Love Emulsion

Chapter Three

Too bad last night's chicken enchiladas didn't last long. No yummy left overs tonight. With a sigh and pout, she continued to tap away at her computer keyboard. Even if her stomach was rumbling and rolling, she still had work to do! Besides, she was almost finished with her latest chapter; food could wait another few seconds. Of course she would have to wait about ten minutes for the oven to actually cook the frozen pizza but that didn't mean snacks were off limits. If she wasn't mistaken, there were some blueberry muffins sitting on the counter.

She felt the minutes tick away as her fingers danced across the keys. Surely her editor would be pleased with this chapter! She'd been working her buns off for days now. Ah well, it was all fun anyway. Who knew she would get her dream job and get paid a significant amount while doing it? How lucky could one gal get?

At least she should feel lucky. Why didn't she?

While she continued to type, the sounds of the television in the living room echoed its way into the back master bedroom. She and Heather used the biggest room in the apartment as a computer/work room, having the biggest TV set in the front area. After all, the two of them only needed one room, since they would never dream of staying apart. At least not yet anyway. Things could very well change if things kept up the way they were going.

Rye's index finger moved down the board until it hit the period key. Ending her sentence for her most recent chapter, she glanced upward looking over her work one last time before saving her document. After saving it, twice just to be sure, she placed both hands on the desk and proceeded to push her office chair away from the computer. With enough distance now she pushed her body out of the black chair and stood upward.

Her back ached, popped and snapped as she stretched for a second or two. Time to stick that pizza in the oven for herself and Hea! No doubt her little sister would be hungry by the time she got home from work. Fridays were always a relief for her that meant Heather would be home for the next two days! No school, work or babysitting! Just her and her sister.

The weekdays took way to look long to pass by. For eight hours a day she was all by herself. Well, she did have Bug but it wasn't like the small Pomeranian was going to crack jokes or gossip with her the way her sister did. Sure, she was a writer but did that mean she had to be alone all the time? She was making good money at what she did so why couldn't she enjoy herself?

She needed someone, anyone to talk to her throughout the day. By the time Heather got home she was always so tired! Sometimes she would even have to leave at really early hours in the morning in order to prepare for the day at school. Not to mention her trips to Office Max that left her completely left out. It left her out, left her alone.

And fuck, she hated being alone.

She had her dream job, dream apartment with her best friend and she still had room to complain? What kind of selfish bitch did that make her? She should be so grateful for every little thing she had and here she was, feeling sorry for herself. Being alone never killed anyone so why did she hate it so much? It was just like being in the dark. How many dreams had she had when she was alone, in the dark, crying out for someone to answer?

Too many times.

Heather had the job she'd always wanted so how could she ruin her sister's dreams by saying she was scared of being alone? If she did that, she wasn't being the older sister she was supposed to be. She was being a brat. Nothing was hurting her physically so the least she could do was 'woman up' and deal with it like an adult.

Shaking all of her mental rambles out of her mind, Rye stepped out of the computer room and walked down the quiet hallway. Sure the sound of afternoon talk shows vibrated her eardrum but it wasn't the same as having someone there to talk to. Ah well, she should be used to this by now! After all, the school year started months ago. Hea had been working for at least three months!

After reaching the end of the hall, she turned to the right and entered the small kitchen. Time to get out that pizza and cook it, Heather would be home any minute now. The writer hummed to herself as she stepped toward the freezer and popped it open. There in plain view was the sister's future meal. She reached it, grabbed it and pulled out the frozen food. Once secure in hand she shut the freezer door and took two or three steps toward the oven.

Isn't it like four hundred degrees or something?

Her right brow lifted; whatever she wasn't gonna preheat the oven anyway. One grunt and roll of the eyes later, she tore open the plastic around the pizza and placed the frozen disc onto the prepared baking sheet. Once it was nestled on the tin foil wrapped sheet, she bent over and threw open the oven door. She slipped the pizza in and slammed it shut. Rye turned her attention to the dial on the stove and set the proper settings before whirling around on her heel and stepped half way out of the tiny kitchen.

Before she could leave the area she stopped at the cross 'road' between the kitchen, hallway and living room entrance. There a blonde puff of fur stood in her way. She felt a chuckle crawl up the back of her throat as she watched Bug, fresh from her nap, standing in front of her. She seemed like she was still half asleep but her ears were fully erect and her whiskers pointed forward as if she were alert or something.

