Thanks to NarikoTheShadow and Avril Lambert for reviewing every chapter!
I'm super excited about this chapter, so let's get straight onto it.
They came so quickly and out of nowhere. Like insects. Except even if you blast them with BugsBeGone, they won't go away.
-Wendy
When Wendy woke up, she was buried under the covers in Jim's bed, her purse and cell phone on the bedside table next to her, her hair a wild tangled mess stuck with static to her pillow.
Jim was asleep next to her, half off the bed, his hair messy, his shirt rumpled. They had both slept in yesterday's clothes.
Wendy couldn't even remember what yesterday was, though her arms ached. It seemed like a bad dream, and then like sporadic raindrops memories came rushing back:
Mr. Darling hitting Michael.
Her cell phone off while she ate pizza and watched Dear John at Dani's.
John calling Aunt Millicent, on business in New York.
Aunt Millicent's curse words. Her yelling.
Her decision to move Michael and John back to London, unless Mr. Darling reformed and stopped drinking.
Wendy sucked in air through her teeth, making a whistling sound. She slumped back onto the pillow, and then felt a tug at her hair. She turned her face, seeing Jim's eyes opening, his fingers toying with a strand of her wavy light brown hair. She smiled at him. "Good morning, James Pleiades Hawkins."
Jim grinned back. "Good morning, Wendy." He added, "I'd say your full name, but I'm too lazy."
Wendy chuckled—this is what she loved about Jim.
She ran her hands through his hair. He sat up. "I have to go to the bathroom, but I'll be back."
After he left, Wendy jumped out of bed and went to the mirror, forgetting about her problems. She ran a hand through her hair. Her cute little blue bow was already sliding out. She removed it and spread it near her phone, trying to smooth out the crinkles in it. She finger-combed her hair and spread it over her shoulders, straightened out her blue cotton dress, and climbed back into bed, trying to look sexy-cool, which usually only worked when done by Triton Girls.
Jim came back, and practically dove onto her, kissing her on the mouth passionately, her hands tangled in his hair, his hands running up and down her torso. Wendy's heart beat fast. She was so excited she needed to pee. She was laughing by the time the passionate kiss was over.
"Love you," Jim whispered.
"Love—" Wendy began. She was cut off by the shrill noise of sirens. She quickly slid out of bed and rushed to the windowsill. She pointed. "Jim, look! It's Rhimes! And a bunch of cops!"
Jim looked out the window with Wendy. "What the hell are they doing at my place?"
Wendy was getting a bad feeling, but she kept thinking that maybe a customer was sick or hurt or something downstairs. She prayed that was the answer.
Uniformed officials ran inside, flanked by a female officer and Rhimes. Wendy craned her neck. "I can't see!" she cried. "Why are they entering the Benbow?"
"I don't know," Jim said nervously, his voice hushed.
Suddenly, the doorhandle of Jim's door jiggled. Wendy gasped, turning around. Jim placed a finger to his lips.
"James Hawkins, open the door," said a female voice in a flawless British accent. "Open the door and come out willingly with your hands up. We won't use brute force if you comply with our orders."
"Brute force, my ass," Jim snapped.
"Jim—" Wendy grabbed his arm. "Jim, do what they say. I don't want them to break in."
"They won't do anything."
"But they're the law."
Jim didn't say anything, just set his jaw and stared at the door. "I wanna see what they're gonna do," he said.
Wendy panicked more and more with every instant.
"Mr. Hawkins," said the female voice with growing impatience. "Mr. Hawkins, please follow orders. Open the door and come out with your hands up."
"I didn't do anything!" Jim yelled.
"So he's in there," Wendy heard Rhimes say. "Tell them to break down the damn door, Officer Smollet."
Officer Smollet's voice was weary. "We're coming in. Break down the door."
The door was forced open, and shards of lock splintered the carpet. Wendy let out a shriek, terrified, and grabbed Jim's arm.
Two cops seized Jim's arms.
"Don't struggle, please, Mr. Hawkins," requested Officer Smollet. "Just come willingly to the police station."
"Let go!" Jim broke away and looked desperately back at Wendy. Wendy ran forward and grabbed the arm of one of the cop's twisting it back. With a yell, they let go of Jim. "Stop!" Wendy screamed. "What are you doing? What did he do?"
"Miss…Darling, is it?" Officer Smollet reached for her arm. "Let go of him. He's a delinquent."
"You're the damn delinquent!" Wendy cried, tears cascading down her face. It was the first swear word she had ever screamed out in public like that.
"Enough!" Officer Smollet snarled. "Why don't you stay back? We are in the process of arresting a juvenile delinquent. Let us do our job."
"He didn't do anything!" Wendy grabbed Officer Smollet's arm. "Don't do this, please!"
Officer Smollet looked away. "Someone please remove this girl."
An officer came back and began to drag Wendy away. She struggled against them. One officer pinned her to the wall to keep her from moving. The pain caused Wendy to cry out harder.
