Chapter 10 -
Love Hurts

Erica, Sarah and I walk down the hallway to our favourite two nerds hanging around their lockers, holding what seems to be a clear bottle of... cologne?

Benny looks up toward us with a mischievous smirk, obviously up to something, "Hey, ladies. What do you say?"

"Drop dead, geek?" Erica replies, not missing a beat.

"Easy, babe, easy." He says, feigning hurt as he puts his hand to his heart

"Hey, nothing personal. I just don't hang out with dorks." Erica replies, smirking over at Sarah and I as she plans to walk right past the two.

"Just wanted to see if you... Want a sample of this new Dusk perfume." Benny mutters as if what he wasn't saying wasn't going to attract Erica's attention 100%.

As if on cue, the blonde whips around to the boys, stalking up behind Benny as the brunette continues his perfect salesman pitch,

"Yeah, it's supposed to make even undead people smell like flowers and other girly stuff."

The smirk on Benny's face screams trouble...

Somethings off...

"You wanna try it?"

Erica squeals, "Yes!"

"No, thanks." Sarah cuts in, trying to pull her definitely-not-a-fangirl friend away from the two conniving boys.

"Yes! Oh please!" Erica begs us. "Just one little spritz?"

Sarah looks up to me as if asking for my opinion and I shrug, amused to watch the blonde be excited about something,

"I say go for it."

Erica takes the bottle and sprays three spritzes' onto herself, the excess clinging onto Sarah and me, wafting into our noses. The brunette nerds peer over at us with a sudden interest in their eyes and biting their lips in anticipation.

A look I once admired on Benny making my mood turn... sour...

Within a second, each girl clings to one of the boys:

Sarah on Ethan - Which I was cool with.

And Erica on Benny - A burning sensation fills my veins in pure hatred.

"Hey there, handsome," Erica says, leaning against the wall and a smirk painted across her red lips.

Benny looks down the hall, his eyes flicking across mine with a look of what seems like confusion, "Your talking to me... in school."

"There are other things I'd like to do in school," Erica states, her breath sultry as she grips Benny's collar and with a quick noise of surprise from Benny, she pushes their lips together.

There's a moment of silence in my head as I watch the blonde make out with the now-frozen brunette. I know I should feel jealousy, and be hurt considering my feelings for Benny - feelings that Erica was well aware of...

But looking at the two, all I can feel is pure unadulterated loathing.

"You know what I love?" Erica asks Benny, their lips inches apart with her hands rested against his chest, "All your striped shirts. They just scream 'I'm good at calculus!'"

There's a pain in my hand as Erica and Sarah gush about the boys. My eyes trail down to the source of the pain and I note the drips of crimson blood dotting the floor as my claws bed themselves into my palm - my hand closed in a fist.

My head hurts as I feel a panging pain - the blood thundering in my ears as I'm suddenly unable to focus on anything around me, only on the drip, drip, drip of crimson as I attempt to calm my racing heartbeat.

The bell cuts into my attention as Erica groans, "Aww! Poo! We have to get to class... Will you miss me?" The blonde dances her fingers up Benny's chest as she bores into his eyes. There's a quick and confused nod from Benny as the two girls giggle and waltz off and down the hallway.

"What just happened?" Ethan asks dazed.

"I kissed Erica..." Benny mumbles, his tone sad and confused. A bottle slips from Benny's hands and clatters onto the marble floors. Benny, shaking himself from whatever shock he was in, reaches down to grab the bottle - pausing as he stares at the crimson puddle. His hazel eyes slowly trail up to my closed and shaking fist. He reaches to grab my hand and my body shakes involuntarily and I pull away.

"Don't" I hiss, staring into his worried eyes with a feeling of pure hatred.

I have no idea what is wrong with me, but anytime I even look at Benny... I have the sudden urge to throw a clawed punch right into his stupid face.

Benny swallows a lump in his throat as he tries to keep his hands to his sides, "Are you... Are you ok?"

Just hearing him speak makes me want to throw up, so without an answer, I push past the two brunettes and force my way down the hallway to whatever class I had next.