"Hey Bug." She said, the ends of her lips curling into a smile. "Hea will be home soon, are you waiting for her?"

The dog's almond shaped eyes blinked several times before moving away from her. What was that about? Rye looked further to see Bug's legs stiff and tense. Her tail, which usually curled on to her back, was hanging low. Was she feeling bad or something?

"Are you okay?" She tilted her head.

No response.

Ugh, only if she could talk! Things would be so much easier, not only did that mean less visits to the vet but at least she'd have someone to talk to! The small smile that formed on her face moments before faded. Sometimes it felt like the dog didn't even want to talk to her. If no one, including Bug, wanted nothing to do with her, what was she supposed to do? What would she do without her sister? She had no friends of her own, no one else to support her when she was down so if Heather ended up leaving or something she would have no one.

I don't want to be alone anymore.

Her heart ached while her tear ducts began to burn. She wasn't going to cry again was she? How many times had she cried when she was alone? The neighbors probably thought she was crazy or something!

She had to shake off this feeling before it got the better of her! She inhaled through her nose before bending down to the small fluff ball. Might as well check her nose to see if she was sick. With the back of her index finger, she pressed skin against Bug's nose. Hm, nothing unusual there, wet and cold as it should be. She wasn't sick so what was wrong with her? It was usually a hassle waking the pup up during one of her deep sleeps but something seemed to have stirred her, otherwise she'd still be asleep. Right?

"Are you hungry or something?" Rye said, standing up straight once again. "You'll have to wait until Hea comes home; you know I'm not allowed to feed you before-"

Bug twitched. Her head lifted, eyes moving back and forth all over the room like she was looking for something. Her ears began to turn right then left and right again. Was there a fly in the room or something? All jerky movements and searching came to a stop when Bug turned her head right. The smaller female looked down the darkened hallway with full attention.

Really? Did she really have to stop and look down the dark, scary hallway when she was already nervous? Shit. Rye pulled in her bottom lip and sank her front teeth down on it. Her mouth grew dry as she shut her eyes and prepared herself to look down the hall. Bug never alerted for something that wasn't there. Had someone snuck into the apartment via window or was it a ghost? Ugh! Why today? Why when she was alone? Why her?!

There's nothing there, there's nothing there…

She released the grip on her bottom lip and opened her mouth in the slightest manner. She allowed herself to exhale the remaining air trapped in her lungs before she allowed her eyes to flutter open. Her heart pounded in her chest and beads of sweat began to build on her brow as her eyes moved to the left. Starting at the cheap carpet, her brown eyes moved up and up until she saw the white door, then the door knob then the heating vent. Nothing.

Feeling safe to breathe again, Rye inhaled and exhaled a sigh of relief. Thank God. Maybe Bug heard a bird outside or something, then again maybe she was hearing something a human couldn't? Did that mean there was something down the hall she wasn't seeing?

Gah, why do you have to think so much? It's nothing, there's nothing there. Hea will be home soon and everything will be just fi-

A almost ear piercing yap made the author flinch hard. Nearly jerking out of her socks, she looked down to see Bug with all four paws stretched out while the fur along her spine stood up straight. Again she released a bark that echoed through the apartment. She was barking now? At what? Gulping, Rye looked once again down the hall only to see nothing again. Even with no visual evidence, she continued to bark and yelp as if something was staring her down.

"Shh, Bug!" She hushed the dog as he hands and legs began to quiver. "You're freaking me out, stop!"

Instead of stopping, pausing or even looking in her direction, the Pomeranian persisted, her barks becoming louder, faster and more intense. No, this couldn't be happening! There was no way there was someone or something in the back room. She shut her eyes tight and held her breath. Bug had to be hearing things, normal things like birds or kids. There was no way there was a burglar hiding in the closet or a ghost looming around the corner.

Please, stop!

"Bug!" Rye lifted both of her hands to the sides of her face. "STOP!"

Silence.

No birds, kids, barking, just the muffled sounds of the television and her heavy breathing. She waited one moment, then another and still no unusual noises. The sweat of her hands began to weigh on the skin on her face and soon she felt her palms slipping off her cheeks. Once her hands rested at her sides once again, her eyes pried open.