"Leave her alone!" Jim yelled, bucking away and running to Wendy. He jabbed the officer in his ribs, making him fall over. He grabbed Wendy. "Wendy, it's gonna be okay," he murmured. "It's gonna be fine."
"Why are they doing this?" Wendy demanded, crying so hard her body was heaving up and down with sobs. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" Jim protested.
Two officers grabbed Jim and wrestled him into handcuffs, pinning his arms behind his back. "Ouch!" Jim yelled, trying to break away, but they held him and began pushing him out the door.
"Wendy!" he yelled.
Wendy crawled to her iPhone, dialing Dani's number as fast as her shaking fingers would allow.
The officers began to leave. Wendy sobbed against Jim's bedside table. Officer Smollet bent down. She had emerald green eyes, pale skin, and was well-fitted in her uniform with a gloriously curvy body. "Are you alright, Miss Darling?" she asked.
"Where are you taking him?" Wendy whispered.
"Hello? Wendy?" Dani's voice came through the phone.
"My dear," said Officer Smollet. "He's the Crystal Thief."
No words could describe the shock Wendy went through at that second. "No."
"Wendy? No—what?!" Dani's voice sounded freaked.
Officer Smollet looked sympathetic. "Yes, dear."
"NO!" Wendy screamed at the top of her lungs. She raced out the door, staring down the hallway at the cops shoving Jim down the stairs. "JIM!"
"Wendy?" Dani's voice now sounded scared.
She started to run, but Officer Smollet grabbed her arms tightly and pulled her back. "Don't," she said. "Sweetheart, you'll only make it worse."
"I'll never see him again!" wailed Wendy.
"Wendy—Wen, who?" Dani again.
"That's not necessarily true," said Officer Smollet with a weary look in her eye. "There will be visiting hours. But you can come to the station now, if you want. I can drive you. If you'd like."
Wendy wiped her eyes and stared at her shoes. "Yes, I'd like that very much."
Officer Smollet nodded.
"Wendyyyyyyy!" shouted Dani into the phone.
Wendy grabbed the phone and put it up to her ear. "There's something horribly, horribly wrong."
"WHAT?! What's wrong?"
Wendy had started crying again. "A cop is giving me a ride to the police station and I was sleeping in Jim's bed and Gaston fell under a bridge last night."
If Dani was confused before, she was lost now. "Wait, Wendy. Are you high?"
"I'm going to the police station. Jim got arrested!" Wendy sobbed.
There was one pause before Dani said in a determined voice: "I'm coming to the police station."
"No, no." Wendy's voice sounded nasal from her tears. "It's okay, I'll come over after."
"I'm your freaking best friend," said Dani flatly. "I'm coming. What did Hawkins do this time anyway?"
Wendy breathed in. "Dani, he's the Crystal Thief."
"What?" Dani gasped.
Wendy hung up the phone.
And then she cried all the way to the police station.
A kinda-maybe-sorta date.
-Ariel
It was all over the papers.
Sophomore Boy To Be Executed Due To Horrid Crime.
"What did he do anyway?" Andrina drawled, sitting at the table, holding the paper between her wine-colored fingernails. "Murder twenty-seven schoolchildren? Shoot down a nanny? Set Costco on fire?"
"He stole the Crystal, obv," snapped Aquata.
Ariel buried her face in her hands in a feeble attempt to try and get a grip on things. Jim Hawkins. How could he have DONE something like this?
"I never knew Mr. Sexy Waiter had it in him," Alana said with a deep overdramatic sigh. "And he was so cute. I thought maybe he'd ask me out."
"He has a damn girlfriend," Adella said. "I thought you saw her. In Heidi Cogsworth?"
"She wasn't pretty, though," Alana shot back.
"Looks don't always count," Ariel counterargued, not in the mood, but wanting to shut Alana up.
Fat chance of that.
"In this house," Alana chortled. "Looks are all that matters. You have your looks and you can survive in the world."
"What about smarts?" demanded Arista from the edge of the table. "Don't they count?"
Alana smirked. "Maybe in your little world where everyone lives peaceful and happy under a smiley-faced rainbow."
"That's not my world." Arista said fiercely.
"Oh, yeah?" Alana leaned over the table. "What is?"
"Going to college. Living a life!"
Alana leaned back down. "Oh, puh-leeze, Arista. Are you saying I don't have a life?"
Arista narrowed her pale eyebrows. "Your life isn't worth it."
"Please stop!" Attina stood up, glaring at Arista. "Arista! What is with you? This isn't usually you!"
"It's that time of month," Arista mumbled. A hasty excuse. Then she slipped away from the table and left.
Attina collapsed back down, looking at Alana's shocked face. Ariel stood, having enough of her sisters. "I'm going to the garden. I need some fresh air."
