Okay, may I begin by saying: Sorry this was a bit late. I've been quite busy lately and haven't had time to work on this.
P.S. Sorry that I completely forgot to put the point of view for my other work. I mean, seeing as you're not dumb at all you probably caught on but still. I'm SORRY! From now on I promise to add the P.O.V By the way, thank you to Fan who reviewed my story Because I Want You, your wish has been granted.
Disclaimer: AGAIN, I do not own the Disney Dream. I wish I did though, that would be AWESOME! I also do not own any of the Kingdom Keepers, they belong to Ridley Pearson.
Amanda's P.O.V
Something about walking around a place that I didn't necessarily belong made me feel wrong and unbefitting. The halls of the Disney Dream were not exactly vacant, but few guest lingered and so I considered it no threat at all. Besides, who's going to guess I'm not a registered passenger aboard the ship?
I went to bed earlier today, seeing as lately it has taken me a long time to fall asleep. I did this in hopes of crossing over on time. But in a miscalculation of time, I ended up coming far too early. With nothing much to do, I decided just to wait around.
Kids ran past, still hyper from the fun the Disney Dream brought with its many activities, followed by their parents, desperately in need of an energy boost. By the looks of it, they'd never catch up to their children. Some travelers came to find some evening magic, others a midnight snack. The group beside me happened to be none of the above. They were a swarm of teenage girls just dying to give and receive some juicy gossip. Much of their conversation was not of my interest but at some points I couldn't help but listen in due to boredom.
"Ew! That's disgusting! …. Not him! Of all people, really? They're going out? Gross!"
"I know…that's just wrong!"
Only fragments of what they said reached my ears, but it was enough for me. Even the smallest remnant of their comments were put together to form a judgmental or just straightforward rude statement. I didn't like what I heard for the most part. It was all so mean and vile, what they said. Finally, weaving myself in and out of consciousness of the discussion, I heard something that made it near impossible to restrain myself from endeavoring to listen to ever word that escaped their lips.
"I swear!" one girl shrilled, defensively.
"You saw that DHI boy, Finn whatever, randomly making out with a cast member? I don't buy it." Another responded rather impolitely, as though accusing the other of lying. Though, who was I to say she was being impolite, when I myself was one step away from calling the other a liar. No, Finn wouldn't do that!
"They were! His hand was finding its way up her shirt." I felt faint at the sound of those words. My teeth clenched holding back the words I wanted to scream at this girl. Some words I've heard Maybeck use on occasion that, until now, I hadn't found necessary to repeat. She had no right telling this lies about Finn. No right at all! "Not the only girl he's been working on, either. I heard another group of passengers saw him kiss someone by the cabanas. Another one of the DHI's. A blonde, I think." Charlene!
My eyes rang with the echo of my rage, denying me the ability to hear any other information they said. But what else would they talk about? Was there a third lucky winner of one of Finn's kisses?
Slowly, so that I didn't give myself way and let them know I'd been there the entire time, listening, I backed away from my spot. Once reaching a position out of earshot, I turned and walked away, taking on a quickened pace.
I was sure my ears were glowing red and my face was twisted in an unappealing scowl. I couldn't help it, though. Anger surged through my veins, reaching every square inch of my body, unwilling to leave a single piece of my flesh and bone without a burning fury. Enraged thoughts loomed in my mind, atrocious judgments of that horrid Finn and Charlene and that other girl.
It must have been Storey of whom they spoke. She was a cast member after all, or at least, something resembling one. Willa had told me about her and how she had attacked Philby with a kiss. Both she and some of the other DHI's had deemed her untrustworthy. Finn, on the other hand, had only good to say about Storey. How she'd helped them greatly on their missions so far and she was a conducive addition to our team.
If those girls were right, there were some other facts to look over. For one, that Storey had to be at least a good four years older than us. Such an age difference making me all the more repulsed at a kiss shared between her and Finn. Second, Charlene did admit to having liked Finn before. Then again so did Willa when we first met, but I'm near positive she's grown out of it, and if I'm not mistaken, Maleficent mentioned Jess also liking Finn, and yet again, I'm sure she's no longer interested.