Nothing in front of her, to the right, over her shoulders and the left? She hesitated only for a moment before looking down that dark hallway once again. Nothing near her bedroom door or the bathroom. She allowed her eyes to move toward the computer room at the very end of the hall. The door was still open from when she'd been in there minutes before and at her angle she could see the desk. From behind the frame a streak of black mist shot across the doorway.

Her eyes instantly shut once again.

It's nothing. It's just my eyes, it's nothing. Nothing's there.

A whimper made her relax. Bug was still here with her, at least there was that. Her eyes fluttered open once again, this time being wary of the back room. Keeping her line of sight away from that area, she looked down to see Bug with a pathetic look on her face. Was she scared or just worried for her?

The beep from the oven finishing its preheating hitched her breathing. Everything was fine. No one was there, no robber or ghost. Everything was fine and she was safe. Bug would never let anything bad happen to her. Her eyes were just acting up! Heather would be home any minute now and everything would go on like normal.

Right?

XoXoX

This girl sure did a lot. On top of working at the grade school, she babysat Jamie and Sophie and walked them home every day after school? Wow, looked tiring enough, where did she get the energy? Ah well, work was work wasn't it? Now that she was finished with work she had to be headed home, right? It was getting dark out.

Jack hovered well above the teacher as she made her way down the city street in silence. With her book bag hung over her left shoulder, she clutched to her right hand onto the oversized scarf around her neck. She hadn't seen him yet but that didn't mean she couldn't, right? After all, she believed in the strangest things, the idea of Guardians couldn't be far off! Might as well give it a shot, right? Hey, if she believed it would be great, another person believing made him real.

With the gentle breeze carrying above the street lights he watched her move from block to block until they were standing in front of a rather large apartment complex. So she lived here? Staying close on her tail, he watched as she pressed in the door code to the gate in front of the complex. A rather loud and annoying buzz alerted the female and allowed her to enter the gated community. She pressed on, only pausing momentarily for a yawn, and worked her way through the various doors until she stopped in front of one in particular.

Decorated with the ugliest Easter wreath he'd ever seen, he felt a chuckle tickle his lungs. Oh if Bunny could see this right now, he'd love it in all its terrible tackiness. The sound of jingling keys forced the winter spirit to float closer to the female. She still hadn't noticed him. Hm, if she hadn't seen him by now that had to mean she couldn't see him at all. He was five feet in front of her! Ah well, not everyone was going to believe. She was an adult after all, it wasn't like she was going to believe Jamie's 'story'.

"She told me that she believes in this story more than anything in the whole entire world!"

Why the heck did that pop into his head all of a sudden? So what, it was just some weird story that a girl, who seemed to be more child than grown woman, seemed to believe in. What did it have to do with him? Nothing! Sure, to get a close up look at this so called 'book' would be mildly entertaining but did that mean he was going to invest any more time and energy into this woman?

"Aren't you also the teacher who believes in mermaids?"

Then again.

"Come on…" The sound her the female shuffling in her bag made the invisible male stiffen.

If she couldn't see him then would she really have an issue with coming into her apartment? It was just to get a peek at that book anyway! Just one look and he'd leave! And maybe if he caught her attention, she'd see him. It was just a harmless test anyway; why not go with the flow? It was all in good fun!

After Heather was finished zipping her bag back together, she flipped the house keys around in her right hand until they were ready for unlocking. Assuming she did the same thing every day, he watched as she pressed the key into the lock and released it. At the sound of the door clicking, she pulled the key out and with her left hand began to open the heavy wooden entrance.

Keys now free from the lock, she moved to place them into her coat pocket when they fell out of her hands and hit the floor. Jack's eyes bounced from the school teacher who had bent down the retrieve the keys and to the open front door. If he was going to get inside, now was his chance.

Blowing every logical thought out of his head, he placed his hooked pole out of sight and slid inside the apartment. Even as he moved into the home, she did not react. Okay it was official she couldn't see him. With that checked off his list, he waited for the young woman to follow his lead. As predicted, Heather finished plucking the ring of metal off the floor and stood up straight. Afterward, she moved into her house and quickly turned her attention to the small kitchen at her left.

"Hey Rye!" She called out in a rather cheerful tone. "I'm hooooome."

