It was after school–Jessica waved to Cassie and dashed off like she always did–; however, Cassie was watching Peter: He was talking to his purple-shoed friend, who looked much more banged up than he did when she first saw him and he mentioned that Peter should tutor her. Any moment, Peter would approach her like he always did.

But it wasn't Peter who approached her this time–it was James Cummings, the very same her brother beat the shit out of.

"Listen here, Lollipop, I go by Thorne. Call me by my real name and you'll get harassed like your brother. Got it?"

She smiled. "Thorne… It has a nice sound… That's the same name of a wood elf in this one book I'm rea…ding…" Her voice faltered when he gave her a disgusted look.

"And let's hope you don't make a habit of hanging out with us…"

She frowned and glanced over at Peter uncomfortably. His friends didn't seem to like her very much… He was glaring at Thorne, so it made her feel a little bit better. She glanced over at Thorne. "I'm sorry if my brother hurt you real bad…"

He grinned. "Nah, I'm fine! A black eye, a few bruised ribs and shattered teeth aren't too bad. And the bruised lung really reminds me why I provoked him in the first place."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"You mean you don't know yet? Didn't Peter tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

He glanced over at Peter, who shook his head and eyed the ground. He turned back to Cassie and bent down so he was eye level with her. "I like provoking people and giving them a hard time. Plus I'm pissed off that he called me by my fucking name. Don't make the same mistake he did, Lollipop. Okay?"

She nodded and he stood up, grabbing her and Peter's hand. "Good, now let's get going."

––––––––––––––

They entered a dark room with candles on the windowsill, a bit too close to the black drapes over the windows to be safe. Crucifixes were everywhere, as were skulls. There was a Blauhaus poster on the door and a few other posters of bands she'd never even heard of dotting the walls. What kind of band name was Skinny Puppy?

Thorne opened his arms wide and bowed to his friends. "And now I present the Lollipop Princess!"

He winked at her and she just shifted uncomfortably. Was he making fun of her? It really seemed like he was…

However, she couldn't let that get her down. Instead, she turned to the other two occupants. One was male–tall, curly-haired, leaning against the wall and bobbing his head lightly to a beat–and the other was female–paler than pale, with shoulder-length black hair, sitting on a bed and petting a cat. From what Cassie could see, she was wearing a deep green corset. Her lips were painted up in black lipstick, her nails in black polish. She was wearing an assortment of rings, and she had studs in her ears.

"That's a thousand for pictures and ten for gawking, dear."

Cassie's face flushed with hurt and embarrassment and she turned her face before she could take notice of the smile gracing the girl's lips.

"Oh, don't worry. I was making a joke. The name's Henrietta and it's a pleasure to meet you. Finally."

Cassie blinked. "What do you mean by finally?"

Henrietta glanced at Thorne, then at Peter. "Oh…baby bat…you skipped a step!"

Peter sighed. "I'm s-sorry… I just…got so…embarrassed all of a sudden and I asked her without thinking…"

Cassie glanced over at the door. "You guys aren't really trying convert me like Thorne keeps telling my brother, are you?"

The one leaning on the wall chuckled. "Convert you? How could we possibly do that? We aren't a fucking religion, and we aren't a cult. Peter's genuinely interested in getting to know you and he's been talking about you to us for advice on how to approach you…"

Henrietta sighed as Peter turned beet red and looked at the floor. "Nicholas, you've gone and embarrassed baby bat…again."

Cassie looked around at all of them, then back at Peter. "If that's true, then I'm glad. I want to be your friend, too…" Henrietta smiled as if she knew an inside joke that just got brought up, while Thorne and Nicholas just gave her icy stares. She bit her lip nervously and stuttered. "D-Did I…not pass?"

Henrietta's attention piqued at this, and a sly smile crossed her lips. "Pass what, Lollipop?"

"The…test… Why else would I be meeting you all?"

Henrietta and Nicholas exchanged glances. Nicholas smirked with her and patted Peter on the head. "Good pick, Peter. She's perceptive." He turned back to the blonde, face like ice once more. "Actually, we wanted to know if some of the things he said were true…"

Thorne looked enthusiastic as he practically bounced over to where she was, grabbing her pigtails. "Is it true you read comic books? I'm a huge fan of comics!"

