Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Flowers of Occultism ❯ Entity ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter 9

Entity

 

No.

 

Ko'tiiiiiiiiie't (But whyyyyyyyy?)

 

Because you frighten people.

 

Ure'pesdo'ikaloma't (Just for little?)

 

No.

 

Ko- (But-)

 

I already said, no! You're not going to that wedding and that's final! Now stay inside!

 

***

 

Holy freak, this was worse than freaking shopping.

 

I was oblivious at first, and I really fooled myself into thinking, this whole thing is just blown out of proportion, it won't be so bad, right?

 

Wrong

 

Believe me, for those who have never been, there is nothing scarier than a room full of women and the word “wedding.”

 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It really didn't start out that bad. I walked into the hotel room as inconspicuously as I could, half-expecting for people to jump up and demand to know where I had been, despite Steven's assurances. But, amazingly, no one even looked in my direction or acknowledged me in any other way. Even more amazingly, when I saw Cali doing her hair and Julie digging through her make-up (wearing her usual charming zombie face she has in the morning), I realized it was the perfect time slot for me to get in the shower. And I was fairly certain it wasn't just happenstance.

 

Just to confirm, I walked over to where Cali was by the mirror. “Shower mine?” I asked, not even bothering to use complete sentences. She blinked dazedly and nodded. Then, she looked at me through the corner of her eye in that weird, scary way she does when she's really mad.

 

I blinked and shot her a `what-the-heck' look, but I didn't bother saying anything. I didn't know how long this ignorance of the others would last, and any catch-up I could do sounded the most logical way to go.

 

It wasn't until I turned the water off that I realized what a foolish mistake I had made. I hadn't thought to take the dress with me when I left Steven's apartment. A heck of a lot of good it did me back there! I was fuming as I started to angrily pull on some sweats and figure out what I was to do for the evening, when it caught my eye. The dress was hanging on the bathroom door. And that wasn't all; someone had conveniently left a slip folded up on the counter.

 

Well, gee thanks someone. I was really beginning to feel spoiled.

 

It took quite a lot of maneuvering and a little more time than I would have liked, but eventually I got the dress figured out and on. I was exceptionally glad it fit; I don't know what I would have done had it been otherwise. Looking at it in the mirror, I noticed it….well, it showed a bit more topography than I was used to, but I liked it all the same.

 

After Cali had finished attempting to yank my hair out by the roots and done about fifty-million other things to it (I wasn't really paying attention, all I got was that we had to start over twice), I thought we would be ready to go. Alas, not quite. Of course, we had to have pictures right there in the hotel. Every camera, Molly's, Julie's, Cali's, and even Celia's, had to have at least ten pictures apiece.

 

I correct myself. There is one thing scarier than a roomful of women and the word `wedding.' And that's a roomful of women with cameras and the word `wedding.'

 

And……maybe whatever that Demonike thing was

 

During the whole flashing spiel, Dad kept giving me these funny looks. I figured he was either as miserable as I was, or he was upset about the red and black of the dress. I started to consider…other…reason he might be mad, but I shook it off quickly. I had to trust whatever Steven had done.

 

Finally we were in the car and headed deeper into Jersey, opposite the way of New York. The rural spread we passed by was pretty, but looking closer at it I saw much of it was very staged and man-made. Plus, it was nothing compared to the contrasting aerial view I had seen.

 

We pulled into a neighborhood with houses and property values so huge I would have dubbed it a gated community had there been a gate out front. We wove through the curving streets, most of us in the car gaping openly at the structures we passed until we eventually stopped at one of them. It was tall and mostly white, with a pretty front porch. It had several large windows facing out on the street. It was…I don't know…a house. A big one. I'm leaving it at that.

 

Time for the Sakuré family reunion.

 

The first to greet us at the door was the bride-to-be Amanda, already bubbly and bursting with excitement. I'd heard somewhere that the bride was always the first one to start getting cold feet, but that didn't seem like it would be the case here. At least, not anytime soon. Jim, Molly's brother and the groom, wasn't there. The whole tradition of “groom can't see the bride before the wedding” seemed to be in full effect.

 

In fact, all of the guys seemed to be absent, save for Dad and Amanda's two kids, Harry and Wally, ages eleven and eight, respectively. I'd only heard they were Amanda's sons through introductions. I didn't ask anything else about the situation, or think about it too closely. It wasn't my business anyway.

 

I'd forgotten Amanda's maiden name as soon as she told it to me, but everyone else there was giggling and laughing and using her `new' name, so I assumed that was okay. Also present for the bride's party was a woman named Laurie, who was married to Kyle, Molly's other brother (which brother was older was beyond me; I was just proud I could keep track of who was who). He was off somewhere with the groom's party, as were Molly's parents.

 

Those are just the people. We haven't even really done anything yet.

