Finals
Jackson and Heidi had tracked down Erika and everyone in the family had told me not to worry about what happened and that I was stressed enough over finals and adding stress over pointless things was well pointless. Lilly had hugged me, Nafron had patted my shoulder and his eyes glazed over for the slighter of a секунда and he smiled. Jaspers family had included me in group hug and I was squeezed into the middle until I gasped from the lack of air and they dropped me. Lenete hugged me and kissed my cheeks and сказал(-а) “nothing to worry about”, Jackson kissed me roughly and whispered in my ear “would Ты please stop worrying? Nothing is going to touch Ты when I’m around, I promise”. So I gave up on trying to hear what had happened. In two weeks time Lenete, Jackson and I would be taking our finals and receiving our diplomas stating we have finished high school and are eligible for a job. That also meant we only had three weeks left of school and Jackson was insisting on taking me to Prom and the Graduation ceremony. Lenete had convinced Dimytri to go with her as her brother and while they were at prom Isabella was going to clear up some details about her identity. My dress hadn’t been picked yet as I had convinced Lenete to leave it until the last день of finals so in two and a half weeks from today I would be dragged around Treshone in Поиск of the ‘perfect’ dress, courtesy of Lenete. I was already dreading the day.
Jackson and Lenete were tutoring me and it was pain staking. School was dying down, posters hung around the cafeteria with bold letters and bright colours, reminds for class jerseys, plaques and subject final notices and marks. The school was dying down but also in a great buzz about the end of a year. But I was dreading the end of my high school life. I also currently had facial portions that looked like Lenete’s, I had shadows under my eyes twice as dark as hers, my skin had become pale from my lack of leaving the house and my lips were red why I don’t know. Heidi was teaching me to defend myself against anything that might come my way- It was Jackson’s idea. Heidi was thankfully being easy on me and that stopped the bruises. Jackson hovered cautiously to the side and was always ready to catch me when I fell. I was currently acquiring 8 hours of sleep a night; I was up at dawn and slept when I had finished my routine.
“So Ты never did tell me what Nikki wanted” I argued to Jackson on our way to the cafeteria. He stumbled on his feet and looked at me “well?”
“She asked who I was taking to prom and I сказал(-а) Ты and she left”
“How did she know where we were?”
“She followed us, she arrived at our driveway just as we pulled out so she followed us” he сказал(-а) quietly as he placed Еда on two trays.
“Yes that was what he was laughing at in the car “Lenete interrupted she took a tray from Jackson and walked over to our таблица and sat in the middle with a smile on her face. I glared at her as I piled together my own tray of Еда and paid for them. As I turned I smiled as I saw Lenete Laughing with Jackson; I walked over and slid my plate onto the таблица as Jackson kissed my cheek.
“What’s so funny?”
“There’s a new boy and he has eyes for you, in a weird way, I’m surprised the school let him in this close to finals” he laughed again and I joined in. The new boy walked up to me and we all halted our laughter while he smiled at me and glared at Jackson.
“Hello, I'm Peter Gray, it’s nice to meet you” he smiled and stuck his hand out, I placed mine in his and he jerked it up to Kiss my hand gently, I heard Jacksons Low growl and I yanked my hand away from him and his lips fell into his own hand and he kissed that instead. I laughed.
“Daisi, this is my friend Lenete” I pointed to her and she lifted her head but left her eyes on her tray of Еда “and my boyfriend Jackson” I hugged Jackson and he kissed my cheek.
“Hi, so if your this girls boy—”
“Excuse me, this girl has a name and she just told Ты she has a boyfriend so she’s not in any form interested in you” Lenete snapped at him. Peter blinked seeming startled by her and it was at this moment that Peter really looked at Lenete. Jackson chuckled and Lenete looked up from her tray of Еда and gasped
“No not yet” she сказал(-а) quietly so only Jackson and I could hear her with a look of pain on her face. I felt the urge to comfort her but now was not the place.
Peter squeezed his eyes shut and pinched himself. The колокол, колокольчик, белл rang shrill and demanding, Lenete and Peter stared at each other.
“I...I... I have to go to ... Class” Peter stuttered, Jackson and I were holding back laughter as Peter stared gapping at Lenete. Lenete flung her bag over her shoulder and stalked out of the cafeteria. Jackson and I exchanged a look before taking each others hand and following her.
* * *
Two weeks passed before my eyes, and I was sitting a metre away from Lenete and Jackson who sat either side of me. I had told Jackson before hand not to protrude into my mind and give me the Ответы and so far – three hours into finals— he hadn’t дана me one answer. I could hear my brain searching for the answers. Several times Jackson had chuckled или nodded или shook his head and I assumed he was going through my answers.
“Can Ты please let me help you” I jumped in my сиденье, место, сиденья and every teacher and student in the room looked at me, I buried my face into my pages as I heard Lenete and Jackson quiet chuckles in my mind.
“No” I thought angrily and glared at him.
“Okay settle Любовь I was just asking” he thought back and I went back to my work “By the way Ты have Вопрос 12 wrong” He smiled and laughed.
“Mr Greene, Back to work” Mrs Bassent glared at Jackson
“Busted” I thought to him and laughed quietly receiving another glance from Mrs Bassent.
“Mr Greene, Ты understand this is an exam don’t you?” Jackson Nodded
“Yes ma’am I do” he сказал(-а) in his best flirtatious voice. Every class member had stopped working and was looking at Jackson in excitement. Mrs Bassent seem startled almost dazzled as Jackson looked at her from underneath his eyelashes in a cute way. I scoffed as Mrs Bassent regained her conscious.
“Be seated Mr Greene” she turned away shaking her head as if to clear a thought. Jackson sat and smiled at me, I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth to stop laughing.
I flexed my fingers as I slid into the passenger сиденье, место, сиденья of Jackson’s car. We heard Lenete before we saw her.
“I don’t get it why would Ты even want to help her cheat in the first place? It makes absolutely no sense she is only going through this once and Ты want to help her cheat?”
