Hey guys! It's been a while! Thanks for all the reviews, they warmed my cold heart ^_^ This chapter is dedicated to the people who reviewed. I hope you guys are liking this story. I'm so excited to eventually finish it and see your reactions. Enjoy chapter 11!

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Chapter 11: The Powers that Be

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Sarah lingered in the hallway after the assembly, watching as students all around her were busy chit-chatting, grabbing their things, or going home. The sounds of a hundred voices and slamming lockers filled the school corridors. She wanted to do the same things they were doing, but instead found herself silently observing the young adults pass to and fro towards their different destinations. It was almost as if Sarah was stuck. Stuck in time and space, she mused to herself. Almost like Alice in the Underground. Which way was up and down? Right and left?

Obviously, she was tired and it made her more whimsical. Not to mention a little hungry for the afterschool snack that wouldn't be waiting for her at home. But mostly , she just felt afraid. She needed to sleep, but she didn't like the idea of returning to an empty house. Not yet anyways. Nothing keeps an imagination running like a teenager girl by herself at home near magic infested woods, as anyone in their right mind would tell you. Yet again, Sarah found herself missing her parents and Toby. She rubbed at her eyes as she rested against the hallway wall, listening to the noises around her. So tired…

"Hey are you walking?"

Sarah's eyes snapped open as MJ materialized out of the steady stream of students.

She shrugged, "I don't have a car, so, yeah." Her mouth opened involuntarily into a yawn.

"Good. I am also walking. We should do so in the same direction at a similar pace."

Sarah's yawn stopped halfway and changed direction, becoming an amused laugh. MJ was so weird. It was clear from the bags under MJ's coal-lined eyes that she was tired as well.

Emily suddenly popped out of the sea of teens, her brown curls bouncing with her little bow-tie barrett as she came over. She smiled shyly, "Hey, do you guys mind if I tag along? I have to return some library books, and with there being a bear around and all..."

Sarah nodded, but MJ grinned and said, "That depends... can I run faster than you?"

Emily laughed hesitantly, a little nervous "Ha ha...Uhhhh, probably?" Then she stopped and studied MJ with her sweet brown eyes. Her lips slowly curled up into a timidly teasing smile, "Unless… I'm just saying that to gain the advantage."

"Woah! ...I think I need to reassess your threat level!" MJ laughed, delighted at Emily's attempt to joke. She slung her arm around Emily's now giggling shoulders in a rare moment of camaraderie.

Sarah chuckled. It felt like old times again. Emily was joking more, and MJ hadn't smiled like this in years.

Suddenly Sarah's attention was caught by spikey black hair in the crowd. Sean was making his way towards the gym, accompanied by his teammate and best friend, Tom. Tom was a complete opposite to Sean with pale skin and tons of freckles. It was obvious that they were headed to practice based on their jerseys and shorts. Sean stopped though when he noticed the three girls staring at him expectantly.

He quickly turned to Tom, "Hey, uh, go on ahead... I'll catch up."

"Sure thing." Tom eyed the girls curiously before he walked away.

Sean glanced around before pulling the girls off to the side in an attempt to not draw attention from the other students. He looked embarrassed, "Sorry for taking off before the cops showed up. Last night was insane! I didn't want to risk...well, you know my mom worries enough as it is-"

Sarah shook her head before he could continue, "Sean, all that matters is that everyone's ok. Thank goodness you came! You threw that Firey against a tree for crying out loud! We would have been toast if not for you."

"Yeah..." He laughed, and massaged the back of his neck, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Sean glanced down the hall after Tom's fiery red hair, before looking back at them, "I better get to practice. But we'll all talk later?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Talk later." Sarah agreed. She noticed that Stacey and Taylor had showed up while they were all talking to Sean.

For the second time that week their little group was complete. Well, almost. Luke was probably off doing a million things at once and Dan was absent, obviously. A lot of curious looks were being thrown at them from everyone who passed by their now large group in the hall. It was odd to see the Asian (now Asian Jock), the Cheerleader, the Hobo, the Kindergartner, the Goth, and the Bookworm all together. All that was missing now was the Teacher's Pet (Thomas) and the Football Star (Dan).

