Chapter 9

Thanks for any suggestions so far about the video! I really appreciate any help, so thank you so much xx

Chapters are still coming…

Wonder what you think of Rides because soon, you will find out more about him…

That's all I will say.

More reviews= more chapters! Keep the comments coming! Love you all!

By the way, If you can read while listening to music, try reading this with Beside You by Marianas Trench. That is the song I used while writing this, and I was literally crying xxx

Enjoy reading guys!

Xxxxx

Wanda POV

Rides stood in the alleyway, not moving an inch. Only staring…

'Move!' Melanie hissed inside my head. 'Run! Get away! He's a bad person Wanda! Let's move!'

Melanie was going insane with panic and worry. I felt all the feelings she felt, and I didn't find any of them comforting.

She was bouncing about frantically inside my mind, and I ignored her words of caution and panic, deciding to go my own way for once.

After all, it was a soul we were dealing with- not a human.

Surely I knew my own species better than Melanie- didn't I?

I could only hope.

I prayed on my life that my instincts would lead me somewhere good… away from the darkness.

It had been all I was receiving lately- all of the good sides of this planet vanished.

All of the dark sides… they had been thrown at me all at once with such force that I had occasionally wanted to just… give up.

I wasn't weak. That wasn't me at all.

I had just had enough- of everything.

According to Melanie inside my head, she felt the same way.

She had lost everybody she loved- Jared… Jamie…

They were all gone from her life.

She just hoped that they were safe.

Somewhere where the invading souls and seekers would never find them.

We both hoped…

We wished… We dreamed…

Rides seemed like a dream to me, standing as still as a statue like a broken angel. He really did seem beautiful.

I didn't know what was wrong with me.

Paranoia maybe?

I didn't know.

I just chose to follow one of the many paths that led ahead of me.

That path, sadly, included ignoring Melanie- My sister.

She had given me what had seemed like the worst advice- ignoring the world and letting go, but also the best possible advice I had hoped for.

She wanted to keep us safe so she could find her loved ones.

However, I wasn't that precautious.

I had lived many lives- A final end wouldn't be that bad now, would it?

It certainly wouldn't be a waste. I had lived my cause.

Right up to completion.

Everything I had happened to cause, somehow, always ended up with one side of a bad outcome. I just couldn't control it.

I just whished that I knew what was going on… And now, I was going to find out, whether Rides or Melanie were happy about it or not.

I had to do my duty.

I wouldn't ignore this like Melanie had hoped.

I couldn't.

I just had to find out…

Xxxxx

Rides hadn't answered my question. He had plainly ignored me- not a comforting first glance.

I had estimated that he would have been kinder than that-especially after all the help he gave me when I needed him.

Such a good friend he had been.

He just abandoned me with the Seekers.

What kind of soul played each other that kind of commitment?

'Rides', Melanie snarled inside my head. 'He is no soul. Get away from him! He doesn't even deserve you!'

I ignored her, looking up at the sky briefly.

The stars had unfolded from the thick blanket of clouds that ruled the sky, and each and every one of them reflected off their own dim light, all participating in the event of lighting up the sky.

Each individual counted- all working in perfect harmony…

Glimmering… Silver…

They were exactly how souls should be- only some of us had recently failed to be so peaceful.

The stars didn't make a sound- just pure silence.

Melanie, as usual, was motivated to interrupt that.

It had been ages since we had last had an argument- it almost seemed foreign now.

'Get away! Now Wanderer! Did you hear me?'

Of course I had heard her- we shared the same head.

I heard everything she thought and said, even if I hadn't wanted to.

It wasn't always pleasant, but sometimes it was unusually helpful, I had to admit.

It came in handy in times of violence- I wasn't an expert on that.

She was the one with all the experience.

According to me, it was just horrifying.

I had heard her- but I chose to ignore her words of warning.

Stupid.

Always so stubborn and stupid.

That cause would be the death of us both.

Xxxxx

Rides finally moved from his frozen stance, and slowly walked towards us, keeping his eyes on the floor.

He didn't seem to want to meet my eyes- I didn't blame him.

They were beyond enraged… Full of hate…

But also mixed in with curiosity… and sadness…

It wasn't a pretty sight.

Eventually he planted himself in front of me, rooting his feet to the ground.

He didn't make a move to do anything else.

He just… stood there… Not moving… Not making any sounds…

It seemed to me that he actually seemed… sad… Like something or some happening had broken him in two.

It made my heart melt.

Only this time in sadness.

He had let men down- but why had he come back for me, even if he no longer cared?

It didn't make sense.

There was only one way for it- I couldn't say I had wanted to communicate with him… But I had to.

It wasn't a choice.

It was a necessity.

I had to try.

'Rides', I tried again, this time speaking more softly.

I began to wonder whether he was actually compatible with persuasion- I certainly wasn't any good with it.