A mob of sudden cerebral activity did no good for me. A headache formed and I found it hard to keep my balance. As I felt myself falling over, I leaned on the wall, stopping myself. My head ached horribly. Possibly a migraine. But I'm sure it was more the overwhelming thought of Finn doing that with either Charlene or Storey, perhaps both.
"Hey, there, Mandy. You okay?" Jess's voice sounded tenderhearted.
"Um…yeah, I'm fine." I replied, pushing myself off the supporting wall. My lie must have been very believable, as Jess seemed not the least bit skeptical of me.
"Come on, everyone else should be arriving soon." She dragged me to where we were apparently meeting the other Keepers. For a third time, they had awakened in the Cast member break room, seemingly, as that was where they were leaving when they gathered. After testing to check that they their 2.0 holograms were stable, we formed a huddle and developed a plan for the night.
"Well, now, not only to we have hungry hyenas to worry about, but Chernabog is also somewhere on the ship." Finn reminded us, receiving an uncomfortable silence from the rest of us. Chernabog's presence on the ship made us nervous beyond measure; he was, after all, the most powerful villain of all Disney's characters. "As always, we stay in groups. Do not lose your partner, no matter what.
"It's too dangerous to be inattentive even in the slightest. Attentiveness is key from now on. Tonight, we look for clues. Anything that might lead us to where any of the O.T.'s are staying or, better, what they're planning. Groups. Willa and Maybeck. You look around the lower levels, but be careful not to be caught. Charlene you'll go with-"
"Me. I'll go with Charlene." I announced. This was my chance to get some answers out of her. She looked at me questioningly, as we've rarely, if ever, been paired as partners. Let alone, me having insisted it. "We'll check the upper decks."
Finn nodded, then turned to Jess. "You're with me, then. We can search the vacant suites. Let's go." With that, the different groups dispersed.
Charlene and I went straight to the pool area, trying every door possible and checking the unlocked room's for evidence of O.T.'s that may have been left behind. We remained silent. She had that look, the one where you feel so guilty about something you can't even look the other person in the eye.
We continued to search the area. As I opened another closet door, I inquired. "Charlene, you like Finn, right?" I knew it wasn't a subtle way to approach but I wasn't trying to be subtle, I was trying to get answers.
She shrugged, moving past me into the closet and stooping around. "He's a good friend. I suppose you could say I used to have a bit of a crush on him, but that's gone now." Lifting herself off the floor, she left the small room, shaking her head to show she found nothing.
"If it's gone, then why'd you kiss him?" My question made her pause mid-step. She turned slowly to face me and, sure enough, there was the guiltiest expression on her face I'd ever seen. But there was another layer to it, something beyond guilt, something I couldn't figure out.
"How do you know about that?" she asked, softly. I took a step toward her, feeling resentment toward her, greater than I'd ever expected. She's admitting it! So it's true? All that stuff that those girl said, it's true!
"Why'd you kiss him, Charlene?" I enquired, taking another step toward her. My facial expression must have been sinister; she looked so terrified. Petrified and precautious, she took a step back, away from me, pushing her into a flight of stairs. "You knew I liked him."
"I-I know. I-I…you see, it…" she stuttered, a fear falling into her body's movement. Every move was vigilant. With every stair I climbed forward, she made one back, turning this into a rhythmic pace. We found ourselves leisurely climbing the staircase. Finally, we both fell step onto the top platform, where the entrance of the Aquaduck was.
"If you knew I liked him, why'd you do it?" There was a lapse there, when I fell out of whatever charm my distemper held me under, and I realized how ominous I was. It was like I was being controlled by Maleficent; I must have been scaring the schiznet out of her.
Then my rage took control of me again, similar to how my powers did sometimes. I noticed her typing on her Wavephone. She must have taken it out when I was focusing on how intimidating I was. I heard a ding; she must have sent the message! Involuntarily, with my fury as the uninvited pilot of my actions, I kicked the phone out of her hands. It flew to the floor and landed with a crash, breaking it.
I fought for power again, to be in control of my mind. Nothing was working. Something wasn't right and the erroneousness of the situation reeked of Overtakers. Was I under a spell of some sort? I knew I was, I had to be. Because no matter how mad I was at Charlene, I would never be like this. Never. This wasn't me.
