This one's a bit longer than the others-- Um, I exaggerate. It's huge. I just wasn't sure where to stop... so I just kept on going! lol
In any case, I love this chapter. Lots of greeeeeat stuff in it :3 Enjoy!
I also decided that this takes place like a year like after origins? Maybe? I dunno, I kinda wrote that Barney isn't in school... erm... uh... well, look over that, k? lol.
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Chapter Four
"Lily," Nana said as Lily came down the stairs the next morning, her new bag over her shoulder. "These men are here to see you." Lily stopped at the bottom of the staircase, staring at the two men that nodded at her. Tobey and Sid stopped behind her, so she moved through the kitchen and into the dining room, sliding into the booth next to Nana. "We've been talking about you living here."
"You know about the fires?" One of the men, with a shaved head, asked, flipping through a file and looking up at her.
"Ah, yessir," she said quietly, averting her eyes.
"I'm sorry that this happened. It effected a lot of people, though the fire seemed to originate in your house." She nodded understanding. She had figured as much. "Mrs. Wu was just telling me that she has offered to take you in foster care, as next year you'll be an adult, so the process of adoption seems a bit unreasonable."
The other man frowned. "Do you know anything about the fire?"
"No, sir, I was here, working," she said quietly, looking up into his eyes, meeting his suspicious glare. "When I left my father hadn't even come home yet."
"I see. Well if you remember any suspicious activity, be sure to contact us, won't you?" He handed her a card, and she took it carefully, looking it over. She nodded. The other man cleared his throat to reclaim her attention.
"In any case, Mrs. Wu, if you will just fill out this, and you too, Miss Zhang," he said, handing them each a paper and a pen. "This is a simple matter, but it still has to be filled out."
"Sir," Lily said, looking up at the police officer when she finished with the paperwork. "Is there... anything left?"
"No," he said, shaking his head wearily. "Half of the block was melted to the ground before the firefighters could put it out."
"Melted?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes, its very strange. But we're still investigating. If we find anything else out, we'll be sure to let you know." She gave him her new cell phone number, as she had been added to the Wu's plan, so he could tell her if anything came up. Their business done, the men leave, and Lily hugged Nana tight.
"Thank you, Nana," she said warmly with a smile before going back to the kitchen to eat her waiting breakfast. She sat inbetween Sue and Tobey and they ate in near silence. She finished last, and then they headed out to their bikes, strapping on their helmets in an almost eerie line, one after the other. She climbed onto her bike, her eyebrows furrowed as she fought to remember. She followed the others with her eyes, looking at their feet, and put one foot on its pedal, pushing the bike forward a little bit.
"Com'on!" Sid called, getting bored. "We'll be late." Lily just nodded and tried again, pedaling a little more now, wobbily, before it suddenly clicked and she remembered, her muscles remembered the movements of when she was little.
"Give me a break; its been years!" She complained, tongue in her teeth as she started to ride, a bit slower than the others, but they still made it to the school in good time. They locked their bikes up and headed inside together. She started to head to her first class, saying a 'see you later,' but Sid joined her.
"My class is right near yours," he explained, but she knew why they didn't want her alone. She was more certain than ever that Nana had given them instructions to protect her. Well, once she got good enough she wouldn't need protecting anymore. "Don't let anyone get to you, alright? You didn't do anything wrong."
"Yeah, if it hadn't been for Tobey, I wouldn't be here," she said, looking down and adjusting her bag over her shoulder. "I mean that in a good way, of course. I would have gone home."
"Yeah, I know," he said curiously. "In any case, with finals coming up you and everyone else will have plenty to keep occupied with."
"True," she said, happy it was almost the end of the year. They came to her classroom, and she bid him a farewell, turning into the room.
In every class before lunch, the teachers seemed surprised that she had shown up, a fact that she tried very hard to ignore. She kept her head down as usual, thankful when lunch came and she got to sit with her new friends. Her only friends, really. One of the three had walked with her to each class, which she didn't mind. It made it go faster, but she was glad when Tobey was there to walk with her to lunch.
