Chapter Four – A Consult with the Expert
Outside Whitechapel High stood our young heroine, Sarah Fox, as she tapped her foot on the ground in nervous anticipation of the arrival of her friends. Classes had just let out for the day, and freshman and seniors alike were contently bounding through the double doors while her vision blurred them into meaningless shapes and colors. There was nothing like hearing the last bell on a late Monday afternoon, unless you were her.
Her breath caught as she recollected what had transpired prior to European history earlier that day. Many hours earlier, Sarah was seated in her usual spot, while she patiently waited for her sophomore friend to arrive (they frequented a two-seater in the back row). Her nerves reached an all-time high as the late bell rang, and the door to the chatter-filled classroom burst open. She watched Ethan Morgan stumble inside, hair slightly askew (she immediately recognized it as his 'trademark' several-minutes-of running-a-nervous-hand-through-it look).
Mr. Collingwood shot the seer a dangerous look before he finally made eye contact with the former vampire. However, that didn't last long, as his eyes hurriedly left hers and darted around until they noticed an empty seat next to Malcolm Bruner in the third row, where Ethan quickly took a seat (much to Malcolm's chagrin).
Sarah felt her chest suddenly contract and she grimaced. Did Benny say something to him? Things were alright this morning, weren't they?
*Record scratch*
What was she saying? Sarah wanted him to stay away. Didn't she? Wasn't that what had made their school break so blissful? She thought she was at her happiest when left alone with her thoughts – without a monster on the loose every other day – with ample time to process and reflect on her feelings.
But guard down – if she was being truly and completely honest – nothing beat late nights at the Morgan's… ghosts and ghouls or not. Ever since Ethan came into her life, something good and interesting always seemed just around the corner. So, why was she avoiding what they had? Did they have something?
"-Sarah?"
Sarah blinked and she was back in the present, staring into the concerned eyes of a muddled spellmaster. "Anybody hooome?"
She smacked Benny's hand away from her face, where her friend had been waving it up and down in what he probably saw as a hypnotic fashion (he did).
"Where are those guys?" Sarah asked, rubbing her arm fretfully as she glanced around.
"Oh." An eyeroll. "Unfortunately, I ran into 'MC Monster Bat' on my way out here. He said something about him and Erica 'grabbing a bite?' on their way to Grandma's."
Sarah nodded (inwardly cringing at the fact that she herself used to crave blood), "-he also said something about Erica needing to 'chew out her anger'? I dunno."
Fully having entered back into the present at the spellmaster's quip, Sarah laughed in better spirits. She could always count on Benny to lighten the mood, whether or not she admitted that appreciation out loud.
"She can be so over the top sometimes. One lunch detention won't 'kill' her." She emphasized with air-quotes, falling into step with Benny toward her car, "Wanna know a secret?" Benny's eyes widened in anticipation.
"I'm pretty sure this is her first detention… like ever.
Old Erica – nerdy Erica – wouldn't be caught dead in detention. I think her inner geek is completely horrified right now." Benny guffawed.
"Oh man," He wiped a tear from his eye, "that's good stuff."
Soon enough, they found Sarah's car and she reached into her bag for her keys to unlock their ride. Benny slid easily into the front seat after tossing his bag (full of loose papers) into the back seat. Sarah turned the key in the ignition and flipped on a radio station, not paying much attention to what was put on. She put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot.
Benny began to nervously drum his fingers against his leg. As the classical sonata reached its climax, he coughed awkwardly. He wasn't the most comfortable with silence. Especially when that silence was between him and his best friend's crush within the unfortunate framework of elevator music.
"So," Another cough, "you and the E-man… you guys are, uh- "
Sarah slammed on the brakes as they hit their first stoplight. Benny cringed. Off to a good start, he thought.
"I am so not having this conversation with you." She reached for the dial on her dashboard to turn up the volume of the radio a few notches, still not noticing the particular station that she'd picked, much to Benny's chagrin.
"Oh, relax. I wasn't going to ask for an update on your teenage soap opera." A non-vampiric growl from the driver's side was audible.
"His new alter ego." Benny interjected quickly, "I was going to ask about his new alter ego."
Sarah clutched the steering wheel tightly, swiftly remembering why the spellmaster often got on her nerves. "Alright," she pursed her lips into a forced smile, "shoot."
