Wish You Were Here

[Casey]

Deacon did his best to be sympathetic to the girl but honestly it was kinda funny.

“Slow down there kiddo,” he gestured carefully, she was still freaking out,

“Your in my bar and my names Deacon. Any clue how you got here?”
He raised an eyebrow before remembering Art had left, “That was my brother, he went outside to check something.

Standing Deacon offered her a hand, “Your guess is as good as mine girlie. I’m guessing you Gina right? That’s what you friend said when I called.”





Art raised an eyebrow as the kid talked. How did he know his name, where he was and what did he mean by come to be? He pushed his glasses up his nose before pulling out the sawed off and aiming it at the magically appearing boy.

“How about we continue this conversation inside?”

[Teagan]

Ouch-Yuki’s reaction came a tad harsher than I had anticipated. Clearly, she had no desire for conversation. Wasn’t she the one who chased me out of the café to chat? And, while walking, I wasn’t one for silence. Unless I was by myself, which then I would promptly check for my Zune to listen to music with.

“That’s…cool,” I muttered. It clearly wasn’t cool. And neither was my inability to let info slip. “So detectives? Like a paranormal investigator of sorts? Do people really fake ghosts and demons and stuff?”

Bait. Would she bite?

My eyes fell on a teen walking the streets with purple hair and I fondly thought of my own friend with colored hair, Mariah. I used to think people with crazy hair colors were…well, crazy. Now I wonder if they’re anything like the girl who I wish I had met earlier.

Speaking of Mariah-

…MARIAH! She had probably appeared too! Completely forgetting about Yuki, I pulled out my phone and anxiously dialed her number. Who had she ended up with? And Saul, too, for that matter. I suddenly regretted not having his phone number. Whenever we ran into him, the first thing I’d do after saying hello was request it.

I waited through a series of rings, nervously anticipating the worse. Crud, what if she had landed with Lucas or Ariel? Although neither were exactly major players, I couldn’t claim to know the rules of a land I had randomly appeared in. “Hey Mariah? Um, so…I’m assuming you clued in on this faster than I did, and you’ll know what I’m talking about when I ask if you’re okay.”

[Jefferson]

Go inside the Wesson with Art? It was like a dream come true, or a nightmare. Seeing as I had no choice, I walked past Art to the front door and walked inside. Standing there was Deacon, and Gina! She was in here too, and now I felt more secure then ever before. That was true until the sight of the guns returned. I sat next to Gina, wondering when she had arrived.

"So your stuck in here too? Have they done anything to you yet, or has it been mostly pointing at you with a gun asking where you came from?" I asked Gina, completely ignoring Art and Deacon.

[Aiden]

I watched Teagan with a skeptical look, not missing the fact that the dagger disappeared after I called her out. I knew full well how she lacked confidence, because after all, through technicalities, they were my guns that she had dropped. I also knew that she could easily put on a façade, so this exclamation that she never lacked the confidence, yeah, I could see right through it. Felicia ,maybe, but not Teagan.

My brow raised as I tried to see where the knife had gone. Yuki’s knife? Heck, I knew more about that thing than the characters did, aside from Yuki’s mom of course. It was a good thing that Teagan hadn’t used it, because then Portland would have been screwed. I took another glance at the chair, looking unfazed. “Do you really expect me to know how to rig something like that? I’ve never done anything close to that in my life, the closest thing came to…well, you’ll like this. My class was doing this play, right? And we were making a ‘couch’ out of folding chairs and a sheet, large enough for three. Well, one day during practice, we took the middle chair out, and when that person came to sit down, the other two stood up, and wham! Right to the ground,” I recalled, with a mischievous glint in my eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that the others will be distracted by the fact that someone crash landed inside of their hideout, one that is supposed to be supernatural proof,” I said, further testing the waters. Just because I knew Aiden and Yuki didn’t mean that I knew that they were hunters, though I did. I frowned slightly when Teagan pressed on about the chair again, and crouched next to her when she began to fix it. And as for that gun? I also knew she would wait for the others to get back before shooting anything. I was probably lucky that I landed with Teagan, because Aiden or Yuki…well, they might have killed me. And me killing myself would be so ironic.

