Chapter Twenty-Four

I stared into the mirror. I can't believe I let Kaya talk me into this. It was Saturday evening, the day of Axel's party. I had said I'd come but now I couldn't keep my mind on it. I kept thinking of when Maria appeared. And the burn from my necklace. I sighed and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hey Vinnie." I stopped at Lauri's voice. "Remember that thing called school?"

"Yes." I mumbled, turning to face my aunt.

"I know you were injured but I can't let you off the hook for much longer."

"I-I know." I couldn't tell her the truth. I was utterly terrified to return to school. Koran or Maria could be around any corner. 

"Can we just talk about this later?" I groaned. Lauri nodded and I left the house.

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Axel's house was certainly impressive. It sat on the top of a hill, lakes and waterfalls behind it. The majestic house overlooked all of Bridgeport. 

The heel's of my boots clicked on the smooth pavement as I headed towards the front door.

Reece was leaning against a pillar. The grin dropped off his face when he saw me.

"Reece? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing." He said shaking his head. I stepped closer.

Reece took my hand.

"Come on, let's go enjoy the party." He smiled and led me inside.

The moment we walked in I could tell his parents weren't home. A pair of drunk girls sat laughing and crying on a bench in the foyer. Reece snorted and moved towards the living room.

"We should say 'hi' to Kaya and Axel." He said, poking his head through the doorway.

"They might be a bit busy." I said, pointing to a couple in the back of the crowd.

"Why don't we go somewhere else." Reece suggested quietly. I smiled and let him lead me to an abandoned study.

"I feel like such a rebel." I joked as he pulled my mouth to his. He ran his hand over my back and hips. What had been bothering him earlier was obviously in the back of his mind by now. I tightened my grip on his neck, he slipped his hands onto my thighs and hoisted me up higher.

I closed my eyes, letting his kisses fill my head and send tingles down to my fingertips. A loud knock on the door startled us apart, I slid back to the ground.

"Occupied!" I yelled, moving to kiss him again before a second knock sounded.

"It's Blu." Reece whispered under his breath before darting behind the wall. The door opened and a befuddled looking Blu stepped in.

"What happened to your hair?" I asked suddenly, noticing the stark white tips.

"Uh..hair dye gone wrong." He muttered. Blu moved closer.

"What are you even doing here?"

"A few days ago I picked up an odd thing." He said with narrowed eyes. "It was a time-trail. Only a few seconds long but it was there."

"I don't.." I was confused. What is he talking about?

"Do you know where it came from?" He growled accusingly. "That." He pointed to the necklace.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" I said, glancing down at my necklace and back to him.

"I wanna know, why didn't you tell me?" 

"Tell you what?!" I cried, frustration taking over.

"That you're a time-jumper."

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"A...what?!" I stared at him. "I'm not..."

"There's no other way it could have happened. I know the necklace burned you, don't lie. I went back and made sure." He said, crossing his arms. My hand flew to my necklace, the burn mark hidden beneath my dress.

"Look I have to go. But you should've told me." And with that he left the room.

I stood still and silently for a few moments. A..time-jumper? ME? Reece slipped out of his hiding place and over to me.

"What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know." I mumbled, Blu's words bouncing around in my head.

"Come on, let's go get some drinks." Reece said.

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A few hours and a few drinks later, we staggered out of Axel's house, laughing our asses off. Both of us were teetering on the edge of drunk. We decided to head over to Reece's house.

He ended up carrying me into the appartment, and into his room.

"Have fun tonight?" He asked, sitting down on his bed.

"Mhm." I said, staring into his golden eyes. He placed his hand under my thigh and pulled me closer.

Gently laying me down on the bed he asked,

"So what was Blu on about?" I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. We both dropped back onto the bed, kissing heavily.

 Reece hovered over me, his hand holding me up to him while we kissed. I don't know if it was the alcohol or just our own need for each other that caused us to press even closer, kissing harder.

 I kept my arms tight around his neck, his arms around my waist. And one thing led to another. 

That 'another' ended in both of us falling asleep against each other in nothing but our underwear.

Chapter Twenty-Three

- 2 Days Later -

Kaya and I sat huddled on the living room, half eaten pizza beside us and the TV flashing a Harry Potter marathon. Lauri had yet to come home, she'd been called to work extra late today.

"Hey Vin. Axel's having a party on Friday. He asked me if I could ask you." Kaya said suddenly.

"Uh yeah sure. I could do with some fun." I gave her a forced smile.

"Are you okay? You seem...gone."

I sighed. I'd been feeling off since I'd last seen Reece.

"Fine. I'm fine." I looked down, staring at a rip in my jeans instead of meeting her gaze. Kaya sighed. She turned away and took a swig from her soda. I reached up and felt around for my necklace, rubbing the familiar metal between my fingers. A sudden sharp, hot pain raced up into my finger tips.

"Ow!" I cried, dropping the necklace, letting it hit my chest.

"What was that about?" Kaya choked. Holding up my hand into the light I saw bright red burn marks on my fingers.

"It-it burned me!" I exclaimed. Kaya reached a tentative hand towards my chest and rested it in her hand.

"That's weird. It's just an old pocket-watch right?" She asked, examining the small clock face.

"Yeah I think so." I replied as she let go of the necklace.

I slouched back against the couch, running my burned fingers through my hair.

"You know, it that light you look a lot like Blu." Kaya remarked. Looking down at my usually white hair-turned blue and smiled slightly.

