Ello lovelies. So yeah, here's the next chapter. I thought I was gonna have four chapters of Tori at Sherwood but I'm getting a little antsy about it so I cut it down to three. So Tori will definitely be in Hollywood Arts in chapter 4.
So the movie that I made Tori watch is a little OOC and it's probably something Jade would watch instead. But then again, this whole story is a little OOC I think.
Hmmm...what else should I say? Ummmmm thank you all for reading and I want to thank everyone that has reviewed in this whole story.
Oh yeah! I got nominated for Author of the Year for the (Victorious) Topaz Awards which is SO COOL! Soon everyone will be able to vote. I'm not saying you should vote for me when voting time comes around, but it'd mean a lot to everyone who was nominated for something if you all went out and voted. There are a lot of GREAT authors there and I'll keep you guys posted when voting becomes available.
With all of that being said, I hope you like this chapter!
-Skye
"Chapter 3 – The Devil In Me"
"It seems we've reached this impasse not a moment too soon. We control our own destinies. Our Souls progress, though we're beaten and we're battered. We've been destroyed and we've been shattered." – The Paramedic
Massive texts were sent throughout the school that night, saying that Mira was dead and the doctors believed it was a heart attack. I got the damn text probably eight times last night, but I didn't send it to anyone; I never gave a damn about Mira. Sometimes I wish no one ever invented cell phones because they can get so annoying!
If cell phones had never been invented, Trina wouldn't be running her damn mouth.
"Mom!" she exclaims around 7 PM. My mother doesn't answer; she's in the basement using her exercise equipment. Either that or she and my dad are—oh gross I don't want to even think about that!
Trina starts to jump up and down, stomping loudly to get our mother's attention. "Mom!" she shrieks loudly. I turn the volume up on my PearPod so I don't have to listen to her. It's useless though; no matter how loud I turn up my music, Trina just gets louder and louder.
"Mom, mom, mom!"
With an annoyed sigh, I pull my ear buds out of my ears and get off my bed. I rip my door open and peer my head out to see Trina storming down the stairs in ridiculously high heels. "Shut up, Trina!" I exclaim, startling her. She screams before she looks at me and quickly runs back into her room.
Trina is terrified of me because she knows what I can do. She fears our mother too, but she fears me more. She's annoying to say the least, but she tends to me less annoying when I'm around. Don't get me wrong, I'd never kill my sister, but sometimes it's fun to scare her so she'll stop being a pest.
I let out a content sigh and return to my room. I fall back onto my bed and as I'm about to put my ear buds back in, my voice chat on my computer starts ringing. I get up and scuffle to my desk.
It's an invite from Annie.
With a sigh, I click accept and I see my adorable Asian friend giving me an utterly adorable scowl. She's wearing her camisole nightshirt instead of her baggy sweatshirt and her hair is down in a ruffled mess around her face. Mad can't even begin to describe how she looks.
I give her a warm, fake smile.
"How may I help you, pretty lady?" I ask sweetly. Though I didn't think it was possible, Anora's face hardens even more and she purses her lips. She clasps her hands in front of her face and puts her fingers against the hardening line of her lips. She looks down for a moment then back up at me with disapproving eyes.
"You wanna tell me what the hell that was today?" she hisses. I frown with a quizzical expression. "Why, whatever do you mean?" I ask in a high-pitched, innocent voice. Annie clenches her fists and grits her teeth, slamming her fists down on her table and shaking the computer. "You killed her Tori!" she shouts. "What the hell were you thinking?"
I lied when I said both of my friends didn't know about my curse.
Annie was there when I'd killed Stevie on accident; who do you think called the paramedics? She knew how much I cared for Stevie and we used to talk for hours about what my life would be like with him. After I killed him, she was the first person I ran to. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I spilled the beans to her after my mom decided it would be best if Anora stayed the night because I really looked like I needed a friend instead of my mother.
Unfortunately, my mother heard crying my eyes out to Anora.