*

Throughout the day, I made my best attempt to avoid the two boys - specifically Benny. However, no matter how hard I tried, I seemed to always end up near the two and that feeling of pure hatred for the spellcaster flared straight back up.

And so, that's how I ended up here.

Standing in the garden of Evelyn Weir, the older woman tending to her plants and herbs.

"Evelyn... There's something I need to discuss with you."

The woman turns her head toward me instantly in interest, staying quiet in a way to let me know to keep talking.

"I'm scared. I can't explain it but... Every time I look at Benny I feel this pure hatred toward him. Anytime he speaks... Anytime he looks at me... Anytime he does anything. It makes me want to - to tear him apart with my claws, layer by layer. And the idea makes me feel sick..."

Evelyn stares at me in thought, an eyebrow raised, "So, you've come here to tell me about how much you hate my grandson?"

"No!" I rush to defend myself, "I... Yeah. Maybe? The thing is... I don't hate him. I know I don't hate Benny. But then I think about Benny and that feeling of hatred just comes back all over again. I just don't know what to do..."

Evelyn hums as she stands up, dusting her hands off on her garden apron, "When did this start?"

"This morning. I got to school with Erica and Sarah and the boys had this stupid Dusk cologne they wanted us to smell... Erica sprayed in and I don't know... Since then I can't look at Benny."

"Hmm... and Erica and Sarah - how did they react?"

I shrug, thinking back to the events of this morning. Back to Erica kissing Benny.

"They were all over them. In love with them or something."

Evelyn nods as she makes her way inside, me following her like a lost puppy. The elder grabs one of her many spell books from her bookcase and starts flipping through the pages as she continues to speak,

"This feeling of hatred... Do you hate Ethan as well?"

"No... anytime I think of Ethan... I don't know? He's sweet, caring, gentle, kind of cute and - oh my God, why do I feel this way about Ethan?"

Evelyn smiles at my sudden panic, then sighs, her fingers pointing to a page in her book, "I've got a theory... One that I don't like..."

Before she's able to continue, her phone starts to ring. She looks at me apologetically as she answers - the caller ID reading 'Rory'.

Rory?

"Put it on speaker," I suggest, Evelyn nodding and placing the phone onto the table.

"Hello, Benny's Grandma? This is Benny's friend, Rory."

"Hello, Rory. How's it hanging, bro?" Evelyn asks, slightly tense at the current situation. There's a pause from Rory's side of the call as I can assume the blonde is trying to think of how to respond to Benny's Grandma.

"Good... It's hanging good. I was wondering, do you have any more of that magic potion left?"

Magic what?

Without a second thought, I speak up and lean toward the phone, "Magic? What magic potion, Rory?"

"Oh, hey, Abigail! You know, the one she gave the guys to make all the girls in the school fall in love with them."

*

Evelyn and I stand in the Morgan's kitchen, awaiting the nerd duo to come home after school. My head is muddled and confused with thoughts as Evelyn tried her best to explain what was happening to me.

She explained that this potion would affect those intended to feel a strong sense of love and adoration for the creator. However, apparently, if you were to be in... love... or anything feeling like it, with the creator before the spell's effect, you'd feel a powerful sense of hatred.

Aka. Me.

The good news, however, is that the spell should already be wearing off by now.

The bad news...

Benny and Ethan stagger into the kitchen, slumping roses and chocolates onto the table, lipstick adorning their faces. I know Evelyn said it should be wearing off but God. Just smelling Benny's stupid scent makes me want to throw him out a second-story window.

"Hello, boys."

"Grandma!" Benny's voice cracks as he struggles to pick up a gold box of chocolates, "Sweets for the sweetest grandma ever? Take two!"

I roll my eyes and voice my disgust with a scoff. Unfortunately, Benny's eyes fly toward me in hurt and surprise.

"Drop it, Drake." Evelyn says annoyed, "Abigail and Tweedledum have told me what you did."

I ignore the faint feeling of satisfaction when Evelyn calls me by my name.

Benny groans as his Grandma crosses her arms in wait, "I made a love potion and accidentally dropped it and now all the girls in school love us." Benny's gaze falls to mine once again, "Well, most of them."

