~Help...I have done it again...~

"JORDAN PLEASE HELP!"

~I have been here many times before~"

"NO, GOD NO, PLEASE! SOMEONE! HELP ME!"

~hurt, myself again today, and the worst part is there's no one else to blame...~

"NO! NOOOO! AHHHH!"

~be my friend...hold me, wrap me up...I'm lonely, I'm falling...I am small...

~I'm needy...warm me up...breathe me...~

My eyes shot open from the images.

The horrible images.

I thought they were gone.
I thought everything was okay.

Andor...is he trying to contact me?

The dream...I couldn't exactly see what was happening...but I knew something or someone was hurting him.

I felt paralyzed in my bed. Tom was sound asleep beside me, I guess I hadn't screamed...I'm glad.
I don't want him to have to deal with anymore of this crap.

I slowly sat up from my bed and walked carefully to the bathroom.
The door creaked noisily as I creeped into the bathroom, but I don't think Tom heard it.

The mirror stood in front of me, I enclosed my hands around the sink as I stared at my expression.
Tired. And guilty.

Andor...I feel so selfish for forgetting him.

His screams were still sketched permanently in my mind.
I coughed and I tried to quietly muffle it so I wouldn't wake Tom. I think the sickness is starting to sink in. At the worst possible time too.

I ducked my head low. My shame felt as if it were hurtling down on me.
He's going through so much pain...my best friend...

He gave up his freedom and the only remaining respect of his father for me. For us. For Ianite.

"We will get him back Jordan...I promise you."

Her hand touched my shoulder as she stared at our reflections in the mirror.

Mine was astonishingly ugly, compared to her perfect complexion.

I wonder if she knew about Tom...

"Do you know about-?"

"Yes. And I have no problems whatsoever with this bond you share with him. Im glad you have found your path in love. I'm sorry, I was warding your dreams but I seemed to have let one slip by..."

"Please...can't you help him at all?..."

"I cannot. It's impossible for me to do, my powers are still weakened. Although...I can still feel his spirit. He is alive, but very...weak..."

I gripped the sink harder as tears began to prick at my eyes.

"I must go. He's coming, and he doesn't favor me well..."

I watched as her form vanished, like a wet painting being smeared by a hand.

The door to the bathroom creaked as Toms head poked out of the door.

"Sparklez, it's 2am...what are you doing up?" He asked in a scratchy voice.

My anger bubbled up inside me. I forgot Andor. I forgot what the king had done. What Al had done.
His screams lingered as I stared at my face, full of hatred for myself and many others.

It was too much.

I grabbed the large wax candle on the sink and busted the mirror with all the strength I could muster, my loud scream filling the air as the glass shattered to the sink, floor, and my arm.

A gash was made, but I didn't care.
Andor was the only thing or person I wanted to think about right now.

I wanted him to be free, I'm angry that he's being hurt.

I'm angry because I'm weak.

Tom gripped my arm and pulled me out of the now messy bathroom, he pulled me to the kitchen and told me to sit. I obeyed and sat there, angry tears wetting my T-shirt.

He gauzed my arm and wrapped the bandage as tightly as he could, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Why in the hell did you do that?" His tone was stern, making me want to throw more things and break them.

I'm an emotional wreck.

"Andor..." I muttered, clenching my jaw.

"Look, we'll go after Andor, when were ready! I don't get it, you were happy no less than 5 hours ago, now you're hitting things and getting angry? Are you bipolar or something?"

I jerked up from his grasp on my arm and stomped angrily out the door.

But this time I heard Toms footsteps behind me.
"I thought you weren't gonna run away anymore?!" He yelled as I pulled out my specter key.

"I thought you were gonna stop calling me names. Guess we were both wrong," I hissed through my teeth.

I began to grip the key, waiting for the teleportation, when Tom grasped my arm gently.

I turned to yell at him, but I saw his face. His chocolate brown eyes were filled with tears.
"Please...don't leave again...I'm sorry."

I wanted to pull away and run, like I always did.
But his voice, it showed he was guilty.

I sighed and drug my hands stressfully through my hair and then over my face.

I had yet another coughing fit, and when I finished, began my confession.

"I had a nightmare about Andor okay? That he was being hurt, tortured. And no one seems to care about this mission anymore...I'm even angry at myself for forgetting him...what do you think they're doing to him, what kind of torture are they using?"

My voice cracked at the last sentence.

If we are trying to resolve silly disputes, I should start by confessing things right away.

"The worst kind. But, we will get him back. Even if it risks our own lives, we need him for a new beginning."

Was that...no. It couldn't be.

I turned my body to see Martha, hands on her hips, a confident smirk on her face.

She came back.

"Martha?" I heard another voice whisper.

Lady Ianite had appeared beside me, her eyes staring directly into Martha's.