Benny frowned. Sarah was really moody for someone who was no longer a bloodsucking creature of the night. In typical Benny fashion, he chalked it up to be her time of the month.
"So, we talk to my grandma. Then what?
We've got to tell Ethan at some point. You know, before he hulks out again and… asks us for the Spark Notes?" He navigated cautiously – at least, cautiously for Benny – the atmosphere within the front seat of Sarah's car still a bit muggy for his laid-back taste.
To his surprise, Sarah conceded. "I know," a genuine sigh, "I'm really worried about him. I mean, we know what the council is capable of."
Benny turned to face her, and smiled sympathetically.
"He'll be fine, Sarah. This is Ethan we're talking about. Good ol', reliable ol', smart and thoroughly decent Ethan. It's going to take a lot more than some spooky new superpowers to keep our man down."
Sarah continued to stare out the driver's side window, preoccupied.
"I appreciate that, Benny. But before the lucifractor exploded, it only took a simple spell to render him utterly useless: 'Mr. I-See-Dead-People'." she recalled sardonically, much to Benny's disdain. "No. What I'm concerned about is what had to change… in the short time between then and vampire HQ."
Benny scoffed, missing the point.
"That spell was not simple. I think I'd know a bit better than you. Spell-master, remember?" He jabbed his thumbs towards his chest and his friend glowered in response.
"You little missy," he poked her arm playfully, "need to have more faith in our pal. Besides," he droned, "you care about him more than anyone! You basically traded your life for his, remember?
Or did you forget that dead hand, now that you're no longer a member of Team V?" Benny threw up a 'V' on his forehead, akin to the juice commercials.
Another red light and Sarah had once again smashed on the brakes, followed by a hard smack to the spellmaster's arm.
"OW!" He rubbed his arm exasperatingly.
"Oh, lighten up Sarah! I'm just trying to figure out why you're all 'let's-punch-Benny-more-than-usual-today'. You know, like a friend would?"
For some reason at that, Sarah's eyes began to well up with tears. Benny was too agitated to notice, but Ethan would've, she thought sadly – suddenly and uncharacteristically wishing he was there to rub comforting circles into her neck. Sarah knew then that she was being way too harsh on the poor guy.
"I know Benny," another hefty sigh, "I'm sorry." She added under her breath, looking askance.
Benny's eyes widened. Stubborn as a mule Sarah? Apologizing?! This must be serious!
"You may be the spell- 'master', but I know how all-consuming and seriously tempting dark magic can be!
If that's what's inside of him now, I-I don't…I don't…" She trailed off, stopping briefly to choke back the waterworks that'd quickly blow her cover.
"You're afraid you'll lose him to the very thing you tried to protect him from." Benny finished for her with empathy, in a moment of unforeseen wisdom. She turned her head to face him for the first time that afternoon in disbelief, and he offered an understanding smile.
"I know how you're feeling. Trust me, I know better than anyone. Dude is like my brother. But… he can also fight his own battles," Sarah blinked, "Well, he'll certainly never be able to if you don't give him the chance."
Sarah paused before responding, the memory flooding back to her all too well. "You're right." She gave her friend a grateful smile, "Thanks, Benny-wabbit."
"Don't," Benny narrowed his eyes at Sarah as she pulled into the spellmaster's driveway, parked and removed her seat-belt, "Don't ever call me that." He finished quickly.
Sarah only grinned and ruffled his hair platonically, while he scoffed.
Benny was a nutjob, a real nutjob, but he was also her friend – and a great one at that. And Sarah was thankful to know him, she thought to herself.
They got out of the car and upon shutting the driver and passenger side doors, were immediately greeted by two colorful bursts of wind that quickly faded into their fangy friends. "WASSUP!"
"Wassup." Benny echoed their goofier friend, greeting the male vampire with a friendly knuckle bump.
"Let's just get this over with, shall we? I've got a date tonight. Exchange student." Erica directed the latter toward Sarah, smirking, who attempted to respond with apprehension before she was interrupted by a miffed spellmaster.
"When do you not?" Benny jeered.
Erica narrowed her eyes at him, topped with a trademark "hiss!"
Benny jumped back at the vampiress' offense, easily startled in his typical way.
"Come on, party people… and Erica," he muttered the latter quickly, somewhat in embarrassment, "let's consult the expert."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the final period of the day. Ethan glanced at his phone as he collected his things and transferred them to his backpack.
