Chapter 4: Hanging By a Moment
Mandrake High School (Next Morning)
Lauren couldn't stop thinking about what her sister had said. Her Father was a force to be reckoned with, he was a descendant of an ancient royal bloodline of Angels. She dreaded to think what would happen if he found out about Bo. She hoped that maybe the fact that she was happy would sway his reaction.
But she really had no clue. He despised the McCorrigan family, it didn't matter if Bo was different. She carried the name, so she was branded the same as her Grandfather. But Lauren wasn't going to think about that right now.
No, now she was going to go and meet up with her Girlfriend who had texted her early this morning asking her to meet with her behind the bleachers as soon as she got into the school.
Lauren walked into the small entry way which led to the back of the stands. Just before she could call out Bo's name, she was grabbed by her hand and forcefully pulled to the right.
"Hey" Bo giggled, leaning in for a kiss.
The blonde placed her hands on either sides of the brunette's face deepening the kiss. "Hey yourself" She pulled away with the chuckle.
"I have a question for you, I've been racking my brain with it all night" the brunette admitted.
Having questions wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It just depended on what they were about, "Okay, go ahead" Lauren gave her a nod to continue.
"If you have the power to 'poof' to where ever you want, then why do you drive to school?" Bo asked, it was a reasonable question.
"Poof?" The Angel laughed at her Girlfriend's choice of words. Bo rolled her eyes, what was she supposed to call it? "It's not poofing, it's called Corporealising. And I only use it in cases of dire emergency" she explained.
"Well last night definitely was a close one that's for sure" The succubus agreed. She didn't want to think about what would've happened if they had gotten caught.
Lauren nodded. That was an understatement. "Yes it was, maybe we should just stick to meeting somewhere else from now on" She thought that was best.
"We could go to my house, no one ever comes into my room. Except for my sister, it's mostly when she wants to borrow something from me. Or steal something, she does that a lot too" Bo chuckled.
"Have you told any of your family yet?" Lauren was curious to know if the brunette was thinking about it all.
Bo shook her head. "No, but I feel like if I don't soon then I'll explode. I hate lying to them, especially my sister. She's my best friend" She sighed. Kenzi was the apple of her eye, she was the best little sister ever. And she hated keeping things from her.
The blonde felt sad for her. Especially since her own sister already knew. "Sorry"
"I need a hug…" The brunette gave a playful pout. "… Actually, I need your hug" she added with a smile. Lauren was happy to oblige, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck bringing her in for a tight hug.
"Lauren? Are you down here?" Ciara ran out behind the stands only to find her two friends caught in an embrace. "Aww, you guys look so adorable" she squealed happily clapping her hands together.
Bo and Lauren parted but kept their fingers laced together. "How did you know that I was here?" The Angel asked.
The Fairy began to approach them both. "Tamsin said that she saw you head out this way, I need to talk to you about something"
Lauren was a little miffed about not having private time with her Girlfriend, it was always something with Ciara. "What's up?"
"Well, as you and Bo here know. This Saturday is the football team's first away game and as cheerleaders we have to go with them" Ciara explained.
The Angel frowned, "And what does that have to do with me?" She wasn't a cheerleader, so why was this her problem?
"Coach Gilbert said that if I don't do well on my math test next week that she's going to bench me for the whole season. The test is the Monday after the game, since I won't see you on the weekend I won't have time to study. So I was wondering if you would maybe consider coming with me, that way you can help me study before the game and by the time that we get back I'll be ready. Please" Ciara begged her friend, putting her hands together hopefully.
She knew that Lauren was the only one that she trusted to help her with this. Lauren knew how to make Ciara focus when she needed to. Plus the Fairy was hoping that she would say yes since Bo would be coming too.
Lauren turned to Bo who was nodding at her, silently telling her to come. "Fine, I'll have to run it past my parents first though" she wasn't making any promises.
Ciara squealed in delight and gave her best friend a crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you! Oh and Bo, you're welcome" She gave the brunette a subtle wink before running to her class.
"Yay! Saved me from having to miss you for the whole weekend" Bo chuckled.
