Chapter 39 -
Déjà Vu

Benny's hand grips mine, hard, as Anastasia glares us down and her eyes glow a strong amber,

"The Lucifractor was confiscated by your schoolmaster?" Her voice going from, 'I'm a sweet little girl!' To outright demonic by the end of the small, but horrifying, question.

"It's just in his office. We'll get it back, easy." Ethan says, feigning confidence with an uneasy smile.

"And technically he's our... vice-schoolmaster... so..." Benny trails off, trying to ease up the conversation, God bless him.

"Right!" I but in, "Which makes it even easier."

"The Lucifractor is the greatest threat we vampires have ever faced. You have one day to get it back, or we will raid that school." Anastasia states, her impact heavy.

"And you don't want that." She adds, sitting down in her somewhat throne.

Now, I'm sure many people would think, "Abigail. What's so bad about a tiny vampire fading your high school?" And I would politely reply, "Oh, well, random citizen. How do you like getting your throat munched on hm?"

The three of us smile politely and turn to walk from the room,

"So. That's a threat." Benny mutters, his eyes roaming the room,

"It's okay. Stern won't be any trouble." Ethan replies, his words still laced with unease.

*

"Oh, come on! It's gotta be in here. Have you looked under 'L' for Lucifractor?" Benny asks, turning to Ethan who is currently searching through a bin in the corner, as I study Stern's small trophy case.

"I don't see it," Ethan mumbles a lot more stern then I'm sure he meant to. Ethan walks to Stern's desk and starts to pull open his desk drawers, multiple things rolling back and forth with how harsh he was opening them,

"But, I found our Alien DNA Detector guards, and our psionic helmet... and the eye of Zartek. I never realised how much of our magic stuff Stern's takes away from us."

I study the multiple objects in Ethan's hands and I can't help but scoff.

That thieving bastard.

"Oh, guys. I found it." Benny mumbles,

"The Lucifractor?" I ask relieved, stepping over to the cabinet Benny was searching through,

"No. Better. My forever flask. Infinite root beer!" Benny smiles down at his flash and instantly undies the cap and starts to drink from it.

I sigh, "Benny, that isn't at all what we're looking for, come on." I mutter, turning back to Stern's desk as Ethan walks behind Benny and peers into the cupboard.

"Really?"

I instantly stand straight as the boy's whip around, Benny spitting root beer to the ground. Mr Stern looks at all three of our faces, lingering on Ethan for a moment.

"What are you looking for?"

To say we were a loss for words is an understatement as Mr Stern ushers us out of his office,

"Your need like will sit in my office until the end of the year and you will sit in detention until the sun dies." Mr Stern states, staring us all down as if we just stole his favourite toy as a kid,

"Now get to class."

Stern leaves us in the hall as Benny turns to us, "I gotta go, man. Terror is starting to wake up." He mumbles as he waddles to the bathroom.

"I'm so sorry, that was a mistake..." Ethan mumbles, looking to the ground. I open my mouth to reassure him it's fine, but am cut off as Sarah walks up to us,

"You still thinking about our date last night, huh?" She asks, her face softer than her words.

Low blow, Sarah. Low blow.

"Uh, no. Benny, Abigail and I were just- wait. What? You thought our date was a mistake?" Ethan asks, his voice cracking. Uh oh.

I take that as my cue to turn around and start admiring some stupid posters on the wall, though I can't help but overhear,

"Oh! Well... I guess? If you do, I mean-"

"Oh. Yeah... yeah. Totally. I guess sometimes you just gotta try something before, you know. How horrible it'll be?" Ethan mutters, his voice breaking as he tries to mask his disappointment.

"Oh. Great, yeah. Uh.." Sarah stops herself from talking as she walks past Ethan and down the hall, disappointment leaking from her scent.

Ethan watches her leave through the door, his eyes meet mine as I look at him sympathetically,

"I'm fine." He lies, his smile is almost convincing, but you don't need to be a werewolf to figure out he was hurting. I smile softly at him as I walk over,

"No, honey. You're not." I whisper as I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a tight hug.

I decide to not comment on the soft sobs I hear as he hugs me back, almost twice as hard.

Benny thankfully doesn't pry as he politely waits for Ethan to pull away.