His aura of happiness instantly cheered her up, only strengthened when he put an arm over her shoulders and kissed her cheek as they walked through the hallway. She smiled at him, thanking him in a small voice. He filled her ear with stories of pranks from the week before, making her laugh, especially when they involved Sid or Mr. Wu. They joined the other two, Sue texting under the table. Sid looked kinda bored, but was looking over at Tiffany Cho's table as he spun his noodles aimlessly around his chopsticks.
Tobey wasted no time looking over Sue's shoulder, giving Lily a sly grin and a thumbs up. Lily sat next to Sue, looking for herself. "Nosy!" Sue complained, turning over her phone in her lap with a frown, looking up at Tobey.
"Who were you texting, hmm?" Tobey wondered, making a snatch at the phone, though he already knew.
"Yeah, Mai-Mai, it wasn't Barney was it?"
"No!" She said defensively, pushing Tobey out of reach, and he sat with a smile next to Sid, pulling out a large lunch bag and devouring the contents in record time. Barney had made Lily a lunch as well: it was her favorite, orange chicken and rice. She ate it slowly, well, compared to Tobey, who eyed her food. She frowned and put her arm protectively around it, eating quicker. He laughed, and returned to the light conversation, mostly about their classes.
"Sue, was it Barney?" Lily asked as Sue walked her to her next class. Sue bit her lip for a minute, contemplating telling the other girl, then nodded with a smile.
"Yes! He texted me earlier, look!" She flipped through a few texts and shoved the phone in Lily's face. He had texted her 'have a good day,' and then she texted something back, and he made a very happy ':D' face. "Oh, and look!" She flipped through a few more, showing her the latest. 'Ill be waiting after u get out of school. Running errands early.' Sue actually squealed in excitement, hugging Lily before she left for her own class, and Lily laughed and shook her head, admiring her handiwork and texting Tobey with the news.
Sid greeted her after, holding up his phone in her face. She frowned and took his wrist, holding it at a reasonable distance so she could read it. 'sue and barney!' it read, and she knew it was from Tobey.
"Okay?" She released his wrist and he took back his phone, frowning at it.
"He's not good enough for her," he said, a little angrily, flipping the phone closed with a snap.
"Come on, you can't protect her forever," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "It was bound to happen. You guys aren't kids."
"I know," he said with a frown. "I just wish I could hold it off a bit longer."
"You don't want her hurt," she assumed.
"Do you know awkward it will be, for all of us, if they end badly?" He asked her, and she furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. She hadn't considered it. "And he's bound to notice that we sometimes disappear, now that he has a reason to pay attention." She blushed, not fully realising the weight of what she had done. "Like you, and Tobey, that's okay because we're all in this together. But I know first hand trying to get a date and protecting Chinatown."
"Cho?" She asked simply, and he grunted and nodded. She could understand his frustration. She couldn't imagine trying to keep such a large secret from someone she was dating. It would ruin all the trust. She didn't have to worry about it, but she could feel the frustration radiating out in waves off of Sid, and it made her worry.
After school, the four ride back to the restaurant, and Nana called them out back for some training. She sets Lily and Sid together, so that he can teach her rolls and jumps, and she tried her best to master the techniques as quickly as possible. "It's not something you learn in one day," he scolds her as she falls from the wall for the third time.
"I know, but I want it to be," she complained, trying again to imitate his flip off the wall. She lands on her back, hard, and she sighed, feeling insignificant.
"It's okay," he said, helping her up. "It's important, but don't push yourself. Let's try something else." They did a quick one-on-one fight, and she swept his feet from under him, like Tobey had done to her. He frowned. "You're quick." She offered him a hand up but he refused, jumping to his feet. She used some of the blocks she had been taught, but its a struggle. He was strong, stronger than Tobey, though she thought that Tobey had been holding back a bit. He got her down three times before Sue stepped in, and Lily and her circled each other. They didn't know that she was learning the moves they were using on her, and used a move Sid had on her: a quick strike to distract, then pinned her to the ground by twisting one of her arms up to her back. Sue called out in surprise as she felt Lily's knee on her back.