“Lenny please I told him not to and he didn’t”
“I Know that Dis but—”
“Lenete, Finals are finished now okay and Ты finally get to take her shopping for her dress” Jackson smiled and his face dropped and showed something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Lenete squealed and jumped her seat. Jackson looked at me and gave me a half hearted smile and I rested my head on his shoulder. He stiffened and placed a hand on my сердце and I felt him slowly relax. The car switched from bitumen to the soft earth of the driveway, Jackson twisted and turned down the driveway and pulled into the garage. He swung me over his shoulder and our bags over the other and ran to our room. He threw me onto the постель, кровати and dropped the bags on the floor. In an Instant he was hovering over me, my hands gripped the bedpost as his hand ran down the side of my body and hitched my leg around his hip. His lips pressed to my jaw and I laughed.
“What?” Jackson breathed between the kisses he was planting on my face. He stopped when I didn’t answer him “what? What is it?” he looked over me clinically, studying every part of me. I got annoyed with his study and I pushed my body upwards and he rolled onto his back and I fell on him, I laughed again as he buried his face into my hair and kissed my neck. I pulled his face up and placed my hands on either side of his face.
“Nothing is wrong with me; I just want to know what has Ты so excited?”
“Does it matter? Your getting what Ты wanted, the real me” he сказал(-а) as he kissed my eyelids, my nose, my throat and then my lips. His lips parted and I gasped and gripped him tighter.
“Jackson We have a problem” Lenete сказал(-а) from the end of the bed. I groaned and pushed Jackson off me and rolled to my side instead I fell off the bed. I hit the floor with a thump, I was surprised that Jackson didn’t catch me but as I stood I found that Jackson and Lenete were gone and Dimytri and Heidi were sitting on the bed. Heidi was pulling her hair from her face making it stick out еще and Dimytri was eating.
“Wh—”
“Nothing Ты need to worry about” Heidi smiled at me as she twisted another piece of hair off her face.
“Like always I guess”
“You worry too much Dis, relax okay tomorrow Lenete is going to take Ты shopping in a bigger city, it’s not Yehera it’s some where else, she wont tell anyone”
“Oh that will make me relax thanks” I smiled as I flopped into the Любовь seat, pulled my knees up to my chin and buried my face into my favourite book, Mansfield Park, I had always loved the classics and my 9 год old copy of the book proved that. My Father had brought me the book for my ninth birthday because I had asked for a grown up book. I read it and I fell in Любовь with the theatrical language, from that birthday to my 14th birthday he bought me another Jane Austen Book but Mansfield Park the one I will cling to. The many dog eared corners, highlighted lines, faded printing and the damaged spine that was able to lay flat on a таблица held the many memories of the book.
“Oh, that might cause a problem” Heidi’s eyes were blank and looking into no where. She shook her head and looked at me, Dimytri grasped her shoulders and shook her
“Heidi what just happened? Heidi tell me”
“I...I don’t know I just.... call Lilly”
“Lilly! Heidi” Dimytri called as Heidi fell into his arms
“Oh my, what happened?” Lilly raced to the постель, кровати and laid Heidi on her back “Heidi? Can Ты hear me?” Lilly looked at me and Dimytri clasped my shoulders and turned me around. I heard a loud crack like to boulders hitting each other and I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my palms to my ears.
“Heidi can Ты hear me?” there was another crack and Heidi’s scream.
“Lilly? Where’s mother? I want mother” I heard Heidi cry.
“Heidi, I’m right here now Ты must tell us what happened” Aurelia’s voice rang through my hands and into my ears and I turned around, Aurelia was cradling Heidi on her lap and was rocking her too fast to sooth.
“Daisi she was” she paused and looked at her hands trying to avoid the conversation.
“Heidi Ты must tell us” Lilly’s voice was ordering
“I saw it in my head a perfect image of Daisi, clear as a bell”
“Take Daisi out of here... Now!” Lilly ordered Dimytri and he picked me up and carried into Lenete’s room; I collapsed onto her постель, кровати and fell into another dreamless sleep.
The sound of an alarm woke me. The annoying beep beeps of the огонь alarm got to my head and I leaped out of постель, кровати and raced down stairs as smoke was filling the kitchen. I coughed and spluttered as I searched for the window. I found it, I pulled the lever. The smoke became too much and I pressed my arm to my face. I shoved on the window and the smoke bellowed outside. The room started to clear and I could make start breathing properly again.
“You shouldn’t be in the smoke silly girl” Jackson’s lips pressed to mine and I shuddered lightly, his skin was colder than usual, I pulled myself closer to him “Lenete is taking Ты shopping in an hour, Ты were asleep for two whole days, I didn’t dare wake you, Ты looked so beautiful” I felt Jacksons smile against my lips and I groaned. I pulled away from him and looked him straight in the eyes
“What happened with Heidi? I'm worried about her еще than my dress” I stated seriously, Jackson looked away from me “Jackson she is my sister and I want to know the truth”
Jackson nodded slightly and held out his arms I hugged him and he picked me up and carried me upstairs
“er... and why is the house full of smoke?”
“Dimytri is experimenting” he smiled and laughed “the idiot left the door open, Lilly is going to be so upset when she smells the house” he laughed again
“Experimenting?” curiosity burned through my veins
“Well Ты know how he’s.... different?” I nodded; Jackson was walking up the stairs normally “he wants to know if огонь injured him” he laughed “as it turns out it doesn’t, Nafron is mystified about why the огонь doesn’t even touch his skin, it’s like fog over water the огонь doesn’t touch him, it’s odd what that boy does” Jackson сказал(-а) he put me down in front of our room and I pushed the door open. Heidi sat on the Любовь seat, her legs pulled up with a book in her hands, she looked up as soon as I walked in and smiled, her pearly white flashed in the light.
“Hay Dis” she smiled “sorry about scaring you, but I'm fine now” she smiled wider; she looked like she had the день before; absolutely stunning. I took a step forward
“What happened?” I сказал(-а) clearly as I sat Далее to her, she stretched out and rested her legs on my knees.