Cassie smiled, her eyes alight with interest. "Yes. What kind do you read?"

He waved his hand casually, twirling her pigtails a little. "Oh, you know, the only ones worth reading–Spawn or anything published under the Vertigo and Dark Horse Comics label, like The Sandman and Hellboy. I also like practically everything Frank Miller creates. Pete said you were a collector of Neil Gaiman's fantasy works… Is that true, too?"

She nodded. "Yes! His are the best, without question! His novels are amazing, too! Everything he does is wonderful!" She laughed a little, her voice ringing out clear and melodic, like little bells.

Thorne looked at Henrietta and Nicholas, pointing at the blonde beside him who was practically sparkling by this point, with a big grin on his face, as if trying to coax them into something. Then he composed himself and turned to Peter, his smile becoming firm, more solemn.

"Well, Pete, you sure do pick them… You're right. More than meets the eye. I'm sold. Even if she does have that creepy obsession with fairy tales…"

Cassie looked a bit puzzled and found her gaze drifting to Henrietta, who seemed to be the only one that seemed to really look at her, besides Peter. She was practically beaming, even. After a moment, the older girl pursed her lips and motioned Cassie over to the bed with her index finger.

"Come here, Lollipop. You see…" She played with one of the girl's curls as she spoke, music on her voice. "It may seem like we're trying to suck you into this dark world and convert you…. But the truth is…" She poked Cassie right on the nose, giving her a warm smile. "I wanted Peter to bring you here to convert us."

She turned Cassie around to face Nicholas, hugging her a little and resting her head on the girl's arm. "That one in particular… He's a tricky one, and he's been nothing but negative towards our poor little baby bat and his lollipop friend…"

Nicholas just sneered, shifting his weight and walking toward the door.

"Now, Now, Nicky. You told me you'd give her a chance."

He grimaced and turned to face the little girl, looking her over for the fourteenth time with an upturned nose: her blonde pigtails and glossed lips; those pink Mary Jane's and white leggings; that pleated plaid skirt and white laced blouse with a pink tank top over it, and that sickeningly sparkly pink star pendant dangling from her neck.

The girl even had on a headband with pigtails, for Christ's sake! She didn't have any bangs to pull back, so what was the point of a headband!?

He glared. "I will never like her. Ever."

Cassie turned red and glanced at Henrietta, who seemed to be the main leader, with Nicholas trailing at a close second. "I-It's alright. He doesn't have to like me. As long as I can still be Peter's friend…"

Nicholas rolled his eyes at the dirty looks Henrietta was giving him. "Fine? You want me to try? Fine. Here we go." He turned to Cassie, making her jump with his curt voice. "You, Pinky, what's your favorite band?"

"…Mika. Oh, and The Beatles…"

He grimaced, giving Henrietta a look of resentment. "I blame you for bringing this abomination into our midst, you harpy woman."

Henrietta sighed, chuckling a little. "Alright, Nicky. You can go outside and have a smoke…"

As he dashed out the door, the cat went trailing out the door, yowling with hunger. Henrietta and Thorne exchanged amused glances and Henrietta tossed a pack of cigarettes to Cassie. "Ah. He's the only one of us that can stand this brand, and if he doesn't have them he goes crazy. This should be fun to watch."

Thorne snickered. "Like giving a shark the scent of blood, my friend." He walked over and grabbed the pack from Cassie's hands. "He'll never suspect you. You wear a training bra yet? Because if you don't, you probably won't like this." He stuffed it down her shirt and she twitched, the pack staying there snug in her bra.

Peter glared, kicking him in the back of the leg. Thorne just rolled his eyes after a half-hearted wince. "Just think of this as an initiation! She has assisted in pissing off Mr. High-and-Mighty." Peter looked slightly worried, rather than amused.

"Yeah…that's what I'm afraid of…"

The door slammed open and Nicholas stalked back into the room, glaring at Henrietta. "I know it was you. I saw you rummaging through my coat an hour ago." Peter took a few steps toward the bed, toward Cassie, eyeing Nicholas anxiously.