"The love potion on page 72?"

Evelyn didn't even need to ask, she already knew.

"You know it?" Benny asks surprised, then chuckles as he playfully hits his Grandma's hand, "Grandma rocked the potion too! Is that how you bagged Grandpa?"

Evelyn rolls her eyes and holds up a purple yoyo, "Here's the thing boys. Nature is all about balance. Brainiac here upset the balance. You swung the pendulum all the way to goo-goo eyes and giggles. But when the pendulum swings back-"

Evelyn, swinging the yoyo back and forth, hits Benny square in the forehead and I can't help the snort,

"That's what I'm talking about. The more those girls loved you, the more they're gonna hate you. Now, how strong was the potion?"

Ethan twiddles his fingers as he avoids Benny's Grandma's gaze, "Well... Sarah bought us matching cardigans."

"Yep. You're toast."

Benny sighs, as his shoulders sag in defeat, "Please don't punish us again, Grandma."

"Oh, you'll get yours," Evelyn teases, her eyes falling onto me with a smirk.

"But, come on!" Ethan tries to defend the two of them, "We're used to girls not liking us, what's the worse that could happen?"

Rule number one of the supernatural, Ethan... Never ask those kinds of questions.

"Wait," Benny shakes his head, "Then why isn't Abigail affected by any of this?"

I open my mouth to start attacking Benny, however, Evelyn cuts me off, "Oh, she's affected. Just not in the same way. Now, leave her alone before she tries to murder you."

The room is uncomfortable to stand in as everyone stinks of stress and unease. No one daring to speak.

The doorbell rings and Benny races out of his chair to answer the door, clearly trying to avoid the uncomfortable atmosphere of the room,

"So... Any update on how long it'll fully wear off?" I ask, looking toward Evelyn. She laughs,

"In about five hours. The good news is, it seems like you're already calming down around him. When you were talking about him in my garden, your hands were shaking and I don't need to be a werewolf to know you stunk of hatred. At least now, you're able to be in the same room as him without attempting murder."

I chuckle in response, "Yeah... Still pisses me off when he looks at me though..."

Ethan, who I forgot was sitting by Evelyn, shakes his head, "So, why aren't you affected in the same way?"

"She already has a massive crush on my stupid excuse of a grandson, so the spell is kind of working oppositely..."

"Evelyn-!"

Ethan laughs, "Everyone can see it, Abigail. The only one you can't is the one who matters."

Benny cuts off any train of thought I had as he screams from the foyer, "Grandma! Call the police!"

The three of us hurry into the foyer, Ethan immediately getting grabbed by one of the two guys standing in the door, dressed as one of the boys on our school's football team.

"Sorry, I can't find the phone!" Evelyn calls out, even though the phone is sitting on the table right beside her. I smirk in delight as the jocks grab the boys by their collars,

"I'm going to snap you in half like a popsicle stick."

Hearing the guys say that sends mixed signals into my body as I feel the sudden need to protect Ethan and Benny... Hey! That's progress, right?

"Wait! I have a proposition for you." I call to the boys in the door, Ethan and Benny's beady eyes staring at me, screaming 'help'.

I walk into the kitchen, reaching for three white pieces of paper that I remember Benny and Ethan gushing over for hours. Some tickets to a game or something...

"Here," I push the tickets into the jock's chest, him letting go of Ethan's collar, "Tickets to tonight's game. Leave them alone, and they're yours."

The jock smirks as he takes the tickets from my hand, "Sweet! Thanks, guys."

"Wait. What about your girlfriends..?" Ethan mutters, attempting to get his breath back.

The guy smirks and shrugs, "We can get new girlfriends. These are platinum seats. Hasta la vista, dorks."

The team walks out of the door and Ethan rushes to slam the wood shut and lock it immediately. Benny's body slumps into mine, and while part of me wants to throw him off, I guess he can rest against me for the time being...

"That wasn't so bad," Ethan mutters, slumping against the wood. Evelyn smiles as she picks up her handbag and her spellbook,

"They're not the ones you need to worry about. Have a nice evening."