“I'm guessing Ты want the truth? No covering it up to protect Ты this time?”
“Yes, I want the truth and no covering it up” I smiled at her “Heidi I'm your sister, which in other words means part of the family”
“Okay, okay I get your point” She inhaled a long and unnecessary breath.
“She has a gift now” Jackson сказал(-а) impatiently “we don’t know what triggered it but it happens to all the female Halflings” Jackson smiled at the word ‘Halflings’ and Heidi growled, obviously she didn’t like being called that.
“So what’s your gift?” I interrupted
“I can see the future, all of it” she bounced in her сиденье, место, сиденья “every single thing stock, weather, fashion... Everything! Isn’t it great” I smiled and laughed. It was good to see her happy and knowing of what had happened to her. Jackson stood behind me and pressed his lips to my shoulder blade.
“I’ve seen the dress your getting; it’s absolutely beautiful, Ты look amazing in it” she smiled, Jackson glared at her “hay I didn’t say Ты had to be in here maybe Ты could try and forget what she looks like in it before the night” she smirked at him.
“Daisi come on Ты have ten минуты to be ready!” Lenete called from her room. Jackson picked me up and carried me into her room via the wardrobe, He put me down.
His fingertips travelled along my cheek down to my chin, he placed a finger gently under my chin and tilted my head upwards, he bent down and his lips brushed over mine. I felt his arms snake around my waist and lift me off the ground.
“Jeez I Любовь you” he whispered in my ear, I answered with soft purr and he laughed.
Lenete cleared her throat behind me and smiled. In her hands I saw jeans and a yellow cotton shirt. I reluctantly pulled away from Jackson and kissed him lightly before following Lenete into the wardrobe.
She danced around the wardrobe in Поиск for the perfect shoes while I changed. I stood in my underwear in front of the full length mirror, staring at myself. I wondered what would change when I was changed, my green eyes would change I knew that. My height wouldn’t. I was so preoccupied as I stared at my self in the mirror that I didn’t feel Jackson’s skin on mine. I jumped when Lenete screamed and threw a shoe at him.
“Get out, she’s half naked Ты know” I smiled at him ‘too late for that’ I thought and Lenete froze. I laughed and pulled on the dark jeans she had picked out for me. The canary yellow long cotton рубашка was loose and hung half way down my thighs. I picked up the shoe Lenete had thrown at Jackson and I tried to shove him out the door, but he stood there, my shoves totally useless against him. He walked out the door and I smiled at him, ‘sorry’ I mouthed he pressed his lips to my head and disappeared.
“You never told me that” Lenete сказал(-а) as she handed me the other shoe.
“Why does it matter we’re engaged, just be happy I haven’t seen him like that yet” I smiled as I hopped around on one foot putting a shoe on. She froze again,
“You haven’t?” she stammered, and I shook my head and wiggled my foot into the other shoe “well that’s good... I guess, now hurry up we have to get going” Lenete smiled
“I’m ready, I’m just waiting for Ты now” I smiled and walked out the door and walked into the open arms of Jackson.
“You look beautiful love” he smiled and I pirouetted under his arm and I laughed. He kissed me gently on the lips before carrying me down to the car.
* * *
The Музыка was playing loud and Lenete was Пение along, her voice many octaves higher than the actual song, her hair was brushing her shoulders as she swung her head from side to side. Her eyes very rarely were on the road and she never swerved еще than an inch from the lines. I was looking out the window looking for any sign telling me where I was going. The song changed and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lenete turn the Музыка off.
“What’s wrong Dis?” she asked, she brushed a strand of my hair from my face.
“Just trying to figure out where we’re going” I сказал(-а) with a smile.
“Oh, well Ты could have just asked me” she smiled
“Lenny, where are we going?”
“We young lady are going to Wentworth” she smiled and I groaned. Wentworth is the capital of the small state that we reside in, about a 3 час drive at normal speed from Yehera. Lenete laughed and turned the Музыка back up. Her blonde hair swished from side to side as she swung her head in time with the music. The beat took the best of me and I started Пение along with the music. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lenete glance at me for a fraction of a секунда and smile.
The trip to Wentworth continued in the same matter, Lenete would change the song when she found a song neither of us liked. We sung at the вверх of our lungs – Lenete with her beautiful soprano bells and me with my neutral tone. As Lenete pulled into the car park of Wentworth Mall –largest mall in the state- she turned the Музыка off and turned to me.
“This is going to work out great” she сказал(-а) with a smile, I smiled back and she pulled me out of the car through her door. We laughed as we ran around the mall at human speed like to kids in a Конфеты store not knowing what to try first. Lenete pulled to a halt in front of a large glass door, I didn’t see her stop and I swung from her arm and fell with a thump onto my bottom. I could hear the dance Музыка coming from the shop; I could feel the beat through the floor and еще importantly I could see the magnificent dress that hung in the window. Lenete caught me eyeing it and she smiled, she pulled me off the floor easily and pulled me through the door and to the dress. The first thing I did was check the price tag. My eyes popped and I frowned and began walking away. I felt a cold hand on my arm and I stopped and faced Lenny. She was holding the dress out for me.
“No Lenny I can’t buy it, I don’t have the money”
“Consider it a house warming present” she smiled and tugged me to the changing rooms she pushed me into the first cubicle, handed me the dress and shut the door. I changed quickly careful not to tear anything. The full length mirror was attached to the door. The Canary yellow dress was floor length with gathers placed randomly over the silk material, I could feel the millions of layers of yellow mesh brushing across my legs, and the large bow on the hip was in a brighter shade of yellow with golden flecks through it, it was strapless with a Любовь сердце bodice, it hugged all my curves.
“Come on open up” I heard Lenete say through the door. I took a deep breath in and opened the door. The woman at the counter gasped when she saw me and pulled the other clerk to see me, her mouth dropped to the floor and she came rushing over.
