Chapter 13

 

Chapter 13: Standoff

 

“So did you have fun?” James asked slightly concerned.

            “Yes and no. Alex and I got into a fight, I started walking home and my night vision had already kicked in, then I realized that I didn’t have my cell or keys so I went back to the house to got them and then I got sick.  I think because I was so angry at the time I didn’t notice that I was using my night vision and I over did it.  I feel like a bit of a fool for thinking I could be a normal kid for a night.  I’m not normal and I have to accept that.” I said flatly looking away from James and out window gazing at the lake.  All I wanted was to be a regular kid.  It was so depressing knowing that I would never be normal.

“Anna, you can have fun.  Perhaps you did overdo it a bit, you’re normally in bed by ten, so it could be because you stayed up really late or it could be because of the stress of your fight with Alex.” he suggested gently pulling me into a quick reassuring hug.  He felt so safe, I wish he was my father.

“It’s possible, Alex was being a supreme jerk last night and after he told me off I was too angry and hurt by what he said.” I answered frustrated.  “Don’t worry I’ll tell them it was great and it was until the end.” I half smiled.  We didn’t speak for the rest of the ride home.  Once we got home I put the outfit away and got back into bed.  Around noon I got a phone call.

“Hey, Anna.”

“Hi, Lizzy.” I said drowsily

“Why did you go home so early, we could have done something together today, are you feeling okay?” she asked.

“I didn’t want to disturb you while you and everyone else were sleeping.   I had a lot of fun last night until the end.  I’m really glad you invited me and don’t worry I just have a slight headache.” I said honestly.

“Your welcome and thanks for helping with the clean up you didn’t have to do that.” she said warmly.

“I didn’t mind, it kept me busy while I waited for James.” I tried to sound happy.

“Alex is really sorry about his behaviour Anna, he feels awful.” Lizzy said quietly.

“He should feel that way.  I’m sorry Lizzy but I don’t want to talk about him, it was nice of him to stay with me through the night but right now I still think he’s an asswipe and I don’t want anything to do with him.” I grumbled.

“Give him a chance to make it up to you.” Lizzy pled.

“Why, so he can treat me like that again.  I don’t think so and people always wondered why I didn’t date much.  I mean really, why bother if you’re going to be treated like that.” I said coolly.

“He didn’t mean it.  He was jealous and stupid and I know that is no excuse but it’s true.  He’s been beating himself up all morning especially when you got sick and then slipped out of the house this morning without letting him apologize.” She tried again.

“Well perhaps he needs to learn to control his temper.   I have to go Lizzy I need to get some rest, my headache is getting worse.  I’ll see you on Monday okay.” I sighed.

“Okay I’ll see you on Monday.” she replied not very happily.  I hung up the phone and closed my eyes.

 

On Monday Lizzy met me in the parking lot, I could tell she had something on her mind because she was tapping her foot impatiently.

“Hello Lizzy, what’s up?” I said slowly as I approached her.

“Nothing, just wondering how you’re feeling is all.” Lizzy said looking at her hands.

“I’m fine, now please tell me what’s bothering you before you wear out your shoe.” I said quietly eyeing her.  She shifted uncomfortably and then handed me an envelope.  I took it slowly and opened it.

Anna

I’m very sorry for hurting you the other night.  Lizzy and everyone else were right I was being a jerk.  I should have controlled myself better and I promise it won’t happen again.  I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.  I never really meant what I said.  I never meant to hurt you.

Alex

I looked at the letter for a moment then folded it up and put it in my pocket.  I looked into the trees fiddling with the ring on my chain then I turned and started to head for class.

“Anna, please wait, don’t be mad at me because of him.” Lizzy whined.  I rolled my eyes at the drama.

“I’m not mad at you but if we don’t get moving we’re going to be late for class and no I’m not going to respond to the letter.  I’m not in the mood to deal with this right now.” I said trying not to show any emotion at all but I knew I was failing.  Lizzy walked me to my locker and we chatted lightly when Mark the jock I had seen in the gym my first day of school approached me.  Mark was your typically tall guy with dark hair and deep hazel eyes.  If he didn’t act like a jerk all the time he would be kind of good looking, well at least better than average.