[Aiden]

Aiden’s face went blank as he tilted his head to the side slightly. “Cute, kid, but witch doctors like that don’t exist, sorry. And homework?” Aiden obviously wasn’t a college student, nor had he gone to high school enough to be a regular doer of work. He and Mal moved around, but Mal taught him everything he needed to know, which meant things like Pre-Calculus and physics hadn’t been shoved into his head because they were required. “Shouldn’t you be more worried about randomly teleporting in a cloud of smoke than about your homework?” he asked, a little sarcastically. Really, what was with this girl?

Aiden lead her to his car, and popped the trunk, ruffling around the main area where he stored his first aid materials and other practical things—the weapons were out of sight. He grabbed the bottle, forced the top of, and pushed two small pills in her direction. “It isn’t Novocain, but it’ll help. And give it time before you start complaining about me giving you useless pills,” he added, eyeing the girl. He ignored her last comment. Come on, he had every right to shoot her!

“Aiden,” he said simply, closing the trunk, and walking around the car. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he quickly read over the message. The girls were at the tavern, and by the sounds of things, something was up with them too. If it was related…He walked over and opened the passenger door, looking at Mariah. “Get in, I’ll help you find out why you’re here,” he said, walking around to his own side. After some interrogation when you and your teammates are together again…

[Casey]

I glanced up at the other boy with narrowed eyes, “First of all, for the next four to eight years grades are my life. Failing classes would be very bad. Also if I take a second to think about how I got Copperfielded it could result in a freak out of cosmic proportions.”

“Wasn’t going to,” I said taking the pills and swallowing them dry, “I tend to only complain about things that are preventable or serve to complicate my life. Something tells me your going to avoid that since complicating mine would result in yours becoming equally or more so.”

I climbed in the car and buckled up. As I was closing the door my photo started to go off. It took me a couple seconds to dig through my backpack but managed to find the illusive thing anyway. It was weird, my phone still worked, but what was my roaming charge for this?

“Gotta take this,” I said to the kid before flipping open my juke, “Hello? Fe? This better be important.”

“Um,” my friend’s voice came over the phone, “I’m sure it’s just a little bit important. Checking to see it you’re okay.”

I sent the driver a glare before answering dryly, “I’ve been better…why?”

"Blaise and I both just had something really freaky happen, and I was calling to make sure nothing happened to you."

"Well I wouldn't use the term "freaky" but this hasn't been a normal day even for me," I set my right foot on the dash, sliding down into my usual passenger riding position. My stomach would hate me later but habit won out over rationality.

“Can’t be worse than my day,” Felicia grumbled.

“I got shot, your turn.”

“You got shot?” her voice raised in frequence, “Holy crap, Mariah, are you okay? Where are you? Did you get help?”

I smiled at her motherhenning, man I’d missed that girl, "Well I wouldn't use the term "freaky" but this hasn't been a normal day even for me. How has your day been?”

“From the guy who shot you? Who shot you? ...and my day's involved,” she dropped into a whisper, “a metaphorical ice storm."

“Adam Brody look alike. With a itchy trigger finger. Ooooooh, ice storm, scary..." I rolled my eyes loudly.

“I think you'll be able to join me when I discuss with Blaise what is acceptable these days, and what isn't. I can't believe he shot you."

“Yeah that's not vague at all.” I sat up a little, “Took a while for it to sink in for me too. Where are you? "

"On my way to the Crossroad's with said acquaintence. Any chance you can meet Blaise and I there?

"I have no clue, where's the Crossroads?”

"Ask the brilliant person who's helping you. I bet he has a clue."

“Uh huh…are you high?” I paused and added, “Or drunk?”

“No. I’m realixtic,” she tried to defend herself, "Pissed I don't have Clark to help you out, but that's the best thing I know about."

I raised an eyebrow, “Who’s Clark?”

“My Element…”

"Element...?” I said before sighing, “Seriously questioning the high thing- oh! you mean your car. Well I don't got Domino either so we're even."