"His hair is tackier. And darker." I joked. Kaya snorted. She returned her brown eyes to the screen, becoming re-immersed into the movie. I gazed lazily over to the back door, hoping to catch a glance of Bridgeport's lights.

 I screamed. Maria was standing right there. Kaya choked on her slice of pizza. I scrambled behind the couch, my heart pounding and my breaths coming out fast and short.

"Vinnie?!" She placed a hand on my shoulder, shaking me. The necklace stung through my sweater against my chest. I blinked back tears, choking on a sob.

"Maria! She's-she's right there!" I cried. My head hurt like hell and my necklace continued to sting me. I placed both hands on the side of my head and shut my eyes. Kaya rose slightly.

"Vinnie...there's no one there." She said. I coughed and opened my eyes. I reached a shaking hand down and yanked the necklace off, the clasp breaking against my neck. I too stood up slightly.

"No..no no no. That's not possible. She was right there." I cried. Kaya pulled me into a full standing position. She bent down and picked up the necklace. I cringed away but Kaya fastened it around my neck.

"Vin, I think you need some sleep." She said softly.

"Okay. You're...you're probably right." We headed into the bedroom and changed into our pajamas. The second I relaxed into bed my phone buzzed.

"Ugh, who's calling?" Kaya moaned. I checked the caller I.D. : Reece <3

"Hello?" I said, leaving the room and wandering into the bathroom.

"Vinnie? Are you okay?" Reece's panicked voice traveled into the room.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Why are you-"

"Calling? I don't know. I felt something weird. Like I'd put my fingers into sunlight even though I have the mark." Reece said. I thought for a moment, the mark he was talking about was a rune that Vampires got tattooed onto them to allow them to walk into the sun. I glanced down at my burned fingertips.

"It wouldn't happen to have been your right hand...would it?" I said slowly.

"Yeah it was. Vinnie did something-" The click of the front door caught my attention.

"I-um, I can't talk now. See you Saturday." I whispered frantically, ending the call before he could say anything. With a sigh I slipped back into the bedroom. I only had one thought on my mind falling asleep,

What the hell just happened?  

Chapter Twenty-Two

I lay sprawled across the bed, still in the clothes from last night. Light streamed in through the window and Lauri's fist thumped on the door.

"Get up Vinnie." She called. I moaned in response, rolling over.

"You can't pine away forever. Now get dressed, someone's here for you."

"If it's Reece tell him to screw himself, I don't want to see him." I said, louder so he would be able to hear me.

"Well here's a hint, I'm not Reece. I'm a ginger." Kaya's voice called through the door. I moaned once more before pulling myself off the bed and getting dressed.Once I was ready I opened the door.

"Much better."

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"Do we have to talk about this?"

"Yes." Kaya said, crossing her legs.

"So what happened?" Lauri piped up.

"I told him I was tired of being protected." I grumbled, my heart aching from our fight.

"You can't be serious." Kaya sighed.

"Well I fucking am." Lauri shot me a glare. "Sorry." I mumbled. Lauri got up and headed inside, her phone ringing loudly.

"That just doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't you want to be protected?" Kaya asked.

"Because, I'm my own person. I don't need him watching over me." I said, looking up and meeting her eyes.

"But Vinnie-"

"Why? Why do I need protection. Why is everyone trying to kill me?!" I snapped.

"That's exactly why Vinnie." Kaya said softly. I moaned and lay back in the grass.

"You do...like him right?"

"Kaya, I love him." I breathed.

"Then you shouldn't be mad at him for trying to keep you safe."

"I guess." I mumbled.

"Good, because I invited him and Axel over." 

(Listen)

"YOU WHAT?!" I shrieked, sitting up fast. Kaya grinned.

"And here they are now." She said.

Sure enough, Axel and Reece arrived and were walking towards us. Axel sat down beside Kaya and Reece sat next to me. I avoided his gaze.

Kaya and Axel began talking animatedly, leaving us two in an awkward silence.

"Vinnie." Reece sighed.

"What." I snapped quietly.

"Don't be like this." He whispered.

"You know how I feel."

Kaya and Axel stood up and walked away, leaving us alone.

"Honestly I'm sorry. I...I don't want to upset you." He sighed.

"Well you did." I spat.

I looked at him. I wanted to hug or kiss him but for some reason I was determined to stay angry. He crawled forwards, his faces inches from mine.

"Don't Reece. I'm not in the mood." I mumbled. He ignored my comment.

And pressed his lips against mine. I instantly forgot why I was mad at him. Wrapping my arms around his neck I pulled him to the ground.

"I'm sorry." He said between kisses.

"Don't be." I said, pulling him closer.

His arms gripped my back, pulling me slightly up to him. I knotted my fingers through his hair, wrapping one leg around his. I never wanted to stop but he pulled away, breaking our lips apart.

"I don't like fighting." I breathed, panting. My heart pounded in my chest, I was sure he could feel it, our bodies pressed close together.

"Then let's not fight." He whispered, rolling over.

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"So..we're okay?" He asked as we stood outside the front door, saying goodbye for the day.

"Yeah. We're okay." I said, looking up through my eyelashes with a grin. Reece's finger stroked my cheek before pulling me close by the chin.

His hand left the wall and so did mine. I pulled away from the kiss before it could get too intimate, seeing as Lauri would be walking outside any minute.

"Bye." He said.

"Bye." I whispered.