“So beautiful” she сказал(-а) before she went behind me and pulled something. I turned to Lenete; she had a pair of dusty Золото shoes and some other accessories in her hands. She smiled and nodded.
“You are absolutely stunning I know Jackson will Любовь it” she smiled. I snorted and clerk pulled on another strand I felt the dress get comfortable with each tug. The clerk turned me to face the mirror again.
“As Ты can see the dress now ruffles in spot that will enhance your curves” she smiled as she pointed to a ruffle that was just above my waist. Lenete squealed and pushed me back into the change room. I got unchanged and the clerk took my dress the accessories that Lenete was holding.
“My dress” she squealed and I followed her around the store teasing her by pulling out the ugliest dresses and saying ‘how about this one?’ and we would both laugh.
She eventually passed a dress that was midnight black with one layer of mesh on вверх of silk and many еще layers underneath; the straps were made from black ribbon and crossed over at the back making it a backless dress. Her hands ran over the material she smiled and squealed again and walked to the change room all the while knowing how gorgeous she would look, she laughed in response to my thoughts. She came out of the dressing room and pirouetted, of course she looked stunning and Dimytri would look stunning with her on his arm. She smiled and swished the fabric. I heard the faint rustling of the nylon mesh layers sliding against each other.
“Your beautiful” I managed to choke out
“Come on Dis don’t do that to me, you’ll make me cry” she smiled it was only then that I was aware of the clerk standing behind me, Lenny was keep up the normal human appearance. Lenete nodded and twisted from side to side in front of the mirror “besides, no one will be looking at me at the prom, all eyes will be on you” she smiled and ran her fingers over a loose thread and pulled it out carefully. She sighed lightly; I wrapped my hands around her waist and rested my chin on her shoulder.
“you look beautiful” I сказал(-а) trying to cheer her up, she was very rarely upset или depressed, she is a very happy person, bubbly and fun and seeing her like this meant that some thing was very wrong.
“Thanks but...” she looked down at her shoes, if possible she would have been crying
“But what?” I turned her to face me and I was shocked by the look on her face.
“I just... I just wish I had someone to tell me that everyday” she smiled sheepishly and looked at me “I wish I had my own Jackson” she laughed uneasily
“You do” I smiled and Lenete cocked her head to one side “me” she hit my lightly and I pulled her in for a hug “its okay Lenny Ты have forever to find someone” she snorted and hugged me tighter.
“If someone like Ты doesn’t have someone there is no hope for someone like me is there?” the clerk said, I looked at her name tag, her name is Rachel and she was at least half a foot taller than Lenete and I. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail behind her head and her make up was heavy. She was wearing clothing bought from this store because I saw her outfit on one of the mannequins. She smiled and she touched Lenete shoulders, her hands flew backwards and Lenete shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s freezing in here” she smiled as she walked into the change room.
Rachel scanned our dresses, our shoes and our jewellery.
Rachel smiled almost evilly “that will be 1583 dollars thanks”
Lenete smiled and pulled out her bank card and swiped it through the machine. The receipt printed and Rachel’s mouth dropped. Lenete grabbed four bags and handed them to me and she grabbed the other six. We walked out of the store and Lenete started laughing so hard she had to stop walking.
“What is it?” I asked she shook her head and we made our way out to the car, we put our bags in the back. I walked to the passenger door, running my fingers over the slick curve of her car.
“Where do Ты think your going?” Lenete had hold of the back of my рубашка and was tugging me back towards the mall.
“Going home” I whinged as I tried to free my рубашка from her grip
“Nope, there is one last thing I want to do” she smiled and I surrendered. We walked back into the mall and Lenete tugged me around the mall until she pulled me into a bridal shop.
“Oh no Ты don’t” I сказал(-а) and I planted my feet but she pulled me along effortlessly.
“Oh yes I am” She smiled. We stopped in front of a long row of white dresses, I groaned “Oh we not looking for Your Dress” she smiled even wider
“Hi Dis” Heidi сказал(-а) as she hugged me from behind and I swung around. There stood Aurelia, Heidi and Lilly. That only meant
“No... No, no, no, no, no”
“Yes, yes, yes and yes, Bridesmaid dresses” I groaned as Lilly tugged me to the chair. Another clerk pulled the rack of White dresses away to reveal all the colours или the радуга in dresses. I heard Lenete squeal as she ran her fingers over the dresses, Aurelia was already eyeing a dress and Heidi was piling dresses onto a тележка, корзина to try on. I rested my head on Lilly’s shoulder and she stroked my hair lightly.
“Why do we have to do this now?” I mumbled to Lilly
“What do Ты mean by that?”
“Well my wedding isn’t for another year” I shrugged “And I thought this was going to be simple?”
“This is simple” I heard Lilly laugh “and as for the date, Well this is Lenny your talking about remember” I whacked my head against her shoulder and Lilly’s laughter rang around the shop. I noticed that there was no one else in the store.
“She booked out the store didn’t she?”
“Oh Ты noticed, did Ты hear that Lenny she noticed” she laughed again
“I didn’t think Ты would notice, but Ты did” Lenete laughed as she stepped out of the change room. She was wearing a stunning strapless silver dress. She twirled in front of the mirror and shook her head and walked back into the stall.
“Hay what was wrong with that dress?” I сказал(-а) knocking on the door
“It doesn’t go with the colour scheme”
“Colour scheme? ... What are Ты talking about?”
“Dis come sit down you’ve got a long день ahead of you” I groaned and settle back on the seat.
Lenete, Heidi and Aurelia walked in and out of the change rooms twirling in front of the mirror before walking back in and repeating the process in a different dress. I flicked through the dresses on the rack. I was starting to get a headache from all the different colours when my fingertips travelled along the silk of a pale лимон coloured dress. I felt a tingle run up my spine and I yanked the dress of the rack and threw it to Lenete, she caught it without even looking up. Still without looking up she walked into the stall and a few moments later she walked back out.