"You are fast!" Sue said, sitting up when Lily let her up. She brushed off dirt from her white shirt, eyebrows furrowed.
"If that's all I got on my side, then I'll take it," Lily said, sitting down on one of the benches. Nana nodded.
"It seems to work to your advantage. No one can follow your movements."
"Yeah, its like a snake," Sid said, leaning against the wall.
"Is she going to study Snake Style first, Nana?" Tobey asked hopefully. Nana smiled at him.
"That might be wise."
"Sweet!" He said, punching the air above his head and coming to sit beside Lily.
"Woah, look!" Sue said, pointing over the wall a while later, pointing at a smoke stack.
"Another fire?" Lily wondered, worried.
"You three go investigate," Nana said quickly, and after a brief hesitation Sue, Sid and Tobey leave the back way, heading towards it. "Let's go inside," she suggested casually. "Let's see if we can find anything on this recipe." Lily just nodded and followed her into the restaurant. They sat down at the table with old books and flipped through them, both frowning.
"Lillllly!" Barney called from the front, peeking his head around. "Oh, there you are! Can you help?"
"Oh, uh, sure," she said, looking up from her book and going to wash up and help cook. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she answered it, saying her name quickly and informally.
"We may have a problem," Sid said, wind whistling by the speaker. He was riding his bike, or running. "I got the recipe, but he got Tobey—"
"He what?!" She exclaimed, returning her attention to her pan with difficulty so the food wouldn't burn. She turned to Nana, and they exchanged a worried look.
"It's a trap," Sue said, now in a conference call. "He wants you to go, Lily. He wants you in his control."
"Who cares? We have to get him back!" When Nana makes a move with her hand, Lily tosses her the phone, and the older woman catches it deftly, speaking quickly and quietly.
"There's no help for it. She has to come with you two." There was a pause. "I'll give her a few magic fortune cookies to help.... Yeah come back here." Nana tossed Lily the phone back, and Sid informed her they were just a minute away. She took off her apron quickly, apologising to Barney, accepting a small package and instructions from Nana before leaving for her bike, the other two already there.
"Lily, no matter what happens, don't do anything against your morals," Sid warned as they started off towards the edge of the town. Lily ground her teeth against anger and rage that boiled up inside of her, wanting to spew angry curses into the air. This wasn't fair. She couldn't be that important. No way she could mean this much to him—though she was a little too curious to finally meet Tobey's father.
As soon as Tobey was safe, she was going to give him a big kiss, she decided with a determined smile.
"GPS ends here—yeah look there's his bike!" Sue said, referring to her phone.
"You really think he would have rode his bike to wherever Kong Li took him?" Sid said, raising an eyebrow.
"It's all we have to go on—hey, look!" She pointed by his bike, picking up a note pinned under the tire. "It's coordinates," she said, putting them into her phone. "Warehouse district." They head off again, and Sue cleared her throat. "He'll be fine, Lils, really. Kong Li won't seriously harm him."
"I don't know if he's above that," Sid mumbled, and Sue shot him a glare. "What? You know what he's capable of."
"I do know," Sue said quietly, starting to pedal her bike faster, turning her bike dangerously around the corner, the two others behind her. They all come to an abrupt stop at a fence. "It's just on the other side, in that warehouse."
"How cliched," Sid said, but dropped his bike and scaled the fence, dropping to the other side. Sue made Lily go ahead of her, and Lily climbed the fence a little slower than Sid, never having done it before, hearing Sid's voice from earlier, telling her how to fall. She landed from the top of the fence in a roll, and Sue dropped beside her a second later. "Com'on!"
He kicked in the door, and the siblings came through the door first, on guard. Lily came after them, trying to imitate them to make it seem she knew what she was doing. She was mad, furious, worried, and she feared the worst, and that everyone could hear her heartbeat, but she definitely had no idea what she was doing. Her only contribution was the small package she had in her bag at her side. And, you know, the fact that Kong Li wanted to turn her evil or kill her.
"Ah, my favorite brats," a voice said, and their attention was brought from scanning the crates that surrounded the walls to up on the second floor, where a caped and hooded man sat in a crouch, a bright red staff the only colorful thing about him. "I should've known that you two would come."