"Good," A woman popped her head from around the kitchen corner. "How was work?"

"Not bad!" Heather replied, dropping her bag to the floor and undoing her scarf from her neck. "I'm just glad it's Friday."

"Me too." The woman, Rye he assumed, pulled her shoulders back into the kitchen.

"I'm beat!"

Sisters, hm? Jack moved his feet across the carpeted floor slowly. Even if they couldn't see him didn't give him the right to go around knocking things off shelves and freezing their walls. Better that they don't know for now. Two hysterical females was something he didn't need at the moment.

As he stepped away from Heather and toward the kitchen he caught a full glance of the woman standing in front of the oven. Her long brown hair that waved down passed her shoulders caught his eyes first. As she moved around in the small space he saw the reflection of her glasses in the fluorescent light. Without the long hair and glasses, they were nearly mirrored images of one another! Maybe they were twins?

"Smells good in here, boo." Heather kicked off her boots and walked into the kitchen, blocking his view of Rye. "What's cookin'?"

"Pizza." The four-eyed woman replied in a lethargic tone. What was wrong with her? Had she been working too?

"Cool." The teacher nodded, spun on her heel and stepped passed him. "I'm gonna be in the room for a sec, I'll be right back."

"Sure."

After Heather moved out of his way, he could see Rye with her arms planted on either side of the sink. Her head hung low into her shoulders, her nose tipped downward. Was she hurt or something? By the tone of her voice and position, something didn't seem right. Maybe she was sick?

The sound of footsteps on carpet stopped. Jack allowed his eyes to bounce to his right to see Heather. She had paused mid step and looked over her shoulder to see her sister hung over the counter. So she could feel it too? Then again siblings had that kind of connection. Heather's large brown eyes narrowed and her smile flipped.

"What's wrong? Tired?" She asked, her voice deep and almost unsteady.

"Yeah." Rye inhaled. "I have a headache."

"Oh." Heather's shoulders relaxed. "Anything else? You seem upset."

"I saw it again, that's all."

Saw it again? What the heck did that mean? The frost sprite crossed his arms over his chest and lifted a brow. It wasn't like she was seeing anything strange, right? Pitch was long gone by now, there was no way. That was just crazy talk. Maybe she was talking about something else. How could he judge, he'd only been in their house for minutes.

"Really?" The girl with the pixie cut grunted. "Maybe you should go back to the eye doctor."

Rye lifted her head and moved her index finger to the bridge of her nose. Once there, she pushed up her glasses and turned in her sister's direction. "My eyes aren't the problem."

"It was that black mist again, right? Maybe we have a ghost or something." Heather pulled her undone scarf from her shoulders and threw it beyond Jack's shoulder and to the couch.

"Thanks, that doesn't make me feel any better."

The teacher chuckled under her breath. "Sorry." Then she turned back toward the hall. "I'll be right back."

"Kay."

The guardian moved his eyes away from the taller female as she left the kitchen area and turned into her bedroom. Hm, black mist? No, no way. They had just got rid of him; there was no way he could be back already! No one was afraid of him and with no fear he couldn't be seen! Then again, what else did that kind of thing mean? After all, she seemed scared or at least stressed out about seeing whatever she saw. Damn.

There is no way. No way!

"Where was it this time?" Heather's voice echoed from the bedroom located at the right side of the hall.

Jack looked back to Rye; by this time she had whirled around and rested her lower back against the counter. "In the back room."

Back room, huh? Might as well take a quick peek. Since there was no way it could be Pitch there wasn't any harm in checking. He stepped away from the obviously stressed woman and walked down the dark hallway, by passing the bathroom on the left and the bedroom on the right. At the end of the hall he saw a large double door bedroom that had been made into a makeshift computer room. With one of the double doors shut and the other just ajar he was going to have to make his next move as quiet as possible. All hell would break loose if one of them caught the door opening by itself.

He peered over his shoulder once and seeing no eyes looking in his direction, he pressed his hand against the warm door. Chewing on his bottom lip he returned his eyes to his main object of focus and applied pressure to his arm. A slight creak made him wince, ugh of course the door would squeak when he needed to open it!