Jackson and Heidi had tracked down Erika and everyone in the family had told me not to worry about what happened and that I was stressed enough over finals and adding stress over pointless things was well pointless. Lilly had hugged me, Nafron had patted my shoulder and his eyes glazed over for the slighter of a секунда and he smiled. Jaspers family had included me in group hug and I was squeezed into the middle until I gasped from the lack of air and they dropped me. Lenete hugged me and kissed my cheeks and сказал(-а) “nothing to worry about”, Jackson kissed me roughly and whispered in my ear “would Ты please stop worrying? Nothing is going to touch Ты when I’m around, I promise”. So I gave up on trying to hear what had happened. In two weeks time Lenete, Jackson and I would be taking our finals and receiving our diplomas stating we have finished high school and are eligible for a job. That also meant we only had three weeks left of school and Jackson was insisting on taking me to Prom and the Graduation ceremony. Lenete had convinced Dimytri to go with her as her brother and while they were at prom Isabella was going to clear up some details about her identity. My dress hadn’t been picked yet as I had convinced Lenete to leave it until the last день of finals so in two and a half weeks from today I would be dragged around Treshone in Поиск of the ‘perfect’ dress, courtesy of Lenete. I was already dreading the day.
Jackson and Lenete were tutoring me and it was pain staking. School was dying down, posters hung around the cafeteria with bold letters and bright colours, reminds for class jerseys, plaques and subject final notices and marks. The school was dying down but also in a great buzz about the end of a year. But I was dreading the end of my high school life. I also currently had facial portions that looked like Lenete’s, I had shadows under my eyes twice as dark as hers, my skin had become pale from my lack of leaving the house and my lips were red why I don’t know. Heidi was teaching me to defend myself against anything that might come my way- It was Jackson’s idea. Heidi was thankfully being easy on me and that stopped the bruises. Jackson hovered cautiously to the side and was always ready to catch me when I fell. I was currently acquiring 8 hours of sleep a night; I was up at dawn and slept when I had finished my routine.
“So Ты never did tell me what Nikki wanted” I argued to Jackson on our way to the cafeteria. He stumbled on his feet and looked at me “well?”
“She asked who I was taking to prom and I сказал(-а) Ты and she left”
“How did she know where we were?”
“She followed us, she arrived at our driveway just as we pulled out so she followed us” he сказал(-а) quietly as he placed Еда on two trays.
“Yes that was what he was laughing at in the car “Lenete interrupted she took a tray from Jackson and walked over to our таблица and sat in the middle with a smile on her face. I glared at her as I piled together my own tray of Еда and paid for them. As I turned I smiled as I saw Lenete Laughing with Jackson; I walked over and slid my plate onto the таблица as Jackson kissed my cheek.
“What’s so funny?”
“There’s a new boy and he has eyes for you, in a weird way, I’m surprised the school let him in this close to finals” he laughed again and I joined in. The new boy walked up to me and we all halted our laughter while he smiled at me and glared at Jackson.
“Hello, I'm Peter Gray, it’s nice to meet you” he smiled and stuck his hand out, I placed mine in his and he jerked it up to Kiss my hand gently, I heard Jacksons Low growl and I yanked my hand away from him and his lips fell into his own hand and he kissed that instead. I laughed.
“Daisi, this is my friend Lenete” I pointed to her and she lifted her head but left her eyes on her tray of Еда “and my boyfriend Jackson” I hugged Jackson and he kissed my cheek.
“Hi, so if your this girls boy—”
“Excuse me, this girl has a name and she just told Ты she has a boyfriend so she’s not in any form interested in you” Lenete snapped at him. Peter blinked seeming startled by her and it was at this moment that Peter really looked at Lenete. Jackson chuckled and Lenete looked up from her tray of Еда and gasped
“No not yet” she сказал(-а) quietly so only Jackson and I could hear her with a look of pain on her face. I felt the urge to comfort her but now was not the place.
Peter squeezed his eyes shut and pinched himself. The колокол, колокольчик, белл rang shrill and demanding, Lenete and Peter stared at each other.
“I...I... I have to go to ... Class” Peter stuttered, Jackson and I were holding back laughter as Peter stared gapping at Lenete. Lenete flung her bag over her shoulder and stalked out of the cafeteria. Jackson and I exchanged a look before taking each others hand and following her.
* * *
Two weeks passed before my eyes, and I was sitting a metre away from Lenete and Jackson who sat either side of me. I had told Jackson before hand not to protrude into my mind and give me the Ответы and so far – three hours into finals— he hadn’t дана me one answer. I could hear my brain searching for the answers. Several times Jackson had chuckled или nodded или shook his head and I assumed he was going through my answers.
“Can Ты please let me help you” I jumped in my сиденье, место, сиденья and every teacher and student in the room looked at me, I buried my face into my pages as I heard Lenete and Jackson quiet chuckles in my mind.
“No” I thought angrily and glared at him.
“Okay settle Любовь I was just asking” he thought back and I went back to my work “By the way Ты have Вопрос 12 wrong” He smiled and laughed.
“Mr Greene, Back to work” Mrs Bassent glared at Jackson
“Busted” I thought to him and laughed quietly receiving another glance from Mrs Bassent.
“Mr Greene, Ты understand this is an exam don’t you?” Jackson Nodded
“Yes ma’am I do” he сказал(-а) in his best flirtatious voice. Every class member had stopped working and was looking at Jackson in excitement. Mrs Bassent seem startled almost dazzled as Jackson looked at her from underneath his eyelashes in a cute way. I scoffed as Mrs Bassent regained her conscious.
“Be seated Mr Greene” she turned away shaking her head as if to clear a thought. Jackson sat and smiled at me, I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth to stop laughing.
I flexed my fingers as I slid into the passenger сиденье, место, сиденья of Jackson’s car. We heard Lenete before we saw her.
“I don’t get it why would Ты even want to help her cheat in the first place? It makes absolutely no sense she is only going through this once and Ты want to help her cheat?”
