A/N: Getting close to the end now! Chapter twelve, here ya go!
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Chapter 12: August 5, 2014
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"Sam!" Kay yelled, running over to the artist. "Aren't you ready to go out there? Everyone's waiting for you!"
"I don't know…," Sam replied.
"C'mon, I put out a surprise," Kay sang.
"What did you do?" Sam asked warily.
"Come out and you'll see." Kay ran out through the door. Curious, Sam followed. Looking around, he saw his pictures everywhere. He couldn't see what Kay was so excited about; it looked like all his other exhibits.
"¡Esta manera!"1 Kay said as she went past him. Sam trailed behind her, looking at how things were arranged. He laughed at the characatures of his friends and the cartoons of ghosts. He smiled at the landscapes and photo-collages. He--
He gasped when he saw a whole room devoted to his pictures of Marissa and MG. Sam looked around, seeing all sorts of painted and pencilled and charcoaled pictures. There, in the very middle, was the picture of MG that Kay had seen. The one that she had walked in on him making. The one that she had dubbed Black-And-Violet Angel.
"See?" Kay asked quietly, walking up behind him. "It's Bava and the other girl."
"MG and Marissa," Sam said in a whisper.
"What's MG stand for?"
"Mystery Girl. I can't remember who she is."
"Oh…."
They stood in silence for a moment, broken only by the "oohs" and "aahs" coming from the next room. Sam spoke up.
"Put this room off-limits," he said harshly.
"Why? These are some of your best works!"
"I don't want them shown yet. Cover the walls and tape the doors." Kay nodded reluctantly and went to find sheets and "do not cross" tape. Sam stared for several more minutes at the walls, trying to remember MG. Nothing came to him, and he left for his van.
On the way there, Sam literally ran into someone. Both said, "Ouch!" as they fell. Looking over, he noticed he had run into a woman who seemed to be rich. She had blue eyes and red hair. Standing next to her was a man with blue eyes and blonde hair. Sam stood quickly and helped the lady up.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," he said sincerely once she was standing.
"You'd better be," she replied huffily. She looked closely at his outfit, taking in the mass of black that was, for once, not covered in paint because Kay had convinced him to buy a new outfit. He had taken the time, however, to paint a saying in green on it. It read, "I don't mean to make your life difficult, it just comes naturally." The lady "hmmphed". The man narrowed his eyes.
"Just like the Fenton boy," he said, disgusted. "Never once was he kind enough to listen to us and leave our daughter alone."
"Dress like him, too," said the woman. "Our darling Sammiekins must have gotten it from him."
"Fenton boy?" Sam questioned.
"Yes, he was such a bad influence on our little Sam!"
"Sam?"
"Yes, Sam."
"As in, Sam Manson? You're her parents?"
"Of course! Who else?" the woman, Mrs. Manson, said indignantly.
"How do you know her?" Mr. Manson asked suspiciously.
"I, heh, ran into her yesterday," Sam replied, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Just as graceful as the Fenton boy, too," Mrs. Manson muttered. Mr. Manson nodded.
"Anyway, we were on our way in," Mr. Manson said, motioning Sam aside. Sam stepped away.
"Hope you have a good time," Sam said, hoping to get away.
"Thank you," Mrs. Manson said. She paused for a moment, then asked, "Would you happen to know where the artist on exhibit is? This 'S.A.'? We'd like to see if he could do something for us."
"What would you like me to do?"
"You? Don't be funny, we need to ask S.A.," Mrs. Manson laughed.
"I am S.A. Samuel Anthony, but I prefer Sam."
Mr. and Mrs. Manson glanced at each other and laughed. "Another Sam? Very funny. Very funny indeed," Mrs. Manson said.
"It's true! What do you want me to do?" Sam inwardly smirked, knowing Nick would be upset that he rhymed again.
"We wanted to get a portrait for our daughter. Maybe a picture of her?"
"Okay, but I'd need a photo to copy, since I don't know how you want the picture."
The Mansons looked suspiciously at him. They didn't seem to like that idea. Sam rolled his eyes.
"I've done this before for people. You'll get the portrait and photo back once I'm done. I just need it to make the portrait."
"Fine," said Mr. Manson reluctantly. "We'll get you the photograph later today. How much will it be?"
"He prices when you purchase," Kay said, walking over. She turned to Sam, "I taped it off, but I don't see why! Those pictures son tan buenos!"2
"I don't want to display them yet, Kay, and I told you that before!" Sam mumbled.
"Fine…. Introdúzcame."3
"Oh, right. Mr. and Mrs. Manson, this is my friend--"
"Kaylen Bitz?" Mrs. Manson asked in surprise.