 

Before I could get sucked into the girly chatter of dresses and flowers and the cake and the other food and the decorations and, God forbid, the honeymoon, I quickly associated myself with the two younger boys. Cali and I had to pick sides in all this; she chose the women, I chose the boys. Wally was the same age as a cousin I babysat every so often (once in a blue moon more like; I despised kids), so befriending him was fairly easy. He liked video games too, and although they weren't RPGs like the ones I played, we had a few interests in common. Harry, I lamented, was a sports guy. I had firmly torn myself out of the sports gig when I was in fifth grade, so there wasn't much Harry and I shared in interests. He was like my cousin (the same one I mentioned before): he ate, breathed, and slept sports. I felt a bit bad about that, but since he seemed content to be distant, I decided not to worry about it.

 

Then to my worn-out, impatient teenager horror, another car pulled up into the already overcrowded driveway. On the side in jazzy yellow letters were the words `Windsor Photography' and the yellow was blinding on the black car. A gray-haired man probably in his late fifties got out, opened the trunk, and pulled out the huge camera and tripod that probably each cost almost as much as a Heelan school tuition.

 

Thus, of course, more pictures. Pictures inside, pictures outside. Pictures with the dress off and the dress on. Group pictures and individual pictures. And the poses for every picture had to be just a certain way; the people lined and placed in a specific order and fashion. The Windsor guy took the majority of the pictures, but every few poses everyone with a camera (which only excluded myself and the males present) had to get a few dozen shots in.

 

I gripe. But look, just because I'm not a picture taker doesn't mean I necessarily hate them. They're cool to flip through every now and then. I just think pictures should be of things, like landmarks or monuments or scenery. People have no point in pictures. Most of the time the people you are taking pictures of you see every day. So why do you need to look at them all again?

 

Anyway, enough about that. You don't want to hear about boring old Jersey right? Thought not. You just want me to skip ahead to the silver-haired boy.

 

Well believe me, so did I. I can only sit and stretch my face for so long, and I can only watch other people do the very same thing for so long. I thought it would have been rude to bring my DS along (what? I can be practical), otherwise I would have been on that in a heartbeat. So I contented myself with daydreaming about purple boy. (I gotta switch up nicknames every now and then.)

 

After the picture escapade everyone piled into cars. I found myself wondering why there wasn't a limo or something really fancy to take the bride to her wedding. But, as I started giving it some thought, I tried to imagine a limo in heavy New York traffic and shuddered. And I also thought about how much money it would take to book a church in New York and pay the normal costs of the wedding and reserve Rockefeller Plaza for the reception, and it made a lot more sense to me.

 

Celia and Julie wanted to ride in the bride's car, and Amanda asked if since there was more room in ours and the boys and I had hit it off nicely they could ride in our car. I didn't have any objection to it; actually I was a bit happy for the trade. Wally and I talked Pokémon for a while; he was upset because he hadn't gotten Diamond yet. I honestly wasn't that impressed with it, but I didn't tell him so.

 

Harry kept glancing worriedly in my direction throughout the whole trip. When I tried to ignore him, he started flat-out staring. I gave him a few questioning looks, not bothered but annoyed at his trying to hide, but he turned quickly back to the window every time.

 

We passed a bookstore with a poster for Twilight in the window, the book I was currently reading. I'd read it before, and I had to admit that the series……wasn't really my favorite portrayal of vampires as creatures (I'm picky, get over it). But the characters and plot I really did like, and I especially liked Meyer's writing style. And I could empathize with the book a lot too. For example, I was right at the part where Edward tells Bella no one would believe her if she went and told about the car incident.

 

Heck yeah I could empathize with that.

 

There were three series of books I've read that in my opinion portray vampires well: Twilight and its sequels, Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels, and the Vampire Knight anime and manga. Of the three, the Stackhouse books had the best vampires, the Twilight series had good plots and characters (most of the time) and Vampire Knight was just…amusing. Weird, but amusing.

 

Anyway, soon we were in the Holland Tunnel again and all this thought of vampires got me thinking about Steven again. I compared him to my favorite vamps of each series (Jasper Hale, Eric Northman, and Kaname Kuran, respectively) and found little tidbits of comparing characteristics but no really major similarities.

 

I couldn't keep a grin off my face. This was quite a precarious situation I'd gotten myself in (precarious in my no-risk-taker terms). And from what I heard, it was probably going to get even more so. I'd hidden things from my father before (every teen does), but how was I going to keep this under wraps? I wasn't even sure I really wanted to know the whole and entire truth anyway. Was this really going to be worth it?

 

I sighed. I always asked myself that question when faced with a bad situation. And I'd found I considered very, very few things that were actually worth holding on to. And some little hopeless voice inside me was starting to think that I'd never find anything that ever actually was.

 

But as we emerged from the Holland Tunnel, lo and behold, as if he could sense my distress, the silver-haired wonder was there, perched atop a light pole. He was smiling down at me when I finally noticed him, and I barely had time to smile back before he winked and disappeared in a shower of fading rose petals.

 

And then, I knew. Yes, this was worth it. It had to be.

 

***

 

I'm sure most everybody has either been to a wedding or seen one in some fluffy, gagging romance movie. For those that haven't, you're not missing much. For how great and special everybody says it's supposed to be, they're really not. Especially if you don't know more than half of the people there.

 

Instead, I occupied myself with the architecture around me. I recognized this place as the church I had been in a few days ago (that seemed like forever away), though I had never seen the sanctuary before. It was also the place I had met Steven, so it seemed ironic that they chose to hold it here.