The elder walks out the door with a smile as Benny hurries to relock the door. I had planned to leave as well if the feeling of hate didn't seem to be wearing off, but I seem to be okay, so I might as well stay behind to help these idiots out.

And I'm suddenly glad I did as the sound of a window smashing gets our attention and a blonde I faintly remember from my history class stalks down the hall with a wooden bat in hand,

"Hey, I was in the neighbourhood. I thought I might... Swing by!"

The blonde swings her bat toward the boys and I reach out to grab it, the force taking me back a little.

Shit, she's pissed.

I turn to the boys, my eyes flashing blue as I growl toward them, "Go!"

The brunettes rush out of the door as I rip the bat from the blonde's hands and smash it in half against my thigh, "Have fun beating them up with that, bitch."

She smirks as she reaches down and grabs both pieces from the floor, "You just made it easier to stab them both at the same time."

Well... She isn't wrong about that one.

I duck out of the way as she swings a piece of the bat toward me, and I rush out of the door after the two boys. Speaking of, the two boys stand on the porch as two more girls smirk at them, one with a hockey stick in hand, the other with... a whip?

"Benny! You potioned martial arts experts!" Ethan yells rocking Benny back and forth.

Oh for fu-

"Come on dumb and dumber, we gotta move!" I grab the boys' collars and pull them to the left of the porch, throwing Benny over the railing, but losing Ethan in the process. Shit.

The girl with the whip and the blonde with the hockey stick runs after Benny and me as we race toward Ethan's backyard. The whip wraps around Benny's foot and the boy falls face-first into the dirt with a groan. I take out my claws and cut the whip, pulling him to his feet and practically dragging him the rest of the way.

"You ok?" I huff as Benny remembers how to use his own feet and starts running with me,

"Yeah! I think I sprained my ankle back there, but I'll be fine."

"This way!" I yell as I grab Benny by his wrist and drag him into the bushes, a little satisfied that the spell seems to be wearing off me just fine as I attempt to take away a bit of his pain from his ankle.

"Get out here so I can filet you!" The blonde yells as the pair make their way toward the bushes,

"You mean so I can strangle him."

"Hey, I hated him first."

"Yeah? Well, I hate him more!"

"Oh no she di'int! You gonna take that?" Benny asks, trying to start a fight between the two girls as they circle eachother.

"Oh, she's got you beat!" I call out, my eyes searching for some way out of this mess.

"You'll never get to kill me now."

Ethan sprints up next to us, "Guys! We have to get out of here, now."

"Relax, I'm safe, two girls one guy? Instant cat fight." Benny says smiling, and that's when the severity of the situation hits me,

"Yeah, but now there are two girls, two guys!"

"Perfect. One moron for each of us." The blonde says grinning, gripping her hockey stick as her partner stalked toward us. I grip the boys' arms, ready to sprint when a gush of wind stops us.

Erica and Sarah.

Oh, hell.

"That's my man you've got there," Erica states bitterly, and wow. Earlier I was mad at Benny for just being Benny, and I didn't really care about Erica's sudden attraction to the brunette. But now with a new and clear mind... I kind of want to hit Erica.

"No one is gonna kill him but me."

"Well, it's been lovely knowing you both," I mutter, patting the twos back.

"We should take this as our opportunity."

"Quick, to the Cage of Eternity!" Ethan says, and I raise my eyebrow at him. The cage of what?

Ethan grabs our wrists and starts sprinting for a massive, rusty-looking cage sitting in his backyard, and if that isn't a red flag...

"What are you doing?" Benny asks as we reach the cage, "How do you expect us to get all those killer girls in here?"

"Who said anything about them?" I ask, already picking up the pieces of Ethan's plan.

"Wait a minute, you told me you didn't have a key," Benny says curiously toward Ethan, still not seeming to get the picture.

"I don't." Ethan tears open the door, "Once I'm in, I don't plan on coming out any time soon. Come on. Hurry up."

"There are four girls out there, fighting over us," Benny says amused, I roll my eyes at the brunette's stupid idea of fun,

"Yeah, over who gets to murder you!"

"It's still pretty cool." Benny defends himself, backing toward large rocks sitting in Ethan's yard.