Most people probably didn't even know that they all had been best friends at one time. Some students even stopped and eyed the group to see if there was some group activity going on that the whole school was supposed to get involved with. It didn't last though, and good-byes were said to Sean as he headed off to basketball.

Just then, they all saw Mayor Green heading down the hallway straight for them...

"Hello Stacey. Everyone." She cheerfully said.

As always, Mayor Green was looking like she was ready for the cameras. Her expensive suit, make-up, and perfume all giving her a sophisticated air. Her face turned somber however as she watched the teens carefully, "How are you guys holding up?"

Well, I'm afraid to go home alone and Taylor has a bunch of nightmares. But besides that...

"We're fine, mom." Stacey answered for the group, a little annoyed. Both her and Mayor Green had the same shade of blonde hair, with Stacey's being in a fish-tail braid.

Sarah cleared her throat, "Um, actually can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly." Mayor Green looked curiously at her.

"You mentioned Dan was in the hospital. I was wondering how he's doing? Can we see him yet? We need to talk to him about...um...school stuff. "

Mayor Green frowned, "Oh, the hospital isn't allowing visitors yet, I'm afraid. I think they'd like to let Dan wake up first."

Sarah felt a tendril of fear slide over her shoulders. Wake up?

Taylor obviously was thinking the same thing as he spoke up from behind her, "Wait, back up... Dan still isn't awake? Are you saying he's in, like, a coma?"

"I'm sorry. It's just too soon to tell. But as soon as there's news, I'll make sure you're all aware." She nodded apologetically.

Mrs. Green looked at each one of the gang, seeming to brighten up a bit, "You know, despite the circumstances, I'm glad to see you all hanging out again. You're good kids."

"I reject that combination of words." MJ deadpanned, brushing some maroon and blonde dreadlocks back from her shoulder.

"Well, I'd certainly prefer you to some of Stacey's other friends…" Mayor Green looked pointedly at Stacey.

"Mom, come on." Stacey said, trying to hint for her to drop it.

"Speak of the Devil…" Taylor said. Sarah followed Taylor's angry gaze down the hall…and saw Britney making a beeline in their direction.

"Aaaand that would be my cue." Taylor said, annoyed. He turned and slouched away.

"Likewise. Mom, let's go." Stacey agreed, flicking her fish-tail braid and shooting hateful glances at Britney.

Taylor, Stacey, and Mayor Green all made themselves scarce as Britney approached.

"Hi Emily." Britney said, looking nervous. Her pretty lips pouted slightly.

Emily's surprise was as plain as the nose on her face. "Uh. Hi?"

"Listen, can we talk? Alone?" Britney asked hesitantly, glancing around at MJ and Sarah, and then focusing on Emily again.

Sarah traded surprised yet skeptical glances with MJ. But, like always, Emily had no reservations when it came to Britney and allowed herself to be lead towards the front doors. Sarah and MJ would have followed behind except for the look that Emily sent them which clearly said "wait for me".

"What do you think that's all about?" MJ asked.

"I dunno. But it's fishy." Sarah frowned, remembering when Emily was cornered the other night by Brit and her lackeys.

"Are you sleeping over again?" MJ asked as they headed over to their assigned lockers.

"Yes please! Could I stay the rest of the week?" Sarah asked hopefully, "Would your dad mind?"

MJ pursed her lips, thinking. "He probably might agree to a second night... But unless you want former 'Detective Adams' and now "Chief of Police Adams" to start questioning you, you might want to go home tomorrow. Don't be afraid. I can give you some things that might protect your house against another attack."

"Might protect?" Sarah asked, looking upset. She didn't want to have to deal with this. "I need some more reassurance than that, MJ."

MJ threw her hands in the air and sighed, "It's not an exact science, Sarah. It's not like I'm an expert on the fae-"

Both MJ and Sarah hesitated as they turned the corner and saw someone leaning against MJ's locker. They relaxed slightly when they saw it was just Jocelyn. She looked like she had been waiting for them. She watched the two girls approach her with a smirk, but looked a little put-out by Sarah being there.

Probably wanted to torment MJ without any backup. Sarah thought angrily.

