Lena Matthews

A small green tendril broke from the dirt and crawled towards the rising sun. Three distinct white petals unfolded gently, like angel's wings. I smiled in satisfaction, but my concentration was slipping. The petals of my newly created trillium started to curl and wither before shriveling back into the ground.

"No..." I muttered, frustrated. I walked back to my tree and traced the small Forbidden brand that was ingrained there. Despite coming here to practice every morning, my powers weren't improving. I sat down in the dirt and stared at the giant stump where Flora's tree used to be. Its circumference was probably three times the size of my tree. She must have been alive for a while.

At least now she didn't have to outlive her family.

That was the lamest silver lining in the world, and I knew it. Slowly, I picked myself up and returned to my tree. I threw my consciousness back into the tree's network until all of my senses concentrated and solidified in a new place. I dropped to the ground, almost hitting my head on the root of an oak. I brushed myself off and caught my breath.

Now that I was in my backyard, I looked around to make sure that the coast was clear. When I didn't see anyone, I walked back inside the house.

"Good morning!" Aurelie shouted at me excitedly from the kitchen. Just like Finn, she was comfortably settled in the kitchen to enjoy the show.

The show in question was Dad struggling to make french toast. He was trying his hardest for Valentine's Day, and Mom found it so funny that she hadn't bothered to fix her fallen scarf. I could still see two pink marks on her neck from where she had been attacked all those years ago.

The pan sizzled dramatically as Dad attempted to flip the toast. It landed successfully, with only a little bit of egg outside of the pan. The whole family cheered triumphantly, but I stayed silent. I felt like I wasn't really present. Right now, it seemed like I was watching a movie of what a family was supposed to act like.

Since I wasn't being followed by the Forbidden anymore, I allowed myself to walk with Aurelie and Finn to school. Aurelie was excited for Valentine's, and I had helped put pink hair clips in her hair for the occasion. Meanwhile, I had stacked six layers of foundation on my wrist. Despite that, I had no idea how long it would last. I couldn't stop rubbing my Forbidden brand for some reason.

"Any plans for today?" I asked Finn playfully.

"No." said Finn flatly.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, still teasing.

"We have a job to do." Finn reminded me. "This whole town is supposed to be temporary, remember?" Per usual, Aurelie was skipping ahead of us and out of earshot.

"Have you and Dad figured out anything about these deaths?" I asked.

"No, but that's not the plan." said Finn.

"What do you mean?" I asked. When Finn didn't answer, I demanded again. "You need to tell me. I'm an agent now, so I'm going to find out one way or another."

"Remember the source?" Finn asked.

"Yep." I answered.

"Dad is still working with it." said Finn.

"Why?" I asked. I tried to ignore the small frustration I felt from one of the Forbidden being referred to as "it".

"I don't know. But he hasn't made any big moves yet. This whole mission rests on a Forbidden and it's making me nervous." Finn explained.

"I trust Dad." I said. "He's been doing this longer than both of us combined, so he probably knows what he's doing." I heard a faint hissing sound, and realized that the grass around me was starting to shrivel and brown. Saying something I so vehemently disagreed with while outside clearly had its consequences. In order to keep myself from rubbing my Forbidden brand again, I sunk my fingernails into my arm until the sting blurred my vision.

"Lena? Are you okay?" Finn asked.

I nodded silently. "I'm supposed to meet Jane-Anne in the auditorium." I said, walking away from Finn's concerned gaze.

"Jane-Anne?" Finn asked doubtfully.

"What can I say? She's grown on me." I said, shrugging. It was true. I didn't have any of my reservations about Jane-Anne anymore. I just felt bad.

I was the third person to make it to the auditorium. Taylor and Carter were already there, the two of them looking extremely bored. Carter was pacing in circles, while Taylor was sitting in a seat, her posture perfectly straight. Both of them made sure to stay on opposite sides of the auditorium. They never mixed well at lunch, but now it was just the two of them. Without Kiara to diffuse the tension, it was abundantly clear that Taylor and Carter were oil and water.

"Ivy!" Carter and Taylor called at the same time when they saw me. Relief filled their faces when they saw someone else to dispel the awkwardness between them.

"Hey." I wasn't used to being celebrated when I walked into a room. When I made it to the front row of seats, the lights in the theater dimmed.

"What is going on?" Carter asked, looking up as the light fixtures slowly turned off, leaving nothing but darkness.

