A/N: Hi, there! This is a fanfic taking place after the Hollow Boy, so PLEASE don't read further if you haven't finished the book. I can't be held responsible for any spoilers that you read.
So basically... THB... oh my Gods. If I don't write fanfic for it I'm going to explode, so here it is! I'll be updating this irregularly for now, and I will be regularly posting chapters only once I finish my previous and ongoing fanfic, the Other Place. If you like this, I hope you'll read that! :D Soo please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Screaming Staircase, the Whispering Skull, the Hollow Boy, and everything else mentioned in the books, no matter how much I wish I did.
PROLOGUE- Times Have Changed
Anthony Lockwood did not want to get up.
Yes, he knew it was 10 am.
Yes, he knew that George and Holly would be waiting impatiently for his arrival, to brief him on the heaps of brand-new cases they'd gotten.
Yes, he knew that he'd had to do a day's worth of sorting out of interview folders, cases and files to complete.
The exact reasons why he did not want to push himself out of bed.
Oh, not to mention he was dealing with emotional relapse, grief and disbelief.
Also shock, anger and betrayal.
Betrayal being the primal emotion here.
He stuck his arm out to grasp the newspaper on his bedside table that had been there for three days now, and read its headlines just to make sure this wasn't all a bad dream.
Yeah, headlines.
Page one, in big Times New Roman, screaming sick irony in his face. The place he'd wanted his team members to achieve, except not this way.
She had left them for Fittes.
Even worse, for Kipps.
And her blossoming Talent had earned her the center of attention.
It showed a black-and-white photograph of her doing a fancy rapier move on one of the Fittes dummies- a rapier move HE'D taught to her- with determination and enthusiasm written all over on her face, embedded in her eyes.
And the jeering caption plastered under it, which leered at him:-
"LUCY CARLYLE, AGE 15, ONE OF THE NEWEST FITTES EMPLOYEES, HAS SHOWN REMARKABLE APTITUDE IN ALL HER FIELDS.
"For full information on this remarkably skilled 'Lording Listener' who has Talent like never seen since Marissa Fittes: Page 3"
In a rage, he hurled the paper across the room, where it collided with the wall with a meek shwack and dropped to the floor.
The main emotions he felt were rage, betrayal, grief, guilt and that overwhelming sense of missing her. It had been one month since she'd left, but the pain was still fresh and new, everlasting, haunting him every waking moment. That one month had been all she needed to rise to the top.
If they met again, he knew he would probably hug her, trying not to cry, then proceed to yell ferociously and attempt to strangle her.
Because Lucy Carlyle.
...But little did he know that in fact, she wasn't doing so well.
Anthony Lockwood quickly got ready for the day- God knows how many clients they had now- washed his face and ran a comb through his hair. He walked down to the breakfast area, and was instantly greeted with the heavenly smell of pancakes; the familiar sound of the clink of china. It was considerably silent- it was always silent before he arrived, and aroused everyone to talking.
The full image of the dining room came into view, and Lockwood soaked in the liveliness and cheer of the area. Golden sunlight streamed through the open windows and danced on the floor. The Thinking Cloth, as haggard and battered as ever, was crushed under plates and glasses of pancakes, maple syrup, waffles, and coffee. Everything sparkled, reflecting fractals of gold light, looking ever so polished and vibrant. The knot in his stomach that he'd had since he woke up eased slightly, and he relaxed as he walked over to the table.
"Oh, good morning, Anthony!" Holly said cheerfully, instantly switching from making pancakes to pouring him coffee.
"Hi, Lockwood," George grunted in an acknowledgement of his presence.
"Morning, Holly, George," Lockwood said, faking another megawatt grin, putting on another show of confidence, when in fact he was feeling rather down.
He hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that Holly called him Anthony. It had started one and a half weeks ago, when she'd accidentally called him by his first name and immediately apologized. He had told her it was alright, so ever since then she'd always called him Anthony.
He was alright with it now, but being called the name still felt rather bittersweet- especially due to the fact that Anthony was the name his sister and parents called him most of the time, and his sister reminded him of Lu-
-no, think of something else. Think of something else.
"You've got even more cases," Holly said, walking over with the casebook. "A lot of them are tiny, so you just have to send them letters helping them out with the problem. There are some tricky ones, too, that need solving at once. I'm afraid both of you are out on separate cases tonight. There's a 'strange, bright white figure' in somebody's house- sounds like a Spectre to me..." she rambled on, Lockwood only half-listening. He sighed internally, thinking, Just fourteen more hours until I can sleep again. He still felt so bloody tired. All he wanted to do was sleep- he forgot about all his problems and sorrows when asleep, and that's why those hours were so precious to him now. Twice, he'd tried to take the day off by hibernating, and both times George and Holly had come up and dragged him out. He didn't want to give off the vibes that he was still hung over everything that happened. No, this was Lockwood & Co., the agency that was new, efficient, young and prosperous. They didn't dwell on the past.
But that didn't mean he couldn't miss her.
She probably didn't even miss him.
No, she did. She left for their own good, not hers. She left because she didn't want to hurt them-
-SO WHY DID SHE JOIN FITTES? One way or another, her Talent would hurt people there as well!
The sane part of Lockwood's head shut this argument down, but there was a lingering feeling of disbelief at her betrayal, and miserable anger that just made him want to forget everything.
Oh, but she DID miss them. She missed them so much, that four times she'd thought about going back, and those four times she'd reminded herself why she'd left. But she knew that no matter which agency she went to, Lockwood and Co. would always remain closest to her heart.
And that was the most shattering feeling of all.
A/N: The satisfaction of writing a sequel to THB is so overwhelming
And also, please don't hate on Holly because she calls him Anthony. Lockwood himself said that he'd 'become less formal because of Lucy herself' and all that. I actually quite like Holly, and I'm pretty sad that she and Lucy didn't really get along well.
Anyway, look for very random updates on this until I finish my other fanfiction. Hope you liked it!
-Artemis