Author's note: Sorry for the delay! Summer break is here, and I have a ton of ideas that I'm working on. Read and review, constructive criticism is always welcome, and I apologize for the stylistic change in writing. Now that I actually have the time, things should only get better from here!
Chapter 26: Believe What You See
[Reid's POV]
The great thing about being a senior in high school was all the free periods. The idea is to strategically place them at the beginning or the end of the day so you can arrive late or cut out early. But with a limited number of courses offered that I still needed, I had no such luck in strategically placing my free periods anywhere but smack in the middle of my day. Since I usually spent my free periods alone anyway, or at least not with the guys, I found myself wandering into the library to do research on the Putnam line, as promised. What a way to wake up from my daily nap during history.
Usually the place was pretty empty during the day, with just a handful of underclassmen using their study halls to actually study. Bunch of nerds. I hid in the back, behind the section on dead languages, and sat at the same table pouring over books on the family lineage not only of Chase, but of my own family and the rest of the covenant. God forbid something else hidden in our past might pop up and actually be important, like the story of John Putnam's incubus. They say everyone who looks into their family history will find a secret sooner or later. Clearly I was on the road to later, as nothing but names and dates and totally irrelevant information was displayed before me on the open pages.
"I hear you were looking for me." A voice interrupted my studying and my head snapped up.
"Jesus, don't sneak up on me like that." I hissed, rubbing my neck where I'm pretty sure I just pulled a muscle. I glanced into September's face and saw something different, something distinctly...glowing, like she had a spark in her eyes. The hell kind of look was that for someone who was supposed to be in the process of dropping out of high school?
"Sorry," she shuffled her feet and the spark in her features dimmed slightly. I didn't want it to fade.
"It's um. It's fine." I mumbled awkwardly. The Garwin charm was out the window, as per usual when this girl was around.
"So... You were asking about me?" She sat down across from me as she posed the question.
"You said you were dropping out,, and you weren't in class this morning" I watched as she slid her backpack from her shoulder and dropped it to the ground beside her chair, "but evidently you came back."
"I had a flat. Couldn't make it to first period."
"And dropping out is...?"
"No longer on the table. I changed my mind."
"You seem to do that a lot."
"There's gonna be a rumor going around soon about it anyway, since you were asking everyone and their mother where I was," September rolled her eyes, "but I already rectified it, told Charlene I said all that stuff just to freak you out."
"Glad I could be a convenient scapegoat for your mood swings." I grumbled, turning my attention back to the book in front of me.
"Reid," There was no way I was going to be able to focus on this boringass book with her talking to me with that kind of plea in her voice.
"What?" I shut the book and looked at her.
"I just... Thanks. For everything. Can we maybe get a redo on some of this?"
"A redo?"
"After everything that's happened, would it be so unreasonable for us to be friends?" Her suggestion rang in my ears for a good 60 seconds.
I blinked a few times, trying to assemble my thoughts, and finally I extended my hand for her to shake. She took my hand in hers and shook it firmly. "Friends."
"What are you studying?" Her hand let go of mine.
"Family history. Occultists were meticulous about their record-keeping but there is absolutely no useful information in any of these books." I indicated to the stack of books in front of me.
"Want some help? Maybe a second pair of eyes will help spot something fresh." Taken aback by her offer, but moving forward on the new-found notion of a friendship, I nodded in agreement. We both pulled books off the stack and began skimming through the pages in a peaceful, only slightly uncomfortable silence. Our study session on the founding Ipswich families lasted the rest of the period, with neither of us finding much useful information by the time the fifth period bell rang.
"You ever read Dreamcatcher?" September asked as she shouldered her backpack. I stood from my seat, stretching my arms behind my back before picking up my own messenger bag.
"Is that a serious question?" A book about four friends with powers, yeah I've read it cover to cover a thousand and one times.
"Do you ever think it's actually as simple as that? The movies they make about the supernatural, the books they right about it, maybe they're all just created to keep that kind of stuff hidden from us. Like the more times they show Practical Magic, the less likely the general population is to believe its real, when it in fact is very real."
"So what, you think popular culture is just a designed mechanism to keep people in the dark about the magic of the world?"
"Think about it this way. The more publicized something is, the less likely the truth is to surface. Point and case, that show Supernatural. If you google any of the creatures they hunted on that show, or looked up any of the lore they touched on, you'll find a bunch of fan websites and wikipedia articles pointing you in a dozen different directions and never find a final source for the knowledge."
"Okay, I'll bite. What's the conspiracy theory of the CW got to do with anything?"
"You're looking in occultist history books for information on a very famous group of people. This is the source material, where the facts and statistics and the dates are found. But the stories are found in the fairytales and the adapations made based on the source material. If you want to find out what the content of the books means, you have to find the ways the information has been interpreted and adapted for popular story telling. They change the stories sometimes because the records are so bland, and they make their own truth out of the information they find interesting and useful."
"Are you suggesting we watch a bunch of occult themed movies instead of reading these boring books?" Somewhere in her explanation we had left the library and reached her locker where September switched out her American Lit books for her biology book.
"Essentially, yes. I think we should watch the movies and cross-reference the information with the text to see where the records change. After all, the people who recorded all these witch trials weren't likely to admit the truth of what they saw when they were supposed to be nonbelievers in the occult and afraid of what they didn't understand."
"You had me at yes." I grinned as she slammed her locker shut.
"Here's the plan then. I'll come to your place and help you find whatever it is you're looking for in your family history, and you'll tell me everything I need to know to ace the test on Dreamcatcher without ever having to open the book."
"Oh so now you're using me to get a good grade in American Lit." I snorted, leaning against her closed locker.
"Absolutely, that's what friends are for. We help each other out." She smiled at me and started off toward her class. I watched her descend the stairs at the end of the hall, heading for the science wing, before she disappeared from sight. Yeah, this was going to be interesting.