[ 8 ] 2014 

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"Brisbane. The scent leads to Brisbane."

-

Harley didn't want to decline, but she really wanted to go find Calum instead of staying in Sydney. It was more important to her than a birthday celebration, and she knew her brother probably wouldn't mind if she skipped out on his birthday. She would need to find a way out of it, but she needed to be highly intelligent. She needed a way in which she would seem like she was really disappointed about not being able to stay at home. 

She thought about it for a minute and then it came to her. "I thought Billy was just going to celebrate his birthday with Cindy."

Cindy and Billy spent all their free time together. Harley wouldn't be surprised if her older brother turned out to decline celebrating his birthday with his own family to be with Cindy. She thought she had gotten out of having to stay in Sydney until she saw her mother respond with a shake of her head. "Both Cindy and Billy agreed that it was a wonderful idea to spend his birthday together as a family. She was very excited, even." Harleen pointed out.

The small smile that had been forming on Harley Quinn's lips disappeared.

Just when she wanted an excuse to miss out on the birthday celebration her brother had to go an decide he actually wanted to celebrate with his family for a change. Thought Harley assumed he was doing it more for Cindy. This was probably the first time she was attending a family party rather than a teen party where everyone was drunk and making out.

"That's great." She said, lacking enthusiasm and went up to her room.

When she opened her door, Ashton was already there waiting for her. The two of them had never finished their movie marathon and Harley felt guilty about ignoring Ashton the way she was doing. She was also relieved that he had been so understanding of the situation. Ashton understood that Calum was a very important person to Harley.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked. As a spirit, he could linger without being seen, and he had heard what her parents said about celebrating Billy's birthday.

Harley let out a groan and let herself fall onto her bed. "I don't know. I think I'll seem inconsiderate if I don't stay. And even if I mind control them into letting me go, it wouldn't feel right."

"They can go without you." Ashton pointed out.

"I know." Harley sighed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "I just want to be there when we find him."

"What if you don't like what you find?" He asked her. That opened up the possibility in her mind that perhaps they might not find Calum alive. 

It was very possible. 

His uncle seemed to be a greedy man who wanted Calum's money.

Harley gave a shake of her head with her response. "Calum is one of the strongest people I know. I'm sure that wherever he is, he'll be okay." 

At least she hoped he would be okay.

-

Back at the house where all her hunter friends lived, they were all gathered once again. They were all ready to leave to wherever Niall would lead them, but none of them knew that Harley Quinn would not be joining them.

Michael saw her enter the house without her things and he asked her, "Its a three day trip. Aren't you taking some changes of clothes or something?"

Harley shook her head and let out a shaky breath as she started, "My brother's birthday is tomorrow. My parents want us all to celebrate together as a family, and I can't miss it. You'll all have to go without me."

"Tomorrow is Calum's birthday too." Andrea pointed out. "Don't you want to find him and have him back here as soon as possible? Your family will understand, Quinn. Calum would do it for you." She was trying to guilt Harley into following them to find Calum.

"Whoa, wait." Michael intrjected. "I was only on board because you were going. I hate Calum."

"Me too." Dempsey piped up. She quickly clarified to Harley, "I mean, I don't hate Calum. My opinions on him are neutral. I mean that Paul and I were just agreeing to this because you were going and we get paid to watch over you."

"What if we go on Sunday?" Harley suggested.

Michael sighed in frustration and threw his head back in annoyance. He quickly pulled some black leather gloves off his hands and waved Niall over to him. "Come here and give me your hands." He said to the Irish.

"Why?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at Michael.

"Because I want to hold your hand." He said sarcastically. This earned him a glare from Andrea who grabbed Niall's hand and pulled him back behind her jealously. Michael immediately went onto explain. "When I don't wear my gloves and I touch someone's skin, I can see into their future. Maybe if I look into yours, I'll see where we're going and if we'd find Calum by going on this stupid road trip."

"Oh." Andrea and Niall said in unison.

She let go of his hand and he walked forward reluctantly. Everyone else in the room watched as Niall held his hand out for Michael to take. 

Michael grabbed Niall's hand and the reaction was instant. The contact only hasted a couple of seconds, but when Michael let his hand go, his eyes became lost as though in thought. Harley was closest to him and she could see the pupils in his eyes grow, nearly covering the iris. He remained that way for a full few minutes before he was snapped back into reality.

He took a big gulp of air, as though he had been underwater for a while.

The first word that escaped his lips was a place. "Brisbane." He said in almost a whisper.

"The scent leads to Brisbane." Michael repeated.

"And is he there?" Harley wondered. It was one thing that the scent would lead to Brisbane because it was a possibility that he had recently been there. But it was also a possibility that he had left.

The hunter pulled his gloves back on to avoid contact with anyone else in the room. Seeing beyond the present was not something he liked to do. It was draining and he always felt very tired right after, to the point where he only wanted to sleep for several hours. It was the reason why he wore the gloves and didn't use his gift often.

"You don't find him." Michael admitted to his half-sister.

Her lips turned downwards into a frown which hurt him more than it should have. She was suffering over one boy, in love with the other, but there was nothing for him. Only a love between siblings. It was a difficult life to live.

"A woman in Brisbane will say that Calum visited for a few days and then left." Michael continued explaining what he saw in his vision. "But there is one thing I knew for a fact from what I saw: his uncle knows more than he lets on."

Harley agreed with a nod of her head. "Niall, Andrea, and I think the same thing. But we don't know how we can get him to talk. We can't even get in the house because he has security posted at the front gates."

"But maybe he won't need to talk." Niall concluded with a grin, as he came to a realization. When he had the attention of the others, he continued, "If we can find a way to get into the house, your brother Michael can just do his fortune teller bit and see where Calum is. Then we can hurry and go save him before his uncle does anything to him."

"The only problem now is getting into the house." Harley mused, trying to figure out a way.

She was suddenly feeling optimistic. It was very possible that she would be seeing Calum again within a few more days.

-

a very short update because im so damn tired, but i wanted to update. i swear to god, guys. i sleep earlier now, and i sleep more. but i always feel more and more tired. and like when i sing in the choir, i run out of breath faster. and my hair is still falling out, though it hasn't been as much as it was in the beginning. and i have migraines, and stomach aches. and everything is wrong with me. and literally as i fall asleep at night, i fear that i could like slowly die in my sleep. i hate being sick. 

anyway, here is a quick question of the day: do you own an ugly christmas or holiday sweater? i dont have one, but my university sells some really cute but embarrassingly cute holiday sweaters. and i want one so bad, but poor. haha. 

i hope you all really like the update. i worked really hard on it.

i hope you all have a blessed day. i love you all and appreciate your friendship sooooo much.

-clary xx