A/N: I KNOW I KNOW I'M SORRY, I'M SO SORRY, I GIVE YOU GUYS PERMISSION TO HATE ME FOREVER, BUT LIFE DECIDED TO BE STUPID, AND I GOT CAUGHT UP IN AVENGERS FICS, AND THEN EXAMS, AND NOW IT'S SUMMER AND I'M STILL NOT WRITING STUFF, AND ANYWAY I'M SO SO SO SO SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO UPDATE A CHAPTER I ALREADY HAD WRITTEN!
To make it up to you, I'm giving you a double update today- the last two chapters I have pre-written before I have to actually work on this fic again. I hope you guys haven't given up on me, and enjoy these two chapters.
Please review! Even just to say that you haven't left me.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter Seven
In English class, they always talk about the "climax" of a story. The "point of no return." The turning point of the story where you can't go back, no matter how hard you try.
What happened next was our climax.
Alek jumped up in surprise when the doorbell rang. Dylan and Jaspert were at school. Who could be there?
Alek carefully stood from Deryn's bed where he'd been napping and slowly crept towards the door.
A baseball bat was leaning against the wall outside, so Alek picked it up and raised it protectively over his head.
The doorbell rang again. Alek tiptoed towards the front door, imagining the worst. He flung the door open, bat raised high and-
"Volger?" Alek exclaimed, freezing in his tracks as he realized who the visitor was.
"Put a shirt on, Aleksandar," the lawyer said curtly, striding past him into the house.
Alek lowered his baseball bat, frowning in confusion at his attorney. "What is going on, Volger? What are you doing here?"
"Ooh, confused Alek," a voice said. "Click click."
Alek turned back to the doorway and was more than surprised to see Eddie Malone, holding his hands up in front of him in the shape of a camera.
"Mr. Malone? Why are you here?" Alek asked.
"Ooh, shirtless Alek," Malone replied. "Click click."
Alek blinked, then looked over Malone's shoulder where Klopp, Bauer, and Hoffman were watching with amusement. "What is going on?"
"Mr. Malone was being quite irksome with his camera on the plane ride here," Volger explained. "So I broke it. He's still in a bit of a state of shock."
"Ooh, commoner house," Malone said, staring wide-eyed at the room behind Alek. "Click click."
Alek rolled his eyes. "I don't care about that. What are you all doing here?"
Volger put a hand on his shoulder. "I think you should let us come in, Aleksandar. There's something I need to tell you."
"Dr. Barlow, I still don't understand what your following me around has to do with my biology grade," Deryn said, turning to face her teacher in the hallway.
Dr. Barlow smiled sweetly. "Nothing, Miss Sharp. This is merely for my observations."
Deryn raised an eyebrow curiously. "All right… but, I've got history now, ma'am, so I'd appreciate not being followed…"
The doctor frowned. "History, you say? No… that won't do… come with me, Miss Sharp. I'm sure Mr. Rigby won't mind."
Dr. Barlow strode past her, towards her office. Deryn blinked in surprise, then after a short hesitation, followed her.
Once Deryn was seated in Dr. Barlow's office, she decided to start asking questions right away.
"Dr. Barlow, what am I doing here?"
The woman sitting across the desk from her studied her thoughtfully for a moment before replying.
"How are you feeling, Miss Sharp?"
Deryn hesitated, surprised by the question. "Um… I'm… fine, ma'am…"
"Nothing… eccentric happened while you were home yesterday?" Dr. Barlow interrogated.
Deryn froze. Did she mean…? "I don't understand what you're saying, ma'am…"
The doctor sighed, frowning at her in concern. "Deryn, dear… I've been speaking with Mr. Newkirk over these few days… and both he and I are worried about what you might do if you're left alone."
Deryn jumped up, shocked. "Dr. Barlow! How could you- how could Newkirk- I mean, I wouldn't- Alek doesn't even know I'm a girl!"
The worry in Dr. Barlow's eyes increased. "Miss Sharp, what in the world are you talking about? I, of course, am referring to your Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder over the death of your father."
Deryn froze, feeling her cheeks heat up. That was not what she'd gathered from this conversation at all. And what did Dr. Barlow know about that, anyway?
Slowly, Deryn sat down again. "I… I don't know what you mean, Doctor."
Dr. Barlow smiled sadly. "As I said, I spoke with Mr. Newkirk. I know all about your 'dreams'. And I want to help you. I only want to help you."
Deryn nodded, taking a shaky breath. "T-tomorrow is… well, it's the day-"
"I know," Dr. Barlow stopped her. "Mr. Newkirk informed me of the most unfortunate date coming up. That's why I'm here. To make sure you're all right."
Deryn barely heard her. Images were flashing through her head- the roaring flames billowing up from the plane, her da yelling at her to jump as he scrambled to keep the plane aloft, his charred and lifeless body being lowered into the grave as they handed her the medal.