“Lenny please I told him not to and he didn’t”
“I Know that Dis but—”
“Lenete, Finals are finished now okay and Ты finally get to take her shopping for her dress” Jackson smiled and his face dropped and showed something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Lenete squealed and jumped her seat. Jackson looked at me and gave me a half hearted smile and I rested my head on his shoulder. He stiffened and placed a hand on my сердце and I felt him slowly relax. The car switched from bitumen to the soft earth of the driveway, Jackson twisted and turned down the driveway and pulled into the garage. He swung me over his shoulder and our bags over the other and ran to our room. He threw me onto the постель, кровати and dropped the bags on the floor. In an Instant he was hovering over me, my hands gripped the bedpost as his hand ran down the side of my body and hitched my leg around his hip. His lips pressed to my jaw and I laughed.
“What?” Jackson breathed between the kisses he was planting on my face. He stopped when I didn’t answer him “what? What is it?” he looked over me clinically, studying every part of me. I got annoyed with his study and I pushed my body upwards and he rolled onto his back and I fell on him, I laughed again as he buried his face into my hair and kissed my neck. I pulled his face up and placed my hands on either side of his face.
“Nothing is wrong with me; I just want to know what has Ты so excited?”
“Does it matter? Your getting what Ты wanted, the real me” he сказал(-а) as he kissed my eyelids, my nose, my throat and then my lips. His lips parted and I gasped and gripped him tighter.
“Jackson We have a problem” Lenete сказал(-а) from the end of the bed. I groaned and pushed Jackson off me and rolled to my side instead I fell off the bed. I hit the floor with a thump, I was surprised that Jackson didn’t catch me but as I stood I found that Jackson and Lenete were gone and Dimytri and Heidi were sitting on the bed. Heidi was pulling her hair from her face making it stick out еще and Dimytri was eating.
“Wh—”
“Nothing Ты need to worry about” Heidi smiled at me as she twisted another piece of hair off her face.
“Like always I guess”
“You worry too much Dis, relax okay tomorrow Lenete is going to take Ты shopping in a bigger city, it’s not Yehera it’s some where else, she wont tell anyone”
“Oh that will make me relax thanks” I smiled as I flopped into the Любовь seat, pulled my knees up to my chin and buried my face into my favourite book, Mansfield Park, I had always loved the classics and my 9 год old copy of the book proved that. My Father had brought me the book for my ninth birthday because I had asked for a grown up book. I read it and I fell in Любовь with the theatrical language, from that birthday to my 14th birthday he bought me another Jane Austen Book but Mansfield Park the one I will cling to. The many dog eared corners, highlighted lines, faded printing and the damaged spine that was able to lay flat on a таблица held the many memories of the book.
“Oh, that might cause a problem” Heidi’s eyes were blank and looking into no where. She shook her head and looked at me, Dimytri grasped her shoulders and shook her
“Heidi what just happened? Heidi tell me”
“I...I don’t know I just.... call Lilly”
“Lilly! Heidi” Dimytri called as Heidi fell into his arms
“Oh my, what happened?” Lilly raced to the постель, кровати and laid Heidi on her back “Heidi? Can Ты hear me?” Lilly looked at me and Dimytri clasped my shoulders and turned me around. I heard a loud crack like to boulders hitting each other and I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my palms to my ears.
“Heidi can Ты hear me?” there was another crack and Heidi’s scream.
“Lilly? Where’s mother? I want mother” I heard Heidi cry.
“Heidi, I’m right here now Ты must tell us what happened” Aurelia’s voice rang through my hands and into my ears and I turned around, Aurelia was cradling Heidi on her lap and was rocking her too fast to sooth.
“Daisi she was” she paused and looked at her hands trying to avoid the conversation.
“Heidi Ты must tell us” Lilly’s voice was ordering
“I saw it in my head a perfect image of Daisi, clear as a bell”
“Take Daisi out of here... Now!” Lilly ordered Dimytri and he picked me up and carried into Lenete’s room; I collapsed onto her постель, кровати and fell into another dreamless sleep.
The sound of an alarm woke me. The annoying beep beeps of the огонь alarm got to my head and I leaped out of постель, кровати and raced down stairs as smoke was filling the kitchen. I coughed and spluttered as I searched for the window. I found it, I pulled the lever. The smoke became too much and I pressed my arm to my face. I shoved on the window and the smoke bellowed outside. The room started to clear and I could make start breathing properly again.
“You shouldn’t be in the smoke silly girl” Jackson’s lips pressed to mine and I shuddered lightly, his skin was colder than usual, I pulled myself closer to him “Lenete is taking Ты shopping in an hour, Ты were asleep for two whole days, I didn’t dare wake you, Ты looked so beautiful” I felt Jacksons smile against my lips and I groaned. I pulled away from him and looked him straight in the eyes
“What happened with Heidi? I'm worried about her еще than my dress” I stated seriously, Jackson looked away from me “Jackson she is my sister and I want to know the truth”
Jackson nodded slightly and held out his arms I hugged him and he picked me up and carried me upstairs
“er... and why is the house full of smoke?”
“Dimytri is experimenting” he smiled and laughed “the idiot left the door open, Lilly is going to be so upset when she smells the house” he laughed again
“Experimenting?” curiosity burned through my veins
“Well Ты know how he’s.... different?” I nodded; Jackson was walking up the stairs normally “he wants to know if огонь injured him” he laughed “as it turns out it doesn’t, Nafron is mystified about why the огонь doesn’t even touch his skin, it’s like fog over water the огонь doesn’t touch him, it’s odd what that boy does” Jackson сказал(-а) he put me down in front of our room and I pushed the door open. Heidi sat on the Любовь seat, her legs pulled up with a book in her hands, she looked up as soon as I walked in and smiled, her pearly white flashed in the light.
“Hay Dis” she smiled “sorry about scaring you, but I'm fine now” she smiled wider; she looked like she had the день before; absolutely stunning. I took a step forward
“What happened?” I сказал(-а) clearly as I sat Далее to her, she stretched out and rested her legs on my knees.