"Those Manson?" Kay turned on Sam again. "¡Tú no dijas que era esos Mansons!"4
"Which Mansons?" Sam asked skeptically, just barely catching what Kay said because she was speaking so quickly in hysterics.
"¡Esos Mansons!"5 Kay screamed, ranting in Spanish for a few minutes while pacing. By now, Nick, Jon, and Leo had come out to see what the commotion was about. Also, coming down the street, were Sam (still wearing her shades), Jazz, and Tucker. Sam looked shocked.
"Mom?" she said. "Dad?"
"Sammy!" Mrs. Manson screeched. "Do you know who this is!" She pointed accusingly at Kay.
"Yeah, that's Kay," both Sams said.
"That," Mrs. Manson hissed, "is Kaylen Bitz!"
"Kay Bitz?" Sam asked in surprise. She turned to Kay, "Is that true?" Kay nodded curtly, still hissing in Spanish at Mrs. Manson. Sam broke into a happy smile. "Thank you so much!" Kay looked taken aback, and the others looked confused. Mr. and Mrs. Manson stared at their daughter in shock.
"De nada,"6 Kay said, smiling as she remembered something.
"Sam," the reporter said, turning to the skeptical artist, "when you said that Kay was nicknamed Slinger, I thought that sounded familiar!"
"…," the artist was speechless.
"I'm the one who gave her that nickname," Sam said proudly. "She saved me from a gang member. That's why she went to prison, 'cause she scared him off."
Kay blushed, muttering, "Él no era mi blanco..."7 Louder, she said, "I didn't know it was you I had saved. I just remember those two--" she jerked her head towards Mr. and Mrs. Manson-- "yellin' at me for almost hittin' Sam. Wasn' aimin' anywhere near 'er. They're the ones who called the police, but Sam--"
"--Kept saying, 'It wasn't Slinger's fault!'," Sam said, smiling at the memory. "I didn't know her name, so I made up one. Apparently, it stuck.
Both girls laughed while Mrs. Manson whispered to Sam A., "I'll get you the picture later tonight," before leaving with her husband.
"Well," Sam said slowly, staring at everyone as he spoke, "that was… odd."
Everyone laughed, and Jazz sang, "Understatement!" Suddenly, Sam, Jazz, and Tucker stopped. They exchanged sad glances with each other.
"What's wrong?" the artist asked.
"… Danny… used to say that," Jazz said quietly, looking at her feet. After only knowing the three for one day, Sam could already tell that keeping quiet was one thing they normally did not do.
"…Well, you guys were going to see the exhibit, I suppose," Sam said, trying to get the trio's minds off their missing friend.
"Actually," the reporter replied, "I need to get an interview with you for the Amity Park Angle." Sam Anthony froze.
"You're a… reporter?" he croaked out.
"Yeah, why?"
Sam blushed, and Kay took that as her cue to… spill the story to everyone.
"The last girl he tried to date was a reporter."
"Kay…" Sam threatened.
"It didn't go too well," she continued, side-stepping Sam.
"Kay…"
"She was actually using him to get a raise."
"KAY!" This time, Jon, Leo, and Nick had joined Sam in the threat.
"Excuse us a minute," Sam said, grabbing Kay's arm and dragging her away. Nick followed.
"What were you thinking?" Nick asked.
"Do you comprehend the meaning of 'too much info' or are you just too ignorant to care?" Sam continued, face red in anger rather than embarrassment.
"Sorry," Kay said defensively, "but you're gonna have to tell her sometime, you know."
"…What did Fate tell you now?" Sam asked, somewhat exasperated.
Kay smiled happily, "Can't say."
Sam sighed. He just wanted to know what was going on! "C'mon, let's get inside to help show people around…."
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Later that night
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The van shook slightly as someone knocked on the door, waking up all five of the occupants. Four groaned and yelled, "QUIT IT, SAM!"
He yelled back, "IT WASN'T ME! … This time…." All five came out into the hallway, looking around anxiously. They had gotten used to nightly attacks, seeing as they each had at least one enemy (mostly Kay, but she was just as worried, so it couldn't be her). They all jumped when someone knocked again.
"Consígalo, Nick,"8 Kay said, pushing her boyfriend forward.
"Fine," he grumbled, moving to open the door. All held their breath--
And let it out in relief when they saw Mrs. Manson standing there.
"Mrs. Manson," Nick said, "what're you doing here?"
"May I talk with Sam, alone, please?" she said.
Sam blinked, but moved forward. Kay, who loved to tease the boys, smirked and said, "¿Una mujer casada, Sam? ¡Pensé que le conocía!"9
Sam paused for a moment, translating, then glared as the meaning set in. "You," he growled, "have a dirty, evil mind!"
