Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not own the characters, they all belong to Disney. The only things I own are my two characters Skylar and Nikki and the story. That's it nothing else. I make no profit from it, although I wish I did but hey that's just wishful thinking. Oh and before I forget, the idea behind the twisted Princesses were thought of by Jeff. You can see the links to them on my site.
A/N: Hey everyone, Halloween is coming up, so I thought I would start a tradition in Halloween stories. I have attempted over the years to post this, and I think this year I will finally be able to uphold my promise. I tended to always write something then abandon it later. Though, I implore all of you to stay tune to either every day or every week; depending on how quickly I upload and work schedule (with me having two jobs currently, could be interesting). I will be posting new chapters during those times. I will also be writing another Halloween fanfic on here as well as another Halloween story in another site so feel free to check it out. The link is on my page if you're interested. You will also see with every post me counting down the days to Halloween.
Summery: Twin sisters, Nikki and Skylar are complete opposites of each other, like night and day. Nikki prides herself in living in the graveyard and her love of the dead. Skylar on the other hand prides herself with looking gorgeous, living in her own fantasy world and diving into her Disney movies. When the two are sent into a world unlike their own, both sisters have to push aside their differences and work together to understand more of the world. What happens when differences can't be set aside? Will they be able to escape? Please read and review. I want to know your opinions on this.
(Only 30 more days till Halloween)
Chapter one
Nightmares and hallucinations
Darkness had taken over the world, letting everyone rest for a new day. A cold autumn wind blew through the quiet city. No stars sparkled in the sky; the full moon forced its way through the threatening clouds. It shone brightly on the earth, but never held its sway. Fog began to roll in covering the streets and fields.
Emerging through the fog was a young female adolescent of sixteen years. Her raven black hair whipped wildly around her heart shaped face. Purple, blue and red thick strands of hair mingled with the black as it covered her steel grey eyes. Her pale skin looked ghostly in the fog, in the moonlight it gave off an eerie glow, which she used in her own defences. Her name was Nikki Dewolf; for once she was quite content on the surroundings she was in. She was the daughter of a well known lawyer/carpenter father, Mike Dewolf and a home decor turned news reporter, mother Catherine.
She loved the nocturnal world, it was peaceful and calm, something that she herself could never maintain. She was a very outgoing and standoffish person. In this world however, she could be herself and not but be judged. A cold wind blew through her hitting her bare arms. Her ankle length black skirt billowed ever slightly against the wind. The top was a simple black tank top with silver designs on the collar. On her feet she wore mid calf full length ties with silver studs along the toes. A scent of rain water hit her nose after some time; rain soon threatened to fall from the continuously growing clouds.
As Nikki followed the path toward a field far from the city, Nikki soon longed to hear the howling of the wolves, the hooting of the owls. She had noticed for some time the noises were all absent from the land. Nothing of the night world could be heard or seen, it was as if the creatures of the night disappeared all together.
Finally after entering a dark forest sometime later, Nikki finally started looking around noticing she was no longer in familiar surroundings. Although deep inside of her she knew that she was not in her regular haunt, somehow she didn't care. The unfamiliarity was just a new area that needed to be explored. She was nowhere near her favourite forest but merely shrugged it off.
"Night, a world full of wonder. Pray, where art thou taking thee? I am honoured by the sights and the mystery. A hint of knowledge of ones whereabouts would be very well worth it," Nikki sighed staring up at the now fading moon. She longed to understand the mystery of the new place.
As Nikki continued her way though the forest, ignoring all the eerie looking eyes and the false creatures made of branches, something seemed to catch her attention in the distance. For a moment her heart stopped beating and her breath caught in her throat. It was unrecognizable to her ears, but it was almost close to something familiar to her.
"What kind of monstrosity is that I wonder? It does not sound like any creature I have ever heard," she wondered cautiously making her way further toward the sound. Nikki was the adventurous and determined child in the family; she would never back down from a challenge. She was not the sweet, innocent child everyone thinks she was.
Further and further she continued through the forest. Further she went the darker it seemed to become. Glowing eyes from the nocturnal creatures could be seen through the branches. Curiosity was getting to her big time as she stared at the eyes unmoving.
She felt her body become lifeless almost like in a trance. Something about the noise was telling her to come find it. Dark, maniacal laughter could be heard from all the sides around her making it difficult for her to distinguish the actual noise.
