suit.
“Hi.” Kevin said coldly. Hi was not good enough. He didn’t want to act nice, polite even, to this bastard. No, what he really wanted was to throw this mans head into a wall for beating up, or as the proper term would be, abusing his girlfriend.
But that would ruin his reputation.
“Doing well with fame, I see.”
Aaron was acting way too polite. Kevin was already suspicious.
“What do you-“
Aaron hit the Jonas over the head, hard. Kevin stumbled backward for a moment and noticed the other man had grown, was taller by at least two inches then the last time they had met up.
“So I had an idea,” Aaron said, as if the previous hit was nothing, just a little whack, “There’s these two girls- Jade and someone else- and apparently, they’ve dated you before. They want you back.”
“So? I’m dating-“
“I know, Natasha. That’s why I had my idea.” Aaron said, almost proudly, like a kindergartener showing off something new, but with more evil intentions. Kevin stepped back in case he attacked again. Why aren’t those fangirls doing anything? What, do they adore him or something?
No, wait, they do.
“And your idea is…” Kevin said harshly, knowing he wouldn’t like it.
“Swap.”
Kevin looked up, “…swap?” Swap what?
Oh wait… I don’t like where this is going… he thought, catching on.
“You’ll take Jade and I’ll take Natasha. Works well, huh?” he asked, a grin on his face.
Not really! That’s the most retarded idea I’ve ever-!
Aaron was already gone, and K2 noticed Jade approaching.
Oh shi-
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Autumn got bored, and left.
Bored of the crying, the screaming, the “Mary Worth’s gonna have her revenge!” and the sorority girls still panicking.
They are so damn weak, she thought. They took the trouble to summon Bloody Mary and don’t even realize the knife isn’t hers? She could understand them panicking at first, but it had been 20 minutes.
They’re all idiots anyway. Wannabe Goths.
No one noticed the girl leave and wander upstairs, where Kray was still attracting crowds with her balancing act.
Autumn wandered around the hall. “Always stunts with you, huh?” she asked. Kray giggled.
Kray McGuire never giggled.
Autumn looked up and smelled alcohol on the girl’s breath. Typical Kray to get drunk early on. Her eyes were a washed out, almost faded shade of hazel, which creeped Autumn out.
“Come on!” Kray grabbed Autumns hand and pulled her onto the rail. Autumn swayed, not all that worried that she was 30 feet in the air on a balance beam with a drunk girl and five other amateurs.
But her mom would so kill her.
Suddenly, Kray started swinging violently, still giggling.
“Uh… Kray…?”
Autumn was about to pull the girls arm, getting her to fall the two feet into the hallway so she wouldn’t have to face the alternative. But just when she had the limb Kray fell over, taking Autumn with her.
The two girls plummeted to an unsuspecting crowd below.
And Autumn landed in the arms of an unsuspecting Cole Sprouse.
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“Yeah, everyone does…” Joe trailed off.
“What’s wrong?” Cassie asked, noticing he looked almost… offended by the comment.
“Sometimes fame bites.”
Surprisingly, Cassie laughed, but in an understanding way. “I’m a child prodigy at my school, trust me, I know what it’s like. Only instead of fangirls I get extra homework.”
“Ah… sorry to… randomly drop my problems on you… I’ll just walk away now, I guess,” Joe said awkwardly and turned away when Cassie grabbed his arm.
“You know,” she added, “You’re pretty hot,”
Joe spun, around, a playful grin on his face: “You’re trying to flirt with me, aren’t you?”
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Sapphire screamed.
“STOP CHASING ME, YOU CRAZY PERSON!” she yelled as Dawn ran after her with the paint tube- did she carry that all the time?- madly.
Apparently Dawn hated bitches.
The two ran past a stairwell and Dawn accidently knocked Miley Cyrus down the steps into the basement.
Yeah, accidental, sure.
“GET BACK HERE!”
Sapphire spun around for a brief moment. “Doesn’t it bother you that you’re RUINING my sweet sixteen?!” she demanded, trying to get sympathy.
“You’ve ruined enough things for me not to care. This is the best way I could repay you,” she said, and Sapphire stopped.
“…what have I ruined?”
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She stopped and ran into a group of people.
"So, what's up, Natasha?" Demi asked. Apparently more celebrities were here too. She did a quick scan of the room, no Aaron so far. She had a minute.
"Not much," the girl said, shrugging. There was no way she'd tell them about him.
"This party's gone CRAZY." Selena emphasized. Another blonde girl standing next to them nodded.
"We're all doomed anyway. Hey, I think I know you from somewhere…" Ophie trailed off, "You're Natasha Tullidge, aren't you!"
Demi nodded and Natasha said, "Yeah…"
"Then you're Demi Lovato and you're… Selena Gomez! This is so cool! I'm in the presence of celebrity people!" she said.
No duh, Selena thought. If anything, this girl was weird.
"Hey!"
Natasha jumped when she heard it. A tall, spiky haired guy walked into the room and approached them. "What up, Nat?"
Only Kevin can call me that! She thought angrily. Ophie looked confused, "You… know each other…?"
"Aaron Cruz. Nice to meet you," he said, not really needing these other people right now. They'd leave eventually, right?
"Uh… I'm gonna go… get some refreshments," Natasha trailed off and went upstairs.
"Wait," Ophelia said as she started up the steps, "The refreshments are on the first floor!"
"Well, there's some up here too!" the other girl lied. Anything discreet to get away from…
Aaron was following her.
She didn't notice until she was in guest bedroom number 15, hoping to throw the freak off. But as soon as she sat on the bed, trying to think, another figure appeared in the doorway.
"You know, I've missed you, Natasha…"
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"Everything." Dawn hissed. Sapphire looked confused.
"It's not my fault I'm popular!" she said, in a perfect imitation of a dumb blonde, but it wasn't imitation- it was the real thing.
Dawn kicked her in anger.
"Bitch!"
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Cassandra laughed, "Maybe I am flirting with you!"
"Can I flirt back?" Joe asked sweetly, playing with a lock of her hair. Cassie blushed.
"Oh, just kiss me already!"
It was probably the nature of the party itself that got them kissing only 15 minutes after they had met.
Or it could have been love.
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Cornered.
Natasha jumped up and looked around. One door, and Aaron was too close to the entrance for her to get past.
"What do you want?" she hissed.
"Well," the man said, "Kevin and I did a swap."
"What…?"
"A switch. He's with that ugly Jade girl right now." Aaron paused and took two steps closer. "So, how've you been the past… what, few monthes, a year? It's been a long time."
Two more steps. There was only a few feet between them, and Natasha stepped back to the wall.
Big mistake.
Aaron came closer and pressed the girl against the wall, holding her shoulders. His hand moved delicately along the straps of her top, not too low to be a pervert, but not high enough to be considered normal. He fingered the cloth for a brief moment.
Aaron stared straight at Natasha, almost breathing down her neck. "You know I'm much better then that Kevin kid, don't you forget it."
"He's not a kid-" she protested when he slapped her- roughly, had he gotten stronger?- and Nat fell to the floor. That was more like a punch, she thought, but didn't say anything at first.
"Don't you forget it," Aaron repeated.
Natasha looked up. She wanted to scream, this was too familiar, it had happened before.
She tried to get up and he knocked her down agai |