Disclaimer: I own Slade, Mozzy, and Samantha. You can't have them! I love my black kitty and Slade is just so pretty. -drools-
Author's Note: -is in awe- People reviewed again.
Spinner: Odd...
So err...yeah. I'm still very surprised. I would have updated sooner but my friend came over and she ended up staying for six days instead of two...heh.
Marco: -rolls eyes-
Anyway, reviewer responses!
caramelo: Thank you! I know what you mean. I was looking around and was like 'Err...hey. Where are the vampire stories? How come Marco isn't be abused?' It was very sad.
Marco: Oh yes, it's such a tragedy!
-nods- And don't worry 'bout Slade. I have plans for him, but he will not become a male Mary-Sue. You see he's...
Spinner: Don't tell them you moron!
Oh yeah. Heh. Wow, your favorites list? I'm on peoples favorites! Cool!
Isdule07: Yeah. In my mind Slade is very pretty. -twitches- And I love Mozzy. She's my baby!
just-nikki: Three awesomes...in a row. Nifty! I don't know if my animals talk to me, actually. I have so many voices in my head that I can rarely hear anything over them.
Thank you all for reviewing. I know it's not many, but for a story I thought no one would ever read, I'm pretty darn happy.
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Chapter Four: Lessons
"And he's so sweet, too. He was like really patient with me, and he even read some of the parts out loud. And he's like, a freaking genius, or something. I bet he has an IQ of like a zillion. Oh and he's gorgeous too. I mean he has these eyes…oh God Spin, his eyes. Their like…so…pretty. And he…"
"Marco!" he says, eyes narrowed at me angrily.
I blink at him in confusion. I see his hands curling around the sides of his lunch tray, knuckles turning almost white. Laughing nervously I give him a sheepish grin. "Uh…sorry. Guess I got a little carried away, huh?"
"Ya think?" he asks me sarcastically. "All I've been listening to for the past twenty minutes is Slade this and Slade that and did you see Slade's ass in those jeans?"
I tilt my head to the side as he continues to rant. "Did I really say that thing about his ass out loud?" I ask jokingly. His eyebrow twitches in annoyance. I amuse myself by staring at the little vein in his forehead. It's getting bigger…and bigger…and bigger…he's gonna blow!
"Marco!"
Laughing, Paige pats his shoulder. "Calm down hun," she tells him, shaking her head. Jimmy is in hysterics at the look on his face, causing Hazel to giggle just to impress him. It's so obvious that those two are meant for each other. Always flirting and stuff. It's like they can't even see what's in front of their faces. "I think it's kind of sweet that he's found a new man crush." Even Ellie joins in laughing a little at the look on Spin's face. I look over at her, ecstatic that she seems happy. Her mood has lightened a little since school started back up. I mean, she's still a bit antsy around Paige and all. She never did give me all the details about what went on between them. She only told me that it was Paige who found out about her cutting, and she helped her cope. I always thought Paige was a bit stuck up, but I had new found respect for her after that. She helped Ellie out a lot; more than I thought she could have. I actually think a friendship with Paige could be good for her. If Paige would just stop being so…well you know…her.
"So, tell us more about this wonderful blue eyed God," Ellie says dryly. I know she really doesn't want to hear me talk about it, but I think everyone at this table loves to see Spin when he's going into a near heart attack. I do think she's over me now, though. We're still soul mates though. No guy -blue eyed God or not- could ever, or will ever, take her place.
"All right, well he has this voice. You know how you see those evil villain guys on movies, and they have these really deep voices that make you just sit there and go, wow…?" They nod. "Well that's what he sounds like."