"Mother! So you have returned!"

She smiled with a gleam of happiness in her eyes and ran to her mother. Ianite was tearing up, she was hugging her daughter for the first time in 10 years. That's gotta be emotional.

"Age has treated you well! You are still a beautiful young woman!" Ianite chirped as she gripped her daughter tightly.

"And you! Still as radiant as ever!" Martha laughed.

They pulled away and began to talk about things in hushed whispers. I heard Steve's name a couple times...

Martha jumped as if she had forgotten something.
"Oh my! I almost forgot! I went to the inertia with Stevie, and we decided it would be best to take you all on a rescue mission tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" Tom and I said at the same time.

"Didn't you just finish saying no one cared about the mission? Well, we do! So pack up your bags and be ready for tomorrow! We have much defense to provide when we break through the guards and walls! We have to wear disguises and we must not drop numbers until we are at least half way through, or else we may not make it."

My stomach felt like I had just swallowed a bag of butterflies.

I could die tomorrow.

Tom could die tomorrow.

Any of us could die tomorrow.

I swallowed dryly as Martha
continued to talk about the plans with Ianite and Tom.

I wasn't listening. All I could hear was a loud piercing noise in my ears.

Signaling how terrified I was.

"But enough talk of battle! We must celebrate tonight! Where could we hold such an event?"

"I'll call Tucker, his house is big enough for five hundred people. But uh, I'm not sure if you'll be able to come Martha. Sonja might beat the shi- I mean crap, out of you for flirting with Tucker."

She giggled nervously and pulled a strand of hair from her face.

"Oh I'll be good, I will give Ms. Fox a little present for putting up with me. So shall we meet at his home tonight at sundown?"

"We shall!" Tom said, fist pumping into the air.

"Wondrous! I must go now, I need to catch up with my dear mother. Goodbye!"

Martha and Lady Ianite began to walk back towards the main land, linking arms and laughing in their conversation.

"Well, I guess you got what you wanted?" Tom said smirking.

But I wasn't gonna pick a fight with him right now. If he or I died tomorrow, I would regret my last conversation with him to be an argument.

Why would we celebrate at a time like this? Shouldn't we be fearing for our lives? For our loved ones?

I don't think I could celebrate...I'm was too stressed about tomorrow.

"C'mon Sparklez, let's get dressed."

I heard Tom walk back into his tree, but I stayed glued to my spot.

My mind wanted more than anything to save Andor, but my body was trembling and my stomach was doing flips.

I was gonna die tomorrow. Most definitely.

But I should be with my friends one last time, before I never see them again.
~

"That looks great! You ready to head out?"

Tom stood in the tall mirror beside me and looked me up and down.

I wasn't wearing anything special. Just a white T-shirt with a suit jacket and some slacks. My converse were dirty, but I didn't have time to clean them.

I nodded absent-mindedly as I trailed slowly out the door, Tom following behind.

He didn't say anything about my weird behavior, and I'm glad. I just wanna wait this night out. My heart was full of dread for tomorrow.

When we arrived at Tucker's, he had put at least three tables together and had pulled a long white table cloth over all of them.

There were plates, utensils, and other dinner supplies at the table. Candles were the only thing lighting the extremely dim room.

It looked really fancy.

Everyone was already there, talking and chatting excitedly. Tom and I sat in our chairs, beside Wag and Lady Ianite.

I didn't really pay attention to any conversations.

When the food arrived, I didn't eat. Though it did look pretty good, Tucker had cooked a gigantic Roast and there was tons of other dishes to choose from.

I didn't talk.

I just stared at the table and thought of the many ways we could all die tomorrow. The dream that I had repressed from long ago was coming true. Would they die the way I pictured them to?

My thoughts were interrupted as Tom poked my arm lightly.

I ignored him. He was just trying to bother me and I didn't want to argue with him right now.

He kept poking me. I continued to ignore him.

He finally stopped after a couple of seconds.

I tried to go back to what I was thinking of a minute ago, but I couldn't hear my own thoughts over all of the talking and laughing in the room.

My mind went back into oblivion as I stared at the blank space on the wall.

I felt a hand grip my thigh and I squeaked as it did.
My head jerked towards Toms devious looking face, his hand still on my leg.

"Will you cut it out?!" I shouted.
I didn't mean for it to be that loud.

My face was flushed red from the action he had just done.

The conversations stopped and I could feel everyone's eyes on me.
I groaned and put my head down on the table. I should have stayed home.

Tom smiled like a Cheshire Cat.
"Sorry, but I couldn't get your attention without doing something...sensual."

He put emphasis on the last word, and my face went red as blood.

I heard Sonja's voice break the silence in the room.

"I keep forgetting you two are dating...it's cute when you fight like old ladies," she laughed.

