Minty: Well hoooowwwwwwdy ho! You're smelling all nice and flowery!
Ginger: *sports reporter voice* way to scare half the viewers away, Minty!
Minty: Why shank ya very much ≖‿≖
Ginger: You are so very shwelcome. ANYWHORE, have we got a chapter for CHU!
Minty: Ugh, SO long
Ginger: I'm sorry I just started and then I couldn't stop. I actually ended up cutting it off before where I would have wanted to end it... ._.
Minty: Well, that should be a satisfactory meal for our readers, at least.
Ginger: I hope they like it as much as I do...
Minty: Well, let's quit yapping so that out darling readers won't have to wait anymore!
Ginger: YESYESYESYES of course dahling~~~ shall we proceed?
Minty: But of course!
Ginger: THEN LETS GO! *intense background music*
Minty: YAAAAAAAAAA-
Chapter 4: Guy With A Vagina.
Happy Halloween!
Yeah. Sure.
Happy for most. Hell for me.
This is the one night each year where PKWMA students have an excuse to scare the shit out of any sucker they come across. Some pop out of bushes. Some drop buckets of fake blood from trees. Some chase you down the street with a chainsaw.
Yet if you don't go, you're shunned. Especially if you attend PKWMA. And it also may raise suspicion.
So basically, I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.
Lovely.
"Abercrombie, hurry up! I want candy." Emory's voice echoes from down the hall. I moan and step out into the hallway.
"Is this really necessary?" I mumble, pouting and pulling my extremely short skirt down over my butt.
"I think you look cute." Emory giggles.
"I'm a slutty nurse, Emory. What about that is cute to you?"
"Everything. Nothing. Puppies are cute." He steps out of the bathroom dressed as a zombie. Really it's just zombie face paint. Besides that, it's just a hoodie and skinny jeans. Not very festive at all.
"I thought so too." I mumble, reaching for my sweatshirt. Emory snags it before I can close my fingers around the cloth.
"Ah-ah-ah~!" He purrs, shaking a finger. I sigh and let my shoulders slump.
"But it's cold..."
"Slutty nurses don't wear hoodies." He says, throwing it on the couch. He grabs the two pillowcases off the kitchen counter and shoos me out the door.
About twenty minutes later, I'm shivering and standing at the edge of the street while Emory bounces away from the front door of the house he's just trick-or-treated at.
"What'd you get?" I ask, completely and utterly bored. Emory holds his bag open.
"A frog. Isn't that neat?"
"Of course it is."
We walk to the next house. Like every other, I wait at the road as Emory goes to knock on the door. It seems like he knows the people living here, and starts a conversation with the man who answers the door.
"Nice costume."
I whip around, yanking my skirt back down. Soul stands there smirking at me. He's wearing a black skeleton sweatshirt and pasty white facepaint with streaks of gray at his mouth and under his eyes.
"Shut up. At least I'm dressed for the occasion. Nice hoodie." I tilt my chin up and cross my arms over my uncomfortably exposed chest. Even though I'm fairly medium-sized when it comes to chest sizes, this dress somehow makes me look like at least a C-cup. It's unsettling.
"Nice ass." He replies. I blush furiously and yank the skirt down again.
"Perv. What do you want? I never really pinned you as the trick-or-treating type. Don't you have a Halloween party to get to?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. I was on my way there right now. I saw a sexy nurse out of the corner of my eye, but when I went to hit on her, I found you." He smirks. I purse my lips. "Thanks."
"Do you want to come with me? Doesn't look like you're having much fun at the moment." He gestures towards the front door of the house, where Emory is following the man inside. He waves to me before he steps through the threshold.
"Don't wait up! They have more candy inside!" He calls with a giggle, disappearing behind the door frame.
"Oh. Wonderful." I mumble, making a mental note to dropkick him over a fence later.
"You comin' or what?" I turn back to Soul to see him holding his hand out to me. I sigh deeply with an emphasis on the ending huff.
"Do I have to?"
"It's your choice. But I already took pictures."
I punch him in the arm. "Bastard."
He laughs and hooks his arm in mine. "Don't worry. I'll keep the number of recipients below a hundred."
Honestly, I've never actually been to a party. I knew there'd be alcohol, but I didn't expect to find a red solo cup in every single kid's hand. I can just barely hear Artic Monkeys playing in the background over the sound of laughing and screaming.