"Like I said, I have to ask my parents first" Lauren didn't want to be a buzz kill, but this was the way that it had to be. If her parents ended up telling her no, then she wasn't going and that was that.
Bo could understand that. "Okay, can we please go back to the way that we were ten minutes ago? I love Ciara, but she has a habit of popping up at the most awkward times" she laughed.
Lauren nodded as she felt Bo's hands circle her waist, pushing her back into the metal fence before capturing her lips ever so gently.
Lewis Manor (Later)
Lauren took a deep breath as she knocked on the door to her Father's study. He was always in there doing something, Damon was chief of surgery at Mandrake Falls Hospital. He had a cushy schedule and mostly dealt with investors for the hospital. "Come!" she heard her Father yell from inside.
The girl opened the big wooden doors and stepped inside then closed them behind her. "Dad? Do you have a minute?" she gave him her best smile.
"For you? Always, have a seat sweetie" he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.
The blonde sat down slowly, resting her hands on the arm rests. "May I have your permission to go on a field trip this weekend?" she asked.
Damon frowned, Lauren normally gave them notice when she knew if any trips were coming up. "What kind of field trip?" he sat back in his leather chair.
"Well, it's so I can help Ciara study for a big math test that she has next week. Her cheerleading squad has to join the football team for their first away game, and she asked me to go with them" She explained.
He exhaled loudly, contemplating it. "Is this trip solely for the purpose of helping Ciara?"
Lauren knew what he was doing, he was trying to see if she was lying. But she actually wasn't. "Yes" she answered honestly.
Damon smiled, "Then you may attend. I assume that there will be an appropriate chaperone?" he was making sure. She nodded. "Very well, how long is the duration?" he asked.
"I'll leave Saturday morning and then return early Sunday evening" she said.
"Have fun then, I trust that you will be responsible?" he narrowed his eyes at her.
Lauren smiled with a nod. "Yes sir…" she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. After talking with Ciara, she went to see Coach Gilbert who gave her a parental consent form for Lenore and Damon to sign saying that Lauren was allowed to go. "… Coach Gilbert insists that you sign this" she handed it to her father.
Damon took it and scanned it over quickly, everything seemed to be in order. He picked up his pen from his desk and scribbled his signature on the dotted line. "Here you go" he smiled handing it back to his daughter.
"Thank you Father" Lauren got up and started walking around his desk to give him a kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room.
Saturday Morning
After Lauren had said goodbye to her Mother and Father, Tamsin offered to give her little sister a ride to the school which was where the bus was leaving from. The town that they were going to was only three hours away, so they had more than enough time.
Tamsin brought her truck to a stop and hopped out to help her little sister with the bags. "Jesus, what do you have in here books?" she groaned holding the heavy duffle bag.
"It's just some light reading" Lauren smiled.
"So, books!" The older Lewis repeated in a huff.
Lauren laughed watching her big sister drag her duffle bag over to the bus driver who was loading the rest of the luggage. "Lauren! Come on!" Ciara called out from her window.
The blonde nodded at her friend then turned to Tamsin one last time. "See you tomorrow then?" she tapped her arm.
Tamsin grabbed her sister's hand, turning her back around. "Wait, promise me that you'll be responsible on this trip?" she just wanted to make sure that her little sister didn't make any big decisions before she was ready.
Lauren quickly understood what her sister was getting at. And she was a little insulted. "You seriously think that I'm going to do that? We've been dating for less than a week T. Give me a little more credit than that" her voice was dripping with anger. She couldn't believe that her sister thought of her like that.
"I'm not being mean Lauren, I'm just saying. Come here…" Tamsin let out a laugh, bringing her sister in for a hug. "… Love you kid, have fun"
The younger blonde smiled into her sister's neck. "I will, love you too" she hugged her back before getting on the bus.
As soon as she walked further onto the bus, she saw the charming smile of her girlfriend as Bo patted the empty seat next to her. "Saved you a seat…" she giggled. Lauren sat down next to he, giving her a soft kiss earning an 'Ooohhh' from the rest of the girls on the bus. "… Shut up!" Bo joined in on the laughter.
