Chapter 11

Hideko flattened her ears on top of her head.

"That Marcus Cooper even gives me the creeps," she whispered to the more mature Brock who was huddled down next to her. "And trust me, that is saying something. Coming from a place where you have demons like Howard Bailey…when a human gives me the creeps, they really give me the creeps."

"I remember this night," Brock said, itching for a cigarette. He was nervous they'd be caught. How was he going to explain hiding out in a hallway in the middle of a high school homecoming with a weird looking half fox girl?

"You should remember this night," Hideko said, smiling. "This is the night you changed for the better."

"So, what's the plan? What do I have to do to get my family back?" Brock looked at her.

"Well, Harrison, it won't be easy," she admitted to him. "And you aren't going to like what I'm going to tell you."

He looked at her, his heart sinking for a moment. "I'll do anything."

"The only way to keep Misty alive and still have your life with her is to kill the one person who killed her…Marcus is your target," she told him, watching as Marcus continued to watch Misty.

"I have to kill Marcus?" Brock stared at her. "I could go to jail. I-I'm a doctor. I don't take lives, I save them."

"Look, I know it's going to be hard, but it's the only way for you to live your life out with Misty. Harrison, do you ever think about your little girl?"

"Molly? Every single day," he told her, but the blond shook her head and flicked her ear as if she was annoyed.

"Not Molly, Harrison. Your other little girl," Hideko reminded him of his unborn daughter.

He felt his mouth go dry. "Y-Yes," he stammered, feeling a tear come to his eye.

"Her life was taken by this monster of a man. Marcus and Howard worked together to take your wife and your unborn child's life right in front of Caleb's eyes," Hideko reminded him. "You can't just let that go!"

Feeling his blood boil and watched as Marcus turned around and headed down the hall.

Brock started to panic and Hideko quickly turned herself into a cat. "Hold still," she told him telepathically, and she put a barrier around him that made him invisible.

The yellow tabby wondered the halls aimlessly and tried to look like a clueless cat. She ran into Mrs. Knowles, the Home Economics teacher who was about to ask Marcus what he was going out in the hallway and not in the gym, until she was surprised to see a cat in the hallway.

"Well hi there, Girl," she said sweetly, petting the cat and smiling at the way it responded lovingly. "How did you get in here? Who do you belong to?"

Brock watched from behind the shield, hoping her truly was invisible. He had always liked Mrs. Knowles and aced her class easily. He watched Hideko play the overly loving cat role way to well and then he watched Mrs. Knowles lead Marcus back into the gym.

Hideko paced back in forth in front of Brock for a while, swishing her tail back and forth, guarding him and then sitting beside him, still as a small yellow tabby.

Brock looked down at her. "They are almost getting ready to announce who the king and queen is…Can you make me to where I won't be seen? I want to see Misty in that dress again…"

Hideko sighed. "Oh, alright, but you owe me a can of tuna or something. This spell to make you invisible isn't exactly easy." She concentrated for a minute and Brock looked down at his feet, which weren't there.

"I can only hold this spell for a while, so make it quick," she informed him and watched him walk down the hallway and peer into the gymnasium.

He saw Misty standing with Gary Oak in the crowd of people as they looked up to Neyo who had an envelope in his hand. "Let me just say a big congratulations to Sango Noriko and Brock Harrison for winning homecoming King and Queen last year. Good luck to you again, this year, Brock."

Everyone cheered and clapped and Neyo opened the envelope.

"This year's Homecoming King is…Brock Harrison!" He announced. Everyone cheered and clapped by nobody was surprised. Brock smiled and waved at everyone and looked down at Akina who looked all by ready to run up on stage with Brock and take her crown as Queen and share her dance with him.

"And this years lovely Homecoming Queen is…" he looked out over the crowd. Akina was already half way up to the stage and was smiling at Brock, excitedly. Neyo grinned and his eyes locked with Misty's who didn't look prepared at all.

"Misty Waterflower!"

Akina almost fell over her own feet as she watched Misty, who was paralyzed with shock slowly come up to the stage. "I won?"

Gary nodded his head. "You won, Beautiful. Go get your crown!"

Sango cheered and jumped up and down along with Amber.

Misty stood beside Brock on the stage and he flashed her a smile. She wondered if he was at all disappointed about Akina not being his queen. She was shocked when she felt his hand on the small of her back and he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Congratulations, Sweetheart."

She blushed and smiled at him.

"Give it up for your Homecoming King and Queen and as tradition holds, they will know share a dance together as King and Queen," Neyo said, smiling. "Here is 'I Cross My Heart' by George Strait!"

Gary looked slightly uncomfortable watching the two of them dance, a little awkwardly at first, but she seemed to melt into him after a little while. Akina was seething mad by the wall and Sango happily danced with Miroku just a few feet away.

They didn't look away from each other and Misty seemed to forget that the entire school was watching them. Brock stared into her eyes and stroked her hair.