"…wrap me in a bolt of lightning. Send me on my way still smiling."
Nikki froze in her tracks. Where did that come from? She urged her body to continue forward, but nothing. She couldn't move whatsoever. The scene around her went all black leaving her there all alone.
"NIKKI!" yelled a female voice.
"Wha?" Nikki asked groggily opening her blurry eyes. A faint ray of light could be seen through the window next to her bed. The sky outside looked like it was on fire; the sky itself was pure red. A smile crept on her lips as she turned her head toward the window.
She was lying on her stomach her black hair was sprawled everywhere with thick chunks of red, purple and blue mingled within. Her sheets were half on her and half on the ground; it was a result of a restless sleep.
"Nikki, let's go!" the voice urged again.
Turning her head the other side Nikki was face to face with a mirror image of her; except without the black hair and insane streaks. The girl standing before her had chest length light brown hair; it was already combed and neatly pulled into a side braid. She wore dark blue jeans and a long sleeved v-neck pink shirt. Already, she had her rose coloured eye shadow; red lipstick and a light blush over her foundation make up on and ready for the day. She truly was the opposite of her sister. Her name was Skylar Dewolf, Nikki's twin sister.
"What time is it?" Nikki groaned sitting up. She wore a black t-shirt with a silver skull on the front. Her shoulder length hair was sticking up everywhere; she ran her fingers through it in attempt to set it down.
"Six thirty, mom wants us downstairs for breakfast, we have another hour and a half before we have to leave for school. Just letting you know," Skylar answered leaning against the lavender coloured wall.
"Lovely. You are done in the bathroom right?" Nikki asked rolling her eyes as she moved her head toward her sister.
"No, I'm done, it's all yours."
Nikki let out a groan as she forced herself to get out of bed. Her black pyjama pants flowed easily around her legs. She dragged her feet all the way over to the en suit bathroom her and Skylar shared. Nikki was not known to share anything, it was a constant battle between her and her sister of who got into the bathroom first. Especially when the two of them decided to get in the shower at the same time, it was enough to give their parents a headache.
Entering the large, sunset orange coloured bathroom, Nikki was greeted by a cool wind from the open window. Steam was still covering the mirrors after the long steam shower. Skylar volunteered to shower in the morning seeing that Nikki had taken over the shower after her Taekwondo class. Strolling over to the sink, Nikki turned the on the faucet, letting the cold water run for a bit and splashed the cool water on her face. She felt a little more awake and slightly a little more refreshed. Patting her face dry with a nearby towel, she stared at her reflection through the steamy mirror. Her hair looked like a rats nest after the continuous tossing and turning. She opened the drawer and combed through all the knots that built up all night.
"Another day, another boring school dribble. Just one more year of this chaos," sighed Nikki as she returned to her room to change into her clothes. She wore basic black, a simple long sleeved shirt with fishnet style sleeves and a knee length skirt with lace over top. Covering her pale legs were knee high stockings.
"A trip to the graveyard is going to be a must after school," Nikki vowed heading out of the room and into the narrow and short hallway.
Nikki and Skylar occupied the attic of the house; it was configured into the girl's floor after they turned thirteen. Long winding stairs led from their floor to the third floor belonging to the twins parents Mike and Catherine, three spare bedrooms; two of them once belonging to the twins. Two full bathrooms, five closets and an office. The halls themselves would split off into different sections; the walls were painted a soft brown colour.
Another set of winding stairs, not as long as the first at the end of the hall led to the second floor. The second floor was an open concept, very wide and gave off a beautiful flow of the house. A large living room sat at the foot of the stairs with black leather furniture, a long the left side of the house was a medium size dining room and medium size kitchen facing the backyard. The kitchen table and cabinets were all oak with granite tops. The floors were all hardwood flooring in each room. There was another set of stairs from the living room that led access to the main floor that held a coat closet, a sitting room where Catherine and Mike would have their guests and the front door.
Nikki entered the kitchen to see her dad standing at the counter holding a mug in his right hand while holding the newspaper in the left, his eyes scanning over the different sections. His stature was a striking six feet, his physique was an athletic build without the bulging muscles. He had jet black hair that was neatly combed back and cleaned shaven and steel grey eyes. He was dressed in his black business suit, ready to head for work any time. Catherine was by the stove getting breakfast ready for her family. Her stature was a mere five foot eight, shorter than her husband. She was a very lean and slim woman with striking green eyes. She was dressed in a simple white blouse and pencil black skirt. Her brown hair was left hanging loose around her shoulders in soft curls. Skylar herself was already seated on the island with a mug of steaming hot tea.
"Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Mike chuckled looking over the top of the newspaper.
"Morning to you too dad," Nikki greeted with a yawn.
"Bacon and eggs sweetie?" Catherine asked placing the first batch on a plate.
Nikki, who was pouring freshly boiled hot water into a mug, shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Sure."
"All right, it'll be a moment for yours."
"You know I can make my own while you go get ready, right?" Nikki replied sipping at her tea and gazing at her mother.
"I'm not the one who slept in; I'm all set to go. You still need to get your lunch packed as well as gather your homework. By the way, you still need to complete."
"It's just social studies, I'm pretty sure I can finish it during English class."
"Nikki that is not the point. I don't want your marks to slip."
"That was only a couple of times last year."
"Yes, and you were lucky you didn't fail."
"Well, my teacher has it out for me anyway. Don't think it really matters."
Skylar rolled her eyes at yet another countless argument over school marks regarding Nikki and missed work. She shouldn't talk though; she had numerous of missed homework assignments and close to failing marks. Her sneaking out wasn't helping either to go to the parties.
/
It didn't take long for Skylar and Nikki to be heading down the street toward their school. Where the sky appeared red an hour ago, now took on dark clouds and drop in temperature. Rain was definitely in the air. It was an ultimately quiet stroll as it was every morning. Nikki was not in any mood to speak to anyone, especially to her sister at the very moment. While the sisters made it apparent to not speak to each other in public due to their differences, their private time alone was an exception. However, for the time being, Nikki could careless as her brain still spun around the dreams that plagued her mind. Skylar on the other hand didn't care if Nikki wanted her private time; something seemed to nag at the back of her head about this morning. While Nikki was naturally a restless person, something seemed different about this round.
"Hey Nik…I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but…I got to know. What were you dreaming about last night?"
Nikki stopped dead in her tracks not even bothering to turn and face her twin. Was she serious? She was going to ask about that now? The girls knew not to say anything in front of their parents, usually being told it was a mere dream or in Nikki's case go into panic mode if it was a bad dream. She let out a sigh at that realization. Ever since she was four she would start to sleep walk during bad dreams. Even to this day Nikki couldn't explain it.
"Nik…"
"Why do you truly care what…?"
"Skylar!" yelled a girl of their age, with chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. Her chest length hair flowed behind her as she ran toward them. She wore low waist blue jeans and a loose white t-shirt over a purple tank top. It was fall and the girl dressed as if it were warm. She was easily three inches taller than the twins and extremely fit.
"Hey Trinity!" Skylar greeted.
"Ugh the hyper ones," groaned Nikki as four other girls followed behind Trinity. Their names either escaped her mind or she simply didn't care to recall them.
"Hey lighten up," warned Skylar.
"We called you but you didn't answer your phone," the girl said.
Nikki smirked as she looked away; she knew the reason behind the miss call. Skylar broke curfew after the tenth time and third warning. She lost her cell phone, internet usage (minus information and strictly under her parents' supervision.) As well, she was not allowed to be with friends for three weeks. It was only the fifth day and she was already losing it.
"Oh you know, the battery died and I haven't been able to locate the charger," she lied. In truth it was shut off and well hidden.
"That's too bad. Letting you know, there's a rave going on next weekend. You need to come!" Trinity exclaimed excitedly.
"I'll see what is going on."
"You better say yes. Oh, want to go shopping after school?"
"I can't…I…um…I'm doing something with Nikki," she blurted out. That caught the attention of the girls as silence fell upon the group as Nikki stared dumbfounded at her twin. Trinity's jaw dropped in disbelief formed on her face.
"Since when…" Nikki started before being cut off by Trinity in a rude manner.
"Shouldn't you be off with your own friends?" the usually bubbly girl demanded.
"Look you little bitch, you might want to back off from me right this second you arrogant little ass!"
"Whoa now, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"Whatever. Skylar, I'll talk with you later."
Nikki stormed off knowing when to choose her battles carefully. She had already gotten in trouble before with fighting with Trinity numerous of times. Further down the road she saw her small group of friends hanging around a stop sign waiting for Nikki to arrive.
