Chapter 1: The new arival

"Hurry up or you will be late!" I heard my grandmother shout from downstairs, it was my first day of a new school and life since the death of my parents not even a year ago. I still could not believe they were gone. My mother was always the most charismatic of the household and she never let anything get her down, dad was the handy man; he loved to fix things and if he couldn't he still would try. Then there was me, your average teenager trying to survive the life of high school. I missed my parents with every passing day and regretted ever not helping them out more.

"I'm coming!" I finally said before slipping on my new pale blue T-shirt with wolf eyes placed slightly above my breasts, my new blue jeans were next to slip on and I admired them in the mirror. They clung to my body and showed off my skinny legs and butt, I was glad I had started on that diet, I had lost 30 pounds from my last weighing and it was really showing. After I applied some makeup I slipped on my black pumps, grandma had gotten them for me as a welcoming gift the first day I came to live with them and they had been my favorite pair of shoes so far despite me rarely wearing any kind of heels at all, I was more the sweat pants and sweatshirts kind of girl with either flip flops, sneakers or boots to wear but grandma has been trying to expand my wardrobe after seeing what she called 'pitiful' clothing that I had left over from my old house. When I was pleased with my outlook I swung my backpack over my shoulder and headed out of my room to the stairs. Taking them with great care so as I would not break my ankle I made my way into the kitchen to see a plate of warm bacon and eggs with a glass of orange juice beside it and my mouth began watering. I loved my grandfather's cooking, he used to own his own place where he would cook meals after meals and people from all over the place would come just to taste some of his cooking at least once in their life.

Finishing up my meal, I quickly ran to brush my teeth and met my grandmother out in the car, we had agreed that for the first day of school she would drive me so she could take some pictures like she always had when she came to visit me at my house and after that I would have the choice of either walking or riding the bus to school. Luckily I only had about two more years left then I would have to think about what I would want to do when I went to college. I had planned on possibly being an Animal Control Officer; I loved the idea ever since I watched the show on Animal Planet of saving animals and getting them away from their abusive homes or owners.

"All ready for school?" My grandmother asked me when I slipped in the car.

"As ready as I ever would be," I answered her. I loved the idea of starting in a new place but I missed my friends deeply, we had always been together through thick and thin and we would look out for one another when we were in trouble. Now with me gone, I don't know if we could ever have that closeness again, my grandparents lived far from my old house and my friends and their parents surely wouldn't drive them all the way out here just to see me unless they really had no other option.

"Is something bothering you?" My grandmother asked, sometimes I swear she could read minds half of the time.

"I was just thinking about my friends. I wonder if we will ever have the closeness we had back home now that I am living here." My grandmother was silent for a bit before she replied.

"Sometimes, distance is a good way to test ones friendship. If they are really your friends and really care about you then no matter how far away you are, you will still hold that friendship bond. Besides, I'm sure they will find some way to get over here to see you if what you say about your bond is as strong as you claim it to be." I knew she was right and I felt a little bit better about leaving my friends then when I had the time we were saying our goodbyes.

"It's just, what will they do without me? I've always shielded them from the kids at school. And what will I do without them? They were my life line when I needed someone to talk to and no one was around, they helped me in school and even prevented me from getting into too much trouble with the teachers and principals. How will I ever truly exist without them?"

"Forest, it's time you learned to let go. People need to learn to walk on their own two legs before being able to move on in life. Your friends will have to find a way to deal with the kids at school without you and you must learn to deal with life without them. You won't always have them around you."

"I know, but haven’t you ever felt torn when you moved away from you friends?" I asked her.

"Yes, but I have learned to live without them as well. I keep in touch with them through phone calls and Facebook so that helps a bit with the distance." I sat the rest of the ride in quiet until something caught my eye. Quickly looking out the window behind me I saw the house sitting alone on the hill and wondered if anyone lived there, it was a decent sized house.

"Hey grandma, whose house is that on the hill?" I asked her.

"You must never go there Forest. Don't even bring up the name of it, that house is bad news and kids are forbidden to ever go near it."

"But why? Who lives there?" I asked.

"No one, the house has been vacant for a long time. Legend tells of a curse on that house that befalls all who go past it and enter its chambers. You must never under any circumstances go near that house do you hear me?" I nodded though my curiosity was pricking at my brain to see why the house was so forbidden to ever be near.

After a few more hours we finally arrived at the school, we had arrived ten minutes early so grandma used this time to take pictures of me under one of the lonesome trees, the school had been an old house that they had bought and turned into a school, it didn't hold a lot of students and faculty in it but it did the trick long enough for students to graduate out of. When my grandma had a decent amount of pictures we said our goodbyes and she left me to my own devices. Watching her disappear over the horizon I decided to sit under the tree and sketch a little, I was told I was a very good sketcher but an excellent painter. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out my sketch pad and began drawing the schoolhouse and the tree, when that was done I began to doodle spooky looking houses, I had always had a fascination with creepy things and abandoned haunted houses always intrigued me more than they should have.

"Hey you're pretty good," a low male voice said from behind me startling me out of the concentration groove I had going. Startled I whirled around and came face to face with the hottest guy I had ever seen in my life. He had semi-long wavy blond hair with blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. His teeth were so straight they looked like those of movie stars and they were pure white as if he bleached them every morning. The skin around his eyes crinkled a bit with his smile and small dimples appeared on his cheeks. He was wearing a Cowboy's jersey shirt with jeans as well and steal toed boots.

"H-Hi," I stammered unable to unscramble my jumbled thoughts. The sound of his laughter made my heart melt in ways that I would never have imagined, I could feel my cheeks turning red in a blush so I forced myself to do a mental check and keep my emotions under control, I didn't need to creep this boy out on our first meeting.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" He asked sitting down next to me.

"N-No, I'm just not used to talking to boys that's all," I said trying to keep my racing heart calm. I had never been like this around any guy in my life before, not even my high school crush!

"Is that so?" He asked cocking his head and giving me a sexy crooked smile which made me want to sigh like one of those fan girls. Get ahold of yourself girl! You're losing it big time! I thought to myself.

"Yes, not many boys talked to me in my old school so I never really needed to talk to boys in general...unless you count my grandpa and uncles of course," I said now thinking back to the uncles who I rarely saw these days.

"Oh? Where are you from?" He asked. Why is he even bothering with me? What does he want from me? I thought to myself. Years of experience has taught me that if a guy was trying to get to know you they really wanted only one thing from you, sex.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked trying to keep my guard up but failing horribly when he laughed again.

"I'm just trying to make friendly chatter. What? Are you too good to talk to me?" He asked.

"More like you’re too good looking to be talking to me," I blurted out before I realized what I had said. When I did my cheeks turned a beat read and I quickly hid my face behind my long blond hair and went back to sketching, I hoped he would leave me alone.

"Hey now, you don't need to hide yourself all because of that," he said placing his hand on my shoulder and I stiffened. His hand was so big and strong and warm feeling that it made me dream of them holding my face as he kissed me. What the fuck?! Where the hell did that come from?! SNAP OUT OF IT FOREST! I screamed at myself in my head.

"I'm not hiding, you're just distracting me from my sketching that's all," I said hoping he would believe my lie, he of course didn't, yay me.

"Now you and I both know that's not true. What? Are you embarrassed about what you said? You don't need to be, no one is around to hear you and I sure as hell won't tell a soul." I peeked at him through the strands of my hair, was this guy serious? Getting up the courage again I faced him once more.

"What can you tell me about that old house on the hill?" I knew my question had taken him off guard by the way his face took on that confused mixed with shock look you get when someone comes out with a totally random question.

"What house?" He asked when he recovered.

"The old house on Hemmington Street. The one on that hill," I said throwing yet another straight ball. I amazed myself at how well I was doing this and it amused me that it was me who caught him off guard again.

When he finally regained his composure once more he replied.

"You mean the Berinstein Manor?"

"Yes. My grandma says I should never go near it but oddly enough I don't find it scary at all, I find it interesting. Is it really that bad?" I asked, I could tell he was battling an inner war with himself on telling me or not so I pushed him even more.

"Come on, if it’s that bad then shouldn't I learn more about it to see why I should stay away? What? Is it haunted or something?" I asked. I knew I had won the war as he sighed and rubbed his fingers through his thick blond hair.

"Well, yes it is haunted. And yes, it is indeed a bad place to go to but everyone in this school has been dared to spend at least one night in the house. It's like a coming of age ceremony you can say, and the only way to not be bullied through the rest of you school year they require you to sleep in that house. I for one would not be caught dead in there, I don't care if I'm bullied or picked on for the rest of the school year, it’s better than disappearing without a trace."

"Disappearing? What do you mean?" I asked him now my curiosity was perked up even more.