 

However, with a wedding going on, I didn't want to dwell on that too much (trying to keep things as….I dunno, as least awkward as possible?). I paid attention in the ceremony, I really did. I'd been to more funerals than weddings, so I was honestly curious about them. I wondered what kind of ceremony had two people unerringly commit to the vows and then most of them, somewhere down the road, just as unerringly break them.

 

And I stood up when I was told to and everything!

 

Though we had come with the bride's party, we were seated on the groom's side. When the priest started droning on I started admiring the stained glass windows, pulling myself back to the ceremony before my inattention could be noticed. Whenever the sun peeked out from the clouds though my eyes were drawn to them again (this ADD thing was really starting to worry me).

 

It was during one of those times that a brighter, silver shimmer caught my eye on the scaffolding. I couldn't help but smile; he was stretched out on his back almost like a sleeping cat, but he pulled it off with the air of a Grecian model.

 

He grinned back down at me in a mischievous and arrogant way, too aware that no one but me could see him. I threw him a questioning look.

 

He rolled his eyes and gave a fake yawn. Apparently he was bored. That much I could have guessed from his stature alone.

 

Biting my lip, I took a quick glance around me. Molly and Dad were in the second pew from the front, along with Molly's parents. To save room, Cali, Julie, Celia and I were seated behind them in the third pew, with me on the outside farthest from the main aisle. I had kind of hoped to be sitting with the boys, but they of course were on their mother's side. Now I was really glad for the seat farthest away from everyone.

 

As coyly as I could really manage sitting in a church at a wedding, I eyed him and motioned with my head at the empty space next to me. So much for the non-awkward thing, but I had to get him down here somehow.

 

He quirked his eyebrows at me with the devil's grin on his face, his look asking some question. I simply shrugged at him and turned back to the front. The words “hard-to-get” flashed across my mind, but I ignored them.

 

I really wanted to see his reaction to my little challenge, but I kept my eyes stoically forward until I couldn't stand it anymore and risked a peek back up at him. Right as I turned to look he vanished, and reappeared right beside me between the pew and the wall (look at the diagram in the key if you're still confused), giving me a look that a parent gives a child when they've misbehaved. Despite myself I jumped. There were some things nobody got used to.

 

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get the chance he placed a fingertip to my lips and made a shh-ing gesture with his other hand. I wasn't sure why he didn't want us to speak, but I wasn't about to go against the warning. I still wanted to converse with him n some way though, and after thinking and looking around a bit, I came up with an idea. A rather childish idea, but an idea nonetheless. I reached down to grab one of those mini pencils they keep in church pews, feeling a bit foolish and casting looks around me to be sure no one was watching. Everyone else seemed to be transfixed on the couple in front. I flipped the small bulletin to a relevantly text-less page and started to write.

 

What are you doing here? I really didn't know what else to ask. Besides, it was a pretty good question. I figured he would be at the Plaza already.

 

I gave him the pencil and makeshift paper. Bored. Will's setting everything up and he just gets snippy if I try to help and get in the way. I came to see how things were going here. He smiled and added, you seem as bored as I am, at the end in his calligraphic writing.

 

I shrugged. I just find it odd really. They stand up there and promise those vows and whatever, but there's still quite a chance that they'll end up breaking them in about four years or more.

 

Steven just stared at me, wide-eyed.

 

“What? It's true,” I mouthed. And it was. I didn't know exact statistics, but I knew anyone entering a marriage or any kind of relationship for that matter had a very real chance of winding up miserable. Molly herself was divorced, and about half the kids in my school came from a divorced family, and if I may say so complained about it often.

 

I wanted to tell even just one of them to take a week in my shoes and see if they still complained about a silly divorce. But I digress.

 

He took the pencil from me. I suppose that's a rather…cynical way of looking at it. But can anyone really be happy without taking the chance and wondering what might have been?

 

I looked up at him after reading and he was giving me that parent-child look again. I didn't like him teasing me, but all the same……I found I had no answer.

 

We watched the ceremony for while after that in somewhat of an uncomfortable silence. I kept glancing sideways at Steven, and every so often he'd flick his eyes back to me and smile my smile and I would be forced to turn back to the front with a heated blush on my face. When the vows were almost done, Steven tapped my shoulder.

 

“I have to go” he mouthed.

 

I pretended to pout but nodded. Wouldn't want Will to get angry and call, especially at the peak of a wedding ceremony where we weren't supposed to speak.

 

He half-smiled at my face. Suddenly he leaned in very close and brushed aside my Cali-transformed hair, whispering very lightly in my ear, “I'll see you soon. I promise…” His voice was husky.

 

I nodded numbly in response, for that seemed to be the only response I was capable of. As he pulled away with my smile on his face, he grabbed my hand and pressed something into it. In the next instant, he was gone.

 

I looked down to see what he had given me. They were three red rose petals, glistening softly in the dim light.

 

***

 

Dusk fell and the wedding party took flight (er, don't take that too literally) to the pristine Plaza. The first thing my history-crazy mind noticed when everyone stepped down the steps into the Plaza was the huge, golden statue of Prometheus, the good Titan. He'd always been one of my favorites in Greek mythology, primarily because of all the tricks he pulled on Zeus. I read the little information plaque in front of it and reviewed what I knew of his story in my head and was in my happy place for a while. Then I heard Molly calling over to a table where Cali and everybody was.

