Chapter 19: Rule number 19: Never underestimate a stranger

~Even angels have their wicked schemes - Rihanna~

I was having a bad hair day.

No matter how many times I ran the hairbrush through my hair, I couldn't remove all the knots that my strands had gotten themselves into. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and sighed, feeling and looking miserable. I decided not to give up yet.

I opened the cabinet above the sink and took out the hair spray that Kate had gifted me for last Christmas. I sprayed that stuff on my hair and continued running the comb through my thick and tangled hair.

I hadn't slept well last night, rolling around the bed restlessly. Edward's face kept appearing before my eyes and the way he had embraced me earlier, even if it was just to check my heartbeat. But he had clearly hinted at something by mentioning about a particular Dragon tradition.

I placed the bottle back in the cabinet and came back to the mirror to check on my hair. I was running a hand through my now shiny and tangle-free hair when a soft breeze touched my neck, like someone breathing on me.

I glanced at the mirror and yelped in shock. A blonde girl was standing behind me, her intense blue eyes staring at me through the mirror. She wore a long sparkling white gown and the front part of her chest, neck and mouth was drenched with water droplets.

"Chelsea?" I whirled around, hardly breathing.

My room was empty. I touched my neck, where I had felt that breezy touch and I stared at myself through the mirror. My haunted reflection stared back at me, her natural pink lips parted in shock and her chocolate brown eyes round with fear.

I was going insane. That was it. Simple. Ever since I had learnt that the Dragons really existed, I had gone nuts. Dragons were myths, myths that Science couldn't prove. I was a Science student and it was in my very instinct not to believe in things that didn't have any proof. But Edward was solid enough, wasn't he?

After some time, I threw on fresh clothes and ran downstairs, unable to stay in my silent and empty room anymore. Downstairs, my dad had stuck a paper on the fridge and I plucked it, scanning its contents.

He said that he had to go to work since he finally had a lead on where Charlotte had gone and that he would be late for dinner. Charlotte. Well, no one could forget about Charlotte...or Chelsea. What a coincidence that both of them happened to be blonde and had the same starting letters in their names.

It was a fine Saturday morning. I was in the front yard, talking to Rebecca on the phone when Kate's car screeched around the road and came to a halt on my driveway. The car door flew open and Kate ran outside, her golden hair flying behind her like a very pretty veil.

"Kate," I gasped when she collided against me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I mean, no. I―" Kate took a deep breath, her blue eyes glittering with tears.

"What the hell, Kate? Are you crying?"

"It's nothing serious," she sniffled, hugging me. "Just that...Garrett was supposed to meet me in this secluded cafe at 10 but he never showed up. I keep calling him and leaving him texts, but he's ignoring me. I don't know what I did wrong."

"Hey, let's take a deep breath and calm down, okay?" I made her sit on the porch step and rubbed her back.

Kate opened her mouth to say something but her cell phone rang then. She fumbled in her glossy pink designer handbag and took out her iPhone. She squinted at the screen and pressed it to her ear after a second.

"Yes?" Kate spoke nervously into the cell. "Yeah, I am. I didn't...no, we weren't...yes, ma'am...is everything okay...WHAT?" Kate froze, her mouth hanging open in shock. I shook her but she didn't respond. Perplexed, I took the cell from her and answered.

"Hello? Kate, are you there?" A worried woman's voice spoke from the other end of the line.

"This is her friend, Bella. I'm afraid Kate is not, um, available at the moment. Who's this?"

"I'm Garrett's mother. I contacted Kate because the doctors said that he keeps saying her name." Her voice cracked.

I paused. "Is...everything okay?"

"Garrett was in an accident, Bella. He sustained some serious injuries and he's in the operating room now."

We rushed to the hospital and during the ride; I kept assuring Kate that Garrett would be okay soon. But she didn't listen to me. Her tears-filled eyes were distant and she stared blankly at the car's dashboard as I drove us to the hospital.

Once inside the hospital, we were directed to the second floor and we went to the waiting room. I had seen Garrett's mother a handful of times at the parent-teacher conference in school and so I recognized her immediately.

