Chapter 28

She pouted after she hung up and slipped his pink phone back into her pocket. It frustrated her that they failed to contact the other groups as planned when they split up at the start of the forest, but another part of her was relieved not to be involved in a fight. She wasn't a complete damsel in distress, like some might think of her as, but the idea of facing off against hunters was a little scary to her, even if they were Danny's parents and as he explained to them not very competent hunters. They were hunters, regardless, and Paulina didn't have any active powers. She felt confident in a hand-to-hand fight, but if attacked from a distance, she would be in trouble.

"Well, what should we do now?" Paulina asked, turning to Desiree, who waited leaning against a tree for the other woman to finish with the phone call.

Desiree shrugged, hugging her winter coat around her body. "Go somewhere warm," she suggested with a shiver. "Your parents won't get upset if you're home late, right?"

"I told them I was staying over at a friend's house. They usually buy that and don't bother checking up on me." Paulina wrapped her arms around her body as she started leading the way through the forest. During their attempts to find where the fae were holding their solstice celebration, they ended up wandering fairly deep into the forest. She didn't worry about Dash and Danny making their way out since Dash grew up here in Amity Park and, like most people here, had spent some time playing in the woods as a child. It was a great place for playing hide and seek with all the trees and bushes to duck behind and hide from whomever was It. Danny's friends from out of town, however, might not remember their way back. "Maybe we should check on Danny's friends." She frowned at Desiree, walking beside her.

"Too bad you don't have my lamp," Desiree said, sighing as she hung her head. "Then you could just wish us all to some place warm."

"It's not that cold yet." Paulina rolled her eyes at the other woman, but when she thought about snuggling up to Desiree to warm up, her cheeks reddened, and she couldn't look at the genie. "Anyway, there's nothing wrong with taking things slowly rather than taking the easy route. It'll give us more time alone."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that." Grinning, Desiree walked closer to Paulina, slipping an arm around the other woman's waist and drawing her flush against her side. "Too bad we wasted most of the night hunting for the fae's location." Her whispered voice blew her breath softly over Paulina's ear, making her blush darken even more.

Paulina was fairly certain the genie did things like that on purpose to make her blush. Until her birthday party, she never really noticed the way Desiree would drape herself over her, pressing up close and being overly friendly. Paulina was too blinded before by the way Desiree treated the men in their school, being cruel for what seemed like no good reason at the time. Now that she knew something more about the genie's past, Paulina could understand the reaction better, understand why Desiree lashed out angrily at all men with the way they treated her. Being a genie couldn't have been an easy life for her, always at the mercy of the one in command of her lamp.

Paulina still owed Danny a big hug of gratitude for helping to get Desiree's lamp out of the clutches of Skulker. The following day after Danny raced out of Dash's house when he freaked out, he told Desiree about part of went on when he spoke to Lancer and Masters. Paulina knew something good must have happened the moment Desiree entered Dash's house with the biggest smile on her face that Paulina could ever remember. Desiree was finally free again after three years of being a slave under Skulker's hold on her lamp.

"Oh!" Desiree lifted her head from Paulina's shoulder, pulling the other woman out of her thoughts. "I think I see a light." She pointed off to the side, and when Paulina followed her finger, she noticed a flicker of a flashlight between the trees.

"Maybe that's Sam and Tucker!" Paulina grabbed hold of Desiree's hand, dragging the genie along behind her as she jogged toward the source of the light. Dash and Danny went off in the other direction, so Paulina felt fairly confident that they weren't running right at Danny's parents on the hunt for fae.

"Wait, Paulina!" Desiree shouted as she yanked the woman back, pulling her down into a crouch as a shimmering violet light flew past them. The light slammed into a tree behind them, bursting into purple flames that slowly smoldered away to leave behind a blackened scorch mark on the tree's trunk.

"What was that?" Paulina gawked at the mark, cold fear washing over her at the thought of what that purple flame would have done to her if Desiree hadn't dragged her out of it s path in time.

