"Can we go already? You've changed four times and you look great in everything." Eva says as she flips through an issue of Cosmo magazine. She always comments on my Mother's impeccable taste in literature.

Ha.

I stare at myself in the mirror in my bathroom, wishing I would magically look better. There's a thought. I push it out of my mind when I examine myself again. I feel as if I've let myself go a little bit since my Grandmother's death and the subsequent knowledge of my magical heritage.

Nora's attack has also thrown me off my game.

And then there's Lucas. I keep flashing back to kissing him outside the festival. The fact that I instigated it has been sorely dismissed by everyone but me and Lucas. Well, to be honest, he's kept his distance from me.

"Get your cute ass out here!" Eva yells from my room.

"How'd you know I was coming?" Porter's voice comes from my bedroom.

I cringe at his joke. I can't deny that my Brother is attractive, he's got a school full of groupies that would easily dispute me. It still makes me want to gag.

There is a full conversation going on between them as I walk into the room. Both of them stop as I enter and stare at me. I have to look down at myself to even understand why they're staring at me.

I settle on a pair of dark jeans, a green military v-neck and a pair of brown leather boots. It's nothing too extravagant. I've cycled through so many clothes that I'm sure this is a mix of three different styles. I have to admit it doesn't look bad.

"Whoa! Bro, is it college day or something?" Porter asks.

I take a deep breath, loathed to tell him why I'm dressed like I am. I shake my head, hoping he'd let it go. No such luck.

Porter's face takes a definite turn for the worse, "This is about a guy, right? Of course it is. And with that, I'm out of this conversation." He says as he turns and leaves the room.

"Typical straight Brother." Eva says closing the magazine and standing to face me, "Now that you're full on Kardashian, can we go?"

"Kardashian?! I should change." I say turning to return to the bathroom. Eva grabs my shoulders and turns me back to her, "He's a psychopath and a dick. I'm attracted to a psychopathic dick."

Eva shrugs, "You have a type."

"Thanks."

She groans as she pulls me towards the door, "Let's go." She say as we leave.

                                                    --------------------------------------------

On the night of the festival, our Principal was murder. Even though Mr. Davis wasn't my favorite person, I feel incredibly sorry for his family. I always found him a bit dodgy but his murder was so gruesome that I know it wasn't just a 'normal' murder in the way my Granny's wasn't.

It only shows that much like the rest of us, his time was limited.

The teachers and some of the more idiotic students (most who ever spent a great deal of time with him) built a memorial and I find myself staring at it. As I leave the memorial, I realize that this has to be Nora.

Due to the hole left in the staff, an interim Principal was called.

Nora's attack left ripples in our lives. One such ripple is the overbearing part of my Father. He's become a very overprotective person since the incident in the woods. It literally drives me to hide most of what I am doing. His leaving didn't endear him to me and as such, I am not thrilled to have him back in the house.

Porter is very welcomed whereas Alan Summers isn't.

My Mother, Penelope, has become very suspicious of Porter and me, especially as we begin to spend more time together. Eva and I, due to Charlotte's absence, are always together, whether it be with Finn or Porter.

I guess it's no surprise that neither Finn nor Lucas is welcomed in my house by decree of my parents.

Nora has become more intent on getting me deeper in her web, thought I convinced my parents that I do not need to meet with her anymore. They protest but I explained that if they make me, I'll just skip. I convince them that I am stable enough to work things out myself.

They reluctantly agree.

It just feels like with everything going on, walking into school these days is an act of congress. I have to admit, I always feel a bit stronger with Eva there. I'd feel even more so with Charlotte but that doesn't seem possible at the moment.

The whispering I can deal with and even the staring is tolerable but the fact that people are starting to spread rumors is starting to get to me. I heard a rumor that I attacked the girl in the forest. They went as far as to say I killed her. The rumor also says that my friends are covering from me.

I ignore it.

