Okay, here's the deal. This story has the potential to either be really insanely long (cuz I have lots of ideas for later) or really insanely short (though possibly part of a trilogy). At this point in time, I have no idea which one it will be, so I'm simply going to keep writing. Why am I telling you all this? I have no clue. Maybe I'm insane. That's actually quite likely…okay, I'll shut up now.

Chapter 10

Vanessa

"Are you absolutely sure?" Jacob asks me, his voice barely above a whisper.

I nod. "Of course. I love you."

He kisses me. "I love you too, but are you positive this is what you want?"

"Jacob, if we don't do it someday, who knows when we'll get around to it? I might have to leave all of the sudden again, and I don't know if I'd be able to come back or not. And then what would we do? Sulk all the rest of our lives because we know that the one of few chances we've had to do this, we wasted on uncertainty?"

Jacob laughs softly and kisses me again. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure that you're completely ready."

Footsteps outside the door startle us, but they stop. I grin. This is exciting. We're about to start again, when the footsteps come back and knock on my door. We scramble to hide what we've started, and I nervously call out, "Come in."

Kyle enters the room, and looks quizzically at the two of us. "What were you doing?" he asks.

"Nothing," I say right away, and I know that he can tell I'm lying. I've never been a good liar.

"What are you two hiding?"

"Absolutely nothing," Jacob answers, a little slower than me. Kyle raises an eyebrow. He stares at the gap between us, and sees a little bit that we failed to hide. He gasps.

"I…you…whatthefreakinghell?!" he exclaims, talking slowly at first but then extremely quickly. He walks over and parts us, looking in amazement at the board game sitting there. "You were playing Candyland?! That's a kids' game!!"

"No," I say defensively. "It can be played by anyone of any age."

Kyle grabs the box and reads out loud. "'Recommended for players age 3-10'." He looks at us. "Oh, yeah, it's totally not a kids' game."

I feel myself blushing. "Since when is it a crime to want to be young?" I attack.

"Well…that's besides the point," Kyle waves me off. "Besides, I didn't come in here to argue, I came in here to gather you up."

"What's going on?" I frown.

"Delilah's in the hospital, and we're all going to visit her," he answers.

"Even Arkarian?"

"Yes. Ethan's created an illusion on his hair and eyes to make them look normal. Now, enough questions, let's go!"

We don't bother to put the game away, but just run out of there.

Clara

It takes a lot of effort for me to not close my eyes. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I was pretty tired when we started to go shopping. Two hours of shopping, close to an hour of crying, and my somewhat sleepless night are all making me almost fall asleep. I haven't left Delilah's side since we got to the hospital. The other girls left, mostly to round up as many of the others as they could find, but I suspect that some of them might have gone to get food of some sort. Not that I can blame them. It's almost five, and none of us have eaten since noon. I feel my stomach rumble, a sign of my hunger. My eyelids droop again, but I shake myself awake at the sound of footsteps. A nurse walks in.

"We've contacted your mother and brother," she says in a low voice to me. "They said they're on their way."

I nod, barely taking it in. When we got to the hospital, the doctors took Delilah straight to the emergency section. They shook off the rest of the girls, and tried to make me go away, but I told them that Delilah's my sister and that I refuse to wait outside, no matter what they do to her. They shrugged and let me tag along, which was a good decision. I was so upset that I would have used my power, regardless of the Guard's rules, if it meant I could stay with Delilah.

My sister stirs on her bed. My eyelids snap open, and I didn't even realize they'd been closed. Groggily, Delilah opens her eyes. Oh, how I envied those dark green eyes when I was little. "C…Clara?" she asks, voice a little shaky.

"Yes, it's me," I whisper, clasping her hand. "I'm here, you're okay."

She blinks. "What happened?" she asks, rubbing her head with her other hand. She stops when she feels the stitches on her forehead.

I tell her. "They had to do some surgery on you," I say after I finish the story. "They're amazed that you lived through that."

She smiles weakly. "It's just a good thing Isabel stopped when she did, or they'd be even more amazed," she says, her voice returning to normal.

I smile back. "Still, though, we're lucky she got to you in time, or you'd…" I trail off. We don't need to be Truthseers to know what I was about to say. Something the nurse said clicks in my brain. "Oh, Mum's going to be coming," I tell her.

"Really?" Her smile fades slightly.

"Yeah, and Seth, too."

The smile fades entirely now. "They shouldn't be coming," she whispers, and I can't tell if it's fear or resentment in her voice.

I frown. "Why not?"

"I meant to tell you…about them……………they…………………" I can tell she's trying to hold onto consciousness, but it eludes her mental grasp, and her head flops back down on her pillow.

I sigh. I'm about to follow my sister's lead and fall asleep, when I hear footsteps in the hall. Lots of them. I open my eyes, looking towards the door. In walks the whole group. My eyes widen, and a nurse who's working in the room turns. She walks over to them and says something, most likely telling them that only a certain number of visitors can be in the room at a time. Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Vanessa, and Jacob leave to wait outside the door. Everyone else walks towards me and Delilah. Kyle pulls up a chair and sits beside me, draping an arm around my neck. I lean into him, closing my eyes. He holds me in both his arms, and the last thing I hear before falling asleep is Kyle whispering "I love you," to me.

There, sort of a touching/funny chapter. I'm sorry, I just had to put that thing there for Vanessa and Jacob. I couldn't resist! –grins sadistically- So, what was Delilah trying to tell Clara? It's probably blatantly obvious, but I like to know how many people can guess it, because sometimes I'm shocked by how not obvious things are that I find totally obvious. Hmmmmm…I said the word "obvious" three times in that last sentence…anyway, REVIEWREVIEWREVEIWREVIEW!!