Granville Marriot Hotel (3 Hours Later)
The girls sighed in relief as they got off the bus. That felt like the longest bus ride ever. Since Lauren wasn't on the cheerleading squad, she had her own room. Which was actually a god send, she didn't fancy sharing a room with a bunch of screaming cheerleaders. That was way too much team spirit for her liking.
And since her Father had paid for her room, she had a nicer accommodation than the rest of the girls. Lauren was just putting her things away when there was a knock at her door. She walked over and opened it, seeing her girlfriend on the other side holding a grocery bag full of stuff.
"Been shopping?" Lauren let her in.
"Actually yes, I ran to the market across the street and got some stuff for us…" Bo stepped into the room with a smile. She dropped her jaw when she saw her girlfriend's suite. There was a living room and a huge bed. It was way better than her own room, Bo was currently sharing with two other girls. Carmen and Kia were super annoying and she could do without the headache. "… How did you score this room?"
"My Dad, he called ahead and booked it for me. I had no idea until the front desk told me" The blonde appreciated the gesture, but it was a little blindsiding.
Bo slipped her jacket off, "He must really love you huh?" She ran over to the bed, jumping on it like a kid.
Lauren joined her with a laugh. "So what did you get?" she looked down to the brown bag.
The succubus reached in, pulling out a variety of snacks, a tub of cookie dough ice cream and a large bottle of soda. "Treats!" she beamed.
The Angel quickly grabbed the bag of chocolate covered pretzels, "Dibs…" she loved those. "… Shouldn't you be with the others, working on your routine for tomorrow?" She opened the bag to eat the pretzels.
Bo shook her head, "Nope, I have the routine down. Ciara gave me permission to skip rehearsal. Plus, Coach is out meeting with Granville High's cheerleading coach. Apparently they are old college pals" she didn't mind having the night off.
"Well, I finished the flash cards that I made for Ciara. Do you wanna watch a movie?" the blonde asked.
That sounded amazing to Bo right now, the two girls made their way over to the living area and saw what movies the hotel network had to offer. After watching a bunch of comedies, Bo wanted to watch a horror movie. Lauren wanted to protest at first but then her girlfriend gave her a playful pout.
So here they were watching Shaun of The Dead. Forgoing the terrible costume makeup that the zombies were sporting, Lauren was actually enjoying it. But it was more of a horror/comedy.
By the time that the movie had ended, Bo and Lauren had moved over to the bed where they were steadily making out. They both knew that it was way too soon to be doing anything other than kissing. But it didn't mean that they couldn't get frisky every now and then.
They were currently laying side by side, the brunette had her hands at her girlfriend's waist pulling her closer while Lauren's were on Bo's face. "I can't get enough of you..." she whispered. Bo felt something stir inside her, it felt different and unsettling. But she felt like she needed more of her. Then she realised what was happening. Her powers were starting to rise to the surface.
Aife had told Bo what she would become and how she would have to feed on people for the rest of her life. She was less than excited, she didn't want to have to sleep with strangers just to stay healthy. And she had Lauren now, she didn't want to ruin what they shared.
Bo's heart started to race as her inner succubus was clawing at her insides begging to be free. She couldn't do this now, she didn't want to do this. The brunette pulled away with her eyes closed. She let go of the blonde and sat up trying to breathe through it.
Lauren didn't know what was happening, so she sat up with her and touched Bo's shoulder gently. "What's wrong?"
Bo was breathing deeply, she needed to push her succubus back down. "Nothing…" she mumbled, still breathing in and out.
"Bo, you're scaring me. Are you sick?" The blonde didn't know how to help her.
The young Fae shook her head before opening her eyes. She could see her eyes in the wall mirror from where she was sitting, they were flashing blue. That wasn't good. Lauren tried to turn her girlfriend around but Bo shrugged her off. "… I just need a second" she said. She was praying for her eyes to change back to normal before Lauren caught a glimpse of them.
The Angel scooted over to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her from behind and kissing her on the side of her head. "It's okay…" she whispered into her ear. "… You're okay"
Bo kept breathing in and out, somehow having Lauren next to her was helping tame her inner succubus. It made Bo think about how much of an effect that the Angel was having on her. She opened her eyes again, looking into the mirror she saw that they were back to their normal brown.
