Hi, I'm back! The plot really starts to move now, so it should be a little more interesting. I'm sorry I've kept the plot stagnant for so long, I kind of got distracted (although the fight scene in the last chapter was really important plot wise). Anyway, here's chapter 7. Please read and review, thanks! Enjoy!
Chapter 7: A Complicated Day
Sam leaned next Danny's locker, waiting for him and Katie to show up. She stared sown the long hallway, wondering where the two of them were. Tucker was trying to explain the features on his new PDA, but she wasn't listening, mainly because this was the fifth time he's told her about since he got it last night. Finally Sam spotted Danny and Katie walking down the hall. Well, Katie was walking, but Danny was kind of shuffling along.
"Good morning!" Katie said cheerfully to her friends.
"Happy birthday!" Tucker exclaimed as he bear hugged Katie. He hugged her so tightly that soon her face turned blue from lack of oxygen.
"Can't breathe!" Katie choked out. Finally, Tucker let her go.
"Happy birthday Katie." Sam leaned over to her boyfriend and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good morning Danny."
"Good Morning," Danny said through a yawn. The poor boy looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet.
"Danny, are you alright? You seem really tired." Sam was concerned because Danny hadn't been this tired in months.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Sam," Danny said, stifling yet another yawn, "It's just that last night my ghost sense went off right at midnight and I was up most of the night trying to figure out what caused it."
"Oh yeah, I remember. Did you ever find whoever it was?" Katie asked worriedly.
"No, whatever it was seemed to disappear after you left." Katie had been helping Danny with a report late last night and left when his ghost sense went off.
"Wow, that's weird," Katie said a bit nervously as she opened her locker and began to grab her books.
"Well, I'm sure you'll find whoever it was eventually. Hey, Katie how does it feel to finally be sixteen?" Tucker asked excitedly.
"It feels pretty good." Katie said from behind him. She walked over to her locker and closed the door
"Happy birthday, Katie!" Valerie had just joined them. Katie thanked her when she noticed the necklace Katie was wearing "Hey, cool necklace! Where'd you get it?" The necklace in question was a round, black onyx stone hanging on a medium length thick silver chain that hung delicately on Katie's neck.
"Oh, this? It's a birthday gift… from my parents." Katie closed her locker. This is going to be a long day, she thought as the group headed to their first class.
It was now lunch, and so far the day had been pretty uneventful. The key phrase here is "had been," because something weird happened at lunch. The gang was finishing off chocolate birthday cake Tucker had bought for Katie this morning (he had really custom ordered it three days ago and had it delivered to school right before lunch so that it would be a complete surprise, but nobody knew that) when two girls stepped up to their table.
"Katie, I'm sorry, but we need to talk to you, now. It's about the thing we talked about this morning," the shorter girl said hesitantly. She seemed familiar to Tucker, with her curly blonde hair and…
"Hey, I know you! You were that girl from Valentine's Day!" he exclaimed.
"Valentine's Day?" she questioned, having really no idea what he was referring to. Finally, a realization dawned on her. "Oh no, did I interrupt you in the middle of a date by saying something really weird and then skipping away?" Molly asked a bit worriedly. Unfortunately, she did that a lot that day, and she was really hoping this wasn't another case of it. Normally she's not that, well, crazy. She has always been perky, hence why she is cheerleader, but never like she was this past Valentine's Day.
"Yeah, you did. Did I forget to mention that?" Katie answered, slightly embarrassed that she forgot to warn Molly about that.
"Sorry, you'll have to excuse my friend here. She gets a bit crazy on Valentine's Day. By the way, I'm Jessica; it's nice to meet you guys. I'm sorry to cut this short but, Katie, we really need to speak to you about the thing." Jessica said this as politely as she could. She was about average height, with deep brown eyes and long brunette hair. She knew she sounded a little curt, but it was urgent that she spoke to Katie.
Katie apologized to her friends as she left to go join Molly and Jessica, and promised to meet up with them at their class. Neither of the boys questioned this, and let her go, but Sam knew something was up. First of all, Katie had been with her all morning, and she hadn't seen these two girls even look at Katie, let alone talk to her. Second, both Molly and Jessica had the same necklace Katie did, except that stones of ruby and sapphire, respectively, replaced the onyx one on Katie's. This seemed like more than just pure coincidence. Third, Sam recognized Molly as being one of the quieter, more passive (and nicer) members of Paulina's clique, and Jessica as being part of the astronomy club; why on Earth would these two need to talk to Katie so urgently, together? Sam didn't know what was going on, but she was going to find out.
Finally the day was over, and the teenagers of Amity Park ran out of the doors of Casper High, ready to embrace the weekend. Danny, Tucker, Sam and Katie walked out with their fellow students to enjoy whatever the wonderful spring afternoon brought them.
"So Katie, want to go to the Nasty Burger, my treat?" Tucker asked Katie.
