[ 10 ] 2014

-

"It feels kinda weird though, seeing all of this. It makes the whole thing all the more real. I'm dead, and now I'm buried too."

-

For the next couple of days, some of the boys from the basketball team with Billy included, did not show up to classes. The principal excused their absence, and when most of them returned, they were just an emotional mess in the classroom. Harley didn't have any of her classes with her brother, as it was not allowed for siblings to be in the same class. But she had classmates who were on the basketball team and who spent most of class time with their head down on the table, wallowing in their laments after having lost the big game. A few of them even had emotional breakdowns in class.

Cindy was also not as perky and cheerful as she normally was. And it was because Billy's sadness was rubbing off on her. As much as she tried to make him feel better, it was too many things piled up that had gone wrong. The other girls on the cheerleading squad felt bad for them too and it was decided the next week at practice that they would ask the teachers for permission to organize a pity party for the boys during lunch hour, though they would not call it that in front of the boys. They would have pizza, ice cream, cake, and balloons. It was all in an effort to let the basketball team know that they had done their best and it was appreciated. Harley was surprised that the principal gave her permission for the party to take place. But most of the boys on the basketball team were twelfth years and it was understandable for them to be so upset. Many of them had scholarships riding on that game. 

Billy was lucky that he had scholarships from his other two sports, as well as from the science club to go on. But that didn't mean it made the defeat any less painful.

The Friday of that week, the girls were given permission to skip most of their classes to organize the party in one of the unused classrooms. Harley was only grateful she didn't have to be in class, especially now that Calum wasn't around. With Arthur conscious now, he was making sure Calum was finishing up his education. He had hired home school teachers for him and Calum was taking his classes at home. Arthur had dropped out of high school with only a few months to finish. He didn't want Calum to turn out the same. 

When everything was ready for the party, the girls pulled the basketball players from their classrooms right before lunch and led them down a hallway where there were several unused classrooms. Harley had always wondered why St. Genevieve's needed so much space for only five hundred students. But recently there were rumors going around that a very rich man was coming to visit the school. He was thinking of making a very charitable donation to the Catholic school, in order to make it transition into a school for kids from grades six through twelve instead of nine through twelve like it was currently. 

Harley and Cindy picked Billy up from his Government class right before lunch as was permitted by their principal. Billy was confused as to why his girlfriend and his sister were picking him up, wearing their cheer uniforms. He himself was wearing his black basketball hoodie with red lettering on the front and back. The front read St. Genevieve's Boys Basketball, while the back read Quinn 04. He still looked very upset and like he hadn't slept in days. But from what Harley knew, he was spending most of his time in his bed. The only time he left his bed nowadays was to eat, shower, or go to school. 

That he knew of, there were still two more weeks before they would go to their competition and there were no more games for the cheerleaders to attend. The only sports season left to the end of the school year was the cross country one. He would need to pull himself together in time for the last meet, which would take place just in time before the end of the school year, on the last week of school. Billy had a standing scholarship with USC for football, since they'd had a very successful season that year. His cross country scholarship was with UCLA, and given that they performed well at the state competition, he would be able to decide which of the two universities he wanted to attend. Cindy was trying to convince him to go for the cross country scholarship at UCLA, since she knew football players sometimes suffered heavy injuries on the field. But Billy was leaning more towards his USC football scholarship. 

He thought about the future and knew he'd be able to offer Cindy a life she was used to with football money. There was also the fact that they were offering him a science scholarship as well, whereas UCLA could only offer a cross country scholarship. The opportunities he was being offered made both Harleen and Aaron very proud of their son. And then there was Harley, who barely showed up to practice and didn't stand out whenever the cheerleaders performed. She didn't have a cheerleading scholarship waiting for her, nor did she have the grades to get an academic scholarship.

If anything, she would probably go to a local university and study something practical. She didn't have big dreams of leaving the country and becoming a famous athlete and scientist like her brother did. Harley only wanted a simple life.

As they turned the corner into the empty hallway, they could already hear the commotion coming from one of the rooms. There was music playing, though not too loud, since there were classes going on in the next hall. When they opened the door, the cheerleaders stopped what they were doing and shouted surprise at them, for about the tenth time. 

Billy looked to the two girls and pulled them in for a tight hug. "Thanks girls. We really needed a pick me up."

-

As Harley left cheer practice that afternoon, she got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't a bad feeling. She just felt like something or someone was calling out to her. She followed the feeling as it led her past the gates of the school and into the church next door. Harley's family was Catholic, but they were not devout. They were not the type to attend church every Sunday or to celebrate all of the saints holidays like some people at St. Genevieve's did. Another thing that surprised her was that she had never really gone into the church throughout her time at the Catholic school. 

The school and the church were right next to each other. Separated only by a black iron gate. That she knew of, the church had morning services every day at seven in the morning and classes started at seven forty five. That gave the students enough time to attend. But she never did. She remembered that the only time she entered the church was on the first day of classes when she moved to Sydney.