"Oooh, look! It's MJ the Witch!" Jocelyn wasted no time getting into it.

"Oh please. Stop. Every time you use that extremely clever nickname, it just gets more hurtful." MJ deadpanned.

Jocelyn frowned and looked at MJ like she was dumb, "Um, it's supposed to be hurtful? That's why I'm using it, idiot?"

MJ simply smirked over at a now fuming Sarah and said, "See Sarah? Just when I think I've got her figured out, she dazzles me with new depths of cunning." MJ nudged the cross-country athlete aside as she got into her locker. Jocelyn just stood there, not leaving.

Sarah leaned against her own locker and glared at Jocelyn, "So did you, like, want something Jocelyn? Or is this just a random mock-and-walk while you wait for Britney?"

Jocelyn glared back. The hallway was practically empty as students made a break for home or after-school activities.

"I heard you tried to visit Dan in the hospital. You're obsessed with him!" She accused.

Sarah snorted loudly, "Someone seems jealous...? And no. We haven't visited him, YET." She promised, wanting to see if she could push some buttons. A tired Sarah was a snarky Sarah.

"Well, you wanna know what I think?" Jocelyn growled and put her hands on her hips, annoyed that her intimidation wasn't working.

"There is not enough 'No' in the world." Sarah mumbled to herself, ignoring Jocelyn and turning to open her locker. Jocelyn turned to MJ, trying to get a rise out of her instead.

"I think you all lured Dan out into the woods so you could do a creepy love spell on him..."

"Yup. And then I sucked out all his blood with my vampire fangs." MJ shut her locker door and turned to Jocelyn,"Honey, he was unconscious when we found him."

Jocelyn folded her arms and leaned against MJ's now closed door, "Either way, you should stay away from Dan. Maybe you used to be buddies back when you were dumb babies or whatever, but he's got non-loser friends now."

"Oh no. Stop. Please. That hurts." Sarah deadpanned like MJ normally did. Jocelyn was such a ditz. It was clear that MJ's attitude was starting to rub off on Sarah. Or maybe she was just really tire-

The back of Sarah's neck was roughly grabbed by a strong hand and suddenly her head was slammed against the locker door! BAM!

"Owwwww!" Sarah gasped, automatically grasping her head with her hands. The world tilted a little bit, and the colors swirled as she was momentarily blinded by the pain. What the heck?

"How about that, loser? Did that hurt?" she heard Jocelyn seeth in the background behind her.

Did she just….? Wow. I must have really pushed her over the limit… Sarah thought distractedly to herself. She didn't know what to do. This had never happened to her before.

Through the sudden headache, Sarah could hear MJ yell, "What the HELL's your problem?!"

Sarah looked up and watched with bleary eyes as Jocelyn got up in MJ's face, "Go on. Try something." Jocelyn whispered, dead serious. What is wrong with Jocelyn today?!

MJ started to lose her nerve, "Y-you think I'm afraid of y—"

Jocelyn poked her in the chest, hard. "Sorry, what was that? I didn't hear you."

MJ looked upset, glancing at Sarah who was silently observing. It was very uncharacteristic of Sarah to freeze when her friends were in trouble, but she was still trying to come to terms with being physically assaulted on school property. Jocelyn was a tall, buff cross-country athlete while MJ was a thin African-American. What was going to happen?

I wish...

Suddenly, MJ began to clutch at her forehead too, as if she had gotten her head smashed into a locker and was now suffering from a headache as well.

"C'mon, speak up." Jocelyn huffed angrily.

"Urrrmph…" MJ grimaced in pain, gripping her head. Her dark brown eyes focused on Joss and glared with unadulterated hatred, "Back off Jocelyn. Right now." She growled, her voice lower than normal.

"Or what, shrimp? You gonna sarcasm me to death?" She poked MJ in the chest again, harder.

Sarah blinked. She must be seeing things. MJ's eyes actually flashed RED for a second…

Then suddenly MJ unleashed her fury.

"I said BACK OFF!" MJ bellowed.

WHAM!

Thrown by some invisible force, MJ's locker door slammed open, hitting Jocelyn square in the face!