 

I went to go sit down, but as I looked to where the stage had been set up a familiar face caught my eye. “Will!” I called to him. I'd recognize that handsome, noble-like face anywhere.

 

He stopped what he was doing (which I assumed was something with the piano, since he was kneeling by it) and looked around at the crowd, trying to figure out who it was that had called him. Then he spotted me. “Hali, hi!” he said with a wave as I ran over. Well, as well I could run in the dress and torture shoes Cali had strapped onto me.

 

“Getting everything set up all right?” I asked when I finally got over there. I almost wanted to offer to help, but in these clothes I could barely walk normally.

 

He seemed to pick up on that. “Yeah, just about. Steven disappeared a while ago though and if he doesn't get back soon…” He trailed off with a growl.

 

I held my own tongue and laughter, not wanting to get Steven in trouble again. I looked around a bit and admired all the stuff William must have set up. A little less than half of the Plaza was taken up by circular tables covered in white cloth and adorned with vibrant red chairs. On one whole side there was a long table with several food items from the caterer. Some of it looked really fancy, and I wasn't sure if I would be brave enough to eat it, even when I got hungry. The other half was occupied with a dance floor and a stage on the other side of that. And all around were white streamers, ribbons, and, I noticed with a smile, pink and white rose petals.

 

I figured I should probably start heading back to my own table before poor Will got an onslaught of questions himself. I waved a quick goodbye to William and started walking back to everyone.

 

Streetlights that were designed to look like old-century lanterns were dotted all around the Plaza, and they provided it with quite an ample amount of light, even with the surrounding buildings. All at once, without warning, they suddenly shut off and a hushed silence fell over the entire crowd. Everyone turned to the stage, which was dark as well.

 

It stayed dark for quite some time, so much that the audience started getting restless. I was getting worried myself; I hoped nothing had gone wrong.

 

Soon the stage was illuminated, with such a harsh light too soon after total darkness many people were covering their eyes and squinting. Everyone around was looking expectantly at the stage, waiting for things to begin.

 

So, naturally, I jumped about three feet when Steven suddenly materialized next to me.

 

The very first thing I noticed about him was his tux. It was white. Well, mostly white anyway; it had purple on the edges and the inside, from what I could see. It had gold buttons on the front, which matched the gold chain that hung from a purple-rimmed side pocket on his jacket near his hip. I assumed that was his pocket watch. His slacks were an unblemished white. The jacket was open and he wore a silver shirt under it, and its fabric shimmered similarly to his hair. With the shirt he wore a simple gray bowtie, which you couldn't really see unless you were looking right at it. His hair was like how he had it this morning, very layered and framing his face.

 

I don't really know why it seemed so odd to me. I guess, in my mind, I had never pictured him in anything but a basic purple ensemble. He looked really different and……good, which was expected of him.

 

Steven opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it as he took a look about him. He didn't look at all worried, just confused; like he had just somehow wound up in a place that he hadn't meant to be. He spotted me and smiled, and I hastily looked away and saw that all of my table and an increasing number of the surrounding ones were staring at him. So he wasn't using his usual, ah, `ability.'

 

I looked back up at him and gave him a panicked look. Yeah, I wanted to talk to him sure, but I didn't expect it this soon, or in front of all these people!

 

He responded with an unfathomable expression, still oblivious to any issue. Then both our heads jerked toward the stage as William, glaring homicidal daggers at Steven, played a few ominous notes on the colossal piano. The instrument was closed and Will was rather tall, so even sitting his full head and shoulders were visible, as was his cold stare.

 

Steven looked blankly back at William (who glared icily back) like he didn't understand what the problem was. I saw understanding start to flicker across his face though as he looked about the crowd again. He looked at me again, and then at everyone at my table, who were all wearing expressions of unbridled shock. He raised his eyebrows and turned around, facing the stage and the majority of the audience, since we were close to the back. “My bad,” he called out so even Will could hear. He snapped his fingers, disappeared, and re-appeared on stage again after a few beats.

 

The silver-haired boy turned his head and said something to Will over his shoulder with an amused, carefree smile on his face. William hissed back a reply, and though I didn't hear what he said, it was obvious he did not share Steven's feelings.

 

The audience was heartily impressed by the bit of magic they'd seen already, and they were murmuring about themselves, eager for more. Shaking his head, Steven faced them all and spread his arms for quiet, introducing himself and William. The applause was very whole-hearted………almost too much so. As I looked around I saw girls from their teens (like two in particular at my table) to their late twenties giggling as Steven spoke. And I'll admit, something white-hot flared inside me. I didn't know if my voice was back, or if I owed this enraged feeling to….something else.

 

And then, the show started.

 

I had to admit, he was….good. Not just with his magical feats; those I expected. I mean just the way he carried them off……...they were lavish enough for people to be amazed, but not to extraordinary to hint to them that he was something………abnormal. For I knew, now, that he had to be. I knew it with the utmost and absolute certainty. And while I did know I was nervous, and a bit afraid of the unknown, a part of me was….excited, and dare I say it, happy.