As he does, he wipes his eyes, "Benny. Sarah just said our date was a mistake." Ethan mumbles, avoiding either of our eyes,

"Oh, shit," Benny mutters under his breath,

"And I kind of, maybe, said it was horrible..."

Benny's soft expression lessens a tad, "Dude, what?"

"I know. I just- felt so awkward and upset that I just agreed with her. I didn't think our night was that bad, you know, aside from everything that happened..." Ethan mutters.

"Well, if anything I learnt from girls, in the past, is just walk away. It's what they did to me." Benny cracks a joke, which thankfully does get a smile from Ethan.

"You're right. Get past the personal."

"Ethan, you stressed really hard for that date, are you sure-" I cut myself off as Ethan raises his hand,

"No! It's fine." Ethan nods, taking a deep breath,

"Maybe I could ask Sarah to go into Stern's office and get the Lucifractor back?" He adds, trying to get his mind off of the whole situation,

"Ehh... Is she really in the helping mood? I mean... she just dumped you... or you dumped her..." I trail off, just getting more and more confused as I go on,

"Either way, it smells like a dump." Benny adds on, "Just hurry. I'm still struggling with Geography class..."

"Well, you're almost remembering where Switzerland is." Ethan comments, trying to praise Benny as best as he can.

"I'm getting close right!" Benny adds, smiling hopefully, and God isn't that just the cutest...

"At least you're don't point at the blue parts of the map anymore?" I suggest, smiling up at him and taking his hand.

*

With the sound of a door opening, I look up from my sketchbook and Benny takes his head off my shoulder.

Ethan quickly walks over and sits in his seat in front of us and turns around,

"She wouldn't even talk to me." He whines, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I'm sorry, hon." I comment, leaning forward and rubbing his arm, "I'm sure she'll get over it soon."

Ethan smiles at me appreciatively, then his face turns serious, "So, how are we going to get the Lucifractor?"

That's when Benny smirks and pulls out a large ring from his pocket with a dramatic, "Bam!"

"Projection ring. Stern swiped this from me before I had the chance to try it out... But I pocketed it when we got busted this morning." He whispers, biting his lip and wiggling his eyebrows,

"So... you put it on and you can look like anyone?" Ethan asks, trying to clarify what it did exactly.

"Yeah! Who's gonna stop Stern from walking into his own office?"

*

"Benny! Learn how to answer your damn phone." I mutter as Ethan and I walk into a spare office where Benny was sitting quietly.

Ethan sits down and I wander to Benny leaning down to kiss his cheek, but he immediately moves away from me, his eyes completely concentrated on Ethan.

Okay then...

"If anyone asks, you have a complicated bladder confusion called-" Ethan is cut off by an almost bored sounding Benny,

"Later. I looked through Stern's office, there's no sign of a Lucifractor. But! I found this. It's for you."

My eyes trail to where Benny was looking, which was a folded piece of paper with Ethan's name neatly written on it.

Ethan leans forward and takes it, instantly entering a vision by the look of his expression and his eyes shifting.

"Benny, what is-" I cut myself off as Benny's eyes slowly crawl up to mine. I step back, instantly feeling disgusted.

Benny's expression is reminding me of... of Dark Benny.

This isn't my Benny.

Ethan jolts, a sudden wave of purple flowing over him and I break my gaze with non-Benny and reach to stable Ethan.

"Benny," Ethan pants, "Stern knows about us. He knows what the Lucifractor is. Did he do anything to you?" He finishes, smiling gratefully up at me as I take some of his pain away for him.

"He's tougher than anything we've ever faced," Ethan adds, looking down to the table, trying to rake his brain for an idea.

"Ethan. That's not Benny." I spit, glaring holes into the almost identical eyes of the boy I love, however, this Benny's eyes are a lot darker than normal.

"What?" Ethan mutters, but before I can explain, Benny slips the ring off of his finger, and with a puff of smoke, Benny is gone, and Mr Stern is smirking at us. Ethan jumps, and I let out a growl from the back of my throat.

"Thank you for that unsolicited yet oh so accurate compliment."