"Where's Tobey?" Sid yelled up at him, his hands clenched in fists.
"Patience, patience," the man said, drawing back his hood. He was older, like Nana, but he didn't age nearly as well. It was hard to believe that he was Tobey's father, though she did see some resemblance in their jawline. "I think your new friend should join me up here first, don't you?" He twiddled a finger at Lily in the near-darkness. "Come now. No need for harm to come to my son, is there?"
"I want to see him," she said in a determined voice, her hand inside her bag casually. Kong Li's eyes narrow.
"He's up here, with me." Lily frowned and started walking to the stairs, but Sue caught her arm.
"Lily, no! He'll take you too!"
"I'll be fine, Sue." She gave the girl a smile, sly and mysterious. "We'll all get out of here alright." She slid her arm out of her grip and made her way over to the stairs again, only to be caught by Sid. "Sid."
"I'm coming with you," he told her firmly, and Sue followed close behind. They made it to the top of the stairs, and Kong Li was waiting, his eyes still narrowed. "Com'on, Kong Li, let's settle this!" The older man just smiled, slamming his staff into the metal under his feet, and the rest of the upper floor, mainly the part they were standing on, began to shake and shatter. Sue hit the ground below first with a yell, and Sid pushed Lily to the solid ground near Kong Li, but was slipping himself.
"Sid!" She said, her voice high-pitched, catching his hand. He greatly outweighted her, but somehow she hung on to him, her arms straining. She saw Kong Li out of the corner of her eye, coming behind her, and could almost feel his presence. Glad she had read that part of the book already, she knew what he was trying to do. Mind control.
She closed her eyes tight, trying to keep half her attention on keeping Sid from falling and the other half on keeping Kong Li out of her mind. She twitched, not liking the feeling at all, wishing she had a hand free, then shook her head from the thought. That was his work. She couldn't let go of Sid. Kong Li's determination not to hurt her surprised her. He could have just pried her hand from Sid's, but instead he chose a more subtle method.
She ground her teeth, opening her chakras a bit too quickly, but it worked at keeping her focused. She pushed his mind from hers with much difficutly. He was strong, and she was still weak, untrained. Keeping him at bay still, she started backing up slowly until Sid could pull himself onto solid ground. Sue somehow got up, but was stuck helpless at the top of the stairs.
Kong Li slipped from her mind, perhaps giving up, but a second later she realised why. He had jumped most nimbly onto Sid, crushing his throat with the side of his forearm as he pushed him against the railing, which creaked dangerously. "SID!" Sue and Lily screamed at once, but he had no threat from Sue. He turned his head to point his staff at Lily with a wicked smile.
"Join me," he said, ignoring Sid clawing at his arm. Lily didn't answer, examining her options. "Now, you're powerful. Don't do anything foolish. Don't you want a proper training?"
Yes, she thought fiercely, than with a powerful move, one she attributed later to adrenaline, she tore the staff from his outstretched hand, and swung it around like a bat and it cracked against his skull. He fell down, unconcious, on Sid, who pushed him off with a disgusted cry and coughing. "Are you alright?" Lily asked Sid, helping him up.
"I'm fine! Find Tobey!" He gasped at her, and she nodded, standing up and thinking of where he would be.
"Tobey!" She yelled loudly, then listened intently. Something scurried across the floor to her, sitting down and looking up at her. "A rat!" She said, slowly walking backwards. It kept on looking at her, then started walking back towards the way it came, then stopped and looked back at her. Grinding her teeth, having watched enough TV to know she had to follow it, she did, finally finding a small cage, bending down to look inside of it. "Tobey?" She asked the rat inside of the cage, whose fur grew just over its eyes like his, even being that white-blonde. "Oh my god."
She instantly regretted her promise to herself. She wouldn't be kissing Tobey now that he was safe, she realised with a smile, just glad that he was.
"Don't be like that," the Tobey-rat said. "It's not like I asked for this!"
"I know," she replied, marveling at the fact that he could talk at all. "Let's get you home to Nana. She'll fix you up."
