Dancing on Your Grave
Chapter Two
Heh, I forgot to mention this.
Rated T for: Violence, frequentlanguage, angst, references to suicide, occasional abusive situations, some scary instances, and maybe tragedy, if I feel like it.
A boyish form stirred in bed, and then quickly shot up. A face glared at her.
"Who the hell are you?"
For the first time, Raven stared face-to-face with Garfield Logan.
And he was not happy.
"I said, who the hell are you?"
Raven was a bit too shocked to speak.
His face hardened. "Do I have to repeat myself? I said, who the f-"
"I'm dead."
He laughed humorlessly. "No, you can't be. You're some robber or pervert or something. And you're break- hey, are those wings?"
Raven stood up, now becoming annoyed with him. "Yeah, they are. And let's get some things straight. My name is Raven. I am dead. And I don't like being disrespected. Is that too hard for you?"
Gar's face twitched. "No." He answered shortly. "And, while we're on the subject, my name is Gar, and I am alive."
Raven's face twitched also. She really didn't like this kid.
"Well, listen, bucko," She began, momentarily surprised that she actually said 'bucko', "My job is to watch over you. And this. Starts. Now."
"Pffft." Gar made an uninterested noise. "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." He flopped back down and pulled the covers over his head.
"Haven't you ever heard of school?"
Gar retorted, from beneath the covers, "School sucks. They all hate me. Nobody likes me, and as far as I'm concerned, everyone can go screw themselves."
Though 'screw' was not the word he used.
Raven walked over, though it felt a bit weird with her wings, wrenched the covers away from Gar, and threw them on the floor.
"You. Get up. Now." If Raven had the ability, she may have been sprouting fire from her nostrils.
"No!"
"Yes, you insolent piece of baggage, NOW!"
And with that, Raven ferociously tugged him off his bed and onto the floor.
"WHAT THE F-"
"Gar?"
A female voice sounded from down the hall. "Gar, are you alright, sweetie?"
In an instant, hurt, annoyance, and longing washed over his face. But then, it hardened. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said shortly.
"I heard a noi-"
"I said I'm fine!"
All the while, Raven had been watching him. And she was a bit floored. These people… they loved him, they would do anything for him! And he was an ungrateful little-
"Are you gonna keep staring at me like that?"
His tone was smirky.
"Yeah, I am." Something unknown ignited inside of Raven, and she burst. "You're so ungrateful! You should be worshipping the ground your foster parents walk on! They love you, and yet you refuse to see it!"
"They're not my-" Gar stopped, questioning; "Did you call them my foster parents?"
"Yeah, I did. And furthermore-"
"But how did you know that they were?" His voice wavered somewhere between demanding, pissed, and amazed.
Raven sighed wearily. It had been a long day, and it was hardly 7am yet, on the West Coast.
"Okay, listen shorty; I'm only saying this once. I was sent here to guard you. Like it or not, I'm your protector now. Got it?"
Gar looked angry. "I don't need no frickin' protector. I can live all by myself, thank you very much! You can tell whoever gave you this job that it's not necessary. I live by myself."
Raven felt a vein pulsing in her temple. "Fine. You know what? Fine. See if I care! I don't have to give a shit about you, and yet I do!"
"Well, no one asked you to!"
Raven felt ready to either leave Gar to fend on his own, or just knock him unconscious, or throw him out the window. And the sad thing was, now she really didn't care whether he lived or died.
"Garfield?" A male voice came from outside the door. "Get up and get breakfast. Or starve."
All the while, Raven had been locked in a staring contest with the said person. He blinked, and then asked sarcastically, "Would you mind leaving so I could change?"
Raven growled in reply, only to remember that she didn't know squat- she couldn't fly that well yet, and she didn't know the layout of the house.
And jumping out a second story window didn't seem all that appealing to her.
Unbeknownst to her, Gar had already taken his shirt off. And Raven just realized that she was staring at him.
He noticed. "Like what you see?" He said cockily, smirking and raising an eyebrow.
"Go to hell." And she stormed off, stomping out the door.
She was upset that she couldn't make any noise anymore.
Once Gar had dressed, he exited the room. He saw what's-her-face leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and a scowl on her face.
If he wasn't so pissed at her, he'd think that she was pretty cute.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" He repeated.
"Aren't you going to show me downstairs?"
He stroked his chin in mock thought, and then retorted, "Nope." He started to walk away.
He thought he could've gotten away with it, except that Raven reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt.
"You're going to. And you're going to do it now."
"Pushy." He commented under his breath.
"I heard that."
