AN: Sorry for the long wait. I'll spare you the long AN till the end of the chapter. (This is one of Daniel and Ariadne's songs. Feel free to hear the real thing along with the other songs on the playlist)
"Settle down with me
Cover me up
Cuddle me in
Lie down with me
And hold me in your arms
And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now"
-'Kiss Me', Ed Sheeran
Chapter 7: Glowing Sparks and Organized Events – Part 2
"Tick tock goes the clock…" She sang as her eyes stared up at the clock hanging above her. "You'll be dead at twelve O' clock."
He sighed and shook his head before taking a few steps towards her. "Stop playing games!"
She merely smiled at the exclamation before looking him straight in the eyes. "What games?"
He groaned and stormed over to her. "That's it!"
He lifted up the gun he had in his hand and quickly removed the safety. Once he did he pressed the barrel against the side of her head and asked more firmly, "Where is she?"
Her smile only grew at the question and she released a content sigh. "I can't do this all day. I have places to be."
He scoffed and said, "I don't intend to spend all day. Either you tell me within the next hour or you die."
"You don't have the guts to shoot!" She spat out at him.
He chuckled at the comment before raising the gun up and shooting at the clock. She cringed at the loud sound the shot made before feeling the gun once again on her skull. "This is the last time I'm asking. Where is she?"
She closed her eyes for a second and then stared up at him. Everything about his demeanor screamed he wouldn't shoot. His lips were quivering, his eyes were shut, and she could vaguely see his hand shaking in the darkness. Despite that the grip on his gun was still tight and strong and she knew he would not hesitate to pull the trigger of the cold metal object pressed against her skull if she did not concede.
With a slow shaky breath, she looked down at the ground and mumbled, "I don't know."
He shook his head and took a step back. "Wrong answer."
And he pulled the trigger.
36 hours earlier…
"Ariadne!"
Ariadne looked up at the sound of her name being shouted from across the gym. She spotted Daniel walking over to her holding a giant box of what appeared to be feather boas. "Someone's been daydreaming."
Ariadne smiled at the comment before getting up on her two feet and rummaging through the box. "This is exactly what I needed. Thanks Daniel."
He nodded before leaning back against the wall. "You need some help? Daydreaming can really distract someone."
"Nope," she shook her head, "I just had a lot on my mind."
"Morgan?" Daniel asked.
Ariadne's face scrunched up in disgust and she shook her head. "He's the last thing on my mind."
"Right, but don't you think you've given him the cold shoulder long enough? All he did was break my arm, but as you can see it is healed." Daniel pointed out.
Ariadne stared down at the box, her head dropping low. "Yeah… I know."
"Hey," Daniel brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, "that's the only reason you're mad at him, right?"
"Umm… yeah." She looked up at him and nodded.
Daniel gave her a strange look before leaning forward and giving Ariadne a quick chaste kiss. "I don't want my girlfriend in a bad mood."
"Did you just say girlfriend?" She asked.
Daniel nodded. "Yeah, isn't that who you are? Of course if you don't want-,"
"No!" Ariadne quickly cut Daniel off causing him to laugh. "It's fine. I guess I'll see you later… boyfriend."
"Yep, and then maybe you can tell me the real reason you shut out Morgan." He replied.
Ariadne opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out as she watched Daniel walk to the stage.
(***)
"What do you think?" Amber asked as she did a quick spin.
Nina smiled and nodded. "This is the dress."
Amber grinned before smoothing out her dress and admiring herself in the mirror. "I love the color red."
"Yeah it looks nice, but why couldn't we just have a regular costume party instead of a fancy masquerade?" Nina asked.
"Masquerades are fun and a costume party is what we had last year. This time we don't have to see each other's faces and feel like stabbing pretty grey blue eyes now do we?"
Nina rolled her eyes and stood up to get her own dress. "I get that you don't like the whole Jerome and Michaela thing, but you don't have to act so jealous and petty."
Amber spun around to face Nina and raised a finger at her. "I am not jealous, okay? I broke up with him. Plus whilst Jerome is off dancing with Michaela, I'll be off flirting with every possible boy in the gym."
"Does that include Daniel?" Nina teased.
"Why do you always have to bring him up? Daniel and I are just friends." She reminded her.
"I know I know, but you guys are always together and I never get to see you anymore." She pointed out.
Amber scoffed at the comment. "Sorry if I don't want to be the third wheel in yours and Mick's love sandwich."
