A/N So I may have overestimated how often I would be able to update now that it is summer. Oh well! This chapter took much longer to write than I thought it would, and it ended up longer than I expected. Thank you, Newest Reader for the review! I am so happy that you enjoy this story and cannot wait for the next update!

update: 7/18/2018 Hello readers! So, I reread this chapter and realized that I had not said everything that I wanted to say. Oops. I have updated chapter 8 and am now satisfied with it. If you have already read this chapter, you don't have to reread it, but I would recommend at least skimming through it again. You never know what may become important later!

Enjoy!

November 2, 2007

This was unbelievable. How could she have let this happen? It was hard enough to know that he was living in the same town as her, now she was going to share her home with a man who knew her no better than any stranger while she knew about everything about him? She was not ready for this. She would never be ready to house her former husband in life when he had no recollection of her.

She only had about an hour left to prepare. She walked around the great room on the second floor again to make sure that all evidence of Adam had been hidden. She had brought quite a few pictures of him up to the attic yesterday, but she needed to double check and triple check before she could welcome him here. It would be rude, after all, to not allow him up to the actual living area of her home. She was checking the room for the fourth time when she heard a voice echoing throughout the house.

"Shock is requesting access into the shop, Mistress Maris." it was Byrne alerting her. The door was technically locked at the moment, meaning he would announce to the lady of the house if someone wished to come in. Maris fled to the other end of the house, down the spiral staircase, into her study, to the guest room, before finally running through the downstairs living area into the shop to unlock and open the door to see the mint green witch on the other side.

"Seriously? It's like nine or something. I know I'm late, but shouldn't the door have been unlocked for, like, an hour by now?" she questioned noticing that Maris appeared to be out of breath. Well, she appeared as if she would be out of breath if she could breath at all.

"Just get in here." Maris retorted, but Shock wasn't having it.

"This is the second morning this week that you've opened up the shop late, and you're still on edge." Shock observed in an amused voice.

"I'm fine."

"Lies! A woman is never alright when she says she is fine!"

"Drop it, Shock."

"You're nervous, aren't you? Dean moves in today, right? You're so crushing on him."

"Of course not. Speaking of crushing, let's talk about you and love potions."

"Oh shit."

"'Oh shit' is right. Do you understand how dangerous love potions are? Not only did you manipulate me into making one, but then you decide to use it for a prank? Are you crazy?" Maris was enraged.

"We thought it would be funny." her apprentice shrugged. The sorceress sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"Just promise me that you won't mess with love potions again, please."

"Fine." Maris looked up from her hands, "I won't mess with love potions again, and I won't ask you to make one for me again."

"Good. Love potions are very complex potions that can be made many different ways, depending on what you want, and, to be honest, I was never to skilled at making potions. The love potion we made together was probably awful, so it's a good thing you did not actually slip it into Lock's drink. There's no telling what it would have done to him." Shock looked puzzled at this explanation.

"What do you mean you aren't good at making potions? You make them all of the time."

"Yes, but I follow step by step instructions from a potion book. Remember that salve we made the other day? I had to guess what I should put in that since I have no recipe for a potion like that. That's why it took so long and why we kept messing it up."

"Right. So, when Dean gets here we can make him handle all of the potions. He seems to know what he's doing." Maris did not answer right away.

"Perhaps we should let him handle potions." Maris mused, more to herself than to Shock. It was quiet for a moment until something dawned on Maris.

"I gave you a key after you started your apprenticeship, why did you not just unlock the door, yourself?"

"Oh! Um, well, you see, I, erh, I sortofmaybeforgotwhereIputitlastnight? That's why I was so late. I just gave up and figured the shop would be unlocked when I got here, so it wouldn't be a big deal?" Shock finished sheepishly. Maris only glared for a moment. Shock noted that eye had twitched.

"I suggest you start looking once again the second you get home, or so help me I'll…"

Byrne's shriek signalled that someone else had entered the shop. The duo turned to see Sally stumble through the doors.

"The boys won't be here for about an hour yet. I just wanted to drop by and try to prepare you." the ragdoll explained rather quickly.

Maris had a feeling the Pumpkin Queen had ran there. She raised an eyebrow.

"Prepare me for what?" she questioned as Sally appeared to be catching her breath.

"It's the townswomen! They're curious…" the sound of Byrne's cry and the door creaking on its hinges cut off Sally's warning as the witch sisters, Helgamine and Zeldaborne, entered the shop, followed up by Carmen, the sea monster, and Mrs. Corpse.