For a moment, he wondered what Jodi and Mitch were going to do when he walked into the kitchen, accompanied by a girl with purple hair and wings.
And then he remembered that only he could see her.
Along the way, he pointed out the living room, and the staircase. Also, just to annoy that little witch, he also explained the purpose of a flower pot, a stove, and the wheel.
She looked ready to knock him off his feet without a second thought.
Good, she's easily annoyed.
He poured himself a bowl of Froot Loops, and was busily eating away when she asked a question.
"Who are you?"
"'Scuse me, who am I? Are you, like, dense or something? I already told you." He looked strangely at her. "I'm Garfield." He enunciated his name clearly and slowly.
"I know that, you moron. But in school. Social status?"
Fool! Weakling!
…shut up, you…
FREAK!
…stop it…
"I'm…"
I'm lost…
"I'm the typical bad kid. The rebel."
Like hell you are. You're pathetic, a hopeless case! You don't deserve anyone, anything, or time! You don't deserve life!
Deep inside, Gar felt another piece of him break off and float away into nothingness.
Raven watched him say his answer.
So, the bad kid, huh?
I can deal with that.
"Who are your friends?"
There was no answer.
"Are you deaf or something? I said, do you have any friends?"
"No." The answer was harsh and unexpected.
"No?" Raven echoed, "Come on. You've got to have a friend or two."
"I said," Gar's voice had become dangerous; he was clutching his spoon, "No. I have no friends. Get it thorough that thick skull of yours."
He stood up abruptly, carried his bowl to the sink, and walked silently back to his room.
Poor kid. Some inside of her mind went.
"He's got to have friends." Raven mused aloud.
Raven looked him up and down, from his black shirt, to his baggy black jeans, to his black painted fingernails. He was gothic... just like her.
Or is he not lying about that…?
"Who you talkin' to, Gar?" Mitch had just walked in the room, and was looking at him questioningly.
Raven watched a slight change flit over his face. She surpressed her laughter with difficulty.
Score one for the dead girl.
"Nobody." He answered, and shot Raven a glare.
"Sor-reee." She shot back at him.
There was a moment's silence.
"I have to go to school now." Gar announced out of the blue.
"Good." Raven retorted. "Let's go."
"Wait. You're following me to school?"
"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?"
Gar shot a death look at her. "Maybe."
Raven's hand twitched. She wanted nothing more than to punch him. She was wondering how she would ever befriend him in life- because she sure as hell wasn't doing it in death.
Gar rounded the street corner, with Raven in tow. He was waiting for the bus, and he was already tired of her. She did nothing but insult him, or yell at him… or hate him. He couldn't understand it.
He hoped that Terra would actually hug him today, like she did the day he finally screwed up the courage to ask her out.
Terra, don't you care about me anymore? Don't you even notice that I miss you when I sit beside you? Don't you-
"In case you haven't noticed yet, the bus is here."
Raven's monotone and mocking voice jarred him out of his thoughts. He rolled his eyes at her, and angrily boarded the bus.
The stares.
Go ahead and stare at the gothic boy, why don'tcha? Stare at me like I'm not even there. Rip me to pieces, go ahead and try…
Raven was stuck in the doorway, her wings unable to let her pass. She threw him a look that asked him to help her, but he ignored it and slinked down to the back of the bus.
He could feel her fury mounting.
She doesn't care about much. I bet she was the perky, happy, preppy girl in life, without a care in the world. Bet she had loving, caring, undead parents who loved her to death. And I'm freaking jealous of her for that!
But, then again, how did she die? She looks so young and so angry. Maybe she is like me after all…
Yes, you're looking for sympathy again, aren't you? You horrible piece of shit. You're a hopless case, don't you know that?
He knew they didn't like him, and he had no problem with it. Friends were a waste of time.
No wonder Victor stopped talking to him.
He adjusted his spike collar, as it was choking him at the moment. The bus took off after Kori Anders boarded the bus. She stumbled towards the back.
Don't you even think about coming back here.
Unfortunately, she couldn't hear his thoughts.
"Hello, may I please accompany this seat next to you?"
What a freaking strange way of talking.
"No."
"I cannot sit here, but the seat is empty yes? There is plenty of room for me."
Gar glared at her, and her face turned frightened.
"I said, you can't sit here. So go away." He repeated in a more dangerous tone.
Kori stumbled over herself in a hurry to get away from him, and mistakenly sat down next to Richard Grayson, the resident pretty rich boy.
Raven had made her way to the back of the bus, and plopped herself down next to Gar.
"You're a real ass, do you know that?"