New Text Message from: Benny Weir – December 6, 4:32pm
Hey E! Last period got out a bit early.
New Text Message from: Benny Weir – December 6, 4:33pm
Helping your babe-o-sitter out with that thing after school. Zombies vs. Ninjas 2 later TN?
The seer groaned. Not only had his friends ditched him to hang out with Benny's grandma (and not even asked for his help, might he add!) but he was also out of a ride. Grumbling, he made his way to his locker before beginning the long walk home (Ethan was known to have a flair for the dramatics, it was only about a mile).
New Text Message to: Benny Weir – December 6, 4:54pm
Sure
With that taken care of, Ethan began to reflect on the day, kicking fresh snow into the air as he walked. He immediately cringed as he thought back to fourth period when he had defiantly sat next to frenemy Malcolm Bruner rather than Sarah. He had to admit, karma actually bit him in the butt for that one, when the class was told to grab a partner for a group project and Malcolm refused to work on their assignment, let alone converse with him. As a result, the seer was left to work on the dull task for Mr. Collingwood on his own.
Ethan couldn't help it, these things just made him nervous. Following an uncomfortable lunch, his swirling thoughts had him fully convinced that Benny and Sarah were in a secret relationship, and that (that's why!) they had been acting so weird the last few weeks. Nevertheless, deep down – a gun to his head – he'd admit he knew that wasn't true – and could separate the rational from the seriously irrational – albeit his doubts had persuaded him into needing a serious bathroom mirror pep talk before class.
In fact, when he got to European history and met Sarah's eyes, full of concern, seemingly for him… he immediately knew he was being absurd. Each and every moment their eyes met like that; he became all the more convinced that there was some cosmic reason they were thrown (literally, by her evil ex-boyfriend) together.
The sophomore was also just as certain that the universe wanted the pair to learn a few lessons before they could truly be together. These things take time, he supposed (and inherent anxiety rendered him perfectly comfortable with waiting to do anything about his predicament), as he slid into the empty seat next to the grumpy heir to Bruner Automobiles.
Thus, Ethan reasoned that he needed (and deserved) ample time to clear his head – to sift through the noise in order to determine the best course of action (he was a perfectionist at his worst – and very good at rationalizing).
Unfortunately, mental contemplation and analysis were relatively difficult to perform when his new desk mate was boring angry holes into the side of his head.
Stopping in front of his house, Ethan shook those sore thoughts away and walked up his driveway. "Mom, dad, I'm home!" He called, shutting the front door behind him.
Ethan supposed it was a little early for that. His little sister Jane; however, hurriedly bounded down the stairs to meet him. "Ethan!" She stopped to catch her breath, "I'm glad you're home. I need some help with the pronunciation of some of these spells." She waved a stack of old-timey parchment paper in his face.
"Spells?" Ethan pushed the pile she was holding away and examined her suspiciously, as he crossed the foyer to toss his bookbag onto the couch in the living room.
"What kind of nonsense are you getting into?" He turned to face her, folding his arms.
"No nonsense." Jane rolled her eyes, "Since I'm 'too young' to help you guys out with any of the fun stuff, Benny's grandma gave me some assignments to work on to perfect my magic so that I can be of help… you know, once I'm old enough or whatever." She finished, looking up at him with her classic pout.
Ethan paused before instinctively retorting back at his younger sibling. That was actually really thoughtful of Benny's grandma. He supposed Jane was getting older in a blink-and-you'd-miss-it kind of way (she was almost 10 – that's double digits!) – and if Ethan was in her position, he'd be feeling pretty left out too. Especially since her magic has been useful to them on occasion – more so than Benny's at least (Benny can never know he thought that).
He relented and grinned, "Alright, sis. You win," Jane smirked up at her older brother (every little sister's age-old enemy), arms folded in satisfaction, "Show me what you've got." She waved him up the stairs, and he followed her, astutely shaking his head as he went.
Sarah followed her friends into Benny's living room and smiled at the sight of his grandma. Evelyn Weir had really begun to feel like a second mother to her, a second supernatural mother, at least.
"Hello, dears! Come in, come in. I've been expecting you. Rory, take off your shoes this time." The four teenagers dusted specs of snow off of their coats and Benny soon rushed to collect them all before hanging them on the coat rack in the foyer. Seems like Grandma actually managed to teach him a thing or two, Sarah smiled to herself, that makes one of us!