"What should we do about Kong Loser?" Sid asked in a loud voice.
"We could drag him back on our bikes," Sue said with a wicked smile. Both siblings stopped and stared as Lily appeared with the cage, opening it to let Tobey out onto her shoulder. He was frowning. Then they both bent over in laughter.
"Com'on guys, let's get Kong Li back before he wakes up," she said over their laughter, using the dragon staff to push Kong Li over the edge of the floor and onto the ground beneath. "What is she going to do to him?"
"Something magicky," Tobey said in her ear, and she smiled.
"Maybe she'll turn him into a rat," Sue said in a serious voice, climbing back down the stairs. Sid jumped to the ground, signaling for her to follow. Lily looked at him doubtfully, those twelve feet looking very scary, especially when Tobey's life was, literally, in her hands.
"You'll be fine. It's not that much farther than the fence," he called up, and she nodded. When she didn't move, he and Sue pushed some crates under where she stood, which broke the distance by half. Thanking them quietly, she lowered herself down on those crates and then jumped from there. She just didn't have that much confidence in her abilities yet. Wait, what abilities? She shook her head and picked up Kong Li's staff where it laid on the floor, a kind of energy running up through her hands. She shook her head again against the magic, her eyes clouding over, blacking out her vision.
"OW!" She said, her vision clearing as Tobey bites, hard, on her ear, bringing her attention back to the present. "Thanks," she says in a quieter voice as he lets go, settling back onto her shoulder contently and a bit smugly. Sid and Sue look at them with interest, eyeing her bleeding ear. She put a hand up to it with a slight blush. "Let's go."
"Er... right," Sid said, dragging Kong Li by his wrists without much care out to their bikes. "Let me call Nana..." He pulled out his phone while the others settled themselves on their bikes.
"You're not gonna fall off, are you?" Lily asked Tobey.
"Pssh, as if," he replied, clutching to her shirt tighter. She reached a hand to him and pet him absently. "Hey, stop it," he said without much determination behind his voice.
"I kinda like you like this," she said with a laugh, running a finger along his back.
"Don't get used to it," he muttered, while Sid told them that Nana was on her way to bring him back herself.
"She suggested that you two go back to Wu's," he told Lily and Tobey. "Don't worry, we'll get his bike on the way back."
"Alright, thanks," she said, feeling awkward as she starts pedaling back to the restaurant at her own pace, not feeling the pressure to go terribly fast. She hummed a light tune even as she locked up her bike outside and went into the restaurant, warning Tobey not to talk in front of Barney and Mr. Wu.
"I'm not that dumb," he told her, climbing up into her hair, blending in almost perfectly before she went inside.
"There you are! Where have you been?!" Mr. Wu asked, before shaking his head. "Nevermind! Where are the others? There's some deliveries—"
"I'll take them, Mr. Wu," she said, taking the bag he handed her. "The others should be back in a few," she told him before sprinting back out the door. Tobey-rat climbed back to her shoulder with a frown.
"Couldn't have left me there?" He whined, and she frowned at him as she strapped on her helmet.
"No! I wouldn't want Mr. Wu killing you on accident!" He sulked on her shoulder, hiding as she went to the doors, but otherwise keeping mostly quiet. Finally she sighed and frowned at him. "I'm sorry you're not fond of being a rat, but, honestly, nothing I can do about it."
"I know," he said. "At least being a dog was kinda cool. But he turned me into a rat!" Lily smiled, finding the whole situation rather amusing. She started back to Wu's, excited to have human-Tobey back, but kinda sad to not have him on her shoulder anymore. "You can't get much more insulting, as mammals go."
She laughed. "Its kinda a compliment. He saw you as such a threat that he had to turn you into something that couldn't cause much harm." He was quiet, contemplating this.
"I never thought of it that way."
"Of course not!" She grinned at him, almost running into a parked car in the process. She corrected herself quickly. A minute later she was locking up her bike again, heading inside, sliding in to a booth with Nana, Sue and Sid. "Hey," she said, and Tobey climbed down to the table, washing his face with his paws.