Gar didn't answer, but only stared out the window.
"Hello, are you listening to me?" A hard poke in the ribs. "You don't have to be that mean. People are going to think you're a cold-hearted person. And you don't want that, believe me."
Does she ever stop talking!
"And I bet you're annoyed, because I can talk to you, but you can't talk to me."
"Oh yeah?" He spoke aloud.
"Hey, freak!" Garth Brooks, in the seat in front of him, turned around and faced him. "Are you talking to yourself again?"
Gar glared back at him, and said some very, very choice words.
Garth only grinned wider, smirking, and turned around.
He chanced a look at Raven. She seemed to be seething with anger, but not at him. She leaned forward, and flicked Garth on the ear, hard.
Garth unconsciously twitched in pain.
That's… really cool.
Raven was bored.
Gar was in his third period class, Algebra II. Since she thought that he couldn't really try anything, she strolled out the door.
Well, more like right through it.
This Jinx person… who is she?
Serena told her that to call on Jinx, but she had no idea how to do that.
Alright, let's try this.
"Jinx…" Raven began, not sure of what to say. "Uh… I'd like to talk to you. Please. I'm new at this, and- God, I'm such an idiot. I'm talking to myself. That's it. I've officially lost my mind."
A girl with dyed pink hair came strolling down the hallway, looking for all the world bored out of her mind. She carried a French textbook, but headphones were stuck in her ears.
She stopped beside her, and looked at her.
"Nope. I don't think you're crazy. Not as crazy as me, anyways."
Raven was shocked.
"You- you can see me?"
She nodded. "Yup. I've been sensing your presence all day. You're hanging around Gar, aren't you?"
"Uh huh…" Raven began, looking at her warily. "Are you Jinx?"
She nodded. "Yup. I'm Jinx. Really, my name is Josie Summons, but-" she made a disgusted face, "I don't like that name. So I go by Jinx."
Raven felt a bit relieved. "Can you tell me about Gar?"
Jinx said, "I'd love to, but I'd better get to French before Madomeselle Kierce gives me detention again. But, she will anyway. She doesn't like my pink hair."
Raven nodded stupidly.
"I'll talk to you at lunch, okay?"
Raven nodded again, as Jinx walked away. But then Raven remembered a question she wanted to ask.
"Why can you see me? I thought that only Gar could!"
Jinx turned around. "I'm psychic. I can see demons, ghosts, poletergiests, auras, angels, etc. Gets annoying, but what are you going to do, when you're Heaven's Servant on Earth?"
Jinx opened the door to room 312, and a lady with a French accent began shouting.
In French.
Reviewer Responses!
gothic goddess 14: Thanks so much for your review. I absolutely love your stories, especially that Shrek-ish one. Glad you love it!
Mad Mauser: Oh, you've got no idea what's in store, and I guarantee that those questions will be answered to your liking. And thanks for telling me it's not weired. I'm way too critical of my writing.
Jimmy the Gothic Egg: -adds points to scoreboard- I can't wait to really get this started, either.
Savi: What story supposed to read… or do you mean that I update? Anyways, sorry about not getting back to you about writer's block. The computer ate your email.
Asinine 11: Well, I don't know yet. Maybe she'll be able to see the darker side of people. That'd be cool. I don't know if she'll get powers in this story. Maybe.
shadow929: Yeah, I will. Yay Jinx! Since she's not in Different, I decided to give her some screen time here. And quite a lot of it, too.
Dude247: I'll try to update frequently- but it depends on what my muses want me to do. Or if writer's block takes over.
That-Guy-Over-There: Yeah, I know what you're talking about, but you'll just have to wait and see…
The Last: Spacing? Okay, I'll check that out. If you stop prodding me to get to work!
Lupine-Spirit: Nooo! Not the gnomes! –swings at them with imaginary pen- Back! Back! S'okay if you're Pagan. I have a friend who is an Afist. I don't care.
Darkest Midnight: Well, I'm not a week updater… but more like a month updater. I don't get that much time to write, or if I do, I've got writer's block. I like to know that my story rocks!
moonarcher: Yay, fans! I'll try and update asap… as soon as humanly possible.
blackmagic111090: Are you going Buddist? Or Lutheran… or are you just giving up religion all togther? (Well, after our Confrimation "retreat", so would I…)
iforgetmyname: Heh, cool! Opinions, opininions! Wo0t! Sorry, I'm random right now.
DarkSin: -munches on cookie- Can I have a sugar cookie next time? You love this plot, you'll love it more…
Thanks so much, and now get to reviewing!