Did Lauren do that? Bo didn't know what to think. She held her girlfriend's hand that was draped around her chest. "Sorry" she could only apologise.
"Don't be, you wanna to tell me what that was?" Lauren asked.
The brunette thought that this was a good time to have the Fae conversation with her girlfriend, she quickly turned around both of them sitting up against the headboard. "My powers are starting to come in"
Lauren understood a little more now, she couldn't imagine having something so powerful hit her at all at once. She had her powers at birth, so she didn't have to be taken by surprise when she hit puberty. The Fae didn't have that luxury. "What are you, becoming?" She didn't mean to be rude, but she was curious to know.
"A Succubus" Bo answered.
The Angel raised her eyebrows in surprise, she had heard about a succubus and knew they were very rare creatures. She also knew how they fed, and now she didn't know how to react.
"Just so you know, I don't expect anything from you. Frankly if I didn't have to become one then I wouldn't. To be honest the whole thing terrifies me" Bo admitted.
Lauren could feel Bo's fear when she talked about her nature. She couldn't imagine feeling that way. Being an Angel made her lucky. "I wish that I could tell you that I understand how you feel, but I can't. I was born with my powers, I can't imagine how hard it must be for you. To have it sprung on you all at once" She sympathised with her.
"Just having you here, makes me feel better" the brunette smiled. Lauren had this way of making her feel calm and sane, this was so crazy. They had only been dating for a week, and yet Bo couldn't imagine living life without her.
The blonde smiled, pressing a kiss to her Girlfriend's temple. "Glad I could help"
"It's getting late. I should probably head back to my room" Bo pouted Carmen and Kia both snored. She had to share a room with them every time that they had these trips. It was literally like there was a gorilla in the room.
But then Lauren had an idea. "You can stay, if you want..." She smiled at her, they didn't have to do anything. They could just sleep. "… I mean, there's more than enough room" she added tapping the bed.
"Are you sure? I don't want to overstep or anything" the brunette didn't want to ruin it by going too fast.
Lauren shook her head. "You won't be, I want you to stay" she really did.
"Okay then, I'll stay" Bo chuckled.
She ran back to her room to grab some clothes to sleep in, by the time that she got back the lights were off and Lauren was already tucked into her bed fast asleep. The succubus smiled as she saw the sight before her, she could watch her girlfriend sleep forever.
Bo quickly changed and slid into the bed beside the slumbering Angel. She didn't know whether Lauren would want to snuggle up to her so she just laid on her back closing her eyes. Just then, she felt the bed shift as Lauren turned her body and rested her head on Bo's shoulder.
"Good night Bo" the blonde whispered.
The young succubus turned her head and placed a soft kiss on her girlfriend's head. "Good night Lauren" she closed her eyes again as she waited for sleep to overtake her.
Granville High School (Next Day)
As soon as morning came, Ciara banged on Lauren's door. But to her surprise it wasn't so she could study before the game. She was looking for Bo, who hadn't told anyone that she was staying in Lauren's room and now Coach Gilbert thought that she was missing.
The brunette immediately felt bad, she got dressed very fast and kissed her girlfriend goodbye before running back to her room to take the brunt of the coach's wrath. Once everyone was in their uniforms they all headed down to the opposing team's pitch.
It was the Granville Giants Vs the Mandrake Dragons.
According to Bo, the Giants were a force to be reckoned with. She explained that it was basically a school for rich kids, and that all of the football players were on steroids but as long as their parents invested in the school they were never punished for it.
And then there was their cheerleading team, Bo told Lauren that she had a long time feud going on with one of the girls on the Granville squad. Her name was Alisha, she was bitch and that was all Lauren needed to know.
The blonde couldn't help but notice how hot her girlfriend looked in her cheering uniform. And thankfully their school's colours weren't awful, they were just simple black and red. Bo had her hair up in a high ponytail, tied with a red ribbon. Since Lauren was a part of their team, Coach Gilbert allowed her to sit on the bench with the rest of the cheerleaders.