"Hey, you never heard me complain when you were with Alfiie." Nina pointed out.
"Yes, but you were with Fabian so it doesn't count." Amber replied.
Nina sighed in defeat and quickly slipped on her dress. "How do I look?"
"You look sexy. Trying to impress someone?" Amber teased.
Nina rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her. "I hope tonight is as good as everyone says it will be."
"Oh trust me," Amber bent down in front of the mirror to put on lip stick, "it will be."
(***)
Morgan stared down at the paper in front of him. A pencil laid down straight on the right side of the blank white sheet, a small round eraser rested above the pencil with the word 'evolution' broken off and faded so it read 'evil', and a tall glass of water taunting him and daring him to take a sip, but he would never. He wouldn't risk taking the first sip. Not again.
A buzzer in his mind went off and he could hear a small voice chanting 'time's up, time's up' over and over again. He couldn't turn off the voice. Instead it remained screaming in his head slowly driving him insane. And he thought that's what clocks were for.
"Morgan… You haven't started your test."
Morgan's eyes traveled up to the sound of the raspy voice. A voice that he could tell had seen many years… many lives. However, it was just Professor Dallion slowly making his way towards him.
"Professor Dallion… everyone thinks you're dead."
"Ah," he took a couple steps forward till he was standing in front of Morgan. "That is where you are wrong. Not about Professor Dallion's death, but I am not Professor Dallion."
Before Morgan could even react Professor Dallion's appearance changed and in front of Morgan was nothing but darkness. The man before him was merely a shadow. He tried to move, he tried to stand, but he couldn't and the next thing he knew a knife was in his stomach and he was on the floor drowning in a pool of his own blood.
"Mr. Witrow!"
Morgan's head shot up and he stared up at Professor Dallion. "What?"
"Stop daydreaming and pay attention in class."
Morgan nodded weakly before averting his gaze to the textbook in front of him. However, before he did he could've sworn he saw a flash of red in Professor Dallion's eyes.
(***)
"Hey," Daniel slipped into the seat opposite Ariadne and smiled at her. "I come baring food."
"Well in that case welcome." She smiled and took the paper bag out of his hand. "Thanks."
She leaned forward to give him a kiss but Daniel turned away. "I need you to tell me what happened with Morgan."
"Well," Ariadne looked down at the table in front of her. "Isn't that the magic question?"
"Ariadne?" Daniel placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "What happened?"
"It was that day during French class when we were forced to stay in a room with someone. I got stuck with Morgan. I was still mad at him for what he did to you and we had an argument that turned into something really bad because he tried to kiss me."
"He what?" Daniel interrupted her story.
Ariadne scowled him and let out a deep breath. "Will you let me finish? So anyways Morgan called me something that brought back a lot of painful memories."
"What'd he call you?" He asked.
Ariadne shut her eyes for a bit before a small laugh left her lips. "He called me a slut."
"I-I… I don't understand." Daniel stared at Ariadne for a few seconds in silence before he put his hand over hers. "Why do you even care what he says?"
"It brought up bad memories. Umm… my past Daniel… it's dark." She replied.
"I know." He responded as he ran his thumb over the scars on her wrist. "Tell me about it."
"It's not that easy." She told him.
Daniel shook his head. "Yeah, it is."
Ariadne sighed and looked down at their hands. "I'm broken, that's all."
Daniel smiled a little as he said, "Tell me something I don't know."
Ariadne smacked him lightly on the shoulder causing his smile to grow wider. "I'm serious."
"I know," all playfulness suddenly left his eyes and it was replaced with a look of seriousness, "and I'll be the one to put you back together."
Ariadne felt herself smile and she once again leaned forward to press her lips against his only this time he didn't turn away.
"Well, let's stop being depressing and find matching outfits to wear to the dance." Daniel exclaimed as he pulled Ariadne out of her seat. She laughed at the comment and allowed herself to be dragged away from the table, leaving her lunch and homework behind.
(***)
"Amber! Amber!" A voice called.
Amber turned to see Morgan running up behind her, gripping what appeared to be an old photograph in his hand. "Hey, I haven't seen-,"
"Something's wrong." He interrupted.
Amber furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a strange look. "Umm… are you sure?"
Morgan nodded frantically before shoving the photograph into her hands. "I've been looking at this photograph for weeks hoping that something would come to me regarding Chaos and the reawakening. I was getting nothing till a week ago."