Nana leaned over to take a closer look, then laughed. "Sue and Sid told me, but its much more amusing in person."
"Nana!" Tobey said, pouting somehow. "Can you change me back?"
"I dunno..." She said, pointing to the book in front of her. "I will have to make a fresh batch of fortune cookies... You might be spending the night like that, Tobey."
"What?! No! I'll stay up until you get them done!"
She frowned, but nodded. "I'll go get started on them, then." She left for the kitchen, muttering to herself about ingredients.
"You, er, might want to get him upstairs before Mr. Wu catches sight of him," Sid said, pointing to Tobey. Tobey snapped at his finger, and Sid recoiled quickly. "I'm serious!"
"I know; thanks Sid," Lily said, scooping up Tobey-rat and carrying him, handing the small package back to Nana, and asking what she had done with Kong Li.
"Oh, yes, he's magically bound and tied up in my room, in case he wakes up soon. Quite impressive," she added with a smile. Saying a small thanks, Lily continued up the stairs, coming to her room and closing the door behind them.
"No, no! Let's go grab some food out of my room first." He scurried to the door, and she opened it, following him to the room he shared with Sid, and helping get some of the snacks he had stashed in his drawers and other various places around the room. Her arms full, she walks warily back to her room, and together they sit and munch.
A while later, they hear Sue yelling at Sid. "It's none of your business!" She screeches, slamming the door to her room. Lily and Tobey peek out the door to see Sid standing in front of Sue's door, furious.
"It is my business! Mai-mai!" He bangs on the door.
"No it isn't! I didn't object when you wanted to date Tiffany Cho!"
"You're my little sister! It's different!"
"Stay out of my business, Sid!" He looked away from the door angrily, and spot the pair eavesdropping.
"Yeah, well, I told you I didn't like it, didn't I, Lils?" He kicked the wall angrily and slammed the door to his room.
"He did?" Tobey asked, confused. She shut the door to her room again.
"That's right. He was mad because its hard for him to get a date. He said that because of the secrets we have to keep..."
"Right." He returned to his bag of chips, eating one hungrily. She wrinkled up her nose slightly.
"Even as a rat, you have a neverending stomach." He chuckled, and she laughed at hearing such a strange sound. "You are adorable!" She declared, scooping him up and cuddling him up to her cheek. He licked her cheek, making her blink in surprise, then laugh. "Oh, I'm gonna miss you like this!" Tobey-rat smiled a ratty smile and climbed up to settle into her hair.
"You're right. I could never sit on your head before!"
"Oh! Just don't poop in my hair!" She said, genuinely worried.
"Gross! Com'on, not even I would do that!" She laughed. "Hey, go into my room and I'll show you where those comics are." She agreed, heading to Sid and Tobey's room, knocking awkwardly. Sid let them in with a curious expression, watching the pair as she dug through his mess of a closet at his instruction, pulling out comics along the way.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said, wrinkling her nose as she pulled out something moldy.
"Me either," Sid said, watching her from his bunk. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
She shrugged. "Not really. Besides reading the books Nana gave me... which turned out to come in handy tonight."
"Yeah, hey, thanks, by the way. That fall could've been bad."
"The fall? What about him choking you?!" She looked at him, alarmed, and he rubbed his throat in remembrance.
"Yeah, well, that too. I guess I owe you twice for tonight." She nodded, returning to her digging, blushing slightly.
"You guys know I can every word you're saying, right?" Tobey asked from inside a bag of candy he had found. He stuck his head out to look at them sternly. "Don't get any ideas, Sid."
"Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of it," Sid said with a roll of his eyes, but when Tobey returned to his bag, he gave Lily a smile. She furrowed her eyebrows and turned back to collecting comics, confused. What just happened?
"I'm gonna talk to Sue for a minute," she told them, slipping out the door and next door before they could object, knocking on Sue's door. Sue answered after a second, a hand holding up her hair. "Hey."
"Hey," she answered, allowing Lily to come in and shut the door behind her. Sue then let her hair down, and it fell just past her shoulders. She looked at it sadly before returning to putting it up. "What's up?"
"Just, er, making sure you're alright," Lily answered, and Sue looked at her in the mirror.