The game had kicked off to a good start, Dyson and Hale had already scored putting the Dragons in the lead. Lauren didn't normally go to the football games back at school, only when Ciara asked her to. But she was actually enjoying herself.
The whistle blew for half time as the teams ran into the locker rooms to take a break. Bo ran up to Lauren quickly, taking a long swig of her water bottle. "Having fun?" she asked.
Lauren nodded, "Surprisingly, yes I am"
The brunette put her bottle down and picked her Pom Poms back up. "Time to put the cheer in cheerleader…" She gave Lauren a kiss on the cheek before running out to the rest of her squad mates.
The Angel laughed seeing her girlfriend dancing to the music. She could never see herself as a cheerleader. But Bo was good at it, she moved easily and obviously had no trouble remembering the steps. Lauren looked over to the Granville cheerleaders to see that one of them was giving her girlfriend daggers.
That must be Alisha, she was pretty. But not nearly as much as Bo was. She had red hair and was average height. Lauren wondered what happened to make them argue so much.
After fifteen minutes had passed the players ran back out onto the field to begin the second half. With what Bo had told her, Lauren was expecting the opposing team to be hard to beat. But they were obviously lacking something today. Dyson scored the winning touchdown in the last few seconds, making the Dragons victorious.
The blonde watched as half of the people in the stands cheered, some of their school had travelled out to see the game. The cheerleaders were also jumping up and down, cheering for their winning team.
Bo ran back over to her girlfriend jumping on her and giving her a crushing hug. "We won!" she loved cheering more than she led on.
Lauren found it very cute. "Congratulations" she liked seeing her so happy. The two girls watched as Ciara ran into Dyson's arms, the boy picked her up and twirled her around.
Bo thought that maybe she should do the same, although she decided against lifting the blonde up so she just grabbed her by the hips and crashed their lips together. Lauren was caught a little off guard but easily fell into it with a smile as she held her girlfriend's face in her hands.
"How touching"
They pulled away hearing a female voice from behind them, one that was all too familiar to Bo. Turning around she saw Alisha, one of the Giants' cheerleaders. "Do you mind? We're kind of having a private moment" she let go of Lauren to face the red head.
"I see that…" Alisha paused to look at Lauren; "…. You know that you can do a lot better than this skank right?" she narrowed her eyes at the blonde. Bo was about to approach her enemy when she felt Lauren's hand on her arm. "So who did you steal this poor girl from Bo?" Alisha asked with a smirk.
Lauren frowned, why would this girl think that Bo stole her from someone? "What do you mean by that?"
"Your girl here, is a boyfriend stealer. Isn't that right?" Alisha stepped forward with her arms folded over her chest.
The succubus snorted. "You could not be more wrong, your boyfriend tried to kiss me. Why the hell would I go for a juiced up asshole like him?" she defended herself.
Lauren didn't know how to react to that, although they both hard two sides of the story and it happened before she and Bo had even spoken to each other properly so she wasn't going to get involved in it. It didn't matter to her, because she had Bo now.
"Why would he try to kiss you, when he had me?" Alisha entered Bo's personal space. She looked supremely pissed off.
The brunette shrugged, "Maybe he didn't think that you were all that"
That seemed to do the trick, because the next thing that Lauren saw was Alisha's hand slapping Bo's face hard. As the brunette fell to the ground, Lauren felt a wash of anger come over her. She balled up her fist and punched the red head in her mouth. The Angel pulled her hand back, shaking it from the pain that she was feeling. She had never hit anyone before.
"Alright ladies! That's Enough!" Coach Gilbert yelled, running over to inspect the dispute. "What happened here?"
Bo pointed to Alisha. "She started it coach, Lauren was just defending me" She touched her sore face while getting up. She didn't want her girlfriend to get in trouble for this.
Coach Gilbert seemed to believe Bo as she looked at Alisha who was bleeding from her mouth and crying hysterically. Everyone started to crowd them trying to see what was going on. "Show's over folks, everyone get your stuff and then back on the bus" The coach ordered her squad.
Bo put her hand on the small of Lauren's back as she led her into the locker room.