"Ooooowwwwwww!" Jocelyn immediately went down. Falling to the hallway floor, clutching her nose with both hands. "Ow! Owwwwwwww!"

If Sarah was shocked before, she was now stupefied. What just happened?! She glanced at the open locker door and stepped back warily, expecting a goblin or someone worse to step out of the space inside. MJ's eyes had flashed red...

Another groan from Jocelyn snapped her attention back to the teenager sitting on the floor in agony. Blood started to dribble onto her shirt from under her hands and Sarah could only look on in revulsion, headache forgotten, as Jocelyn slowly lifted her hands away from her face. Her hands were smeared with blood and more was coming out her nose, running down her lips and chin in a macabre river. Her nose seemed to be broken.

Jocelyn looked down at her hands and stared at the red liquid with a confused expression on her face. She looked back up to MJ in disbelief, "You…Did you just…"

But MJ was already yanking an open-mouthed Sarah away from the lockers, before Jocelyn had the chance to say anything else. They started power-walking up the hall away from the scene of the crime.

"The locker…you...you didn't touch it!" Sarah said breathlessly, in a panic. She wondered if MJ really was a vampire after all.

MJ's chocolate brown skin looked paler than usual. She looked at Sarah with wide eyes, "I don't know what happened, Sarah!" She looked down at her hands in shock. Sarah remembered how her eyes flashed red before the locker sprang open.

MJ broke Jocelyn's nose…?!

MJ looked up at Sarah. Her hands clenched into fists and her face broke into an unrepentant grin. "Awesome!" She breathed.

Sarah didn't know if awesome was the right word for it. They burst through the front doors in a rush.

Emily and Britney were standing beside the school fountain, talking. The sun was bright and hurt their eyes momentarily. The water in the fountain sparkled as it gurgled and flowed. It was a gorgeous day with white puffy clouds and a deep blue sky, but Sarah hardly took notice. She couldn't stop seeing the red on Jocelyn's mouth and chin as she looked up with a befuddled expression.

"….Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Sarah barely caught the last bit of what Britney had been saying.

"Excuse me?" Emily said, surprised.

Sarah couldn't believe what she was hearing. Britney was apologizing? This was Britney they were talking about, right? The same girl who blackmailed Stacey? Both she and MJ halted right in their tracks, not daring to come any closer.

Britney rubbed her forehead as if grappling with a painful migraine as well.

"I just…with Dan and everything, I was thinking about it, and I realized I've been kind of a b-word to you lately..." She paused and then, "and I'm sorry."

"Um. It's fine, Britney. Th-thank you." Emily said, scuffing her foot nervously on the ground.

Britney sighed, relieved, and her face lit up, "Great! So, I have a question…" Britney's flashed her a white smile. "Would you want to get coffee sometime?"

"I…what?" Emily looked even more taken aback. "You mean like a bunch of us, or…?"

"I thought maybe just you and me." Britney nodded.

"You and m-…uh, wow!" Emily's chubby face broke into a smile. She beamed, "I mean, yes! I'd love that!"

Emily and Britney exchanged numbers, and then parted ways. Britney waved to her as she left, not noticing MJ and Sarah off to the side. Emily waved back happily. By the time she returned to MJ and Sarah, she looked like she might float away with happiness... or shock.

"Okay. Seriously. Is it a full moon or something? Was Britney just nice to you?" MJ gaped at Emily. Sarah was thinking the same thing, and watched Emily's reaction.

Emily bounced on her heels and clapped her hands in excitement like a kid on Christmas, "I'm so HAPPY! Dreams do come true! I knew I could 'kill her with kindness'! This is amazing!"

MJ and Sarah exchanged MORE uncertain glances. Things were getting so weird around here. First Dan, then the weird stuff with MJ and Jocelyn, and now Britney? Something was wrong. This wasn't Britney, was it? Was it really Britney? Could it be a fae dressed up like her?

MJ seemed to get over it first, however. She glanced behind her to make sure that a pissed off Jocelyn wasn't coming out the front doors for round 2, then ushered Sarah and Emily down the sidewalk towards the town library, "Well, since we're on the subject of mysterious occurrences of uncertain origin... wait 'til you hear what happened to us!" MJ grinned excitedly.

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