In the garden, Adrian Trent was busy shoveling away and planting rosebushes. He was kneeling on the ground, sweaty and disheveled, his knees dirty and his hands gloved.
Ariel smiled and waved as she walked over. "Hi, Adrian."
"Miss Ariel," he said, straightening up. "What can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to give you some company," Ariel said, sitting down on a garden bench. Adrian remained standing, looking confused.
"What's the matter?" Ariel asked, concerned. "Can't I sit down?"
"No, no!" Adrian gestured for her to remain seated. "It's just—usually when the Triton Girls speak to me its either to yell or to curse or to flirt."
"Oh."
"No offense to your sisters."
"None taken." Ariel smiled. "They're really horrible sometimes. Like monkeys."
Adrian laughed. "Okay, that's one I haven't heard before." He knelt down and began planting the rosebushes. Ariel looked down at them and rested her toes on the ground in a delicate fashion.
"Oh, those are lovely, Adrian," she said.
Adrian looked up and wiped sweat off his brow. Ariel couldn't help but notice his muscles flexing under his sleeves. "Oh, these?" Adrian grinned.
Ariel nodded. "Beware the thorns though."
Adrian continued planting. "So…er, this may not be a suitable topic of conversation. But how is your boyfriend? I heard your sisters talking about it in the car while I was driving them…?"
Ariel looked away. "It's none of your damn business."
Adrian held up both his hands. "Sorry."
Ariel flinched. "Wait, no, I'm sorry, Adrian. I'm touchy, aren't I?" She shrugged it off, and bit her lip, trying to act nonchalant. "Isn't that funny, though? Eric and I broke up a while ago."
Adrian's eyes widened. "My sincere apologies. I didn't mean to bring it up."
"You were right when you said it wasn't a suitable topic of conversation." Ariel twisted a piece of bright red hair between her thumb and forefinger.
Adrian continued planting. Then suddenly, he rose to his knees again and plucked a bright red rose and held it out to Ariel. Ariel reached for it. "Really?"
Adrian smirked. "Beware the thorns, though."
With a hint of a smile, Ariel held the rose carefully on her lap. "It's beautiful. Their my favorite. Besides water lilies."
Adrian was surprised. "You like water lilies?"
Ariel shrugged. "I guess so. Yeah. It's something about the water…that entrances me. I guess out of all my sisters, I'm the one who wants to go all the way to the Olympics the most. And I love to be in the water 24/7. Water lilies; defying the rule of sinking and floating. They're so white and pretty, I love them."
Adrian stopped planting. "Hey. You ever been to Sebastian Pond?"
Ariel shook her head.
Adrian clucked his tongue. "It's a real shame. It's so pretty. Lots of water lilies, beautiful water. Lots of glades and weeping willows. It's a wonderful sight to say. Abundant in wildlife."
Ariel gasped, and then beamed. "Perhaps…you could take me sometime?"
Adrian grinned. "Absolutely, Miss Ariel. I would love to. When would you like to go?"
"As soon as possible."
Adrian chuckled at her enthusiasm. "How about tonight? This evening, I mean. If you have nothing else to do, we can make it a friendly night out."
Ariel raised her eyebrows. "Sure, Adrian."
Adrian smiled. "You look suspicious of my kind gesture."
Laughing, Ariel reached out and touched his shoulder. "I'm not afraid of you, Adrian. I'm not suspicious either. In fact, I look forward to spending time with you."
Then she took the rose and skipped back to the house.
"Eeew, what the hell?" Adella crossed her arms over her chest and pointed at the rose.
It was dry now, and on Ariel's table. "Let me throw it out," Adella said, picking it up gingerly and carrying it like it was a piece of raw fish.
"Hold up, Adella!" Ariel grabbed it back. "Someone special gave it to me."
Adella gasped and pulled up a chair close to Ariel. "Who? Is HE good looking?"
Ariel blushed. "I don't know. I mean, yes! But I shouldn't—"
"Is HE nice? Did he offer to take you anywhere?"
Ariel turned redder. "Well, yeah. Tonight we have a kind-of-sorta-maybe-date." Then Ariel facepalmed. "Okay, what the hell am I talking about? We're going to go visit someplace. As friends."
"A Triton Girl can never stay friends!" Adella hissed. "Is HE rich?"
Ariel rubbed her neck. "Uh….yeah! Totally! Loaded with money."
Adella giggled and bounced up and down. "What's his name?"
"Adrian," Ariel said without thinking.
Adella frowned. "The gardener Adrian? Eeeew, he's not—"
Ariel shook her head, but regretted the words.
"No, it's not him. It's some other Adrian."
Adella nodded. "Oh, good. Because it would be embarrassing if it was the gardener Adrian. Right?"
"Right!" Ariel agreed.
No, she thought.
Awwww, poor Adrian! There's gonna be some lovely Ariel/Adrian drama soon...I hope! And a Kiss The Girl scene, with Adrian substituting for Eric! Love Adrian!