She'd just told everyone we were together.

My face couldn't have gotten any redder.

"Sonja!" Tom yelled angrily.

"Oops..." She said in a quiet voice.

"Wait, so you two are dating? Like a couple?" I heard Wag say.

"Yes...we are...look I didn't want to te-" I was interrupted.

"Pay up sunshine!" I heard Wag yell and laugh.

I looked up from the table and saw Wags hand lifted out to Tucker, who had a grumpy expression on his face.

"Come on! You couldn't have waited another week?!" Tucker asked me and Tom.

"What? What are you talking about?" I heard Tom ask confused.

"Tucker and I made a bet on when you would finally start dating, and I guessed before we retrieved Andor and he guessed after. I win!" He said in a sing-song voice.

Tucker mumbled something unaudible and handed Wag a sack of diamonds from his back pack.

"You made a bet on when I would start seeing Tom? So...you knew?" I asked.

"Of course we knew. Everyone knew you'd get together sometime or another...it's extremely obvious. I think even Martha knows, and she just got here." Tucker said pointing at Martha.

Martha giggled and smiled. "It was very apparent. But I am happy that you've both found yourselves!"

"Ughhhhh...." I groaned loudly. I did not want to discuss this with half of my friends sitting right next to me.

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't a secret or I would've been deep trouble. Oh and by the way, did you guys get freaky in my closet a few days ago? I gotta know in case I have to clean up the mess." Sonja smiled evilly.

Everyone laughed, including lady Ianite who was trying not to spit out her champagne.

"You guys suck, leave the poor boy alone," Tom said while also laughing like a hyena.

I cracked a smile too, and after awhile began laughing with them.
~

"What about marriage?"

"Ugh, marriage makes me cringe. I don't know what to think...it's just really weird, you know?"

"Explain to me why you think it's weird. What's so bad about it?"

Tom and I had come home early, deciding maybe we should try to get some rest before tomorrow.

But it turns out, my nightmares starting coming as soon as I closed my eyelids.
I began screaming in a matter of two minutes, to which Tom woke me up.
He couldn't sleep either, but only because he drank seven energy drinks of Tuckers at the party so he wouldn't be tempted to get drunk.
So to pass the time, we were asking eachother questions about what we thought on certain topics, Tom had just brought out marriage.

"I mean, it's a lot of commitment right? And plus you have to give whoever you marry half of your stuff. Half of your life! And what if you don't wanna be with the person you marry anymore? You still have to give them almost half of your things, the divorce is depressing, and then you hate eachother for the rest of your lives. It's just really complicated if you ask me."

I covered my mouth as I coughed and hacked for a few moments, my cough was getting worse.

"Are you sure you aren't sick? You sound really bad..." He asked worried.

"No, I'm okay. It's just allergies, I swear," I lied.

"Well okay...that time Tucker tried to set up a wedding for you and Capsize, is that why you didn't wanna do it?" He changed the subject.

"Well yeah. And plus, I barely even knew her. I wouldn't give someone half of my things if I didn't know them. I know it's supposed to be about love and trust but...it just sounds like a prison sentence to me. Is that weird?"

"Definitely not. I don't think I'd ever want to get married either. So, what would you wanna do instead of marriage?"

"I dunno...dating forever sounds kinda silly. A soul mate is too mushy...I really don't know."

"...how about partners?"
I knew he was probably talking about us.

"That sounds nice. Partners."

"Yeah...Sparklez?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we could be...partners one day?"

I blushed at the question.
"I'd like that." I smiled turning my head slightly towards him.

"Me too." He smiled back at me.
"I'm starting to crash. You think you'll be okay for the night?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Night Tom."

He reached over and kissed my forehead.
"Night Sparkley Pants...Iloveyou." He said the last part very quickly, embarrassed by the words. He turned over and clicked off the lamp.

A few minutes passed and I responded back.

"I love you too," I whispered but he was already fast asleep.

Never, even in my wildest dreams, would I have imagined being in love with my best friend.

Being partners with Tom...the thought alone made me smile with happiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
IM BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Also known as The city xD

Soooo I may have stayed up till 2 every night writing up chapters...

Oops...

I CANT HELP IT! WHEN I GOT DA FEELS I GOTTA WRITE THEM DOWN!

I'm way behind on mianite, but when I get home I will watch the streams that I haven't.

AND THEN I CAN MAKE BEAUTIFUL CHAPTERS!

I missed you all so much, two days is far too long!

I've had the worst weekend ever!
Peeps are so da rude in the city...
But whatevs, society ain't got nothing on me for being myself

:D :D :D

Hope you guys liked this chapter! I had fun writing the last part :3

Leave a favorite of you enjoyed! Thanks!

- Lee