Thanks for the reviews and encouraging start to this story. Right now I want to keep a balance in between Kiera and Gwen so I'm thinking that I will keep them laced together, trying not to tilt towards one or the other. I haven't finished my other story that I'm working on, I just wanted to get this one started.

So here's the second chapter, I hope you enjoy and Review!

Keegan Eavan (Lace)


Gwen groaned as she walked back home from school. Kiera had ballet practice and since Gwen had dropped out a few years ago, she walked home by herself. Besides, she still had her lessons with her aunt and then homework on top of that. Didn't teachers know that you weren't supposed to have homework on the first day of school? Apparently not. She dragged her feet for as long as possible walking home. She didn't really want to go and practice some more, she just didn't care and dreamed about being able to play hooky with some of her friends, going to the mall and walking around like normal people do. She sighed to herself and shook her head. Who was she kidding? She was never going to be normal, her family was never going to be normal. It wasn't that it was bad to not be, but sometimes she wished with her whole heart that she could tell someone why she couldn't do this or that. Kiera seemed to be all right with keeping everything secret, but Gwen had a hard time keeping her mouth shut and on more than one occasion Kiera had to shut it for her.

"Have a good first day?" Lydia asked when she saw her youngest walk through the door. Gwen just grumbled at her and walked up the stairs. "I'll take that as a no." Lydia said and shook her head.

"I hate school Mom, it sucks." Gwen called from the stairs.

"Well you still have to go and you're aunt is waiting for you so hurry up and get dressed." Lydia called back up. Sometimes Gwen could be so difficult she felt like pulling her hair out. Bella did say that Gwen was acting like Beetlejuice did when he was her age, but somehow she thought that Gwen would be even more difficult than that. She didn't know why she thought that, but she did. Girls were always more complicated than boys were.

Gwen shrugged out of her school uniform and into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt before she sat down at her vanity mirror. She sighed and looked at herself, sticking her tongue out at her reflection. She hadn't had time to put on makeup this morning so her pale face was plain and her deep blue eyes looked sleepy. She wished she could take a nap, but it wasn't meant to be. Slowly her own reflection started to fade away and she began to see another world. Even after so long she still really wasn't sure what she should call it, underworld, afterworld, she just went there. She saw her aunt's old house that she had kept, deep in the woods that reminded her of some creepy fairytale house that she'd read about. She slowly put her hand through the glass and then the rest of herself, landing softly on her feet on the other side.

She looked at the small cottage and grimaced. At first she had loved the idea of coming into the other world to practice her powers, her parents thought that it was safer, no one would be able to tell that she was practicing and she was able to see a place that everyone else didn't get to see for over a hundred years after they died. She liked the fact that she was privileged enough to come to a place not even her perfect sister could see, but now it was just a nuisance and she'd rather be in her room on the phone with Melissa talking about Bobby, who looked so hot in his uniform and even hotter in his regular clothes. She walked up to the cottage and through the door where her aunt was waiting for her in the small living room.

"How was school Gwenny?" Bella asked, smiling at her young niece.

"School is school Aunt Bella. It never changes." She said and shrugged. "What are we going to do today?" She asked and pulled one of the wooden chairs away from the table, sitting on it backwards so she could rest her chin on the back of the chair.

"We'll be practicing trying to get you in the air, since it still seems to be alluding you." Bella said and cleared a large space in the room with just a glance.

"Great, something I haven't been able to do for the past seven years. Do you think I'll be able to do it today just because?" Gwen asked sarcastically.

"Don't get smart young lady. You know just as well as I do that this is one of the most important things a ghost can do." Bella said her tone strict as she narrowed her eyes at her niece. Gwen just rolled her eyes and got up from the chair to stand in the middle of the empty space. She'd always been able to float just a little bit above the ground. For the most part it was only when she was angry and she'd never gotten higher than a foot off of the ground, unless of course, she was angry then she shot straight up. "Now, clear your mind and feel the weight drop away from you." Bella said. She'd been repeating the same line for so long she felt like she could say it in a hundred different languages by now.

"Yeah, yeah I know the drill." Gwen said and closed her eyes. She tried to relax and let everything slip away from her to feel weightless, but something would always creep back in and make her drop back down to the ground. Bella could feel the beginnings of a headache start to form and she rubbed the side of her head.

"Again." She called out and knew that this afternoon was going to be a long one.

Kiera came home still dressed in her ballet leotard under a pair of workout pants and a large tee shirt. She just wanted to come home and take a shower before she started her homework. She was unfortunate enough to get the meanest math teacher who loved to pile on homework, even on the first day of school.

"Kier that you?" Her mother called when she walked through the door.

"Yeah Mom, I just got home." She called back. "I'm going upstairs to take a shower and then I'll start on my homework." She said and started to walk up the stairs.

"Wait a minute." She called and walked into the living room from the kitchen. Kiera paused on the steps of the stairs and waited.

"Yeah?"

"Tristan is upstairs waiting for you. He said that you had a study date this afternoon. Kiera wanted to curl up and cry. She knew she forgot something and now she'd have to deal with Tristan and try to get him to understand pre calculus as well as get her homework done. She sighed and gave a little smile to her mother.

"Thanks Mom." She said and finished walking up the stairs.