“I'm guessing Ты want the truth? No covering it up to protect Ты this time?”
“Yes, I want the truth and no covering it up” I smiled at her “Heidi I'm your sister, which in other words means part of the family”
“Okay, okay I get your point” She inhaled a long and unnecessary breath.
“She has a gift now” Jackson сказал(-а) impatiently “we don’t know what triggered it but it happens to all the female Halflings” Jackson smiled at the word ‘Halflings’ and Heidi growled, obviously she didn’t like being called that.
“So what’s your gift?” I interrupted
“I can see the future, all of it” she bounced in her сиденье, место, сиденья “every single thing stock, weather, fashion... Everything! Isn’t it great” I smiled and laughed. It was good to see her happy and knowing of what had happened to her. Jackson stood behind me and pressed his lips to my shoulder blade.
“I’ve seen the dress your getting; it’s absolutely beautiful, Ты look amazing in it” she smiled, Jackson glared at her “hay I didn’t say Ты had to be in here maybe Ты could try and forget what she looks like in it before the night” she smirked at him.
“Daisi come on Ты have ten минуты to be ready!” Lenete called from her room. Jackson picked me up and carried me into her room via the wardrobe, He put me down.
His fingertips travelled along my cheek down to my chin, he placed a finger gently under my chin and tilted my head upwards, he bent down and his lips brushed over mine. I felt his arms snake around my waist and lift me off the ground.
“Jeez I Любовь you” he whispered in my ear, I answered with soft purr and he laughed.
Lenete cleared her throat behind me and smiled. In her hands I saw jeans and a yellow cotton shirt. I reluctantly pulled away from Jackson and kissed him lightly before following Lenete into the wardrobe.
She danced around the wardrobe in Поиск for the perfect shoes while I changed. I stood in my underwear in front of the full length mirror, staring at myself. I wondered what would change when I was changed, my green eyes would change I knew that. My height wouldn’t. I was so preoccupied as I stared at my self in the mirror that I didn’t feel Jackson’s skin on mine. I jumped when Lenete screamed and threw a shoe at him.
“Get out, she’s half naked Ты know” I smiled at him ‘too late for that’ I thought and Lenete froze. I laughed and pulled on the dark jeans she had picked out for me. The canary yellow long cotton рубашка was loose and hung half way down my thighs. I picked up the shoe Lenete had thrown at Jackson and I tried to shove him out the door, but he stood there, my shoves totally useless against him. He walked out the door and I smiled at him, ‘sorry’ I mouthed he pressed his lips to my head and disappeared.
“You never told me that” Lenete сказал(-а) as she handed me the other shoe.
“Why does it matter we’re engaged, just be happy I haven’t seen him like that yet” I smiled as I hopped around on one foot putting a shoe on. She froze again,
“You haven’t?” she stammered, and I shook my head and wiggled my foot into the other shoe “well that’s good... I guess, now hurry up we have to get going” Lenete smiled
“I’m ready, I’m just waiting for Ты now” I smiled and walked out the door and walked into the open arms of Jackson.
“You look beautiful love” he smiled and I pirouetted under his arm and I laughed. He kissed me gently on the lips before carrying me down to the car.
* * *
The Музыка was playing loud and Lenete was Пение along, her voice many octaves higher than the actual song, her hair was brushing her shoulders as she swung her head from side to side. Her eyes very rarely were on the road and she never swerved еще than an inch from the lines. I was looking out the window looking for any sign telling me where I was going. The song changed and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lenete turn the Музыка off.
“What’s wrong Dis?” she asked, she brushed a strand of my hair from my face.
“Just trying to figure out where we’re going” I сказал(-а) with a smile.
“Oh, well Ты could have just asked me” she smiled
“Lenny, where are we going?”
“We young lady are going to Wentworth” she smiled and I groaned. Wentworth is the capital of the small state that we reside in, about a 3 час drive at normal speed from Yehera. Lenete laughed and turned the Музыка back up. Her blonde hair swished from side to side as she swung her head in time with the music. The beat took the best of me and I started Пение along with the music. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lenete glance at me for a fraction of a секунда and smile.
The trip to Wentworth continued in the same matter, Lenete would change the song when she found a song neither of us liked. We sung at the вверх of our lungs – Lenete with her beautiful soprano bells and me with my neutral tone. As Lenete pulled into the car park of Wentworth Mall –largest mall in the state- she turned the Музыка off and turned to me.
“This is going to work out great” she сказал(-а) with a smile, I smiled back and she pulled me out of the car through her door. We laughed as we ran around the mall at human speed like to kids in a Конфеты store not knowing what to try first. Lenete pulled to a halt in front of a large glass door, I didn’t see her stop and I swung from her arm and fell with a thump onto my bottom. I could hear the dance Музыка coming from the shop; I could feel the beat through the floor and еще importantly I could see the magnificent dress that hung in the window. Lenete caught me eyeing it and she smiled, she pulled me off the floor easily and pulled me through the door and to the dress. The first thing I did was check the price tag. My eyes popped and I frowned and began walking away. I felt a cold hand on my arm and I stopped and faced Lenny. She was holding the dress out for me.
“No Lenny I can’t buy it, I don’t have the money”
“Consider it a house warming present” she smiled and tugged me to the changing rooms she pushed me into the first cubicle, handed me the dress and shut the door. I changed quickly careful not to tear anything. The full length mirror was attached to the door. The Canary yellow dress was floor length with gathers placed randomly over the silk material, I could feel the millions of layers of yellow mesh brushing across my legs, and the large bow on the hip was in a brighter shade of yellow with golden flecks through it, it was strapless with a Любовь сердце bodice, it hugged all my curves.
“Come on open up” I heard Lenete say through the door. I took a deep breath in and opened the door. The woman at the counter gasped when she saw me and pulled the other clerk to see me, her mouth dropped to the floor and she came rushing over.