At first Anora didn't believe me but my mother made both of us have a talk with her. After a two-hour long speech (with my entire immediate family involved) I was mortified. I couldn't believe what my mother had told me. At first, I thought we were vampires, but my mother disproved me. She told me she didn't know what we were and I realized I didn't want to know. She told me one of my little cousins on her side of the family was like us.
That night we had to make Anora swear herself to secrecy or there would be dire consequences.
I frown at my friend. "She attacked me," I insist. "We were in the principal's office and she lunged at me! What was I supposed to do?" Anora sighs in exasperation with wild, unbelieving eyes. "You weren't supposed to kill her!" she shouts. "That's the second person this month! I think you have a problem, Vicky…"
I laugh scornfully. "I don't have a problem, Annie," I claim. "I was attacked both times and I handled it. As far as everyone's concerned, Mira and JP died of heart attacks. They found out JP had a condition and he'd just come from practice. Everyone knew JP and Mira were crazy for each other and people die of broken hearts; it's clinically proven or some bull like that. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a project to work on; it'll be due in a week if we don't go back to school in the next few days."
Without letting Annie protest, I signed off my voice chat and closed my computer.
Instead of working on my project for Life Science like I should have been doing, I decided I'd read a book. There was nothing like fictional drama to take my mind off the current drama that was quickly becoming my life.
~*I must scream to be heard*~
The next morning I rolled out of bed with a moan and I felt something…different. I felt…empty. I felt alive when I stole the life from JP and Mira; now I didn't feel it. I knew I needed something, or someone, else to make me feel alive again. I needed someone to make me feel complete. I wanted nothing more than to bite someone on their lip and be blessed with the feeling of their spirit spilling into my mouth instead of the icky blood a vampire would want. I guess you can call me a succubus, but I don't kill because I have to. I kill because I want to.
And I know who my next victim will be.
There's this guy, Aiden something, that's a real loser to say the least. I've seen him four or five times since I've gone to Sherwood and he's…well, he's barely taller than me at 5'8" and he's got black hair down to his shoulders and he looks like he's out of this stupid little Emo band. He wears 'guy-liner' and he likes to flaunt himself around, especially around me. I think he's Mexican or Latin, possibly from Belize, and he likes to show off his tanned skin at any opportunity possible. He especially likes to show off the dragon tattoo he has on his back as well as 'La Sangre es La Vida' on his chest. It means 'the blood is the life.' What a poser…
I can tell from his eyes that he's got the hots for me and that's what makes him the perfect victim…
But I should focus on school first. It would be best to go ahead and get my project out of the way instead of indulging in carnal pleasures.
I grab my phone and flip through my contacts. Once I get to the Is, my eyes rest on the one person I'm supposed to be working with right now. I thumb his name and press the call button. Ian picks up after three rings.
"Hey, Tori," he greets on the other end of the phone. "What's up?"
"I was just wondering if we could work on our mold bush today," I suggest. I hear Eli chuckle on the other end of the line. "Cool chizz," he says. "I'll be there in twenty and I'll bring the bush." I smile slightly. "Great," I announce. "I'll see you in twenty."
I push the end button and put my phone down on the table. I head down to the living room and pick out a movie. I've got nothing else to do while I wait, so why not watch a movie? I decide to watch Planet Terror; it's one of my favorite movies. It's full of zombies, gore, infidelity, guns, ass-kicking, the works! In my opinion it's one of the best movies by Quentin Tarantino ever.
Just as Dr. Bill is about to find out his wife had been cheating on him with a woman, the doorbell rings and I groan. I head to the door and expect to find Ian holding our mold bush, but I'm greeted by someone different and I grimace.
Speak of the devil and he will come.
"Looky, looky, looky," Aiden smirks. "Just the mujer I was looking for." I roll my eyes; I promised myself I would only focus on my homework today, but he's going to make this so much harder for me.
