*Re-written
This is probably (still) a terrible chapter. I didn't have much inspiration and I have yet to board the legendary Train of Thought, so if this goes nowhere, blame the guy who told me which platform the train departs from. (How am I supposed to find platform 9 ¾?!)
Disclaimer: The authors own the 39 Clues. I am not one of the authors. I am a fan. This is fan fiction. Therefore I do not own the 39 Clues (or any other products mentioned, no matter how much I want to…. I do however, own Chad, Chestnut, Xavier and the nurse)
Previously:
Hamilton was sure he saw Sinead frown slightly when he said that. He figured it was just wishful thinking.
I swear he said my name. Probably just wishful thinking—wait! Why would I wish the dolt had said my name?!… Sinead thought.
"Right, that's the Holts down. Who's next?" Amy inquired.
"Natalie and I will go next, then," Ian spoke up, and began recalling the events from back in London.
{*Flashback*}
"Chad! I'm open!" Ian yelled across the polo field. Thirty seconds of the game remained and he was perfectly positioned to take a shot. The score was currently tied at 5-5 but he strongly believed he could take the winning shot.
He hit the ball and watched as it sailed through the posts to score the last goal. The team and the spectators cheered as he dismounted Chestnut, his favourite mare.
"Ian, we must go shopping. Now!" Natalie demanded, as she made her way over to her brother.
"Why, Natalie? We went just yesterday."
"I just found out that Chanel has released a new perfume!"
Another? Ian thought, rolling his eyes.
"Fine. We can go shopping." He gave in easily. He was tired and knew that if he said "no," Natalie would whine all day and he would not get any rest.
Ian handed the horse's reins to the stable-hand, Xavier. He gave Ian a sympathetic look as Natalie started complaining about how the perfume would be sold out if they were any slower.
Suddenly, Natalie began running into the limo, dragging Ian behind her. How does she run in those heels? I struggle to run in my own shoes, and they have flat soles! He thought as he fell into the seat next to Natalie. The radio turned on to some current Top Forty station. They call this racket music? He thought to himself just as the song ended.
The next song to play, Ian knew. It was "Jet Lag" by Simple Plan. The song always reminded him of Amy and how she was on the other side of the world to him. The five hour time distance was terrible; they couldn't Skype or call each other because of it. Not that Ian minded. Amy only thought of him as a friend, probably less than a friend.
Ian was just getting into the song when-
"Bickerduff! I demand you change the station. Put on something classical. Or One Direction!"
"As you wish, Miss Kabra," came Bickerduff's exasperated reply
Just then, Ian's phone rang to the chorus of "Just the Girl" by The Click Five. He had set that song as Amy's ringtone. Natalie gave him a perplexed look as he answered the phone.
"Yes, Love? You want something?" I said
"O-one, s-stop calling me l-love" came Amy's adorable stutter. "Two, N-ned and Ted a-are out of th-the h-hospital. The r-reunion has been moved f-forward a w-week."
"Thank you for telling me. Are you sending over a Madrigal plane?"
"Y-yes. It sh-should be ready t-to pick y-you up in a-an h-hour. W-we're using the l-latest super s-speed m-model."
"Sure thing, love. See you later."
I hung up the phone and turned to Natalie. She was not going to be too pleased with this.
"Natalie, we can't go shopping anymore. Reunion moved forward. That reminds me - Bickerduff! Change of plans. Take us to our private airport."
"Ian! That's not fair!" Natalie whined.
"You can get the perfume in America."
"Fine." Natalie crossed her arms and slouched, before remembering that Kabras never slouch, and sitting up straight again.
{Present Day}
"If I wasn't your sister, and a Lucian, I would have believed that lie, Ian. I never asked to go shopping that day, and it was a Thursday. You play polo on Saturdays." A mischievous look came across her. Her eyes sparkled the way they did only when she had great blackmail.
"What was he really doing then?" probed Madison.
"Yeah. You need to tell us," Reagan said to support her sister.
"You want to know? Okay. Well…" Ian's face paled at this point.
"He was in his room, going through his wardrobe looking for something 'casual,' as he called it, muttering something about a 'Rosenbloom idiot' and how he's 'worse than the Tolliver fellow.' He then started seething about Isabel, and how she 'ruined his chance,' or something like that." Ian now looked like he was going to be sick.
"Then he was standing in front of the mirror practising what he was going to say to Amy," she continued. "And when his phone rang, and he heard Amy's ringtone, he almost dropped the phone! He was jumping around the room trying to keep it off the ground and catch it!" Everyone erupted into a fit of laughter.
"Did not!" Ian said defensively.
"I might have exaggerated that last part slightly, but, you were grinning like an idiot until the plane arrived - an hour later. I'm glad we have the new super speed model in use, or I would've had to put up with your stupid grin for hours."
The others started giggling again and Amy blushed a deep shade of crimson and bit her lip nervously. Dan was going to tease her to no end about this.
"Well, I spent the day at my performance with my fans. I don't think I need to tell you about that so, Ned and Ted. Anything happen at the hospital?" Jonah asked, trying to avoid a sibling fight. Lucians were so unpredictable; he wouldn't have been surprised if they both had machine guns, grenades and poisons with them at all times.