As Eva and I make it to my locker, I watch as someone marches through the hallway. For some reason, the large guy seems to be heading towards me. The girl in the woods, Sarah Akers, wasn't a very well-known student. I checked into her and she was a freakishly smart girl with no interpersonal skills. She was in the grade below us, hence the unfamiliarity.

And also, she wasn't the only child.

"You!" The guy, her Brother Zachary, says rushing towards me. Eva steps in his way and he growls at her, "Move, Bitch!"

"Watch your mouth, asshole!" Eva hisses, standing her ground, "What do you want?"

"That lunatic should be locked up! He killed my sister!" He points his finger at me in a very menacing way. His eyes seem to center on me and I can see pure fire in them, "He's not going to get away with it! If they won't lock his loony ass up, I will break every bone in his body!"

Zachary pushes Eva aside and rears back to punch me when a pale hand takes his arm and bends it back, eliciting a small yelp to escape his lips. Eva and I stare at Lucas, who seems to be exerting very little effort to do so. To the others, it must have look so strange that a large man would be held by a smaller man.

Not that Lucas is a small guy.

"I think you should pack your balls and walk away, Sparky." Lucas says pushing him away from us.

"This isn't over." Zach says as storms away.

"Party's over. Move along!" Lucas says causing the crowd to disperse. He turns to me and smiles, "No need to thank me."

I should thank him. I just can't. How am I supposed to thank him for making me look weak? What's going to happen to Zach now that he's been emasculated in public? If Zach had hit me, he'd have gotten his aggression out but now this will continue and I don't see it ending in a good way.

"Why did you do that?" I ask with a frown.

"Excuse me?"

"I can handle myself."

"Or 'thanks for not letting the jock use me as a football' would be nice." Lucas says dismissively.

"I'm a big boy. I can handle things myself." I say as I brush past him.

Eva follows, hoping I don't hear her whisper a small thanks to him.

                                                      --------------------------------------------  

"Aww, baby Brother's got a crush. Doesn't look like your crush feels the same way." Nora says as she appears beside him, "Then again, you've never had much like with love. Eventually the bad boy act gets old and the true psychotic nature reveals itself. Not to be gross, but I've dated you before. Or people like you."

"That is, indeed, gross." Lucas says as he arches an eyebrow, "What are you up to, big sis?"

"Amazing things." Nora says as she moves in front of me, "Stay tuned."

Nora prances off, leaving Lucas to stare at her. He groans when he notices almost all the boys, save for a large boy with copper-hued skin. The boy instead finds Lucas and they engage in a stand-off. The boy breaks apart and comes to stand before him, complete with letter jacket and notebooks.

"Lucas, right?" The boy asks. Lucas nods, trying to decipher who he is. The boy continues, "I'm David, Perry's friend."

"Oh, I remember you from the woods. Good job on being a friend. I think Eva showed more balls than you." Lucas' voice takes an unceremoniously amused tone, "Nice of you to step in for your friend."

"I didn't get a chance."

"Of course, Donald."

"David."

"Whatever," Lucas says dismissively, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I was there in the woods. I saw what you are. Stay away from him." David says finally, "He's been through enough."

Lucas shifts as he sees something, "He knows about me and doesn't care...do he know about you?"

"What about me?"

"He'll make his own decision." Lucas says as he brushes past David. He turns back to him, "You're right. He's been through enough."

Lucas turns and leaves David seething. David's annoyance hits an all-time high as his body begins to shake. He quickly grabs his left arm with his right hand to stop the shaking.

Damn him!

                                                      -------------------------------------------- 

"What the Hell was that?! Lucas just saved you from getting your head smashed in, idiot!" Eva asks as she pulls me to a stop, "Okay, I'm not sure what to say here. I could probably tell you how dangerous he is, but you won't listen. Be honest, you're already in this sick cycle you call falling in love."

"What cycle?"

"The one where you deny your feelings. This part comes exactly before you jump over the cliff of crazy." Eva says quickly.

I take a look around and finally notice that we've moved so far away from where we were. We're now in the courtyard on a beautiful day. I also find myself looking around at the students. Most are walking towards the cafeteria at the end of the walkway or back towards the school. A group of them are sitting by the water fountain.