Henrietta shrugged. "You shouldn't have given me the opportunity."

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his voice low and enraged. "You seduced me, you fucking harpy! It's not like I go around throwing my coat off for just any whim!"

Henrietta's lips curled into an even slyer smile. "I can't help it if you're too easy. 'Sides…" She titled her head and gave him a cocky wink. "You're fun to mess with."

He whirled around to meet Thorne's eyes. "So that leaves you! You're in on it, too! You always are! Give me my cigarettes before I fucking kill you! I want my goddamn cigarettes right now! I have got the biggest fucking craving and I haven't had a smoke all day because I'm low on cash!"

Thorne tried to keep himself from laughing, but it proved to be too much of a challenge.

Nicholas tried to contain his rage, but failed, finally picking up the nearest object and throwing it at him. The cat was coming back into the room when the metal skull came hurtling straight at the door. The skull ricocheted off the floor and scared the cat half to death, causing it to hiss loudly and go darting into the laundry room.

Henrietta stood up, her stiletto boots making her just as tall as her counterpart. "Hey! Shithead! Get out before I kick you out, and I don't think you want to know where this heel is going to end up!"

Nicholas turned around and cursed under his breath, storming out of the room and trying his best to keep his rage under control. Thorne stared at her with wide, frightened eyes, and she stomped on his foot. "You! You get the hell out of here, too!"

"Ah, god damn! Why the fu–"

"Because I'm sick of looking at your ugly purple shoes, ass-face!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

He stumbled to his feet and hobbled out of the room as fast as he could. That just left Cassie and Peter. Henrietta walked over in front of Peter, blocking his route to Cassie. She pointed at the door. "Go on, baby bat. I'll call for you and Thorne when it's time to take Lollipop home."

He nodded and glanced at Cassie, heading for the door. Cassie smiled nervously and waved at him; and he turned around, closing the door behind him. Henrietta turned around and sighed, the anger seeming to roll off her in waves.

"That Thorne…I always forget just how reckless he can be. I should've used my head. Of course Nicky would've gotten that pissed off. But for him to nearly hit Tanith… Ugh. I have no one to blame but myself…"

She looked at Cassie and smiled. "Could you hand me his cigarettes, please?"

Cassie reached down her shirt and pulled out the pack of cigarettes, handed it to the older girl. Henrietta smiled and reached into her corset for her own pack of cigarettes. "Don't ask how these things fit in this, because I'm not sure myself. But here, put this in your bra and Thorne will still get the satisfaction of pissing Nicky off."

Cassie stuffed it down her shirt and looked back up at Henrietta. "Are you and Nicholas going to get married?"

Henrietta burst out laughing. "M-Married!? Why would we do something as unnecessary as that!?"

"W-Well…you both love each other, right?"

Henrietta sighed, placing a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "Lollipop, there's one thing you haven't realized from talking to Nicky yet. His parents got divorced when he was only four, so he has no faith in marriage. He figures that two people can be perfectly happy without it, and I completely agree with him. People can be happy without words, too, you know. And we're perfectly happy the way we are, and that's really all that counts, isn't it?"

Cassie just mumbled a quiet, "Hmmm…" and Henrietta sat back down.

"So, Peter says your parents got into a fight two days ago so he couldn't tutor you that day…"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize on behalf of our reckless friend from getting your brother suspended and causing that argument in the first place. I'm sure it probably got you in a tizzy."

Cassie shook her head. "Oh, no. That's fine. My family's always fighting. Me and my brother actually joke about it and say our family's a giant walking scream."

Henrietta laughed. "Well then, welcome to our family, where fights only happen when you steal Nicky's cigarettes… Speaking of Nicky, if you want to win him over, you need to win him over with your taste in music. You said you like The Beatles–well, you should try listening to Siouxsie and the Banshees' version of 'Dear Prudence' and 'Helter Skelter'. I think you'd like them. Some of their songs are pretty upbeat sounding, so it's not hard for someone who likes Mika to like Siouxsie. Another one of his big bands is The Cure. I suggest listening to 'Friday, I'm in Love', 'In-Between Days' and 'Why Can't I Be You'. As for newer bands, he really likes The Killers, so try listening to 'Mr. Brightside' or 'When You Were Young'…"

Cassie gaped. "Wow, he must really like music if that's the only way I'll get him to like me…"

Henrietta smiled and closed her eyes. "Oh yes, he's into music big time. He plays a killer piano, too… You should hear him play; he sounds like…like a crazy music genius."

