Another day, and another installment. Enjoy!

Chapter 24:

The next day, came the news that the murder had not been overlooked, that the guilt of Hyde was patent to the world, and that the victim was a man high in public estimation. It was not only a crime, it had been a tragic folly. I think I was glad to know it; I think I was glad to have my better impulses thus buttressed and guarded by the terrors of the scaffold. Jekyll was now my city of refuge; let but Hyde peep out an instant, and the hands of all men would be raised to take and slay him.

– excerpt from the diary of the late Dr. Henry "Harry" Jekyll

It had been almost three weeks since he'd last actually spoken to Frankie, and Jackson knew that it was time he approached her again. Or, more accurately, Deuce knew that it was time and was eagerly pushing Jackson into it.

Jackson could tell that Holt was interested too; he had yet to meet Frankie and wanted to see what it was that the Jekyll had his Bunsen burner in a bunch over.

And so, here Jackson stood, his locker open in front of him and sneaking glances down the hall, where Frankie was standing in a little cluster of her ghoulfriends. Biting his lip, the nerdy normie turned back to stare at the inside of his locker.

"Well?" Deuce asked from not two feet away. "Are you going or what?"

"Um, maybe not now, I mean... she's kind of busy..."

Deuce's head moved in such a way that made Jackson believe the gorgon was rolling his eyes behind those sunglasses. "Dude, just... GO!"

At the last word from his very short sentence, the gorgon had put his hands forward and shoved, sending Jackson practically flying in the general direction of the group of ghouls.

Jackson regained his footing and shot a glare back at Deuce, who merely smirked at him and walked away. Turning back around, the young Jekyll found that Frankie was turned just right and had noticed him.

His mouth suddenly went dry.

A part of him began to focus on his very dry mouth, realizing that, if he tried speaking now, the only sounds he would be able to make would be a variety of wheezes and moans, so was this what a zombie's mouth felt like? Did they not have salivary glands, perhaps, and that was why they only spoke with a series of moans?

Scrambling back to his feet and clearing his throat, Jackson approached the monster girls, recognizing a few of them and greeting them. "Hi, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Ghoulia, Cleo. Um, Frankie? Could I speak with you for a minute?"

The young Frankenstein nodded quietly and followed him away from the other girls, many of whom were calling after her encouragingly.

The two teenagers slipped into the empty pool room, which was the only place where they could get any privacy in the entire school. They both sat on the unoccupied bleachers, sitting in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Um..." Jackson began. "I've been meaning to talk to you..."

Frankie looked at him, saying nothing. She looked more scared than anything, probably assuming that he was going to say something to her that would hurt her feelings.

"I know I've been avoiding you lately, Frankie, but... I just really didn't think you needed to be a part of my life. Wait, that came out wrong."

He shook his head, trying to find a better way to explain that might not end with her getting the wrong idea. "My father, he was a normie who could change into a monster. And here a couple months ago, it became more or less apparent just how much like my father I really am.

"You see, I have this... problem. Under certain circumstances, I lose all control over my body and I turn into... another person. Only this one is a monster. And boy howdy is he a popular monster!"

Frankie was staring at him in confusion. "I'm not sure I understand."

"I'm not sure I do either. But, the basics of it is that I'm not one boy, I'm two. So, anyone who spends a lot of time with me also has to spend a decent amount of time with the other me as well." He gave her a wan look. "That's why I didn't want to spend too much time with you, Frankie. I didn't want to get you involved in this mess that my life has become recently."

He shrugged. "But, now that three of my other friends know, I kind of figured that you at least deserved to know why I wasn't talking to you. And, I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings or anything, and I'll understand if you don't ever want to see me again."

"I guess I can forgive you," Frankie began. "But, it really did hurt that you were ignoring me. I assumed that I'd done something wrong and you didn't want to spend any time with me anymore."

"That's not even close to the truth, Frankie!" the Jekyll exclaimed, horrified. "I wanted to talk to you more than anyone else, but …. I was afraid. I had to sort my own self out first before getting too involved with anyone else."

The Frankenstein girl beside him grabbed his hand suddenly, shocking both of them. "Draculaura and Clawdeen told me that you kept asking them about me, and that they were certain that you liked me. Um, and Clawdeen said that she thought you had a crush on me."

Jackson blushed lightly, giving her green hand a small squeeze. "Well, um... yeah, I uh, I really do like you, Frankie. Like, a lot. But, given the mess that my life has turned into, I don't think it would be right for me to ask you out on a date. Not yet, anyway."

It occurred to him that Frankie looked kind of cute when she was embarrassed. Her green cheeks took on a pinkish haze that overlapped the stitches on her face, and the bolts in her neck began to spark and emit all forms of electricity.

"Well, that's okay," she finally said. "We can just be friends for now. So long as we can actually talk and stuff, I don't mind. I'm not even quite ready for a boyfriend anyway."

"That's a relief. I was afraid you'd be mad at me and electrocute me on the spot!"

The two sat in silence for a second, holding hands and saying nothing. It was nice to just sit still, now that they both knew where they stood.

Friends. Very, very good friends. Maybe more than friends, someday.

"What's the other side of you like?" Frankie asked shortly, her green and blue eyes both filled with curiosity.

"Well, actually, Frankie, you've already met him. I believe you met him at Cleo big party awhile back."

"Really?"

"Yeah. In fact, you seemed really interested in him the next day, when you were talking about how cool he was and showing me his picture on your iCoffin."

She blinked at him a few times before understanding what he was talking about. "Well, I know I showed you a couple pictures that I took of Holt Hyde, but..."

A grin showing on his features, Jackson released her hand just long enough to remove the pair of headphones from around his neck, slipping them on over his ears. He had created a long playlist of monster music earlier that morning, so all he had to do was turn it to 'play.'

Frankie stared at him in amazement as he began to change; the now familiar waves of heat and flames rippled over his body, igniting him and changing him into something else entirely. Pink skin gave way to blue, blue eyes gave way to yellow, black hair gave way to fiery red, and his clothing also twisted and reshaped itself into an entirely different form.

Within a matter of nanoseconds, Holt Hyde was sitting beside Frankie, right in the seat where Jackson Jekyll had been before.

"Do you believe me now, pretty ghoul?" Holt asked, his yellow eyes fixed on Frankie and his head cocked to one side. A lazy smile spread across his face, and he took her hand again.

In a slight daze, the ghoul nodded, her fingers unconsciously winding themselves around his own.

They were interrupted by a loud ringing of the school bell, and Holt cast Frankie a smile.

"Hey, sounds like school's out for the day. How about you and I and Jackson go catch a movie or somethin?'"

She cocked an eyebrow, smiling at him shyly. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Nope! There ain't no law sayin' that two friends can't go see a movie, is there? We're just... cementing our friendship is all! So whattya say, Frankie-fine?"

After a moment's hesitation, Frankie nodded shyly, allowing him to pull her up and lead her out of the school through the fire escape on the side of the building.

Something told her that this was going to be the start of a very complicated, confusing, and very interesting friendship.