"Okay, since you're the one with expertise in relationships, tell me, what exactly am I supposed to do here?" I glower at her. When she is unable to give a sufficient answer, I nod to her, "Nobody knows how to pick them better than I do."

"I don't know what to say, sweetie." I towards a bench as Eva begins to speak. Eva sighs and takes a seat next to me, "It's okay to not be okay. After finding out about being a witch, that vampires exist and losing your Grandmother, no one would blame you if you—"

"I am fine," I smile, "I just really need for things to go back to normal."

"We both know that things can't be back to 'normal' but you still have me." Eva says as she wraps her arm around my shoulder, "And you have Char, even if she doesn't know it. She'll come around."

"And...if she doesn't?" I ask.

Eva's face morphs into a sadness I rarely see from her. It's at the surface now. I can finally see that she was doing about as well as I am. I lean into her and wrap my arm around her waist. She lets out a chuckle and moves her hand on top of me.

"Then it's us. Just us." Her voice is sure and unwavering.

"Just us, then." I smile.

                                                      --------------------------------------------

Porter waits.

He's been standing outside of this class for an hour, just waiting. He'd hoped to never have to actually be in this building again. He hoped to never be near this school but with Perry's graduation imminent, he'd have to face it.

The downtime between classes gives him time to think about his current predicament. If his parents even suspect that he is teaching his little Brother the ins-and-outs of witchcraft, they'd have his head on a pike.

They've been able to squeak by with Porter being a spy for them, to keep his little Brother on the straight and narrow.

Porter marvels at how determined Perry seems to be after the festival. He has a natural affinity to magic, as do most of the Bennett witches, according to his Grandmother. Porter remembers being a little worse at the craft. His first spell set drapes on fire and his second created a breach in the rift between this world and the spirit world through his cell phone.

That was the highlight of his summer.

Porter can't help but see a change in his sibling. Perry has always been sort of strange, preferring to become his own person no matter the consequences. He never really wanted to leave nor does he want to follow. He's always embraced his own uniqueness.

It's the quality Porter has always been proud of in him.

Porter can see that lately, Perry has tried to become more normal. Witchcraft aside, he began to do normal teenage things that he'd shied away from, including teen angst. He attends football games, is reluctant to do homework and has a strong aversion to anything having to do with his parents.

There's even a shift in his dynamic with his friends.

Make no mistake, Perry and Eva have always been inseparable but she was there more often than before. She can usually be found texting her new 'boyfriend' while the Brothers practice magic. Perry seems less excited in the attention he is getting from his new 'suitor'. Porter felt relief until this morning.

On his way to wait, he saw the display between Perry and Zachary. It baffled him that Perry would let anyone speak to him like that. Porter was ready to flatten that Zachary asshole until Lucas stepped in.

Porter is obviously of two minds about it.

Porter can see two different outcomes and neither of them are pretty for his little Brother. Porter can see very limited bits of the future. His Grandmother, as well as Mother, has always told him that it is a rare gift. Porter tries to see his Brother's future often but there literally isn't one.

It's as if his destiny isn't the same.

That worries Porter.

The class bell rings. The sound snaps him out of his thoughts. He watches as person after person exits the class and his eyes find a girl with dirty blonde hair. When the blonde girl's eyes find him, she rolls her eyes and continues her trajectory.

Porter jogs along beside her.

"Go away, Port."

"Charlotte, hear me out." He pleads.

"If he sent you here to plead his case," Charlotte asks looking over at the elder Bennett Brother, "Of course he didn't. He doesn't know you're here."

"It's not because he doesn't miss you." Porter reassures. Charlotte scoffs and Porter continues, "Eva misses you, too. They both do. None of this is his fault."

"They both lied to me." Charlotte fumes, "So, here I am, oblivious to all this supernatural crap and no way to defend myself. I saw what happened in the woods, I was there. I watch enough TV to know that I look like a supreme idiot."