"Now, my guests of the bloodsucking sort, I've got some new substitute in the kitchen. I think you'll be fairly pleased with the results; I learned a thing or two at that sorcery convention this go around." Rory grinned, stomach growling, while Erica shrugged and followed the more excitable member of Team V into the kitchen.
Grandma paused, raising an eyebrow, "Where is Ethan?"
"That's what I said!" Rory called from the kitchen sardonically. Curse that vampire super hearing. Sarah thought to herself, bitterly.
She shook herself out of her musings.
"We wanted to see what we could learn before talking to him about what happened." She exchanged a worried glance with Benny, "You know, about his new powers. So, we could… uh… warn him." Sarah felt increasingly less sure of herself as she continued on.
"You don't feel that's a bit… underhand?" Grandma questioned curiously, even-keeled as ever, rummaging around her bookshelves. She seemed to be looking for something.
"I said that too!"
"SHUTUP RORY!" Ethan's right-hand counterparts shouted together, to Grandma's puckered brow.
"Now dears, I know you two care about him," Grandma pondered, but she was only looking at Sarah. A blush traced its way across the former vampire's cheeks, "but withholding information is only going to drive a wedge between the powerful front that you three have."
"I knew it." Benny exhaled, "I knew this was a bad idea." He continued, hands slightly shaking as he stood up from his spot on the couch, "I'll go get him! He's probably home by now, I'll just- "
"Not a chance." Sarah grabbed his arm hastily, and yanked him back onto the sofa where they had sat down moments before.
"I just want to say," Erica started, as she sauntered into the room, wagging a finger in the direction of the two squabbling teenagers on the couch, "this was all their idea. I'm just here to watch toontown implode once King of the Dorks finds out that these two slippery snakes have been pulling his leg."
Rory nodded in agreement; he was pretty entertained by the whole thing. He scooted closer to Erica on the four-person couch where she had sat down next to Benny. Noticing this, she in turn scooched a little closer to Benny – to be further away from Rory! – much to his chagrin.
"Hey! Don't go roping me into this madness. Just because I declined to comment on the matter doesn't mean I'm on board with excluding my main man. Ya boy is Switzerland." Benny jammed his thumbs into his chest purposefully, "This was all Sarah's idea, not mine." He asserted, crossing his arms in a huff.
It was funny to Sarah how quickly the spellmaster shifted back and forth between her good and bad sides. She snapped her head toward him, and punched his arm for what seemed like the gazillionth time that day (to Benny).
"GAH!"
Sarah was without her former vampire strength. But somehow, she still managed enough gall to leave her friend with a throbbing upper arm.
"Stop!" An elderly eyeroll, "You're better than this. I'd hate to send you back into your own private dimensions." Grandma scolded, interrupting the cat-fight, still probing through her archives. She finally landed upon the object of interest and pulled a bound and dusty book from a box. She blew on the cover while the four teenagers coughed and sputtered in agitation, and slid it carefully up the coffee table directly in front of the couch, toward the bickering group of friends.
"Hey," Erica stated in recollection, "I know this gross old book! This is the same dust trap Anastasia showed us the other day." Rory hummed in agreement, leaning in close to Erica's shoulder to peer over it at the cover of the book, much to her revulsion.
"Major villain monologue action." He emphasized the vampiress' point, snatching the book from her grasp and flicking through it vigorously.
"Argh! Geek- "
The two blondes began to fight over the book, tugging it back and forth between them like antagonizing siblings. Grandma swiftly reached a hand in between them and seized the book from their grasp, flipping it around to face her (once her cheaters were affixed upon the bridge of her nose). Erica fixed her hair disinterestedly and Rory groaned in disappointment.
"Aw, man! I wanted to find the clue this week." He whined.
"What did Miss Anastasia share with you?" Grandma purposefully directed the question toward the brighter of the two, inquisitively.
Erica pursed her lips, "Honestly? A lot of boring junk about good versus evil, light magic and dark magic. Even mentioned something called 'neutral magic'." She crossed her arms so as to create further surface area between herself and the other vampire, "Then she gave us a chemistry lesson." She rolled her striking eyes. "Surprisingly, she had a lot of good things to say about El Merlo Loco's ancestors." She added, gesturing lazily toward the spellmaster sitting to her right. Benny grinned.
"Anything else?" Evelyn asked.