"What was that about?" a girl wearing a baggy royal blue hooded sweater asked. There was no doubt the group watched the whole ordeal. The adolescent's name was Alice MacCrae; she had been friends with the twins since they were babies. Her purple colour hair hung over her blue eyes hiding them from sight. She was a very petit girl barely five feet with a tiny body to boot.
"Just the usual crap. I don't even know why Skylar hangs out with those guys," Nikki responded looking back as her twin sister and small group strolled past.
"I am amazed you are worried about her choice in friends," a male voice cut through the silence that seemed to grow for a moment.
"Me? Worried? Ha, that's funny Marius," Nikki smirked returning her attention to her group of friends. Marius was a lanky boy of six foot two and skin and bones. No matter how much the boy ate, he never gained. His shoulder length shaggy brown hair that covered his black eyes. Nikki had known him since they were seven, it was a rarity for them to be separate for too long.
"I don't know, you seemed to be genuinely concerned," joked the second male in the group. He was three inches taller than the twins themselves, one of the more toned ones in the group and just as pale. He had black hair similar to Nikki's with blue and purple colour mixed in. He kept it pulled back into a low ponytail with the bangs covering his amethyst eyes.
"Damien, I am going to kill you one of these days," Nikki warned.
"Before we have any sort of blood on our hands here, we are going to the cemetery after school to relax - "I was thinking the same thing," Nikki interjected stopping Alice immediately.
"I'm taking it you need this don't you?"
"Nightmares are back."
As long as she knew her friends, they knew all too well of Nikki's random nightmares that loved to pop up every now and again. After the first day of the three finding out, giving any sympathy to her would result in a rage of anger. Talking seemed to help to an extent. Compared to others that Nikki could talk to, thought she was going crazy.
/
Arriving at the school minutes later the four headed toward their lockers, the hallways were packed with students standing around gossiping or going over questions with friends preparing each other for a test in the following class. Nikki stopped at her locker throwing her bag inside while rummaging around for her literature textbook and binder. She pulled out the thick, heavy text book and the ever growing binder and literature homework. A soft sigh escaped her as she slammed her locker closed shuffling the books around to make them more comfortable.
Nikki was not looking forward to today's events, seeing as her mind still reverted back to the dreams more and more. There wasn't a lot that could keep her mind off of the images she saw but hopefully something would come of it. Turning around, her heart nearly stopped when her eyes came to rest upon a half burnt woman in a white top with a teal and gold bodice, along with a purple sarong, and why petticoat. Her right side of her face was so badly burnt, only pieces of the skin still remained attached and revealing jaw. Her right eye was whitened completely. The woman gazed at Nikki for a moment before turning away and wandered down the hall easily passing through the unexpected students.
Nikki backed herself up against the locker, heart racing with fear, this was impossible. Was her mind really playing tricks on her? This was a cruel, cruel trick to say the least. Breathing deeply, Nikki willed herself to think reasonably and remind herself that she was just over tired. Just as the warning bell sounded, Nikki reached Alice's locker just as her friend grabbed her belongings and the two headed to their class.
Finding a seat in the back of the class of her literature class, Nikki set her notebooks up waiting for class to actually start. The odd noises from her dreams came back to her almost as if it were in the classroom. She couldn't get out of her head the strange half burnt woman she saw in the hall moments ago. If only this had been the first time something like this occurred, she could easily dismiss it as her body pleading for extra sleep. Sadly with this being the hundredth time in over five years and more, she was constantly wondering, curious to what the dreams meant to her.
Ever since she could recall the first dream appeared all those years ago, the dream was always the same. Venturing out into the foreboding forest; deep threatening noises sounding all around her. Before she could investigate the sound, she would awake. However, after sometime it would get more and more into detail and show the actual people or creatures. Unfortunately for her the images each time became blurry or she would forget by the time she woke up.
As class began, Nikki found herself doodling (more like sketching very quickly, very realistic) in her notebooks of everything she could recall. She hoped something could trigger her memory as to what she was dreaming. She wasn't really into dream analysis, nevertheless something about the people made her truly stop and think. None of what the teacher's words graced her ears, the class itself became out of focus the more she lost herself in the sketches. She was grateful that Alice was in the same class as her and able to take notes and fill her in later on. Time really passed by quickly, her teacher, Ms. Grace, didn't even acknowledge the fact that one of her students was not paying attention to the lesson.