"Gracias,"10 Kay said proudly, bowing. Jon and Leo laughed, but Nick patted Sam on the back, saying, "I feel your pain, dude, I feel your pain."
Kay hit him on the back of the head.
Sam walked outside and over to Mrs. Manson. "Yes?" he asked.
"Here's the picture," she said, hurriedly yet rather reluctantly. She pushed a photo into his hand and walked off. It was too dark for Sam to see the photo, so he went back inside to start working on the portrait.
Everyone was obviously asleep again, so he went straight to his room. He turned on the light, saying, "Let's see what they want it to look like."
Sam was smiling in the photo, in a pose very familiar to the artist. She was wearing a black shirt that hung off her shoulders with a violet spaghetti-strap shirt underneath. She had on a black miniskirt with a violet plaid pattern. The pose she was in was the same as in Black-And-Violet-Angel, with the shy posture. What really set him off was her face. She had her black hair all down except for a small bit in a ponytail, and it was taken before she got the violet streaks. She was wearing purple lipstick and eyeshadow, as normal, and… no sunglasses. Staring up at Sam were eyes like beautiful amethysts.
And it was at that moment that the memories flooded back into him.
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LYRICS
I got a little hunch that there is something goin on now The clothes I bought the friends I got my teacher had a melt-down Then I look at me and I start to see and a voice inside tells me what I must do
Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue It's there inside of you --Oh yeah...That's right Get a clue...there's nothin' you can do Nothing's ever quite what it seems Just look a little closer at me Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue (Milo)--That's the way it goes now
Did you ever see the world around you change before your eye-ees The people you ignore before they took you by surpri-ies Then you look at me and I start to see that something happens when I'm next to you
Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue It's there inside of you --Oh yeah...That's right Get a clue...there's nothin' you can do Nothing's ever quite what it seems Just look a little closer at me Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue --Oh yeah...That's right (Milo)--That's the way it goes now --Oh yeah...That's right
The first one came on a Tuesday afternoon when I first saw you The next one came to my surprise when I found out what I had to do Take a photograph of me hang it in a gallery sit around and watch TV I turn around and then you look at me, Ya Ya --Oh yeah...That's Right
I got a little hunch that there is something goin on now The clothes I bought the friends I got my teacher had a melt-down Then I look at me and I start to see And a voice inside tells me what I must do-oo-oo-oo
Get a clue...it's there inside of you --Oh yeah...That's right Get a clue...there's nothin' you can do Nothing's ever quite what it seems Just look a little closer at me Wake-up Who knew? It's me, It's you...Get a clue --Oh yeah... That's right Get a clue --Oh yeah... That's right Wake-up Who knew? It's me It's you...Get a clue --Oh yeah... That's right (Milo)-- That's the way it goes now --Oh yeah... That's right Wake-up Who knew? It's me It's you... Get a clue
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A/N: Wow, I am bad with cliffhangers:dodges rotten fruit: Next two chapters are in his POV because they're flashbacks. June 3, 2010 and, after much anticipation, (and planning, daydreaming, and frustration on my part) April 4, 2009! Well, BYES, y'all!
1-10 Kay's rants: In order: "¡Esta manera!"1- This way! "son tan buenos!"2- they're so good! "Introdúzcame."3- Introduce me. "¡Tú no dijas que era esos Mansons!"4- You didn't say it was those Mansons! "¡Esos Mansons!"5- Those Manson! "De nada,"6- No problem. "Él no era mi blanco..."7- He wasn't what I was aiming at…. "Consígalo, Nick,"8- Get it/Open it, Nick. "¿Una mujer casada, Sam? ¡Pensé que le conocía!"9- A married woman, Sam? I thought I knew you! and"Gracias,"10- Thank you.
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Sneak Peek
I looked up at the mirror in the "bathroom". My black hair was now a very dark red, some places still black and some turning blue. My bright blue eyes were slowly fading to a dull grey. I had been wondering why Dan and Vlad had decided to change my appearance.
But I didn't know I was about to find out.
The door burst open, and Dan dragged me out. I, however, noticed we were going to a different room than normal. I quickly realized this could be okay, or very, very bad. I was hoping it was the former.
Of course, luck was never on my side. Vlad was standing next to a table and patients' chair. They sat me on it, saying that I wouldn't be able to escape anyway. Then, Vlad told me why today was so… "special".
"We're going to tell you our plan," he said, sneering at me.
"What?" I asked, thinking it was a trick. It was always a trick….
"Yes, you see, you won't be able to remember it later, anyway."
It obviously wasn't a trick.