Deryn reached up to her neck and grasped the medal, feeling energy flow through her. She screamed out for her da… and blacked out.
"Alek, your parents are dead."
Alek stared at Volger, his heart skipping a beat. "W-what?"
Volger nodded somberly, obviously not having the heart to repeat the news. Next to him on the Sharps' couch, Klopp and his pitcrew bowed their heads in respect. Eddie Malone ignored their conversation as he walked around the room, snapping pictures with his imaginary camera.
Alek, standing in front of them all, took a minute to process the information. When the reality of it hit him, it hit hard, forcing him to his knees.
"Young master?" Klopp asked, standing up, his eyes full of concern.
Volger put a hand on the chauffeur's arm. "Leave him be. Let him grieve."
A painful sob escaped Alek's mouth. He couldn't believe it. HIs parents… but they'd just been away on business… Who could've- and why-? Alek wanted- needed to know how it had happened, but he was crying too hard to ask.
"They were in Sarajevo, stopping for lunch on their way back to Austria," Volger said softly. "Someone who obviously didn't want you in power shot them, to keep your contest from completing."
"But why kill them?!" Alek managed to shout through his sobs. "Why not just kill me?"
For a moment, the only sounds present were Alek sobbing into his hands and Eddie's occasional mutter of, "Click click."
Finally, Bauer said softly, "Don't say that, young master. If you died… I don't know what I'd do."
"Me either, sir," Hoffman added. "In a way, you're what keeps us going."
"Keeps us racing," Klopp whispered.
Alek stopped crying, but he didn't reply. Volger slowly pulled out his cell phone and pressed a few buttons. "Don't worry, Aleksandar. I'm making arrangements. We'll fix this. I promise."
Newkirk hated math class. It was boring and confusing and one of the few classes he didn't share with Deryn, so he had to actually do his own homework.
The only good thing about math was that Newkirk had a huge crush on his teacher. Mrs. Soliven was a beautiful, young Asian woman with luscious black hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall, and dark eyes that smiled no matter how disappointed in him she seemed to be (he didn't exactly have the best grade in her class, unfortunately).
(A/N: I'm sure it's obvious by the pre-written chapters that I've been working on this fic for awhile, but this last paragraph made me realize that I wrote this chapter three years ago…. That's really sad, guys)
Newkirk was staring at Mrs. Soliven in awe of her beauty when the intercom on the wall crackled.
"Mrs. Soliven, please send Mr. Newkirk to my office immediately," Dr. Barlow's voice spoke.
Mrs. Soliven nodded slightly. Newkirk jumped up, grabbing his things quickly. Deryn was supposed to be with Dr. Barlow. Something must be wrong.
"I'm coming right away, Doctor," he called as he left. "End message."
Dr. Barlow knelt down next to Deryn, convinced Mr. Newkirk would come as quickly as he could. She carefully lifted the girl off the floor and helped her back into her chair as Deryn slowly began to regain consciousness.
The door burst open and Newkirk ran in, stopping short at the sight of his friend. He dropped his belongings next to the desk and rushed over the help Dr. Barlow hold the girl as she arose, making sure she didn't fall out of the chair.
"I'm afraid it was my fault," Dr. Barlow admitted. "I brought up her father."
"It's fine," Newkirk insisted. "Sometimes just a mention of him can get to her. Usually she holds herself together better. Did she say it?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes, she told her child to jump, just as you described. However, Mr. Newkirk, I noticed something. When she said those infamous words, her eyes were completely glazed over. I don't think she was even conscious."
Before Newkirk could ask what that really meant, Deryn groaned and sat up straighter without their help, blinking her eyes open.
"Deryn?" Newkirk asked carefully. "Are you all right?"
"Aye," Deryn groaned. "Just got a barking headache. Where am I?"
"You're in my office, Miss Sharp," Dr. Barlow said, standing up and dusting her hands off professionally. "Do you remember what just happened?"
Deryn regarded the doctor with a look of confusion; then seemed to realize something and turned to Newkirk. "I did it again, didn't I?"
Newkirk nodded. "It was bad, Deryn. I'm sorry, but I think you-"
He was cut off by the ringing of his cellphone. Newkirk took out the brand new device he'd received the day before, since Deryn had broken his old one, and answered the call. "Hello? Oh, hey, Volger! Aye, Alek talks about you all the time. No, I'm not doing anything, what's up? Oh! Oh… really? Wow… Yeah, I get it… Okay. Bye!"
Newkirk hung up and stuck his phone back in his pocket, then turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
Deryn gave him a tired look. "Newkirk, give me your phone," she commanded.
Frowning in confusion, Newkirk obeyed and handed her the device. Deryn took it and threw it all the wall, hearing it smash.