She talked a lot to Kate, both of them comforting each other and I realized that Garrett's mother knew there was something romantic going on between her son and Kate. The surgeons had taken Garrett into the operating room to perform an operation on his legs, which had been injured very badly.

"We don't know what exactly happened," Garrett's mom said as three cops entered the room. "Paramedics are saying that they received an anonymous call, alerting them to a car, which was blown up near the woods. They reached the spot and found Garrett a few feet away from his burning car. They're saying someone saved him but he didn't stick around for the questioning. When they loaded Garrett into the ambulance, he kept saying Kate's name and also a few other weird stuff."

Tears ran down Kate's delicate pink cheeks. I froze, listening to her words with sinking dread and horror. A cold sweat tickled down the back of my neck and my heart did a strange flip. Garrett's car had blown up. Fire. Dragons. Edward Cullen. The new students.

"What did he say?" I pressed, swallowing heavily.

"Something about being dangerous and that no one is safe," she frowned, recalling. "He also whispered something about seeing huge figures fighting."

I sat next to Kate in the waiting room, watching the scrub nurses and doctors walking around busily. The hospital smelled its usual jumble of injection, medicine and latex gloves and it reminded me...death. I got up, breathing heavily and beckoned Kate to follow me.

As soon as we were in open fresh air, I paused. Kate frowned at me. "I wish I could get away. I can't believe this is happening. First Chelsea, then Charlotte and now Garrett?"

"There is one place we could go."

I took her to the Church where I usually went. We sat in the front row and I watched as Kate cried silently and prayed to the Jesus statue in front of her. I fiddled with the cross in my neck, which Peter had given to me, and stared broodingly at the huge ceiling.

There were so many unanswered questions. I still hadn't asked Peter about finding Chelsea's diary page in his room. I still didn't know if Peter was really Edward's brother. If Edward was his brother, then was Peter a Dragon too?

I left Kate alone and wandered to the back of the Church, where colorful flowers grew, braving all the rain and cold. I saw Sister Claire talking to another sister nearby and immediately straightened up. When she spotted me, I smiled at her and she reached me quickly.

"Is it true what I hear about Garrett?" she asked me, motherly concern etched on her wrinkled face.

"Yes," I swallowed, blinking tears. "It's true."

"Poor boy," Sister Claire sighed wearily. She went on to talk about Chelsea and Charlotte and how the kids these days were being reckless and irresponsible. I talked with her for a few more minutes and decided to head back inside to check on Kate.

"That's beautiful." She commented suddenly, eyeing the cross on my neck.

"It was a gift." I replied, touching it fondly. "I think it was bought from this very Church."

"From this Church?" She snorted, shaking her head. "My dear, pendants shaped like the cross aren't made or sold here."

"But he told me he bought it blessed from this Church..." I trailed off, biting my tongue. Sister Claire's eyebrows had gone way up at the word 'he'. Oops.

She extended her hand and I removed the chain, placing it on her palm. She scrutinized the cross with a critical eye and glanced back at me.

"This is not a cross," she said, surprised. "Look here, at the back. There's a crest here. This is definitely not a blessed cross, Bella. Look at the two ends of the cross; it's pointed up, isn't it?"

I blinked, wondering if what I was seeing was true. The tip of the arms were pointed up, like...a pair of wings. I didn't know how I had failed to notice that. When Peter had given it to me, I thought it was a design or something. But clearly, it wasn't.

At the back of the cross, there was a small crest, which consisted of a deadly black serpent with wings coiled around a tall staff. I thanked her, took the cross from her and went back to Kate in daze.

Why did Peter give this...thing to me? As I started the car and drove us back to the hospital, I recalled something. Yesterday, at school, Edward had stared at my neck and then he had proceeded to explain that he had stared at my neck because it was beautiful

I had taken it as a compliment. Now, I wasn't so sure. I had a sinking feeling that Edward had stared at the cross on my neck, not at my neck. How nice of me to believe whatever he said. He was a Dragon, a lying Dragon. Maybe he hadn't been flirting with me too. Maybe all he wanted...was the cross.

I was about to the shift the gear when a couple standing behind a huge tree caught my eye. They were partly hidden from me and were engaged in a serious conversation. I blinked a few times and then found no one standing there.

