Hi! Chapter 10 is done! Again, sorry about the wait... I had already warned about it. Sorry for the rambling; here goes chapter 10!
"You sure this ain't some kind of bipolar disorder?" Caroline scratched her head, scanning the raven. She didn't really believe these two, but they didn't need to know that... "She does not look like a harmless anime character to me." She justified, looking back at Lizzie.
"No matter how bipolar Tessa gets, do you think she would harm you?" Lizzie reasoned, waving the knife in front of her. "Furthermore I checked. I managed to contact Tessa, and even talked to the strawhat pirates while I was at it!" Her voice got cheesy and dreamy half way through, making Caroline cringe.
Ashley stalked over to Lizzie, snatching her blade from her, slipping it back into her pocket.
"Whatever." Caroline waved it off, walking towards the walkways of the garden and back towards the main building. "You both are experts at planning elaborate pranks and executing them... And we have barely five minutes to get to the next class."
"But I have to say, this is interesting." Caroline mused, as they hurried to the biology lesson for the day. "Unless, of course, you both are in on this. Otherwise this is a really bad joke." Caroline warned, just before they peeked into the class, and to their surprise, the teacher wasn't there yet.
"Guess we are lucky." Lizzie said, sneaking into the class full of people engrossed in their work, the other two following.
As Ashley had said, nothing went wrong. Except the incident with Caroline, not another person guessed anything was amiss. By the end of the school day Ashley and Lizzie were walking side by side, with Caroline was a step ahead. But back at home there was again the bed issue...
"Hey, can you do something about the bed? 'cause seriously, it's a miracle that we are still hiding it from Tessa's mother." Lizzie sighed, the adrenaline of a day of stress wearing off, reminding her how sleepy she was...
"What's wrong with the bed?" Caroline asked, glancing at Lizzie. "And you suddenly look as if you didn't sleep last night." She added, staring at the yawn behind her hand.
"When these guys switched places, Tessa's bed opted to go and get stuck in the One Piece world with Tessa." Lizzie's voice was a bit distorted, as she came off the yawn. "And I was busy teaching Ashley the ways of this world all night long."
"The bed is gone?!" Caroline exclaimed. "And her mom didn't find out?"
"We kept her locked out." Lizzie muttered, the volume of her voice going down steadily and gradually. Caroline let out a sigh, exparated.
"I guess this is no prank after all." She commented, staring ahead. "Tessa's mom will still be in the hospital, but she will come back within two hours." She added. "Both your parents work in the same hospital, right?"
"I think I have just enough energy to do that, but then my stay increases by two days." Ashley said, looking at Lizzie.
"Not like we can do an entire week without it." She sighed. "Yeah, pull it through." By then, they had gotten to Tessa's. Lizzie dug the spare key out from under a flower pot, unlocking the house. But turned to find Ashley gone.
"She climbed up a tree and went directly to Tessa's room." Caroline said, jerking her thumb upwards.
"Right. Stupid me." She patted her own head. But still she went in to the house, and went up to Tessa's room with Caroline, which was now open. She saw 'Tessa' in the middle of pulling out the knives out of her sleeves, the metel clattering on themselves on the carpeted floor. Caroline's eyes widened.
"Why do you need so many knives?" Caroline muttered, keeping her distance, even though Lizzie just went in and settled down on the carpet. They both had avoided the large rectangular area where the bed was supposed to be. Ashley stared at her, mock seriousness on her face.
"That is because I like breathing. I live for it." She answered. A small smile grew on Caroline's lips.
"This world is not really infested with 'Tessa opposers' to the point of being careful even at home." She said, coming into the room, and sitting down on a chair near the study table, facing the other two occupants of the room.
Ashley breathed in and out, as if trying to calm herself down. Then she suddenly reached out, her arm disappearing into the air. Her muscles tensed as she got hold of what she wanted, pulling the giant piece of furniture out of thin air, the bed's muffled thump making the other two girls jump.
