Author's Notes: Soooo…I apologize. Again. For being late. Again. In advance – I apologize. I know it's going to happen.

The next few weeks were incredibly awkward.

Hunter and Sky did most of the shopping, since Mom made me stay in the house and she didn't leave, either. She was still upset about someone scrying on me, and, I inferred, the knowledge of my birth father being out. To me it hadn't seemed like a big deal, but Hunter's and Sky's repetitively unannounced absences proved me wrong.

They could no longer look me in the eye. They didn't even want to talk to my mom anymore – apparently she had had a dirty night with a bad guy. So what? It wasn't like I hadn't before.

I spent most of my time locked up in my room, huddled in my closet. At least, if someone scryed me, all they would see was the blackness of the closet surrounding me. They wouldn't be able to tell where I was.

Mom withdrew me from school, apparently telling them that she was going to home-school me, but all she'd done so far was tell me to read some books. Which I didn't listen to, anyway. It mustn't have been that big of a deal, because she didn't persist annoyingly, like she usually did.

Dinner was awkward; no one made conversation except for mom's idle chatter, but even then she talked about flower and watching sunny days through the window.

When I did spend time out of my closet, there was absolutely nothing to do.

They had no TV, which they didn't find weird at all. I'd convinced them to buy a little one for the corner of the living room (which was my room with my couch-bed, which gave me an awful night's rest) but there's was no cable box which meant the channels absolutely sucked. I spent most of my time trying not to crack up laughing at SpongeBob SquarePants – pretty pathetic, if you ask me.

I wasn't allowed to make any telephone calls, though I heard Hunter swear repeatedly at my phone as it rang and rang again – sometimes with Joey's ringtone, sometimes for the private callers.

I wondered who'd found out my cell phone number.

Sometimes when I flickered on the television to watch my daily dose of SpongeBob, my mom would join me, or she'd sit in the armchair nearby and curl up with a Danielle Steel book of Sky's. Today, though, was unlike any other.

Freaking British Hunter had joined me.

He sat, not amused, as Patrick called SpongeBob "SpongeBoob". Immaturely, I found myself laughing hysterically while Hunter tried to ignore me.

Finally, he reached over me, and turned the TV off. I tried to ignore the tugs that seemed like sparks should be flying up to meet his arm when it was only three inches above me.

"Look," Hunter said simply, "we need to talk."

Talk. I hated talking.

"I know you don't even know who Ciaran MacEwan is," said Hunter slowly, and I groaned and grimaced. Lately, I'd been trying to ignore emotions.

This definitely wasn't helping.

"But, well, you're considerably a very powerful Woodbane. Untrained, but powerful. You've got one-half of you light – from your mother – and one half of you dark – from your father. We're just not sure what side is going to reign you in."

I growled. So that's what this was about.

"Yeah, well, I'm not choosing sides while I'm stuck in this hellhole. And what the heck is a Woodbane, anyway?"

He ignored me, as usual.

"Right now, it seems as if you're going to turn to the dark side."

"Okay, I must be dreaming. You're not going all Star Wars on me, are you? If so, can you please not talk to me like I'm Anakin Skywalker? I much prefer Leia, thanks."

Hunter was not amused.

"Anyway," I continued, "didn't Anakin – well, Darth Vader – didn't he become good anyway, like, in the last one? You know the whole corny, 'Luke, I am your father,' line that's now a total cliché?"

"Morgan," Hunter said seriously, "this is no time for silly jokes and stupid games. This is serious! You could change the entire course of Woodbane history!"

"Here we are with the Woodbane thing again." I rolled my eyes skyward. "If you're going to make a crack at me, at least make sure I know what it means."

"Woodbanes," he said slowly, as if wanting a dramatic effect, "are witches that are evil. Power hungry."

I snorted. "Yeah, that's really like my mom."

"You can choose to be good! That's the point, Morgan!" Hunter looked frustrated. My hand itched for the remote; where was SpongeBob's high-pitched bubbly laugh when you needed it? "Your mom chose to be good. Me? I'm half Woodbane! I chose to be good!"

He seemed so concentrated on getting the point across that I laughed.

"Right, right, we wouldn't want an evil Hunter mucking around now, would we?" I scowled. "Although someone already stole my cell phone and put me on lock down."

Hunter grimaced, but didn't say anything. "Well, you're a lost cause you are," he finally grumbled, turning towards the kitchen. "Maeve, your daughter is a little witch!"

Mom's tinkling laughter trickled back; she'd obviously thought he'd been creating a pun or something.

"Not like that!" shouted Hunter hoarsely, and Mom's laughter stopped.

She came out of the room then, sending Hunter a calm glance. She handed him a teacup on a little tea-dish-thinger, and I couldn't help but feel as if I was being transported into an old black and white corny romance movie.

"You'll have to give her time, Hunter," she said soothingly, and I grimaced. I stomped a few yards away, flicked the TV on so SpongeBob would obnoxiously ruin their serene mood, and slammed into my closet. I pulled a pillow and a blanket from the shelves above me; my closet was a linen closet.

What? It can be handy.

I was so sleeping in here tonight. I scrunched up into a fetal position as SpongeBob's voice was suddenly cut off.

I was scrunched up, but the rug in here was at least better then that ratty couch.

Even the ratty couch was better than staying in Sky's room, though. I could feel her cold glare through the freaking door.

This was it. This was the final straw.

I had to break out of here.

Ending Author's Notes: Okay. Minor cliffy. Sorry.

Please review, and take a moment to visit my homepage and vote on my poll – if you're familiar with Harry Potter, of course. Random, I know.

I apologize, again – you know what for.

Thanks to JessMess, spazzysassyangel, xX Hidden Secret Xx, and XxHyBriDk10 for reviewing.