"Sam, you could have hit them!" Tucker's voice reached them from close by as the other pair of teenagers headed toward them. In a moment the pair appeared in front of the two women.

"How was I supposed to know?" Sam demanded as she folded her arms. When her gaze fell upon Paulina and Desiree climbing to their feet, she frowned, violet eyes narrowing in that manner that screamed of instant hate.

Paulina's brow creased in thought, wondering what she could have possibly done to earn the other woman's rage. She hadn't even so much as spoken when they first met before Sam scowled at her like she was the most horrible person on the face of the planet. From talking to Danny, Paulina understood that he and his friends from Wisconsin got labeled losers in their school and that usually came with being picked on by the more popular crowd. But Paulina didn't accept that as an excuse for being rude. Simply because she was somewhat popular and pretty didn't mean she was like those bullies. Snap judgments weren't always right.

"We heard a noise. I acted on instinct. It could have been some horrible monster lurking in the forest waiting for an unsuspecting human to prey upon." Sam turned her head, her eyes scanning their surroundings like she expected some fierce beast to pop out from behind the trees to attack them.

"Now just hold on one minute there," Paulina said, placing herself right before Sam as she pointed a finger into the Goth's face. Sam turned back and blinked at the finger positioned right between her eyes. "I don't know why you hate me so much when I've been trying to be nice to you."

"Right." Sam nodded her head as she rolled her eyes. "Because all the popular girls are always good natured and want nothing but to be friends with everyone. You might have fooled Danny, but I don't buy the act." She narrowed her eyes.

"Sam, she hasn't even done anything remotely mean to us," Tucker argued, frowning at his friend.

"Listen to four eyes." Desiree folded her arms, looking rather unhappy about still standing around in the forest when all she wanted was to go somewhere to warm up after being out in the wintery night for so long.

"Hey!" Tucker protested, pouting as he adjusted his glasses.

"She just has a thing against all men. It's nothing personal," Paulina assured him before turning her attention back to Sam. "It's not an act. I genuinely like being nice to people. You could ask anyone in our school. About the only person there that I actually hate is Skulker and that's because he's a total dick trying to capture one of my friends to take with him when he goes back to whatever messed up planet he came from."

"Yeah, she even likes the nerdest nerd in the school," Desiree added. "Most people just bully the poor kid. Even the losers at school."

"Still not the point." Paulina narrowed her green eyes at Desiree to silence her from interrupting again. "My point," she sighed as she turned back to Sam, "is that I want to be friends. And even if you can't find it in you to like me, maybe you could at least not be so antagonistic toward me. We're both Danny's friends, and if there's a rift between us," she gestured between herself and Sam, "it's just going to hurt him being stuck in the middle. Can we at least try for his sake?"

Sam stared at Paulina as her violet eyes narrowed a fraction and her purple painted lips thinned. She seemed to think it over long and hard before she could manage to say anything. "You really like Danny?"

"Yes," Paulina answered in exasperation. "The guy's a total sweet heart even though he's suffered a lot in his life. And he doesn't need to tell me everything for me to see the hurt that flashes in his eyes and his aura at times." She took hold of Sam's hands, for a brief moment thinking the Goth would yank them free. "I don't want to cause him any more suffering. And I think we could get along if we gave it a chance, despite our obvious differences."

Looking at them side by side, it was clear that they shared completely different interests. Where Sam dressed in all in black, Paulina liked happier colors like pink. Sam had the whole Goth vibe going on while Paulina seemed more preppy. Sam was a loser at her school, and Paulina was on the popular side. They were virtual opposites, but that didn't mean they couldn't find common ground to get along, even if their only common ground was their friendship with Danny.

Sam huffed a sigh. "Don't expect me to want to do sleepovers and makeovers," she grumbled, not looking at Paulina. When she noticed Paulina biting her lip as she glanced over the Goth, seeing what no one else could, Sam frowned with a flat look. "What? What's that face for?"