Caroline stared at the bed in shock and amazement, reaching out and touching it, as if checking that it was real. Lizzie stared at Ashley. She had seen her ability in action, but had never witnessed the raven pull out something so big out of nothing.
"You told me that you can pull things through space... So is it this easy to smuggle yourself wherever you want?" She asked.
Ashley shrugged. "I generally don't jump dimensions, but yeah... I can get into Impel Down of I want to. But of course, I can't if I have never seen its insides."
"I can see why people would want you..." Lizzie mused, staring at nothing in particular. That's when she noticed how red Ashley's face looked. "Are you OK?" She tried to reach out but Ashley slapped her hand away out of pure reflex. But the touch was enough.
"You're burning!" Lizzie exclaimed, trying to reach out again, but was not allowed to. "You've got a really bad fever!"
"It'll subside in some time!" Ashley insisted, hostility burning in her eyes.
"Oh... So everytime you teleport something really big or too far, your body heats up." Lizzie deduced. "No wonder you were so warm when we met."
"So, as a biology student, you know what could happen if I overuse my ability, don't you?" Ashley hissed, glaring at Lizzie. Lizzie nodded, flagging the piece of information as 'important' in her mind.
"OK, with this I can rule out the possibility that you guys were pranking me." Caroline announced. "I was sure that you guys were pulling my leg."
"We don't do... things like this..." Lizzie sighed, dropping onto the bed. "I am so tired..." And almost immediately she was asleep, leaving Ashley with Caroline, both uncomfortable in each other's presence. The air was thick with discomfort, which was only amplified for the tem minutes of intense silence.
"So, how did you become a pirate?" Caroline tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere, but recieved nothing for an answer. "Hey, didn't you hear me?"
"Don't ask me anything, I won't either." She cut her, slipping the knives back into her person. "You don't want to know sensitive information.
"According to you, we are a world away from your enemies." Caroline pointed out. "What is the point of doing this?" She crossed her legs, resting her head on her elbow.
"Better safe than sorry." Ashley replied, picking herself up and settling down on the bed. "If you are done, them leave." Caroline looked pretty outraged at that, but calmed down at record speed, sighing softly.
"That is not the way to treat guests." But she stood up anyway, slowly walking to the door. She turned around at the last second, at the door. "Don't hurt Lizzie. She-"
"I don't destroy relations with benefactors." Ashley cut her again, though there was a hint of tiredness in her voice. Caroline observed the dark circles around 'Tessa's' eyes, and the jerky way she reacted to the slightest moves of the unconscious blond beside her, the way her eyes wandered around in a sense of insecurity despite being in the house... Caroline actually felt sorry for her.
"Is this the first time you stayed under the same roof so long? Or had someone who will trust you enough to fall asleep beside you?" Caroline asked, seeking the raven's eyes. "You can enjoy the time you spend here. Even if you think otherwise, the world is not as bad as you think it is." She left the raven alone, trudging down the steps and excusing herself from the house.
Ashley thought for quite a long time about those few sentences. It had been a long time since she had shared a roof with anyone. It had been even longer since she trusted such a person. She was tired of running down a road which never seemed to end. It had been such a long time since she was so relaxed. She knew she had taken somebody else's place, but still she never knew life could be ...so easy. This was not just business, like it had been for such a long time. She found herself liking this life...
The front door creaked as Tessa's mother walked in. She noticed the bags on the sofa, her gaze travelling up to the bedroom instantly. "Tessa? Is Lizzie there too?" The raven walked out of the room, leaning on the railing.
"Yeah, but she's sleeping." She flashed the woman a smile. "We had a long night dealing with trouble." Instantly, she registered the worry in her eyes.
"What happened?" Mrs May called back, dropping her portmanteau and briskly climbing up the steps. Ashley missed these pure emotions, it had been a long time since anyone had wanted her for who she was, and not for her abilities.
"She had an acquaintance over, who was not used to the customs and ways of America. We had to teach her everything from scratch." She said, not really willing to lie, like she always did. Her mother reached her side, and peeked into the door, finding Lizzie passed out on the bed, relief flooding her features.