"Well that's a good sign. He sounds like an evil villain guy," Spinner murmurs, resulting in Paige hitting his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. Look, I'll shut up now, Mr. Matchmaker," I say grinning. His eye twitches again and I laugh. The rest of them give me confused looks but I shrug it off. I guess I did go a little over board on the Slade speak. I can't help it. I mean, he's just so, nice and wonderful and handsome and smart and funny and perfect. And I know I've been off the scene for a while, but I could have sworn he was flirting with me yesterday. I hope he was, since I was flirting. I mean, I have gotten over some of shyness when it comes to the whole dating thing...only a little though. And I was only being friendly; don't want to scare off someone who could possibly become a very cool friend if he is straight. But hey, a man can dream, right?
-
I shift the bag on my shoulders a little, trying to make sure that it doesn't fall off. These last few days have been very…eventful, is all I can say. I mean first I find out that I'm a witch, then I find out that these dreams I've been having are actually allowing some evil witch into my mind -to possibly make me evil- and then I meet the man of my dreams. Yeah, I think eventful would sum it up.
"Hey Marco!"
I turn around to see Spinner running up behind me. I stop mid-stride, waiting for him to catch up. He slides to a stop near me, grinning as he slides his own nearly fallen bag up onto his shoulders.
"Hey Spin," I greet just as happily, though not quite as loudly. "Want something?"
"Just wondering if you were gonna come by the Dot. It's my day off, 'ya know. Or are you gonna blow everyone off again?"
I sigh softly, offering a weak smile before I stop to turn to him. "I don't blow you off, Spin. I would never blow you off -and yes, I realize how incredibly wrong that sounded, but it only sounds wrong because you're a sick pervert, so shut up- I've just been really busy lately."
He laughs and shakes his head a bit. "And you call me the pervert? I didn't even think of it that way."
"Sure."
"I swear dude."
"Whatever," I say, peering at him suspiciously from underneath my bangs. "I'd like to go, but I got tutoring with Slade."
"Again?" he asks, bewildered at the fact that I might actually see him more than once. I nod my head in the affirmative. He shrugs his shoulder and begins walking. I stand there, blinking a bit.
He turns back to me, staring at me with an expectant gaze. "Come on."
"Huh?"
"I'm walking you to Kwans."
Oh. I trot up to him. I give him a smile as we continue heading towards class.
"What?" he asks.
"Nothing," I tell him. "It's just so sweet that you want to meet my new crush."
"…I never said that's why I was going."
"But isn't it? After all, you do seem to have this weird investment in my love life…"
"Fine. That's why I'm going," he says, and he sounds a bit irritated. "I just want to go make sure this guy isn't some crazy maniac who's going to kidnap you and lock you up in a basement where he's going to turn you into his obedient sex slave or something."
I stop walking for a moment, merely blinking at the back of his head. "Spinner…where do you come up with this stuff?"
"TV," he answers curtly as we round the corner, heading into Kwans room. I shake my head at his stupidity.
"I think you need some type of hobby," I comment absently as we step into the room. Slade is sitting at one of the desks, looking incredibly perfect in his tight gray shirt and black pants, hair spiked up the same way it was the other day. I look up at Spinner, expecting him to give me some type of thumbs up or something. Instead he's busy glaring at Slade. I shrug slightly, a bit confused as to why he's doing so -I thought he was over it all; I mean he set me and Dylan up, and he's been trying to get me back into dating ever since we broke up- but I decide to ask him later, or maybe not bring it up at all. I knock on the door. Slade looks up at me, his blue eyes gleaming as he gets up from his desk and moves over to us gracefully.
"Hey Marco," he tells me and I nod a bit.
"Slade, this is Spinner. Spinner, this is Slade," I introduce them, adding the proper hand movements here and there. I notice how neither of them look very happy to meet each other. I look between them in confusion, and I know I must be pouting because I was kind of sure the two of them would get along. At first, Slade actually reminded me a bit of Spinner.
Slade shakes his head a little, as if pulling himself out of a daze and extends his hand like he did when we first met. "Nice to meet you. I'm Slade…but I guess Marco already told you that."