“Hey Anna, do you want to hang out later.” He said placing his hand on my shoulder.  My anger flared and I spun around.

“Take your filthy hands off me.” I snapped.

“Come on babe, I saw you at the party.  You were looking pretty hot, a party girl.” He smirked.  Half the football team was there watching and so was Alex and Will.  I reacted the only way I knew how.  I stomped on his foot with my heel which brought his head down then I elbowed him in the chin and punched him as hard as I could in the solar plexus and pushed him away from me.  He fell to the ground in agony from my assault.  I knew I was going to get in trouble for this but I didn’t care.

“I will not be used as a cheap piece of trash by the likes you.  I won’t give you or any guy in this school some cheap thrill just because you’re a jock on the stupid football team.  You are a user, all you do is treat girls as if they are nothing and when you get your gratification from them in the gym you treat them like wasted garbage.  You are an ASSHOLE and if you ever touch me or come near my friends again I’ll break every bone in that steroid infested body of yours.  Am I clear?” I spat as I stepped on his crotch and applied moderate pressure. He nodded as tears of pain slowly leaked from his right eye.  I pushed myself upward and grabbed my books to head for class.

“Miss Graham.” Said a stern toned Mr. Chang.  I turned my head slightly to acknowledge him.

“Detention in the music room after school.” He said.  I nodded and continued walking to class.

“Anna I can’t believe you did that.  You were so cool standing up to that jerk.” Sally said quietly.

“Don’t worry about it.  Someone had to do it.” I smiled half heartedly.  I saw Alex out of the corner of my eye and I could see that he was impressed but his expression changed as I walked past him without acknowledging him.  I was still mad and I wasn’t going to give in that easily.  The rest of the day was pretty smooth except that several girls thanked me in the hall or nodded their appreciation for what I had done earlier to Mark.  I was polite to everyone but tried to stay away from them as much as possible.  I didn’t really want to be a hero or a celebrity.  When music class was over I sat quietly waiting for my detention to start.

“Anna, are you going to come over later?” Lizzy asked quietly.

“Can’t, have detention then I have to get home so I can get my homework done and get everything ready for school tomorrow.  Maybe you could spend the weekend at my place and we could go do something in town.” I suggested.  I knew she was trying to get me to her place so that she could conveniently trap me in a room alone with Alex and I had just dodged that bullet with my suggestion.

“Okay I’ll talk to you later.” She said sadly as she looked at her brother and shook her head ever so slightly.

“Anastasia” Mr. Chang said quietly.

“Yes” I turned to face him.

“You will have detention for two hours every day this week with me.  Now sit at the harp and start practising.” I smiled ever so slightly.  He knew that this really wasn’t a punishment but he had to make it look good because the principal was at the top of the stairs watching us.

“Can I call my godfather first to let him know I’ll be late?” He nodded.

I dialled the number quickly and hit send so that I wouldn’t have to speak to the principal.

“James it’s me.  Don’t worry everything is fine I got into a fight at school because one of those stupid asswipe jocks insulted me.  I put him in his place and now I have a two hour detention every day after school for the rest of the week.” I rattled on.

“Ok kid, who gave you detention?” James said.

“My music teacher.” I responded.

“Let me guess, he’s proud of what you did and he’s just doing this to make it look good because the principal is standing there right.” He chuckled.

“Yes” I answered evenly.

“You’ll be practising the harp I gather.” I could hear the humour in his voice.

“Yes” I answered again.

“If the principal gives you any trouble call me and I’ll deal with it.” James said. 

“Ok.  I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.” I closed my phone and took my seat at the harp.

“Anastasia” the principal said.  I just looked at him not caring what he had to say.

“You shouldn’t have hurt Mark like that.” He looked perplexed by my reaction.