"So, Maris, I hear today's the day Dean moves in." Carmen stated though Maris senses that there is an unasked question hidden within. Of course Dean was moving in today. Everyone heard that at the meeting-it was not news.

"That will be quite a change for you, dear." Zeldaborne observed.

"You haven't really had much company around here, or many friends." Helgamine added. Another observation, but it was quite true. Though Maris was friendly with everyone, she was quick to keep to herself. She really did not have many friends in town. She could see how the townswomen would find it odd that a woman, who keeps to herself, would be willing to let a stranger live with her.

" I am only doing what I can to support our town." she answered with a shrug.

"Of course, dear. But don't you find it odd that of all of the citizens in town Jack chose you? The man's a demon and you are not." Helgamine was suspicious.

"He may be a demon, but he can do magic. He would be a big help around the shop." Maris shrugged.

"Isn't that why Shock is here?" Mrs. Corpse questioned, eyeing the young apprentice in distaste. Maris ignored this.

"Nah, I just cause more trouble than I'm worth. It's a wonder she hasn't fired me yet." the young witch contributed as she leaned against the front desk, staring away at nothing in particular as if she were bored out of her mind.

"Yet." Maris sent a quick glare that one but Shock noticed.

"You have no worries about letting a strange man you know nothing about move in? Honestly, I can't believe that Jack has no problem letting a man none of us know live alone with such a lovely young woman. Who knows what could go wrong!" Maris noticed Shock's sudden amusement in the back of her peripheral vision. Mrs. Corpse turned to Sally, "And you, I can't believe that you have no issues with this! It isn't proper for a lady to live with a man she is not married to!" No one noticed that Maris's eye had twitched, "Now, I beg your pardon, your majesty, but what was that boneheaded husband of yours thinking when he decided to let Dean live with Maris. It just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen!"

Sally was taken aback by such an accusation. Jack was a smart man and he cared about his citizens. He would never intentionally put a citizen in a bad situation, and it hurt Sally to realize that anyone would think otherwise. The Pumpkin Queen did her best to stammer out a defense for Jack's decision. Seeing her struggle, Helgamine beat her to it.

"Now, Debi. I assure you that Jack has thought very carefully over this decision. He would never put Maris in such a dangerous situation as you suggest. I have, personally, talked with Dean many times already, and I don't see a problem with the living situation as long as Maris is alright with everything." the women all looked at Maris again.

"I would not have agreed if it bothered me." Well, if that was not the biggest lie she had ever told. On second thought, she had probably told some bigger lies by omission, but that wasn't the point.

Carmen smirked, "You're very lucky to house him. I haven't been with a man in well, I don't remember the last time, but it has been a long time. I envy you, Maris. You'll get to spend every day with him! Doesn't he just make skin ooze and flesh crawl?"

"He makes walls fall!" Zeldaborne gushed.

"Walls fall?" Helgamine retorted, "He makes the very foundations crack!" Everyone, except Maris, missed Shock's snort as the witches and Carmen went on describing how Dean made them feel, which Maris actually found rather disturbing.

"It seems they've moved on." Sally whispered to Maris as the women kept chattering away, the witches and Carmen on Dean and Debi saying "Scandalous! It's scandalous I tell you!" over and over.

"What do you mean?" Maris whispered back.

"Those three used to talk about Jack that way before we got together." the ragdoll explained.

"Isn't that just a little creepy to you?"

"Yeah, that's kind of the point. We're all creepy here." Shock whispered. Startling the sorceress and the ragdoll. Neither had noticed when Shock had snuck over by them and had leaned over to join the hushed conversation. Maris was not given the chance to say anything else before the townswomen returned their attention to her.

"So, Maris, what do you think about Dean?" Carmen asked with fake innocence.

"He seems nice enough and, like I said, he could be really helpful around here."

Carmen frowned, "That's not what I meant. I meant do you find him attractive." Of course Maris thought he was attractive, but she did not want to admit that outloud, so she decided to use the cop-out.

"I'm a married woman."

"Yes, but your husband is not here now, is he?" Carmen raised a suggestive, scaly eyebrow.

"No, he isn't." Maris admitted. Yet. It was, technically, the truth.

"Well, I think you should give him a shot. You haven't had a relationship in a few years, either." the undersea gal advised.

"You might as well try to make it work if you must have him live with you, though it would be very improper to board with a man who is courting you." Debi added.

