"Oh fuck," Sam complained.
"What?" I questioned, perking up from where I was leaning on her kitchen island.
"Mother's social calendar," she whined, staring down the fridge with her hands on her hips.
"Was it being mean to you?" I chuckled, trying to get a rise out of her. "You can always just hit it back," I suggested.
"Hilarious. But seriously, look at these dates she's got lined up in the next week."
Ugh. Movement. "You're making me get up?"
I sighed heavily but climbed to my feet, crossing the kitchen to stand next to her beside the fridge. I studied the calendar, absently placing my hands on her hips. "What am I looking at?" I questioned, struggling to make sense of her mother's chicken scratch scrunched in the calendar's boxes.
Sam explained the events to me, pointing to each date as she did so. "Dad gets home here; and then we have a formal dance at the Richmond's; and then we have a formal dinner followed by a formal dance at the Sanchez's; and here we have a formal brunch at the Sanchez's."
Every time she said formal or Sanchez I inwardly cringed because I knew that Paullina would be dragging me along. Despite the fact that I was basically only a booty call to her now, appearances needed to be kept up and I was expected to show up and love her whenever she demanded my presence. I was getting sick of the treatment, but I couldn't let go – she was all that I had left in my human life.
"And you do want to go, I take it?" I commented, bringing Sam tight against me.
"I don't even know who the Richmond's are!" Sam exclaimed. "I don't want to get dressed up and be stuck in a room with people I don't know or like. The Richmond's have to be upper class in order for my mother to even consider going there. Not to mention it's guaranteed Paullina will be there with her little boy toy hanging off her arm."
I didn't know what I resented more: being called 'little' or being called 'boy toy'.
"Didn't you say you liked that boy toy's sister?" I asked, trying to get her mind off of Fenton. Sam was scary like that sometimes – I could be thinking of one thing and she'd mentioned it on her own. "Maybe she'll be there."
Jazz probably would be making an appearance. Mom and Dad were also getting invited to these high class gatherings now that they were rich and successful.
"I hope so. I just don't want to be stuck alone there."
"Hmm," I pondered, thinking of a way to make her laugh. "Imagine the stir I'd cause if I tried to walk through the front door. 'Excuse me sir, you can't come in here; you're not wearing your monkey suit'."
To my satisfaction, she did let out a small giggle. "So many people think you're a hero that I'm quite sure they would just let you walk in."
But I wasn't really a hero, was I? Would a real hero lie about who he was to the girl he loved? Would he let her think that she was the only woman when, in reality, she was the other woman? Would he betray her trust, every damned day, by texting another girl 'goodnight, I love you' and sleeping with someone that wasn't his love? No, he wouldn't. But I did. I wasn't a hero. I was an awful, scared child living the high life of having two beautiful women – and hating himself every second of it.
"A lot of people hate me too," I reminded her, thinking of how much I hated myself when I said it. "They think I'm a menace and I'm destroying the town."
"You're not destroying anything," Sam murmured, her fingers running along the bottom of my stomach, dangerously close to my man parts.
But I was destroying her, wasn't I? I was destroying her without her knowledge.
Those dark thoughts were quickly whisked from my mind as her delicate fingers played across my cool skin, making me suck in a breath in an attempt to not react in an intense way. "Sam," I cautioned, though her touch felt so damn good.
"What?" She glanced at me, violet eyes full of mirth. She knew exactly what she was doing to me, the little witch!
"You – " I hissed, though my words were stopped by the ringing of her cell phone.
"Sorry," Sam grinned – honestly, I almost thought she planned it. "Hello?" She said into the receiver.
You are turning me the hell on, I finished in my head, knowing that I was going to have to leave in a minute and knowing that I would never realize where she was planning on taking this.
"You have to go," Sam informed me, finished with her phone conversation.
"Why?" I huffed, though I had predicted this.
"My parents are going to be here in a minute. And, as much as I would love to sit through that introduction, I just don't see it happening."
I let myself picture her mother's face as Sam introduced me as her boyfriend – one of the un-dead. I have to admit, I laughed quite a bit over it.
"I'd have to agree with you there," I chuckled, hugging her tightly to me. "What time is that Richmond thing tomorrow?"
"Why? Planning on crashing?"
Nope; I was invited.
"No … I love seeing you all dressed up for events." I made sure to sound seductive as I mentioned it, running my hand up the length of her back. She shivered, and I didn't think my body temperature was to blame. "I wanna see you in a pretty dress."
"We're leaving here at seven," Sam breathed. "So if you want to see me, you're going to have to be here before that."
"I'm not so good with time," I mused, "But I'll be here to see you."
I played with the pieces of hair that had fallen in front of her face, clearing them away so that I could see her more clearly. God, she was beautiful.
"You have to go," Sam told me, though she sounded incredibly reluctant as she did. She pushed on my chest, trying to get me to step away, though she had to know that was something that I wouldn't do.