"Actually yeah," her eyes darkened, "a lot of interesting tidbits about Sarah's pet nerd." Erica chastised, to Sarah's mortification, "In other words, it sounds like Ethan might have had quite a lot to do with our vice principal's demise." The vampiress sang.
Sarah grimaced, "It's true. Grandma, Ethan he… it was like he absorbed the energy that Stern was trying to take from the lucifractor. The poor guy never stood a chance. He was lifeless before Benny and I even made it back to the grand room." She exchanged a glance with her spellmaster friend. "Next thing I know I was human. Didn't even feel different… you know, other than the breathing." She finished, mouth becoming increasingly dry as she spoke.
Benny's grandma just hummed to indicate she was still somewhat listening as she continued to flip through pages in the book.
"What's the deal with that ancient textbook, anyway?" Benny asked, in a not-so-subtle attempt to change the topic. Similar to silence, he had never been very comfortable with emotionally-charged conversation.
"'A History of Super Empowering'." Vampire ninja read aloud, after having flashed behind Grandma. She turned her head toward him slowly and took a prudent step away from him, somewhat taken by surprise. No one can pull a fast one on Grandma, Benny thought.
"Our young vampire friends have already been introduced to this," the earth priestess began, "but it's time for you two to learn. And then, once you're ready – and make it soon – you share this book with Ethan. And tell him what you saw." Her piercing gaze halted both of Benny and Sarah's protests in their tracks.
"What is this?" Benny cried, "Some sort of seer spell book? Ethan's a spellmaster too?!" He was only mildly horrified. Ethan was the best at everything, Benny selfishly wanted at least one thing to himself.
Grandma shook her head. "Light magic is different from that of spellmasters or earth priestesses." She placed a hand on her grandson's shoulder affectionately, "It's not about mastering spells or incantations. It's deep-rooted in emotion and feeling." She clenched a fist for emphasis.
"Now that Ethan's beginning to come into his own," She continued, like a proud supernatural momma, "his other abilities are starting to show."
"What other abilities?" Sarah asked hurriedly, "Is he gonna be okay?" She finished; a worried look on her face. Erica rolled her eyes off to Sarah's far right.
"Your boyfriend will be just fine, dear." Before Sarah could object, Evelyn clasped her hands together in finality.
"Now, why don't you head next door and talk to him about all of this." Grandma placed the book anticlimactically on the former vampire's lap.
"Wait. Like right now?" She gestured behind her person and out the window, "Why can't we wait- "
"Woah, woah, woah." Benny interrupted, waving his hands with zeal. "Why am I not the one to break the news? This is my best friend's origin story, Grandma. Giving Sarah the power of the narrator? So not cool!
Not at all how it would've happened in the Young Avengers." He finished, pouting.
Sarah would've chastised him if she hadn't been utterly captivated by the page that Benny's grandma had bookmarked for her, which described the delicate triad of magic in the universe. She ran her fingers over the page in apprehension, briefly taking in the basics that Anastasia had covered with Erica and Rory the week prior.
She thought back to Ethan's freshman year, when he had asked her to beat up those jocks that had been calling him and Benny names. The spellmaster reminded her earlier on their way over that Ethan was a different guy now, one who could fight his own battles – clearly, as evidenced by Stern's demise and her newfound humanity.
But why did that bother her so much? Wasn't that her wish for him? Was the need to be the one protecting him more of a motherly instinct as she had previously suspected or… was it something else?
"Alright." Sarah closed the book, and everyone's heads turned to face her newfound aura of determination, "I'll do it." She glanced at a scowling Benny, "Alone."
"I don't think we should crowd him, that might feel more like an intervention."
"Wonderful!" Evelyn cheered; mood of the room (at least hers) upturned. "Now then, let me just grab those cookies out of the oven. The rest of you might like to stick around for that." Rory nodded with enthusiasm and Erica frowned slightly, noticing Benny's downtrodden expression.
"Hey." She nudged his arm, "You'll get a chance to talk to him. You're glued at the hip, remember?" She encouraged to the best of her seemingly cold-hearted ability.
"I guess." He turned to face Erica, while Rory followed his grandmother into the kitchen and Sarah gathered her things over at the other side of the room.
Benny lowered his voice, "What if he's upset with me for lying?
I've never lied to Ethan before." The plucky vampiress raised an eyebrow. "Alright, alright… at least not since the goldfish moat a la third-grade…" He trailed off, "Okay! You got me." A flippant eyeroll.
