Disclaimer- I wish it was mine, but it's not...(crys hysterically) but on the bright side I own the newbies :D
Thankyous and fluffy teddy bears to:
JasmineIIII- Thanz 4 readin n yes, there is romance in dis. Sorry 2 keep u waitin :b
Nytsua- (grins stupidly) gee thanx and I hope I haven't left u hangin 2 long
Katysays22- Ta da! next chapter and yes I am cruel (excellent) :) thanku 4 reviewing (showers u with flower petals)
Raven- I know, I know Orlando Bloom is hotter. But I just wanted Chris 2 b supa-hot n who's hotter than Orlando? ;)
Galahad Cat- What hav I done? (screws face up) Everybody hates Josie. (evil grin) Yeah, someone likes Maroon 5 2 other than me. U rock!
Chapter 7
Lizzie stared blankly at him.
Had she heard right? Why would he ask me when Josie was right there beside him? Maybe he's playing us both or he feels sorry for me. The defiant voice in her mind told her firmly to stop thinking about it and do something.
"Me?" she asked cautiously, sounding as wimpy as a newborn kitten.
Chris nodded, bending his head down and was suddenly very interested in his shiny black shoes. No, this was too weird, she thought bewildered. Was Chris being shy? Without thinking she bent down too and peered at his face. Electric shivers spread through her as she got closer and was dumbfounded by the crimson of his face.
He must have seen her looking at him though, because the next moment, he had straightened up, cheeks still slightly red and held out a hand to her, which she thought, was very chivalrous. Lizzie placed a delicate hand on his and everything fell apart.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. She thought as the people, music, colors became faint and fuzzy; the vibrantly pink haze engulfed her once again. She was falling with nobody else to hold onto except Chris.
Floating summarily, she was dimly aware that Chris had his arms around her waist and was holding her incredibly close. This was right. They belonged together despite what she had thought earlier.
We do belong together Lizzie.
She heard the whisper in her mind and those simple five words gave Lizzie the peace that she hadn't been feeling the whole week. What had kept her from this happiness? The kind that could only be experienced by two people who were completely right for each other? The thought nagged at the corner of her mind; relentlessly she tried to push it out. The burdens had fallen from her shoulders. There were no tribulations here in this sanctuary. Nothing to tear them apart...
Is this heaven?
He heard her soft laugh and tightened his arms around her, resting his weary head in the space between her head and her shoulder. Slowly he raised his hand and stroked her silky brown hair, tangling his fingers in the curls.
"Lizzie! Get off my boyfriend!"
Whoever disrupted this serene moment was going to pay, he thought mournfully, as he felt Lizzie pulling away from him...again.
The surroundings all returned to him at once, so quick it was like someone had flicked on a light switch. Lizzie was holding her head as a hissing Josie screamed at her.
"I can't believe you'd do that to me! You knew that he was MY boy and you still had to snatch him away didn't you? You deceiving, shrewd..." Josie paused, shaking with anger, her face a ghastly purplish color. She appeared to be thinking of a word filthy enough to express her rage.
"SLUT" she screamed, lifting her hand to slap Lizzie.
Acting impulsively he stepped between the two and seized Josie's hand before it came down.
"I am not your boy and I never was. And if you ever insult or upset Lizzie again in any way, I'll personally break every single bone in your body" he said softly but with sheer coldness, that shocked even himself.
Josie gave a feeble and frightened sob, glancing at Lizzie for defense. When she received none, she clutched her dress and ran out, tears leaking from her eyes.
Slut.
The word reverted around Lizzie's mind. How could Josie, her almost sister say such a horrendous thing about her? The pain made her clutch her heart involuntarily. Everything had changed and Lizzie knew nothing was ever going to be the same between them again.
She was hurting so much emotionally, expatiating the tears to flow at any second. They didn't come. Her eyes were dry and burning with detestation, which overtook the sadness. Closing her eyes resignedly, she felt Chris's hands on her shoulders, the warm touch soaking her skin. Tingles of comfort applied by the firmness and protectiveness in which he held her.
Temporarily relaxing, she took a deep breath, then another, then another. She couldn't handle this. Lizzie had never been brave and tough even if she was a powerful witch, whenever she felt she couldn't handle life, she would flee. Unbeknownst to the fact that however far she ran, eventually she'd have to come back and the problem would still be there.
Lizzie ran now, nearly tripping in her high heels. Not really seeing anything at all, other than the door. The escape. The shortcut and easy way out in life. Freedom. She burst through the doors, running distractedly down corridors. Finally coming to a stop on the floor of her and Josie's room.