By the time the bell rang signalling the end of class, three sketches had been completed. One that looked like a sabre tooth, Bengal tiger, another a woman in gypsy clothing with half her body burnt and the last of morbid looking lawn gnomes.
"I have no idea what I've been eating or drinking before bed but it needs to stop," she muttered to herself packing up her belongings.
Alice, who sat beside Nikki all class, glanced over at the drawings in the notebook for the first time all class prior to Nikki having time to close it up and have it out of sight and mind. She always marvelled at her friends work, she knew for the longest time Nikki possessed a talent, sadly she refused to let it shine. Something about this style of artwork worried her to no end. The girls themselves had a morbid streak to them, even if Nikki showed a little more than the average person and lived in a world of darkness, this startled Alice to the core.
"Nikki, what is up with creepy drawings?" Alice asked pointing to the picture curiously.
Nikki went to snatch the book away from the prying eyes of her friend, not wanting her to think her strange. Although she was too slow when it came to Alice and her quick reflexes, her petit friend already picked it up keeping it from the other girls grasp. Her eyes scanned over the pictures, taking in the great detail the other girl put into the work.
"Alice, give it back!" Nikki requested following her long time friend into the busy hallway. She didn't want anyone else to see the work, especially the student body if it were to get into the wrong hands.
"Nik…is this what has been coming back?" Alice asked after a moment handing the book back.
"Not with those ones recently, but it was getting close," Nikki admitted shutting the book, she knew that Alice wouldn't do anything in the means of embarrassing her.
"Have there been more or are these the only ones?" Alice asked when the two reached their biology class.
"These are the only clear ones I've seen. There are probably has been more I just can't recall or have blocked out."
"You're letting the stress get to you," Alice admitted gazing at Nikki as she waved at Marius and Damien.
Biology class, like her literature class was one of Nikki's favourite, as well, it did have its upside to it all, it was the only one Nikki, Alice, Marius and Damien shared making it a very well worth it. The four of them sat in the middle of the class with Marius at the one end, Nikki beside him on his right, Alice next to hers while Damien was on the other end. Nikki couldn't put her finger on it if it were a downside or upside that her twin sister was in the same class as them. Bonus from all that was Skylar's friends didn't have the class so there was no chattering from the group of girls.
Their Biology teacher, Miss Smith, a short, plump woman of late forties with light brown hair kept in a bun and hazel eyes, continued on with the lecture. She wore blue jeans and a white dress top with a white coat over top. The discussion was always the same, Nikki heard it all before. However, today was different; she was discussing the upcoming test. It wasn't long till Miss Smith handed out the review papers, three pages back to back long. Nikki couldn't help let out a groan at the size of the sheet but knew this was important to her grade.
Nikki couldn't help notice the slump in Skylar's shoulders, who sat in front of the four of them, as she looked over the papers. Panic truly set in to the girl and it was bound to get worse. Nikki knew that the girl was not doing well in the class and getting through the review would help with acing the test.
Forgetting about Skylar's troubles for the time being, Nikki turned her attention to the outside world. She didn't know how many times she had to scare herself to realize, looking anywhere but her work or focusing on something else was better. Outside the window, face pressed against the glass was a woman with light brown skin, three claws like scratches along her left arm, left cheek, right forearm and abdomen. Her outfit was of a light blue tube top with loops for her arms, however, the top was shredded and the sleeves hanging off her shoulders. What really caught Nikki's eyes was her right arm and side appeared to be made out of sand. Her long black hair was held back in a ponytail by two light blue bands.
Nikki jumped in her seat nearly toppling off the tall stool. The figures nails were running down the window, as if she were clawing her way in. Panic tore into her at the sight. This was not normal, this shouldn't be happening. Why wasn't anyone else seeing any of this? Nikki panicked mentally her eyes wide.
"Nikki, what is the matter with you?" Marius whispered to her causing her to jump even more scream.
The entire class stopped their work and stared over at her alarmed by the sudden scream. Even Miss Smith was taken aback by the sudden outburst.
"Miss DeWolf? Everything all right?" Miss Smith asked gently.
"Y-yeah…sorry," Nikki muttered resting her face in her one hand embarrassment taken over her. When Marius touched her shoulder to get her attention, Nikki merely shrugged it off shaking her head.
Concern filled Marius' features as he looked over at Alice for any possible answer. None of them had seen the teen this jumpy before. To say the least, it was concerning to all of them. Even Skylar turned around with a worried look in her eyes.
