Twelve
Gemini woke up to the not-so-melodic ring of her alarm clock. She groaned and whacked the top of it, immediately silencing the damn thing. Then she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. To her delight, Mondie was conked out on the bed, her hair bunched around the top of her head where the covers were pressing against it.
She wanted to wake her friend up immediately and make her spill the details of what was going on, and fill her in on a couple revelations herself. But, on second thought, she pulled on her uniform, watching her sleep peacefully. She probably hadn't gotten much rest.
Better to let her sleep.
+
"Heya. Mush." Mush turned his head and saw Gemini standing there, backpack slung casually over one shoulder, grinning in the "I know something you don't know" way that infuriated most beyond belief. Mush gave her a small smile.
"Hi Gem."
"Guess what?"
"Mondie's out of the hospital."
The sudden way his face lit up was very charming indeed. A huge smile graced his features. It was as though she had told him his dead parents had come back to life.
"She is?" he repeated. She rolled her eyes.
"No Mush. I'm lying. Of course she is!" They both laughed shortly, but Mush sobered when he remembered she didn't know what Jack and Shade had told them. He brushed a stray curl off his forehead.
"You gonna tell her about…you know…" He trailed off. She bit her lip.
"Maybe later. I don't want to shock the kid. She went through an almostconcussion." She said, running the two words together to form a new one. "She'll find out soon enough anyhow."
+
Misprint was glad the slayers had to fit in. Otherwise they would, without a doubt, skip class to come and question her about what happened. At her request, Shade had told Jack the story instead of her. She didn't want to relive it again. And she had come awfully close the last time they had all gotten together.
She had to start thinking in school terms again, even though it would be hard. She still had to "serve time" in detention, and they would be making up for school work. She knew herself and Shade would have trouble with that like all get out.
Shade was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling in anger. She was an obsessive romantic, and throwing Jack into the mix didn't help.
There came a knock at the girl's dorm. Misprint and Shade glanced at one another. Who would be there? School was still in session. Shade's stomach tensed, hoping it wasn't Jack.
"Girls?" Came a small voice. Misprint smiled, for the first time in a while.
"It's Mondie!" She exclaimed, getting up to open the door. She realized, with slight foreboding, the blue checkered boxers and black tank top she wore revealed, all to easily, the scars up and down her limbs. But she didn't want to have to pull on a pair of pants and sweat shirt en route to the door. So she would have to let it be.
She pulled it open to reveal Mondie, wearing a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and a huge black toque, that looked as though it might add five pounds to her head. She gave a small smile, glanced up and down the hallway, and then pushed inside.
"Mondie! You're back from the hospital!" Shade smiled absently. "Feeling better?"
"Feeling great! Sorta." She said weakly. Misprint raised an eyebrow. "I…I kinda got a problem."
"Oh?" Shade asked, sitting and patting a space beside her. Mondie sat. Misprint followed suit on her own bed and, in a fit of self-consciousness, pulled the covers over her scarred legs.
"Yeah. I don't know what happened…what's goin' on…" She said, stalling for time. "But I woke up in the infirmary and snuck out…I had to get outta there…" Both girls nodded sympathetically.
"So what's the problem. Is your head okay?"
"Oh, it's fine!" She said quickly. "It's good…kinda…yeah…"
"Mondie, what's the matter?" Misprint prodded. She swallowed, and then sighed.
"It's…at the infirmary, there were two bumps on my head…no idea where they came from. And they hurt. A lot." She shivered. "And they were growing slightly too. Now I got a big problem." She said in a melancholy tone.
"Mondie you can tell us." Shade promised. Mondie braced herself, squeezed her eyes tight, and pulled off the hat.
A stunned silence met her ears. One could have heard a marshmallow drop.
"Holy…" Shade began, but she couldn't finish the sentence.
"Are those real?" Misprint breathed, forgetting her scars and walking cross the room to examine them. Mondie nodded, eyes still shut tightly.
"They're still kinda tender, but yeah. They're real."
"How?" Shade stammered. "I mean…Why? How?"
"Does it look like I could tell you?" Mondie replied. "I don't know how I got them, or why. I don't see a reason. There is no reason!"
"Calm down, calm down." Shade said, putting her hands on the girls shoulders. "This is…there's gotta be a reason. There's always a reason."
"It just isn't clear to us at the moment." Misprint supplied. Mondie moaned and buried her face in her hands. Misprint glanced edgily over at Shade.
"You think Jack might know something about this?"