"You look beautiful tonight," he said, pushing a strand from her eyes. "Has Gary told you that?"

"Only about 100 times," she told him.

"Good. As long as you know that," his mouth was so suddenly so dry it felt like someone had stuffed cotton into it. The song was almost over and Akina was grateful for that. She hated seeing the way he was looking at her. It was like nobody else even existed!

But what he did next really set her off.

He leaned in and kissed her, and pulled her close to him. Everyone had stopped dancing. Gary's mouth fell open and he wasn't sure to be enraged or in shock. Sango stepped on Miroku's foot and watched, shocked at what she was seeing. Of course, this was typical of Brock, but she didn't expect him to do it in front of the entire school.

Amber spotted Marcus Cooper in the corner just seething and she hoped he wouldn't do anything crazy.

Neyo cleared his throat. "OK, So…"

Misty realized what she was doing and where she was at, at the sound of Neyo's voice and the change of song. They pulled away from each other and she looked down at Gary who had his arms folded and Akina was fighting Miroku off to run up on stage and stop what was happening.

Brock just simply smiled at her and grabbed her hand. "Hey, let's ditch this place." He waved goodbye to everyone from the stage and Misty's leg felt stiff, but he led her hesitantly off the stage and off into the shadows of the hallway.

"Brock, where are we going?" She asked him. He answered her by pushing her against the wall and kissing her passionately. Her knees felt weak and she kissed him back, enjoying it more and more by the second.

He moved from her mouth to her neck, and she closed her eyes.

"W-what about Akina?" She asked, expecting the girl to come around the corner and bash her in the head with her high-heeled shoe or something.

"I'm not worried about Akina…and you shouldn't be either," he whispered softly into her skin and she felt his hands all over her. He felt so damn good.

"Y-you shouldn't cheat on her, Brock," she told him, still not believing this was happening to her. He felt entirely too much like heaven to be real. His kisses, his scent, his touch…it all sent a fire blazing through her veins.

"It's not cheating when I kissed you in front of the entire school," he reminded her, smoothly. "You are not going to be able to resist me for long. I can see it in your eyes."

She stared back at him, her back pressed against the wall.

"I-I'm not ready for…that…yet…" she was lying. She wanted to know what it was like so bad. She was so curious after hearing Sango and Amber talk about sex like it was better than Ben and Jerry's triple chocolate chunk ice cream.

"I can wait…" he said, realizing he might have been coming on a little too strong. He could feel someone watching him and he backed away from her, knowing it was probably that weird old guy he apparently turns into later in life.

Misty reached out and grabbed him by his tie and pulled her to him, kissing him again.

Hideko nervously ticked her tail back and forth. Her spell was about ready to wear off and Brock was just standing in the hallway like a dumbass watching those two go at it like some kind of pervert.

"Get back here!" She warned him through his mind, sternly.

He backed up to her and sat in the dark corner and she finally could stop concentrating.

"Should I…stop that?"

"No!" Hideko shook her head. "You need to stop focusing so much on you and Misty and start focusing on Marcus. Let history take it's natural course. Everything is still on schedule. Things are looking quite good for Molly. Now if we can just get rid of Marcus, things will start looking up for Misty as well."

Brock followed the yellow tabby outside the school and into the cool night air, where she transformed back into her more human form.

"Shapeshifting is hardwork," Hideko panted slightly and shook his head. "OK, Harrison, now listen carefully. Your unborn daughter, the one Misty was pregnant with when she died, she didn't have a name, correct?"

"We never named her," Brock responded darkly. "Misty and I couldn't agree on a name for her. She liked Fiona and I liked Madeline."

"Babies who die before they are born and whose parents never name them are the easiest victim for my evil counterparts such a Howard Bailey," every time she said the name, Brock could hear the hatred in her voice. "Misty's soul is trying very hard to protect this baby, but it's draining her energy every single day. Howard wants to feed off the baby's energy and keep me from coming to help you. In our world there is a struggle of power."

"When there is a rogue demon such as Howard, they go against us who try and do good with our powers. He is working as we speak right now to prevent us from killing Marcus Cooper and he's stealing all of Misty's energy and your daughter's energy. We have to figure out a way to kill Marcus without you or your younger self getting in trouble for it and we can't wait too long for it. We just have to think…"

…

Monday morning was very different for Misty. Her Sunday had been spent most of the day texting Brock while he worked his double Sunday shift at Mad about Moo. His manager wondered what girl had him so distracted that he got most of his orders wrong.

This morning was different in a good way, though. Brock had gotten up extra early to pick her up for school so she didn't have to ride the bus. They pulled into the parking lot and the girls looked at her with jealousy, but respect. They didn't taunt her about anything as she walked towards the school with Brock and now it was her turn to turn up her nose at Akina as she walked by with Brock's arm draped over her shoulder.

The whole school was buzzing about how Akina and Gary were dumped.