"You had me worried for a moment there, luv." She sighed, walking past Ashley into her own room, and into the joined bathroom. Ashley made sure Mrs May couldn't see her before slipping silently but quickly into the front room, opening her portmanteau and checking its contents. By the white coat and the instruments and bottles, seems like this person was a doctor. Ashley knew that her own mother is- was a florist until about two years ago, so the worlds had nothing in common except the existence of the story in a book called One Piece, and the parellel world people. It had been a long time since she had seen her mother. She kind of missed her, but for her mother's safety, she couldn't meet her. Even if this was Tessa's mother and not her own, she felt just as comfortable as she did in her younger days, when she lived with her mother-
The music from Lizzie's pocket stabbed through her thoughts. She rolled Lizzie over (she was so out that she didn't even feel it) and dug out the flat box that Lizzie called 'mobile phone'. She followed her motions, touching the icon in the middle and dragging it to the right, on to the green icon, and put it to her ear.
"Hello?" She asked, tentatively.
"Tessa? Ok, so Lizzie's at your house?" A woman's voice asked, a bit frantic- but it was fast becoming relieved. Ashley spoke into the phone like Lizzie did.
"Yeah she's here. But she was tired, so she dozzed off" she said, realising that this machine was actually working just like a den-den mushi. She wondered how this machine worked.
"I see. I was a bit scared when she had not come back..." The voice justified, sounding very much relieved. "Next time you do this, inform me, honey." She added, a smile apparent in her voice.
"Of course." Ashley smiled back, waiting for the other side to disconnect the call...
"Would you like to join us for dinner today, Tessa? The menu is a surprise!" Lizzie's mother continued, an excited tone to her voice emerging now. Ashley knew that it was rude to outright decline, but she needed more time to prepare herself for something like this...
"Sorry, but I have plans... Lizzie invited me too." She lied, apologizing. "I am really sorry." After a brief silence, the voice on the other end seemed a bit down...
"Ok then, we'll have to postpone it. Just know that you're always welcome honey." Tessa smiled, even though she knew the person on the other end would never see it, just like Lizzie did while talking on the phone.
"Thanks. Bye." Lizzie's mom returned the farewell before disconnecting, after which Ashley dropped the phone beside Lizzie before walking back down to the front room...
"Are you hungry?" Mrs May asked as she stirred the pasta on the stove. "We have enough for all three of us. Would Lizzie like to eat?" She flashed a smile.
"She said her mother has prepared food for her." Ashley replied. "Mom." She added quickly. It had been quiet some time since she had used that word.
"How was your day?" Mrs may pulled on a pair of gloves before holding the pasta container, placing it in the table. Ashley quickly grabbed plates, spoons and forks, setting the table (just as she had been taught by Lizzie, and she knew Tessa would have done).
"It was fine... Wasn't my best day, but not the worst either." Ashley said, opening the fridge, trying to look busy. "We had a lesson in formation of a zygote... Fraternal and identical twins. I tried to bring chimeras up, and the teacher made it into extra-curricular. Quiet a shame." She paused, settling down with her mom. Or the person who looked like her mom. "In physics, ampere circutal law sure is handy... In the problems given by the teacher... I never figured out why we would need it anyway. I mean I get it if I was a resurcher or something along those lines, but I plan on pushing biology... So why do we have to study all these for so long?"
"Tessa, you already know the answer." Mrs May replied, smiling at her daughter. "How would you know you like something unless you try it? Unless you know the basics of all kinds of fields, you can take your pick from what you like and specialise." She paused to eat. " I didn't know that I wanted to be a doctor before I learned what were the other options. And it's not because some fields are easy and the others are not. You have to work hard to be successful." Her pep-talk reminded Ashley of her own mother, who used to do this all the time... "Ok, so what else?" She finished, shoving another fork-full of pasta into her mouth.