"Morgan, what are you-,"
"Visions, Amber, visions!" He exclaimed. "They started last week in my sleep, but they've now started coming as daydreams."
Amber stared at him reluctantly before looking down at the photograph. "What are they about?"
"At first they were about the original Chaos member, Anu Kabar and what happened to him when he was exiled. Eventually they began to shift and started to follow his journey through the world as his many forms till it got to present day. I saw his new form." Morgan explained.
"What new form?" She asked.
"It's Professor Dallion. He's possessed. It explains why he disappeared for a month and why I saw him with red eyes during class yesterday." He revealed.
"Morgan, I…" Amber couldn't find the right words to form the sentence she had in her head, so instead she took hold of his hand and held it tightly against her chest. "Morgan, I want you to go back to Osiris House and get some rest. Just get into bed and close your eyes and try to forget everything you just told me."
"Forget?" Morgan stared at her in shock. "Amber, how can I forget this?"
She shrugged before handing him back the photograph. "Just try, okay?"
Amber began to walk away, but was stopped by Morgan's voice. "You don't believe me, do you?"
Amber paused for a moment before turning to look back at him. "No, I just don't want to be involved in any of this anymore. I'm done. I'm no longer the chosen one. Let the world turn into ruins for all I care."
"What about Ariadne?" He asked.
Amber shook her head lightly. "What about her?"
And with that question Morgan turned away and began making his way to Osiris house. He tuned out all the voices around him and crumbled up the photograph in his hand before tossing it into the nearest trashcan.
(***)
Once he was in Osiris house, Morgan found himself in front of a mirror. He didn't know why, but he began examining every single feature of his face. His dark hair was everywhere and sticking up at odd angles as if someone had just been running their hand repeatedly through it. His deep blue eyes were blood shot and dark bags underlined his eyelids aging his appearance greatly and making it look like he hadn't slept for days. His skin was paler than usually and seemed to mirror the complexion of a dead body. His attire wasn't any better with a loosened tie, a white dress shirt with a coffee stain, and a wrinkled pair of khakis. It was safe to say that he was in the worst shape he had ever been in his life.
Morgan sighed and ran a hand through his tangled mess of a hair and glared at his reflection. He refused to believe that the boy staring back at him was him… he didn't want to believe it for one second. He knew that he would never let himself go. He was better than that; he was stronger than that. At that very moment a flash of anger appeared before his eyes and a groan escaped his mouth. "I can't take it anymore!"
As soon as the statement left his lips, his fist rose up and collided with the mirror. Glass shards flew everywhere and Morgan remained still, staring at his tattered bleeding hand.
That was the second Morgan let everything go. His head hung low and his hands gripped the edge of the marble table in front of him as salty warm tears left his eyes and flowed down his cheeks. "Stop crying… stop crying… stop crying…"
Morgan glanced up at his reflection for a split second before turning away and marching out of Osiris house.
(***)
"You sure you want to stay here and wait for Mick?" Amber asked. She and Nina stood in the kitchen watching as everyone filed out the door and to the dance.
"Yeah," Nina nodded, "I'm sure. He said he'd be back any minute."
"Okay, well I must go and make sure everything is in order." Amber stated. "Don't stay too long."
"I'll try." She replied.
Amber gave her a small smile before walking over to Daniel and exiting Anubis house. Nina sighed and leaned against the countertop. She quickly checked her watch taking note that it read 7:50 PM.
(***)
Loud music flooded Amber's ears as soon as she stepped into the gym. She took a moment to admire the scenery before turning to Daniel. "Everything went smoothly, right?"
Daniel nodded and put his arm around Amber's shoulders. "Everything is perfect. Now I have to go and handle the music. If they keep playing songs like this I may have to stab my ears out."
Amber laughed at the statement and watched as Daniel made his way to the stage and pushed the temporary DJ off the stage. She took a deep breath and allowed her eyes to scan over the gym when she spotted Michaela and Jerome on the dance floor. Amber felt her face fall at the wide smile resting on Jerome's. "Damn it… she looks pretty." Amber stated as she stared at Michaela and her blue dress. A white mask with glitter and a feather sticking out covered half her face and yet Amber knew it was her. Her eyes could be recognized from a mile away.
At that very moment Michaela turned her head and caught Amber's eyes. She looked at her for a few seconds before turning to Jerome and whispering something to him.