He held his breath as he pushed inch by inch until the door was wide enough to accommodate his head. Jack removed his hand from the wooden surface and pressed his face into the entrance way. His eyes scanned the near empty office space from corner to corner. Nothing. No strange sounds, mist or shadows. Well that kind of counted out Pitch for the time being, didn't it? Of course that didn't mean it wasn't him earlier it just meant he wasn't back there for the time being.

This calls for a meeting, great.

His eyes rolled. Wonderful, just when they got rid of that sorry excuse for a nightmare, there was a chance he was hiding out somewhere in this apartment. This had to be nipped in the bud. The same thing that happened almost a month ago could not happen again. He couldn't let Pitch become that powerful.

He withdrew his head from the pried doorway and gave a sigh. What was he supposed to tell the others? Ugh, what a story that was going to be. But it was better to be safe than sorry, right? Thinking of which, it'd be best to check the other rooms while he was at it. Jack turned around and took a few steps until he was standing in front of the bathroom door. To open it or leave the door shut? Eh again, opening a closed door wasn't a great idea when two on edge girls were in the house. Skip that.

Next the bedroom then it was time to split. He turned about to see the door was already open; there was a stroke of luck. The guardian stepped into the doorway only to find Heather standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her torso. With her fingers clenched to the ends of her dress shirt and one swift movement she pulled the article of clothing over her head.

His limbs went stiff. What the heck, why was she changing with the door open? Weren't women more careful about stuff like that?! The moment her white lace-lined bra came into view, Jack jerked his body back into the hall. With his back pinned against the wall he inhaled a deep breath and held it. Geez, talk about awkward. There was no way this part of his story was coming up tomorrow at the meeting. Bunny would have a field day with that one.

While holding in the breath he had just taken, Jack allowed his eyes to shut. He had to relax. No telling what could happen if he bumped into something. If one of them caught on to him being in the apartment, they'd freak for sure. Then there'd be a problem.

Just get out of the room so I can leave!

Once she cleared the bedroom he could make a hasty escape through their window. The back window was kind of out of the question seeing as the squeaking door was open about five inches. Best play it safe and run when everything was just perfect.

A small grunting sound forced him to pause and release the air in his lungs. What the heck was that? He opened his eyes and followed the sound until the image of a small dog caught his attention. Small enough to tear apart his ankles and fluffy enough to fend off any attack, it stood in the front of the hall staring him down. Huh, it was kinda cute in a strange way with those big eyes and tiny ears.

"I've never seen a Pomeranian up close before." He laughed to himself.

Her perfect triangle ears fell flat on her head and her upper lip peeled back. Oh no, she wasn't going to bark or something, was she? That's all he needed, to make her charge at him! What would the sisters think? Geez, luck was not on his side today!

"Shh," Jack lifted his hands to chest level. "It's alright, I was just leaving."

Before he could take a single step backward the dog released a loud yap that tore through the small apartment. He flinched, hard. Great. He continued to move away from the cream colored toy dog, hushing her along the way but she persisted. Growling and making a strange 'ooohh' sound, she stomped her paws on the carpet and charged closer.

"Bug!" Heather's voice came from the room to the left. "What's wrong?"

"Shhh!" He pressed his index finger against his lips.

"That's the second time today!" Rye called to her sister over the barks and growls.

Second time? Did that mean this dog was yapping at something unseen to adults earlier? Okay he could put two and two together. Black mist and an unseen intruder? This was Pitch at his worst. No doubt about it now. This was serious. Ugh, he had to get out here now.

Before he could make any more movements, Heather appeared from the bedroom wearing a pair of shorts and a heavy sweatshirt. With her hands to her hips she narrowed her stare at the pup. "Come on hun, get out of the hall."

The Pomeranian whined.

Good, it stopped barking, time to make his getaway. With the dog's attention on her master, Jack slipped into the bedroom. He glanced over his shoulder as he darted toward the window and once within distance, placed his hands on the metal hinges. He paused only for a moment, listening to the muffled voices of the females from the living room. If they were talking to each other, that meant they weren't focused on him. Better to get out now. In an almost achingly slow motion he opened the window and hopped out. His feet hit the melted snow with a soundless thud. He spun around afterward and shut the window to the best of his ability.

He needed to go to North, he need to tell the others what was happening. Even if he was over reacting and this wasn't anything but a coincidence, he had to tell them what was going on. If there was any hint of Pitch coming back into the world they needed to know.

Chapter End.