History's repeat
Disclaimer: see chapters 1 and 2
A/N: practice and suspicious disappearance. Anyone cares for a guess as to who it is?
5. Disappearance
The day dawns bright and clear. Chris has to shield her eyes, like the sun hurts them. Of course, it will hurt, she chastens herself silently, letting her long dark hair shield her eyes from the sun. You have adjusted to the night too well. Now you pay the consequence.
It was about a week since their first meeting. The Dead Poets have met twice since, and twice since did Chris feel the chill of the graveyard that wasn't supposed to be there.
'Isn't supposed to be there,' Chris wonders silently, as she shields her eyes against the morning sun.
She leaves the puzzle for later, as Amy is sitting up in her bed, blearily putting her own hand up to look at Chris.
"Good morning, Cap'n. Can't sleep again?" she asks, as she swings her legs down on the floor. "Ohh, the floor is cold!"
"Of course, it will be cold," Chris replies calmly. "It's September after all. Soon it will be colder."
"No kidding." Amy shivers and pulls on her winter uniform, complete with the black-and-red cloak. "I hate cold."
Chris smirks.
"Wonder why, summer girl."
"Just because I come from Florida where it's hot even now, doesn't give you any right to insult me about it," Amy retorts.
"Well, of course, YOU have lived all your life in Toronto. Big surprise here." She shrewdly takes in the look of Chris's attire.
"Were you sleepwalking with Alex again?" she asks finally.
"I'm not sleepwalking, I'm just having trouble sleeping lately," Chris retorts.
"And what about Alex?" Amy prompts.
"What about him?" Chris already has her nose buried in the copy of the play and tries valiantly ignoring her. Amy crosses her hands.
"Well, there are rumors that the two of you often haunt the Trophy room or the library at night. What exactly are you doing there?"
"Nothing. I doubt I even saw him lately. Least of all there." Chris huffs quietly.
Amy's eyes glint mischievously.
"Ohh, our Puck's in lo-o-ve…" she clasps her hands to her heart and twirls, having stood up earlier.
"Amy!" Chris flings out her foot, well-timing it, and Amy trips on it in mid-twirl, dramatically gasping and 'fainting'. Chris laughs, as Amy sits up from the floor.
"Well, no wonder they let you play Helena," Chris taunts, mussing Amy's hair up. "You're a hopeless twerp."
Amy cries in mock outrage before sending Chris to the floor.
"You – you – you – mischief maker!" she stammers, while Chris watches her gleefully. "You – you Puck!"
"Oh, I'm wounded!" Chris dramatically puts her hand over her heart and catches eyes of Alex, who had appeared in their doorways along with the rest of the Poets. Alex smirks. "Ah, fair lady, you're hurting me!"
A burst of laughter from behind Amy makes the girl wheel around, as she confronts the rest of the group.
"What?" she demands hotly. "We do have the dress recital today, right? Can't a lady enter her role?"
"I'd say this is way too early for that," George says with amusement. "Morning, sis. I see your room mate isn't exactly a morning person?"
Chris shakes her head dejectedly. "I'm afraid so," she sighs.
The others watch them in amusement.
"Hey, we have the practice today after classes, don't we?" Ana asks, waving her script in one of her hands. The rest laugh.
"That's for us nobles," Alex says with a groan. "But the Fairies are to have their lines ready to go for tomorrow. Eight PM sharp."
"Okay." Chris feels distracted, and she glances outside. 'I know just a perfect place for my practice, they won't be able to find me there,' she thinks silently.
Alex glances sharply at Chris, who looks out of the room's window. Her silhouette is trimmed by the light, and Alex looks at her more closely than before. The black-haired teen feels small hairs n his neck standing up as he notices another, ethereal silhouette hovering right next to Chris, his hand lying on her shoulder. Chris's smile is dreamy yet again and this scares Alex more than his first public performance ever can.
He stands beside the dark-haired girl, the Puck. The girl is in the crowd of her Poets, but he knows, that right now the girl is alone. He soon learns her name.
Then his own memories return – piece by piece, and for now they stop. He sees other boys in the room. Cameron sits on the bed with his head in the book, Todd scrawls something in his notepad, the others are whispering about plans. The haze disappears and he is left with a group of teenagers and the Puck.
Time for some mischief, my friend, he thinks with a dreamy smile on his face, as he vanishes in the air.
Chris shudders. She thinks she heard someone whispering, 'Time for some mischief, my friend', in her ear. Then, it is cold that lances throughout her body.
Odd, she thinks dimly. Okay, we'll go by the… script…
Alex gives a worried glance towards Chris, who is sitting on the table otherwise buried under the props. She has that faraway look – again. Her dark hair is loose, and although her head is buried in the text, Alex sees her dark eyes flash up every now and then.
"Alex. Alex! Your cue." Amy hisses softly.
Alex shakes himself off. This isn't the first time now that he catches himself looking at Chris. But yes, the play…
Chris grins, carelessly leaning back on her elbows, as she watches 'Helena' and 'Hermia' argue over the incident. Once they'll be done, it would be her turn. But for now, a bit of studying will do.
Alex watches the 'Puck' shrewdly. Chris avoids his wayward slash of 'sword', as 'Demetrius' thinks he is following 'Lysander' in the woods.
"Follow my voice," Chris taunts, as she ducks another of his slashes.
Going behind the scenes, he watches George rushing on.
"Where art thou, Lysander? Coward!"
"Coward yourself," Chris retorts lightly, as she twirls in the smoke the others have just released. "Give up?"
Another wild slash of the 'sword', thankfully blunt.
"Never."
"Follow me, then, to the plainer ground," Chris replies, as she lightly skips from the stage. The dreamy look on her face returned long since the beginning of practice, and that is what scares Alex the most. Something is really, really wrong with Chris.
Chris is now on stage, along with Rojer, who – as Oberon – berates her for confusion she created. Alex watches her sharply, as she replies;
"Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook.
Did you not tell me I should know the man
By the Athenian garments he had on?
And so far blameless proves my enterprise,
That I have 'nointed the Athenian's eyes;
And so far am I glad it so did sort
As this their jangling I esteem a sport."
Alex frowns. Chris looks like she is enjoying herself – and why shouldn't she? It's a comedy after all. Something is bothering him, but he doesn't understand what it is.
Then, as 'Oberon' exits, a scary smile dances on Chris's lips as she glances around the stage:
"Up and down, up and down,
I will lead them up and down:
I am fear'd in field and town:
Goblin, lead them up and down.
Here comes one."
The rest of the practice, Chris is in a dreamy state. After her final speech, Alex is almost afraid to approach her, but he does.
"Chris?"
No response. He slightly touches her arm and the girl jumps, her dark eyes wildly looking at him then relaxing.
"Oh, it's you, Alex."
"You okay?" he asks, giving her a once-over. The girl nods briefly.
"Yes, I'm fine, it's just after practice." She shrugs her arm away slightly and gives him the dreamy grin they had seem all too often on her face. "I think I just need to sleep it off."
"Okay, then."
Alex watches her go, but an uneasy feeling does not make her departure 'okay'.
He finds it easy to take control of his role. After the boy lets her go, he and the Puck leave the building, and he gives a small smile, the one that mirrors on the Puck's face as she steps into the night.
"Up and down, up and down,
I will lead you up and down,
I am fear'd through field and town,
I will lead you up and down,"
He whispers quietly, as the Puck gives a light twirl and moves with slight hesitation towards the forest on the grounds of the Academy. He gives a satisfied smile.
'Now the real game begins.'
A/N: Well, well, well... what have we there...