"Arctic Monkeys... what an atmosphere." I mumble as we step inside. Soul looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
"You know Arctic Monkeys?"
"Yeah. I know a couple songs. They're good."
"I did not pin you as an alternative kinda girl."
"Then what did you pin me as?"
"I dunno. Katy Perry. Taylor Swift."
I stick my tongue out and cringe. "Blegh. I get enough of that with all the white girls I'm forced to hang around already." He laughs.
"Oh, c'mon. There aren't /that/ many white chicks at PKWMA."
"Obviously you're not on the same end of the school as I am."
"Soul! You made it!" A high-pitched voice exclaims. Suddenly, a hand appears on Soul's back, shoving him (and me, since my arm is still looped in his) forward.
Soul laughs. "What's up, bro?" He fist bumps a short boy with spikey blue hair and big green eyes.
"Who's the nurse?" He looks me up and down, his eyes halting at my chest. I raise an arm to slap him, but Soul quickly grabs my wrist and returns it to my side.
"Abercrombie. Her name is Abercrombie. Abbey, this is my friend Black Star. Also the host of this party." He says. I give him a quick side glance before plastering on a smile.
"Hiya!" I say cheerfully. Black Star smirks and nods.
"A lovely name for a lovely girl." He gestures to our inter-linked arms. "How many times did he have to ask, eh?"
I slide my arm out of Soul's quickly. "We're just friends."
"Oh, really?" Black Star grins. "In that case, would you like to accompany up to my room?" I suppress a gag and smile cutely.
"Sorry, but I'm not into guys with vaginas."
Soul slaps a hand over his mouth to hide his laughter. Black Star frowns, but soon regains his grin.
"Well with that dick under your skirt, I think we'd fit nicely."
I open my mouth to respond, but Soul steps in between us quickly.
"Alright, well, I don't know about you two, but I think a beer would be nice right about now. Abbey, would you like to join me for a beer?" He drags me away without an answer.
"What was that for? I had a really nice comeback ready too..." I mumble as Soul releases my arm to open a red cooler.
"You don't wanna mess with Black Star. He's easily the strongest at hand-to-hand combat in the whole school. You'd've been out the window and unconscious before you even finished that comeback." He says, digging around through the ice for two beers. He lifts them up and hands one to me.
"Soul. I'm fifteen." I remind him. He smiles.
"Your point?" He snatches a bottle opener off the counter and uses it to pop open both bottles.
"Cheers." He raises his and taps it against mine before taking a swig. I eye the bubbling golden liquid suspiciously.
"You're not trying to get me drunk, are you?"
"With just one bottle? Of course not."
"I don't drink, so it probably won't wake that much to tip me over."
"Well then I'll keep score." I narrow my eyes at him as I slowly raise the bottle to my lips.
It burns in my throat. I exhale loudly, trying to shake the sensation.
"Jesus, that's weird...!" I say, giggling a bit. He laughs. "Typical first timer."
"Don't get all cocky on me." I take another swig. This time, I'm anticipating the burn, so instead it's more of a fizzling in my throat. I get more of the stale, bitter taste this time. It's kinda gross, but I find myself taking another sip. I down it as quickly as I can, which is faster than I anticipate.
Soul places a hand on my back and smiles as I start to cough a bit.
"You okay?" He chuckles. I nod and smile back.
"Yeah. I'm good, just kinda fuzzy." I reply. Another swig.
"Jeez, and I thought you were this innocent little tsundere chick." I frown.
"Well maybe there are parts of me you're missing."
The song changes to something I don't recognize. Soul lifts his chin up, listening, and smiles when he realizes what song it is. "Ah. Nice."
"What song is it?"
"Cage the Elephant, Ain't No Rest For the Wicked. It's a good song." We listen to it for a bit more. When it he's to the chorus, I nod.
"Oh, yeah. I know this song. I'm surprised Black Star likes this stuff, though." I watch as a chair thrown by the twerp hits a blonde boy in the face.
"He doesn't. He dug through my CD collection about three hours ago." He takes another sip.
"You listen to CDs?"
"Yeah. It gives me that pretty-boy-indie-rocker kind of edge." He smiles through the bottle and looks up at me. I laugh.
"This is, like, the most normal conversation I've had in a long time," I say without realizing it. He looks up at me, his smile fading a bit.
"Wh-what do you mean?" He asks. I blush a little and look away.