The wind carried voices to my ears from the deck below us; the others were arriving. I glanced over the railing and saw them gathered at the base of the pool, staring up at us. My body burned as I felt anger growing, until I was fuming at the thought of them seeing this.
I turned to Charlene and slapped her. "What did you do?" I demanded. "What did you tell them!" No, no! This was wrong! I didn't want this! Who was manipulating me? My hand formed a fist, threateningly, but I didn't tell it to. It veered back and swung forward, but not by my bidding.
Just as it came in contact with her face, something kicked me in the stomach hard, sending me stumbling back. An ache spread through my abdomen and, as I hit the ground, landing badly, a sharp pain launched up my elbow.
I looked up and saw Charlene, appearing more frightened than I'd ever seen her. Knowing she'd just kicked me, even though it was out of self-defense, did nothing to discharge my anger. I found it all the harder to maintain in control of my body.
"Guys!" I heard someone holler. "Get down here, now!" Finn, if only I could. But, frankly, it's not even my decision if I blink or not.
Unwillingly, I got up to my feet and began to approach her again. "Why'd you do it, Charlene?" My own voice frightened me; it was so menacing and baleful.
"I-I don't know. I didn't want to, it just…it happened." She was backing up, nearing the railing. It was a dead end, no space left to back away from me. "Besides, I like someone else."
She peered over her shoulder, down at Maybeck. This came as a surprise to me. A pleasant one though, because I felt they actually would make a rather cute couple. Despite this, though, I continued to move in her direction.
"Oh, do you?" My mouth opened and closed, and words came out, but I wasn't doing it. It alarmed me, spooked me to the core to know that I no longer had control over anything but my thoughts.
"Yes, I do. I'm sorry I kissed Finn. I knew you liked him and I should have respected that. And trust me, Amanda, I wish it hadn't happened. I want to go back and change it."
My ability to contain my rage hit its summit at that moment. "Liar!" The shrieked word came out of my mouth against my wishes. Suddenly, I felt my arms go up and I pushed her, sending her flying over the railing, a scream piercing the air.
In my sudden concern, I washed out all the hatred in my body, relieving myself of the influence that had been upon me and regained full control of myself. I moved my hands to undo what I'd done. I was able to levitate her so that she was almost grabbing the bars of the rail.
But, as my power are not flawless, my levitating hold on her slipped. In a measurement of time shorter than a millisecond, I leapt forward and clutched her arm.
"Please don't let go!" Charlene cried, feeling I was still furious with her. Her hands looped around my arm, getting a better grip.
I shook my head, "Why on Earth would I ever let go?" Using all my strength, I pulled her over the side. She landed on me as she fell to the floor. I hugged her tight, wondering why I'd even been mad at her.
I turned to her. "You okay?" She nodded. She was crying. So was I. Apparently, I had forgiven her. Sure I liked Finn. But she liked him, too, and I kissed him, anyways. So, now we're even.
As for Finn, we weren't in a relationship; he had every right to kiss whoever he wanted. I mean, if you start to date a guy, it's not like you would expect him not to have kissed anyone yet.
I helped Charlene to her feet and we both climbed down the stairs back to the deck below. There, Charlene was pulled into a hug by Maybeck. He asked her repeatedly if she was okay. She replied repeatedly yes.
Finn, apparently also in the hugging mood, wrapped his arms around me in a snug embrace. "Never do that again!" he whispered to me demandingly, yet with nothing but care and concern toward me. It made me sneak a slight smile. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."
I pulled away from the hug, looking up at his eyes, confused. "You're not mad at me anymore?" I asked, referring to when he had been blamed me for his mother's transformation.
His hand moved to my face, his thumb stroking my cheek lightly. "Of course not, Amanda. My mom's safe. Charlie's safe. You're safe. Right now, there's nothing more I could ask for." This time, I accepted the hug with a gratitude too strong to be contained. I was surprised he didn't object due to my crushing him.
"Hey." I heard when I finally let go. Charlene nudged me. "I'm really am sorry."
I laughed, "Charlie, you have nothing to be sorry about." Storey, however…now that was a different story.
Hope you enjoyed it! R,R, and R! Read, review, and request. BTW despite the ending, there will not be a continuation of this oneshot (emphasis on the "oneshot") where Amanda confronts Storey.