"What are you doing here?" I question. He chuckles slightly and bows, his styled black hair slightly falling around in the wind. "Aiden Martine Rodriguez at your service, milady," he tells me. He stands up and grabs my hand. "I figured you'd be alone since everyone's afraid to go near you. You seem to have a way with giving people the kiss of death." He glares at me darkly and kisses my hand gently. "I'm here to be your caballero de armadura brillante." I scoff. My 'knight in shining armor?' Please. More like a jester in pig skin! This guy's such a loser.
I look around Aiden to see if any cars are around, to see if Ian is here yet. With a smirk, I grab Aiden by his shirt and pull him inside my house, kicking the door closed behind him by expertly maneuvering myself.
"Whoa-hoa-hoa," Aiden exclaims as I push him down onto my large red couch. "I knew you were sexy but I didn't think you were so damn retozón!" I fight the urge to roll my eyes. I hate when people act like Spanish stereotypes and speak in Spanglish like stupid cholos and cholas. Oh look, I made a joke, haha!
I jump on top of Aiden and straddle him. I bend over him and kiss his cheek gently. I run my hands on top of his shoulders and his hands start rubbing the lower part of my back. When his hands creep down to my ass, I know what he's after.
"Do you want to do me, Aiden?" I ask in a seductive whisper. My hair falls around us, veiling our faces from the outside world. My hair creates a small darkness that encompasses our faces, leaving us only to ourselves. In this darkness, I am not a lover. I am not a fighter. I am not an innocent girl. In this darkness, I am the hunter…
…and Aiden Rodriguez is my prey.
Aiden's hands gently tug at the rim of my jean skirt, but he doesn't pull it down. His hand slides over the curve of my ass until he touches the back of my thigh. His touch tickles—which is weird because he looks like he has rough hands.
"I don't want to just do you, mi zorra bella," he whispers back. "I want to screw your fucking brains out." If he wasn't such a loser, maybe I'd consider not killing him and actually consider rolling around with him in the sack a few times. I could never consider being serious with him, especially after what happened with Danny. I was so close to killing Danny it was insane! But I didn't, so I'm alright.
Wow!
Am I really thinking about thinking of a relationship with Aiden Rodriguez? What's wrong with me?
I inwardly shake away my stupid thoughts and smirk down at him. I lean in and kiss him softly. His hands slide under my panties and one of his fingers treads on no man's land. I feel a tingling rustling through my body. God, if he keeps this up I might just say to hell with getting rid of him.
I place my hands on his arms and kiss him deeper. His lips part and he gets ready to shove his tongue down my throat. Thinking fast, I clamp my teeth down on his bottom lip and, in a small instant, his essence surges into my mouth. Aiden starts gasping for breath and he starts screaming loudly. I breathe in deeply the beauty of his life and his hands pull away from beneath my skirt. He reaches for my purple tank top and starts scratching at me. He ends up ripping the shoulder part, but I don't stop. After a few more seconds, Aiden stops pulling at my shirt and stops moving altogether.
As Aiden's hands fall limp at his sides, I hear a car horn honk outside.
"Shit," I mutter. It's Ian!
I stand up and try to get Aiden off my couch. I grab him by his ankles and pull him along the couch. I scuffle my feet along the floor, trying to get him off my couch when there's a knock on the door.
"Tori, I'm here!"
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!
"Just a minute!" I shout as Aiden's body hits the floor with a loud thud. "What was that noise?" Ian calls through the door. "Is everything okay?" I groan as I try to pull Aiden away. "Yeah," I lie. "I just…tripped. Hang on one more second and I'll be there!"
I continue to pull Aiden across the floor through the kitchen and, with a grunt, I open the basement door. "Are you sure everything's okay in there, Tori?" Ian calls. "You're worrying me." I pick Aiden up as much as I can and, as I get ready to toss him, I see his stupid loose black shirt isn't on him anymore. I look to see it by the kitchen counter. I roll my eyes and throw Aiden down the stairs. "Yeah, everything's peachy keen and hunky-dory!" I shout as Aiden's corpse tumbles down the stairs. I quickly grab his shirt and throw it down the stairs. It lands on Aiden's bare chest and his head and leg are now at unnatural angles.