 

One thing that I particularly enjoyed was the finale. From somewhere below the stage, a huge, full-formed, three-dimensional rose that was formed of some combination of light and smoke rose up above the stage. I figured it was just a projection, but with a casual spread of his arms, Steven made the whole thing burst in a flash of shimmering light and thousands of red rose petals showered down.

 

The audience, who unlike me had been oohing and ahhing the whole time, took a collective gasp and started into more rambunctious applause as Steven took his bow. He briefly extended his congratulations to the bride and groom and retreated somewhere backstage. I think we both had the same conclusion: if he were to go out front and mingle, he could be in physical danger. I was a bit disappointed and impatient, but the night was still young, and I had faith in his promise.

 

Chatter buzzed around the Center again. I was using most of my concentration trying to block the rather squealy (I'm fully aware that's not a word) conversations around me and just let my eyes wander. Mostly I watched William, who was taking over the stage. He was arranging and then rearranging things over and over, much like he had done in his kitchen. It was hard for me to believe that it had just been that morning. I really wanted the music to start soon; to get some more pleasing noise in my ears.

 

William was not one for introductions, so the music started quite suddenly. I couldn't stop a smile as I thought of how less flamboyant Will was compared to his silver-haired roommate. It was hard to adjust to the dramatic mood difference between the two.

 

Nevertheless, everyone clapped and cameras flashed as the bride and groom took the honorary first dance. I found myself watching them as well, though I was rapidly tiring of all this fluffy stuff. I was really more watching the steps of the dance they performed. Sure, I hated romance, but……dancing, especially traditional ballroom, was a different matter entirely. Two people moving so precisely with each other with nothing to go off of but the beat and rhythm of the music and the man's leading steps………and the two newlyweds, oblivious to everything but each other. It was like how love was supposed to be. Before society stepped in and screwed everything up.

 

When I wasn't watching the couple, my eyes kept drifting towards the stage (I was not waiting for Steven to show up; I was just looking, really!). I noticed William wasn't alone on stage anymore, but instead of the silver-haired boy there were three others up there, and together they formed a kind of band.

 

Will sat at the grand piano, looking more content and happy than I had ever seen him. Next to him was a short, black-haired boy that looked younger than William by a few years. He was on a violin and had his eyes closed, like he was in some other place. Way upstage from them was a boy on a drum set that I seriously doubted was older than Harry's eleven years. His hair was very bleached, and in the lights it looked a blinding white. He kept a slow tempo, and every once in a while he looked up a Will like he was matching the pace with him. Other than those few times, he kept his eyes blankly at the floor.

 

And on the other side of the stage, on an electric guitar that could have easily been a bass or standard electric, was a taller man who was probably older than Will was. He had shoulder-length, blonde-gold hair that glinted like the actual metal the way Steven's did. All of them looked oddly pale under the bright lights, but he seemed even whiter than they were.

And………well, unless I was just paranoid (a non-farfetched possibility, it ran in my family), that blonde one was looking at me. All the others' attentions were elsewhere, but he was looking right at…something in my direction, I told myself. He was not looking at me.

 

Well, whatever he was looking at, he seemed very focused on it. He reminded me of some great cat that has spotted some scurrying little creature; it was inferior to him, but still posed a threat to his household. Eventually I ignored him and started looking up at the towering buildings around the Plaza. I wanted to look at anything but the dancing couples around; it was just too freaking depressing, looking at couples while sitting alone.

 

When the song ended, a round of applause went out for the players. I was seriously getting edgy now…the focus of Blondie had gathered the attention of the others boys on stage. Will looked briefly in my direction and searched a bit, trying to figure out what the other one was looking at, I guessed. He turned and hissed a few sharp remarks to the others, who were by now also staring this way.

 

The youngest white-haired boy raised his eyebrows in a pompous manner and looked away, ignoring Will's comment and everything else. It struck me as odd: that someone could seem so detached from everything around them. The black-haired one at least had the decency to look abashed. He said something calmly to Will and gave a quick nod to me before turning his attention elsewhere as well.

 

The blonde one, though, kept his gaze defiantly unmoving for a while, and then he cast a sidelong look at William and snapped a retort. The two got into some sort of argument for a moment, but before they could draw any attention they seemed to meet at an impasse and turned away from each other.

 

I just couldn't believe that I'd upset some guy I'd never even met before. Maybe if I was lucky I could catch Will later and ask him what was up.

 

People started milling around, finding new dance partners and waiting for the next song to start. Behind me I noticed that Julie and Celia had struck up a conversation with an older girl that they must have known. She was in a breathtaking purple dress, though a closer look at her told me she probably could have worn rags and still made every guy in the place turn his head. She had long, milk-chocolate colored hair and washed out, light blue eyes that focused on me as soon as I had turned. When our eyes met a shiver ran through me; I'd never seen eyes with such depth except…well, if I was being honest, except in a mirror. It was more than depth though. Something about her expression hinted that she didn't see things as others saw them.