“A stupid jock who forces girls to give him blowjobs in the gym when it’s empty deserves what he gets.  I don’t care what happens to him.  Football is not wise career choice and to be perfectly honest he sucks as a player.  If you want to see real football go to one of my old schools and watch them play, now there’s talent.” I snapped.

“You could have broken his foot with your heal.” He snapped at me.

“But I didn’t so he’ll get over it. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to start my detention so that I can get out of here.  I do have a life beyond this institution.” I practically yawned.

“I’ll be watching you Miss Graham.  If you get out of line again I’ll suspend you.” He turned and walked away.  Well I had been warned I guess I was back to hiding in the music room and library as much as possible.  I smiled slightly and started to play.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Halloween Party

 

The plan was that I was to go back home to get ready but Stephan already had my costume in his room so we planned to make it look like I left but in actuality I would be in Stephan’s room getting ready.  The plan was simple, I would be dressed and ready to sneak downstairs were all the other party goers were around eight thirty and Stephan would make sure that the guys were busy when I snuck downstairs to the party.  I was really looking forward to this.  I knew it was going to be a blast and I knew that James wanted me to relax.  I had been here almost a month and a half and I still jumped and got defensive when someone startled me but I was getting better I didn’t automatically attack them or throw myself into a defensive pose anymore.

Stephan came up to me around four in the afternoon and tapped my shoulder.  This was the one place that I didn’t get all defensive, I felt safe at this house.  I didn’t understand why but I did.

“Anna, it’s time for you to go get ready.  I’ll drive you home.” Stephan smiled and winked at me.  

“Ok, just let me grab my jacket.” I smiled.                                                                             “Anna come on, what are you going as? Please just give me a tiny winey hint.” Lizzy begged. 

“I’ll put it to you this way, if you don’t figure it out in the first two hours I’ll let you know.” I smiled.

“Alright” she pouted but I could tell she was looking forward to the challenge.  I walked up the stairs to the family room and almost bumped into Alex as he balanced a large tray of glasses and plates on one hand.
 “Sorry Alex, I wasn’t paying attention.  I’ll see you tonight.” I smiled and slipped past him quickly. Stephan and I got into the car and drove off.

“Okay, how am I going to get back into the house without any of them seeing me?” I asked as I watched the road in front of us. 
  “That shouldn’t be so hard.  I’ll just make sure they are all in the basement while you come in through the kitchen.  Don’t worry Katie is waiting for you and she knows that you will be at the back door at exactly four forty five, she’ll make sure that you get into my room so that you can get ready.  Just remember that you have to shower quickly.  I still need to get ready too and they might get suspicious if there is one extra shower goer although I doubt they’ll notice.” Stephan smiled.

“You thought of everything.  Thank you.” I smiled in return.  On our way back to the house he slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road where we couldn’t be seen.                                        “George will get you to the house he should be over there by the rock.  If he isn’t wait five minutes and head that way as quietly as possible.  If any of them are outside they might hear you coming.” Stephan instructed. 
 “No problem.  Thanks I’ll see you in a bit.” I slipped out of the car and headed for the rock as Stephan pulled away.  As I reached the rock I saw George leaning against a large tree with a smirk on his face.
 “Hi George.” I smiled.
  “Hey kid, are you ready to play cloak and dagger.” He smiled and winked.  
  “You bet.” I smirked.  George motioned me to follow him.  He didn’t make a sound as he moved and I did my best to copy his movements as we headed towards the house.  Once we got to the edge of the trees he stopped and waited.  We saw a flash and he signaled me to run across the lawn.  I took off as fast as I could and got to the side of the house. George walked out of the trees with a huge box and walked around to the back of the house.  He motioned me to follow and I did hugging the house as I moved.  He went into basement where the party was going to be and distracted everyone as I took off my shoes and got ready to sprint up the stairs.  I heard a tap on the window and bolted for the stairs and took them two at a time.  Katie had the door open for me as I darted in the kitchen and fled down the hall to Stephan’s room.  Katie came in behind me to make sure I had everything that I needed.                                                                               

“There is a towel here for you dear.  I do love to pull a trick or too on the kids once in awhile.  They’ll be floored when they realize that you never really left the grounds.” She smiled happily.

