Woohoo! Chapter two! Yay! *does a little dance* Let's see what happens in this chapter. Hopefully some answers will be found. Stay tune for more.


The next day at school Melanie and Carla were still shaken from yesterday's fiasco. They unwittingly went to Creepie's house because of a misprint on Chris-Alice's party invitation. They had a horror movie experience: getting chased through the house and getting cocooned by a giant spider. Learning that Creepie was raised by bugs just added to the insanity they went through.

But this was also hard on Creepie. She never expected to come home and find those two in spiderwebs. She just went to Chris-Alice's party, not thinking about what would await her when she'd come home. How did this happen?

Creepie and her parents had a talk after that. She said that from now on no one opens the door when she's not home. It was something neither if them wanted to do nut it was for their own safety. Caroleena inquired if making Melanie and Carla keep their promise was a good idea. Creepie insisted that it was, and that she would have her other bug friends watching them. So now there were three people who knew Creepie's secret: Melanie, Carla, and Budge. Budge. She'd forgotten him. Creepie was so wrapped up in her brooding that she basically forgot about him. Should she tell him about Melanie and Carla? He'd understand. He'd be disappointed in the beginning but he would understand. He was such an easygoing guy.

Now, Melanie and Carla were in home room. And Creepie was seated in the back. Every second or so, Melanie and Carla would send each other quick texts about yesterday's horrors and their promise. They would take a sneak glance at Creepie. She looked as though their talk from yesterday never happened. Of course, she was mad on the inside. She wasn't going to exude that on the outside. The perks of being a stoic.

Melanie glanced down at the floor. She spotted a cockroach scuttle past her foot. She bit her lip to keep from screaming. It was obvious that Creepie told all her bug friends about them. They were sworn to keep her and Carla silent. Because they knew they were such chatterboxes. Now she and Carla wouldn't have much to talk to anymore. Or did they? They were still themselves. The fashionistas of the school. They would just have to be careful not to let Creepie's secret slip. It was that simple.

Carla looked up at the wall clock. Twenty minutes into class. It was as though the air itself had frozen. Time was going by too slowly. With her texting to Melanie even though she was right next to her was the only thing keeping her from losing control. But there was one thing that rattled in her mind. What happened to Creepie's real parents? Could they still be alive somewhere. Were they dead? Before all this, Carla imagined Creepie's parents to be freaky and outlandish, much like her. Now that she knew things it was hard not to think about it. But she wondered what Creepie had been wondering all her life. Did she wonder about her human parents? It didn't seem to bother her but that was because she didn't let it get to her.

While the class was bored with Dr. Pappas' lecture, Carla looked around the classroom and wondered if anyone else knew Creepie's secret. She focused on Budge and Chris-Alice. They must know. They hang out all the time. They're friends after all. But Creepie always appeared to have a closer bond with Budge than with Chris-Alice. There was so much to think about and no way to discuss it. Carla took out her phone from her desk and quickly texted Melanie. She wrote that they would discuss during lunch, to which the blond agreed.

Carla hid her phone again and just fumed. She wanted the bell to ring so she could get out of here. All of this tension was making it hard for her to think straight. She was going to need a spa day after this.

How long had it been now? Five minutes? Five years? Five millennia? It didn't matter. They were still going to carry this weight for the rest of their lives. And there was nothing they could do to get out of it. Once you're in, you never go back.

The bell rang. Finally! The whole class shuffled out of there in a rush. Creepie was the last to leave, except Carla and Melanie stayed behind. Once the goth was out of sight, Carla turned to Melanie and whispered, "At lunch hour." Melanie nodded as they headed out the door.


At lunchtime Melanie and Carla were still trepidatiously pondering about Creepie's secret. Throughout the day the two fashion divas spent the day keeping an eye on each other. The main reason was to see if any bugs were crawling around. They knew that the bugs were keeping watch on them on Creepie's behalf. Of course they were watching them. Melanie and Carla were dumb enough to ask themselves that over and over.

As they stood in the lunch line, Carla had her doubts. Melanie wasn't too bright about these things but she got there eventually. It seemed to Carla that she had to do all the thinking for her. Of course, being the queen diva meant that everything she decided was agreed by her cronies. She and Melanie had to stick together.

Once they got their lunch they searched the cafeteria for Creepie. They found her sitting in the back, alone. They headed off there, still shaken about being trapped in spiderwebs. Once they were standing before Creepie the tension between them deepened. Creepie looked at them as though she were expecting them the whole time. Carla and Melanie were unsure about doing this but they had to do this. The last time Melanie and Carla sat with Creepie was when she told them that story—her story—the story of her life. Looking back in that day made Carla wish she'd believe her.