I quietly close the basement door and dash to my front door. I take in a deep breath before I open it and run my hands up my arms to smooth myself down. I gasp when I feel the rip in my shirt. I turn around and snatch my jacket off the back of the couch, quickly putting it on.
I plaster on another fake smile and open the door.
"Hey," Ian greets as he stands in my doorway holding our mold bush. "Hey," I greet back. I step aside and hold my hand out to the inside of my house. "My kitchen table's all ready for you." I'm ready for you to put me on the table instead of the mold bush so I can ravish you like I know you want to ravish me. Wait…what?
My brunette (on the verge of redheaded) science partner nods and walks in, holding the icky mold bush in his hands. I stare at his back as he walks, thinking about what a great lay he'd be…and what a better-tasting soul he'd have. God, what am I thinking?
He sets the mold bush down on the kitchen table and I grab my laptop from the kitchen counter. All I can really think about though is how I'll hurry this up so I can take him back to my room—or maybe the basement—so I can have some fun with him. He looks so tasty in more ways than one!
As we work, I try to focus on the mold bush and not Ian's lips. My body seethes for him, yearns for his soul to complete mine. I'm so empty! I thought Aiden would hold me over, but he didn't! My body's screaming at me and I need Ian inside me—I mean his soul—I mean…I don't know what I mean! I need this hunger to stop…
I keep getting distracted, but Ian and I get at least twenty minutes of work done before Trina bursts through the door claiming how upset she is that she got paired with a sophomore for her school's Big Showcase. After she complains about that, she shoos Ian out of the house, much to my protests. We were almost done! I almost had him! Dammit, Trina. Damn her for ruining everything!
Then she whines about wanting me to help with the Showcase. What do I know about a showcase? Apparently, I'm not the talented one in the family (though everyone could argue that Trina isn't either) and I don't know how to write songs. I can kinda dance, but other than that I'm useless! I don't wanna help her…
The doorbell rings after she begs me to help and a boy with dreadlocks down to his shoulders and really cool threads saunters into the room. She introduces him as Andrew, but he corrects her and informs me that his name is André. He looks…tasty…
God, stop it Tori! Stop this instant!
Oh, but think if I went to Hollywood Arts! It's a given André won't want to spend more time with Trina after this showcase so if I went to Hollywood Arts with her, I could get to know him. I could get close to him. Then I could steal his soul in the dead of night, maybe take him to an alley if he pissed me off or do it at his home where he could die happily in his bed. Either way, I'd get his soul…then maybe then I'd be full.
After we get introductions out of the way, the three of us share some banter about me, my sister, and my strong dental structure. Then André plays some on the piano and he truly impresses me. I've never had an artiste before…
Trina ends up roping me into helping her and André with rehearsal over the course of the next five days, but I don't mind because I get to spend more time with him and he starts to regard me more as a friend. Soon it'll be easy for me to get him where I want him.
Annie stops by a few times, but she doesn't stay long and she won't let me formally introduce her to André. I guess that'll make things easier for me if less people know him.
~*I must scream to be heard*~
Well, my parents and I get to the Showcase and we're sitting there enjoying the show when we hear a loud, pained squealing. Then this dark-skinned guy comes up to where my parents and I are sitting and asks my parents if Trina's their daughter. After they confirm it, he asks them to come backstage. I follow the three of them because curiosity's getting the best of me. That…and I can probably get André alone during the commotion and take his soul.
"Trina!" my mom exclaims once we step backstage. I look past my dad to see a bunch of people surrounding my sister. "What happened?" he questions as we run up to her. She starts babbling incoherently and when I get to her, her tongue is bloated! God that's gross!
"Oh my God it's huge!" I declare in fright. The sight is purely sickening! She babbles something else and the nurse asks how this happened. Then it hits me.