"He plays his own music?"

"Yes. Most of it sounds all lovey-dovey, though. As much as he hates to admit it. I just tell him it sounds whimsical and mysterious. He's usually satisfied with that answer…"

"Why don't you tell him the truth?"

She laughed. "Are you kidding me? It'll piss him off. He likes to think he doesn't have any of that lovey-romantic emotion in him, so I let him believe he's this emotionless, rational person."

"That sounds boring."

Henrietta just smiled. "So, do you even know why Thorne provoked your brother?"

Cassie blinked, narrowing her eyes at the change in subject. Maybe Henrietta did think it was boring after all? Or maybe this had been her real choice in subject all along? Whatever, it would be best to just roll with it for now.

"Because he likes pissing people off?"

Henrietta laughed. "No, he actually did it to try and get Peter a chance to talk to you, but it failed miserably… Your brother seems to be a bit unhealthily protective…"

Cassie blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently he does this to quite a lot of boys that happen to wander by, according to what Peter's heard from the other boys at school…"

Cassie smiled. "Yeah, but he's just looking out for me."

"You haven't had a single friend for most of your life until six months ago. How healthy can that be? Your brother's almost close to being the type of guy that abuses women emotionally. You know how bad that is, right?

Cassie pursed her lips. "You're doing this to get to my brother, aren't you? You wouldn't be trying to convince me he's this evil guy if you weren't…"

Henrietta raised her eyebrows. "Wake up and smell the reality, Lollipop. Your brother's a royal asshole. I'm just telling you the truth."

Cassie frowned. "No. You don't know the whole story. You're only going by what you hear. You don't know why my brother does it. He does it because my parents have never actually been there for me. He's more of a parent to me than they are–that's why he does that. And since he's a kid, he can't do a very good job at it…but I don't complain. That's just how it is."

Henrietta fluffed her pigtails. "Ah. Now you know why Thorne and Peter hang out with me and Nicky. We're parents enough for them. I think you'd make a good addition to the family, Lollipop."

Cassie raised a brow. "Nah. I'd rather be your friend, not your family."

"And Peter?"

Cassie cleared her throat, searching for words. Henrietta just smiled and fluffed her pigtails again. "Ah! I think I'm going to like you, Lollipop! You're too cute. It's probably time for you to go home now, though. Your brother's probably worried sick."

–––––––––––––––

Craig looked out the window anxiously, looking for hi sister. She hadn't told him anything, so he had no clue where she could be. She wasn't at Jessica's house, because she called an hour ago asking if Cassie could talk. She couldn't have been at school, because she never got in as much trouble as him when it came to the bird problem…

And it couldn't be that she was tutoring at Peter's house, because he was a boy, and he didn't even want to think about that!

And then he saw it–his sister walking with them.

Peter and James.

He shivered and stormed to the door, opening it and watching them.

Cassie laughed, flipping through a book of some sort. "So it's about a guy who made a deal with the devil?"

Thorne nodded, pointing at a picture. "Yeah, and that's the douche that killed him!"

She giggled and turned a few pages. "And who's that funny-looking clown?"

"That's Malebolgia's henchman. He's actually a demon named The Violator."

Craig cleared his throat and Cassie looked up. "Oh, hi, Craig! I was hanging out with Peter and his friends! They're so nice! Did you know that Henrietta can tie forty cherry stem knots in three minutes? Thorne says she's incredibly skilled."

Craig raised his eyebrows. "Oh, did he now?" He glared at Thorne. "You want to lose those eyes next time–"

Cassie slapped her brother's hand. "What did Mom say?" Craig rolled his eyes and sighed. He shut up for once.

Thorne smiled and walked in the house, pushing past him. "Nice place you got here… Oh, look Pete! Are these the dogs you told us about?? Which one's the one you were walking?"