“I guess it’s pretty hard to fool them.” I smiled softly.
“You have no idea.  The twins are very crafty, you may be the first person ever to pull a fast one on them and you can imagine we are all looking forward to seeing them trip over themselves.  Now go get ready, I’ll check on you in a little while.” Katie smiled and winked as she left the room.

Stephan’s room was large and very masculine there was a large four poster bed made of dark stained oak with a matching dresser and night tables, a large mirror over the dresser and an entertainment area with a large flat screen TV and two recliner chairs that looked very comfortable, the room itself was a rich burgundy colour with cream coloured draperies over the windows so the room didn’t look small.  I looked for my costume and found everything in a bag under the bed where he told me he hid everything.  I pulled everything out and started to lay everything out on his bed.  The cat suit and corset were laid out perfectly.  I found my boots and got them ready and a pair of black socks and sheep skins to protect my feet as I hadn’t broken these boots in properly.  I placed the gun belts and toy guns beside the corset and then placed the black messy wig on the dresser.  I grabbed my toiletries bag and my towel and went into Stephan’s bathroom to start my shower.  When my shower was completed I towel dried my hair and began to pull it into a very tight braid.  I wrapped the towel around me and walked into the main bedroom to get my cat suit on.  The hard part about wearing something like this is that you can’t wear underclothing which means no panties because it’ll show through and no bra because that’s what the corset is for.  I dried myself really well and then slipped into the cat suit and zipped it up then I put my boots on and went back into the bathroom to start working on my makeup.  It took me almost an hour to do my makeup which is a ridiculous amount of time but I wanted it to be perfect.  I heard a tap at the door as Katie entered the room with what smelled like dinner.  I smiled and came out of the bathroom.
 “Anna, I hardly recognized you.  Here is something light to eat a salad and some chicken.” Katie smiled.                                                                                                                                      “Thanks I’m starving.” I took the plate and started to eat.
“Do you want some help with the corset?” Katie asked with a smile.                             
 “Sure, I’d love it.  They can be a real pain getting on, it’s amazing how easy they are to get out of. You’d think it would be hard but it isn’t.” I smiled as I took another bite of my dinner.                        “You can say that again.  I’ve worn them before and I must say it sometimes takes fifteen minutes to get into the thing and only about twenty seconds for a man to get you out of it.” She laughed happily at a memory that she didn’t fully tell.  I smiled as I took the last bite of my dinner and moved towards the bed.  I stopped and quickly went to the bathroom I knew that once the corset went on there wouldn’t be many pee breaks and I needed to brush my teeth too.  You couldn’t bend the same way with a corset on.     Katie tied me into my corset and it was amazing that I could breath, my ribs still hurt but nothing compared to when I first broke them and the corset was a great means of support I didn’t even wince when she yanked at the strings.  When I looked into the mirror I was astonished at how small my waist looked.  I turned from side to side admiring my figure.  Katie pulled out a camera and asked if she could take my picture.  I nodded and grabbed the wig.  I hated wearing them but it was a necessity tonight so I pulled it on and made sure you couldn’t see any of my own hair.  When I was sure that I was perfect I turned and smiled for the camera.  Katie smiled as she snapped the picture.

“Oh are they going to be surprised when they see this picture in the morning.  Don’t tell them that you got ready here if you can manage it.” Katie smiled and slipped out into the hallway.  I grabbed my sunglasses and slid them on.  I was ready for the party and none of the others had found out that I was here.  At seven thirty Stephan came into the room and smiled at me.                             