Her parents had moved the family out just in time for the beginning of the school year and the students had all piled into the church just before home class. The resident priest hadn't given a service, only a blessing to the students for the beginning of the school year. It was also one of the few times she was required to wear the special uniform. A tan plaid skirt with red and black lines on it, black suspenders, a white button up shirt, burgundy silk tie, and a black blazer with the St. Genevieve's logo. The rest of the school year they wore their regular uniform--the black pleated skirt, red suspenders, white button up shirt, red tie with thin white stripes, and red blazer.

She entered the church which was dark and empty at the moment. The only time they had services during the week was in the morning. On the weekend was when they had regular services at different times of the week. The feeling that was calling to her led her through the church and she stopped in the center, performing the sign of the cross on herself out of respect before continuing. She had never been very religious, nor were her parents, but they had always told her that it was proper respect to bow her head of perform the sign of the cross on herself whenever she passed the altar. She then continued towards a side door that led to the other side of the church, opposite of where it connected with the school.

Harley stopped in her tracks and let out a slight surprised gasp at what she saw before her. There was the school on one side, the church in the middle, and on the other side of the church was a cemetery.

A stone sign at what seemed to be the entrance read St. Genevieve's Catholic Cemetery. 

She wondered what kind of force was calling out to her. But it was pulling her into the cemetery. Though it was a seemingly dark and gloomy place, she did not feel scared. Instead, she thought that whatever was calling out to her was a calming presence. Wearing her physical education uniform, her gym bag slung over her shoulder, and her backpack on her, she went back into the church and dropped her bags on one of the pews. She would come back for them in a moment. She just thought she didn't want to commit the imprudence of putting her belongings down on one of the graves. 

In her pocket, her phone beeped with a text from Calum. She glanced at it for a moment without opening it. He was probably telling her that he was waiting for her in the parking lot of the school, as he did every afternoon now when she got done with cheer practice for the day. She knew he would probably be worried that she wasn't answering, but she just had to know what was pulling her into that cemetery.

She continued slowly. By the entrance were older graves, some from the nineteenth century and on. As she got further into the cemetery she saw more current dates. Again, the teenager was stopped in her tracks when she saw something that was familiar to her. This wasn't a grave in particular, but rather someone that she knew.

Ashton was there, sitting at the foot of a tomb. He didn't see or hear her coming, or if he did, he did not indicate as much. As she got closer, she was able to read the name on the stone he was sitting at. Ashton Fletcher Irwin, beloved son and brother. July 7th, 1943-March 15th, 1963. That was when Harley remembered. When her balcony was renovated and the body was found, the police were called in to retrieve the remains. Harley's parents were informed that the body belonged to a boy who had been murdered in the house fifty years prior. Her parents had then paid for a tomb stone to be set up for him, so that he could be properly buried. In all that time, many things had happened and she had neglected to visit his tombstone even once. 

The guilt and emotional pain was now clawing at her heart strings. She slowly walked over and sat down on the dirt floor next to him.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come and visit you." She said to him, her voice cracking slightly.

He turned his head slowly and smiled at her, as if barely noticing that she had arrived. But she knew in her heart that he felt her presence even before she said anything to make herself known. "That's alright. You were in the hospital recovering half the time, and the other half you were visiting your dad who was also in the hospital. I don't hold it against you. I would never do such a thing." Heaving a sigh, he admitted to her. "It feels kinda weird though, seeing all of this. It makes the whole thing all the more real. I'm dead, and now I'm buried too. Now my soul materializes here instead of in your room."

Harley was a bit surprised, but it made sense. Before, he was able to materialize in her bedroom because he was bound to the mirror and because his remains were underneath the floorboards of her balcony. Now, with his remains buried, he was bound to the cemetery next to the church instead.

When she remained silent, he continued. "I always thought that if my body could be buried, then I'd be able to go in peace. Yet, I'm still here."

"Maybe..." Harley thought out loud, more to herself than anything else. "You're still here because you weren't supposed to die that night."

Perhaps, that was why he was unable to rest in peace. When they first met, Calum explained to her that there was a lot to learn about their abilities. Over the remainder of his life, Con Hood had collected hundreds, or maybe even thousands of books. But Harley wondered if it was the same kind of technique for shifters and hunters. In the beginning, she thought she was a shifter. But she had soon found out that she was instead a hunter. A similar being, with similar abilities, only better and stronger than their counterparts. 

She would have to talk to Calum and Ashton together. Maybe they could find a way to take Ashton's soul back to the 1960s, so that he could live out his life the way that he was supposed to live it.

Perhaps she could take him back there.

-

so the first part of this chapter is major filler.

but i wanted to post something because i am feeling inspired with this series again. so please bear with me as i produce a couple of updates. hopefully i can update often, since i will have ten days off from work, starting december 25th. 

i have a lot of plans for this story and a lot of plot points to cover. 

thank you so much for reading and supporting this series. i began writing it six long years ago and it still amazes me that people still read this.

happy holidays everyone!

-clary