"VANESSA!" Newkirk screamed in horror. "Deryn! First you kill Ashley, and now this?! You owe me a new phone!"
(A/N: I'd just like to point out here that Newkirk named his phones after the two lead actresses of High School Musical. Okay, moving on now)
Dr. Barlow couldn't help but smirk. "I see you're feeling better, Miss Sharp."
Deryn just rolled her eyes. "Newkirk, what's up with Alek?"
Newkirk's expression turned serious. "Oh. Deryn, it's… not good."
Deryn frowned. "What do you mean? Is something wrong?"
"Who's Alek?" Dr. Barlow questioned.
"This Austrian boy who's staying with us," Deryn replied. "Newkirk, what's wrong?"
Newkirk bit his lip nervously. "Deryn… I don't know how to say this… or if I even should… Deryn, that was Alek's lawyer calling. He said…
well…. Alek's parents died last night."
On the way back to Deryn's house, Newkirk did his best to keep her mind off of death.
First, he turned on the radio of his car to Deryn's favorite station, but the song playing was "If I Die Young," so he quickly shut it off.
After that, Newkirk tried making conversation. "So, Der… how was your day with Alek yesterday?"
Deryn raised an eyebrow curiously at him from the passenger seat, but seemed grateful for the topic. "Awkward. He refused to put a shirt on for three hours and I couldn't yell at him to put one on 'cause he thinks I'm a barking boy. And I've learned firsthand from Jaspert that boys really don't care when other boys are shirtless."
"Speaking of Jaspert…" Newkirk said thoughtfully, turning onto the highway. "When's he coming home from college?"
Deryn frowned thoughtfully. "Couple days. Tuesday, I think. He was gonna come tomorrow for… you know… but he has an exam Friday and something other the weekend."
Newkirk nodded. "I don't know if Alek will still be here then, what with… what just happened… but if he is, I'll have to explain why he calls me Jaspert…"
Deryn shrugged. "You'll think of something."
Newkirk decided to end the conversation there, since he was failing at keeping Deryn's thoughts positive. They drove the rest of the way in silence. When the car stopped in the Sharps' driveway, Deryn immediately jumped out of the car and ran to her front door. She unlocked it as quickly as she could and burst into the house, Newkirk right behind her.
"Alek?" Deryn called, running into the living room. Newkirk followed her and was more than surprised by what he saw.
Alek was shirtless and sobbing on the floor. Sitting on the couch next to him were four men- a tall professional-looking fellow with a rather large mustache, whom Newkirk guessed was Volger; a large man wearing a gray oily jumpsuit; an older man in mechanic slops, and a man closer to Newkirk's own age, only about 20, wearing the same garb as the older man.
"Why are there strange people in my house?" Deryn asked slowly.
"And why is Alek shirtless?" Newkirk added.
Before either of their questions could be answered, a fifth man suddenly appeared right in front of them, holding his hands up in the shape of a camera.
"Ooh, commoners," he said creepily, pressing an invisible button on his "camera". "Click click."
Deryn blinked, then punched the man in the face and pushed past him. Newkirk followed, ignoring the weird camera-man as he held his nose in pain. The two teens started towards Alek, but Volger stood and stepped in front of him, stopping them.
"Are you Jaspert and Dylan?" he asked in slow, accented English.
Newkirk nodded. "We're here to help."
Volger hesitated, but eventually stepped back. Deryn rushed to Alek's side and knelt down next to him.
"Alek?" she asked. It was amazing how much like a boy she sounded. "Are you all right?"
"They didn't have to die, Dylan," Alek sobbed. "It was only to get to me. They didn't have to die first."
"Don't talk like that," Deryn ordered. "Like it's your fault."
"It is my fault!" Alek cried. "They were only killed because of my stupid contest!"
"Oh, stuff it, Alek," Deryn snapped. "Don't talk like you're so barking important that it's your fault your parents died."
Alek looked up at her, blinking in surprise.
"Dylan…" Newkirk said carefully. This was getting awfully close to the subject of her father.
Deryn turned to glare at him, then went back to Alek. "Listen to me," she said softly to him. "Your parents died miles away, where there was nothing you could do to save them."
"Dylan…" Newkirk repeated, stepping closer to them.
Deryn ignored him and swallowed nervously. Her hands were shaking, Newkirk noticed.
"When my da died," she continued, "I was two feet away from him. He was a pilot, you see. Used to take me up in his plane, that he called Old Bessie. He took me up one day, but something went wrong. One of the instruments caught fire, and we were trapped in the cockpit. There was only one parachute, though, and my da told me to jump… So…. I did… The plane crashed. My da died. Maybe… Maybe I couldn't have saved him. But I should've died with him. And that has haunted me every day since."