It dawned on her that Josie would probably be in there, and without a second thought rushed back down the flight of the stairs. She had no idea where she was going. Anywhere. Just to get away from the predicaments, the throbbing pains and the look on Josie's face when she had called her that fowl name.
Not even watching what direction she was heading she blindly ran straight into someone.
She felt the familiar sparks that flew and recognized who it was before he spoke.
"You run really fast, you know that?" Chris panted, breathing heavily from chasing her and wiping away the beads of sweat on his forehead. He had a concerned expression on his face and his eyes swept over her timidly, making sure she was really ok.
Moving so fast, Lizzie didn't get a chance to reply, he wrapped his arms around her, giving off waves of anxiety and relief that he had found her.
"I'm sorry Lizzie," he whispered in her hair repeatedly.
Her hand stroked his hair affectionately. "What are you sorry for?"
Feeling the sense of her troubles slipping away, at least for a while, she calmed down and looked in his emerald eyes, which seemed to be blazing in the darkness.
"I should never have led Josie on, and I should have told her, but I was afraid. I never wanted to hurt anybody. She just kept hanging around and..." he realized he was babbling and stopped giving her a sheepish grin.
"So you're saying that you were interested in me all along?" Lizzie asked, her mouth twitching, trying to suppress the joy that was flowing through her.
Chris rolled his eyes and picked her up, off the ground. "I don't think I have to answer that"
Giggling, like a little child she kicked her feet in the air, faking a fit.
"Please, I'll do anything! Don't take me to the electric chair! I'm too young to die!"
He chuckled and Lizzie secretly admired the fact that she could make him laugh.
Lizzie was carried to his apartment, mainly because there was nowhere else to go, everyone was still at the dance.
Grinning jubilantly, he opened the door. Lizzie's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"You live here?" she exclaimed stunned.
He looked around his enormously spacious room and just couldn't resist smirking "Don't tell me I have a more superior room compared to yours."
Lizzie frowned, a glint of envy in her aqua eyes.
"This is outrageous! You've only just come here for a week and you get all this? I have one room with two beds and one closet and I have to share a bathroom! No TV or any from of entertainment or..." she stuck out her lip and started whining like a two-year old.
"It's not fair!" she cried and unable to retain the mockery act, burst out laughing.
The laughter was contagious and soon he started laughing as well.
Lizzie threw her hands in the air in disbelief.
Three couches! Why the hell would one person need three couches for? She ran over and flopped herself on one. Velvety soft. Circle Daybreak must really hate her and Josie for giving them that crappy room, and Chris this..this mansion. How very palatable. She thought sardonically.
A twinge of spite coasted into her thoughts, which were easily forgotten by the pull of her heart as she felt Chris collapse next to her. Her heart was beating rapidly; she'd never been at a guy's apartment before. It was both thrilling and nerve wrecking.
"You can come and stay here anytime you like," he said suggestively, his eyes intensely green.
Lizzie laughed again, shifting her head and resting it on his shoulder. It felt so comfortable being with Chris, like she could do or say anything and he would still accept her for who she was. It was a great feeling. One that Lizzie hadn't experienced often.
His arms wrapped around her and it made her feel so secure. Nothing could harm them right now. She had felt so vulnerable, despairing about Josie all week. All her life it was always her who was understanding and thoughtful when Josie was having a bad day. She was the one who held people when they needed comfort and reassurance. Josie did care about her (well, maybe not anymore) but she never was a sensitive person.
It was good to feel safe. Even better, when she could actually feel the kindness radiating from Chris as he held her close. Their minds were already melting together and she found herself back in a green field with thousands upon thousands of red roses around her. It was a breath-taking sight.
I think I'm in your mind again Lizzie.
This time she wasn't afraid. He wanted Chris to see, to understand.
Look. She thought plainly and took down the shields, opening her mind completely to him.
Lizzie felt him probing her. Delicately examining her thoughts. All of a sudden, she was taken to a place she remembered so undoubtedly.
Chris felt himself being transported into Lizzie's mind. With a thud, he landed sprawled on a concrete ground with weeds growing from the slits in the cracked stone.
He lifted his head to find himself staring at a little girl with sleek gold plaited hair that hung limply on either side of her face. She was playing skip rope with another girl that looked similar to her. Her sister, maybe? He peered closer at the girl and was startled to find himself trapped in those uniquely greenish-blue eyes.
Lizzie.