/
For the remainder of the day, it was as if Nikki didn't need to be there. Physically she was sitting in all her classes. Mentally on the other hand she was back in the dreams, sights of the figures plagued her mind half of the afternoon. Alice, Marius and Damien were constantly watching out for her, afraid that things could turn worse if not careful. Nikki didn't care if any of this would end up killing her with the amount of focusing she did. The only thing she did believe could happen in dreams was if a person died in their sleep, they die in life. During the afternoon classes, she was split from her friends again, only having one in each class.
End of the day couldn't come fast enough for Nikki, reaching her locker and opening up the door, she quickly rummaged through folders and notes taking what she needed for the evening. She just wanted out of that school as quickly as possible. The sights of the figures were enough to make her edgy and paranoid all classes. Her focus was far beyond that of her teacher's lessons, causing her to lose track of her assignments. In the back of her head she could hear her parents telling her she needed to get her marks up and achieve great grades. Yeah…no pressure at all.
Once everything was stashed into her bag and zipped up, she slammed her locker shut and placed the lock back on. Turning her head she glanced down the long stretch of hallway through the crowd with searching eyes. With no doubt of a lie, she was relieved not to see any random person that didn't belong stalk the hallways in a creepy way. She spotted her petit hooded friend ten lockers away cramming books into her satchel with no care. Nikki let out a soft chuckle at the carelessness. Alice's philosophy toward schoolwork and homework, if the teacher's really wanted to have it done they would do it in class.
Placing the backpack onto her shoulders, Nikki went to move down the hall unaware of the footsteps behind her. As if paranoia wasn't getting the better of her, she barely got two steps forward when a hand reached out and clapped on to her shoulder. Nikki was never one to scare; she was more of the one to take the person out. However today, she was caught off guard and whipped around ready to sock the person in the nose. To her surprise, she came face to face with Marius (well more like face to chest at first glance). A surprised yet amused look over came his features as he looked down at her.
"Marius, one of these days I am going to hit you!" she grinned letting down her guard.
"You will never hit me. Come on, Damien is getting Alice, we're heading straight for the graveyard."
"Oh you have read my mind, my dear."
"Yeah, and it's really morbid in there," he teased.
"Oh whatever dude."
Marius let out a laugh as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder escorting her toward Alice and Damien who seemed to be play fighting.
"Come on love birds, I want to get out of here now," teased Nikki wrapping her fingers around Marius' hand.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't call me love birds with him."
"Hey!"
As the four made their way out of the front doors, Skylar slowly made her way, without her entourage, toward Nikki and her friends. Damien was the first to notice the brightly dressed teenager coming their way.
"Can we help you with something?" Damien asked folding his arms over her chest.
"Where are your friends, go be with them," Marius sneered.
"Guys…still my sister here. Sky, what's going on?" Nikki asked as she squeezed Marius' hand. She was in no mood for any outbursts or attitudes. Even her 'I'm going to pretend you don't exist' moment disappeared.
"Are you going straight home?"
"No, we're heading to the graveyard for a bit. Need that…relaxing moment. If mom or dad asks, can you let them know I'll be a little late? Just tell them…" Nikki started. Their parents weren't big on Nikki going to the cemetery. It wasn't something for a young girl to be doing. Most of the time Nikki would lie or have Skylar lie for her.
"You're at Alice's?"
"You know it."
"Why do you insist on going into the cemetery? It's so creepy."
"I'm allowed to have my places, you have yours," Nikki stated.
"You know you can always come with us," offered Damien with a smirk. He knew the mere thought of graveyards sent chills down the preppy twins back.
"Good luck on that."
"When I get home we'll do something," Nikki promised.
Marius, Damien and Alice looked at the Goth twin with disbelief. The three knew that the twins had their differences and the 'darker' twin would normally never give the other the time of day. All three thoughts quickly went to: 'has she lost it?' 'Think she is running a fever?' Nikki and Skylar weren't oblivious to the speechless expressions.
"Sky is still grounded and it'll be good to have some sister time," Nikki explained.
"Told you, you worry," Damien said earning a smack upside the head.
"Just remember, mom wants you to make dinner tonight."
"Thanks for reminding me," Nikki groaned as she waved at her sister's retreating back.
"If you're cooking, we're coming over."
"No! Now come on, I need to have some down time with my friends."