"Uh, I just meant that... all the people I've talked to lately... have, umm..." I remember the scrap of paper he gave to me at the pet shop.
"That piece of paper..." I trail off. He takes another sip.
"That was nothing. Ignore it."
"Soul, are you...?"
"Of course not. Nobody here is. Stop being stupid."
He avoids my eyes and stares down into his beer.
I blink a couple times.
"O-oh..." I mumble, turning away. "I'm sorry. I-I think I'm going to go find my friends..." I say softly, walking out of the kitchen. I leave my beer sitting on the counter, not even halfway empty yet.
"Abercrombie, wai-!"
"No. It's fine. I'll go be stupid somewhere else."
In any other situation, walking home by myself on Halloween would be out of the question. But tonight I'm too deep in muddled thoughts to think straight. So I hug my arms to my chest and try not to shiver in the crisp October night air.
Come on, Abercrombie. Just because he acts nice doesn't mean he's sane. You're just being hopeful.
But that note...
He's insane. Insane people do all sorts of stuff. Why did I ever think that this was any different?
Is it possible that I...
God, Abercrombie. Stop being an idiot. Even if I did, I couldn't do anything about it. Dating a psychopath? That's a big no.
"Maybe I am insane after all..." I mumble, playing with the lace on my skirt.
Suddenly the slight breeze dies down. A branch snaps behind me. I whip around and raise my arms in a fighting stance, but there's nobody there.
"Hello? Who's there? Show yourself!"
Breathing. On my neck.
I squeal and leap forward and away from whoever stands behind me, rubbing my neck to get rid of the feeling.
It's Onyx.
"Hello, Poohbear~!" She coos, a hand on her cheek. I raise my fists.
"What do you want?"
"I want you..." She replies, blushing and pursing her lips. I blink.
"Huh?"
"I want you... dead!" She screams, grinning maniacally and lunging at me. I dodge, but she pulls out a knife at the last second and catches my cheekbone.
"Agh!" I instinctively bring my hand up to the fresh cut, but it stings when I touch it.
"Come here, pretty nurse!" She points the knife at me and thrusts it forward, missing my head by inches. I feel my ear bleeding against the blade. I duck and roll out of reach, standing with my legs spread.
"Why are you doing this?" I call, my voice shaking with fear. She cackles.
"Isn't it obvious? I've uncovered your secret! You're... sane! You're sane! Saney-saney-sane!" She giggles, twirling the knife around and tilting her head back to laugh at the sky.
"H-how did you...?" Shit. This is not good. The craziest girl at school knows my secret? No way! This could ruin my life... I could be killed!
"It's so obvious! The way you act, the way you speak... I don't know how I didn't notice it sooner!" She raise the knife slowly, and throws it at me. I scream and hold my hands up over my face. Forget being executed. I'm going to die here. Right now...
"I'll go be stupid somewhere else."
Are those the words I'll be remembered by? The last thing I said to Soul... the last words he'll ever hear me say?
What a way to go out.
"Shit...!" Who's that?
I open one eye and see a boy standing in front of me. He has jet black hair, but with three horizontal white stripes running around half of his head. He wears a t-shirt and jeans, and stands hunched over with his back facing Onyx. He opens an eye - it's golden. And gorgeous.
"Oh my god..." I peek over his shoulder and see the knife lodged in his back. Blood squeezes out past the blade and stains his shirt red.
"Are you okay?" He asks, looking up at me. I tear my eyes away from the knife and gape at him.
"Am I okay? You're the one with a knife in your back!" I exclaim.
"It's fine. My body can handle blows like that. I'm more concerned about- gaah!" Onyx appears behind him, forcefully yanking the knife out of his back. He turns and swings his foot at her, but she ducks and grabs his ankle. She yanks it over her head, and it sends him flying in the other direction.
She reaches for me and grabs my arm. I scream - again - as she stabs the blade into my side, grinning as my blood splatters on her cheek.
You'd think that a scream as loud and long as mine would help to numb the pain at least a little, but it didn't. She twists the blade, and I scream louder. I collapse to the ground in a heap.
"Abercrombie!" A familiar voice calls my name. My vision is blurry, but I can see a black figure with white hair yanking Onyx off of me. The knife goes with her. More screaming.
I pant heavily, the excruciating pain in my side beginning to drip out with the blood from the wound. Soul crouches over me, and rips a piece off my skirt. He balls it up and presses it to the wound.