"Chemistry... was a bit boring... We did organic, and all those named reactions and mechanisms were making my head spin. But I don't really mind, I know I need chemistry to do biology..." She paused, eating a few spoonfuls of pasta. "We did another bit of To Kill A Mocking Bird... I really love that book. Makes a person aware of so many different views and answered to single questions... I could go on and on about it." Ashley sighed, not giving much thought to reporting the day informally, based on the phonecall to the person she was imitating.
"If I remember correctly, you had sports today right?" Mrs May continued, nonchalantly. Ashley let a small chuckle escape, eyeing at her mother.
"Do you have to ask?" She smiled. Mrs May stared at the plate, a small smile on her features.
"I guess not." She said simply, scraping the plate for the last bits of pasta. Ashley finished her food and picked up her plate along with Mrs May's, carrying it to the sink.
"We played throwball. It was a breeze." Ashley said simply, as she washed the dishes. "It was fun."
"That's great..." Mrs May smiled, as she walked briskly to the music from her phone. She talked to the phone, her voice getting serious quickly.
"Sorry, luv. Someone came in for a by-pass surgery. Take care of yourself while I'm gone, ok?" She rushed around as she said this, grabbing her essentials. She paused before the raven briefly, pulling a her into a hug. She pirate tried her best to not defend herself, even though she couldn't hold back a few jerks. She pressed a kiss onto her forehead before hurrying out. Ashley's instincts had been in total conflict those few seconds. She remembered the last time her mother had given her a goodbye kiss... She had never expected to get one again, especially since she knew she would be seeing this person again. Her emotions were all over the place, but she managed to maintain her 'Tessa' mask.
She waved quickly as she started up a vehicle, the kind Ashley had never seen. She returned the wave until Mrs Mat was out of sight, before returning to the house. She walked into the kitchen, instantly catching Lizzie... With a knife...
Lizzie heard the footsteps, twirling around. But as soon as she did, Ashley's hand shot out, one of the striking her inner wrist, and the other simultaneously striking the back of the palm of the hand holding the knife- forcing the knife out of Lizzie's hand and into the raven's. The action was sudden and fast, and she didn't even realise the knife was no longer in her hands. Lizzie stared at pirate and then at her hand, registering the missing knife. She sighed in dramatic defeat, ignoring the questioning looks Ashley was pelting her with.
"May I have my knife back? It's hard to cut bread without it." Lizzie held out a hand. But of course, that was not enough to make the raven hand the weapon back.
"Then where is the bread?" Ashley hissed back, tightening her hold on the blade.
"In the oven. I cut out a thick slice and kept the rest back in the fridge. We can cut it into more-"
"I don't eat food made by strangers." Ashley cut her, shortly. Lizzie shook her head, looking pretty pissed off.
"I am not giving any to you. You just had lunch." She said, shaking her extended palm forore emphasis. The raven did hand the blond the knife, but...
"Don't try anything, and you won't even know what killed you." Ashley warned, pressing the knife handle into Lizzie's hand.
"Yes I would, since nothing other than you is threatening me." The blond retorted, walking to the beeping metal box, taking out a thick slice of bread. She sliced it up, applied jam between the slices and consumed them, all in silence. After she was done eating, she picked up her bag from the sofa, staring to make her way out, but was stopped by the raven.
"What does Tessa call your mother?"
"Mrs Matson." She replied, cocking an eyebrow hinting a question.
"I have 'plans'. Tell her you invited me, and I am sorry, or something like that." The raven said, running a hand through her hair. "Only if she asks." Lizzie nodded, walking out of the house.
"I'll lend you one of the spare phones in my home. Use it to contact me or Caroline." She added, pausing. "You're lucky that it's the same model as Tessa's phone, but obviously the number is different. I'll teach you how to use a phone later."
Lizzie left after the small speech, pulling her bag over her shoulder along with her jacket. Ashley simply went back inside, using her Haki to confirm that Lizzie left.
Sorry about the lack of content in the last two chapters... Things will start moving now! Thanks for the support, favourites and follows! R&R please!