Chapter 9: Once upon a...

Ever looked around. She was home... She was sitting in a meadow. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. She smiled to herself. The pixie stretched and lied down in the grass, shutting her eyes, intending on sleeping for a little while.

When she heard the sound of children laughing, she opened her eyes. Seeing a butterfly, by she sat up and followed its path. It landed on a little boy. He laughed and jumped up and down, trying to catch it in his hands. Ever stared at the child, who looked oddly familiar. He seemed to be around seven or eight years old. His light brown hair was short and messy.

"Come on, Ever! Come and play?" He pleaded.

She gaped at him. Ever was astonished. "Max?" She asked, amazed.

He smiled at her. "Come and get me!"

Ever jumped to her feet. Her demeanor changing, she chased after her little brother excitedly.

"Come on, Ever!" He cried, laughing gleefully. He reached a dead end, and they ran all the way to edge of a cliff. As he was looking down, Ever scooped him up, giving him a huge hug. He smiled at her and hugged back.

"Aw, my little bear has grown up so much since I've been away." She said, trying to ignore the pain.

He looked at her. "I missed you too. We've ALL missed you." He said.

She looked at him. "All?"

Max pointed down, and Ever looked over with him. She saw her family beneath them; they were swimming in a lake. And Jared was down there too! Ever was excited to see him. Jared turned around and smiled, "Come on! Jump on in, Ever. The water feels great!" Max leapt in, splashing her sisters in the process, causing them to squeal.

Ever laughed, her heart bursting with joy.

"Come on, jump!" said Jared. She made up her mind and took a flying leap.

Ever hit the crystal waters a second later. Jared was right. It did feel great! She laughed and swam around a bit. She glanced at Jared, who was looking at her. Ever splashed water in his face. She was totally happy.

A mischievous look filled his eyes. He reached out and caught her in his arms. She playfully smacked more of the cool lake water at him. Jared looked down at her, lust filling his eyes. Ever's heart flipped-flopped. She leaned in to kiss him.

Then everything started to change. Jared even began to change before her eyes. He was growing in size, becoming giant. His features changed as well. He began to look a lot more like Teague.

He laughed cruelly. "What's wrong, Ever? Are you disappointed?" Teague scooped her up in his huge arms. Ever looked at him, horrified. He looked like a crack addict. The twitching in his eyes looked manic and lucid at the same time.

He tisked- tisked at her, shaking his head. "Ever, you're so easy to fool. You know, I think it's a tie between you and Mina. No wait, I take that back. Mina would have known something was wrong from the beginning, and she would have made Jared so proud." He told her, rubbing it in.

Ever scowled. "Oh, come on. Let's talk." He said, casually shrinking down to normal size.

"Why would I want to talk to you?" She asked venomously.

"Okay, okay. I understand. Besides, I was just going to ask you how it felt not being Jared's play toy anymore." he laughed.

"Excuse me!? I was never his play toy!"Ever was furious. "He loves me-"

"Not like you love him." Teague cackled hysterically. She stiffened. "Ever, let's face it. He's not in love with you. He's IN LOVE WITH MINA."

She shook her head. "No-" she began.

"Oh, please! Ever, you're second best. He said it himself. He always felt like something was missing in his life until he met Mina. He didn't feel whole."

Ever shook her head, trying to ignore what he was saying.

"You don't believe me? How about I just show you?"

Ever shook her head, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare. Not wanting to know what he meant by "showing" her anything. She jerked awake, sweaty and flushed. Ever searched her apartment wildly, looking for Teague. She was alone.

"Jared!" She called out, willing him to come to her. He always came when she needed him.

"Jared?" Nothing.

She lied back down on the bed and began to cry silently, entirely alone.