I sank into one of the seats. I had no idea why, but the dark was starting to freak me out. It never did before, but now something was different. A loud click sounded, and a singular spotlight beamed onto the grand drape. With a loud creaking noise, the curtains receded to reveal Kiara behind a grand piano.

Kiara gave a tiny wave to us and winked at Taylor before beginning her dramatic solo. As her fingers glided across the keys, I was completely transfixed. Kiara relaxed slightly, and switched to a simple, gliding melody as the spotlight turned its focus to Jane-Anne.

Jane-Anne was practically glowing, and not just because of the spotlight. She was wearing a long red dress and a huge goofy smile. Carter, Taylor, and I all cheered as she twirled around, the dress expanding around her. I couldn't help laughing at the ridiculousness of her stunt.

"Welcome single people!" Jane-Anne announced proudly. "As you guys know, there is nothing wrong with being single, as I intend to stay that way until college." When Jane-Anne said "until college", everyone muttered it with her, still doubtful about Jane-Anne's self-control.

"However!" Jane-Anne continued. "That doesn't mean I can't spend Valentine's Day with some of my favorite people. We're all going on a Jane-Anne adventure! Courtesy of the mayor, you are all excused from class."

"Isn't that conflict of interest?" Taylor asked. I couldn't help but give Taylor a side eye. She did not get to throw any shade about a conflict of interest.

"For the record, my Mom signed off on us skipping class too." Jane-Anne added.

"Proceed." said Taylor. There was no way she could avoid a Jane-Anne adventure now.

"I knew that would work on you, weirdo." said Jane-Anne. She said the words so lightly that it was easy to forget the darker undertone of her words. "So, we're going to begin with a carriage ride, then ice skating, and finally, lunch!"

"Let me guess: courtesy of the mayor?" Carter called up to the stage.

"Duh." said Jane-Anne. "Oh! By the way Kiara, I signed you up to perform at the Night of Shining Stars. You're welcome."

"Huh?" Kiara asked, her piano playing stumbling a bit.

"You'll thank me later." said Jane-Anne. "Now let's get this adventure started!"

I turned to Carter. "Is this normal behavior for her?" I could barely hear myself talk, but I knew that Carter could pick up on it.

"I think she might be losing it." Carter whispered back.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"Go along with it." Carter decided.

"What?" I asked. "No intervention?"

"I think she's been through enough." said Taylor, butting her way into the conversation.

"She doesn't even know what she's been through!" I hissed at Taylor.

"And who's fault is that?" Taylor asked, running her fingers through her short black hair. "Let me think: it's mine, it's Kiara's, it's Mrs. Pearce's, and... oh look. Yours."

"I never asked to play the blame game, I'm just saying-"

"What?" Taylor interrupted. "What do you want to do? Tell her?"

"What's the worst that could happen?" I asked.

"The Agency could be on our ass, that's what." said Taylor. "Trust me, there is no collective I hate more than their stupid-"

"Okay!" said Carter loudly. "Jane-Anne, which way is the carriage?"

Jane-Anne was not joking about the carriage ride. Two white horses were tied to an ornate white cart with red velvet seating. Somehow, I could feel the discomfort of the horses from being tied up, and tried to push it to the back of my mind. When the coachman used the whip, I physically flinched. Kiara squeezed my hand out of genuine concern, and I muttered something about being fine.

If I had learned anything about being Forbidden, it was that it sucked. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to make my mind to shut off for once. I hadn't realized how much I had changed. Everything was overwhelming, and I could never tell which side of me was which anymore. Every aspect of myself, Forbidden and human, was blended together in a complete mess. I wondered if that was how it was for all of them.

"And then there was Trevor, but that wasn't that great." Kiara continued to rattle off her list of boys that she had kissed.

"Okay, so you beat me." Taylor confessed.

"Well, there's really no point in me trying to compete, considering." said Jane-Anne, dramatically gazing into the distance.

"You've got to be joking." said Carter. "Still?"

"No! I've still never kissed a boy!" Jane-Anne confessed loud enough for the horses to hear. "I think I scare them off."

"I know you scare them off." said Carter.

"Thanks." said Jane-Anne sarcastically.

"That just means that when you do get someone, you'll already know that they're worth holding onto." said Carter.

"Well spoken for someone who hasn't kissed a guy." Kiara added playfully.

"What about you, Ivy?" Taylor asked. "What happened with Liam?"

"I hate you, for the record." I announced. "You guys were the absolute worst for that one."

I rolled my eyes remembering how Kiara had started a rumor that I had kissed some guy named Liam Day just so I would hate Jane-Anne. It almost worked too. All of that felt like years ago.