"I really don't want to take up dating again." Maris responded.

"Why not, dearie? I also think you should give him a chance." Helgamine insisted.

"You deserve happiness, Maris." Zeldaborne agreed.

"But I am happy!" she insisted. She felt a soft hand on her shoulder and looked to see Sally. She had almost forgotten that the ragdoll was next to her.

"Sweetie, you aren't as good of an actress as you think you are. We can all tell that you have not been truly happy here."

"So you and Jack thought that bringing a man into my life would change that? That, suddenly everything would be alright if I remarried? I realize that a relationship completely changed Jack's outlook on his afterlife, but that won't work for me. A man won't fix my problems." Maris retorted, carefully trying not to snap at the Pumpkin Queen. She was, after all, only trying to help.

"You don't have to remarry, Maris. You don't have to do anything you do not wish to do. And I understand that Dean may not fix your problems, but he could help if you let him help you." Sally concluded. Maris looked into her eyes. No one said anything for a while.

Sally was right, of course. Knowing Adam, Dean probably would be willing to help. But that, itself, was part of the problem. She missed him, but he did not know her. His willingness to help would only make it worse.

Maris was not looking forward to Dean moving in.

"You did say that you missed your family. Maybe you just need to make another one." now Maris looked over her other shoulder at Shock, who had made the suggestion. Again, she was right. That was exactly what Maris needed, but that was easier said than done.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, just please at least tell me you have more than one bedroom!" Debi joked, seeming to have given up her cause. The ladies were all still laughing when Byrne shrieked again.

The townswomen crowding the door hurriedly got out of the way to make room for the new visitors.

"I am so sorry, ladies! We did not mean to interrupt!" Jack greeted, bending down as to not bonk his head on the entryway. Dean followed behind the Pumpkin King, nodding 'hello' to the women in the room as he entered, carrying... a bundle of clothes?

Maris looked Dean over. He had, indeed changed out of the outfit he had arrived in. He was dressed in much more casual attire, a t-shirt and pants that were most likely Sally's work. The Pumpkin Queen had been busy yesterday.

"Oh, it's quite alright, Jack! You weren't interrupting anything at all." Helgamine answered.

"In fact, we were just about to leave, weren't we, ladies?" Zeldaborne added. They all agreed before quickly leaving the shop. Jack and Dean watched them go with curiosity before turning back to the three other occupants in the shop.

"Ah! There you are, dearest! I was wondering where you have run off to!" he moved to rejoin his wife's side.

"Wait," the Pumpkin Queen stopped him before he could take her into an embrace, "Jack, who's watching the children? I was not expecting you to show up here so soon, or I would have gone back home earlier." she inquired.

This threw Jack off of his normally cheery mood.

"Certainly Nicholas is old enough to stay on his own and watch his siblings?" he frowned with uncertainty. He had not seen a problem with leaving them all alone for a few moments.

"And how much would you like to wager that has left the manor to meet up with his friends instead of keeping an eye on his sisters?" Sally questioned, her irritation starting to show.

"Uh, well, Lyn is surely old enough to watch a toddler for only a couple minutes?"

"Of course. She has absolutely no experience babysitting and has almost dropped her sister countless times. But you're right. She can handle a toddler. What could possibly go wrong!" Sally spit back at him. Jack did not know what to say as his wife glared daggers at him.

"We should go home now."

"Damn right we should." Sally agreed before storming out of the shop. Jack gaped at his wife's use of such a word. He had not even known that such a colorful word was in her vocabulary!

The spectators of this little fight were wearing matching expressions. They, too, had not expected their queen to use such language.

"Good-bye, Maris! It was a pleasure to talk!" she hurriedly called over her shoulder as she left. Jack stared after her for a moment before sheepishly explaining that he should probably follow Sally home.

Everything was silent for a moment. Maris was floundering to come up with something to say to break the ice as Dean smiles expectantly back at her.

Shock leaned against the front desk with her arms crossed, waiting to see what would happen next. She had a feeling that things were about to get interesting and she did not want to miss a second of what was to come. She rolled her eyes as the silence stretched on for another minute.

"Well, wasn't that just something else!" Shock suddenly exclaimed. Maris jumped at the abrupt sound.

"It was, well, interesting to say the least." Dean answered her, taking his focus off of Maris for a second. Maris let go of a breath she had not known she was holding as the tension was broken.

"Perhaps I should give you a tour, Dean?" Maris suggested sheepishly. Dean's eyes turned back to her with the change of subject.