For a moment, I thought I had seen Peter and Charlotte.

Once I was at home, I decided to do some grocery shopping. Kate was inconsolable, so I decided to make her favorite pasta. I went to a big grocery store in the middle of the town and took a cart.

I was standing in front of a fridge, wondering if I needed milk when someone's reflection appeared on the glass door of the fridge. Blue eyes and light hair. I whirled around with a wild heart and when I saw that it was a very alive person, I sighed in relief.

"Thank God!" I breathed. At least she wasn't a dead person, like Chelsea.

"Thank God?" Renata huffed, annoyed. "When you see me, you're supposed to scream 'RUN' and well, run!"

"It's just...wherever I look, I see dead people. I thought you were Chelsea. I'm hallucinating, I guess." I shrugged, walking to the next aisle. Surprisingly, Renata followed me silently.

"Dead people?" she asked quietly. Her platinum blonde hair, which glinted under the dim lighting of the store, framed her face prettily.

"Yeah, like Chelsea...and Charlotte." I released a breath. "Not that Charlotte is dead, but still."

She paused. "I look like them?"

"You all have the same blonde hair and light eyes," I frowned when she glared at me, "and that's where the similarity ends."

Renata smirked, waving her index finger around. I realized that she was symbolically threatening to cut off my oxygen supply again. Edward wasn't here this time to stop her with fire.

"You won't hurt me," I was confident. "You care too much for Edward to do anything to me. And Edward won't like it if you kill me, will he?"

Renata fell silent, her silver eyes glistening unexpectedly. She flipped her hair back haughtily and stalked off to the counter. I checked out quickly and ran behind her, asking her to stop.

"Wait, I-I'm sorry! I guess I hit the wrong nerve, huh?" It was hard to apologize to her when she was the one who spent most of her time hell-bent on killing me.

"You know why I admire Edward?" Renata stopped so unexpectedly that I rammed into her. "Because he reminds me of someone."

Her voice broke at the word 'someone' and she leaned against my car, her face weary and exhausted. She looked like she had spent a millennium hunting after things and was sick of everything. Suddenly, there was so much wisdom and knowledge on her face that I realized she was not my age. She had probably lived more than few centuries.

"Oh," I said intelligently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean―"

"Back at our world, we begin training to fight in battles from the age of six. We don't have a choice, we are always at war. We train and train and...we don't have much time for romance like you people do. All the four elements, we do not interact with each other. We live in separate sections but we are ruled by the same King and Queen, who happen to be Edward's parents. I fell in love with the Caelum's combat instructor. He was just like Edward...strong, handsome, loyal and a great fighter. He was my everything."

I stared at my feet, heaving in a sigh. "What happened?"

"He...he died." Renata's chest fell down, like some part of her was crushed to pieces. I couldn't believe that we were actually having a conversation without insulting each other.

"Lots of people dying in your world," I commented softly. "Edward mentioned something about Riley but he never told me the story."

"Yeah, Riley. That kid, he was..." Renata swallowed, biting her lips. "They killed him."

"Who's they?" I asked, confused. Edward had acted so heartbroken when I had asked him about Riley.

"I can't tell," she shook her head. "We have not agreed to tell you everything yet. I can't believe I'm saying this but I am sorry for the way I have treated you for the past few months. It's been very hard for me to adjust and―"

"Hey," I touched her hand tentatively. "I understand."

Renata stared at my hand and I immediately pulled back my hand. But a hint of a smile played on her lips.

"I'll see you around, little mortal." She turned and started walking away. As I stared at her, I realized that all the Dragons were broken inside.

By the time I reached home, it had started raining. I hurriedly went to the main door but then remembered that I had left the keys in the dashboard of the car. It started pouring hard and I was completely drenched and freezing by the time I found my keys and got inside the house.

I placed the items on the kitchen counter and sneezed loudly. While I was drying my hair, I thought about Edward. His sarcastic smile, his sorrow-filled eyes, his speeches filled with hidden meanings. He was broken inside too. I wondered if he had lost someone he loved too. Not just Riley but also...