"I dunno." Shade said slowly. She glanced over at the phone, sitting, unused, on the bedside table. "You could call 'im."
"Me?" Misprint asked incredulously. "I ain't gonna call 'im."
"Well I ain't gonna!" Shade replied stubbornly.
"You don't understand. In his books, I'm wanted alive, or dead."
"In his books, I'm a stupid li'l girl that…"
"Guys, guys!" Mondie said, holding up her hands. "Jack wouldn't be able to help. I tried pulling at them, and they're…well, they're part of me. The only way to get them off is probably with a chainsaw. And that is not happening any time soon."
"You could always go back to the infirmary…" Misprint suggested. Mondie wrinkled her nose.
"I'd rather keep them than have those nurses think I'm a freak." She declared. There was a long silence. Misprint smirked slightly, producing an injured look from the wronged Mondie.
"You know…they are kinda cute…" She said slowly. Mondie grabbed the toque and shoved it firmly down over her head.
+
Chaos had a radar for trouble. When Jack, Shade, and Misprint didn't show up for any of their classes, it didn't take a genius to figure out that something was up. She grabbed Bumlets and Dutchy during study hall.
"You seen Shade or Mis all day?" She questioned them. They both had to admit they hadn't. It had come to Dutchy's attention, but only briefly. There had been some vampires out and about after the dance, and he was extremely tired.
"Jack ain't here as well." Bumlets pointed out.
"I think we should pay them a little visit after school." Chaos said, her eyes glinting with steeliness. She hated talking with Jack, but she hated it even more when he kept secrets from her.
"Agreed." Bumlets confirmed.
+
"Jack, you pitiful excuse for a man." Chaos greeted, as she burst through the door of Jack's dorm. Jack glanced up from his book.
"Hey Chaos." He greeted. He really was in no mood to deal with the temperamental fourteen year olds mood swings, and wished she could have just left him alone till the end of the day at least. He was still boiling over Spot's attack on Misprint. It had been right under his nose, and he never even noticed. Or sensed it.
"What's going on?" She demanded, stopping in front of him. Jack glanced behind the irate girl, and saw Dutchy and Bumlets flanking her.
"I thought you'd come by for answers sooner or later." He said resignedly, marking his book and closing it. Chaos nodded righteously.
"It's a long story." He said slowly. "You might wanna take a seat."
+
"Mondie!" Mush called, rapping expectantly on the door. Mondie looked up, panicked, as he peeked in. She pulled the toque down slightly, as though he could see through it with x-ray vision.
"Oh!" She said, trying a smile. "Hey…hey there Mush." She laughed nervously.
"Gemini told you were back from the hospital." He exclaimed, closing the door behind him, then nervously standing by the wall.
"Well, she told you right." Mondie replied, wondering if the points of her ears were outlined in the wool of the toque. She hoped not. She didn't want Mush to find out about them until she was ready.
"I missed you a lot." He told her emphatically. She rolled her eyes, but in spite of the sentence corniness, she was flattered.
"It was only two days Mush." She said, embarrassed, but slightly proud all the same. He nodded, and then hesitantly went to sit down beside her.
"Is your head okay?" He asked in concern. He lifted his fingers and touched her temple gently. She jerked her head away, thinking his fingers might trail down the side of her face, and right through the space where her human ears should have been. He looked slightly hurt, so she wrapped an arm around his shoulders to reassure him.
"Fine." She lied. Smiling. It wasn't as faked as it was before. He smiled back nervously. Their faces were close together, but he didn't want to be the one to move first, afraid of making a mistake and being laughed at. Mondie ran her fingers through his curls, and smiled as they fell back easily into place. He was so adorable. Her affection for him was more than she could explain.
Just so long as he didn't find out about the ears.
"I missed you too, Mushy." She grinned. He pouted slightly, at the use of the nick name. She laughed, leaned in, and planted a kiss on his mouth.
He hesitated, surprised, and then moved his lips back, slightly brushing hers. His hands easily found their way to her waist, and he circled her in a gentle hug. She smiled through the kiss, loving every moment. She couldn't believe how adorable and hesitant he was about everything. It melted her heart.
She played with the curls at the top of his neck, gently twining them through her fingers. The skin of her hand brushed against the back of his neck, and he pulled her slightly closer. She tilted her head slightly to the left and worked her fingers upwards into his hair, lightly grazing his scalp.
So there were things that could make her forget about her new ears.
+
Misprint closed her eyes sleepily. It was going to be a long, hard school year. But whatever was coming would come.