I pull Ethan from the chair and we stumble out of the room, Ethan slamming into Sarah,

"Ethan! Are you ok?" She asks, eyes darting from my face to Ethans,

"What's... what's wrong with you?" He asks, his voice shaking and his heartbeat racing.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you! It was one bad date." Sarah pleads, taking a step toward Ethan, but before she can get close enough, he's on his feet and out the door.

Sarah turns to me, tears forming in her eyes as she searches for an answer,

"I... I'm sorry, Sarah. It's not you, I promise!" I call as I chase Ethan's scent and follow his run out the door, leaving the vampire alone in the hall.

*

Ethans harsh breathing fills the otherwise silent room as we sit in darkness, except for the single beam of sunlight through the gap of his closed curtains.

"Ethan," I say softly. The first word that has been spoken for the full 10 minutes we've been sitting here.

"Yes?" He whispers, his eyes looking up at me for a second then straight back to his shoes.

"What do you see? Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, sitting up straighter, my eyes still on his shaking form.

"You... you wouldn't understand."

"I'm sure I would," I mumble, my eyes leaving Ethan and meeting his bookcase. Ethan, after a few seconds, softly explains how he sees everybody, but dead. All but me. He explains that everyone is different.

Some just look soulless, while some have visible wounds, such as a ladies neck being sliced open.

"I understand," I whisper, my eyes meeting Ethans. The boy scoffs,

"How the hell do you understand?" His voice is bitter and filled with repressed anger.

To be honest, I didn't want to tell anyone this. I had wanted to keep everything I am about to say a secret for as long as I possibly could, but... I think now is the time. I think now is the time to let it all out.

"Have I ever explained what a werewolves blue eyes mean?" I ask softly after a few beats of silence. Ethan stays silent, but shakes his head in response, urging me to continue.

"A werewolf, whether turned or naturally born, will have amber eyes. Innocent. Young. If you become the alpha of your pack, they will turn into a bright crimson, showing leadership and strength. Blue... blue shows that you have taken an innocent life.

"Whether it was an accident or on purpose? It doesn't matter. The second you take that person's life away, the gold turns blue."

The silence in the room is almost unbearable. The faint sound of a clock ticking from downstairs. A tap dripping from the Morgan's shared bathroom. A pen writing back and forth from the kitchen as Mrs Morgan writes this weeks shopping list.

"Why did you did it?" Ethan asks softly, his eyes meeting mine for one of the first times in this room.

"She was bitten by... by an alpha. Her body rejected the bite so, it was either: Let her choke on her own infected blood or..." I trail off, looking to the side, avoiding Ethan's eyes momentarily, before looking up again.

"We were only 10 years old."

The gasp from Ethan's lips is expected. I would be surprised to. If not, horrified.

"I wish I could have told her that I'm sorry," I whisper, looking down to my blood-covered hands that stare back at me almost as if they are laughing at me.

"Why didn't you? When we had the board game..." Ethan trails off, shifting in his corner a little bit.

"I didn't want to tell you guys back then. I didn't even want to tell you guys now, but... I want you to understand, whatever it is that is going on? It's ok. It's going to be ok."

"Have you told Benny?"

The weight of Ethan's words shouldn't be as heavy as it felt, but I couldn't help give the floor a bittersweet smile.

"I love Benny. He loves me. I don't want that to change, not yet."

We jump at a sudden knock on the door as Benny is standing in the doorway. Ethan stands, jumping behind his bookcase as I stand, stumbling back a bit,

"Ethan? Abigail?" Benny asks, his eyes meeting mine before he looks over at Ethan's shoulder sticking out from the bookcase,

"Uh, your mum Uh... your mum says you're nuts? Maybe we can hug it out? If you want... I mean I won't actually hug you but, we can talk." Benny says, snapping his fingers enthusiastically.

I sniff the air for a second... he smells like him.

"Show me your hands," I state, holding myself confidently, but I just want Benny back.

Benny holds up his hands, showing no ring at all on his fingers.

"Same two as last time?" Benny questions and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I race forward and pull him into a hug, his arms instantly wrapping around my smaller frame.

"Woah! You alright?" He asks, kissing the top of my head as his grip tightens.

"The last time we saw you, you were Stern." Ethan mumbles, now peeking around the corner of the bookcase, his eyes darting between Benny and me.