“You look great.  I’ll only be a few minutes and then you can slip downstairs.  People have already started to arrive.” Stephan smiled and slipped into his bathroom to get ready.  When he came out twenty minutes later he was dressed as a Victorian gentleman.  He looked so sexy it was scary, my mouth dropped open.                                                                                                    

“Wow.” Was all I could say as I looked at him.                                                                                 “Thanks.  You ready.” He asked.  I nodded and smiled as I closed my eyes for a moment and got into character. We slipped down the hall and into the basement.  I decided to have a seat in an arm chair while Stephan and George discussed play lists.  Everyone looked amazing.  I saw Christine and Michelle they were dressed as fairies and Lizzy was dressed as the goddess of wisdom and Cassy was dressed as a nymph.  Many of the guys in the room were drooling just at the sight of them.  No one had noticed me yet and that is exactly what I wanted.  My trench coat hid most of my costume and I wanted to make sure that Alex and Will were both in the room before I made my move.  A few minutes passed and Will entered the room looking like the Greek god Zeus and Alex was dressed as a renaissance man. He looked so elegant as he moved around the room greeting all the students from school.  I finally decided to stand up and move around the room, as I stood up I let my coat slip off and suddenly I noticed that all eyes were on me.  I walked with cat like grace to the music booth and requested a song.  George asked if I would dance with him and I nodded.  On the dance floor I saw Cassy eyeing me with a not too happy look.     

“Cassy isn’t too happy George.” I smirked.
“Don’t worry about her, I’ll let her know in an hour if she hasn’t figured it out.  You should see Alex and Will scoping you out and half of the other guys in the room.” He grinned.

           “Well that’s the idea isn’t it, I just have to

get Alex and Will to fall all over themselves a bit

 and my job will be complete.” I smiled.

            “I don’t think that will be too hard.  I suggest that you brush your shoulder against Alex’s as

you walk by to go talk to Lizzy.  That should just about do it, I’m sure.” He smiled evilly.  I nodded

and smiled back my eyes were twinkling with excitement.  After the dance was over I went to talk to

 a few of my classmates and complimented them on their costumes before I decided to talk to Lizzy.

          I glanced around the room and saw Lizzy and Cassy standing by the DJ table and Will and

 Alex were standing in the middle of the room talking with a group of what looked like football

 players.  This was my chance and I took it, I walked slowly with a perfect sway of the hips placing

my feet perfectly so that I was as sexy and sultry as possible as I walked past Alex and Will.  My

shoulder brushed his just slightly and he gasped in surprise.  I smiled slightly and kept walking. 

 I made it to Lizzy and Cassy without falling over and I was very thankful.

“Well Selene you’re looking very impressive at the moment, my brother is falling all over himself.” Lizzy said with narrowed eyes and a coolness to her voice that I had never heard before.             

“Well that was the idea, Goddess of Wisdom.” I smirked.                                                   Suddenly Lizzy’s eyes widened and she looked at me and then at Cassy and then back at me again with a look of disbelief.                                                                

“Anna” she whispered.  I nodded and Lizzy and Cassy burst out laughing.  They finally understood why I didn’t want anyone to know what I was going as.                                         

“Oh man you are diabolical, no wonder you didn’t tell us.  To be honest I was getting ready to kick your ass because Will is drooling as much as Alex.  I’ll deal with him later.  So what’s your plan now?” Lizzy asked. 
 “I’m not exactly sure but I could use a few suggestions.” I smiled.
 “Ask Will to dance and make sure you look as if you’re going to ask Alex.  That should drive him insane.” Cassy had an evil smile on her lips.
   “Are you okay with that Lizzy I don’t want to step on any toes if you know what I mean?” I looked at her with a bit of concern.
   “Oh I think you should play this up to the max.  I want you to tease the hell out of both of them.” Lizzy smirked.                                                                                                                                           “Okay just remember I’m playing a character and I’m not interested in Will.” I smiled as I took a deep breath and got into character again.  I walked with my sexy sultry movements straight towards Alex and when I was right in front of him I smiled and turned slightly and looked at Will.