It took roughly fifteen minutes from the school to the sacred grounds. Rows upon rows of tombstones lined the grounds, trees scattered around them, leaves falling to the ground with different colours. The graveyard was not just a flat ground; there were small hills here and there.
Sitting in a clearing in a circle of tombs and trees were the four friends with Nikki's notebook -much to her reluctance- in the middle of the group with her horrific pictures.
"Well, you did say that you were having nightmares again. I just didn't think they were getting that bad," Marius admitted as Nikki leaned against him.
"Believe me, half the time it gets worse. I doubt it has anything to do with falling asleep while watching horror movies, creepy pasta movies(1), or the old Disney Halloween movies(2) playing."
"Are you sure you don't want to talk to a specialist?"
"Hell no! I am comfortable with you guys, neither of you judge."
"Is there anything else you can recall from past nightmares or any familiarity that you can think of?"
"Well…this is where you could possibly think me crazy. It's close to resembling Disney characters. It's only been lately I've only heard the strangest of noises in my dreams," Nikki explained as she pointed to the three sketches. While it didn't appear to look too closely like the characters from the movies, the obvious changes made that clear. Looking closer at the three and in the three's mind took away the horror aspect and could make out the originals.
"You're right it does. I take it, Rajah, Esmeralda and the seven Dwarves?" guessed Alice.
"Yep. It is usually in the same areas or they'll be in their actual time periods."
"Have any of them said or done anything?" Damien asked.
"Rajah on more than one time has tried to attack me. I've heard the creepy laughter but I never know who it is from and the regular 'get out', 'you are not welcome' I'm just relieved I haven't had the luck of facing up against the Beast."
"Have you ever woken up screaming yet?"
"All seriousness? No, I simply wake up as if nothing particularly happened."
"Try writing what you remember down in the morning. Especially if it's on going."
"That'll be wise."
The small group of friends stayed in the cemetery for a little bit longer before returning to Nikki's house. She wasn't overly keen with the three coming for dinner, seeing as it added pressure on her. Catherine and Mike were currently in the living room sitting back watching TV; Skylar was in the dining room tending to her homework. Alice, Damien and Marius were sitting on the island half working on their own homework, half watching Nikki creating dinner.
Nikki kept her back to her friends and purposely ignored them knowing full well she had eyes on her. The sound of chopping was the only sound to fill the quiet kitchen, side from the scratching of pens on paper. While normally she didn't mind the audience, she felt the pressure steadily building inside.
"You three just HAD to sit right there didn't you?" Nikki asked turning her head slightly.
"Well we did want to see first hand the chef in the making create a fabulous dinner. As well as make sure you didn't poison anything," joked Marius.
"Oh you guys are so funny," Nikki grinned turning her head back to the food and placed them in the frying pan.
"So tell us Miss Dewolf, what exactly are you preparing for us this evening?" Damien asked as if interviewing her on a food show.
Nikki stopped her stirring; she dropped her shoulders and tipped her head back in exasperation. "You guys are going to be the death of me."
"Our viewers are really curious. Please enlighten us," Damien continued with a grin forming on his lips.
"Oh all right, I'll play along. I am creating a spaghetti dish, minus the sauce with a variety of chopped vegetables in a lightly oiled pan topped with oregano, pepper and a pinch of garlic. In another pan I have medium sausage currently cooking, ready to be chopped up into tiny bits to be added to the dish. After it'll be topped with a pesto sauce," Nikki explained.
"The smells alone are causing my mouth to water," Marius commented, sniffing the delicious aromas.
"Well you better enjoy it."
"Hopefully you didn't poison it while we weren't looking," joked Alice.
Nikki picked up a piece of end carrot ready to chuck it at her friend as she turned around. All the while she wished she could explain what she saw. She didn't know if it were a hallucination or her mind playing tricks on her. In place of her friends she came face to face with what she referred to as the twisted princesses. There was a strange ominous look in their eyes causing her blood to run cold. No words were spoken from any of them. Nikki quickly turned around with a slight gasp. Closing her eyes she shook her head willing the images to go away.
"What smells good in here?" Mike asked stepping into the kitchen from the living room. He saw his daughter turn away from her friends as quickly as she could. It was as if something spooked her when looking at them. She was hunched over the counter clutching the top tightly. A look of concern filled his features as he went over to the island and three confused looking friends sat.