No, I shook my head. I wouldn't allow myself to think about that. I was happy enough since Renata had made it clear that she wasn't in love with Edward. But there had to be someone special back at his world, right?

Kate came for dinner, looking exhausted and I fed her steaming delicious pasta. She told me that Garrett was in the ICU ward and was responding well to the treatment. I felt happy for her and wished Garrett would get well soon.

I kept sneezing throughout the night and when Monday came, I realized I was in no position to go to school. I had a running nose and my temperature had spiked up a few degrees. My dad called a doctor, who declared that I had viral fever and that I had to stay at home.

I hadn't even stayed in the rain for a few minutes and already I had caught the fever. I called Kate and informed that I couldn't make it to school that day and she told me that she would try to concentrate in class for me and bring notes that evening.

I moped around the house, having nothing to do. I spent most of my time drifting in and out of consciousness and then watched cartoons for some time. There was a pricking pain at the back of my eyes and my head felt very heavy.

During lunch time, Kate called me secretively from the Draken Academy. All she wanted to do was to go check on Garrett and me but I managed to convince her to stay at school. We spent a few minutes talking and Kate filled me in the latest gossip.

It seemed that Angela, the President of the Senior Student body, had been caught buying drugs and so she was suspended. Mr Stanley had announced an election to choose another Senior Student Body's President. It all seemed rather idiotic and funny to me since the Draken Academy was dealing with something more dangerous than drugs.

I sneezed for the hundredth time and wiped my nose on the Kleenex. Sharp at 5:00, there was a knock on my door. I got out of the blanket and padded across the wooden floor to open the door. I gasped when the person came into view.

"Hi," Edward said, almost shyly. Edward Freaking Cullen was standing on my doorway.

"Uh, hi," I blinked a couple of times. "Do you want to...come in?"

"If that's not a problem," he shrugged his wide strong shoulders. "Sure."

He walked inside my living room and I took him in. He was still wearing the Draken Academy's uniform. He had come here straight from school. His hair was slightly wet from the drizzling and raindrops were collected on his eyelashes and lips.

"Kate told me you were sick," Edward broke the ice. "Are you feeling alright now?"

When I neared him, a swirl of warmth surrounded me. "Nope. Still feeling and looking terrible."

He stuffed his hands inside his pant pockets and leaned against the wall. He looked like a God, magnificent in his presence and making all the things around him look dull and unattractive in comparison to him.

"You do look terrible," he smirked, his eyes running over my body. "Nice, Angel."

I blushed, folding my hands across my chest. I was at home and I was sick, so I had put on the first clothes I could find, which happened to be pair of grey sweat pants and tight pink tank top.

"You can sit down, you know." I said, sitting on the far end of the couch. He took the other end and sat down gingerly, like he was scared of getting my germs.

I snorted, scornfully. "It only spreads if you touch me."

"Or breathe the same air as you." He finished for me, shaking his head. Raindrops hit my face and I laughed, moving back on the couch.

"That's bad for me!" I coughed, still giggling.

Edward leaned forward and touched my cheek, wiping the drops tenderly. His touch was very warm and I shivered when something warm went inside me too.

"You're doing something, aren't you?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Me?" Edward asked innocently and then shrugged. "Maybe. Fire has healing powers too, Bella."

"You're…..healing me?" It was still hard to process all the magical stuff. "Is that even possible with fire?"

He nodded, eyeing me sarcastically. "I've healed seriously wounded warriors before, Angel. You are the first case in which I'm using fire to heal a sick person."

"You don't have to do that," I said when he moved back. "I'll be fine."

"You want me to risk letting you have the fever for a few more days?" Edward frowned at me. "You won't be able to attend school and there's a possibility that your health might get worse."

"I will take my medicines regularly." I replied, suppressing a smile. He was growing flustered, his face flushing an attractive pink. "And Kate will bring me my notes."

"But I won't….." Edward glanced down, not meeting my eyes, "…see you."

My heartbeat picked up drastically. "Ha, admit it. You missed me today."

"Don't make me say it," he groaned, leaning back on the couch. "It's hard enough feeling it."

Nothing could stop the smile that spread across my face now but I immediately sobered up. He could be lying or speaking sarcastically, for all I knew. You could never tell with Edward.