“Would you dance with me?” I asked in a perfectly mimicked voice of Kate Beckinsale.  Will’s eyebrows shot up and he smiled.
“Sure beautiful.” He took my hand and led me to the dance floor leaving Alex staring after us with his jaw around his knees.  As I danced with Will I really pushed the limit as the upbeat song played relying on my dance training from New York, it was a miracle that Will didn’t figure out it was me. When the song ended Will was flushed and I smiled sweetly at him.
“Thanks for the dance.” I turned and walked to the refreshment table to get myself a drink.  Cassy handed me a glass and winked.
“Good work.  He has no idea.  Now go ask one of the jocks to dance and make sure you look at Alex before you do it.  I know that he’s on fire right now.” Cassy smiled.  I nodded as I took a long sip of fruit punch.  I looked around the room and spotted one of the guys from the football team.  Aaron was a nice guy, he was dressed as a zombie.  I walked towards him and accidentally on purpose of course brushed up against Alex’s back as I walked by.  I spoke with Aaron for a few minutes and then we were on the dance floor.  I had a rock’n time dancing and flirting with every guy I could while Alex and Will watched trying to figure out who I was.  Finally at eleven thirty Stephan came over the mic.

“I hope everyone is having a good time tonight.  It’s time to cast your votes for best and worst costumes of the night. We’ll take ten to fifteen minutes to vote and I’ll give you the results at midnight.” Stephan smiled.          

            “Lizzy has he figured it out yet?” I whispered.                                                                                         “No but he has realized that he hasn’t seen you and he’s kicking himself because you distracted him for the past four hours.” She whispered back.
            “How do you think he’ll respond to the news?” I asked quietly.
            “Well I’m sure he’ll be surprised when he finds out.” Lizzy replied quietly. 
            “Okay everyone gather round.  The winners of the worst male and female costumes are, bed sheet ghost Sarah Miller and garbage can man Jeff Wilkins, Congratulations.” Stephan smiled.  Everyone cheered as they went up to get their prizes.
            “Okay the best male costume of the night goes to the life like zombie man Aaron Thomas.” Stephan smirked as he looked in my direction.  Everyone cheered again as Aaron headed for the DJ table to collect his prize.
            “And last but definitely not least the winner of the best female costume is Selene from Underworld our very own Anastasia Graham.” He smirked as everyone cheered and Alex and Will turned and stared in disbelief as I walked by them in character to the DJ table to get my prize.  When I peeked in the bag I saw a small stuffed bear and smiled.  I looked at Stephan and he put his hand up for a high five and I gladly slapped his hand, so did George.  They laughed at how Will and Alex had been fooled all night and running in circles.                                   

“Anna that was the best ever, I’ve never seen them so confused. You did good.” George grinned.

“Ok everyone the next dance is for our winners.” Stephan said smiling as a slow song started to play.  I walked up to Aaron and we walked onto the dance floor and started to dance.  It was nice he was practically terrified to touch me.  
“Anna your costume is fantastic I didn’t even recognize you.” Aaron said wide eyed.
“Thanks you look great too.” I smiled.
“Uh, Anna I don’t think Alex is too happy he looks pretty pissed right now.” Aaron nodded towards Alex and Will arguing with Lizzy and Cassy.
“Well I could be in for a blasting we’ll see.” I looked slightly worried in their direction and then decided to turn my attention to Aaron.  I wasn’t going to let anyone spoil the moment I was having fun for the first time in a long time.
“Well it’s obvious that he likes you, I mean no guy in school would go near you because of him, although they might try now just to see if you’ll go out with them.” Aaron smiled.
“Sorry Aaron, I’m not interested in dating anyone and you can tell all the guys that too, I played a character tonight and nothing more.  I went to an Arts school so I just used what I learned there.” I smiled at him.  He nodded with a slightly sad and resigned expression on his face.

After the dance was over I went over to Stephan to ask him how bad I was going to be yelled at.