"Nikki, what's the matter?" Mike asked gently knowing any sudden loud noises would set her off.
At first it didn't seem as if Nikki said anything; to their ears, she remained quiet. Unbeknownst to them was that Nikki was mumbling under her breath that seemed to be a typical outcome.
"It isn't real; it's just a figment of my imagination. It isn't real, it's just a figment of my imagination," Nikki continued to mumble under her breath for a good few minutes.
The silence worried her friends and father, truthfully, after years of dealing with Nikki's nightmares and hallucinations they learned to be patient with her.
Marius was the first to go over to her and gently place a hand on her shoulder. Her shoulders relaxed under his touch and her breathing went back to normal.
"Sorry, lack of sleep likes to play games with me," Nikki laughed shrugging off the small episode as she turned to face the others.
"We're here if you need to talk."
"Don't be silly. I'm fine."
Dinner was served fifteen minutes later after Skylar set the table in the dining room. No words were spoken from what happened to Nikki. In the past it would have been a typical thing for someone to bring up what occurred Nikki would automatically push the problem to the side while Catherine made a big to do over the matter and insisting on a therapy of some sort. Now, it just appeared that the incident was considered normal.
After dinner Nikki and her friends made their way to the den to watch a movie and work on their reviews as a group and actually study, while Skylar did the dishes. Marius held Nikki close to him with his arms around her protectively on one couch. Alice was curled up leaning on the arm of a chair while Damien sat on the floor in front of her. Their attention was on the TV, watching for what seemed the thousandth time that week, the remake of Halloween. Studying far from their minds as the horror movie took their attention.
"This is why I am always looking over my shoulder, making sure that nothing is hiding behind the door," Nikki scoffed as she watched the female character run screaming from the bathroom.
"Says the girl that doesn't scare easily."
"Okay, we shut up now about that," Nikki said leaning into Marius' embrace fully lying on the couch.
"Guys, leave her be," Marius simply stated.
Nikki grinned at the others over the protection she had with Marius. Alice just smirked lightly tapping Damien on the head. It was definitely going to be a good night.
After a few hours, Catherine stuck her head through the doorway to see the four with open books and reading the questions for the review. Alice started quizzing the other three after all the answers were filled in. No one noticed Catherine standing in the door way impressed with the dedication.
"You know I love you three dearly, and realize you must be getting ready for an upcoming test, but it's time to go. It's getting late."
"You are such a killjoy," Nikki replied slowly sitting up from her lying position on Marius.
Stretching limbs and rising to their feet with unsteady or sleeping legs from the furniture, the four stumbled around the room collecting papers and books, their eyes tired and weary from staring at the words for so long. Once things were good to go, Nikki led the way to the front door with the other three holding their bags in hand. Nikki never truly realized how much time really passed and sighed in relief of not having class tonight. Alice wrapped her arms around Nikki's neck pulling her close upon reaching the door.
"Hopefully sleep with go better for you."
"Thank you."
"We'll see you tomorrow," Damien said waving as he made his way toward the door.
"You are waiting for me loser," Alice called. "Love you girl, call if you need to talk."
"Will do."
Releasing her friend from the hug, Alice chased after Damien down the long drive yelling after him. Insaneness was a definite in the boy after being cooped up in the house for far too long. Nikki and Marius were never embarrassed by their friends.
"How did we manage to get crazy friends?" Nikki asked laughing tiredly.
"We're attracted to them," Marius answered gently taking Nikki's chin and lifting it up to meet his gaze. "And that goes for me too, I don't care if at two in the morning you need to talk, call."
"I will, I promise," Nikki vowed.
"Good," Marius leaned down and captured Nikki's lips in a soft kiss. "Night love."
"Night."
Bidding farewell to Marius, Nikki shut the door and locking it. She made her way to her room and crashed on to the bed staring longingly at the ceiling. Her friends were right, tonight would be better than other times. She just needed to clear her head.
A/N: All right, first chapter complete, yes I'm evil and left a cliff hanger of sorts. Just a little heads up with this chapter, I wanted to introduce the characters and what is going on around them. For the dinner creation; yes I have made this before and yes it is good, especially when you are out of tomato sauce and or not a fan of it.
1. it's more of the silly symphonies dancing skeleton ones from 1929. Not truly a nightmare inducing movie.
2. I don't own Creepy pasta movies, while not real can really mess with your head if you have an active imagination of sorts.