"Took you long enough to catch that. So, um, sorry, I can't get my mind off of this. Why did Brody pull out the rock salt?

"He thought I was a demon, or so he says. He just may be psycho and bi polar for all I know," I looked at Aiden, "No offense"

"A demon?” She asked before firmly adding, “Don't apologize for that comment."

"Yep, seems upon first glance I look like a spawn of Satan. Well he still has a gun so I'll atleast pretend to be nice."

“Do that. Last thing we need right now is you injured."

“I am injured,” hello captain obvious.

"Alright, so we've established that we've hit rock bottom here."

“Pretty much.”

“Ask,” she paused, “Your friend if he can give you a lift. I'm sure he won't mind. After all, it's the least he could do."

“Uh huh, where? Back to Flag?” It was the only place I could think of going at this point.

“…no,” she said slowly, “to the tavern. Where Blaise and I can get you safely home from there...but we might need to make a slight detour in Keystone. A certain someone has Gina, I think. I wasn't taking him seriously at the time of the conversation."

I pulled my phone away from my ear and stared at it for a second, "Okay bringing up the high question again....or is this a prank? "

“You got shot, and you're asking me if this is a prank. Blaise ran into my girl, and asked me if I drugged him. Do you two really think so little of me to stoop to illegal substances? "

"It would be shocking to say the least but given our current conversation plausible”

Felicia made a serious of noises before saying, “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

"No charge. Seriously though, where do you want me to go? "

"Crossroad's Tavern.” She said, “I don't trust you returning home safely with him behind the wheel. For obvious reasons."

"Obvious to you maybe,” I grumbled, “or do you think Brody is going to kill me for real or something? If he does then you know who I was last seen with and what he looks like. So that should serve as insurance."

“Got it.”

"See, that's what a good friend is for.” I laughed, “Someone to call the police for you if you disappear mysteriously."

"No problem. It's what we're here for. Keep yourself safe though, alright? Don't be afraid to use what you know. It might help you, in the long run.” Felicia replied.

“Theoretical Physics and pop culture references? "

"Mhmm,” she muttered, “while helpful in stalling, no. Keep Casey- minded.”

"My roommate?” I asked, “She's nice but not the smartest girl...or the other one? "

“The other one,” she insisted.

“You want me to send vague text messages?”

“I was going for the know-all-epic-plotline part,” she explained.

“No, you can’t tell Gina who he is.”

“I won’t,” she paused, ”yet. But I’m make no promises if he appears.”

“Well he isn't appearing for a while I can tell you that much"

"Interesting to note. In the meantime, Blaise is already at the tavern, and I'm en route. Though we're walking. So, it might take awhile. Get there as soon as you can, alright? "

“Uh, huh, will do. Take care.”

"You too. And...I'm serious. Don't get into trouble.”

“Too late Fe,” I sighed, “too late.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Hopefully be seeing you soon.”

“You’d better,” she said firmly, “Bye.”

“Bye,” I said before hitting end on my phone. Sighing I closed my eyes and rested me head against the seat.

“My friends are weird,” I muttered before my snapped open, “Wait, did you say your name was Aiden?!?!?”

Calm composure, officially and completely out the window.

[Yuki]

Looking blankly ahead of me, I blinked absent-mindedly. "I haven't the slightest clue how I got here. I mean, one moment I was in my room, and then the next thing I knew, you and your brother had a gun aimed at me," I replied, feeling like I had gone insane.

Wait a second.

I looked up at him and furrowed my eyebrows in thought. I'm in a bar. And this guy's name is Deacon. He has a brother. And come to think of it, he looks a lot like Ryan Reynolds. ...Coincidence? I think not! All the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. Of course. Clearly, this was some ploy, magically pulled off by my crazy friends. That had to be the only explanation. People don't just poof from one point to another. Maybe when I wasn't paying attention, they had snuck some kind of sleep-medicine thing in my food. I didn't know how they could've gotten into my house. But they were crazy, I was sure they'd find a way. Heck, my mom could've cooperated with them. I wouldn't have put it past her.

“My friend?” I asked, blinking once again. I was doing that a lot. “Oh, I get it. The person who’s pulling this off. Alright, alright, who did you talk to and how much are they paying you?”