"Great…" Amber turned away from the two and decided to exit the gym for some fresh air. Once Amber left the premises she rushed down the hall till she was out in the cold night. She took a seat beside the door and stared up at the full moon in front of her.
"You're not jealous… you're not jealous… you're not-,"
"Amber?" A voice that she knew too well cut her off and Amber turned to find Jerome standing in front of the door.
"Shouldn't you be inside? You don't want to keep your pretty girlfriend waiting." She told him.
Jerome sighed and took a seat beside her. "I don't want it to be like this."
"Then how do you want it be like? We can't be friends… we never were." She pointed out.
"I know, but I thought we could try." He suggested.
"Well you thought wrong." Amber spat out.
Jerome shook his head before turning so his whole body was facing her. "What do you want from me? You dumped me Amber! When are you going to realize that?"
"I made a mistake!" She shouted.
Amber's sudden outburst surprised Jerome and he felt the frustration he had a moment ago slip away.
"Amber…" Jerome couldn't find the right words to phrase his sentence so instead he placed his hand over hers and squeezed it lightly.
Amber looked up and her eyes caught his. In that single moment Jerome could see all the pain and regret and fear in her eyes and he didn't know why, but it scared him. Somehow he knew he would be sucked in again and he would find himself where he was a month ago. Torn.
Jerome suddenly shook his head before letting go of Amber's hand and wiping it on his pants. "I regret us."
Amber remained still for a few seconds before nodding timidly and staring ahead at the dark night sky. She wanted to ask why so much, but she decided to stay quiet, live in the moment, and let the question burn deep inside her.
(***)
Nina sighed and walked over to the counter once more before checking her watch. 9:57 PM.
"That's just great." She sighed and picked up her purse before taking a seat at the dining table and staring at her nails for the millionth time that night. At that moment the door to Anubis house opened and Nina jumped up only to find Morgan entering the room. Excitement left her face and she sunk back down into her seat. "Hey Morgan."
"Nina, is Amber at the dance?" Morgan asked.
Nina nodded and stood up. "Yeah, why?"
"I need to get something from her room." He revealed.
"You can't go up there." She informed him as she ran over to block the stairway.
"Move out of my way Nina before I-,"
"Before you what?" Nina demanded.
Morgan groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't have time for this!"
"I can see that you're frustrated, but you need to calm down and tell me what's wrong." Nina tried to calm him down, but Morgan only got more worked up.
"She didn't believe me, but I've seen it all. I know what she's hiding and it's putting us all in danger. She's putting us all in danger." At this point Morgan was pacing the living room back and forth as his breathing became more erratic. "The voices… Nina they're loud and they aren't going to stop. I need to make it stop. I need to destroy it… I need to destroy her."
Nina's eyes widened and she placed her hands on Morgan's shoulders and tried to get him to stop moving. "Morgan please just try to relax and calm-,"
"I can't calm down!" Morgan shouted. "I can't relax when everything is tearing me apart inside. There is nothing left and I can't take it… I need to stop it. I need to stop the voices."
"Wait… what?" Nina stared at Morgan in confusion as he rushed into the kitchen and began rummaging through the drawers.
Nina suddenly realized what was happening and she rushed into the kitchen just in time to see Morgan pulling out a steak knife from one of the bottom drawers. "Stop!"
"I can't stop it… it needs to go away." He responded before raising the knife.
Thoughts jumbled up in Nina's head and she barely had time to process what she was doing before she crashed her lips against Morgan's. Morgan stumbled back in surprise and the knife in his hand suddenly slipped from his grasp. He was too distracted to care about the object and was focused on the girl that he was currently kissing. Without another second of thought Morgan found himself responding to the kiss by placing a hand on her neck and deepening it.
Nina's cluttered mind began to organize itself and all her thoughts slipped away. It was only Morgan's hands, Morgan's lips, and Morgan's tongue. She raised up her hand and slipped it under his suit jacket ready to slip it off when gunshots rang outside causing both teens to separate and turn towards the window.
"What was that?" Nina managed to choke out between heavy breaths.
Without answering her question Morgan rushed out the back door leaving Nina to follow.
"Morgan, what's going-," The question trailed off her tongue when she noticed Morgan had stopped in front of the door of the house next to them. Nina refused to take a step closer as her eyes scanned over the scene. "It's… it's everywhere."