Anyhow, he didn't seem to budge.

My efforts- as usual were wasted.

I decided that to locate the end of this, I would have to go further.

I lifted my fingers until they latched under his chin, pulling his head up to face me fully.

'Rides', I whispered. 'Look at me'.

He hesitated, absorbing my words, before meeting my eyes with his.

The effect slammed into me like one of Melanie's protective walls- only this time it didn't happen to be so protective.

This wall caused all the emotions to flood into me at once.

Loss.

Hurt.

Betrayal.

All those were clear in his flat eyes, and other than that, his face showed no emotion.

It was as if all the life of which I had seen inside him had drained like a tap being turned on, pouring all the joy and emotion out of him.

He didn't even look alive… But he managed to maintain the fact that he was still beautiful…

The most beautiful person I had ever laid my eyes on in all of my species.

I hated seeing him this way and suddenly I was filled with sympathy, all the words I had wanted overly out of reach.

He was just so lost… even for a soul…

I now knew.

It all came back to me.

I had to fix this.

I cared.

All the hurt I had experienced was all for a reason.

I the soul called Wanderer loved Rides, and nothing on earth at this moment was going to change that.

Xxxxx

Rides lips puckered, and his face turned unbearably innocent.

I just couldn't resist him.

A tear was rolling silently down his cheek and I brushed it away with my free hand.

'Hey', I whispered. 'It's okay. I'm here…'

His lips now began to tremble.

'Step away', Melanie demanded, but I silenced her so violently that she could barely breathe a word.

I had grown stronger.

Rides had made me stronger.

I belonged with him. I had to.

It was meant to be.

Rides opened his mouth, before snapping it shut again. He was breathing heavily, and I placed my hand on his rapidly rising and falling chest.

He was warm beneath his pale shirt and jacket, and my hand felt enlighted from the heat.

Each time part of me connected with him, my skin tingled there, like I had been set alight, catching fire inside me.

It was meant to be…Meant to be…

'No', Melanie managed to gasp. 'Don't… you won't be able to stop…'

She was right, but so was I in a very pleasant way.

I didn't even want to stop anymore…

All the betrayal that I had felt for him had been erased, and I only felt this unconditional love for Rides.

Rides.

I loved Rides…

The feeling felt new… It felt good…

Rides…

I… Loved… Rides…

He leaned into my hand, taking it with his own.

He finally managed to speak.

'… W-wand-der-rer…?'

I smiled at him.

'It's me', I murmured. 'I'm here'.

His arms suddenly shot out, drawing me into his chest in a hug that made my whole body tingle with joy.

It really did feel good.

Melanie had never let me feel this way before- Not even about Jared… even though this body loved him, I loved Rides.

He was a permanent part of me that I vowed I would never loose.

He buried his face in my hair.

My fingers traced over his shoulder blades, my lips curling up into another permanent smile.

However, Rides was sobbing endlessly into my hair.

'Wanderer', he choked out. 'I'm so sorry, I'-

'Shh', I whispered. 'It's okay. I'm here. Everything is going to be okay'.

'I missed you'.

My mouth fell open, and I hurriedly snapped it shut.

I squeezed him more tightly.

'I missed you to', I murmured. 'I just- I…'

He placed his finger over my lips.

'You thought I wouldn't come back. You thought I left you'.

My mouth pressed into a hard line while his eyes studied me carefully.

Eventually, he gave me a satisfied nod.

I failed to do anything about it, because his finger still blocked my lips.

'I know, I was stupid', He whispered into my ear.

I tried to object but he moved his whole hand over my lips to cover my mouth entirely.

'But I waited. I waited for you… because… because…'

I waited for him to say the words which I never imagined would ever escape from his mouth.

'I love you Wanderer', he said, and brought his lips to meet mine.

Xxxxx

Melanie was furious- However, I was not.

I had reached the limit- It was the happiest I had ever been since I had arrived in earth.

I couldn't have asked for more.

I was walking, hand and hand with Rides to his apartment, glad to have finally escaped the Seeker.

He had explained everything- How he had planned out how he would get us out if the Seeker had won the argument- How he tracked the car…

I had to admit, it was all very impressive.

He hadn't forgotten about me at all- all he had been thinking about was me.

He had missed a lot of sleep staying up to see if he could finally find me- and now he had.

He had saved me.

We were now whole.

After a long time of walking- which I was not bothered about because he had walked all the way out here in the first place to find me, we finally reached the door to his apartment.

Halfway through the walk, he had bolted upright suddenly, freezing in place.

It had worried me, and I had been concerned, asking him if he was alright, but he merely shrugged it off, implying that it was 'nothing'.

It made me wonder…

I wondered about a lot of things… I didn't cope well with secrets.

Apparently, neither did Melanie.