"There is a rumor about the house that it's cursed. Anyone who goes near it gets drawn to the house and those who enter never come out. Some say they are trapped somewhere deep in that house, others say they burned a horrible death while others say their spirits are trapped in a cats body never to be let free unless their true love expresses their feelings to them."

"What happens if they do?" I asked.

"The soul is set free and leaves the earth behind."

"That sounds romantic in a creepy kind of way," I said sighing and laying my head back against the trunk of the tree, to think that love could break such a powerful curse surly shows that love can conquer everything.

"Romantic? You have a weird mind on what is romantic," he said with a hint of a laugh in his tone.

"Oh? How so?" I asked with a firm tone warning him he better watch what he says to me.

"Well, most girls think a candlelight dinner is romantic or a stroll under the moon on the beach. Some like the cuddling in front of a fire on a cold night or watching a movie on the couch holding each other close." I was silent for a minute debating on if any of those things ever did fit me. When I could not come up with them as being really me I sighed.

"You're right; I don't find those things romantic. I do like the thought of spending a night in a haunted house to see if it's really haunted or strolling through the cemetery under the moon. I love how the light glints off some tomb stones making them look alive." I caught him looking at me with a shocked look on his face.

"What? Too dark? I've been told I can be dark at times but I like what I like and no one can change that about me," I said almost daring him to challenge me further on the subject; lucky for him he didn't.

"Whatever you say, I guess some people do have different tastes in what they like but I would never suspect someone like you would be into such dark thoughts. You seem..."

"Seem what? Light? Girly? Believe me buddy I'm far from those. Under all this frilly crap I'm nothing more than a simple outcast who finds shelter in the shadows and relishes the night. I find spooky stories entertaining and the thrill of walking through the cemetery or exploring old abandoned houses stimulating." He was once more staring at me, I knew he was trying to comprehend in his mind what kind of girl I was but I knew he would fail. Many who have tried to understand me have failed and have just given up, that's probably why I never got a boyfriend. Guys found me scary or dangerous, even the gothic kids avoided me, the only ones who truly accepted me for who I was was my family and the few friends I did manage to make.

"That's...interesting. I never met a girl like you before, what's your name?" He asked. I held out my hand and smiled.

"Forest Ostrander, yours?" He took my hand and said.

"James Hamington, nice to meet you Forest."

"The same goes for you James." I said reclaiming my hand and finishing up my drawing when the bell rang. I had been so absorbed in our conversation that I failed to notice another boy walking up to us, this boy had midnight black hair and wore baggy black pants with a Grr shirt. He had one nose piercing and eyebrow piercing with snake bites and one ear completely pierced all the way around, I found this guy very interesting to look at.

"Hello," he said without smiling. Oh great, is he going to give me problems on my first day? Just try it buddy! You won't make it out alive! I thought to myself and immediately put my guard up.

"Hello Alexander," James said in with a hint of protectiveness in his voice. Awe how sweet, he's jealous! Wait what? Why am I thinking such a thing? Of course he can't be jealous! He barley even knows me! I thought to myself mentally scolding that girly side which screamed in joy of seeing a boy jealous of us.

"Who is she?" Alexander asked motioning with his chin in my direction, I remained silent.

"Why not ask her yourself?" James asked all monotoned.

"I will. What's your name?" Alexander asked in my direction. Should I answer him? Should I entertain the thought of boys crushing over me and fighting for my feelings? My girly side is screaming for me to but the tomboy side of me could really care less than there is my devious side. What should I do? I thought I was torn on what should be done so I decided to go with the devious side; I needed to make something entertaining happen on my first day so why not get these boys going? We'll see how well I can really enthrall a boy.

"Forest Ostrander," I said with a big smile and a flutter of the eye lashes. I laughed inwardly when I heard James let out a low growl and yes I do mean an actual growl. This was going to be one interesting kind of day and I'm going to milk it to the very last drop, it’s not every day you get two good looking boys fighting over you. Thank you grandma! I thought to myself.

I heard a loud ring and turned to the school, kids were now entering the open doors so I packed up my things and followed suit after throwing a goodbye to the boys over my shoulder, I was not going to be late on my first day of school otherwise grandma would kill me! Besides, I had such a good record in my last school of not missing a day that I didn't want to start now, so like the other kids before me I headed into the school and to my first class.

***James POV***

I was walking to school like I did any other day when I noticed a new kid sitting by the old tree, it was quite unusual as no one really ever sat there so I figured I would go over and say hi. When I got a bit close I noticed it was a girl! She's new here I thought to myself, there weren't many girls around here as many of them have disappeared into the Berinstein Manor on our usual school dare, I of course refused to even put one foot on that mansions land, who cares about what the other kids thought or did to me; I was not going to end up like those poor souls who have gone in and never came out. Every night I see their parents holding candle sticks at the entrance to the driveway leading up to the manor and I would die before I let my parents be among them. Walking up to the tree I noticed she was wearing a pretty pale blue shirt with jeans that made her look mouthwatering, plus the black pumps she was wearing really made her stand out and look stunning. It was a minute before I realized that I was drooling over her, not many girls had that effect on me so for someone like her to just waltz right in and have this effect on me must really show something. After standing there and admiring her complexion I noticed she was sketching something so I stepped a bit close to get a good look and was instantly amazed at all the drawings she was doing, they looked like an A class artist! Damn, hot and artistic. This one is defiantly someone I need to get to know I thought to myself and watched her sketch a few more houses before finally breaking in.

"Hey you're pretty good," I said admiring her work, she wasn't half bad at all, in fact they nearly looked real! Startled, she whirled around and faced me with the most shocked and petrified look that I regretted just walking up to her out of the blue without giving her a good notice before hand. I took her moment of shock to admire her, she had beautiful long blond hair that billowed out in waves at the end framing her perfect oval shape faced, her pale blue eye shadow made her blue eyes pop and really went well with her clothing. I could see a hint of pink on her lips with a bit of shine to them indicating she wore some sort of lip gloss that made her lips look like a porcelain dolls and I couldn't help but stare at the beauty before me; she looked like a goddess sent to me from some unknown higher power to brighten my day. Fuck me, she's hot! I thought to myself and it was true, she looked like she could be a freaking super model.

"H-Hi," she stammered finally catching her voice and the sound of it was so smooth to my ears that I simply did not want her to stop talking, I could tell she was embarrassed as her cheeks were turning a faint shade of red which made her look even cuter. I decided I should at least break the ice a bit to smooth things over between us and make up for me scaring her half to death.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" I asked jokingly as I sat down beside her making careful movements so I would not scare her away.

"N-No, I'm just not used to talking to boys that's all," she said which shocked me, how could someone with her looks not be hot with the boys? They must be blind as bats to not see the beauty before them.

"Is that so?" I asked casually cocking my head and trying to wrap my mind around the fact of her not having a boyfriend let alone guys drooling at her feet.

"Yes, not many boys talked to me in my old school so I never really needed to talk to boys in general...unless you count my grandpa and uncles of course," she said and it seemed like she was warming up a bit to me which made me happy inside, I didn't want her to be afraid of me of all people.

"Oh? Where are you from?" I asked hoping I wasn't prying too deeply and she wouldn't put her guard up, I was sadly mistaken of course.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked and I could see that barrier go up once more splitting us apart, instantly I surrendered and backed off a bit.

"I'm just trying to make friendly chatter. What? Are you too good to talk to me?" I asked holding up my hands as if surrendering hoping it would be enough to make her laugh or at least drop her guard again, I wasn't trying to be a creepy person.

"More like your too good looking to be talking to me," she said and I could tell she didn't mean to blurt it out but the thought that she thought I was possibly good looking really sent my heart fluttering in my chest, the kind of feeling you would get when jumping out of an air plane. Instantly she threw her hair around her face and lowered her head going back to her sketches; awe, she's embarrassed, how cute! I thought with a hint of a smile coming to my lips. Reaching over I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and felt her muscles tense at my touch which really upset me a bit but I could understand the reasoning behind it.

"Hey now, you don't need to hide yourself all because of that," I said trying to make her feel a bit better.

"I'm not hiding, you're just distracting me from my sketching that's all," she said and I knew that was a bunch of bull shit; she found herself attracted to me and she just didn't want to admit it.

 "Now you and I both know that's not true. What? Are you embarrassed about what you said? You don't need to be, no one is around to hear you and I sure as hell won't tell a soul," I said trying to reassure her and it was true, the kids never arrived at the school until about a few minutes from now so we were totally alone and who would listen to me anyways? All the kids here thought me a player, someone who gets the girls and ditches them after about a week or less but that was not true about me at all! I knew my comment must have had some effect on her because she looked right at me with a serious face and took me totally off guard with her next question.

"What can you tell me about that old house on the hill?" I sat there shocked that she would ask about the manor, no one here liked talking about it let alone even going near it and to think that this girl of all the people in this entire town wants to know about it is kind of a scary matter.