"There was grade five and the vending machine full of coconuts. Also, the- "
Erica held a swift finger up to his lips to the spellmaster's flush. "Don't care. All I'm saying is, you've spent the last ten years cleaning up Ethan's messes.
Maybe," she paused, "give someone else a chance," she nodded her head toward a preoccupied Sarah, "and like… take a hard-earned break, huh?" She asserted softly, so the former vampire wouldn't hear her. An appreciative smile grew on Benny's face.
"You're right." He began to nod animatedly, "Benny Weir will no longer serve as Ethan Morgan's personal janitor!" He stood up while Erica watched him, slightly amused.
"No one hands a mop to Benny and calls him servant." He continued grandiosely, gesturing at Sarah as he proclaimed the latter. Shortly following this declaration, he ran after the smell of fresh-baked gingerbread.
Sarah looked to her friend and mouthed, "what?"
Erica sighed in defeat and mimed back, "don't ask."
Sarah raised an eyebrow and crossed the room toward her friend, gripping the shoulder strap of her tote bag, once again fully gloved and scarfed. Erica rolled her eyes and patted her upper thighs once. She speedily stood up and gingerly removed her own coat from the rack in the Weir's entryway.
Erica opened the door, and before Sarah could protest, the vampiress had sped away.
The former member of Team V shrugged and clutched the mysterious book to her chest, trepidation aplenty, "I'm heading out!" She called.
Grandma walked into the foyer with a plate of cookies and two hungry boys following her every move, "A cookie for the road?"
Sarah smiled apologetically, "Not today. But thanks anyway. I'll see you guys later." She opened the front door to the festive tune jingle bells, and started on her way to the next house over.
"Bye Sarah!" Rory called haphazardly, "Good luck with the whole… bomb dropping thing." He sputtered toward the end of the sentence; having shoved a handful of cookies into his mouth. Evelyn grimaced; she could have sworn she reminded him not to ingest more than four at a time.
Benny threw an arm around both Rory and his grandma's shoulders.
"I'm so proud of our young Nick Fury." He grinned goofily, tentatively sloping his head down to the plate where he nudged a cookie into his mouth using only his tongue.
"Benny, gross!" Followed by two successive smacks upside the head (that were sure to reignite the spellmaster's concussion).
Sarah knocked on the Morgan's front door, admiring her newfound ability to note her breath in the December cold. Despite all of their challenges recently, it really was the little things that-
"ETHAN!" A shrill cry, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Sarah immediately recognized Jane's voice cascading from inside the house. The experienced babysitter allowed her jaw to drop before hurriedly preparing to dropkick the door.
"OWW!"
Sarah squealed, quickly scrummaging to clutch her now throbbing foot. Dammit. She let herself sluggishly fall to the ground.
An unlocking mechanism was audible, then the door swung open. Sarah glanced up from nursing her injury to meet the unnerved expressions of the Morgan siblings. Ethan was grinning nervously, his hair in disarray, slightly smoldering.
Jane quickly noted Sarah's horrified expression, before turning to her brother and hoisting herself onto his back to an, "AGH!" and patted his mop down with fervor.
"Do I even ask?" Sarah heaved a sigh, grimacing as she carefully used her good leg to stand up to face them.
"S-Sarah!" Ethan stammered, ignoring her question, "What are you doing here?"
"I um," The babysitter hesitated, still fixated on the smoking wisps atop his head, "-homework."
Jane became increasingly suspicious as the former vampire moved past the antagonizing siblings to enter the Morgan's foyer (notably uninvited); shrugging off her coat and belongings. She quickly scanned the house for further damage as was off-duty babysitter protocol.
"You really think I'm going to believe that?" Jane asked, turning to face the two teenagers with her arms crossed. They had been ritualistically heading toward the staircase to Ethan's room. Sarah paused, and turned around to face Jane with her hands on her knees.
"If you give me some alone time with your brother, I'll… play that racing game you love." She offered. Truthfully, Sarah didn't mind that game too much. She just pretended to hate it so that she wouldn't get roped into playing it with Ethan (he was way too competitive – and Benny was even worse).
"The cup?" Jane raised an eyebrow. "Or just a single race?" Sarah couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. It appeared the Morgan puppy-dog-eyes ran in the family.
"The whole cup." Sarah ruffled Jane's hair playfully.