'What is he hiding?' She asked finally, attempting to control her anger from earlier.

I could tell she was angry at how I had used her body, and she was in no way sympathetic towards me for it.

I could tell that it was going to take some time for her to forgive me again…

I'd say quite a while…

'I don't know… But I'm sure it's nothing', I added quickly.

'Pmph', she groaned. 'You're sure', she said sarcastically. 'That means a lot'.

I frowned.

I hated the way she was talking to me lately.

It was like we had gone right back to the beginning- enemies at first glance.

Really, it was just plain rude.

Rides fumbled in his pocket for his keys, still gripping my hand, and slid his key into the lock.

The door swung open, showing what I thought was false behind my eyelids.

The whole room looked like it had literally been flipped upside down, and countless furniture and household items were scattered across the floor.

Most of the remains were ripped to shreds on the floor and I could briefly make out a smashed photo frame lying in the centre of the hall.

I had never seen such a wreckage in all my lives.

It came as a shock to me, although Melanie only grew more alarmed.

I had to agree with her, she had a point.

She wasn't just being fussy for no reason now.

In this case, it was actually serious.

'Wanderer! This isn't good… who knows who he really is…'

At first, I was too bewildered to answer.

Melanie- as always was driven beyond impatience.

'Wanderer!' She demanded.

I sighed out loud.

'I know, I know', I whined. 'This doesn't look good. Let me just'-

My pleading sentence was interrupted by Rides un-expectantly running from the room, tearing his hand from mine and bolting towards what I guessed was the bathroom.

My mouth was frozen open, and I began to hesitantly step towards the door of which Rides was behind.

Even through all this shock, I was still worried.

Although, I could feel a strange emotion creeping up on me…

Uncertainty.

It didn't feel right…

Something was wrong… out of place somehow…

Sadly, I couldn't work out what that something was.

I would just have to wait and see, hoping for the best.

After all, I couldn't always trust my judgements. An awful lot of the time, they were madly wrong.

This situation was far beyond guessable.

'Stop!' Melanie screeched, halting our footsteps. 'Don't go in there… let's see what we can find first'.

I hesitated momentarily.

Wouldn't that make me seem like I was a thief?

Stealing… Nosing around…

I didn't like the idea.

'Mel...' I started.

She interrupted me hurriedly.

'It won't take long Wanderer. Besides, we need to know what is going on here'.

I still wasn't convinced.

She sighed.

'It's not stealing', She urged. 'Just looking… Maybe…Maybe…'

She seemed to be struggling for words.

This time, I was the one to sigh.

'Spit it out Mel'.

'Well…' she stuttered. 'If you find something… Then ... You could use it to help him? Oh, I don't know Wanderer. Let's just get moving! Now!'

That made my decision for me.

I shook my head and began to clamber over the furniture, deciding to start with the centre of the room where I had seen the picture frame.

'I still don't like it', I muttered out loud.

'You don't have to like it', she snapped. 'How do you think I liked it when you were with him? Do you really think I liked that? Honestly Wanderer. We just need to get to the bottom of this! Now go!'

I sighed.

'Mel, I didn't mean'-

'I know, I know', she whined. 'Let's just go. I really don't like this'.

This time I had to agree with her.

The feelings and emotions that we were currently receiving were not pleasant, and I was overly keen to stay clear of the place entirely.

Of course, that was not an option… yet.

It was all too tempting.

I knelt down by the picture on the floor just as Rides entered the room.

Only this time, it was not Rides.

In his eyes, I could tell that it was not him.

This was someone else entirely, and they had not promised not to hurt me.

I was in danger- Real danger.

The person who was not Rides looked down firstly at the frame on the floor, and then at me.

Hate.

I could sense it.

I could also sense another feeling nearby…

Death.

Xxxxx

Hope you liked it! It was really fun to write this one, and I wonder if you can guess what is happening to Rides! If so, please feel free to take a guess in the comment box below!

It will be interesting to see how much you guys have guessed!

I know some of it might not be clear, but it will be! Oh it WILL BE!

I just can't wait to experience this new 'Side' of Rides… So exiting!

And also, another hint… I can't wait to see Ian… he won't be far off from now!

I am an O'shea forever! And those of you who have watched I am number four, you should really check out the bloopers on set for it, because it is HILARIOUS! I couldn't stop laughing! I mainly only watched the film because Jake Abel was in it, but it was great! I wonder if anyone else has seen the mortal instruments.. That's great too… I hate the delay for the next movie though. So sad!

Okay, one more thing! I JUST CAN'T WAIT FOR THE HOST SEQUEL BECAUSE IT COULD BE OUT ANY DAY NOW! I bet it will be out before Christmas, because in march, she talked LOADS about the sequel, saying it was nearly done. I agree with Jake abel, that it is already done and in editing! Can't wait for it!

Comment and review!