"Oh my god, oh my god... Soul, I'm gonna die..." Panic fills my brain. But then pain reclaims it. Panic. Pain. Terror.
"Calm down, Abercrombie. You're going to be fine. We... we just need to get you to a... a hospital." He's scared. I'm scared. Am I dying? Numbness swallows the pain and replaces it with more terror. Confusion. Agony. Guilt.
More pain.
"Move." The boy from earlier steps into view. Soul looks up at him and frowns.
"Who're you?"
"Right now, the one who can save her. Now step aside, unless you want her to die." He stares at Soul with sincerity and seriousness. Soul exhales through his nose, but moves aside. The boy picks me up gently and props me up against a tree on the side of the road.
"Wh-who are you?"
"That doesn't matter. Just try and slow your breathing down. Focus on my voice." I try and do as he says, but it's getting harder and harder to focus with this blurry vision.
He notices me drifting. "Look into my eyes, Abercrombie. You're going to be fine. Just breathe... slowly. In, out. In, out." He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a little white box. I look at it and watch as he opens it slowly.
He grabs my jaw. "I said look at me, Abercrombie." His voice is soft and stern, but calming. I swallow and give a small nod as he unzips my dress and applies more pressure to the wound, this time directly on my skin instead if through the cloth.
"Is she dead yet?" Onyx cackles. Soul whips his head around.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He yells.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see it? She's sane! She's not like us!" She screams. I stare into the boys golden eyes, but my focus is on their conversation.
"I-I'm not... I'm not sane..." I mumble.
"Hush. Don't talk. You'll strain your abdomen." The boy says. He turns to Soul.
"Ignore her. Right now I need you to go find Emory." He says.
"I'm not leaving her." Soul insists, placing a hand on my arm. The boy quickly swipes it away, though.
"Don't touch her. Any movement could mean the difference between life and death. She's lost a lot of blood. I need you to go get Emory, and bring him here as soon as possible. Don't waste any time." This kid means business. Soul sighs and stands up, heading in the direction if the house Emory disappeared into.
"I'm going to remove the upper half of your dress, I need to wrap this bandage around the wound." He says as he unzips the top of the dress all the way and slides it off. I hope I'm not too pale.
Wait, I'm only wearing a bra.
Fuck.
"Don't move. I know this is an awkward situation, but you'll bleed to death soon if I don't wrap it." I swallow.
"Mmhmm..." I nod slightly. He tilts my chin up and looks back and forth between my eyes.
"It doesn't look like your soul is flickering out just yet... but it's definitely fading. Keep your eyes on me. Process every word I'm saying."
He takes a roll of gauze out of the little white box and wraps it around my stomach, over a square wad of cloth. He pulls out what looks like athletic tape, but when he wraps it over the gauze it feels softer and less stiff.
"I can't tell you my name... but I can promise you that I'm here to help." He says, smoothing out the tape. It feels tight around my waist.
"Do you want band-aids for those cuts?" He asks, gesturing to my cheek and ear. I give a small, curt nod and he digs through the box. He pulls out two band-aids and unwraps them.
He places the first on my cheek. When he wraps the second around my ear, his cheek is so close to mine I can just feel it brushing against my jaw. I can feel him fiddling with the adhesive.
"Hey!" Soul's voice calls. Footsteps approach us, but I don't turn to face them. Instead I keep my head perfectly still, my cheek just barely against his. He smells like wet roses after a rain shower.
"Abbey! Abbey, are you okay?" Emory's voice asks. I see him crouch down beside me out of the corner of my eye.
"She's fine. She can't talk, and she can't move. She needs to be taken to a doctor, but in her weapon form." The boy moves his cheek away from mine, and I find myself a bit disappointed.
"Can you transform, Abbey?" Emory asks. I look over at him. His zombie makeup has been smeared with tears, and his big green eyes are wide with fear.
"Mmmhmm..." I nod. He smiles through his tears and grabs my hand.
"I thought you were gonna die..." He sniffles.
"I'm f-fine..." I mutter. The boy was right, just those two words put a strain on my abdomen that stung the gash.
"Shh. Just transform. That way we won't have to worry about aggravating your wound."
I nod and transform into my weapon form, a metal whip. Emory hooks me through his belt loop and tightly clutches my leather grip. His wavelength is shaking. He really does care about me, doesn't he?
"I'm not letting you die, Abbey. No way. You're gonna live. I promise." He says in a shaky voice.
If only that were true.