Brock wasn't even sure if he should have followed his heart in this situation. If it was going to get the sweet girl killed, maybe he should have thought with his brain and not his heart or his pants for a change, but it felt so right he couldn't help it. Everything else felt unnatural for him.

Besides, the crazy old guy didn't say anything to him about kissing her in the hallway after they were announced King and Queen. Maybe he had disappeared, or given up.

Akina was still crying, standing with Hayden and Layla by the trophy case Monday morning. They were offering their condolences for getting dumped in such a humiliating and very memorable way, but it made Misty smile to see that mean girl get a taste of her medicine.

Brock walked her to her first period class and kissed her. "I'll see you at lunch, OK, babe?"

"Alright. I'll see you at lunch!" She kissed him again and he walked away from her.

He saw Hayden and Layla crowded around Akina and he overheard them talking.

"You know he's nothing but a player, Akina," Lyla reminded him. "So what if he's all the sudden all over Misty? He'd probably still be up for a quicky in the parking lot."

Hayden nodded. "The school pervert is dating little miss goody two-shoes virgin Homecoming Queen? Please! Like that will last a minute."

Akina looked at the two of them. They had a point.

Brock sauntered up to them, one strap of his book bag on his shoulder and smiled. "Hello Ladies."

Akina didn't even wanna look at him, but Hayden wanted to prove my point.

"Hey Sexy," Hayden said, pulling her top down so he cleavage was showing more. "Nice game you played Friday night."

"Thanks," he said, looking down the hallway. Why was Miroku always late for school? He really needed him to be here right now so he could get away from these girls.

"Watching you play got me all hot," she said, rubbing his shoulder. "Ditch your girlfriend and come out to your car during lunch and I'll release all your tension…" she smiled up at him and he smiled back and leaned down close to her.

"You wish I'd ditch Misty for you," he said in a deep, smooth voice. Hayden looked back at him in shock, buttoning back up her shirt at the top. "Keep dreaming Blondie."

Akina was surprised and stood up, facing him. He looked down at her, thoroughly annoyed.

"What about me, Brock? You know how good I can be…with my…oral reports…" she rubbed his shoulders and he grabbed her wrist and pulled off of him. She looked at him, and backed away, feeling extremely hurt.

"Don't touch me, Akina," he said. "I am tired of these women around here thinking I am some kind of…over-sexed anti-christ! I met a good girl. She's pretty and she's smart and she's a good girl and if you think I'm gonna pass that up for one of your skanks, you are sadly mistaken!"

Layla cleared her throat and picked up her bag. Akina and Hayden looked at each other and felt like crying together. They watched Brock wait across the hall for Miroku.

Miroku walked up and the two of them walked down the hall together.

"So, how did things go with Misty?" Miroku asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes. The twins kept him up all night long because they had fevers. Sango didn't come to school because she wanted to stay home and watch them.

"Wonderful. I wish I could have spent yesterday with her but I had to pull a double," Brock said.

"Did you…you know…"

"Actually," Brock opened his locker and pulled his science book out. "If I did, I wouldn't tell you….but I didn't, honestly."

Miroku laughed and slapped him on the back. "You didn't? Seriously? Brock, I've known you since the 6th grade. You have never let a pretty girl cross your path without trying to get into her pants."

"I didn't say I didn't try," Brock said, smiling. "I tried and she said she wasn't ready. So, I'm chilling out on her for a while and I am perfectly cool with that. I'm turning over a new leaf."

"Wow, I've never seen you like this," Miroku said, surprised. The two of them walked down the hall together and met Nelly in front of their first period.

Mr. McKnight walked in, took roll and instructed them to open their books to page 89 and take notes on their vocabulary words. Nelly scooted up behind them, his book opened on his desk.

"Hey Mr. Homecoming King!" Nelly whispered smiling. "How did things go with the Queen Saturday night?"

"We went and grabbed a late dinner and then I took her home," Brock told him.

Miroku shrugged his shoulders. "Brock says he's "turning over a new leaf"

Nelly almost laughed out loud, and he spotted Mr. McKnight giving him a look from his desk at the front of the room as he graded last week's test.

"I really am," Brock told Nelly. "I really like this girl."

Marcus Cooper could overhear them as he wrote his vocabulary words down feverishly in messy scribbles. The more he heard the boys talking, the harder he pressed his pencil down until the tip of it snapped off.

Miroku watched as he got up and sharpened his pencil, sat down, and began to write again, this time erasing with such force he actually tore the paper. He crumbled the paper up and looked back at Brock.

"You will NEVER love her like I did!" He shouted, and Mr. McKnight stood up.

"Cooper! No shouting in my classroom. Hallway now!"

Marcus hesitated but Mr. McKnight pointed to the door yet again and this time, he went.

"Everyone keep working," he told the rest of his students and joined Marcus out in the hallway after notifying the principal of his loud outburst.

Miroku twirled his finger by his ear. "What a fucking cuckoo."

"Yea, tell me about it," Brock said, shaking his head.