"What house?" I asked trying to play dumb and hoping it was enough to get her to drop the subject and go on to a different topic, I really did not want to talk about the house.

"The old house on Hemmington Street. The one on that hill," she said and I knew my attempts at getting her to change the subject failed and I was not going to be able to dodge the question, I sighed and decided that it might be best to tell her after all.

"You mean the Berinstein Manor?" I asked knowing full well what house she was talking about.

"Yes. My grandma says I should never go near it but oddly enough I don't find it scary at all, I find it interesting. Is it really that bad?" Ah, so she did hear some part about it then? Hmmm, maybe I can use this to my advantage to get her to leave the house and the subject alone I thought thinking up the most scariest story that I have been told almost my entire life.

"Come on, if it’s that bad then shouldn't I learn more about it to see why I should stay away? What? Is it haunted or something?" She asked mistaking my silence for that of hesitation which to be honest I was also feeling at the time.

 "Well, yes it is haunted. And yes, it is indeed a bad place to go to but everyone in this school has been dared to spend at least one night in the house. It's like a coming of age ceremony you can say, and the only way to not be bullied through the rest of you school year they require you to sleep in that house. I for one would not be caught dead in there, I don't care if I'm bullied or picked on for the rest of the school year, it’s better than disappearing without a trace." I decided that was the best thing to throw at her and I hoped that my plan worked but the look on her face told me I just spiked her curiosity even more.

"Disappearing? What do you mean?" She asked pushing the matter even further and really taking me out of my comfort level, I knew the kids would be arriving any time soon so I figured it was best to get it done and over with so no one heard us talking about the manor.

"There is a rumor about the house that it's cursed. Anyone who goes near it gets drawn to the house and those who enter never come out. Some say they are trapped somewhere deep in that house, others say they burned a horrible death while others say their spirits are trapped in a cats body never to be let free unless their true love expresses their feelings to them." I said telling her the complete truth about what was being said around town, everyone shunned the house as if it were the plague which it just might as well be, the construction workers won't even tear it down.

"What happens if they do?" She asked and I had a feeling she was asking about the curse breaker.

"The soul is set free and leaves the earth behind." I said reciting the very line my mother told me over and over to ease my own fears about the people trapped within that house unable to truly feel freedom again until their true love came to set them free which never happened, everyone was too afraid to even approach the house and when there is a cat sitting outside meowing at them they high tail it away.

"That sounds romantic in a creepy kind of way," she said once more taking me by surprise. Doesn't she find this even a tad bit scary? We're talking about a freaking cursed house! I thought totally being taken by surprise every time this girl spoke.

"Romantic? You have a weird mind on what is romantic," I said. I had hoped I didn't offend her but it was the truth, no normal person would ever find that romantic.

"Oh? How so?" She asked and I could pick up the hint of venom in her voice, oh shit, I fucking offended her! Fuck my life! I thought trying to come up with a save my ass line.

"Well, most girls think a candlelight dinner is romantic or a stroll under the moon on the beach. Some like the cuddling in front of a fire on a cold night or watching a movie on the couch holding each other close." I said coming up with the first thing that popped in my head from some sappy love movie my mother forced me to watch with her.

"You're right; I don't find those things romantic. I do like the thought of spending a night in a haunted house to see if it's really haunted or strolling through the cemetery under the moon. I love how the light glints off some tomb stones making them look alive." I looked at her as if she was crazy, no girl that I knew thought of a haunted house or a walk through a cemetery as romantic.

"What? Too dark? I've been told I can be dark at times but I like what I like and no one can change that about me," she said as if she were baiting me to say something bad and get my ass kicked, I was not going to fall for it though.

"Whatever you say, I guess some people do have different tastes in what they like but I would never suspect someone like you would be into such dark thoughts. You seem..." I was cut off by her before I could even finish what I was going to say.

"Seem what? Light? Girly? Believe me buddy I'm far from those. Under all this frilly crap I'm nothing more than a simple outcast who finds shelter in the shadows and relishes the night. I find spooky stories entertaining and the thrill of walking through the cemetery or exploring old abandoned houses stimulating." I couldn’t believe this girl, was she really serious about this? How could anyone even want to go near those things? This girl definitely was someone who I needed to get to know better.

"That's...interesting. I never met a girl like you before, what's your name?" I asked.

"Forest Ostrander, yours?" She asked holding out her hand and smiling, I took it smiling back.

"James Hamington, nice to meet you Forest."

"The same goes for you James." She said and we broke our hands apart as she went back to sketching with me watching her. I was so immersed in her work that I didn’t even notice Alexander coming up to us until I felt an unnerving presence, looking up I saw the boy who I hated the most of all approaching us without so much as a single smile. Oh great, not him again. Why does he always pop up when I find a pretty girl to talk to? I thought, this boy was the reason behind my shitty life, he was the one who would send innocent people into the house as a dare and they were never seen or heard from again then he would pin it on me so I was the blunt of the police hatred for the missing kids. I could tell Forest noticed him as well and was also very on guard which made me feel a bit better; maybe she could pick up on his bad aura as I can?

"Hello," Alexander said in a monotone voice.

"Hello Alexander," I said not too happy to see him let alone have him talking to Forest.

"Who is she?" He asked in my direction and I glared.

"Why not ask her yourself?" I asked challenging him; he usually never took any challenge given to him unless it would benefit him in some way so it shocked me when he did.

"I will. What's your name?" Alexander asked Forest and I hoped she wouldn’t answer him; he was not someone who she needed to be hanging out with, especially with her interest in the manor.

"Forest Ostrander," she said batting her eye lashes at him which shocked me, I thought she wasn’t someone who openly flirted with guys? When a loud ring interrupted us, I realized that school was starting, Forest however did not miss a beat and was up and heading to the building after shouting a goodbye to us over her shoulder.

“Listen Alexander, stay away from her you got that? I don’t want you tainting her mind like you did the others,” I threatened; I knew he was probably not going to take it seriously, he never took me seriously.

“Awe, isn’t that sweet? You don’t want any competition do you,” he said giving me an evil grin and I knew he was mocking me. Just you wait; you cruel ways will be out in the open eventually than we’ll see who will be laughing next I thought.

“I mean it Alexander, leave her alone. You don’t need to pester her like you do the others,” I said walking away from him.

“We’ll see James, I can’t make no promises though,” I heard him say then utter a demonic laughter which sent chills up my spine, I knew I needed to protect Forest from that bastard even if it was the last thing I did.

Chapter 2: The rivalry

***Forest's POV***

I sat in my first period class, I had to share rooms with the boys I had met earlier, James and Alexander had argued over a seat next to me but in the long run James managed to get it while Alexander sat on the opposite side of the room glaring back at James when the teacher wasn't looking. Wow, they are really taking this thing seriously I thought to myself, this was a huge first for me as I never had boys show me this much attention before let alone fight each other over me. My friends won't believe this when I tell them! I thought to myself and snickered a bit, I knew this would be the talk of town when they get ahold of this juicy piece of history in my life. Of course paying attention in this class with two good looking boys fighting over you for your affection would make any girl swoon with happiness but it made me totally uncomfortable, I had only been joking around with them and didn't expect them to really take the bait but now that I have two cute looking fish on the line I didn't know what to do with them. I guess I just have to let it all play out and see who really wants me the most I guess. Wow, I really am out of practice with this kind of thing, I wonder what Michelle would do in a situation like this? She was always the one who knew what to do when two boys were fighting over you I thought making me miss them even more. I had never really been away from my friends for very long and now that I had moved away from them I was really feeling the pain of not having them around. Who knew a strong girl like me had heavily relied on her friends for support and companionship? I had thought that it wouldn't be this bad without them but I haven't even been her for a month and already I want to move back to them. These school years are going to suck majorly if I can't cope with this I thought to myself and made myself focus on my history assignment. When the bell rang signaling that class was over I packed up my stuff and was about to pick up my backpack when Alexander came up to me before James could even react and threw my backpack over his shoulder.

"I can carry that myself you know," I said feeling totally out of place without my backpack. I had come to think of it as a really good friend since we had been through everything together.

"Why should I let you bother yourself with carrying your backpack when I'm here to help?" He asked and I see James glare at him. I sighed and shook my head, this was going to be a long headache and I had unfortunately brought it all on by myself.

"Fine, but don't ever carry my bag again, I can do it just fine," I said storming out of the room with the two boys hot on my heels. What the fuck did I just get myself into and most of all how the hell do I get out of it? I was really hating myself now, I would have probably have had a peaceful, stress free life if I had only kept my big mouth shut and not egged them on. When I had gotten to my locker James stepped in front of me preventing me from getting to my locker.

"Allow me Miss. Ostrander, you should not bother with opening these things, allow me to assist you," and before I could protest he had my locker open and my lunch bag in my hands before I could even blink my eyes.

"How...How did you know my combination?" I asked him, now I was totally freaked out.