"Benny hurry up and get in here." Ethan shrieks, "A rock is not gonna help us now."

"Not just any rock! Emergency holy water." Benny mutters, holding up two yellow water pistols and handing one to Ethan,

"I stashed these in both of our backyards, you never know."

"Yeah. That's kinda crazy - and smart. We really-" Ethan cuts himself off, halfway in the cage as there's a sudden silence, "Wait. Do you hear that?" Ethan asks.

Silence.

"I don't hear anything," Benny replies, stinking of anxiety.

"Exactly. Fights over, and I have a pretty good idea who won, get in."

We all clammer into the cage and slam the door shut. No way in or out...

"We are so dead. We are so dead. We are so dead." Benny repeats, looking between the bars for any sight of Erica and Sarah.

"Think this cage will keep 'em out?"

"Well we're gonna find out in any-" Ethan is cut off as Erica rushes toward us out of nowhere and grabs the bars.

"Come on out, sweetie. I want to go inside and make popcorn with you!"

"I don't think he can fit in the microwave," Sarah snarls, pulling at the cage's bars.

"Oh, I'll make him fit."

I rip the water gun from Benny's hand and shoot Erica square in the forehead, the blonde groaning as she takes a few steps back from the cage. Benny raises his eyebrow at me with a smirk,

"What? You telling me you haven't wanted to shoot Erica with holy water at least once?"

He snickers and shakes his head,

"The Eternity Cage is impregnable!" Ethan shouts at the vampires, taking Benny's and I's attention from each other.

"Yeah! And so is the prop - I hope." Benny mutters, looking around the cage worriedly.

"Please don't make us use these!" Ethan shouts, pointing his water gun at Sarah, who in turn, snarls at Ethan. The brunette shoots a stream at Sarah and she back away groaning.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorry-"

"It's just like being in a shark tank." Benny cuts Ethan's worried cries off, smiling down at his friend,

Suddenly, ere surrounded by a lot more girls, trying to claw their way into the cage, "No, THIS, is like being in a shark tank..."

"How long did Shark week last?" Benny asks,

"Well, they loved you for about six hours. If your Grandma's right, they're gonna hate you for about five more." I answer, watching the girls crowd around the cage.

It took forever, but in the end, the boys and I all end up falling asleep to the yelling and screaming of the girls, still trying to claw their way into the cage. I laughed at the two boys trying to defend themselves that "It's for warmth, Abigail!" as they snuggled with each other on the lone chair in the middle of the cage. I ended up dozing off on the floor.

I'm suddenly awoken by a scream, the perpetrator, Benny, staring at the two girls standing with their arms crossed outside of the cage. Ethan springs up with a shout and I have my claws out in ready-to-defend mode.

"What do you think we should do?" Sarah asks, a smirk painting her face.

"Kill them," Erica responds with a sickly smile and it doesn't take my werewolf senses to realise they're back to normal. Just really, really mad.

"I thought you said the spell would have worn off by now!" Benny says annoyed with Ethan.

"It did! They're just mad at you." I reply, dusting off my pants as I stretch my back,

"Guys, look. We are really, really sorry." Benny apologises, attempting to defend themselves.

Erica crosses her arms, "Well you should be. Because look what SpedEx just dropped off." Sarah holds up a large rusty key that matches the exterior of the cage.

"We get it, you guys want to punish us. Totally."

"Not them, loverboys: me," Evelyn says walking in between Sarah and Erica with a spark in her eyes as Sarah opens up the cage and pulls the two out.

"How are you feeling sweety?" Evelyn asks me, and I look over at Benny.

Nope. No hate there. Just the standard feeling of adoration and pining.

I smile at Evelyn, "All good!"

I pause as I look at the three women standing in front of me, with the two boys sulking in tow, "Wait... I'm not in trouble too, am I?"

[EDITED - COMPLETED]
[4015 Words]

(New) Authors Note:
Ayo! Back to trying to edit this... My ADHD spear tackled me and said "No."
But I'm here! hoping to edit and finally finish editing most of this, eventually.
Especially seeming it's starting to gain traction again,,, for some reason?

Anyway! Have a lovely day and happy reading!