Granville Marriott Hotel (20 Minutes Later)
Once they got back to the hotel, Coach Gilbert ordered the girls to get cleaned up and then to pack their things. It wouldn't be long until they were travelling back home. By the time that they had gotten to Lauren's room, the blonde's hand was already healed. Thanks to her Angel abilities whenever Lauren would get hurt she would heal not long after.
Bo on the other hand had a lovely red mark on her cheek that was just getting more colour by the second.
The blonde told her girlfriend that she could use her shower, then she wouldn't have to wait for Carmen or Kia in her own room. Lauren packed her stuff as she waited, and even thought this hotel had maids to clean the rooms she wanted to clean up a bit herself. She couldn't help her OCD tendencies.
The Succubus waked out of the bathroom, already changed into some jeans and a plaid shirt. She felt better after her shower but she still felt pain from that bitch's slap.
Lauren turned around and immediately felt bad looking at her girlfriend's face. "That looks really bad" she walked up to her.
Bo shook her head. "It's nothing, I'll just get an ice pack from the Coach" It wasn't that much of a big deal to her.
But Lauren had other ideas."Actually, I might be able to help you out..." She raised her hand and hovered it over the red mark on her girlfriend's cheek, watching as a white light shined through her palm.
The brunette gasped suddenly as she felt a warm and tingly sensation where the pain used to be. 'Wait! Used to be?' She thought. Then she realised, she couldn't feel the pain anymore.
Lauren pulled her hand away and gave a cheeky grin. "... Ta da!" she chuckled.
Bo still didn't understand what ha just happened. She walked over to the mirror to check her face, her mark was gone and so was the pain. Lauren had healed her, she was gobsmacked. She had no idea that the blonde could do that. "You healed me"
The blonde nodded, "It's an—"
"Angel thing? Yeah, you say that a lot..." the young succubus laughed walking back over to her. She kissed her softly. "… Thank you" she rested her forehead against her girlfriend's.
"You were in pain. I had to do something" Seeing her in pain was something that Lauren couldn't bare.
Bo smiled at those words, holding her hand. "Ready to go?" They really had to get down to the buss. Lauren nodded, grabbing her bag and leaving the room with her girlfriend.
What an eventful trip.
Lewis Manor (4 Hours Later)
Once they arrived back in town, Tamsin was at the school ready and waiting for her sister to come back. The older angel didn't know what to think when she saw Bo and Lauren say goodbye to each other, very intimately. She was glad that her sister was happy, but she couldn't help but think that this whole thing was a bad idea from the start.
As they arrived home, Damon ordered Lauren to enter his study. Tamsin explained that their Father was less than happy after Coach Gilbert had called him telling him about the altercation with a girl from another school.
"You assured me that this would be a simple trip!" Damon yelled, pacing back and forth while Lauren was sitting in a chair with her head bowed. "I trusted you to be responsible, fighting with a human? I expect such reckless behaviour from your sister but it is so very disappointing when it comes from you Lauren" he stopped in front of her folding his arms.
"I'm sorry Dad, I was defending my friend" Lauren didn't have to say who.
"The fact that your intensions were for noble reasons is regardless. You are lucky that you have not yet reached full strength in your abilities. That girl would have ended up in the I.C.U" that was the last thing that he needed.
Angels were strong, very strong. But it technical terms, Lauren was still a baby. Her physical strength would grow exponentially over time.
The girl felt as though she was being told off like a child. "Again, I am truly sorry. It won't happen again Dad, I give you my word"
Damon sighed, "Stand..." he said. Lauren looked up and rose from her chair. He held his daughter's face in his hands. "… I know that you meant to protect your friend, and I am proud of you for that. But you must never, act so foolishly again. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Sir" she nodded.
"Good, you may go" he kissed her on the forehead.
Lauren exhaled and quickly left her Father's study. He was so frightening sometimes. It took a while to shake it off.
"Hey?"
The young blonde turned to see her sister holding out her own jacket to her. "Hey" she replied with a sad smile.
"Let's go for a ride" Tamsin handed her sister her jacket. Lauren took it from her and put it on while following her out the front door.
What an eventful trip, indeed.