"You have no idea," he mumbles. My eyes widen slightly and I kick his foot. He yelps and glares at me, eyes speaking in murderous volumes if I do it again. I try to give him an apologetic smile and move a bit closer towards Slade.
"Really?" he asks, smirking softly as he looks over at me with a raised eyebrow. I try to play it off cool, but end up blushing and mumbling something as I shuffle away quickly to the desk. I busy myself with grabbing my books and piling them on top of the desk. A few moments later I look up to see Slade walking towards the desk. I lean back slightly, trying to find Spinner, but it looks like he's not even here anymore. "He left," Slade says as he sits down beside me. "I don't really think he liked me much."
"I'm sorry about the way he acted," I apologize, not looking up at him as I stare down at my book. "Usually he's not so…" I trail off, trying to find the right word.
"Prickish?"
I blink at him and find myself laughing, even though I mentally berate myself for it. Spin's my friend; I shouldn't be laughing when he's called a prick, even if it is by one of the hottest guys I've ever meant. Man, since when did I have such a one-track mind?
"Not the word I would have picked…but yeah," I tell him.
He pats my wrist lightly, moving his hand away just as quickly as he touched me. "It's all right. I know the jealous boyfriend type. Not to say that I can blame him."
I stare at him, and I just know that my jaw is two inches away from the floor as soon as he's finished speaking. Words come flying out of my mouth before I even have a chance to realize what they are. "You can't…I mean he isn't…I'm not…well I am but…we aren't because I mean…and he's…and he didn't talk to me and I just…well then we…and….I mean…"
"Marco, Marco, calm down!" he says, chuckling slightly. He places one hand on my shoulder and the other underneath my chin, lifting up my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Pick a sentence; go with it."
I nod, suddenly finding it even harder to speak now that he's touching me. With a deep breath, I calm myself enough to follow his advice. Pick a sentence. Go with it. "H-he's not gay, I mean he has a girlfriend and everything. He's just one of my best friends who happens to take a very strong interest in my love life."
He removes his hand from my shoulder and chin -I am shamed to admit how disappointed I am that he does- and tilts his head to the side. After a little while of staring at me with a look that is caught between amusement and curiousity he laughs and shakes his head.
"What's so funny?" I ask him, even more confused than I was a few minutes ago.
Still chuckling he says, "I've never heard of a gay guy having his straight best friend as a matchmaker. I just find it highly amusing."
I shift in my seat slightly. "Hey, it's not that funny. And Spin is a really…involved friend…so he tries to help me out and how did you know I was…uh…" I trail off softly.
"Gay?" he offers quietly.
I nod. "Yeah. Do I like, give off some sort of, vibe, or am I really just a big flamer?" I ask, recalling Mozzy's words from a few days ago.
"It's not you," he assures me. "I just have a very sharp gaydar. I've honed my skills for years. No one can get by them."
I laugh -all right, so I giggle, but I can't help it; he just says it so seriously- and beam up at him. He's gay. He knows I'm gay. YAY!
Err…what can I say? I get over excited.
"Do you think you can teach me how to hone my own gaydar?" I ask him, still laughing.
"There are a lot of things I can teach you, Marco."
I stop laughing immediately and stare up at him, gulping slightly. He probably didn't mean it that way, but they way he said it, well it just sounded so…suggestive. I give a nervous chuckle, even though I know I must be blushing. "Right. About English, because that's what you're here for. To teach me about English."
Tilting his head to the side, and giving me a thoughtful look, he asks, "Is there something else you wanted me to teach you?"
A few things…
Bad thoughts!
"N-no," I stutter nervously.
"Are you sure?" he asks me. "I mean, I'm just a genius when it comes to English. You should see what I can do with quadratic equations, it would blow your mind."
There's that word again…
More bad thoughts!
"I'm sure you could blow me…I mean my mind. I'm sure you could blow my mind. With your wonderful skill for quadratic equations." I sigh pitifully and slap myself on the forehead, causing him to laugh hysterically. "Can we please just get onto the assignment?" I ask quietly.