"Oh, I know that face," Desiree answered while Paulina remained focused on the colors of Sam's auras. Despite her gloomy Goth appearance, Sam's aura wasn't all that dark. There were glimmers of darker colors mixed into the brighter ones, but they weren't all consuming like what Paulina saw in a few people's auras. "That's the look she gets when she wants to fix someone up with their 'one.'" Desiree smiled, not for the first time seeing Paulina with that expression.

"You're not seriously going to try to set me up with someone, are you?" Sam's left eye twitched out of annoyance that Paulina would even think to know the type of person Sam liked. "Tucker and I leave in the morning. We're supposed to be back at the hotel making sure we have everything all packed up so we can hit the road bright and early to head back to Wisconsin."

"It won't take long," Paulina said brightly, ignoring the frown spreading over Sam's face. "Besides it can't possibly take you that long to pack up. You wouldn't have brought that much stuff for a weekend trip. And think about it, if this person turns out to be someone you fall madly in love with, wouldn't you rather start getting to know them now? You can talk to each through texts and e-mails or call each other up on the phone. What's the worst that could happen? You meet and maybe things don't click, but it's not like it'll kill you to meet this person."

"If Sam doesn't want you to, can you set me up?" Tucker cut in, pushing himself between the two women as he pointed at himself. Hope shone in his green eyes.

"I'm already on your good side though," Paulina reminded with a friendly smile. "And anyway, there isn't anyone here that matches with your aura. I can't set up with someone that isn't here." That statement brought a frown to her face because she would be more than happy to find someone for Tucker if she could.

"Where's the harm in it, Sam?" Tucker asked, turning to his friend, though Paulina caught a hint sadness in his eyes at her answer, which only made Paulina feel worse about not being able to help him.

"Oh, fine!" Sam threw up her arms in defeat. "If you're all going to gang up on me. Let's just make this quick." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her warm winter coat.

Paulina grinned, clapping her hands excitedly before she turned to lead the way out of the forest. Behind her, she heard Desiree mumbling something about finally getting to go someplace warm. It wasn't that cold yet, snow having yet to fall, but Paulina was beginning to agree. Going someplace warm, maybe having a nice hot mug of cocoa with a large swirl of whipped cream on top, sounded like a very pleasant idea. Paulina drew up her coat, burying her face into the warm, fuzzy collar the longer they walked through the town toward their destination.

When they finally arrived at the house, all four of them were shivering and eager to get inside. Paulina rang the doorbell then stepped back, rubbing at her arms. She could only make out muffled movement from within the house before the front door finally opened.

"Paulina?" Valerie blinked at the woman on her doorstep then at the group behind her. "What's going on?"

"Can we come in?" Paulina asked hopefully because she was feeling much too cold to hold any sort of conversation on the doorstep of someone's house. With a nod, Valerie stepped aside, allowing the four of them to enter her house. "Ah, these are Danny's friends from Wisconsin, Tucker and Sam." She pointed to each of them as she spoke their names.

"Valerie," she introduced, holding out a hand to shake each of their hands. "What are you all doing here so late?"

"You know how Paulina is," Desiree answered with a bored shrug. "She notices two people have auras that mesh together and just has to set them up."

"No offense, but not my type." Valerie's green eyes landed on Tucker as she frowned at him.

"No, no, she meant her," Tucker said quickly as he pushed Sam in front him.

"Wait. Why are you trying to set me up with a girl?" Sam demanded, and even Valerie looked flabbergasted by this new development.

"I'm not-" Valerie started but paused as she frowned in thought.

"Well, you two will never know if you don't give it a try," Paulina argued, placing her hands on her hips. "Obviously, I'm not expecting you both to suddenly be madly in love with each other the moment you see each other. Love takes time and getting to know one another. But if you never meet first, how will you ever fall in love?"

"She does have a point," Kwan said, his tired voice carrying from the front room into the hallway.