 

She smiled kindly at me. At her smile, Julie and Celia turned as saw me scrutinizing too. “Cassandra, this is Hali, Keith's youngest,” Julie said to her, motioning towards me and using that really irritating voice she uses to act like she's ten years older. Apparently I didn't merit enough to receive and introduction rather than to simply be a part of one. It didn't really bother me though; these were their relatives and familiars, not mine. I nodded in response.

 

Cassandra had this dreamy, other-worldly look on her face. “Hello Hali,” she said in a pretty but rather detached voice. I wondered if she was blind, for her oddly colored eyes seemed to be fixated on a point just to the right of my head. I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to seem rude. Before I could decide, however, Cassandra spoke again. “Oh don't misunderstand, I see quite well,” she said as her eyes shifted ever so slightly to meet mine. “Maybe more than is deemed…necessary at times.” Her voice never changed with natural inflections; she stayed in an abstract monotone.

 

Her eyes drifted away from me when I didn't say anything, lazily scanning the crowd. I admit I was unnerved, and I hadn't missed the fact that she had responded to my thoughts as if they were spoken aloud. I wanted to kick myself, but before I could stop it I said, “Like the Trojan princess, Cassandra.” Random history facts popped into my head at the most inconvenient times.

 

Cassandra turned her head so sharply I feared her neck might snap and our eyes met again. This time hers were intense, focused, and serious. Her expression was so severe I started to stammer an apology, but soon a smile stretched back on her face, though her eyes remained the same. “…Yes, pretty much exactly like that,” she said, her light, musical voice sounding odd in a serious tone.

 

Time seemed to stop short as she and I stared at each other. She didn't look away, and I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away from that crystalline blue. The stalemate was broken when Cassandra started to chuckle, and Julie and Celia joined her in unison. I'd almost forgotten those two were there. I gave a mirthless chuckle of my own and turned back around at the first chance I got. Well, there were two people already who'd freaked me out tonight, and if what Steven said was true, I was due for more.

 

As Julie and Celia started milling around looking for their own dance partners (though I was fairly sure both of them had boyfriends at home, but it wasn't my business), Cassandra left the table and went up to the side of the stage. No music was playing yet, so all of the guys on the stage milling around as well. Cassandra started talking to one of them and, to my horror, I saw it was the blond one from earlier. Both of them were shooting glances my way and were deep in a serious conversation. Cassandra was trying to be discreet about it, but the blond guy stared openly right at me. I glared back at him intensely, starting to become annoyed. What was his deal, anyway?

 

Surprise flittered across his face, but it soon changed to an amused sneer. His gaze never faltered, and his eyes…….changed, somehow. I started feeling really woozy, like that time I'd had to get a shot and I hadn't had anything to eat that day. My vision started tunneling, and I was sure that if I had been standing I would have fallen.

 

Just about when my ears started ringing, a familiar white tux appeared in front of me. Immediately whatever trance I had been in was broken and I grasped the sides of the chair, trembling. Steven wasn't facing me, but the stage. I thought I heard him say something, but I couldn't see why he would have. It was noisy and there was no one around our table, so whoever he would be talking to had to be too far away to hear.

 

After a few moments he turned around to face me, his eyes troubled but his smile still familiar and welcoming. Soon even the troubled light was gone from his eyes, and, oddly focused, he stared at me with an intensity not unlike the blond guy. The analogy made me uneasy, and he seemed to pick up on whatever changed in my expression. He blinked sporadically for a moment, seeming to gather his focus. Then his eyes took on a kinder light, though as always shimmering with mischief, and his mouth stretched into that warm and inviting grin: my smile.

 

Our silence was broken by a pretty piano solo playing out. I started to look up at the stage, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from those illuminating navy orbs. Steven himself glanced at the stage briefly, and then, much to my shock, reached out a hand to me.

 

The piano finished and now lyrics were being sung. It didn't sound live, so I assumed a CD was being played somewhere. I vaguely recognized the song….but my mind was too preoccupied to think of the title or the artist.

 

It's undeniable,

That we should be together…

It's unbelievable,

How I used to say that I'd fall never…

The basis you need to know,

If you don't know just how I feel,

 

I only stared at it stupidly for a moment, and then looked back up at him, my mind simply not comprehending what it was that he wanted.

 

He chuckled a bit, and frustration cleared my mind a little. Jeez, was it still the after-effects of whatever odd trance I had just been in or……or what? I asked myself. What else could it even be? Whatever it was, I still felt a little woozy, and it certainly didn't help matters when Steven grabbed my hand and pulled me to a standing position.

 

Steven looked me up and down. “Looks like I was right about the dress. You wear it well.” He said it so sincerely that my face heated right up. He chuckled a bit and held his hand out to me again. “Would you do me the honor?” he asked, with a beautiful, glittering light in his eyes.

 

Then let me show you now that I'm for real…

If all things in time, time will reveal,

Yeah…

 

Then, it hit me. “D…dance?” I said shakily, swallowing hard and almost unable to get the word out.

 

He laughed openly now. “That was the general idea, though it's customary to accept the offer first.” He still had his hand out, but his tone of voice was oddly neutral. He was giving me the full option to refuse.