"Edward, there's something I have to tell you." I began, clearing my throat. He waited as I sneezed and wiped my nose in another Kleenex.

I cleared my throat. "I found that page from Chelsea's diary in Peter's room."

"What?" He sat up straighter, his green eyes widening in dismay. "Tell me everything."

I told him about that particular incident, how Peter had been acting weird since then and I told him about the cross too.

"That's why you stared at my neck the other day, didn't you?" I asked as soon as I finished.

Edward exhaled roughly. "Bella, I could give you an explanation but…..yes, I knew there was something wrong with the cross that Peter had given you."

"So, what is it?" I spoke after a beat of silence. "I talked to Renata the other day and she told me that she couldn't share everything with me. Who are your enemies?"

"Some things are better left unsaid." Edward repeated the sentence he always told me.

"Ugh, I hate it when you say that." I groaned, rolling my eyes.

"But you don't hate me," he challenged confidently. "Come here."

"Don't," I warned him. "I'm very hot."

"So am I," he smirked, winking at me.

"I meant my body temperature, Pretty head." I laughed. He pulled me towards him and without hesitation, he put his warm arms around me and I settled against his warm chest.

"Wait for a few minutes," he whispered into my ear. "You'll warm up."

"Okay," I whispered back, inhaling his familiar scent.

His cell phone rang suddenly, interrupting us. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket and pressed it to his ear. He answered it and after a second, he handed the cell phone to me.

"It's for you," he said, shrugging. Frowning in confusion, I took the cell from him and answered.

"Hey, Bella. It's Charles." A familiar voice laughed. "Yeah, you probably think this is weird but I need to ask you something very important. So, tell me, what do girls look for in boys?"

"Are you serious? We're talking about Makenna here, aren't we?" I laughed in shock. Edward was smiling and he mouthed 'I can hear too' to me.

"Yes," Charles admitted sadly. "I want to do something that will catch her attention. I've given her flowers and poetry and did all the nonsense, but she's not responding."

"Charles, it's so simple. Stop doing anything." I replied, rolling my eyes. "Girls get interested when a guy ignores her for no reason. Act like a jerk, be more like Edward."

"What?" Edward sputtered in shock.

"Hey, he's a perfect gentleman," Charles argued. "Just ask Tanya, she'll tell you."

I froze when Edward became still at the mention of her name. "Who's Tanya?"

"You don't know? Tanya is Edward's―" Edward pulled the phone from me and hit the red button.

"What the hell, Edward?" I gasped in shock. "Why are you freaking out? Who's Tanya?"

Edward struggled to reply, guilt filling his eyes. Suddenly, everything became clear. Tanya was that special someone….someone who was waiting for him back at his world. My cell phone rang, distracting me for a moment. I answered it when I saw Kate's name flash across the screen.

"Bella, I can't….breathe…..don't know…." Kate spoke in a strangled voice.

"Kate?" I sprang up, detangling from Edward. "What's wrong?"

"Can't breathe…..help me…." The line went dead. Edward touched my shoulder and asked me what was wrong. I hurriedly told him what I had heard and I pulled on a cardigan and ran outside along with him.

My mind ran through all the worst possibilities during the long drive to her house. We reached her empty house after what seemed like the longest ride of my life and we went to the main door. It was locked.

Edward took a deep breath and pressed his hand on the door. It burst into flames and disintegrated into ashes in a second.

"Kate?" I yelled, my voice echoing in the empty house. "Where are you?"

Edward helped me get inside and we found the ground floor empty. We ran up the stairs without another thought. I went inside her room but it was empty. I could hear a faint sound coming from the bathroom.

"Stay back," Edward warned me.

He opened the door and went in cautiously. I followed him, taking in the scene and froze. The bathroom floor was filled with water. Water was overflowing from the bathtub.

The bathtub in which Kate laid submerged now, her still hands stretched out for help.

Hey guys,

With so many things happening in the story, I'm guessing that you guys need a recap in the beginning of the chapters to recall what had already happened. I promise to start doing that from the next chapter. As usual, don't forget to review!

-BEJL