"No, Supremes are witches on TV." Porter realizes his mistake with the joke and stammers, "Neither of them thinks you're an idiot. Think about it. What was your first thought when you learned about vampires?"

"Run."

"I can't speak for Eva but Perry doesn't have that luxury." Porter frowns, "To be honest, I don't think he ever had a chance. To be frank, he needs you. He needs all of us."

Despite being blonde, I am not Buffy." She snaps, "Nobody ever said there'd be vampires in our friendship. It wasn't in the contract. Besides, vampires are so—"

"Done to death? Yeah, you're not the only one with that opinion." Porter chuckles, "The thing is...I think he needs you."

"You keep saying that..."

"My Brother and I aren't exactly non-supernatural." Porter says causing Charlotte's eyes to widen, "I see things. I can see a lot of things and I don't see his future. I never have."

Charlotte stares at him with confusion.

"You saw what happened in the forest. These situations find him. Some days, I wonder if he can even handle this." Porter shakes his head, "This is so much bigger than him."

"You have always underestimated him." Charlotte says with a sigh of resignation, "How is he?"

"On a scale of one to ten? Self-destruct."

Charlotte takes a minute to let his words sink in. Porter has always been the sensible Brother. He is logical in many cases. Perry is run by his emotions. Charlotte knows them very well and if Porter thinks Perry is that bad off, he is. Perry isn't the type to keep secret nor censor himself. That's why it hurts her so much.

But had he spared her?

Charlotte begins to think about her life since she found out about vampires. She is afraid every day and paranoid to a certain degree. When she thinks about her life the way it was before, her naïve view, she wonders had she screwed herself out of an actual life.

"Do you happen to know where they are?" Charlotte asks.

                                                        --------------------------------------------   

When I finally find Lucas, he seems to be watching someone else. I take a seat behind him on the bleachers and follow his gaze to see the girls' volleyball team. I roll my eyes at him.

I know he's a vampire but this is stupid, even for him.

"Really?" I ask.

"Oh, so you've decided to speak to me?" He asks, not taking his eyes off of the team, "It's fun watching them. They're like tantalizing little juice boxes attached to larger juice boxes."

"They are not juice boxes." I say indignantly.

His eyes now find mine with a look of pure anger, "They are food. You are food. I don't know what fantasy you had about us...maybe you thought I'd be your dark knight to ride up and sweep you off your feet. That's not going to happen, kid." His voice grows even colder than his skin, "You're fun, a game even. But that's only when you didn't know what we were. Now it's getting old."

"Why'd you even save me?"

"What?" He asks.

"Before, in the hallway? And why in the woods?" I ask.

"My Sister wants you. I want to spoil the bitch's plans. Therefore, I save you." Lucas seems unmoved, "Once I figure out why, I might even kill you myself."

"Okay. That's kind of what I want to hear." I say as I stand and turn away from him.

"I was right about you, from the moment I saw you. You love yourself. You like everyone else." His voice starts to grate on me, "I can call it now. You're going to be the Angel of Death. Everyone loves you. Good for you, bad for them."

I didn't even reply to him. I don't even want to see his face. I just leave him where he sits.

On the way home, I feel the weight of the world crash down on me. I haven't stopped to actually feel all of it. I found my Granny dead, I watched a girl get her neck snapped in the woods, I faced the guy who literally broke my heart and a long list of other horrible things.

It's like I've been working so hard to keep the thoughts out of my mind that they've just been biding their time. And in a rush, they're all coming back. I don't even think it's Lucas' words that sets me off, it's the fact that all of his words are just in a long list of things that make me feel like—they make me feel.

I go home and sit on the edge of my bed. I assume that Eva is with Finn, Porter calls and confirms that he has plans tonight and I'm thankful for both. I click off the light and place my phone and keys on the end table beside my bed, swinging my feet onto the bed. I curl up in the middle of my bed, clutching a pillow into a hug.

I begin to let all the pain out through sobs.

I can't hold it anymore.

                                                                                 **************************

I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! If you enjoyed the story, please don't forget to vote and comment. See you in the next part.