“Hey, so how bad is it?” I asked looking over to Alex and Will.
“Let’s just say you had better take cover, Will thought you did a great job at fooling them.  Alex on the other hand is well, let’s just say he’s not so happy.” Stephan eyed me with slight concern.
“Am I going to have to call James to come and pick me up?” I questioned slightly worried that my presence might cause a fight.
“Anna you are not going anywhere, Alex is being ridiculous.” Lizzy stated as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well he is definitely turned on, but he’s mad because you were flirting with everyone but him.” Lizzy snapped as she rubbed her temple.                                                                                                “I didn’t mean to cause this much trouble Lizzy, I just wanted to have some fun, I don’t get to do that very often and I have to admit that I was getting tired of being picked on all the time.  Teasing is okay once and awhile but the two of them were at me every day.  Maybe now he knows how I feel.” I said slowly.
“Anna, don’t worry about it, let him cool down and things will be fine in the morning.” Cassy smiled.  I nodded and went to get a drink.                                                                                                       As I got to the table I felt slightly dizzy and closed my eyes and steadied myself by placing my hand on the table.  I took a few slow deep breaths and I felt better.  The next thing I knew was Alex had grabbed my arm and started to tow me to a quieter corner.  I tried to pull my arm away and just follow but his grip tightened.  I could see the tension in his shoulders and I was starting to get annoyed.
“Alex let go. I’ll go with you, you’re starting to hurt my arm.” I stated with a bit of anger in my voice, Alex wheeled on me and slightly pushed me into the corner where I couldn’t easily escape and put a hand on either side of my head by the wall and leaned in.  His eyes were a piercing cold green that I had never seen before and to be honest he was almost terrifying.           

“Why?” he demanded.                                                                                                                       “Why, what?” I snapped back.                                                                                                          

“Why did you dress like this?  Why did you flirt with every guy here making yourself out to be a tramp?” He snapped.  My anger flared and I turned as cold as he was.
“I dressed this way because I wanted to.  It’s Halloween and you are supposed to get out of your comfort zone.  I didn’t flirt with anyone I played a role and I played it well.  Anyone who knows me would understand that I did go to a theater arts school.  People were attracted to a character that doesn’t exist.  Not me.  You’re not my boyfriend Alex and you’re not my brother so stop acting like it.  I can do what I want I don’t need your permission.” I snapped glaring at him.           

“Anna if you were my sister I would have dragged you upstairs and forced you to change.  You have no idea what you’ve done.” He growled angrily.
“I haven’t done anything but socialize and dance.  Nothing more.” I glared at him.
 “God you don’t own me Alex so stop acting like you do.”
 “Every guy here is going to think that you’re a slut because of the way you were acting.” He practically snarled.
“I am not a slut and anyone who knows me would understand that I would never let myself be used by some asswipe guy who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips and salsa dip on the side. You are such a jackass.” I replied heatedly and slapped him as hard as I could before I forced my way out of his guard.  I walked over to the chair and grabbed my coat and then walked out the back door.  As I was putting my coat on Will walked by and heard me mumbling angrily to myself.               

“Anna, are you okay?” Will asked concerned.
“Piss off Will, stupid bastard called me a slut, I’m a virgin for god sake.” I mumbled angrily and exited the party.  I looked around and decided then and there that I would go home.  It wasn’t worth staying here so I headed around the house and started down the dirt road towards home trying to walk off my anger.  When I reached the turn off point I realized that I didn’t have my keys or my cell phone.                                                                                              

“Dimmit…I have to go back and get my bloody keys.” I stomped my foot like a two year old and turned back towards Lizzy’s house.  By the time I reached the house my anger hadn’t faded much I was positively livid but that was when I realized that I could see perfectly as if it were a cloudy day.  My second sight had been working for quite some time now, much longer than usual and it was slightly concerning.  Will came running towards me when I came into view at the edge of the driveway.                  

“Anna where have you been, I’ve been looking all over for you?” Will asked in a concerned voice.