"I'm fine, just annoyed. Sid was threatening Barney and I caught him." She heaved a big sigh. "He had him pinned against the wall."
"He's just worried about you," Lily said calmly, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"I know, I mean, I know that. It's just...aggrevating. I mean, I can take care of myself!"
"He knows that. But he's your brother; he's always going to be protective." She paused. "He doesn't think Barney is good enough for you." At this Sue turned around and sat in front of the other girl.
"What?"
"Yeah; he told me that."
"But that's silly. Barney's great!" She smiled in such a convincing way that Lily smiled in return.
"Let him warm up to the idea," she suggested, fixing a stray strand of Sue's hair so it laid flat. "I actually... had a question for you."
"Shoot."
Lily looked down at her hands, going through a thousand different ways of saying what was on her mind. "I think Sid likes me," she said in a small voice, and Sue laughed in a small way.
"Of course he does. But if you and Tobey get together—then he won't try anything. He'll find someone else."
"Oh, okay. Just making sure I wasn't imagining anything."
"No, you're not. Plus, he's grateful for earlier. That might have made it worse." Sue gave her a half-hearted smile.
"Yeah, I got that feeling too."
"Look, don't feel bound to them. You don't have to date either!" She paused. "But if you hurt either one of them you'll have me to answer to!"
"Sue, if I choose one I'm bound to hurt the other. Besides, I'm already pretty settled on Tobey." She looked up at the girl. "I can't see your brother as any more than a friend, really. He seems to be a great one."
"He is," she agreed. "Still, might want to get back to the rat before he gets in trouble."
"True," Lily said with a frown, bidding Sue a goodbye and returning to the room next door.
"Is she alright?" Sid asked immediatly after her return. Lily nodded.
"Yeah, she's just annoyed by you. She told me what was happening—"
"I didn't want him getting smug!" Sid said defensively, standing up off his bottom bunk. "I've always liked him, but his hands on—"
"Dude, chill," Tobey said, climbing up Lily's leg and to her shoulder. She sat down and petted him absentmindedly. "No one's condemning you here."
"Right," Lily said with a small smile, "just telling you what happened."
"Yeah, sorry," Sid said, sliding down to the floor with them. He ran a hand down his face, then watched Lily pet Tobey. "Isn't that weird?"
She raised her eyebrows. "A little, but I'm getting used to it."
"And it feels good," Tobey said, enlongating the word and he nudged her hand again.
Sid smiled slightly. "Too bad Nana's changing him back tonight. You could've—" As if she had heard their conversation, Nana knocked on the door, calling to Tobey. He licked Lily's cheek before scurrying over to Nana and they head downstairs, Nana carrying a set of clothes for him. Suddenly Lily was left alone with Sid, and no quick way to escape. She cleared her throat slightly and picked up the stack of comics she had collected, organising them numerically. "Are you guys..." He trailed off, and Lily looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "Y'know, are you guys going out?"
"Oh," she said, looking down at the comic in her hands. "Um, not yet, as far as I know."
"Well, keep me updated, alright?" He asked, coming to sit beside her and helping her straighten out the comic's covers and arrange them. "He's like a brother to me."
"Not going to threaten me, are you?" She asked with a small laugh, and he smirked.
"If I feel the need to I will. Just be careful with him, alright? He's been through a lot." He stopped, looking at her. "I mean, so have you but—"
"I knew what you meant," she said, saving him from his hole. "There's no rush, is there? I'm here pretty much permanently." He nodded. "I've only known you guys for a few days after all—"
Tobey burst through the door then, crying a yell of glee and tackling her with a hug. She laughed and they fell over. "Glad to have you back to normal, Tobey."
"Glad to be back!" He said with a grin, looking down at her with a strange look in his eyes, then letting her up and hugging Sid.
"Ack, get off!" Sid said half-heartedly, smiling. Tobey then hooked an arm around each of their shoulders.
"What were you guys talking about, huh?"
"Er, you," Lily said with a small laugh.