***[Added the following on 10/24/09, forgot to write this part in my original post!]***

Before Deacon had a chance to answer, the door to the Wesson opened. I turned around, and there in the doorway was..."Art"...and...Saul?!

Could things get any weirder?!

"Saul! What are you doing here? Do you have any idea what's going on?! ...Oh, um..it's been mostly the latter. I kind of fainted earlier, and now I'm just really confused. This has to be a prank. It just has to be!" I stamped my foot on the floor impatiently, and then turned back to Deacon.

"...Right?"

[Teagan]

She "repaired" the chair in record time, seeing as since it was her third attempt to make the stupid thing work. Just a little tweak with the screwdriver, a couple misplaced nails and a slight rip in the fabric. She found herself bemused by Blaise's tale: it was good to know the kid didn't run around ruining every prank and could actually pull something off.

"The best prank is the simplest," she wryly grinned, brushing the dust off her jeans as she stood up. "Oh-and for future reference? Mention this to anyone else and you will not walk out with all limbs intact, got it? I don't take these lightly."

The tools returned to the pile of books she had stashed them behind previously, Teagan did a quick survey of the room: completely innocent. Good.

"Follow me and don't open your mouth," she beckoned him, turning toward the kitchen. As she suspected, upon entrance one of the staff members stood in the corner, filing out some important paper or another. "Jerum, meet Blaise. He's here about the cooking position. Do you mind giving us some time in here so he can prove he knows how to avoid burning toast?"

"Ah-no problem. Let me know when you're done," the older man replied, examining the stranger before shooting Teagan an unnerving look and walking out.

"Thanks," she cheerfully replied. While he would've probably just left if she had asked nicely, throwing in the reference to burnt toast (an underlying reminder of exactly what she could do to people who pissed her off) ensured he wouldn't come within twenty feet of the room until she finished. "Well, now that problem's solved."

Teagan felt the chilly air as she grabbed two bottled waters from the fridge and tossed one to her guest. She closed the door, then proceeded to lean against it. "To remark on your earlier statement, having someone randomly appear within the building is strange. But what's even stranger is you knowing that nothing supernatural can get in here. And you seem to know Yuki at some level you feel physically safe laughing at her. What's your deal? Are you a hunter of some sort? Friend of Yuki's from Japan?"

[Aiden]

Aiden didn't go to school, he had been home schooled when he was younger, yes, but now that he was college aged, he wasn't in regular attendance at a university. That wasn't to say that he didn't have a dozen or more certificates from different "colleges" stating his completion and graduation, but still, this girl was more distracted by homework than being teleported somewhere in a cloud of black smoke and ending up with a person that was hunting the supernatural. Honestly, that didn't make much sense to him, but he kept his mouth shut as she rambled on about school. Not his subject, you didn't need pre-calculus in everyday life.

"Smart kid," he said in response, though he knew that this girl couldn't have been any older than him, and therefore meant that she wasn't a kid. He was just happy that she wasn't bleeding all over his car, or sitting there groaning in pain. After all, she'd just have a bruise, and those went away. Had it been a real bullet, well, that would be a different story.

Pulling out of the alley, Aiden began his drive back to the tavern, where he would have to explain how this girl got there with him, and deal with whatever Teagan was dealing with. He frowned when the girl received a phone call, listening carefully, though his eyes were on the road. So far, he wasn't getting any names or useful information out of her, but when she set her foot up on the dash, he immediately reached over and knocked her foot away. "You want to just keep that bruise, you keep your feet off my dash and on the ground, you hear me?" he said quickly, ignoring the fact that she was on the phone.

Adam Brody look alike? Him? That girl had some nerve, because Aiden knew that he was clearly better looking, and wasn't a pampered Hollywood star either. And he had good reason to shoot her, he didn't have an itchy trigger finger. If she'd gotten there a few minutes earlier or later, things would have ended differently. He continued listening, and finally picked up a name...Clark...he kept listening only to figure out that Clark was a car. Great. He wasn't getting anything good. "God, you and every one else I frickin' hang around says that. I'm not bipolar," he said with a frown, taking offense.