"I looked at your schedule when you weren’t looking and mesmerized you locker number and combo. I also know you have lunch this period which I so happen to have as well," he said taking the backpack out of a stunned Alexander's hand and gave him a winning grin.

"You're going to be late for you class Alexander," he said steering me in the direction of the lunchroom.

"What was that all about? What has gotten into the both of you?" I asked totally not understanding why they were going out of their way to treat a girl like me the way they were. I was not used to all this boy attention so I felt totally out of my element but a deeper part of me was enjoying it.

"It's nothing, I just don't want you hanging out with that guy, he's bad news."

"Bad news? How?" I asked.

"Just trust me on this one ok?" He said looking at me with the most serious expression I have ever seen on any guy in my life and something inside me told me that I should listen to him but another part of me could not believe what he was saying was true. How can Alexander be bad? What has he done to make James act this way? I wondered, could there be something more going on between these two that I don't know about? I knew I was probably sticking my nose into something that wasn't my business but I couldn't help the curiosity that rose in me to find out the history between James and Alexander and why they were going out of their way of being so nice to me.

Once we were in the cafeteria, James’s mood changed dramatically, he was laughing and being more like how he was when I first met him as if the confrontation between him and Alexander had never happened; I of course was toying around with the thoughts in my head that he was hiding something from me and the detective side of me told me that I should investigate if not for the sake of my curiosity than for the sake of my safety. What could he be hiding from me that he doesn't want me to know about? Did Alexander do something so bad and got him involved in it and now he doesn't want to talk about it? Surly he wouldn't be the one to do that kind of thing? I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed James staring at me until he spoke.

"Is something wrong Forest?" He asked snapping me out of my daydream.

"Huh? Oh no, what makes you say that?" I asked faking a smile.

"You were staring at your food and haven’t even taken a bite of it. What's on your mind?" I knew he was catching on to me and that made my defensive side kick in.

"What makes you think something is wrong? Why is it whenever I'm deep in thought someone always assumes that there is something wrong with me?" I knew I was probably over-reacting but I had to defend myself, I felt like James was prying into my life and I didn't like it which come to think of it made me sound like a total hypocrite; here I was planning on digging through his life to find out what was going on and yet when he tried to pry into my life I didn't like it.

"Well sorry for disturbing you. I didn't think your thoughts were so important to keep to yourself," James said a bit angrily but I could also hear the faint tone of sadness which surprisingly broke my heart.

"I'm sorry James, I just have a lot on my mind right now and I just don't feel like talking about it just yet, please forgive me?" I asked looking him dead in the eye hoping he would take my apology and we can

go back to being friends. James stared back at me for the longest time and I dreaded that he might not forgive me but when a smile graced his lips I knew we were in the clear.

"All right, I'll forgive you but on one condition," he said; I didn't like the sound of that and dreaded what he might have planned.

"What's that?" I asked putting my guard up instantly, I was becoming a pro at this.

"A kiss." My mouth dropped open at what he had said. A kiss? He wants a kiss?! My mind couldn't wrap around what he had said and I felt like a total idiot just sitting there staring at him.

"What? Too sudden?" He asked giving me a quizzical look. I snapped out of my stunned silence and shook my head trying to clear it of its jumbled thoughts.

"N-No, not really...well I mean actually ya it was, I was not really expecting that kind of request," I said admitting that I was totally caught off guard with his request. Why should I be shocked by this? Hadn't I been daydreaming beforehand of kissing his lips? Why am I getting so defensive now? Come on girl! Get with the program! This might be your only chance of ever kissing a boy again in your entire life!

"Oh. I'm sorry if I come on too aggressive," he said lowering his eyes and once more I felt heart broken. Oh damn it all! How is it he can get away with that kind of look? I sighed inwardly and hated myself for leaping at the thought of being able to kiss him, I shouldn't be this easy to get ahold of; my mother was right, I guess when your heart does feel love it will totally take over both mind and body and boy did my heart really want me to kiss him.

"No it's ok, just one kiss you wanted?" I asked sheepishly and inwardly kicked myself for sounding a bit hopeful that he would want more.

"Why? Do you want more than one?" He asked winking at me. Oh great, he's enjoying this! That cheeky devil! I thought but I had to hand it to the boy, he was persistent and that had to earn him some points.

"I think one will do just fine, we did just meet today you know. I don't want you to think that I'm one of those sissy girls who you can kiss any time you want, from now on you have to earn that right like anyone else," I said making sure he got it through his brain that this was a onetime only deal and if he ever wanted more he had to earn them like any other guy would.

"All right, that sounds fine with me," James said grinning from ear to ear and I just shook my head, this was indeed going to be a long and very interesting kind of day. I wonder what my mother would say if she found out about this? Would she be happy? What would my father say? The thought of my parents made me miss them once more, I had been doing such a good job at forgetting about their deaths for the moment that I did not expect them to come rushing back to my mind and making me feel vulnerable all over again, I had to literally fight back the tears that threatened to leak out of my eyes and betray what I was truly feeling. I hated crying, to me it was a sign of weakness and weakness in my life was not something that went unpunished.

"Did I say something to offend you?" I heard James ask which made me snap back to reality once more.

"Huh? No, I was just once more daydreaming," I said brushing off his worried look and finishing up my lunch, if I was going to go through with this kissing deal I was going to need all the energy I could get; I know that may sound weird but believe me, when you haven’t kissed a boy in your life before it builds up a lot of tension and tension uses a lot of energy, my main worry was not being good enough for him and have him totally brush me off to the side like trash. Well, if that happened I guess there is always Alexander right? I thought and once more kicked myself for thinking such a thing, there was a reason James warned me away from Alexander and I was intent on following that warning, why? I wasn't fully sure myself but something told me that I should listen to him.

After lunch James dragged me to a janitorial closet which seemed a bit strange to me as I have only seen this in movies before and from what I seen in movies, a closet means something more will happen. Locking the door behind us James had me pinned up against the wall, I could feel my heart racing and beating against my rib cage trying to break free as James lowered his face so that our lips were only inches apart.

"Are you sure this is ok?" He asked as if he was hesitant about doing this as I was. Turning off the part in my brain that was screaming at me that this was a bad idea I just nodded my head and in a heartbeat his lips were pressed against mine.

It turns out that I didn't need to worry about not being a good kisser, it seemed to have come naturally to me which amazed even me. Forcing myself to pull away from James both he and I looked at one another breathing heavily, both of us had obviously enjoyed it a little too much.

"More?" He asked and I could see he was pleading for me to say yes. Oh fuck it all, might as well enjoy this moment while I still can I thought to myself and nodded. James once more had his lips pressed against mine, his tongue darted out and licked my lips as if asking for entrance and I gave it to him, I knew what I was doing was probably a bad thing that will come bite me in the ass later on but at the moment I didn't care, all I really cared about now was the boy in front of me and the way our lips moved with one another as if we were in complete sync with each other. After a moment I felt James pull me closer to his body as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close, I answered him by wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling myself even more closer than what I would have originally felt comfortable with, I heard a low moaning and realized that it was coming from him which made me smirk inwardly; seems like something else was being stirred more by the kiss than what we had intended. Deciding now would be the best time to end it before we both did something that we would totally regret I pushed him away letting him know that it was time to stop.

"All ready?" He asked slightly out of breath, I too was out of breath so I just nodded and untangled my arms from around his neck, he of course didn't remove his arms from being wrapped around me.

"James, we're going to be late for class," I said trying to break free of his arms and after a moment of hesitation he gave in.

"Fine." When he unlocked the door we headed off to class, of course we had to check our appearance before we even left the closet so no one would suspect anything had taken place we went our separate ways.

***Jame's POV***

I was happy when I found out I had the same class with Forest but what really pissed me off was Alexander being there, I knew he had History class in the morning as well with me but I didn't like him making a big show and dragging me along with it on who would sit next to Forest; of course naturally I won in the end which pissed him off to no end. Giving him my best victory grin I was graced with him flipping me the bird as Forest totally ignored us and read the first few chapters of the book. I had never expected him to be so intent on this contest and something made me wonder what he had planned next. If he is going to be this aggressive I'm going to have to step up my game plan to make sure it is I who come out victorious in this contest that he had dragged me into again.  Of course I had been more than happy to partake in it; it was not above my nature to let someone like Forest slip through my fingers without me even having a go at getting her attention.

After the first class was over Alexander was in front of Forest's desk before I even knew it and had her bag thrown over his shoulder, I could see in her eyes that the act did not go over well with her which made me somewhat happier but if I was going to win this game between us I was going to have to join in.

"I can carry that myself you know," Forest said giving him a stern look.

"Why should I let you bother yourself with carrying your backpack when I'm here to help?" He said and I knew he was taunting me to say something, he wanted me to fight him right there in the classroom and in front of Forest but I wasn't about to give him the pleasure of the act.