There were tears in her eyes now, but somehow she'd kept her voice from breaking, from sounding like a girl's. "Alek… you will remember this day," she promised him. "But don't… let it haunt you."
Alek nodded slowly, staring at her with wide eyes. For a moment, the room was silent, but then Deryn started shaking harder and her breathing turned shallow, and Newkirk was snapped back into reality.
"Come on, Dylan," he said softly, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet before she could go into full-out mental breakdown mode. "Let's go upstairs." He nodded to Alek's friends and said, "Make yourselves at home," then turned to the shell-shocked boy on the floor. "Alek… I'm sorry for your loss."
With that, he turned away and started leading Deryn up the stairs.
"What in the world is wrong with you?!" Newkirk demanded, slamming the door behind him.
Deryn groaned and collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Shut up, Newkirk."
"No, I will not shut up," Newkirk snapped. "Seriously, Deryn, what the heck? You've had the dreams three times this week alone, and tomorrow's your da's barking death day, and you go having a heart-to-heart with Alek about hauntings?! Do you want to have another dream and go into a coma?!"
Deryn sighed tiredly. "Of course not."
"Then stop it!" Newkirk shouted. "Because I'm afraid that's what gonna happen next time! And if this happens again, I swear to God, Der, I'm gonna barking tell somebody! This has been going on for too long, and it has to stop!"
Deryn sat up and stared at him in surprise, noting the unshed tears in his eyes. "Hey," she said softly. "Calm down. We were talking about Alek- when did this become about me?"
Newkirk swallowed, breathing heavily. He watched his best friend for a moment, then shook his head and turned away. "Sorry, Der," he whispered. "Didn't mean to shout at you."
"Not your fault," Deryn whispered. "Newkirk…"
"I gotta go deal with Alek and his friends," Newkirk interrupted. "You should try to rest."
He left the room without waiting for a response.
After Jaspert and Dylan left, Alek sat with his men in awkward silence as he tried to think of what to say.
"I didn't know that," he finally whispered. "About Dylan's father. I… I wonder if he would've told me, had this not happened."
"Probably not," Volger guessed.
Alek tried to glare at the lawyer, but it didn't really work. He sighed. "How long will we stay?"
"As long as you want," the man replied. "It's your parents who died. If you want to finish your little vacation before properly respecting their deaths, go right ahead."
Alek clenched his fists, but didn't reply.
"You should at least stay through tomorrow," Jaspert said, reentering the room. "Dylan would appreciate it."
"What do you mean?" Alek asked. "What's tomorrow?"
Jaspert sighed and collapsed into a chair, looking exhausted. "It's the anniversary of his dad's death. He'll need as many friends here as possible."
Alek nodded. "Well then, we'll definitely stay until then, at least. Will… will Deryn be coming home? Since it's her uncle?"
Jaspert rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't know, Alek. It all depends."
Alek wanted very much to ask what exactly it depended on, but he could tell Jaspert wasn't in the mood to answer the question, so he stayed silent.
"We should go," Volger spoke up. "We'll be staying in a hotel nearby. You could come with us, Alek, or you could stay here. Your choice."
"I'd like to stay, if that's all right," Alek replied, glancing at Jaspert for approval. The boy nodded.
"Right then," Volger put a hand on Alek's shoulder. "Take care, Alek. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Are you all right?" Newkirk asked Alek once his friends were gone.
Alek sat in a chair next to him and nodded. "I think so. Dylan's speech really got to me. I think I'll be okay."
"Good." Newkirk sighed. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with that kid."
Alek frowned. "Who? Dylan?"
Newkirk nodded. "He's really shaken up… about his dad, and it's been… years, you know? Still… he's really messed up about it."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Alek asked.
Newkirk shrugged. "Just… Try to keep his mind off it tomorrow. It won't work, but… he'll be grateful, to know you tried. He always is."
Alek nodded. "It really doesn't leave you, does it? Things like this?"
Newkirk gave a dry laugh. "Well… Dylan's case is a little… different than most. But, uh… no. No, I don't think it does."
"How is Dylan different?"
Newkirk sighed. He couldn't tell Alek the truth. Deryn would kill him. "He was there, I mean. When his da died."
"Ah… yes…"
Newkirk glanced over at the other boy. He still wasn't wearing a shirt and there were tear tracks down his cheeks. The sadness in his eyes that Newkirk had seen since day one had increased, making him wonder why it had ever been there in the first place.
"Is there anything I can do to help Dylan?" Alek asked again.
Newkirk sighed and stood up, starting to go back upstairs to Deryn. When he was at the bottom of the stairs, he paused to answer the question.
"Put a shirt on, Alek."
A/N: Again, I am soooooo sorry it took me this long to update, I honestly feel horrible about it. I hope you liked this chapter anyway, please review, and chapter eight will be posted within the hour.