"Done." The younger Morgan sibling reached out to shake Sarah's hand enthusiastically, before quickly turning on her heel to set up the gaming console. It seemed that Jane wasn't expecting her chat with Ethan to last very long, Sarah thought to herself as she turned to face Ethan – curls still slightly crispy – to her dismay.
"Oh sure," He scoffed upon meeting her eyes, "you'll play Mario Kart with Jane, but not- "
"Just," Sarah grabbed his shoulders affectionately, turned him around and lightly shoved him toward the staircase, "go jump in the shower, mister." He chuckled and sprinted up the stairs to his room.
By the time Sarah made it to the top of the stairs, Ethan was sporting a towel in hand. He raced toward the upstairs bathroom at the end of the hall, "I'll be out shortly!" He called, before shutting the door.
Sarah was aware of her sassy nature, and along with that came a plethora of snarky gestures. Over the last few years, she seemed to have developed a specific category underneath the umbrella of an eyeroll that she believed was Ethan-specific (you know the one – the only difference was that she absentmindedly smiled while she did it).
With the History of Super Empowering tucked firmly under one arm, Sarah placed her palm against Ethan's cracked door and pushed it open slowly. This was odd for Sarah. She normally entered at what could be considered the more direct route (the bedroom window).
Nevertheless, the former vampire swiftly decided that the new way was much better. She crossed the floor of his room and sat on his bed prudently. The book now placed upright on her lap; she examined the cover carefully. It was nothing special, just brown leather – with a gold stamp so rusted over it might easily be mistaken for any old book one would pass right over at the library.
Sarah heard the shower head switch on and listened to the sound of the running water. It wouldn't be long until the seer was finished, and she had absolutely no idea where to start their discussion. She heaved a sigh, and placed the book on his floor, shoving it hurriedly under his bed. Out of sight, out of mind.
Soon, Sarah couldn't help but lean back and readjust so that she was laying across his bed, head on his pillow with her head facing toward the door. She'd sat on his bed before, as had their other friends.
But this felt different. It was almost intimate… like she shouldn't be doing it. As if something perfectly platonic that she'd done several times before was now crossing some sort of novel line.
Sarah was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed at the handful of similar upsets to her daily routine. She rolled onto her back and grimaced as she felt something hard and sharp press against the back of her head and neck. She swiftly reached underneath Ethan's pillow and pulled out a plastic bag full of moon rocks (he replaced them.) This revelation was followed by an Ethan-specific eyeroll (she was smiling).
The shower head switched off and Sarah heard some muffled commotion, almost as if he had idly slipped when stepping out of the shower. She giggled to herself.
The former vampire went to pull herself upright, but before she could, was hit with an intense cramp. She grabbed her lower calf in pain, "OW!" Sarah needed Ethan to hang a sign on his front door reminding her to never drop kick it again.
Ethan's bedroom opened and he cautiously entered the room in a different shirt and sweats, rubbing his damp hair with a towel profusely. He closed the door behind him.
"H-Hey! Oh, are you okay?" He quickly noted his friend's face contorted in pain as she sprawled across his bed, clutching her lower leg. The towel he was holding was immediately dropped to the floor as he made his way to Sarah, hurriedly kneeling to awkwardly inspect her lower half.
Sarah grimaced and managed a smile as the discomfort began to fade, "It's fine," she shook her head, "my fault. I shouldn't have tried to karate chop your door down. S'pose that's what I get for always trying to be the hero."
Ethan's features, which were previously caked in worry, melted into a relieved smile as he offered her a quick hand to help her upright.
"Thanks." She beamed easily up at him, then patted the spot next to her on his bed, closer to the foot-board.
"So, what brings you here?" The seer ventured carefully, "I thought you went to Benny's after school."
"I did." Sarah affirmed, "But we finished up early. Turns out we didn't need the moon after all." She finished, shrugging lightly. Her hands were tucked behind her back, propping her upright. She had hoped their fingers might dance behind them on the bed; but she soon noted that his arms were crossed. He seemed to be thinking long and hard about something.
"What is it?" She asked softly, warm eyes betraying her cool exterior. The pair of teens listened to the December breeze as it battered against Ethan's bedroom window. The former vampire was glad she drove; a storm was seemingly becoming more and more likely.
"What were you really doing?" He turned to meet her gaze evenly.
"W-What do you mean?" Sarah speedily broke their eye contact to make acquaintance with her lap.