The rest of the conversation didn't make sense, though he did get a name, a real one this time. Gina, and whoever she was talking to couldn't tell Gina who who was...who Aiden was? And something about sending vague text messages? Who was she, Casey? Finally, she ended the conversation, and Aiden glanced over at her when she asked his name again. "Yes, Aiden, why, is that a problem?" he asked, pulling up to the tavern.

[Aiden]

By the time the prank was all done up again, the chair looked normal, yet I knew that it was trap just waiting to happen. Making sure to steer clear of that side of the table, I stood and watched Teagan as she finished it up, making her last touches while she grinned at his tale. It had been hilarious, and he wouldn’t tell her about the prank war that was going on between him, her creator, and Gina and their respective cars.

“Agreed,” I said in response to her saying, remembering just how effective that devil’s trap on the back of Felicia’s window had been. The sign of the elves? Yeah, right. Then again, her mom had been wrong, because after all, the sign trapped the demons of the devil, it wasn’t forthem. “Teagan, frankly, I don’t think you have the will to rip someone apart,” I said, giving her a look that that was probably comical. It was hard not to just name all of the times that she had freaked out, maybe mention that shtriga, or how Yuki blew up on her. But if I did that, somehow I got the feeling that she wouldn’t be happy that I was the next Casey.

I followed Teagan through the building, seeing it as I had in my mind. My hideout for Aiden was exact right down to the grains of wood in the flooring. It was surreal, but then again, it could be easily reproduced. For all I knew, maybe this was some building in Corona, I hadn’t been outside yet. We entered the kitchen, and I had to hide my grin when she mentioned that I was there about the cook’s position, only because it had been me, in reality, that made the cook leave, though through means of Teagan. Further proved by Teagan’s mention of burning the toast, I had to turn away for a moment to let the smile bubble up, and then force it back down before I turned back to see Jerum (funny, how was it that I didn’t know the staff of my own building?) walking out.

I caught the bottle of water, and unscrewed the top, pausing momentarily and eyeing Teagan before drinking. “There isn’t anything in here, is there? Some concocted truth serum or something?” I wouldn’t put it past her.

“It’s…complicated. Let’s just say that I know this all through Aiden…a…friend of mine,” I said, trying to phrase it without making a reference to the fact they were characters, personalities, fictional, or anything like that. My head turned to the direction of the front of the tavern, where I caught the sound of an engine. Any other regular engine, I wouldn’t have heard, but this one, this could only belong to Aiden.

It wasn’t too long before I could hear two sets of footsteps walking back towards the kitchen, before the door opened to reveal one of my personalities, and…”Mariah?” I watched her for a moment, and if she was stuck in here too, and Felicia was…

“You know, we leave Saul out of all of this. I wouldn’t put it past him to use some drug to knock us out too. How he got our…them, I’m not sure…but I’m probably just in denial, right? What happened to your shirt?” I asked, noting the small tears on her shirt. Then, I looked over at Aiden, and nodded my head. “Hi there.”

[Casey]

Art watched the boy run ahead and decided he was weird. He gave Deacon a look which his brother returned. This was Supernatural but it wasn’t killing or maiming them. Still weird.

“No one’s pulling it off anything,” Deacon said slowly, “except maybe you. We got no reason to mess around.”

“You need a reason?” Art asked flatly.

Deacon sent him a glare before turning back to the Wesson’s new guests, “We did have a reason to point guns at you. Randomly appearing out of thin are is not comforting. So please you two give us a reason not too?”

[Yuki]

Continuing down the path in the direction of the tavern, Yuki walked with her back facing the girl, and then impatiently turned around when she stated she needed to make a call. This was no time for socializing with friends. Clearly, the girl didn't realize the gravity of the situation. They needed to make it back to the cavern in a timely manner. Now was not the moment to dawdle with acquaintances. Yuki crossed her arms and let her weight rest against the wall of the building next to her. As the girl began to talk, Yuki closed her eyes and listened. If the girl was going to waste time, then Yuki would at least use it to gather information.