"Sure! I may as well get a good look at this place if I'm going to live here for an indefinite amount of time."

"Great! Let's go back here, then." she took the lead, guiding him to the back door that separated the shop from the rest of the house.

"I guess. I've worked here for three years and have never seen the living area." Shock shrugged, getting up to follow the two.

Maris stopped walking right on front of the door. She looked over her shoulder at her apprentice, who was close behind.

"Don't you have a key to look for?"

Shock froze. Maris watched the witch's face twist in annoyance before turning around.

"Don't come back until you find it!" Maris called after her retreating back.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." she retorted flipping the bird as she exited the shop.

"Shall we?" she inquired, opening the door.

"You're letting her get away with that?"

"Oh, don't worry. She'll get her punishment." Maris assured him with a smug look.

In fact, Shock's punishment had already started. Maris knew that Shock was on to her. She had figured Shock would want to hang around and watch Maris's awkward interactions around Dean. As much as Maris did not really want to be alone with Dean, she also did not want an audience whenever she did anything odd around him. She was still embarrassed about how many people had witnessed that fainting spell yesterday. She did not wish to repeat that.


Dean was excited for this tour. Of course, he had seen some of the house yesterday when he had helped Maris to bed, but he had not, exactly, gotten a good look at everything.

He followed his new roommate through the door, into the familiar little kitchen. Its walls were a drab gray with linoleum flooring and wooden cupboards, table and chairs. There were no pictures or any decorations to give the room any personality.

"This is a small kitchen. I usually only use this during work hours, so that I won't have to go back and forth between the shop and my kitchen. Shock and I normally take our lunches in here." Maris gestured to the appliances: a small refrigerator, a coffee maker, a couple cupboards, a small counter and sink, and the small wooden table with four chairs around it.

"As you can see," she continued, "It is a pretty basic setup."

"No dishwasher?"

"There's one upstairs. Trust me, the actual kitchen upstairs is much more equipped than this. This is really more for convenience." she explained. She almost smiled.

He was not quite ready to keep going as Maris began walking again until she approached a wooden door.

"I'm sure that you remember what's in here."

"That guestroom that you use too often?" she spun on her heel, ready to fire back a retort, but no words came out.

He smirked as she struggled to come up with a response.

"Maybe." she muttered under her breath as she pushed the door open.

Dean entered behind her into the small bedroom. It looked a bit different than it had the day before. He could tell that she had cleaned up in here yesterday, or, possibly, this morning. The bed was now neatly made. The white carpet had been vacuumed and if he was not mistaken, she had dusted as well.

"You took the time to clean all of this?"

"I didn't do that much. I only washed the sheets, made the bed, and did some basic cleaning."

"You didn't have to do all of that! I could have done that or helped you, or…"

"Dean, you're my guest. I'm not going to make you do all of my work for me."

"Am I really a guest, though? You know what Jack said; I'll be staying here for an indefinite amount of time." He watched the gears in her head turn as she calculated a response.

"I guess it is a good thing that you have no qualms with cleaning this room because this is where you'll be sleeping while you stay here indefinitely." She replied slowly.

"Well, you won't have any problems waking me up if I oversleep, since my room will be on the way to the shop." Dean noticed Maris stiffen at the comment.

Had she not thought of that? He quickly scanned the room for exits. There was the door that he knew led to the study, closed closet doors, and the door they had entered through. He was right. If anyone wanted to cross from the study into the small kitchen, they would have to cross through his room.

"I'll be as quiet as possibly if I ever find myself in that situation."

"How conscientious of you!" this time she did smile. She pointed to the closed closet he had already noticed.

"There is your closet. You can hang up any clothes you have in there."

They both looked down at the clothes in his hands.

"I'll just leave this on the bed and take care of it later. Let's move on."

"Alright then," she nodded, "I'll show you the private study. Again."

"Please do."

Not much later, the pair made their way up the spiral staircase, to the second floor, after taking a look at the study.

Dean had wanted to look around the study longer, but Maris assured him that he had plenty of time for that later. He reluctantly followed her up, knowing that she was right, after all.

The red hallway greeted them at the top of the stairs. Maris led him down the hall, quickly reminding him about the first room on her right; her bedroom. The reminder was unnecessary. Dean still remembered the purple room from yesterday.

Maris pointed out that the next door down was a bathroom before continuing on to where the red hall opened up into one, wide room.

"Here's the real kitchen." she nodded to the vast space before them.