I guess he finds it in his heart to take pity on me, because he nods, continuing to laugh. "Sure thing."
-
Blow is now my least favorite word in the English language. I completely embarrassed myself in front of Slade today. I finally meet a nice guy -a nice gay guy, who is willing to flirt with me- and what do I do? I act like a total dork. And I can't believe that he thought Spinner and I were together. The thought is laughable, really. I mean Spinner would never be gay. And even if he was, what would he want with me? No, all Spinner and I will ever be is good friends.
That disappoints me more than it should.
I head upstairs to my room, stopping to give my ma a hug and kiss before I do. I run up to my bedroom as quickly as I can, glancing up at the clock on the wall. 4:30. Oh man, Mozzy is going to freak out on me. I open the door to my room quietly, trying to be as discrete as I can. With a soft sigh of relief I tip toe through the doorway. Maybe she got distracted by a ball of string, or something, and forgot that I'm…
A ball of string? Is that what you think? That I'm just some easily amused cat who gets distracted from the mission of saving her charge by a damned ball of string?!
I jump slightly at the sudden voice, tripping over the bag pack that I let drop to the floor only a few seconds earlier. I fall to my knees, banging my elbow and my head against the dresser. I yelp and end up falling forwards, face first onto the carpet.
"Don't scare me like that," I murmur. She 'humphs' and walks over to me. I lift my head up, meeting a very angry kitty gaze. I give a sheepish smile. "Uh…sorry?"
Can't you even be on time Rom Baro?
"Are you ever going to tell me what that means?" I ask as I stand up. I walk over to my bed and lean against up, reaching down to roll up one of my pant legs, revealing a rug burned knee. "Just look what you made me do. Crazy hell cat…"
Watch it, she says, hissing.
"I didn't mean to be late. I just sort of got…well you know I had tutoring today," I explain to her as I take my seat on the bed, folding my legs underneath me.
She jumps up beside me, making a sort of hiss when I don't do anything. With a roll of my eyes I reach for, patting her head lightly before I begin scratching behind her ears. She purrs happily and nuzzles into my hand. "Aww," I say. "You know what, when your not yelling and bitching at me, your kind of cute. Yes you are. All you need is love and attention, you pretty kitty witty, yeah."
Your such a sweet talker, Rom Baro. I don't how anyone could not fall for your wondrous charms.
Frowning I take my hand away, sticking my tongue out at her when she hisses. She stalks to the end of the bed, settling herself comfortably against one of the pillows. First lesson is first; your mind speak. You know actually, you are better than when you started.
"Thanks," I tell her, happy for the compliment.
But you still suck. I frown at her. You just need to concentrate. All you need to do is focus some energy on the task at hand. Reach out to me with your mind. Feel the power growing, and push it to me. You can do this Rom Baro.
"All r-"
Ah, ah!
"Oh yeah, forgot. No talking."
You just did it again.
"I did? Sorry. Oh, I did it again didn't I! Woops. Heh…sorry. Oh…well damn."
Marco…
"I'll stop now, promise!" I take a deep breath and close my eyes, remembering her instruction. Reach out with my mind. I focus my energies, searching for my power center. I don't really know how it is I manage to find it, or even how to explain it really. All I know is that I just seem to search through my mind and suddenly there's this, spark thing, and suddenly I know I'm tapped into my power. After a few seconds I find it, grinning faintly to myself. I've been able to find it a lot faster now. I imagine myself stretching the power out, almost like a tendril, shooting into Mozzy's own mind.
That's good. Now, say something to me.
Uh…
I mean an actual word here, not just uh, dumbass.
Hell cat.
I told you to stop…hey! You made more than an undistinguishable grunt. That's great progress, for you anyway.
Yay me.
Yes yes, yay you. Now, let's try saying something else. A full sentence perhaps. Here's one; Mozzy is the all mighty queen and ruler of the universe!