Instead of leaving, I kissed her. She arched into me and I smiled as soon as I felt her lips. I just wanted to stay there, in her embrace, for the rest of time. Eventually, though, she pushed me away and I knew that it was time for me to go.
"I love you Sam," I whispered in her ear before leaving.
She hugged me and then I vanished.
I left her house and wondered what I would do with my life for the next few hours. Paullina was probably already preparing for the event; Mom and Dad were working; and I didn't want to bother Jazz. I decided to go on a quick patrol. Recently, I had been shirking my hero duties ever since my hero personal life had become so hectic and I should have been putting in more effort than I was.
I swept over Sam's lavish neighbourhood and up toward Paullina's house. I went from her place down to middle and lower class streets. I went over the warehouse district where I had last seen Ember and then over to the greenhouse where I had met with Dora. As I passed over the greenhouse, my ghost sense went off. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was Dora.
I love it when people have good timing.
I floated down through the roof of the greenhouse and I smiled when I realized I was right: Dora was in the greenhouse, sniffing the roses.
"Hello, Dora," I said softly, careful not to startle her.
"Hello, Phantom," she returned airily. "I was hoping that you would show up."
"And here I am." I hit the ground next to her. "How are you?"
"Fine." Her eyes flashed up to mine. "Have you found out anything about me?"
"We did some research. Keep in mind that you lived a long time ago, Dora, so information on you is rather scarce."
"I suspected as much."
"But we did find out a few things," I assured her hurriedly. "You'll just have to put in some extra effort when trying to remember your human life, okay?"
She smiled thinly at me. "I can put in effort."
"Good." I smiled. "All right. My sister found a record of a Prince Aragon who lived around the fifth century. It was written that he had a younger sister."
"Me?" Dora asked.
"We're assuming."
"How did I die?" Dora questioned bluntly.
"There was a sickness or something at that time. It was awful and fatal. You were sick for the last four months of your life."
"It hurt," Dora sniffed suddenly. "All of me hurt."
I reached out to pat her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her but I snatched my hand back when her bowed head suddenly shot up.
"What about Aragon?" She cried. "I don't remember living in the ghost zone without Aragon! How did he die?"
"Well, how about I just explain to you all that my sister found, okay?"
Dora nodded.
"It was written that Aragon had a little sister who had caught the illness. Aragon was preparing to be wed. We think the wedding party was the ball you were not allowed to go to; you were too ill. It is said that Aragon's bride cared for you very much and she insisted on seeing you. You presumably passed the illness onto her – though you died before ever knowing it. The bride died of the illness and Aragon committed suicide after her death."
"I did all of that?" Dora cried. "I killed somebody?! NO! NO! NO!"
With every word Dora's voice sounded more like a roar. By the end of it, she was physically roaring – her transformation, from the sweet girl I knew into the dragon I had to hunt, completed. Her wings splayed out and smashed the walls of the greenhouse. She roared loud enough that she brought the rest of it crumbling to the ground. She took off into the sky, heading toward the town.
"DORA!" I shouted. "Dora!"
Aw, fuck.
(-.-)
After finally wrangling Dora, I stopped off at home to send her back into the portal.
"Danny?"
"Yeah, Jazz?" I shouted up the stairs at her.
"Are you going to the event tonight? Mom and Dad want to double check. Also, are you going with us or Paullina?"
"Uh. Yes, I'm going and Paullina hasn't told me I'm going with her, so I guess I'm going with you."
"Don't sound so excited about joining us!" Jazz laughed.
"Whatever. I have a couple of things to do and then I'll be home in time to leave, okay?"
"We're leaving at 7:30!" Jazz shouted at me.
I left the house behind, knowing that I would be cutting it close. I was this close to missing Sam's departure, and then after she left her house, I would have to rush back to mine to make myself look presentable. This was a bigger task than it probably sounded.
I stumbled in through Sam's balcony. She wasn't in sight but I could hear movement coming from the bathroom. I flopped on her bed and took a minute to catch my breath before she came out and saw me huffing and puffing. I had just caught my breath when the bathroom door opened and she stepped out.
I lost my breath all over again. Shit, she looked good all dressed up. I wolf-whistled to catch her attention; she hadn't noticed me yet.
"I thought you would look good, just not that good," I quipped as she turned to face me, grinning.
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Sam purred, looking seductive.
"Everywhere?" I clarified, my imagination running wild at the seemingly innocent word.
Sam's smile grew and a laugh left her lips. "You're cute," she told me. "I'd kiss you but I don't have time to redo my lipstick."
As I bounced off of her bed toward her, all I could think of was that she'd have to make time to redo her lipstick. There was no way that I was letting her leave this room without kissing her. I reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to me. "But I think that's my colour."
She gave me a look that was slightly annoyed but more amused and tilted her head up.
"I think you're right," she said, kissing me.
About the missed chapter last week ... I was stressed, overwhelmed, and it just didn't happen. I'm sorry.
I don't own anything recognizable. Thanks to my betas: Forever Sky.
~TLL~