Dean could not believe the size of the room. The difference between this and the tiny little thing was a little jarring, with dozens of wooden cabinets and drawers. She had plenty of granite countertop space, even a chandelier that hung above the granite island. And the dishwasher.

"How can you use that small space downstairs when you have this right upstairs?"

"I honestly don't know. I don't even cook in this area too often." she shrugged. Dean couldn't believe it. How could she not take advantage of this space?

"Seriously? Why not?"

"I'm exhausted by the end of day, usually, so I don't take the time. I'm already dead, anyway, it's not like I'll starve."

"But how can you not use this incredible space?"

"Moving on! Here is the living room!" Maris announced, moving on. He huffed and walked after her a few paces to look at the rest of the great room.

He whistled at the sight of the room. It was as impressive as the rest of the upstairs. A fireplace with no fire stood at the end of the room. There was a couch and two chairs for lounging or resting, rugs for a break from the hardwood floors that stretched the entire length of the great room, and a piano off to the side of the room. There were many windows, letting natural light into the room and offering a view of the town.

"I did not realize how successful the magic business in here." he mused.

"What do you mean?" he turned to his hostess.

"Well, I don't really want to pry into your finances, but you must make good money in order to afford something like this." he gestured to the entire house.

"Oh, not really. But Jack is willing to provide quite a lot if you only ask."

"Really?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Is there really a purpose for money in this town if there are quite a bit of extra resources available?"

"No, but money does provide a sense of providing for yourself. And business is necessary for giving someone a purpose. We don't prepare for next Halloween every single second of everyday. At least, not everyone does." Maris explained.

Dean walked around the room, taking in his surroundings. He was not sure where to start. He noticed an outline of a rectangle that stood out among the plaster of the ceiling.

"What's in the attic?" he questioned. He could not imagine that Maris would need an attic for storage when she was the house's only occupant. Then again, maybe she did need the storage.

"Stay out of the attic."

It was a command, not an answer. Was there something in there just as he had thought?

Dean was a bit startled at the sudden demand. What could possibly be in there that would upset her if he knew about it? Was she hiding something?

Maris shook her head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out like that. The floor up there is rather unstable and not completely safe to walk on. It is best if you stay out of the attic. Not that there is really anything to see up there anyway."

"Oh, ok then." that was fair enough.

With the attic forgotten, Dean went back to observing the room he was in. There was something a little different about Maris's home than the Skellington's place, but he couldn't quite grasp what it was that was bugging him. He looked at the mantle and the pictures sitting upon it.

Wait, Maris had pictures?

Dean crossed the room to look at them closer. There was one with many...twelve people dressed nicely and smiling for the camera. The matriarch and patriarch sat in the front, while the other ten had split into two lines. The five younger children kneeling behind their parents and the five older siblings standing behind them. The man had light sandy hair and green eyes while his wife was blond with blue eyes. The children behind them shared some combination of this. As he looked at each of the children, he realized what had intrigued him about the photo. Behind the father stood two girls, who looked to be about twelve and ten, with dark colored hair. Both appeared quite a bit paler than the rest. One girl had blue eyes like the woman, but the girl on the left had amber eyes that looked quite familiar. It only took a moment for it all to click. The amber eyed girl was Maris. This was a picture of Maris with her family.

"What are you looking at?" Dean looked up from the photo to see Maris rush over to where he was standing to see what he was looking at. She looked...afraid? Of what?

"Just this picture of your family." she appeared to have let go of a breath she had been holding.

"Yep. The house was always crowded." she joked, but he was not sure if it truly was a joke. She did not act like she found the statement funny.

"I would have loved to grow up in a family like that." He meant it. Dean may not remember anything from before Halloween night, but he would love to have all of the siblings hanging around him and loving parents like the ones in the photo.

He moved on to another photo. In this one Maris was older, probably in her early twenties. She stood on a beach in her bathing suit and appeared to have been laughing shortly before the picture was taken. She had her arm wrapped around another girl, who smiling widely. He was almost certain that she was the same girl from the last photo.

He picked up the photo to look at it closer. There was a date printed at the bottom of the picture; July 18, 1991.

"That's me and my younger sister, Eleanor." Dean looked up at Maris, who was staring intently at the photo. A ghost of a smile graced her lips as she observed the picture. He scanned the rest of the photos. There were some more with what looked like her other siblings, but the majority looked like Maris and Eleanor.

"You were close to your sister."

"Yeah. I miss her every day."