Breaking concentration momentarily I open my eyes, staring down at her blankly. "You actually expect me to say that?"
Eyes closed, concentrate, and for the last time, no talking out loud!
"Oh yeah. Sor…"
Rom Baro…!
Sorry.
Good now, just concentrate on saying it.
'Kay. I take a breath, concentrating my energy. Mozzy is the all mighty queen and ruler of the universe!
Perfect. Now, try something else. Like quoting a paragraph or something.
Right. Uh…
There you go with those 'uhs' again. Sometimes I wonder if your vocabulary isn't just made up of those little grunt things.
I make more than grunt things! Your are too cruel, you know that? Your supposed to be guiding me, not yelling at me every chance you get. Your probably the worst familiar I've ever met.
One, I'm the only familiar you've ever met -dumbass- and two, you finally made an entire sentence! Four sentences, to be exact.
Hey I did! Yay me again. So, can we move…now?
What?
I…move on…?
Hey, I think your breaking up.
Huh?
You must be losing your connection on my mind. Strengthen it before it's broken.
How do I…?
I blink as I feel the conncention cut off. With a heavy sigh I shake my head in disappointment. I was sure I had it down too.
Don't worry about it. We'll practice later. What we should work on is your telekinesis.
"Why? I already opened my bag. I have more control over that power than anything else," I commented.
Which is exactly why you need to practice it. Use it for all it's wroth Rom Baro. If your other skills are going to be as bad as your mind speak, your going to need it.
"Oh gee, thank you so much for the encouragment," I murmur sarcastically. "So, what do you want me to try and lift?"
Using her tail as a type of pointing stick, she motions towards my computer desk. I scan my eyes over it, wondering what exactly it is she wants me to pick up. "You know, just pointing to the desk isn't being very specific. I don't know what you want me to get. Is it that book over there? It looks pretty heavy…"
Not the book dumbass. The desk.
"Oh. Well then…wait what? The desk? Like the whole freaking desk with everything on top of it?" I ask in disbelief, eyes widened when all she does is nod and let out a small yawn. "It's too heavy."
You'll be lifting heavier things then that in the future. And look, you'll never know if you don't try. You didn't think you could open the bag either, remember? But you did. Go on.
I just know that something bad is going to happen if I try this, but…here it goes. Letting my eyes drift shut once more, I again search for that power source. I find it easily and start to focus my energy on the desk. I can do this. I crack my right eye open a bit, a huge grin coming across my face as I see the side of the desk lifting.
That's it. Now, just concentrate on getting the entire thing off of the ground.
"Right," I mutter, still trying to keep my energy focused on the desk. Soon the entire thing is hovering two inches above the carpeting. With a deep breath I push a bit more, and suddenly it moves up. After a few more minutes of doing this I finally have it floating a good foot.
I want you to move it to the other side of the room, right in front of the closet.
No problem. Come on Del Rossi, you can do this. At first I begin moving it slowly, until my speed steadily increases. I stop the desk when it is centered directly in front of my closet doors. I lower it down gracefully, making sure that I don't hit anything while I do.
That's good. Keep it steady.
"Piece of cak…"
"Marco?!"
The shrill yell startles me, making me lose my concentration and fall off the bed. The desk drops in front of the closet, the crashing sound echoing through the room as one of the legs breaks off. All of the books slide down onto the floor, making a thud as they do. I wince when the stereo finally falls, crashing against the closet door, leaving a hole in the side.
"Marco?" my mama's voice calls again. I hear her pounding on the door. "Why is this door locked? Marco?! What are you doing in there, hmm? Is it the drugs? I smell smoke!" She pauses, and I can swear I see her eye watching me through the keyhole. "Are you smoking the weed in there?"
"N-no ma! I'm fine. Everything is perfectly fine!" I yell from my position on the floor.
"You let me in that room this instant young man!"
"I can't ma!"
"And why not? Is it because you have the weed? Open this door right now!"