"He had your ring," I add, stepping away but allowing my arms to linger for just a second longer before letting go completely.

"Yeah... everything kind of went blank after I snuck into his office. I just woke up a little while ago at home. Somehow, I made this wicked sandwich! But, I don't know what was in it. Weird." Benny finishes with a shrug, looking over to Ethan.

"Everybody's dead." Ethan pleads, his voice hushed and cracking with every syllable, "Everybody except Abigail. I... I see them. They are all dead!" He adds, his eyes moving around the room frantically.

"Alright, relax dude. First, um... you see dead people?" Benny asks, snickering at his joke. I slap his arm softly,

"Benny-" Ethan whines, but before he can continue his train of thought, Benny leaps forward, scaring Ethan back into the bookcase with a yelp.

"I'm pretty sure I'm fine." Benny mumbles, shrugging his shoulders and looking down to me.

"No. You're not." Ethan chokes out, holding his shirt tight where his heart is as it races faster and faster.

"Okay... um." Benny mumbles, looking to me then Ethan, "I'm going to have Granny take a look at your brain, alright?"

*

"Anything?" Benny asks as we lean on the door frame as Evelyn holds Ethan's head between her hands.

"Yes," Evelyn replies softly, her eyes still searching.

"In his head?" I follow up, a little too quick for Evelyn's liking.

"Yes."

"Is it bad?" Benny asks. Evelyn whips around at us and glares, "Sorry." We both mutter, our heads ducked.

"Ethan, the fear binding you're under us very strong," Evelyn says softly as she takes his hand which was resting on the table,

"We're all going to die," Ethan mutters, his eyes sealed shut to avoid looking at either Benny or Benny's grandmother's face.

"Look at me now," Evelyn whispers softly, Ethan doing as she asks and instantly gasping and leaning back to try and escape what he sees.

"What you see isn't real," she assures him, "I don't have a spike through my head." She says, smiling softly at him.

"You don't have a head, actually," Ethan mutters, the look of disgust dancing across his features.

We all look down to Ethan's side as his phone starts to ring. He grips the piece of metal for dear life and looks up to us, "It's Sarah. I have to get her out of Whitechapel. We should all leave!"

"No! We should stay. We need to talk with her." Evelyn claims, taking Ethan's hand in hers again.

And with that? Here we are, now sitting in Evelyn's lounge room. Ethan and Sarah on the larger couch as Evelyn, Benny and I sit nearby, on the floor, in front of the coffee table.

"We're ready. Now, Ethan, look at Sarah." Evelyn starts. Ethan turns his head slowly to Sarah, hesitating for a moment until his eyes lock onto hers.

"Stern wants you afraid. Why? Because he knows you can stop him." Evelyn says calmly, "You just have to find something stronger than your fear. Sarah's the one you want to protect the most."

"But, I'm his best friend," Benny mutters, confused for a moment. Evelyn, without caring about her grandson's comment, continues,

"Now, whatever teenager nonsense is going on, you two care about each other. And you have to believe me, that's stronger than any magic that Stern might put in this message."

Benny slides his hand over mine and I can't help but blush as he leans into me as Evelyn says her motivational speech.

"Now, let's see what we're dealing with," Evelyn says, taking the page and instantly being thrown back, Ethan catching her by the arm and being tossed into a vision.

The two look at each other for a few seconds until Evelyn softly plops down onto the sofa, her once determined expression shifting into her just looking tired.

"Why happened? Grandma?" Benny asks, getting up and moving toward Evelyn,

"Stern's magic. She'll be ok, but she Amy be like that for a while. We're on our own. Now what?" Ethan asks, panic rising in my chest.

"We go after that goon and show him why the score is. Can't be that hard? His jackets are so ugly.. right?" Benny mutters at the end of his comment, trialling off as Ethan slumps to the side of the sofa.

I can't help but feel a sudden rush of déjà vu.

[EDITED - COMPLETED]
[3233 Words]
Authors Note:
One more part to go! I'll have it edited and completed by tonight, but I won't be posting until tomorrow morning so I can at least balance it out a bit. I high suggest re-reading chapter one, or at least the start, for the final chapter. Thanks Xx.