"Fine, but don't ever carry my bag again, I can do it just fine," Forest said and I snickered lightly, if Alexander thought he was going to have an easy time at getting her he was sorely mistaken. When we had left the class room I was close on Forest's heels just waiting for my moment to shine and show her that Alexander wasn't the only one around here willing to help her out and when we came up to her locker I knew it was my time to act; quickly getting in front of her I stopped her from going any further.

 "Allow me Miss. Ostrander, you should not bother with opening these things, allow me to assist you," I said smiling at her and opening her locker with ease, thank God I had bothered to remember her locker number and combination when she wasn't looking; of course I'm sure that must make me look like some creepy, over possessive guy but if Alexander thought he was going to be the only one doing anything for her he was barking up the wrong tree then.

"How...How did you know my combination?" She asked glaring at me but I could also tell she was slightly impressed.

"I looked at your schedule when you weren’t looking and mesmerized you locker number and combo. I also know you have lunch this period which I so happen to have as well," I said grinning but feeling like a total looser having to resort to sneaking around to figure out her things but I didn't care at the time. Taking the bag out of Alexander's hand I smirked at him.

"You're going to be late for you class Alexander," I said while placing my hand on Forest's back and steering her to the lunch room with a furious looking Alexander glaring after us. When I was sure he was gone I released my grip.

"What was that all about? What has gotten into the both of you?" She asked me with a slight glare to her eyes and I suddenly felt like one of those over possessive guys and instantly felt guilty but I knew I was doing her a good thing by keeping Alexander away from her.

"It's nothing, I just don't want you hanging out with that guy, and he’s bad news." I said brushing off her look and ignoring her question, what was going on between us was something she did not need to be dragged into.

"Bad news? How?" She asked in a persistent tone which was shockingly getting on my nerves all of a sudden. Calm down James, you're just worked up over Alexander, you don't need to blow off on her either and completely loose her trust in you I said to myself.

"Just trust me on this one ok?" I asked stopping her long enough to really make sure she understood what I was trying to get at. When she didn't protest I sighed and continued on to the lunch room with her close beside me, it kind of felt like we were a couple which sent a totally mixed feeling in me; why did I want us to be together but at the same time didn't want to? What is it that I really wanted from her? When we walked into the lunch room I instantly felt like a weight has been lifted off of my chest and I felt like I could be myself once more.

Taking up our seats, I gave Forest enough space so as it didn't look like I was trying to invade in her personal area but at the same time being close enough that it felt like we were there as friends.

After a while I noticed Forest had a distant look to her face and she barely even touched her food which worried me.

"Is something wrong Forest?" I asked hoping she wasn't getting sick.

"Huh? Oh no, what makes you say that?" She asked brushing off my worries and I knew she definitely had something on her mind.

"You were staring at your food and haven’t even taken a bite of it. What's on your mind?" I asked hoping she would finally open up to me and tell me something to put my worries aside.

 "What makes you think something is wrong? Why is it whenever I'm deep in thought someone always assumes that there is something wrong with me?" I was shocked with her blowing off on me, I had never suspected her to do so and it pained me when she did.

"Well sorry for disturbing you. I didn't think your thoughts were so important to keep to yourself," I said a bit angry and hurt at her shutting me out.

"I'm sorry James, I just have a lot on my mind right now and I just don't feel like talking about it just yet, please forgive me?" She said and I could hear the sincerity in her voice so I conceded and gave in to her, after all, I must have hit a hidden nerve so it was also my fault for making her blow as well but I might as well take this chance at showing her that I'm much better than Alexander.

"All right, I'll forgive you but on one condition," I said a bit evilly.

"What's that?" I could hear her hesitation at accepting my request.

"A kiss." I could tell my request had shocked her, her mouth dropped open as if a ton of bricks were weighing it down and her eyes were like saucers.

"What? Too sudden?" I asked hoping she wouldn't reject me.

"N-No, not really...well I mean actually ya it was, I was not really expecting that kind of request," she said so I decided to fake feeling hurt, after all for her sudden outburst she kind of owed it to me.

"Oh. I'm sorry if I come on too aggressive," I said faking my down expression; it must have worked because she took the bait.

"No it's ok, just one kiss you wanted?" She asked and I felt bad at having to guilt it out of her but this was probably my only chance at protecting her from Alexander so I had to take it when I could.

"Why? Do you want more than one?" I asked grinning, I was probably enjoying this a little bit too much.

"I think one will do just fine, we did just meet today you know. I don't want you to think that I'm one of those sissy girls who you can kiss any time you want, from now on you have to earn that right like anyone else, “she said and I was ok with that; I didn't want to push her past her comfort zone any more than what I had just done so I guess just one kiss for now was good enough for me.

"All right, that sounds fine with me," I said smiling at her.

After a while she once more slipped back into that thoughtful look of hers which I had to admit scared me a bit and I hoped that I hadn't said anything to offend her.

"Did I say something to offend you?" I asked hoping she would say no.

"Huh? No, I was just once more daydreaming," I knew she was brushing me off once more which irked me that she wouldn't open up to me but I wasn't about to press the issue seeing as how she was not ready to truly open up fully yet to me, I guess I had a lot of trust earning to do.

After lunch, I dragged her into one of the janitor closets. All the staff here gave me an extra key to their rooms since I always stayed late to finish up some sort of projects, the janitors gave me spares of their keys as well so that when I was done I could clean up when they went home. I could feel her tense up as I dragged her into the closet and locked the door behind me but I didn't care, I knew a girl would loosen up eventually and she did agree to give me a kiss for payment for her blowing me off and me accepting her apology. Pushing her up against the wall I leaned in leaving a few inches between our lips, I was hesitant about pushing her too far and scaring her away from me and right into Alexander's arms.

"Are you sure this is ok?" I asked and was pleased when she nodded her head and then our lips met.

I had kissed a bunch of girls before but I have never kissed anyone like her, she was a pure natural at it which shocked me since she said no boy touched her before. I actually found myself enjoying it a bit more than I had with the others and I dragged her closer to me and in response she wrapped her arms around my neck and I could feel her pressing herself even closer to me. Though a part of me was enjoying the moment we were having as our lips moved in sync with each other I had a nagging feeling of confusion. A part of me longed to have her as mine but another part of me didn't know if I was really ready to officially express my true feelings to her, how could I after we had just met? Yet here I was locking lips with her in a janitor’s closet. After a while I felt her push against me and we split apart, each of us breathing heavily, I sadly didn't want it to stop, I wanted to really test out that feeling I had before to see if I could really work myself up to telling her even if we just met today.

"More?" I asked hoping she would say yes. I was once more relieved that she nodded and we were kissing again, this time I really pinned her against me, I wanted more than anything to convey what I was really feeling for her but I lacked the ability to verbally say it so I was hoping my actions would do it for me, I was hoping that this moment between us would spike the same emotion in her as it did with me, moaning slightly at the sudden closeness of our bodies. After another long kissing session she pushed on me again breaking us apart.

"All ready?" I asked disappointed that she had stopped it right when it was getting to the good part.

"James, we're going to be late for class," she said and I knew she was right but at that moment I could care less, all I wanted was to keep her there with me and never letting her leave.

"Fine," I said giving in once more to her and unlocking the door, we left the closet and headed to class.

Chapter 3: The memory

                When my last class broke free I felt so relieved, not only can I get out and finally head to the library but it also got me away from the tension between Alexander and James, who know so much male testosterone was so overpowering? I swore I was practically drowning in it. Reaching my locker I sighed, if my friends had been around they surely would know what to do and how to repel such male hormones from overpowering ones atmosphere. Digging through my backpack I pulled out my sketch book and box of pencils and placed them in my back pocket, next to come out was my library card, I was glad the first time I arrived here I had opened up an account, though I knew the people who worked at the library and they knew me I felt like it was one of my civilian duties to still get a library card even though they would let me take a book out with or without a card.

                Once my backpack was in my locker as I would not need it, I closed it and made my way to the front doors, nearly making it out I stopped when my name was being called. Looking behind me I saw Alexander trying to make his way through the swarm of kids to get to me and I groaned inwardly. I do not need this right now I thought to myself, I had hoped that I would be able to slip out of the school without either him or James noticing me but apparently that was not going to be the case. I debated on rather or not I should wait for him to catch up to me or if I should make my break for it while he struggled through the other students. A part of me screamed for me to get away from there and not listen to his calling but another part of me wanted me to stay and see what the hell he wanted from me this time so I decided to let the curiosity in me take over and I waited.

“Hey,” Alexander said finally getting to me, I could tell the effort to split the sea of kids took a lot of effort on his part and I snickered inwardly, I was doing a lot of stuff on the inside but why let them see it? I never let anyone see me doing anything that I don’t want them to so why do it now?

“What’s up?” I asked really not wanting to be there but also not wanting to leave either.