I have to think fast! I look over at Mozzy pleadingly, hoping she'll have a way to tell him me out of this. She merely stares at me. Think, think, think!
"Marco…! I'm coming inside."
"No ma don't come in here. I'm uh…I'm…I'm naked!"
"…what?"
Good save. Very smooth.
I glare at her. "Shut up," I hiss quietly.
"Marco Del Rossi you did not just tell your mother to shut up!"
"No! I uh…I was talking to um…that was the TV!"
There is a pause. I hold my breath, praying to every God I can think of and asking them to just please keep my ma out of this room.
"What are you doing in there naked with the TV?" she asks. Before I can say anything there is a soft gasp and a long 'ooo'. "Um…well then…um…"
Oh no…I can't let her think that I'm doing that!
Do you want to tell her you were practicing your witch craft?
"No," I whisper softly. "But I can't…"
"Marco? Honey, what is?" I hear my fathers voice ask from outside of my door.
"It's nothing papa! You and ma just…uh…you two can go now!" Oh God this is embarrassing!
"You need to talk to your son," my mama says sternly. "He was in there, naked and watching the TV, making all sorts of…noises and crashing sounds! You talk to your son, and you do it right now!" The sound of her stomping away reaches my ears.
"Oh…boy. Um…say Marco, sometimes, when a young man, such as yourself, gets these…um…urges…"
Dear Lord please no! Mozzy shakes her head and places her paws over her ears, hissing under her breath. I don't want to hear this, I don't want to hear this!
"…and sometimes the best way to get rid of these urges is to um…take care of them yourself. Do you…understand?"
"Yes papa," I say quietly, burying my face into my hands.
"And cold showers help too, you know. And sometimes it's best if you have a magazine or…"
"Papa!" I scream. I know my face must be crimson right now. "Just…I know…okay? I'm fine…really."
I hear him take a breath. "All right Marco. And remember son…if you…well if you decide to have someone else…help you…remember to use protection. And get tested. Always make sure the other person has been tested! I won't have no son of mine getting the HIV or some se…"
"Papa! Enough okay!"
"…promise you will use protection?"
"Yes I swear, I will be protected all the way."
"Good. Well…I'm glad we could have this talk."
I can not believe that just happened. I sit up, rubbing my temples, trying to get rid of the headache I feel coming on. I look over to see Mozzy curled up in a ball, paws still over her ears. Rolling my eyes I crawl over to her. I poke her shoulder, but she just lays there, shaking her head. Annoyed I flick the back of her tail. She hisses and turns towards me, eyes flashing angrily before she pounces into my lap. I raise my hands to protect myself from the oncoming attack before I realize that she's not attacking me. She's…snuggling?
"Mozzy…?"
I've been so traumatized! I never, ever, ever, ever, want to hear any of those talks again. Next time you feel like having 'the talk' with someone, get me out of the room!
"There there," I tell her softly, stroking the fur of her neck. "Everything's going to be okay."
She pulls back from me and looks over my shoulder. I turn my head in the direction, surveying the damage the desk has done.
Look what you did, she says shaking her head as she jumps off of me and stalks towards the closet. See all of this damage? That's what you get for not paying attention.
I stare at her, blinking as my mouth hangs open slightly. "You can't seriously be blaming me can you?!"
You're the one who got distracted. There will always be something that could draw your attention away from the task at hand. The trick is not to let it. You've still got a lot to learn, Rom Baro. I just hope that I have time to teach it to you.
---
I didn't know where to end it. I hope I didn't make anyone seem to out of character. All right the next chapter is going to be kind of short, but wait for chapter 6. That's when they real fun begins.
Marco: Do I even want to know?
Probably not. -grins- Yeah. Wasn't my best work, but it's going to get better. And hey, soon we will even get into the plot.
Marco: This story has a plot?
Spinner: Other than me getting to molest Marco?
Yes!
Spinner: Ahh...
Please review!