It appeared that the girl was checking to make sure her friend found herself in a stable condition. At first, it sounded as if her friend was indeed alright, but then Felicia’s voice rose in alarm. “You got shot?!” With that remark, Yuki opened one eye, somewhat alarmed. If the girl had friends who were woudned by a firearm, then she had to be involved in suspicious matters. Listening attentively now, Yuki focused on the girl’s words, but suddenly, they turned into a low murmur. Hiding things from her, was she? No matter, all would be revealed when they got back to the tavern. The girl continued to talk, stating that they would have to discuss “what is acceptable these days and what isn’t.” Had her friend made some wrong choice in whatever shady business they were involved in? The conversation continued somewhat idly after that, until she mentioned someone by the name of Clark. That was a new name. Apparently, had he been there at that moment, Felicia would have been able to help her out. How so? And then, the girl stated something about “her element.” …What element? Was she being metaphorical, or was she actually something supernatural? Did she possess the power to control an element? And did she indeed believe that Yuki would not catch her words?

And then another name: Brody. …Rock salt?! Yuki’s eyes fluttered open. How did the girl know about rock salt? It couldn’t have been a coincidence. And…demon?! First, the mention of a supernatural element, and now this?! Was this child a hunter? It would definitely explain her aloof personality. Yuki had come to know quite a few hunters who felt that just because they hunted the supernatural, they now had some sort of upper edge on the rest of humanity. Pathetic. In any case, the fact that the child knew about rock salt and demons was enough to make Yuki cautious of her, more so than she had already been. However, if she was a hunter, then perhaps she was being annoying because she felt she was dealing with an ordinary civilian. And now…she was talking about Keystone as well?! She had to know Deacon. She had to be some hunter put up by him to try and prank Yuki. He was probably bored and wanted some amusement, and felt that the best way to accomplish that would be to place Yuki in a strange situation.

A third name. Gina. Another friend? This one was mentioned earlier though, back when the girl was talking to Deacon. Probably involved in similar wary matters, Yuki thought to herself, irritable by the situation. And then Felicia sounded offended, as she questioned the fact that her friends would think she would use “illegal substances.” Yuki closed her eyes again. This child was I inolved in an utterly complicated matter Mendokusai. And none of it would be resolved until they arrived at the tavern. Finally, the conversation began to draw to a close and the girl told her friend to meet her at the tavern.

“It’s about time,” Yuki thought to herself, glowering at the child. The girl muttered something once again, and finally hung up the phone.

She had many questions for this Felicia, but they would have to wait. The tavern wasn’t far from here, and it would do no good to interrogate her at the moment without sufficient evidence for any accusations. Without making eye contact with the girl, Yuki turned around and continued walking, knowing very well that the girl was following.
When they arrived at the tavern, there was more noise than usual coming from within the building. Many voices. She distinctly heard Teagan and Aiden, but caught two other voices that were unfamiliar. Yuki walked in, and headed towards the kitchen where the noise was coming from. As she cast her eyes upon the scene, she bit her lip in surprise.

“I see we’ve all stumbled into a similar situation.”

[Teagan]

"It's a sealed bottle, smart one," Teagan scoffed, slightly offended. "Of course I didn't put anything in it. You think I just keep tainted water in the fridge for anyone to grab?"

Actually....she did keep water with truth serum in the fridge. She had figured that, at some point, either Aiden or Yuki would grab one and make the afternoon interesting. While they might suspect something, the bottle was indeed sealed. Teagan had learned the trick from some youtube video about magic tricks. Extremely useful. But that didn't explain how this stranger would assume that she had drugged it. The sound of a loud engine roared in the distance, signaling the return of a member of the faction.

"A friend of Aiden? I wasn't aware he had that many," Teagan gave him a once-over. Yeah, like that was right. "I'm not sure how you deal with his bi-polarness, but props to you."

A draft blew through the kitchen as the front door opened. "Hey, speak of the devil..." Time to blow the charade. "Aiden, in the kitchen," she called out, eyes not moving from the boy in front of her.