“What are you doing?” He asked. Instantly sensing a hidden meaning behind his words I put the barrier up.

“Why do you want to know?” I asked eyeing him skeptically. It surprised me when my reaction took him by surprise and I felt the urge to apologize but held it back.

“I was just wondering if I could walk you home, that’s all,” he said holding up his hands as if surrendering. I didn’t buy it one bit.

“No, I’m taking the short cut home, I don’t need an escort from there,” I said quickly hoping he would leave me alone. I was trying my hardest to give him the benefit of the doubt but I was having a hard time believe he only wanted to walk me home, there was a reason James warned me away from him and I was going to follow it…at least for now. His face fell but I did not care, some might call me heartless but at that moment, I just really wanted to get away from him.

“Oh, ok then. See you Monday?” He asked giving me a small smile which lit his handsome face up and made me want to rethink his invitation to walk me home.

“Ya sure,” I said holding back the urge to accept his offer and was pleased with myself when that side of me didn’t put up a fight.

“All right then, see ya Monday Forest,” Alexander said waving goodbye to me and leaving. I stayed where I was and gave him some time to get a good distance away before I too left the school and made my way to the library. When I was just a little kid I had always enjoyed coming to the library, it was a place where I could get away from all the stress at home and at the same time disappear into my own little world where no one but me mattered. I had always felt more at home in books than I had anywhere else and even though that makes me sound like a total book nerd I could care less, people need to read more and then maybe they will find something else interesting in their life or in the world the book is displaying for you, begging you to come back to it and live the life of the characters as if it was your own life.

                When the library came into view I instantly felt all my worries slip away as if there was some invisible barrier holding them back and preventing them from clinging onto me any longer. Stopping outside the huge building I took it all in, it had been a long time since I was here and I wanted to take it all in once more. The huge marble stone pillars in the entrance held up a beautifully carved roof, the glistening marble stairs glinted in the light of the sun making them gleam and sparkle under its warm glow. The few trees that were planted there gave some shelter from the sun’s rays and the chirping of birds filled my ears. This place was something to enjoy, it brought peace and tranquility to me that nowhere else had besides my sketches. Finally heading up the stairs and opening the wide glass doors I stepped into a huge foyer with a beautiful mahogany carpet with floral designs sewn into it. Dark oak table littered the bottom half of the library providing sitting places for people to study or read books, a huge spiraling staircase led up to the upper half of the library where the kids and teen books were located and a small computer lab that was for research purposes only or ordering books from other libraries, all other websites that were not considered research or library websites was blocked from the computers access unless you had a code to get past the barrier, only a selected few had the code and I was one of them, mainly because they know I would do nothing wrong on the computer so they trusted me more than the other people who came into the library. The entire bottom floor contained shelves upon shelves of history books, books on court and police, ancient files for ancestor searching and what not, the bottom floor was where I liked to remain, not because I didn’t like being upstairs but because I really like getting lost more in the history of things than anything else.

                Walking up to the red oak desk I rang the small, silver bell that you would see at hotels to signal one of the librarians that I was there. A small room in the back contained a cafeteria like setting for the librarians that many of them like to disappear into and talk about books, their lives at home or anything that happened to pass their minds. I was once allowed back into that room when the head librarian was watching me until my parents came to get me that one time I ran away from my grandparent’s house. It was a beautiful room painted in a calming blue, though the tables in there where those white plastic ones they had a beautiful counter topped with a sink, coffee pot and microwave. The librarians had their own cupboards with their names on them where they hid their own snacks; they also had a mini fridge that contained their cold foods and beverages. An old oak door opened from the room and I was happy to see Mrs. Juddy come out with a smile on her face.

“Why hello Forest!” Mrs. Juddy said beaming; she was one of my favorite librarians that worked here.

“Hello Mrs. Juddy, how’s Eddie doing?” I asked. Eddie was Mrs. Juddy’s son who I simply adored, the last time I saw him was when he was a little baby crying in his mother’s arms.

“Oh he’s doing fine. He started kindergarten not too long ago and is simply enjoying it there. I get little hand paintings every day, you should see my fridge!” She exclaimed and we both laughed, like me Eddie loved doing art, I had once bought him his own washable finger painting kit for his birthday and he went ecstatic over it.

“That’s good to here. How have you been?” I asked trying to catch up with the missed years.

“I’ve been doing ok; I started to go to church these days. I felt like it was time I finally embraced the Lord and welcome him into my life once more.”

“Oh?” I asked, Mrs. Juddy hadn’t been really religious before and although she had gone to church a few times before she never could really get into it, hearing she was going there once more now pleased me.

“How’s Eddie taking it there?” I asked, Eddie was a different matter all together, he hated to sit still for too long and church was not something he would find to his liking until he was a bit older with more patience.

“He likes it, they have built a toddler room for the little ones now, and it sure helps out us adults though sometimes you can hear the little tikes screaming in the upstairs room when they play games.” I laughed; I could see the pastor trying to give a preaching with little high pitched screams breaking in every chance he got to something. Father Tom may have enjoyed kids, but he didn’t like his services being interrupted every time.

“I bet that makes it interesting,” I said chuckling, Mrs. Juddy chuckled too.

“It is funny; every time he goes to speak a kid screams right at the exact moment his mouth opens so it looks like he was the one making the screaming. All of us crack up every time.” I could picture it, it did sound funny to see a pastor trying to talk only to look like he is screaming like a little kid, and I hoped that won’t make him take out the room. If it kept the little kids entertained and away from the services he should be pleased about that.

“I hope he doesn’t remove the room because of it,” I said worried about some parents getting angry at the church and Father Tom.

“Oh I’m sure he won’t, he cracks up as well and makes jokes about it,” Mrs. Juddy said.

“That’s good,” I replied feeling relieved that he wasn’t going to get rid of the room.

“Now what can I do for you Mrs. Ostrander?” Mrs. Juddy asked as if she were running a high tech business. I laughed; she always tried to make people’s stay there entertaining and fun.

“I was hoping you would have a history book on this town,” I said.

“I think I might. Hang on, I’ll go check for you,” she said once more disappearing in a different room. I stood there waiting and when she came back she was carrying an old, worn leather book that looked like it had seen better years.

“Here we go, sorry about its condition. Someone had it shoved under a bunch of crap in the attic.”

“Oh that’s ok, hopefully the pages aren’t too damaged,” I said. I knew only too well what happens to books over the years if not taken care of.

“No, the pages are still readable, it’s the cover that’s a different matter,” Mrs. Juddy said checking the book out for me and handing it to me. I looked at the cover, the leather was indeed splitting and cracking but all in all it looked to be good, the gold lettering still shined somewhat in the light.

“Thanks Mrs. Juddy, I best be off now. Grandma will be expecting me home soon.”

“All right dear, take care.” I smiled and waved but before I could leave the building Mrs. Juddy stopped me.

“Wait!” She said coming from behind the counter and coming up to me.

“Ya?” I asked wondering what she wanted.

“You never told me about your folks, how are they doing?” She asked and I had hoped she didn’t bring up the matter, the deaths of my parents was still raw on my heart and hearing them be brought up once more really took me back.

“They…died,” I said as low as I could get, I didn’t want the other people in the library to hear my personal business.

“Oh, oh my. I’m so sorry dear, how are you holding up?” Mrs. Juddy asked and I looked at her, I could see tears in her eyes but like me she was trying to hold them back.

“I’m…surviving I guess. It’s still hard to believe that they are gone. It’s almost like they are on a long vacation and will be back any minute,” I said but I knew deep down inside that they would never be back.

                I felt arms wrap around me as Mrs. Juddy pulled me into a hug, having lost her mother before she knew what it was like to lose a parent and I welcomed her embrace. I didn’t know I was crying until I felt a smooth hand motion on my back and heard the light sobbing and felt the wet spot on her shirt from my tears and at that moment I didn’t care on if people were watching, I didn’t care if they thought I was weak, right now I felt like I needed to let it all out and Mrs. Juddy presented herself as a good form to just let my tears flow.

“There, there. Let it all out Forest, it’s not healthy bottling up your emotions,” she said in a soothing voice but I too could hear her own tears in her tone as she tried to fight them back.

“I’m..S-sorry…Mr-Mrs Juddy,” I said through sobs.

“Shh, there is nothing to be sorry about Forest; your heart is aching so it’s only right to let it out,” she said holding me closer and I hugged her back.

“Th-Thank you,” I said a bit calmer now. I pulled away and felt bad, the whole front of her shirt had a huge wet stain on it from my crying and I was embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” I said looking down at my feet.

“Oh don’t worry about it, it’s not like I don’t have a kid of my own who doesn’t cry,” she said brushing my apology away.

“I should be going, thanks again Mrs. Juddy,” I said.