Before he could contemplate this though, a shiny silvery-blue Porsche pulled up next to where he stood. Overtaken with curiosity, he didn't falter as he walked meticulously to the car and tapped on a tinted window.
"Hello?"
Nothing happened, not even a retort for him to get lost. I must be in one of her memories, he assumed. That explained why he had seen Lizzie when she was only 5 years old at the most.
Chris watched as two people got out of the car. He gasped unwillingly. The shocks just kept coming huh?
There stood a handsome young man, who looked in his late twenties, with mahogany hair blowing in the wind and piercing green eyes, dressed in a black tailored suit.
Jivott Redfern, his father.
A few of his business friends were standing with him, also dressed in the same way. The eerie thing about it though was they all looked dangerous and he disliked the flash of silver in their eyes.
Young Lizzie and her sister gave a yelp and scurried into the old brick house. Chris watched as his father and his associates moved closer and closer to the house. What are they doing? He thought alarmingly.
A few silent minutes passed, Chris was getting more and more distressed as he saw a few of the vampires finger things in their jackets. Things that looked suspiciously like guns.
The door of the house swung open unexpectedly, and a man with flaxen colored-hair walked out. "What do you want?" he snarled, a look of contempt and fear in his violet eyes.
"Just tending to business matters" Jivott answered perfectly calm, as if he did this kind of thing all the time. Signaling to his fellow vampires closer, they formed a secure circle around the man standing outside his home.
"Business? I don't want anything to do with any you!" violet-eyes shouted, narrowing his eyes. He looked really frightened now, and Chris saw the man's hands twitching fretfully. Chris felt a stab of sympathy for this guy, business didn't sound good at all.
One of the vampire thugs clasped the front of violet-eye's shirt and shook him violently.
"You ought to be more polite to your superiors, witch" Jivott sneered, his jade eyes dancing with amusement. Chris was taken aback, in all of his life at Plyton; he had never known his father to be so vindictive. Wait, witch? He looked at the trembling witch carefully. Shit, he cursed silently. This was Lizzie's dad.
"And it is our business, unfortunately. Us vampires loathe traitors. Especially witches who run off and join Circle Daybreak!"
Jivott slapped the witch's face severely, causing Lizzie's dad to flinch.
The commotion must have attracted the people inside the house, because the next moment a pretty woman stepped out next to the witch.
Lizzie's mother. Chris acknowledged straight away, those same unforgettable greenish-blue eyes. The petite woman placed herself beside her spouse and stood bravely, her stare blazing with ferocity. Chris couldn't help but respect this valiant woman.
"Why come for us? We're certainly not the first family of witches to join Circle Daybreak!" she inquired, placing a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder.
"Dear, you know why. Your family, particularly you, may be one of the most powerful groups of witches of all the Night World. We surely don't want Circle Daybreak to attain your alliance." Jivott drawled, a vicious smile twisting on his face.
The woman suddenly looked very drained. No! Chris thought hastily. Don't give up...
She didn't.
Unpredictably, she cupped a ball of golden-red fire in her palm, without dithering she threw it at the nearest vampire. The leech was caught off-guard and the fire got him on the shoulder blade, scorching the black suit through to his skin making it a burnt brownish-yellow color.
Then everything happened at a blink of an eye. But to Chris it seemed an eternity, he watched helplessly as his father took out a gleaming silvery gun and fired not once but twice at Lizzie's mother, who slumped to the ground, blood trickling down the side of her mouth. It was so gory and brutal, but still he could still see her trying weakly to gather another ball of witchfire.
It was a futile attempt, and he watched the courageous woman take one last breath before becoming still and lifeless.
Grief welled up inside him and he felt himself shaking with horror and abhorrence.
Jivott spoke up, his gaze fixed upon the remaining witch, who was now hyperventilating on the ground, he sounded cold and detached. "I didn't kill you, because I wanted to let you feel the suffering of your wife's death. You're a disgrace witch; standing there and just letting me end her precious life, you deserve to die and now I'm granting you that favor"
Holding the gun to the witch's shaky head and leaning close to his face Jivott whispered one last thing, "Let this be an example to other witches who are stupid enough to deceive the Night World" and fired.
Lizzie's dad was dead before he hit the ground.
It didn't end there though.
Just when Chris thought worst was over, he spotted a little boy opening the door of the Porsche and scrambling out.
He was staring at himself at age 5.
Shocked or jumping in excitement? Whateva just review! Plz tell me if u want me to put more lyrics in and if you think Chris rocks or you hate him. Tell me!!:) And if u don't get anythin plz ask me. Thank y'all :-)