Peter smiled shyly at Craig and shuffled past him, grabbing Thorne's arm. "Um…I think we should go… She's home now…so…"

Thorne sighed. "Such a little gentleman. Alright." He winked at Craig and bent down to Cassie. "Hey, Lollipop, we gotta go now. Want to give me a hug?" Cassie smiled and hugged him and Thorne looked up at Craig, rubbing the back of her head. "Awww, such a good girl…"

Craig glared and clenched his fists, earning a snicker from his sister's new friend. Peter just groaned and tugged on Thorne's sleeve. "We really should go…"

Thorne smiled. "Alright…but before we go…I should probably get my cigarettes back." He winked at Craig and stuffed his hand down Cassie's shirt, grabbing a pack of cigarettes and walking out the door.

Cassie pouted and flipped him off. "I could have just given them to you…"

Thorne smiled and held out his hand. "High five, Lollipop."

She gave him a high five and smiled a little, looking at Peter. "See you tomorrow at school, Peter."

He turned bright red and looked at the ground. "S-Sure…"

Thorne gave him a push and he collided with her, causing her to grab him to catch his fall. His face turned even more red and she gave him a hug. "Hee hee. Next time you want a hug, just ask! See you later. Next time we'll definitely study!"

Peter spun around and hid behind Thorne, nodding his head.

Thorne and Craig exchanged obscene hand gestures and he slammed the door shut on them, face still red with rage and mouth still wide open at Thorne's outright disrespect for his little sister.

"I swear to God that boy's turning into Kenny…"

1) Wood Elf
Actually, I don't think I've ever read a book with a wood elf named Thorne in it before. However, with how Wicca-esque it sounds, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one out there that did.

2) Lollipop Princess
Anyone remember the classic Candyland game? Of course you all do. Yeah; remember Princess Lolly? He's pretty much calling her that. It's a play on that character/name. Pretty much, he's calling her childish and extremely "sweet". Sweet in the bad sense of the term. As in naïve and a tiny bit dim-witted.

3) Dark Horse Comics and Vertigo
Ah. Vertigo is the label that published Neil Gaiman's comics. It's an offset of the DC Comics, so characters from each label often appear in the other's comics. Notice how Thorne mentioned The Sandman? Remember in the last chapter I mentioned the character Death, and how much she sort of resembles Siouxsie? That's the one she is in. She is one of The Endless, and her younger brother is the most prominent in The Sandman comics. He is Dream, and he kind of looks like Robert Smith (The Cure), David Bowie, and Peter Murphy (Bauhaus). He sometimes changes appearances slightly, so yeah. Ironically, Henrietta actually acts very similarly to her (Death, of The Endless), although that's not intentional. That's just how I see her. As for Dark Horse Comics, they published many that are famous, such as Sin City, 300, Hellboy, etc.

4) Mika
Mika's hard to describe. Pop, really happy-sounding tunes that sometimes have really depressing lyrics. Although, that's mainly a matter of opinion. The songs are so vague, it's quite possible to see them in a happy light. Basically: Everything Goth is not. Go listen to Lollipop, Grace Kelly, Love Today, and Billy Brown.

5) Frank Miller
Batman. (What Kenny was teasing him (Thorne) about in the previous fic.) 300. Daredevil. Sin City. SOME of Spawn, issue #11.

6) The Brand Nicky Likes
Nicholas likes Parliaments. The others like Kool cigarettes. Because that's what they are. And Nicholas has a stick up his ass twenty-four seven. Hence, Parliaments. Actually, that's a lie. The main reason is because Parliaments have a different kind of filter, and I enjoy making him the most non-conforming of them all. Although, it DOES also mean that they're all more manly than him. ;D Yes. Even Henrietta.

7) Malebolgia and The Violator
In short, Thorne is loaning an eleven-year-old girl his Spawn comics. Who do you think makes the better role model -- Thorne or Nicholas or Craig, her brother? (That's a toughy...)

8) Cherry Stem Knots
I'll send you ten bucks in the mail if you seriously don't get what the significance of this is. Hint: She can tie them with her TONGUE.