Tristan was looking around Kiera's room, it hadn't changed since he'd known her when they were just kids. The dark color on her walls was the same as well as all the creepy photographs that she had on the walls. Some of which she had taken herself and others her mother and aunt had. She had one small photograph of her parents wedding day and a family portrait on her desk. He looked around and quietly opened up Kiera's underwear drawer and shuffled around it. He couldn't help himself even though he felt guilty about doing it. He heard footsteps coming up and quickly closed the door, jumping onto her bed with his books opened up.

Kiera walked into her room to see Tristan on her bed like he always was when he came over. They'd been friends for so long that it was almost natural to see him there.

"Hey, did you have to wait long?" Kiera asked.

"Nah, I just got here a little bit ago." He said and smiled. "I'm glad your dad wasn't home yet cause he scares me every time I come here and wait for you." Kiera just laughed at him and shook her head. Her father couldn't stand it when boys came over for either her or her sister. It didn't matter if Tristan was one of her best friends, he was a guy and therefore her father hated him.

"He's always like that Tris, you know that." She said. "I just got home so do you mind if I take a quick shower before we start to study?" She asked. He shook his head and smiled at her. She'd always been comfortable around Tristan, ever since they were little she treated him like he was her brother which made his stomach churn, but brother was better than nothing he supposed and watched her grab some clothes before walking back out of the door. While he waited for her to return to laid down on her bed, smelling her pillows and looking up at the ceiling. She was always so preoccupied that she never even once thought about him as something other than a friend and he knew it. He had tried to figure out some way to tell her that he was in love with her, but everything he had tried had failed miserably. She was either oblivious to it or downright ignored it and he didn't know if it was on purpose or if she just didn't realize, but in just a few months Kiera would be sixteen and he would have his driver's license. He had to figure out how to make her see that they could be more than just friends without destroying the friendship that they did have.

Beetlejuice walked in the door at the same time that Gwen and Bella walked through came through the mirror. Gwen rolling her eyes at her aunt and Bella wanting to pull her hair out.

"I said I was sorry Aunt Bella. I didn't know that I would shoot up so high." Gwen said and almost ran into her father. "Hi Daddy." She said a wide smile on her face. Beetlejuice smiled at his daughter and then looked at his sister who looked furious.

"Yes you did Gwen, you always shoot up when you get angry and I'm getting tired of having to repair my ceiling when you crash into it." She said and put her hands on her hips. "Hi B." She muttered when she saw her brother.

"Did I miss something?" He asked looking from his sister to his daughter.

"Nah, I just got a little testy and shot through Aunt Bella's roof again. You really should make a new one Aunt Bella." Gwen said turning to look at her aunt. Bella's eyes widened as she looked at her niece.

"Why exactly would I do that Gwen? Every time we try to get you to levitate you get angry and shoot up instead of controlling your emotions that was the lesson from day one. If I were to reinforce my roof then you'd just become even more angry because you'd thump your head against something harder." She said. Gwen rolled her eyes again and walked into the kitchen to see what was for dinner. Bella shook her head and looked at her brother who was smiling at her.

"It isn't funny B. I've been trying to teach her the same things over and over again and she just butts heads with me. I'm getting tired of repeating myself to her every time." She said.

"I know Bell, but she's just a kid and she's got our temper. She'll figure it out sooner or later." He said and shrugged. Bella just shook her head again and looked towards the kitchen where her niece disappeared to.

"I don't know B. Tell Lyds I said hi, but I want to go home and take a long, hot bath." She said. Beetlejuice nodded and watched his sister disappear back to her real world home. Beetlejuice walked into the kitchen where Lydia was leaning against the counter while Gwen was sitting on it and complaining.

"It's just not fair that Aunt Bella makes me do the same things over and over. Can't you tell her to teach me something new?" Gwen asked.

"You've got to learn to master the basics first Babydoll." Lydia told her disgruntled daughter. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was the truth. "You know a little about a lot of things, but you have yet to master any of them and are still a little shaky. One thing that is vitally important is to learn how to control your emotions. By doing that you'll be able to see how everything else begins to unfold."

"What about the story that you told me about when Kier was kidnaped and you and dad had that big fight with the other guy? Weren't you angry then?" Gwen asked. She'd heard the story tons of times from Kiera about when they were little and her parents had turned into lions and fought.

"Anger is one of the most powerful emotions you can ever have. When you are angry, you are dangerous and sometimes that's what you need to be. Most of the time it isn't and that's what you're having problems with."

"Your Mom's right Gwenny. We can't go around all day long doin' that or the whole world would explode." He said and smiled. His daughter didn't smile back and just hopped off the counter to look at her parents.

"Where's Kier?" She asked looking around.

"She and Tristan are up in her room studying." Lydia said.

"What?" Beetlejuice said and had to force himself to stay calm when he saw Gwen's white eyebrow raise up.

"Don't worry Beej, Tristan is harmless." Lydia said.

"He's a boy and boys are not allowed in my daughter's rooms." He said through clenched teeth.

"Controlling temper, yeah good one Dad." Gwen said and walked out of the kitchen a smile on her face.

"Don't start young lady." He said and turned to look at Lydia who was smiling at him.

"You'll have to deal with it sooner or later and so far you've been lucky, but I don't think you've got anything to worry about with Tristan. They're just friends."