Raising an eyebrow, Paulina turned her gaze onto Valerie. "What is Kwan doing here?" Her thoughts about making nice with Sam were abandoned for the moment as she headed into the front room. She drew up short when she spotted Wulf, strangely enough, on the sofa, laying face down with his head turned away from them. From the slow rise and fall of his body and subtle snore leaving him, Paulina guessed that he fell asleep prior to their arrival. But what had her eyes nearly bugging out of their sockets was the black fox curled up on the small of Wulf's back. Its head rested on its paws as its aqua green eyes gazed at Paulina. Aqua green eyes? With a start, Paulina gasped, hands flying to her mouth. "What happened to Kwan?"'

The fox sighed, closing its eyes briefly like it felt tired of that question. "You might as well bring everyone in here so I only have to say it once."

"Did that fox just talk?" Tucker asked as he peeked in from the front hall.

"Wait. Is that a kitsune?" Sam gasped at the fox.

"Well, that explains things." Desiree leaned against the doorframe as she folded her arms. "I've never granted a wish involving a kitsune before. I guess your magic protects you somehow. Good thing too. Because if that wish had worked, you'd be putty in his hands right now."

"Why do we have to go back to stupid Wisconsin?" Sam grumbled unhappily. "This place is so much cooler."

"Hey, there's always summer," Valerie suggested, patting the Goth on her shoulder.

Paulina had to shake herself out of her shock to rejoin the conversation. Discovering that Kwan was anything but human was numbing, and she could hardly believe it even with the truth right in front of her. She stumbled over to the sofa and collapsed onto the coffee table before it, her eyes never leaving Kwan, who watched her closely while the others talked in the doorway to the front room.

"Why?" Paulina asked, her voice failing her after that one word. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to ask. Why did he never tell her? Why did he keep it secret after they were all willing to protect him? Why did Skulker want a simple kitsune? The black fur might have clued her on that last one. She had seen kitsune before, only a few and only rarely when their glamour slipped at times to show off furry ears or tails. Black was never a color she saw for a kitsune though.

"I just never felt like I could tell anyone," Kwan answered, dropping sad eyes toward the floor. "And I've only known for the last three years, so it's not like I was lying to you the whole time."

"I so have to come back here in the summer," Sam agreed with Valerie's suggestion. "We get a bunch of crazies where we live. But actually getting to sit down and talk with various supernatural creatures? I've always wanted to do that." Her violet eyes darted toward Valerie. "Are you something too?"

"Just a hunter," Valerie answered, shrugging before she frowned. "Well, I guess not anymore, not really. Are you two something?" Her finger pointed between Sam and Tucker.

"Just a techno geek," Tucker grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets with a pout. "She's a witch." He nodded his head toward Sam.

A light flush colored her cheeks as Sam brushed a lock of her shoulder length black hair behind an ear. "I'm still learning though," she explained modestly. "I don't have anyone to teach me. My parents don't believe in things like magic and the supernatural. So I've had to learn everything on my own." She sighed miserably. "Which means most of my spells end in disaster."

"Oh!" Valerie's eyes lit up at the mention of witchcraft. "I think there's a spell book in some of my mom's old stuff. But," she frowned, putting a hand to her chin, "maybe we should have you meet Lancer. He's a pretty awesome witch and knows a lot of stuff. If you need someone to advise you in learning spells and stuff, he'd be the one to ask. When do you have to go back to Wisconsin?"

"We leave in the morning." Sam frowned in disappointment with that fact.

Paulina bit back a smile at having found something to drive away that sour gloom that surrounded Sam. But it was a shame that the woman would be leaving so soon when she probably would have the opportunity to learn a lot from Lancer if she stayed. "Well, we can give Lancer your number, and maybe you can work something out over the phone or through e-mail," Paulina suggested. "Then when summer comes, you can convince your parents to let you visit here for a while."

Sam glanced at Valerie. "That sounds like a good plan to me."


jeanette9a: Oh! XD Haha, I kept overlooking that one somehow. XD;;;

fullmoonwolf950: Thanks! 8D Kwan's adorable in every form! *shot* I think I've already lost control. Help! *flails* Drowning in the monster fic! Haha, okay. Off to write the Abner chapter!