“No problem dear, now if you ever want to talk don’t be afraid to stop over at my place. I’ll make you some nice chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate,” I smiled and hugged her.

“I will,” I said once more breaking away and leaving the library behind.

                Taking the short cut through the trees I arrived home just in the nick of time before nightfall came and I could instantly smell dinner cooking.

“I’m home,” I said closing the door behind me and placing the book on the coffee table next to the stairs.

“Hello dear,” my grandma called from within the kitchen. I walked into the room and helped her with the remaining dishes.

“How was school?” She asked.

“Ok, we had to draw something we missed dearly in art today,” I said.

“Oh? Do show me after dinner,” she said smiling at me and placing the washed dishes in the dish strainer.

“Ok, when can we eat by the way?” I asked all of a sudden hungry enough to eat a cow.

“You can help yourself, dinner’s already done.” I took a plate down from the cupboard above the stove and piled my plate full of steak and potatoes. Sitting down at the table I began to eat and grandma joined me not too long after. When dinner was finished and our plates were washed I handed her my sketchbook. She took it and began looking through my sketches.

“Wow, these are really good,” she said motioning to my house sketches and flower sketches.

“Thanks,” I said a bit shyly. I was not used to too much praise on my drawings, I didn’t think they were good enough despite me having a few art museums purchase some of my drawings or being featured in countless art shows. When she stopped I knew she had come to my art class project, a sketching of my parents.

“I know, I wanted to draw something else but my hand just sketched them out of its own accord,” I said lowering my eyes. I hated knowing that I had ripped the band-aid off of my grandma’s heart by drawing my parents, she had finally gotten over their deaths and now she has to once more look at her child and his wife all over again and re-live that fateful day.

“It’s ok,” she said but I could hear the crack in her voice signaling that the tears were coming. I took my sketchbook back and apologized once more before picking up the old book from the library and disappearing in my room. I felt like a total jerk for letting her see the picture, what was I thinking to have drawn my parents? And why did I let grandma see it? I knew I was beating myself up over letting her see my drawing but she had been the most effected out of all of us.

“I’m sorry grandma,” I whispered once in my room, I felt like shit. It was bad enough that she has to look at me everyday knowing I was the one who survived and not my parents, I knew she doesn’t mean to think those thoughts but I couldn’t blame her, I blamed myself for not dying along with my parents, I found it unfair that I was the one who survived and not them.

“Why didn’t I die as well? It would have been so much easier if I had died with them,” I whispered looking at the drawing in my sketch book.

“Mom, dad, what are you doing now?” I asked knowing full well an image could not speak. I ripped out the sketching and tapped it up over the little memorial stand I had made for my parents, it held two white candles and a picture of the three of us smiling out at the camera holding hands, it was the only image I was able to get my hands on as the others were just too painful to look at. Lighting the candles I kneeled in front of the portrait.

“I wish you guys were here with me, I hate the idea that I can’t see you anymore but in pictures. Why did you guys have to die and I had to live? Did you guys purposely want me to stay behind? I hate being the only one here who survived and having my grandma look at me every day knowing that her son and his wife will no longer be returning to her. I have to deal every day being that reminder, I honestly don’t know how she can stand such a thing. If only you were here as well than everything could be back on track once more, I wouldn’t have had to leave my friends and grandma wouldn’t have to be reminded every day of the car crash.” I laid my chin on my arms and looked both my mother and father in the eyes, I could just imagine them by my side once more, both laughing and smiling like they were doing in the picture before me, it was taken the day before the accident for a family photo album that mom was making for grandma and the family.

“How is this any way at all fair?” I asked the picture, I wanted answers but I knew I was not going to get them. I had lived for a reason but what was that reason? Why did my parents die and I stay? Was it them who prevented me from going with them? Did they purposely push me back? I was more confused than ever before on the matter so I decided that it was best for me to just get some sleep, I’ll read the book in the morning.

                “Mom, dad, could we go back there again sometime soon?” I asked from the back seat. We were just leaving the fair and I already wanted to head back there. Mom laughed and looked back at me.

“Forest, if you really want to go back there than we will but not tomorrow ok? Give us time to get more money around and we can all once more go back,” she said smiling at me and I found myself smiling back.

“That’s right pumpkin, you have to find other things to entertain yourself until then,” my dad said looking at me through the mirror.

“All right mom, dad, I guess I can wait a bit longer,” I said turning my head to look out the window, I was a little tired from all the running around, it had been a long day indeed but it was a fun one at that.

“How about some ice cream?” My dad asked me and I beamed.

“Oh yes! Can we please?” I asked instantly awake, both my parents laughed again and my dad pulled into the nearest ice cream shop. A few minutes later we were both back on the road, my mom with her cookies and cream and my dad with his bubblegum and me with cookie dough. Just as I was about to take a huge bite of my ice cream I was slammed into the opposite side of the car, the impact made me drop my ice cream on the floor as I clung to the seat belt that was cutting into my side and screaming, the car was spinning in circles like the tea cup ride mom and I went on at least a dozen times and each spin sent me slamming into the door once more. Finally when the car came to a stop I could barely move, one of my legs was pinned under my father’s seat while the other one obviously was broken, my arm was also broken from me using it as a brace to prevent my head from slamming against the window, the only thing preventing me from being thrown out of the car was the seat belt which hurt.

“Mom? Dad?” I asked looking at my parents. My father was leaning on the steering wheel, the weight of his head making the horn scream, my mother was leaning on the shattered window of the car and I felt a warm feeling leaking down my pinned leg. Looking down I noticed blood pouring out of a cut on my calf, I also had a cut across my forehead above my eye making one eye see red due to the blood.

“Mommy? Daddy?” I asked now scared wondering why they weren’t answering me, I was scared and wanted nothing more than to hear my parent’s voices.

“MOMMY! DADDY!” I screamed trying to wake them up since I couldn’t move, I knew the seat belt had cut into my side but at that moment I didn’t care, I wanted my parents to wake up, I was screaming and begging for them to open their eyes to let me know that they were ok, even a light movement of the finger would satisfy me but I got nothing. I was becoming dizzy due to blood loss and wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep but knew I had to do something. Using my good hand I pulled my phone out of my pocket only to find it had been broken during the crash and I cried, life was not being fare to me. I could see people running to the car but a lot of them where holding back and I wondered why until I heard the hissing and instantly from watching the mock crashes at school I knew we had popped the gas tank and gas was pouring out of the car at the same time the engine was smoking.

“HELP! HELP ME!” I screamed banging on the window frantically begging the people who were looking in horrified and too afraid to approach the car.

“PLEASE!” I screamed again, the front of the car took and I knew if it hit the gas tank this car was going to explode with me in it. Is this how I’m going to die? I thought to myself. I gave up trying to break the window, not because I wanted to but because the smoke was overpowering and I was succumbing to blood loss from the cut on my head and leg. I could hear faint sirens in the distance before everything went black.

Chapter 4: The unerthing

                I woke up in the middle of the night completely frightened by the dream; I had been having that dream ever since the accident and it always tormented me time after time. I didn’t want to keep relieving my parent’s deaths but it was like I had no choice. Deciding that the best matter to hopefully get back to sleep I decided to read up on the manor and hoped that in doing so I would have a much different dream than the one I kept on having. Climbing out of bed, I sat at my desk and flipped on my light, placing the book in front of me I brushed the dust off of it and opened it up to the chapter contents, finding the page I wanted I read:

                                                                The Berinstein Manor

The Berinstein Manor is an old house built by the late George Berinstein. Once considered a sorcerer by the people of his village, they resented the rich nobleman and shunned him from all activities regarding the town’s people. Angered by their betrayal he shut out the village and resorted to his dark magic insisting on taking revenge on the lowly citizens. Scouring through his book that he had gotten from his late father, he chose one particular passage that appeased him, The Curse of The Cat was a spell that he had read over and over again when he was a child and wondered if such a curse was possible to manifest. Reading the requirements needed to complete such a curse George went about obtaining the materials. Once George had regained all of the materials he went about creating the curse, listening to his father’s warning about magic backfiring if done wrong he was extra careful to read the spell right and measure the ingredients to the exact portion that was required.

When George had the curse manifested, he cast it about his land and his house making sure everything was completely covered, he even went out of the way to consider part of the sidewalk passing by his house so that any who passed by would be drawn in by the spell and lured into the house itself. Once inside the house the people were led up to a specific room, this room contained all the sacrificial remains of the cats used to require such a spell but was to also provide the body needed once the spell was finished and the soul removed from the living body. Once the person(s) was trapped in the room their soul was ripped out of them and placed in a cat body, once the transformation was completed the room caught on fire, burning whatever remains of the previous body there was so the soul could not try to return to its previous dwellings. Once the body was completely destroyed, the soul that is trapped in the cats body is doomed to remain on the property for the rest of its existence, the only way to break such a spell was for the soul’s true love to reveal their true feelings to them thus setting the soul free once more, though once freed there was no returning for the soul. Those who have been freed from their entrapment in the cat’s body, they were released from their holdings on the land and left the Earth for a better place, never to return again.