Creepie calmly stirred her soup and took a mouthful. The blond and brunette wondered how she could be so calm after catching them in her home. Neither Melanie nor Carla broke the ice. It seemed as though they were waiting for Creepie to start the conversation first. But it seemed like the goth girl wasn't interested in talking much less talking about yesterday. But this was unavoidable; there was no way to forget it. It had to be done.

"So, uh..." Carla uttered, perching on her elbow.

"Yeah?" Creepie answered wryly.

"That was, uh..." Melanie jumped in, eyes darting back and forth.

"Uh-huh." Carla said, raising an eyebrow.

"Right." Creepie looked around, hoping no one was watching. Luckily, nobody was paying attention.

Creepie took another spoonful of her soup and waited for the next question. Melanie and Carla were still scarred by the whole ordeal; they could still see the spider's eyes staring at them with hunger. Carla and Melanie gave each other soulful looks. They had to ask her, but it felt as though their voices were being silenced. As though an invisible force was stopping them from speaking. It was the fear that discouraged them. They had to get over their trauma and just say it.

Come on, just say it. Carla shut her eyes, fighting with herself. All she had to do was say it. Opening her eyes, she took a deep breath and let herself forget yesterday.

"So, Creepie," said Carla. This was progress. Now she only had to say the rest. "You...we're raised by bugs."

"I believe you two saw that for yourselves." Creepie replied, sharply.

"Right," said Carla, scratching the back of her neck. "Anyways, how did you avoid getting noticed? I mean, anyone would've caught on."

"We manage." Creepie said, not meeting her eyes. She stirred her soup absentmindedly. "When someone comes over we keep this human disguise so no one notices. Though I'm pretty sure one of these days they'll catch on and my secret will be found out."

"Yeah I know." Carla said.

"So, um, what about, you know, food and stuff?" Melanie asked. "How do you stay in that big mansion and pay the bills?"

"Yeah the bills." Carla interjected. "What about that?"

"Well, okay," said Creepie. "First, for food, we gave a vast vegetable garden in the backyard and two apple trees. I'm the one who goes out for grocery shopping." She counted on her fingers to list out what she did and what they had. "We keep a few canned goods in the basement. My family's found a way to preserve food to make it last longer."

"And the bills?" Carla pressed.

"Oh yeah, about that." Creepie said. "We actually have a generator that powers my house. So no need to do anything to keep our lights on."

There was a thundering silence after that. Somehow Carla wished she and Melanie could've stayed trapped in their spiderweb.

This next question was the hard part.

"So...do you ever wonder about...?" Carla trailed off.

"My real parents?"

"Yeah."

Melanie nodded.

"Yeah." Creepie replied. "All the time."

"So...do you...have you ever...?"

"Tried to find out?" Creepie finished for her, which seemed like she was doing this whole time. "Well, yes and no. I want to but without any support or any motivation I just..." Creepie shrugged. "I just don't know who'd help me with this."

"Who else knows about your secret?" Carla inquired.

"Budge is the only one who knows." Creepie answered. "And Chris-Alice doesn't know." She added when she saw Carla's expression. "But...I did tell her the truth, but she thought I was crazy."

"Wow." said Melanie.

"It's okay; I don't blame her." Creepie cocked her head, indicating that they should look over to what she was looking. Melanie and Carla looked over and, about two tables over, saw the goth kids: Raven; Misery Whispers; Morpheus. "I brought them over to my house once. They wanted to meet The Hissing Roaches. A goth band...made up of entirely roaches."

Carla winced.

"Yeah, well, they freaked out when they saw that The Hissing Roaches were literally roaches." She remembered the heartbreak when they ran out of her house. She could still see it in her head.

Melanie looked over at Carla. They had something they had to tell Creepie but they don't know whether she'd be excited or in disbelief.

"Listen," said Carla. "I know we've never gotten along but...we feel like...we should..."

"We're going to help you find out about your real parents." Melanie said.

Just as expected, Creepie gawked at them like they had three eyes.

"You...will?" It was hard to get the words. Creepie expected this from Budge but not from these two.

"Yeah." said Carla. "Today, after school. At the library."

Creepie still didn't know of they were being sincere or manipulative. After yesterday, she didn't feel like she could trust them, but then again she didn't trust them too well beforehand. But this would also give her answer to the fourteen year old mystery she's been trying to figure out. She had to take them up on their offer. So she accepted.

"Okay."


Alright, so a lot of you must be wondering. Why use Carla and Melanie? Well, because I think they're capable of being more than just fashionistas, and besides, I liked how Carla and Creepie teamed up in "Wanna Bee." ^_^ That was nice.