“I was on my home but I left my cell and my keys in Stephan’s room.” I snapped as I walked by.   
“Anna wait, Alex didn’t mean what he said he was just jealous.” Will blurted as he followed me into the house. 
“Get lost Will, I don’t care, no one calls me a slut.  I’m getting my cell and my keys and I’m walking home.” I growled through my teeth and headed for Stephan’s room.  Will stopped at the top of the stairs and watched me completely perplexed.                                                            

“Anna, please.” He said. I ignored him and continued on down the hall.  Once I walked into Stephan’s room I grabbed my phone and keys off the dresser but as I turned to leave the room the keys slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor.  I rolled my eyes and bent over to pick them up when a wave of nausea swept over me.  I clasped my hand over my mouth and ran to the bathroom.  I made it just in time as wave after wave of nausea made me retch and then I vomit everything I had eaten earlier.  I felt awful and once the retching stopped the room started to spin uncontrollably.  I managed to rinse my mouth out with water and I slip back to the bathroom floor and tried to stay as still as possible.  My eyes were going crazy the room was going from light to dark so I shut my eyes as tightly as I could and grabbed my head as pains started shooting behind my eyes. I groaned softly to myself.               

“Where is she?” I heard Lizzy’s panicked voice as she came into the room.
“Her keys and cell are on the floor.” Alex said quietly.                                                             

“You shouldn’t have yelled at her you idiot.  She would have flirted with you but you never gave her a chance, you went off the deep end as usual.  I can’t believe you would be so stupid.  You know she doesn’t relax, she looks over her shoulder all the time and she’s on the defensive all the time.  She just started loosening up and now you’ve ruined it.” She spat at him.                 

“Lizzy I know I screwed up, I couldn’t help it, all those guys are going to be after her and I won’t stand a chance.” He sounded sad but totally annoyed.

“Well after calling her a slut, your damn right you don’t stand a chance.” Lizzy snapped angrily.  I whimpered quietly as their voices bounced off my head like a wrecking ball.                                              

“Anna, are you okay?” Lizzy said as she banged open the bathroom door and rushed to my side.  The sound made the pain in my head worse so I curled tighter into a ball.                        

“Stop it, just stop making noise, stop the light my head is killing me. Please.” I begged.                      

“Oh, Anna.” Lizzy whispered, she moved away slowly and the next thing I knew I was in the air and being carried out of the bathroom and down the hall.  My stomach flipped over again and I began to retch again.  Thankfully there was nothing left in my stomach.  I was slowly placed on the bed in Lizzy’s room.  Lizzy slowly pulled the laces of the corset loose and removed it slowly. I groaned and clutched my left side.

“Anna what’s wrong with your side.” Alex asked all concerned.  I hadn’t realized it was him taking the corset off.  I inhaled slowly before I spoke.                                  

“Broken ribs, not completely healed yet, puking didn’t help.” I mumbled.                            “How did you get broken ribs?” the twins asked in unison.                                                        “A fight in New York, now please just let me be still, it hurts to talk.” I breathed.                   “Does James know about this?” Alex asked. I shook my head.                                     

  “Did you go see a doctor?” I shook my head slowly again.

One of the twins started to stroke my hair gently and my breathing started to slow.  I started to relax as the scent of jasmine and vanilla enveloped me and I drifted off to sleep.

             When I finally woke up a few hours later it was around eight in the morning.  My head still ached but the room didn’t spin like a roulette wheel.  I slowly stretched and looked around the room, Alex was fast asleep in a chair at the side of the bed.  I watched him for a few minutes surprised to see him there.  He had stayed with me all night.  I was touched by this even though I was still pissed at him.  I smiled to myself and slowly got out of bed, my bag was at the end of the bed so I grabbed it quietly and slipped into the bathroom. I quickly washed up and put on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt, after I put my hair into a pony tail and brushed my teeth I slipped out of the bathroom as quietly as possible and put all my costume pieces into the bag.  The only thing missing was my corset but I could get that back later.  Alex was still fast asleep in the chair so I slipped out of Lizzy’s room trying not to make a sound.  I went to the kitchen and called James to pick me up.  No one seemed to be around so I grabbed a few garbage bags and headed to the basement to clean up a bit while I waited for James.  I knew it would be about twenty minutes.  After four bags of garbage collection the basement was almost cleaned up.  They would only have to vacuum the floor and wipe things down.  I had placed all the decorations on the pool table in small piles to help them put them away and then I took the garbage up stairs and put it on the back porch were I had seen other bags of garbage.  James would be here any minute so I quickly wrote Lizzy a note and slipped out the door.