"I have kissed a guy!" Carter interrupted defensively.

"Who?" Jane-Anne asked.

"You wouldn't know him, he goes to a different school." Carter mumbled, causing all of us to erupt into a fit of laughter. "I'm serious!" Carter shouted over the giggles. "His name was Lucas, and he was-"

"Was?" Taylor asked. "Did he go missing or something?"

"It was never clear." said Carter, making his story seem even more transparent.

"Anyway Ivy," said Jane-Anne, steering the conversation away from Carter, "besides Liam, have you kissed anyone?"

I playfully slapped Jane-Anne's shoulder at the mention of the Liam rumor, and had to pause. Something felt extremely off. I cleared my throat and tried to ignore it. "I'm pretty sure I tried to kiss some guy named Harry on a dare in like, the first grade." I said.

"Come on, that can't be it." said Kiara, urging me on.

"I almost kissed Jacob a few days ago." I admitted quickly. I shut my eyes as if that would keep everyone from reacting.

"No way!" Jane-Anne, who had been hell-bent on revenge after I had tried speaking to Jacob a few weeks ago, was now ecstatic for me.

"Spellbound guy?" Carter asked, just as invested as she was. "You have to tell us everything. Right now."

"There's nothing to tell. I chickened out. And I don't like him." I insisted.

"Keep telling yourself that." said Carter.

"I'm serious. Besides, I'm not cut out for a relationship right now." I wrapped my hand tightly around my wrist, silently conveying to Carter what I meant. "There things about me that I can't change."

"Ivy, you can't let that stop you." said Carter.

"Yeah! Glasses are not a dealbreaker." Jane-Anne added, completely missing the point. At least she was trying. I appreciated that.

"Is that it?" Kiara asked. She pointed to a rectangular outdoor skating rink, with lights strung around the border.

"That would be it." Jane-Anne confirmed proudly. All of us straightened so that we could get a better look at the ice. The carriage finally rolled to a stop and all of us made our way out.

"I'll race you guys!" Kiara called enthusiastically. Everyone sprinted for the benches lined up by the ice. There were endless skates lined up on some shelves, and everyone shuffled around, looking for their size.

A strange buzzing resounded in my ears. Slowly, I could hear it form a strange, entrancing melody that forced my feet to be still. I froze by the carriage, unable to join my friends.

"These fit!" Carter announced triumphantly, holding up a pair of white skates like they were a trophy. His voice sounded a bit muffled, and the song was taking over. A strange feeling overcame me, like I was back for my checkup.

"Ivy." Makaya's voice cut through the song and shook me out of my trance.

"What were you doing?" I asked, exasperated.

"We need to talk." said Makaya.

"Can you stop appearing out of nowhere for once?" I asked.

"It's from Mrs. Pearce." said Makaya, handing me an envelope with a seal.

I looked down at it dejectedly. "Just tell me what it says. You obviously don't sound happy about it."

"There are some rumors going around." said Makaya. "You know how people like to gossip. Everyone here wants to trust you, they really do, but recent circumstances have made that hard."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Recent circumstances made me like them. They have to trust me now! I don't have monitors anymore, so that should mean something!"

"It's not that. This has nothing to do with you keeping the secrets of the town." Makaya explained.

"Okay." I said, relieved. "Then what?"

"After Flora, people are changing their interpretation of the werewolf. They think that it's possible that you have a connection to the murders." said Makaya.

"The cold woman?" I nearly shouted. "What? Why?"

Makaya sighed. "These people are scared. Whatever is going on, it's after people and Forbidden alike. Everyone's grasping at straws, and you came along at the wrong time. Truth be told, the werewolf and your presence at Flora's death make you a very apparent scapegoat."

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"There's an invitation to a private meeting with the Court in here." said Makaya, handing me the envelope. "So the first thing you need to do is show up."

"And then?" I asked. "How am I supposed to defend myself for being murdered at an inconvenient moment?"

"I don't know." said Makaya. "Where are you going?" She asked as I turned away.

"I'm going ice skating!" I shouted over my shoulder.

A/N: It wouldn't be Lena without some good old-fashioned procrastination. Clearly, the Atalkas are panicking, and Lena is just an easy person to blame. Hope you liked the chapter! I thought that it was fun to see everyone act like normal teenagers for a second. Also, happy last day of 2020! Here's to hoping that this new year will be better than the last. After all, the bar is on the floor.

QOTD: What has been the best/worst/weirdest moment of 2020 in your opinion?