"Hmm. Let's see…" Ted started.
{*Flashback*}
The light was unbearable. All Ted could see for two years was black. He had hated it at first, then learned to love it, I was so used to it, and now, the darkness his eyes were so used to was gone. Replaced by light, colors and real images that he hadn't just made up himself.
He opened his eyes wider. The surroundings were blurry, probably because his eyes were still weary, but he could still make out a familiar face. He hadn't changed much since Ted last saw him. His twin brother. His other half. Ned.
"Ted!" he exclaimed, clearly overjoyed at the fact that his brother was awake and his eyes were open. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three and your thumb," Ted replied, squinting slightly as he tried focusing his eyes.
"Correct! I knew it would work! The surgery was a success!" he hollered, almost as loud as a Holt. Ted could have sworn he heard the man seven rooms down telling him to shut up.
"Well, this spoils my surprise for you," said the nurse, walking into the room. "Try not to make your brother strain his eyes too much, they haven't been used for so long. I guess everything is blurry. Am I right, Ted?"
"Yeah. I can't see all that well, but I can make out the objects close to me. I will most likely be near-sighted for a while, so I suppose I have to wear glasses or contacts now?" he asked.
"One step ahead of me again I see. And yes, you will," the nurse stated, slightly annoyed that the boys kept jumping the gun, and she couldn't tell them herself.
"What you don't know, Mr. Starling," she began, breaking his train of thought, "is that tomorrow you get to go home. We just need to run a few tests, and get you a pair of prescription contacts, and you should be fine."
Ted supressed his grin; he didn't want to light up like the Fourth of July in front of a stranger. Everything would be back to normal. He could draw blueprints, play games, watch videos, and be normal for his last years as a teenager! Nothing was holding him back anymore.
{*Flashback*}
Ned Starling had woken up to bright lights and the smell of disinfectant. The hospital. He rubbed his temples to soothe the headache he experienced every morning. Then he realized… he didn't have a headache. The surgery worked!
He hopped out of bed and started jumping around the room yelling things like "Woo hoo!", "No more headaches!" and "I'm free!" The person on the hospital bed on the other side of the room stirred, and he immediately stopped yelling, already feeling guilty for waking them when they needed rest.
Then he saw the person. It was his twin brother. His other half. Ted. Ned sat down in the chair next to his bed, and waited patiently for him to wake up. After another half hour he woke up and Ned resumed jumping for joy.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" he quizzed his twin.
"Three and your thumb," Ted replied, squinting slightly. Seems he still had some problems with his sight.
"Correct! I knew it would work! The surgery was a success!" Mostly, he thought to himself. Ted's vision would never be the same.
The nurse walked in when she heard their conversation. After telling the two boys they could leave the next day, she left to take care of another patient.
"Ted?" Ned asked cautiously. "What was it like, being blind?"
"It was strange at first. I would open my eyes every morning, thinking I would see the light filtering into the room. When all I saw was darkness, I would open my eyes wide, thinking they were just closed. Then I would remember the explosion." Ted was beginning to sniffle now.
I should never have asked.
"It's okay, Ted. You can stop now."
"No. You wanted to know, and so I'll tell you. It was scary in a way. The darkness. Not knowing my surroundings. Then my others senses became more alert to small things. I could imagine my surrounding vividly. It was almost like I could see them. Ned? What were your headaches like? And don't you dare tell me it was like pain in your head."
Ned honestly wasn't too sure how to respond. "Well… sometimes they were dull but throbbing. Like someone was repeatedly hitting my head with a book. Not a heavy one and not very forceful hits.
"Other times, it felt like someone was standing next to me, with a hammer. Striking me at full force, trying to crack open my skull, but always hitting a different spot. Several times I felt like letting out some of my blood, to relieve the pressure. I never did. Instead I took my medication and hoped it would all end soon."
"Oh, Ned. I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. And besides, you were injured, too."
{Present Day}
"He's right, Ted. It wasn't your fault. It was mine…" Hamilton blinked back the tears starting to form, because Holts never cry. "And I know you could never forgive me for it, but I am still truly sorry." He sniffed and blinked back more tears.
"We- we forgive you, Hamilton. We all did stupid things during the Clue hunt - especially me. I didn't believe Amy and Dan when they warned us. I'm to blame," said a timid voice. Sinead.
She cautiously walked towards Hamilton and gave him a hug, to comfort him. To remind him that he was forgiven and that it was in the past.
Fiske could tell the kids were getting suspicious. They were starting to believe Dan but he didn't have enough proof yet. He needed to tell them before they found out themselves, or it could end in disaster. If they tried using their powers - assuming the others had them, as well as Dan - Fiske did not want to stick around to see the results.
But how could Dan have powers? The formula was well hidden, with plenty of security. No one else knew of its existence… right? But they were Cahills: wild and unpredictable. Fiske would have to monitor them for a while. They couldn't suspect anything. They weren't ready yet.
A/N: Thankyou to my friend from school, Brianna, for reviewing, and the people who favourited and followed my story. It means so much to me.
Random Questions:
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2: Book you most want to be turned into a movie (39 Clues! And any other books I LOVE that haven't been made into movies)
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Until the next chapter,
Nikki