"The Chinese herb gargle!" I suggest. Trina points at her nose with one hand and to me with the other while babbling some more. My dad looks to me in confusion. "Wait, what are you talking about?" he asks. I sigh and narrow my eyes. "Oh, she found some website that shows you how to make this herb gargle that's supposed to help you sing better," I explain.
"She must have had an allergic reaction to it," the nurse claims. Trina continues to whine and Mom asks if she'll be okay. The nurse starts to say something but changes mid-sentence when she notices Trina's tongue is 'throbbing erratically.' She continues to whine and the guy that brought me and my parents out asks if there's any way Trina can perform. Trina grabs the nurse's arms, begging for something I think. The nurse shouts at her to stop talking because her tongue can 'explode' and my parents mutter apologies about how she'll have to wait until next year to be in the Big Showcase. Then the nurse pulls Trina off to the side so she can "massage her tongue." Gross…
"I guess my grandma came here for nothin'," André states dejectedly. The man who came to my parents turns back to the crowd of people with hopeful eyes. "Wait!" he utters. "Does anyone else know Trina's part?" I quickly turn around to André, begging with my eyes he won't say anything.
But he betrays me.
"Her sister does," he answers, pointing at me. I look at him with shocked eyes and point at myself. "Me, sister?" I question in shock. I hope to God I'm just dreaming this and he isn't serious! I laugh and hold up my hands. "No, no, no, no," I protest with a disbelieving smile. "I just helped him rehearse. I'm not even a student here. I—"
André grabs me by the arm and pulls me off to the side. Oh no, I know where this is going…
"You know this whole thing inside and out," he assures me. "The song, the choreography, you can do this! Come on!" I shake my head at him with a disbelieving voice. As much as I'd want to take his soul by getting to be his friend, I have to protest!
But what does he do? He raises his hands to the crowd and lies to them, saying I said I'll do it. I try to protest more, but everyone ignores me. I'm afraid of performing onstage and people dragging me around everywhere won't help that fear! I try to run away but Andre picks me up and forces me back. I continue to protest as people dress me in this skimpy mini-dress, but they don't listen.
They only force me onstage.
André starts to play the slow melody and I open my mouth to sing, terrified to be in my skin. I can kill people with ease, haha, but I can't even sing in front of an audience!
I'm such a loser…
As I finally sing the words and do the choreography, I motion to André to speed up the song; I told Trina the song would have been better faster and now that I'm singing, we're gonna do this my way. I close my eyes and let it out. I find myself in my own head and I let the music take me over. I let myself live in the beat of the song, dressing myself in the words and finding myself having fun with the choreography. It was beautiful, being on that stage and entertaining people with the voice they didn't know I had. Suddenly, I don't feel the hunger; I don't feel the craving for someone's soul to mix with mine. All there is will be me, this song, and André. If I could always feel complete like this, I would sing forever.
If I could feel the amazement of hearing the audience clapping for me after I sing my heart out, I would listen forever.
If I could feel the joy I felt when Mr. Eikner (the principal) offered me a place at Hollywood Arts, I would feel it forever.
If I could bask in the mind-blowing, glorious thought of the being in a pool of talented souls for the picking, I'd swim in that thought forever even when it became my reality.
I would never change a thing and this moment would last forever.
The realization hits me: I get to be with the crazy talented kids at this school! Oh my God that's amazing! I'll get my chance to be near André and finally have what I want; better yet, I'll have a whole new pick of the lot at my new school! I never thought I had talent and here I am being offered a place at an amazing school like this, finally getting the chance to not be empty!
Wait…I have to be talented to go there. What if this was a fluke, a one-time thing?
"But what if I'm not good enough?" I ask skeptically. Everyone around me groans and starts arguing with me. Eventually we all turn into some big mess of Tori's Talent Argument. The next thing I know, the curtain opens and everyone arguing with and around me looks out to see the quizzical faces of the people in the audience. Then André tells them of the situation at hand and asks if they think I'm good enough to go to Hollywood Arts.
They. All. Clap. They all clap for me!
That settles it. I'm going to Hollywood Arts!
I'm getting a new farm of souls to reap.