 

I gulped. I'd danced before, but never in a dress like this, never with a boy even similar to him, and never this formal. I'd only ever done that awkward move-back-and-forth-while-turning-in-a-circle stuff that middle school tries to pass for dancing. “I'd…love to, but……I can't dance.” Even as I said it, I was reaching out for his hand without realizing I was. It was only when I felt the warmth of his hand on my much colder one that I'd realized it.

 

He didn't seem deterred by what I'd said. “Sure you can,” he responded, grasping my right hand and leading me out to where everyone else was. “Just follow my lead, you'll do fine.”

 

By now I was almost hyperventilating. I looked up at him with panicked eyes. “No, Steven, I can't even do that!” I protested, shaking my head. But he was deaf to any argument. He positioned me in front him, took my left hand and set it on his shoulder (most of the couples there had their arm wrapped all the way around the man's neck, but I really wasn't comfortable doing that yet). He brought his left hand right above my hip to that tricky spot on my side, and when my skin twitched he moved it to the small of my back. He kept my right hand clasped in his, and before I knew what was happening, we were moving.

 

One, you're like a dream come true,

Two, just wanna be with you,

Three, girl it's plain to see,

That you're the only one for me and

Four, repeat steps one through three,

Five, make you fall in love with me,

If ever I believe my work is done,

Then I'll start back at one.

 

For the first time through the chorus he had to talk me through the steps, and though we got a little behind tempo, I eventually got the hang of it. At One, he stepped forward with his left and I stepped back on my right. At Two, we reversed it, with me stepping forward and he stepping back, returning us to our original spot. At Three we did a sidestep, and on the following line he brought my right arm up and I spun a few times. Four was exactly what the music said it was, a quick repeat of one, two, and three, with a step backward, then forward, then to the side. Five was trickier; I stepped way forward with my right (and he way back on his left) and I bent backward as he leaned forward, so he was leaning over me with both his hands supporting my back. That was where we lost tempo because I almost lost my balance and it took quite a bit of grace on his part to get us righted again. The lines after that were simple though; we simply spun a few times and then started over.

 

It's so incredible,

The way things work themselves out…

And all emotional,

Once you know what it's all about, hey…

And undesirable,

For us to be apart…

Never would have made it very far…

`Cause you know you've got the keys to my heart…

 

Those steps were the only ones we did through the next part. Luckily they matched the whole beat of the song instead of just the chorus. And although I could find no logical reasoning behind it, I found I was enjoying myself. That leaning over step got easier this time around, probably due to the fact that Steven kept me much closer to him.

 

Steven led quite well, always giving subtle hints with his body before he moved even a bit. Each step slightly different than how we did it the first time, for he based the lead of each of them on how I followed the previous one. Often I found myself looking directly at him; something I could never do when I was alone with a boy. Whenever I did he'd always smile, and keep that smile there until one of us had to look away for something or other, which wasn't often. I became oblivious to everything else around me and little fears in my head, like what would my father or sister think or what if someone else tried to get between us. It was all forgotten in those glowing navy pools, and despite my original fear, I found I was really enjoying myself.

 

That's when things started getting…………interesting.

 

`Cause one, you're like a dream come true,

Two, just wanna be with you,

Three, girl it's plain to see,

That you're the only one for me and

Four, repeat steps one through three

Five, make you fall in love with me,

If ever I believe my work is done,

Then I'll start back at one

 

When the chorus rolled around again it started just like it did before. But as we danced through the steps and it got towards the end of the chorus, I started feeling…funny. My heart skipped beat a few times. I felt like something inside me was…stirring, and it scared me because it was so familiar. Images flashed in my mind of the Demonike thing and of that one time where the voice said Steven's name.

 

It was stronger now, that feeling, than it had been those times. I wanted to stop and ask Steven about it, to see if he could tell me anything, but I didn't have a chance because the song launched right into the next verse.

 

Say farewell to the dark of night,

I see the coming of the sun

I feel like a little child,

Whose life has just begun,

You came and breathed new life,

Into this lonely heart of mine

You threw out the lifeline,

Just in the nick of time…

 

When the bridge hit, Steven started to lead me through the steps again, but stopped when he saw my face. I was visibly shuddering now; something was welling up inside me, and I felt like I was going to burst. Steven stopped, put some space between us and looked at me, with a look on his that hinted he knew something about was happening but was waiting for some suspicion he had to be confirmed.

 

I meanwhile was feeling like I was going to throw up, only there wasn't that icky feeling of bile moving up my throat. It was just that kind of sensation. I tried to pull myself together and hold back whatever it was that made me feel like I was going to rip at the seams, but Steven placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don't,” he said in a very serious voice. “Haliara, let go.”

 

The moment he touched me and said my full name I lost any control that I might have had. I felt like my heart was trying to leap out of me, and I instinctively I put a hand to my chest.

 

Soon, oddly enough, my normally icy hand started to grow warm, like I'd placed it next to a fire. Worried I was bleeding or something, I pulled my hand back slowly…………slowly………and as I pulled it back, something else came with it.