"Nina, call the police." Morgan demanded. Nina didn't protest and quickly took out her cellphone. Tears were welling up in her eyes but she refused to let them slip along with the screams she so badly wanted to release as she stared at the blood that covered the doorway of Osiris House.
"Umm… we heard gun shots and there's a girl and she's covered in blood and I don't know if she's okay." Nina rambled off and told the person on the other line the address before running over to Morgan.
"Is she dead?" Nina asked as the tears she had been holding slipped out.
Morgan looked at Nina before pulling her into a hug and letting her cry into his shoulder. His eyes returned to the blood covered girl before him and he shook his head. "I… I don't know."
(***)
"We heard gunshots, so I ran out and spotted the door to Osiris house open. That's when I saw her." Morgan explained to the police officer.
The police officer nodded before turning to Nina. "You two should go get some rest. I'm telling you now that you will be called into the station tomorrow. You were smart to call as soon as you did. Thanks to you that poor girl is alive. However, the young gentleman we found with her is not."
Morgan nodded before leading Nina over to where Amber and Mick stood behind the yellow 'Do Not Cross' tape.
"Are you okay?" Amber asked.
Nina nodded timidly before she tightened the blanket around her and went under the yellow tape. Mick gave her a tight hug and a quick kiss on her forehead. "You should get to the house. I'll be right there."
Nina nodded and walked away from the three. Once she was gone Mick turned to Morgan. "What happened here?"
Morgan shook his head at Amber and said, "I told you he was back."
"How do you know this was him?" Amber asked.
"There was a symbol drawn on the wall in blood. A crest surrounded by fire. If I'm not mistaken I believe that that is the symbol of chaos." He informed her.
"Okay, but what does this mean?" Mick asked.
Morgan shrugged. "We need to talk to the girl. There is a reason she was wanted dead and we need to find out before he gets to her."
"Wait, how do you know he'll come back?" Amber asked.
"That's simple." Morgan stated. "He doesn't like unfinished business."
Amber let out a deep breath. "I guess there is no point in avoiding this now. Looks like the Scooby Gang is back."
AN: So I changed it to a two parter because I was taking forever to finish the chapters. So yeah… I'm so sorry for the long wait, but school is almost done for me so you can expect more updates coming. I hoped you liked the chapter even though I thought it sucked and was rushed and the transitions were off, but if you did then review, favorite, and subscribe!
-Karina
Next time on House of Souls…
"I'm sorry." She blurted out.
Morgan raised an eyebrow at her before setting down his cell phone. "Why?"
"I kissed you and I shouldn't have. I have a boyfriend and I barely know you. I was just trying to get you to calm down and not kill yourself, but I think I crossed the line. There are so many other things I could've done to calm you down besides kissing y-,"
Without any warning, Morgan leaned forward and pressed his lips against Nina's. Nina's eyes shut close immediately at the contact and she froze.
Thoughts began to cloud Nina's mind and she could feel her conscience kicking in. At that very moment Morgan pulled away.
"Umm…" He laughed a bit and took a step away from Nina. "You were rambling, so I just…"
"Yeah," Nina looked down at her hands before her eyes travelled back up to his. "Maybe you should-,"
"Go?" Morgan walked past Nina and paused at the doorway. "Yeah, that may be best."
"That wasn't what I was going to say." She informed him.
Morgan turned back to her. "And what was it you were going to say?"
Nina squeezed her eyes shut before she let out a deep breath and made her way towards Morgan. "I wasn't going to say anything."
"Really? Well either way I think it would be best if I left." He informed her. "We wouldn't want to do something we'd both regret."
Nina nodded and smiled lightly. "Right. Right."
Morgan began to exit the kitchen, but before he did he looked back at her and said, "I wasn't trying to calm you down."
"What?" Nina was taken aback by his confession and she gulped. "Morgan-,"
"I wanted to kiss you Nina and I didn't feel you object." He revealed. Morgan walked up to her, his face only a few centimeters away from hers. "Just tell me to stop and I will."
"I…"
Summary: Amber tries to find out more about the girl that was shot during the Halloween dance only to discover information from Michaela who happens to know the girl. Meanwhile Jerome tries to be involved in the whole mystery, but it seems that the whole group has shunned him. Also, Nina deals with the repercussions of her and Morgan's kiss while experiencing disturbing flashes of the murder in her sleep.