“So beautiful” she сказал(-а) before she went behind me and pulled something. I turned to Lenete; she had a pair of dusty Золото shoes and some other accessories in her hands. She smiled and nodded.
“You are absolutely stunning I know Jackson will Любовь it” she smiled. I snorted and clerk pulled on another strand I felt the dress get comfortable with each tug. The clerk turned me to face the mirror again.
“As Ты can see the dress now ruffles in spot that will enhance your curves” she smiled as she pointed to a ruffle that was just above my waist. Lenete squealed and pushed me back into the change room. I got unchanged and the clerk took my dress the accessories that Lenete was holding.
“My dress” she squealed and I followed her around the store teasing her by pulling out the ugliest dresses and saying ‘how about this one?’ and we would both laugh.
She eventually passed a dress that was midnight black with one layer of mesh on вверх of silk and many еще layers underneath; the straps were made from black ribbon and crossed over at the back making it a backless dress. Her hands ran over the material she smiled and squealed again and walked to the change room all the while knowing how gorgeous she would look, she laughed in response to my thoughts. She came out of the dressing room and pirouetted, of course she looked stunning and Dimytri would look stunning with her on his arm. She smiled and swished the fabric. I heard the faint rustling of the nylon mesh layers sliding against each other.
“Your beautiful” I managed to choke out
“Come on Dis don’t do that to me, you’ll make me cry” she smiled it was only then that I was aware of the clerk standing behind me, Lenny was keep up the normal human appearance. Lenete nodded and twisted from side to side in front of the mirror “besides, no one will be looking at me at the prom, all eyes will be on you” she smiled and ran her fingers over a loose thread and pulled it out carefully. She sighed lightly; I wrapped my hands around her waist and rested my chin on her shoulder.
“you look beautiful” I сказал(-а) trying to cheer her up, she was very rarely upset или depressed, she is a very happy person, bubbly and fun and seeing her like this meant that some thing was very wrong.
“Thanks but...” she looked down at her shoes, if possible she would have been crying
“But what?” I turned her to face me and I was shocked by the look on her face.
“I just... I just wish I had someone to tell me that everyday” she smiled sheepishly and looked at me “I wish I had my own Jackson” she laughed uneasily
“You do” I smiled and Lenete cocked her head to one side “me” she hit my lightly and I pulled her in for a hug “its okay Lenny Ты have forever to find someone” she snorted and hugged me tighter.
“If someone like Ты doesn’t have someone there is no hope for someone like me is there?” the clerk said, I looked at her name tag, her name is Rachel and she was at least half a foot taller than Lenete and I. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail behind her head and her make up was heavy. She was wearing clothing bought from this store because I saw her outfit on one of the mannequins. She smiled and she touched Lenete shoulders, her hands flew backwards and Lenete shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s freezing in here” she smiled as she walked into the change room.
Rachel scanned our dresses, our shoes and our jewellery.
Rachel smiled almost evilly “that will be 1583 dollars thanks”
Lenete smiled and pulled out her bank card and swiped it through the machine. The receipt printed and Rachel’s mouth dropped. Lenete grabbed four bags and handed them to me and she grabbed the other six. We walked out of the store and Lenete started laughing so hard she had to stop walking.
“What is it?” I asked she shook her head and we made our way out to the car, we put our bags in the back. I walked to the passenger door, running my fingers over the slick curve of her car.
“Where do Ты think your going?” Lenete had hold of the back of my рубашка and was tugging me back towards the mall.
“Going home” I whinged as I tried to free my рубашка from her grip
“Nope, there is one last thing I want to do” she smiled and I surrendered. We walked back into the mall and Lenete tugged me around the mall until she pulled me into a bridal shop.
“Oh no Ты don’t” I сказал(-а) and I planted my feet but she pulled me along effortlessly.
“Oh yes I am” She smiled. We stopped in front of a long row of white dresses, I groaned “Oh we not looking for Your Dress” she smiled even wider
“Hi Dis” Heidi сказал(-а) as she hugged me from behind and I swung around. There stood Aurelia, Heidi and Lilly. That only meant
“No... No, no, no, no, no”
“Yes, yes, yes and yes, Bridesmaid dresses” I groaned as Lilly tugged me to the chair. Another clerk pulled the rack of White dresses away to reveal all the colours или the радуга in dresses. I heard Lenete squeal as she ran her fingers over the dresses, Aurelia was already eyeing a dress and Heidi was piling dresses onto a тележка, корзина to try on. I rested my head on Lilly’s shoulder and she stroked my hair lightly.
“Why do we have to do this now?” I mumbled to Lilly
“What do Ты mean by that?”
“Well my wedding isn’t for another year” I shrugged “And I thought this was going to be simple?”
“This is simple” I heard Lilly laugh “and as for the date, Well this is Lenny your talking about remember” I whacked my head against her shoulder and Lilly’s laughter rang around the shop. I noticed that there was no one else in the store.
“She booked out the store didn’t she?”
“Oh Ты noticed, did Ты hear that Lenny she noticed” she laughed again
“I didn’t think Ты would notice, but Ты did” Lenete laughed as she stepped out of the change room. She was wearing a stunning strapless silver dress. She twirled in front of the mirror and shook her head and walked back into the stall.
“Hay what was wrong with that dress?” I сказал(-а) knocking on the door
“It doesn’t go with the colour scheme”
“Colour scheme? ... What are Ты talking about?”
“Dis come sit down you’ve got a long день ahead of you” I groaned and settle back on the seat.
Lenete, Heidi and Aurelia walked in and out of the change rooms twirling in front of the mirror before walking back in and repeating the process in a different dress. I flicked through the dresses on the rack. I was starting to get a headache from all the different colours when my fingertips travelled along the silk of a pale лимон coloured dress. I felt a tingle run up my spine and I yanked the dress of the rack and threw it to Lenete, she caught it without even looking up. Still without looking up she walked into the stall and a few moments later she walked back out.