 

I stared at it in shock. Instantly it reminded me of Gigo's little floating ball form, but there were several differences. The middle was white, like a white hot light bursting with energy. All around it was this…stuff that almost reminded me of fiber-optic cables. Except there were no cables, it was just moving…light? Phosphorous? Maybe even neon? Or was it something that wasn't matter? Whatever it was, it surrounded the white middle, and it was black. A black that held no darkness, but shone with its own light. And it resonated this intense power……I know it sounds vague and I know it may be hard to understand, but believe me, I'm doing the best I can here!

 

Once I got over the shock, I looked up at Steven to see his reaction to this whole weird thing. His wasn't anything like mine: he was euphoric. He looked like somebody had just told him he'd won the lottery or inherited the world. “Hali….” He said like I'd just done something really incredible, like giving b- (nope not even gonna go there). He gently set his hand against the back of the one that was holding the strange ball and brought it back up to my chest, and when he pulled my hand back again the ball was gone. Before I could say anything he gave an overjoyed laugh and put his hands on either side of my waist, lifting me up into the air and spinning until I was dizzy.

 

One, you're like a dream come true,

Two, just wanna be with you,

Three, girl it's plain to see,

That you're the only one for me and

Four, repeat steps one through three,

Five make you fall in love with me,

Whenever I believe my work is done,

Then I'll start back at one.

 

I hardly touched the ground through the whole last chorus he was spinning me so much. I kept trying to ask him what the deal was, but he was in such high spirits and he couldn't seem to stop laughing long enough for me to get a word in. Finally when the song ended he brought me back down, not laughing anymore but still obviously elated. “Hali….Hali, I knew it! I told him so, I knew it!”

 

He looked like he was going to pick me up again and I quickly stepped back. “Told who? Knew what? Steven, what's going on?!” I was a little freaked out already without all this stuff happening that I didn't understand! The least he could do what tell me what was happening!

 

He looked around haphazardly. “Not here. Hali, hang on,” he said as he pulled me in very close to him and I caught the scent of roses again.

 

The storm of rose petals that had encircled us in the church was around us again, and when they cleared, we were out of the Plaza and some back alleyway. Steven let me go and started prancing around a bit, muttering constant streams of `I knew it's. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. “STEVEN!” I shouted in the angriest tone I could. He stopped abruptly and looked over, like he just remembered I was there. “Knew what?” I asked exasperatedly. This was becoming more than I could take.

 

That euphoric smile lit his face again as he walked over to me. He placed both his hands on my shoulders and touched his forehead to mine, out eyes inches apart.

 

“You have an Entity!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key:

 

or he was upset about the red and black of the dress - Hali's father has never quite approved of her little Shadow obsession (I really hate calling it that, I prefer to call it paying too much attention), and thus dislikes anything of the red and black color scheme or anything else related to it.

 

 

that probably each cost almost as much as Heelan school tuition - Heelan is a Catholic High School in Sioux City, near Hali's hometown. They're known for being very high-brow and high-class, and usually excelling well in sports and academics alike. However like most high-class places the tuition is expensive, and they have a bad reputation in all the surrounding schools for being proud and stuck-up.

 

and reserve Rockefeller Plaza for the reception - Okay, I fully and completely understand that this could probably never happen. But, this is one of the few places (and the one I like best) that I can have the reception and still lay out the story the way I want to. I'm kinda stretching my poetic license here. Anyway, the part of the Plaza where the reception takes place is the sunken plaza in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where (obviously) the Prometheus statue is, along with the Christmas tree and the ice rink in front of it. Hali is not New York savvy, so she refers to this place as the whole plaza (I'm fully aware that she's in the wrong).

 

That whole passage where Hali's chatting about books (Twilight, Charlaine Harris' books and Vampire Knight) is just random information that Hali was thinking about on the way. It gives a bit more insight to her interests and her character, so that's why I put it in there. All those titles, and the characters and all content of them, belong to their respective authors and owners and are not claimed by me in any way, shape, or form. (How's that for a disclaimer?)

 

I'd been to more funerals than weddings - Sadly this is actually very true. I think the ratio is about 3:5.

 

Seating arrangement at wedding: Pew- \__@_#__^____*/ + |-wall with window. @-Celia #-Julie ^-Cali *-Hali +-Steven

 

on an electric guitar that could have easily been bass or standard electric,--My knowledge of guitars is severely lacking. Any helpful tips and guidelines would be appreciated, and if I mistake something, I apologize.

 

The song playing at the reception that they dance to is Brain McKnight's “Back At One.” View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spp0XeJKbcM It's a Final Fantasy X AMV, but it works.

 

 

 

 

So effing tired >.<. Sorry if the ending kind of sucks, but at least I got it out. Yeah it took longer than I wanted it to, but it's a super long chapter, so that should make up for some of it right? Right??!! (-.- I blame Gaia online okay?!)

 

Ugh, I gotta go to bed. See you in chapter 10 everybody. Things are really starting to get good now. Thanks to those of you who have stuck with it this long.

 

Reviews, helpful information, corrections, and most other commentary is welcome and appreciated.

 

Oh, and I'm entering an editing spree at the moment. No major changes are taking place, just a few little quirks and fixes. The only thing that I think will be noticeably different is the Prologue and the first chapter. I'll keep working on chapter 10 at the same time that I'm editing.