"You and Benny," Ethan grinned (she wasn't looking at him but she could feel it), "are just about the worst liars I've ever seen. Well, Benny worse than you, but the prosecution rests its case."
And then suddenly, a match had been lit. Something about the self-assured nature of his tone rubbed her just the wrong way in her disconcerted state.
"I'm not lying!" Sarah blurted, before she could stop to think. Her eyes then searched for his; now desperate for contact, or proof of this interrogatory defiance from the relatively tolerant Ethan that she knew. Instead, he was watching the breeze hit his window, looking askance.
"You're not?" He asked flippantly, still not turning to face her.
"I'm not." Sarah enunciated icily. "It sounds to me like you're jumping to conclusions. Typical."
Ethan scoffed, "I'm not 'jumping' to anything, Sarah. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that something was up today between you and the rest of our fr- "
"Is that why you didn't sit next to me in class? Because 'something' seemed up today?" She spat sardonically. The former vampire stood up hurriedly, hands now slightly shaking.
There was no stopping it now. A match had been lit deep within her chest and misplaced anger began to bubble over gradually, until it was all at once. Suddenly, she was on the outside looking in.
"Seriously?" Ethan derided, "That's what you're upset about? I didn't think we had to do everything together. Last time I checked; we weren't married." Ethan, on the other hand, had long since boiled over and his anxiety from the last few weeks had only been gaining traction until it was solely spite.
"Married?!" Sarah cried, losing her cool, "Are you twelve?" Followed by a scoff, and then a non-Ethan-specific eyeroll. The seer's jaw clenched and he stood to face her blazing eyes, across from his bed.
His eyes were narrowed in a way Sarah hadn't seen since he wolfed out last year, "Huh. Well, if I'm 'twelve', I suppose I can give you a hard time for sprawling out on my bed – look!" He gestured purposely toward the displaced plastic bag sitting atop his dresser.
"Seems like you also messed with my moon rocks. Again. If you're trying to piss me off, it's working." Ethan snatched the nerdy collector's item off of his nightstand and returned it to its rightful home.
Sarah threw her arms up in exasperation, "I didn't touch your moon rocks! I didn't even open the bag!"
"It doesn't matter." Ethan cut her off, and turned to face her, arms folded, "just by moving the bag you can alter the pressure in the- "
"DORK!" Sarah shrieked loudly in finality, and sharply turned on her heel toward Ethan's bedroom door.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY MOON ROCKS!" He shouted after her, "AND KEEP YOUR COOTIES OUT OF MY ROOM – AND ESPECIALLY OFF OF MY BED!"
"UGH!" The babysitter swung open the door with all of her might, preparing to storm down the stairs, only to be greeted by an "oof!" and a successive thump from down below her.
"Jane!" Sarah wheezed in surprise, grabbing the ten-year-old's arm semi-gently and tugging her upright. The former vampire then ensured to turn around and slam the door with her other hand as hard as she could.
"Sarah?" Jane ventured carefully, as she watched her babysitter pant heavily, red-faced and furious. The younger Morgan sibling had never seen Sarah so angry, and she had watched her pummel a lot of monsters. Feisty? Sure. All-out rage? Never. It wasn't in her nature – or so Jane thought.
"What was all that?"
"Nothing." Sarah shook herself out of her ferocity and glanced down at Jane, looking a little less like she was going to punch a hole in the nearest wall. If it happened, Jane was going to blame Ethan. At least from what she could make out from the other side of the door, it sounded like he deserved it, the young girl frowned.
"Now," Sarah huffed, hands placed firmly on her hips, "How about that Grand Prix?" She seemed to have finally caught her breath. Jane winced.
"No thanks." She responded, as they trudged down the stairs, leaving an undeniably seething seer in their wake, "I wouldn't blame you if you just wanted to head home after… whatever that was." Cringing, Jane stopped at the bottom of the stairs to glance behind her babysitter toward Ethan's closed bedroom door at the top of the stairs, "Next time you come cover to babysit is fine."
The former vampire nodded and hurriedly threw on her coat, scarf and gloves (lower calf still lightly throbbing). She managed a small smile as she turned to face Jane.
Sarah placed a hand on one of the girl's shoulders warmly and gave it a little squeeze, "Thanks."
And with that, the distraught babysitter left the Morgan's that evening as chaotically as she had arrived, without a second thought to the cascade of events she may have initiated.