When the towns people learned of such curse it was already too late, most of the population has fallen to the curse and those who have not refused to even go near the manor for fear that they too will be possessed and forced to live the life of a cat, never to roam the world again as a human or even allowed to leave the property. Those who were brave enough managed to lure George out of his house and trap him in a jail cell far from his spell casting and spell books. Guards were placed outside of George’s jail cell and window to prevent any escape until the sorcerer’s execution. When the fateful day came for the sorcerer to be executed his last words to the public were as followed: “You think you have won but you haven’t.  My spell will claim every one of you rather it is now or in the future! There is no escaping it! You all will suffer the same fate I was dealt!” Then the old man was hanged. Years have gone and the manor still remains vacant, those who have not gone near the house have passed on their story to the next generation and they passed it down until all have abandoned the house all together. It is still rumored that to this very day, the tormented soul of the sorcerer still roams the house and the spell is still clinging to the land, waiting for its next victim to once more walk into the trap.

I couldn’t believe what I had read, there was no way this passage was true. Closing the book and putting it away I flipped open my laptop and google’d spells and curses, finding out that the curses lasted longer than the spells I was instantly amazed that such a man would do such a thing all to exact revenge on the towns people. Wow, to do such a thing in anger must really have caused a lot of torment on the soul, no wonder he is still wondering around if the passage was true I thought. I wonder how I would have reacted if people thought me to be a witch? Would I have done the same thing? I knew the answer, I would indeed have done what George had and that scared me. Realizing that such a thing would be what I would do made me wonder what other things the human mind could be capable off all to get back at someone for what they had done. Closing down my laptop I sat there in silence, I couldn’t help but toy with the thought of getting the good scoop on something as amazing as this and creating a story out of it to wanting to believe the passage was true and taking into consideration the warnings both grandma and James had told me about. Could I really get passed such a spell to even get close enough to finding the truth? I knew that a part of me wanted to go explore the house despite the warnings and though that may make me sound utterly stupid I still couldn’t deny the fact that the human curiosity just wouldn’t be laid to rest until the source of that curiosity was proven to be false or true. I wonder if I could get someone to go with me? If I did could I face up to the fact that both of us could be ensnared in the curse? I decided to not enact on the thought…yet.

Unable to go back to sleep I decided to look up more about James’s background to see what it was about the boy that made me want to trust him but also fear him at the same time and if I should even toy with the notion of possibly falling for him. Our kiss in the janitors closest suggested that there was potentially something there between us but I didn’t want to get mixed up in something that could possibly be detrimental to my safety. Quickly finding the thing I was searching for I was shocked at what was being displayed before me. He has a fucking police record?! I continued to read on.

James Hemington.

Age: 20

Birthday: June 4^th, 1994.

Parents: June and Brad Hemington.

Address: 52, Lunar Ave.

Sex: Male

Race: White

Case number: 024533806Date: 13 August 2000Reporting Officer: Deputy HermanPrepared by: CPL Mahogany Incident Type: Suspected Murder Address of Occurrence: 52, Lunar Ave. New York, NY 24312 Witnesses: Ilene June: Mother of deceased. Female, 44, White Marcus Tango: Neighbor. Male, 34, Latino Jenny Coax: Neighbor. Female, 23, African American Evidence: Foot prints around the scene (Size 11 found in the rug) Finger prints (taken from glass) Video camera taken from the scene Weapons/Objects used: No weapons found but suspected to have lured out of the house and killed her else ware.On August 13, 2000, at approximately 12:12, victim is reported missing upon mysterious sound in the room. The victim has recorded a boy matching our description being in the same room of the victim before she went missing. Ilene June had called the police reporting her daughter, Alex June, missing when she had gotten to her room."I always check on her," she reported. "She has a disability that prevents her from breathing well at night." The boy in the video taken from the scene looked to be no older than a simple pre-teen that the girl had hidden in her room the night of her disappearance.After luring the victim out of the house, the suspect is believed to have lured her to a secluded spot and killed her. The two neighbors Marcus Tango and Jenny Coax seen the two pre-teens sneaking away in the middle of the night to the woods. The boy was described to be tall and skinny, only towering over the girl by a mere few inches. He was described to have semi-long hair, about mid-way to the neck.Deputy Herman arrived a few minutes after the distress call at 24:01, responding to Ilene June's 911 call and proceeded to view the tape on the video camera. Deputy Herman noticed the boy had a glass in his hand filled with some kind of juice; fingerprints were taken from the glass and sent to forensics. Close inspection of the footprint in the mud showed the boy wore a size 11 Nike Airs, which is consistent with the footage on the camera.I was completely taken off guard, James was prosecuted for murder? And not once either, there were reports on him leading all the way up to present time today. How could a boy that nice have a record such as this? I wondered. Even though I felt guilty for barging in on James’s personal life, I was actually happy that I did."Now why would James hide such a thing from me? And if he was really behind all of these girls’ disappearance then why did he feverously warn me to stay away from Alexander? Could Alexander be in on it as well and James doesn't want me to investigate him in case he told me more? Could they have been criminal allies? If I remained being around them would I too come up missing like these girls? I was totally lost in my thoughts on my recent findings and I doubted whether or not I should continue trusting these boys or not, especially James.Picking up my phone, I texted Crystal:Are you awake? I asked and waited for a while, my phone buzzed a little bit afterwards.Yes, what's up? She replied.Can I call you? I need to talk to you pronto about something.Sure, she said and I dialed her number; she answered on the second ring."What's up Forest?""I was wondering, if you found out that a guy you really like has a police record for missing girls, what would you do?" I asked quietly so I wouldn't wake up my grandma who was in the other room beside mine."Well, that all depends. How bad is the report?" She asked."It goes back until middle school. Supposedly he has been arrested for supposed murder of over 20 girls. I also think he might have had an accomplice as well. What should I do?" I asked."Well, I for one would not remain with him at all, and if he has an accomplice, find out who it is and avoided them as well. The last thing you need to do is come up missing because you were mingling with the wrong kind of people." I smiled, Crystal always knew the best things to say to calm me down some and I felt much better talking to her."Thanks Crissy, by the way, how are the others?" I asked."Oh, they are not taking your departure so well. A lot of them have separated from the group, they said with you no longer with them, their whole meaning of staying with the group has gone. They only remained in the group because they respected you and loved following you, now that you have gone they felt lost and have left." I frowned, this was not good news at all, the new people who have joined the group were people who had suffered through all kinds of problems and I was the only one keeping them from committing suicide."Have you kept in touch with them?" I asked hoping as my advisor in the group she would be able to seeing as how I couldn't get the time to get their numbers myself."I was only able to talk to one of them, I don't know what happened to the others or if they are even still alive. I tried for three whole days to get ahold of them but they just wouldn't answer their cell or house phones." That didn't sound too good at all, if they weren't answering any kind of phone meant that they either A.) Were dead or B.) Didn’t feel like talking at all and I had hoped it was option B."I'm so sorry Crissy. I didn't want to leave you guys, I swear I didn't.""I know Forest, but it couldn't be helped. The most important thing though is that you keep remaining our friend, I'm sure with that much in our lives the distance between us would be ok.""Oh I could never not be your friend, it would kill me to not be friends with anyone of you. We have been through so much together that it would be like ripping out my own heart and stomping on it till it was flat like a pancake." I heard her chuckle slightly which brought a smile to my face."I love your metaphors Forest, they're so funny at times.""Always here to please you," I said laughing a bit."Well, I best be heading off to bed before mom and dad find out I'm still awake.""Ya, the same goes with me too, grandma would kill me if she found out I was on the phone this late. Talk to you tomorrow?""Ok, till then good night!""Good night Crissy," I said and we both hung up and true to my word I went right back to sleep.

Chapter 5: I was never good at being quiet

When morning came, I decided that today I would dress like I always had back at my old school. I hated putting on the makeup yeasterday so today it was time to spice things up a bit. This time instead of wearing jeans I slipped on my brown swearpants which were absolutly comfertable, they were so soft on both the inside and outside and I had to restrain myself from petting them constently, next came my most favorite shirt, it was of a wolf back with the words: Down To Earth printed across the chest area, next came my very fluffy brown sweatshirt which had a wolf print on the left side of my breasts. After I was dressed, I applied some deoderant and brushed my teeth and hair after washing my face, soon I was comeplety ready for school looking like I usually always did, screw all that fancying up, I only did that on my very first day of school becasue grandma likes my pictures to look good, after that it was all fair game from then on out. Today however was going to be a totally different day, today was the day I would officially confront both James and Alexander on their pasts to best decide if I should follow Crystal's instructions on avoiding them or not.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.09.2014

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