"I knew it!" He said with a grin, scooping up the comics sloppily and leading Lily from the room. She said a quick and hasty goodbye as she was almost dragged from his room to hers. He locked the door behind them and set the comics in the center of her floor. He then sat down and pulled her down too, suddenly much more serious. "Was he bothering you?"
"What? No, of course not," she answered, taking his hand and twining her fingers through his.
"Are you sure?" He said, sounding worried. He caught her other hand and did the same, pulling her closer to in front of him. "Sid's great, and I mean if you—"
"Tobey," she said softly, looking him straight in his eyes. "He is great, but he's not you." She smiled at him, and he smiles genuinely back.
"You think I'm better than Sid?"
"No," she watched his smile fall in that split second. "You are better than Sid. And everyone else, in my eyes."
"Even though—I mean, my past—" She shook her head.
"I don't care. I'll keep you in line if need be, but I won't need to. You're a great person." She touched her nose to his gently. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before reopening them.
"Are you sure...?" He came a little closer, his lips a breath from hers. She just nods quickly, closing that small gap between them and kissing him. He kissed her back after a second, releasing her hands to wrap his arms around her, and her hands fell to his legs and she didn't make to move them in a hurry.
He growled as Nana's voice came down the hall in a panic. But he kissed her again, and again, before releasing her and they go to open the door and see what was the matter. She bit her lip softly, trying to keep her mind at what was at hand. He glanced at her, then he was all business, running down the hall with her a step behind.
"Nana?" He called. She was back in her room—her hair was tousled and her face was furious.
"Tobey! Lily! He—" Nana's face was a ocean of emotion before she got herself under control again. "He's gotten away somehow. I don't know how, but I know he won't try anything again too quickly." She frowned and looked out of the broken window. "I don't understand it. I had a magic barrier on him."
"Nana, he's very powerful—its possible he worked on a way around it," Lily said, stepping into the room and examining the remnants of the rope. Tobey stepped over to Nana and led her to a chair.
"Yes, I suppose," Nana said, then looked up at Lily. "Tell me what happened."
Lily hesitated, then took a deep breath. "We got there, he told us that he had Tobey up there, Sid threatened him, but he asked for—for me to go up there. Sid and Sue come up as well. He cracks the second floor where we stood—right near the stairs you know? Sue fell, but she was alright. I caught Sid." Here she paused, knowing it was the first time Tobey had heard the story as well. She kept her eyes from his. "He's heavy, but I couldn't drop him. Kong Li tried to make me. He tried to get into my mind—I could feel him. But I remembered what I read, from the books that you gave me, Nana, and I could push him out. I pulled Sid up, but Kong Li jumped on him, choking him. By then Sue was on the top stair, but the jump was too far, she couldn't help. When I tried to help, he pointed that damned staff at me and—" She cut off, moving her head slightly to the side, not sure how to explain it. She could explain mind control and that kind of magic, but her strength that somehow overpowered this man? "I took it from his hands and knocked him out with it."
Tobey actually laughed, then covered up his mouth, but he was still laughing. Nana just smiled. "Sometimes the simplest techniques can be more effective than the most elaborate plan," she said, looking out the window again from her seat. "He's becoming more powerful. We'll have to keep up your training, Lily. In all aspects." She looked toward the door then. "Sue, and Sid? Where are they?"
"They fought; I doubt they'll want to see each other," Lily said.
"Yeah, when Sid's playing his guitar you can't hear much else," Tobey said jokingly, and Nana smiled. "What? It's true!"
"I know. Just make sure to inform them, alright?" They both nod, and they leave Nana's room, exchanging glances with each other sidelong—with a hint of a smile.
"I'll tell Sid. You tell Sue. Then go to your room—" She nodded in comprehension, he smiled, then dissappeared into his room. Lily knocked on Sue's door, and was let in. She told the girl quickly what had happened, making Sue frown.
"Nana's right. He is getting stronger. They only thing for it is to get stronger ourselves." Lily nodded, yawning and saying goodnight. "Hey—" Lily turned back around, a question in her eyes. "Now that Tobey's not a rat—"
"I'll keep you updated," Lily replied with a small smile and a nod, retiring to her room.