As the footsteps drew closer, Teagan was surprised to hear more than one set. He hadn't found Yuki, had he? They entered the kitchen, and behind Aiden stood -or rather, tiredly winced- a girl with blue hair. She caught a faint whiff of sulfur emitting from the both of them, and a faint trace of salt remains on the girl's shirt.

It didn't take much to put together what had happened. Blaise didn't quite catch it, luckily. His reaction must have been the result of a connection between them. Mariah, had he said? Poor kiddo. "Trigger-happy much today?" Teagan directed under her breath at Aiden.

A few seconds later, the door opened again, and Yuki entered, another girl in tow. Yeah. No way now there was a coincidence. "Not you too..."

"Well," Teagan sighed. Crap. This was a major interruption to the night. Undoubtedly, whatever plans everyone had had were now shot...she really hoped they all had eaten. Cooking for six wouldn't be fun. "I suppose I don't have to explain to you guys what happened."

[Teagan]

I pushed the end button on the phone, still in shock. Aiden had shot Mariah? Although it was clear it wasn't a fatal wound, it didn't help Aiden's case. Personally, Aiden was not my favorite person on the site, though I did hold some respect for him. But the little I did was dwindling.

At this rate, I had landed with the safer one. Speaking of...I glanced up right as said character turned around and continued walking. Suddenly amused, I wondered exactly what she had made of the conversation. No way Yuki could have understood any of that.

To my surprise, the walk wasn't as far as I had originally believed. The normal streets quickly gave way to a lush forest, and within minutes I found myself staring at a quiet looking building I knew was anything but. A car was parked outside; Mariah and Aiden were probably already here. Half tempted to run inside and find out the extent of my friend's injuries, I forced myself to stay behind Yuki. After all, I wasn't supposed to know the layout, was I?

As we entered the kitchen, my eyes immediately darted between the barstools and the toaster, where two of my favorite prank scenes had occurred (excluding, specifically, the ones that had yet to happen). A small smile tugged at my lips, and despite the serious moment, I felt a burst of pride. Yeah. Good times. Technically though, I hadn't completed them. My gaze turned toward the mastermind behind it all, the short, black-haired girl in the room who, though seemingly stood nonchalantly by the fridge, was probably miffed by Blaise's interruption of whatever prank he had stumbled upon. A chair, had he said? I noted to stay standing for the duration of the evening.

Teagan. It felt extremely odd to be anywhere near her. Excited began to build deep within, but it wasn't the right moment for that. How the heck would they all react to the idea that the Portland faction and everything they stood and fought for was fictional? Probably not well. I diverted my attention by focusing on Mariah and Blaise, who stood near Teagan and Aiden.

"Mys, how are you holding up?" I quietly stood next to her and whispered, mentally shooting daggers at Aiden.

[Casey]

I glanced over at Aiden, “Not really. Just freaky, dude, and I mean seriously so.”

Being chauffeured by a person from a story? Yeah, not normal. Which come to think, I am so going to kill Blaise. Or just make him wish I had. Then I tilted my head back. Yes I would get revenge on the tall boy, but I could get it on Aiden too. I had plans for that one, and originally it had just been plot points, I mean who wants to get back at a character? Well me apparently, but I had a kickin’ reason.

While plotting I kept my mouth shut and let the Brody drive. The second the car stopped I quickly but normal lookingly got out. I followed him into the tavern like a puppy dog with an anger issue and kept my eyes peeled.

I jumped slightly at Blaise’s voice but smiled when I saw a familiar, and friendly face. Then I remembered he was the one who created Aiden and scowled at him.

“First of all none of you, including Saul know where I live and driving through the whole west coast takes too much effort for a prank, even by your standards. As for the shirt,” I pulled on the hem, “Aiden shot me.” I glared at him once again, hopefully he’d be able to pick up on the fact I was blaming him.

Felicia speaking up brought the smile back to my face. I instinctively pulled her into a hug and let out a sigh of relief. “Good as to be expected,” I said after letting her go, “Won’t be able to do crunches for a while but nothing life threatening yet. How are you?” The question directed at both. Hey I may have indirectly blamed Blaise but he was still my friend and I cared. Well unless he did something stupid in the next two minutes.