"What about the rest of your family?" Maris did not answer right away.

"Sometimes." Sometimes? What did that mean? What had happened between her and the rest of her family that she would not miss them?

He was brought out of his thoughts as the sound of music sifting across the room distracted him. He looked to see Maris, sitting with her back to him playing random notes and chords on the piano. He had not even noticed that she had left.

"This is a lovely piano." he stated, watching as her curled fingers played another chord.

"It is, isn't it. I mentioned once to Sally that I used to play and, suddenly, Jack came over on my first birthday after arriving here, dragging this sucker over." Maris laughed at the memory.

"I'm sure it was tricky to get it up here."

"Oh yeah, it was a pain in the ass carrying this beauty up here. Even with magic. But it was all worth it." she smiles at the instrument, and stroked it as if it were a pet.

Dean chuckled at the mental image of Jack and Maris pushing a baby grand up the spiral staircase.

"Okay! I think I finally decided what I'm going to play for you, Gerald Dean." Maris exclaimed, cracking her knuckles.

"Please, just call me Dean. Gerald is not necessary." he insisted.

"Really? Then why didn't you just say that your name is Dean?"

"Because my name is Gerald Dean. I just know it is. Do you have a problem with the name 'Gerald Dean' or something?"

"Yes, actually, I hate your name. It doesn't fit you at all." she stated matter-of-factly.

"What would you name me instead?" he challenged. Maris opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to have thought better of it and not say anything.

"Anyway, I'm dedicating this performance to you, to commemorate your death."

"You don't have to…"

"Oh, come on! It's just for fun!" she waved him off.

"Take it away, maestro." Maris nodded. She took a deep breath and poised her fingers over the keys. The silence stretched as he waited for the performance to begin.

She played a chord. It was slightly ominous and hung in the air for a moment before she continued on to play a quiet, haunting melody. It was a somewhat familiar melody, but Dean could not remember where he had heard it before.

Then again, he couldn't remember anything from before a day ago.

The melody repeated again, but this time it had gained a little speed and volume until it suddenly tapered off to almost silence. He watched Maris's intense focus on her fingers as her right hand slowly made its way up the keys and her left played accompanying chords. He listened as the soft, flowing melody crescendoed before she backed off, once again, only to bang on the keys a few seconds later.

The mournful melody continued like this for a few moments until it built up into a new intensity and speed. Just when he thought that the melody would possibly collapse onto itself, the tension dissipated one last time to a smooth, somber sound before ending on its final chord. It was a different chord from the rest of the song. It had sounded almost...happy, as if the sun had peaked out of the gloomy clouds at the last second.

And then he remembered the song.

"That was Mozart, wasn't it? You played me a requiem" the question broke Maris out of whatever trance she had fallen into while playing the requiem.

She nodded, but did not look up from the keys. Her fingers were still touching the keys.

"Lacrimosa. I played you a requiem to commemorate your death."

"But why a requiem? Requiems are for mourning. I may have died, but I have a new life now."

"What did you think of the last note in the song?" He knew she was talking about the chord at the end that he thought had sounded happy. When he did not answer right away, she did it for him.

"The way I see it, Lacrimosa is a lament. But that last chord? That last chord is the light at the end of the tunnel. It is hope that the pain will go away, that things will get better." She appeared to be in deep thought as she gave this observation.

"You're a very musical person, aren't you?"

"I'm not, honestly. I really only know a couple classical songs that I used to play with my sisters. My mother insisted that I take piano lessons, and though there are a few classical songs that I love, it is not even close to being my genre of choice." she clarified.

"Yeah, you look more like a Guns N' Roses girl to me." he laughed. He did not even know what about Maris had led him to believe this.

Maris looked at him sharply. Her eyes widened in surprise and suspicion. Her mouth hung open as she began to say something.

Byrne's shriek interrupted whatever she was about to say.

"I found it! It took me almost an hour and I had the boys tearing the treehouse upside down, but I did it! Maris? Dean? Does a tour of this place really take this long?" Shock's question floated up to the two from the front door.

Maris stood up from the bench and bolted out of the room, all hints of the suspicion she had shown were gone just as quickly as they came.

"And that concludes our tour!" she announced as she left him to stand at the piano alone.

Dean reflected back on that last conversation he had just had. She was taken aback by his statement. For a second she almost looked afraid, disturbed even, and then she had immediately taken Shock's entrance as an excuse to get away from him.

"Was it something I said?" He wondered to himself as he watched her rush out of the room.