"Sure," she answered happily, "I would lo… hold one second." Katie's phone had started ringing, the ringtone making the call sound urgent. "Dead!" by My Chemical Romance played on as Katie searched for her phone. Finally she found it, ending the morbidly upbeat song. "Hello. Mom? What do you mean I have to go straight home! But… fine. I'll see you in a few minutes. Love you, too." She hung up the phone, obviously annoyed. "Guys, I'm sorry but we have to go back to my house now. Mom says she wants to start the party early so that Jake and Alex don't try to eat the whole cake by themselves again. Can I take a raincheck Tuck?" Katie felt really bad because she thought she was ruining any plans they had. Little did she know, they were in on the surprise her parents had planned for her. They started heading towards Katie's house, laughing and joking the whole way.
Katie walked in her front door and called for her parents and siblings to let them know she was home, but she got no response. "Well, I guess nobody is home," she thought out loud.
"Hear that Lex? We're nobody. Four and half months and she's already forgotten all about us," a boy with a heavy British accent said from the living room doorway. Katie turned to the source of the voice to see two teenagers standing there. One was a tall boy with blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing an untucked navy blue button down shirt with plain jeans. If he had gone to Casper High, Paulina would be drooling all over him. The other was a girl of medium height, with fiery red hair and bright hazel eyes that made her seem very pretty. She had on a red cap sleeve shirt with light tan colored Capri pants.
"Tom? Lex? Is that really you?" Katie asked in disbelief.
"No Kat, it's the Tooth Fairy. Of course it's us! You're parents decided to get us down here for your sixteenth birthday because you didn't want a big party. Now get over here!" The girl said with a slight Texas twang to her voice.
Katie ran up to them and joined them in a group hug. She looked absolutely elated to see them. "Oh my God, I missed you guys so much! Danny, Sam, Tuck, these are my two best friends from school, Alexis Torres and Thomas Tweed. Lex, Tom, I believe you know that this is my cousin Danny, his girlfriend, and one of my best friends since I was five, Sam Manson, and another one of my best friends Tucker Foley." The group exchanged their hellos and nice-to-meet-yous and then got to talking. Soon the whole family had made it over (meaning Danny's parents and Jazz, too) and the party really got started. There was good food (mainly vegetarian dishes for Katie's sake) and soda and cake galore.
Soon the group of teens was talking again, the subject being anything and everything. Katie found out about all her old friends back in Cairo while they all reminisced about some of their favorite memories. One thing that came up was the Disasteroid incident just five months ago. "So he's really your cousin?" Alexis asked, still slightly surprised, "Wow, this is so weird. Now I know why you were in shock."
"Yeah," Tom went on, "I remember your reaction precisely. You were fine up until your cousin revealed himself. Then you shouted 'Holy shit! Danny?!' Oh, and the face you had on was just priceless; I wish I had a camera with me! Then there was Mrs. Maladuke, who heard you and went to punish you, but freaked out after she found out he was your cousin. That was hilarious! I remember how she couldn't even look at you until the day you left!"
"Uh… yeah, right. What's that Mom? You need me? Sorry guys, I have to go help my mom." Katie practically ran away from the group. Her mom hadn't really called her, she just needed an excuse to get away from the conversation. She really didn't need a reminder of that revelation, not with the day she's been having. But, nobody really noticed that Katie had sped off, and went back to the conversation at hand. Danny was just about to change the subject when Alexis said something very peculiar.
"Remember how strange Kat acted during those weeks, though? She was jumpy and nervous all the time, and her mind seemed kind of scattered. Then when she found out about Danny, it seemed like the tip of the iceberg. She calmed down a little bit, but she became much more secretive, and acted a bit more paranoid. She seemed almost relieved to move back here. I'm glad to see she's back to normal now, though. I guess it was just the shock of finding out. Anyway, since Kat's not here, what embarrassing childhood stories do you guys have for us?" Thus, Alexis changed the subject, and Tucker went into a long recounting of Katie's tomboy years. But Danny wasn't listening. Instead, he was trying to figure out why Katie acted like that. Katie always stayed calm in a bad situation, and he had never seen her act very jumpy. Did his revelation affect her that badly? But she seemed fine with it all this time. Even in her email, she seemed excited, in a good way, more than anything. Oh well, he figured he'd just ask Jazz about it later.
Soon Katie had joined the conversation again. They were comparing the suckiness of their schools when Katie's necklace was once again noticed. "So Katie, awesome necklace, where did you get it?" Alexis asked, hoping to get one for herself.
"Oh, this? I…uh… got it at a pawn store near here. It was the only one they had." Katie answered hesitantly. Alexis looked disappointed, but she understood.
The night finished with the opening of presents. Katie received a lot of gifts from her family and friends, including the new laptop she so desperately needed from her parents (her old one kept on turning off at random times). After Katie said "thank you" for what felt like hours, all the guests finally left at about eleven, except for Alexis and Tom, who were staying over for the weekend.
Katie went to bed that night absolutely exhausted, not just from the party, but from all that transpired today. If she learned anything from today, it was that things just got more complicated. Finally Katie went to sleep, the polished onyx stone from her necklace gleaming in the moonlight.
What happened to the ghost that kept Danny up? Who are Molly and Jessica really, and why are they so interested in Katie? What is with the mysterious necklace? Why was Katie acting so strange? Why am I asking you all of this? I already know the answers! Oh, and the "that" Katie refers to is not what you think it is.
Anyway, thanks for reading! So, what do you guys think? Please leave me a review, they make me a very happy girl and help me to improve! Thanks a million for reading!