Ahhh. Sorry guys for taking forever! Holidays are to blame. There's so much drama in my house and it's really stressful. But this is your Christmas present from me. (: Hope you had a good Christmas and New Years. Pressing the big green rectangle at the end of the story would really make me smile. :D

Spencer

The icehouse is crowed. It seems everyone is here, everyone except for Ashley. Aiden's here though. He's hanging with a bunch of girls, Kyla, Madison, his usual group. I wonder what happened to Glen? Aiden's arm is thrown around Madison.

Chelsea notices the act of affection. "Look at that," Chels says in disgust. Her head nods toward them. They put the two center tables together, so they're kind of hard to miss. "Have you heard that Glen broke up with Madison?"

This is big news. She notices that she has my attention. "Rumor has it that Glen gave Madison an ultimatum to either accept Ashley into their group or to forget about them being together. And apparently Glen is making his moves on Ashley."

I try to remember to breathe. In and out. In and out.

"Of course Aiden couldn't do anything, he's a retard."

I try to absorb it all. I hate that women aren't in control like they should be, since Glen apparently makes the rules. Ashley must be happy. She got what she wanted, to be accepted. I mean they are the most popular group in the school. She's definitely done good.

We sit off at the far corner, nearest to the kitchen. We don't come here a lot, but when we do I love sitting here. No one would know I'm here, unless you're really looking.

I guess it doesn't take a genius to know Ashley is out with Glen. They probably went to the movies first. Damn… and she's watching that witch burning rubbish.

They walk in a half an hour later and Glen is grinning like the idiot that he is, while Ashley is just holding his hand. When I see this, I start seething with jealousy.

"They're so noticeable," Chelsea remarks. "You never told me. What do you think about it?"

I can't help remembering this morning when Ashley was with Aiden. I bet Aiden wishes he could have her. But what Glen wants, he gets. Glen's parents are DOCTORS, this city's biggest professionals. Because of the fact that his parents are doctors, they're rich and he is unbelievably spoilt.

We should've seen this coming though. Glen has wanted Ashley since the first day of school. Madison has always been there for Glen, but he is one hell of a player. Glen IS the king of this mountain. There is no one other person that can match him on three counts: looks, arrogance, and social standing.

It occurs to me now that Madison has to have someone else, now that Glen has Ashley, who is so obviously accepted into their group. Madison is like that, she has to have her own man-candy.

Chelsea is looking at me as if I have 4 heads. Hmm. I should probably reply. "Who cares?"

"Ahh. You don't of course," she replies with a sarcastic tone.

I roll my eyes and decide to get another coffee. I could never flag down a waitress with this big of a crowd, so I just go straight to the counter. Bad move. There were two people I didn't want to see. The first is Ashley. I think I caught her off guard, because she has a weird expression on her face. I grab my coffee and turn around, but I could still feel her eyes staring at me. I look back and my eyes catch hers.

Madison looks at what Ashley is staring at. She flips her hair and says, "Can't blame you for staring. You'll get used to her; we call her the Freak Show."

Some of my coffee spills as I try to hurry back to my seat. It wasn't Madison's insult that has got me worried, it was the expression on Ashley's face. It was the same look in Chemistry class.

"Forget about her," Glen says while putting his arms around Ashley. "She's entertaining, but it's her Grandmother who's really weird. Her shop's interesting enough, and I happen to go there sometimes. The real stuff is hidden in the back rooms. Julia is into live sacrifices and they drink blood. I've even seen blood on the carpet, something red anyways. And they've been seen dancing in the forest…naked. Pure devil worship."

A glass shatters when the waitress was giving Sherry her drink.

"My bad, Sherry. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, it just exploded," the waitress says. "I'll get you another one."

Bella Smith, one of the owners, comes rushing out when she hears the commotion. She looks so angry, and I think she might even try to fire the waitress. I think she was just having a bad night though, because she's not usually like this.

I glance at Chels, and wait for her to gather her things. She dropped her coat on the floor and needed to zip up her purse. Bella is listening intently to the waitress' explanation. She knew that the waitress was telling the truth. No one is that good of an actress. Bella promises the table a free soda or cappuccino.

One look at Ashley, and the need to leave is more urgent. She looks so mad. If she really does have the gift , and loses her temper, then things could start to heat up.

Aiden decides to annoy me as I start to walk out. "Hey there, Scary Face," he croons. "Leaving so soon? We haven't had any fun yet."

"Piss off, Aiden. Your breath smells like the boys locker room."

I shocked him, but he still wouldn't let me go. I try to send a silent plea to Ashley to keep calm. She doesn't get it and glass starts to break everywhere. No window or cup is spared. People are screaming and Bella loses it completely.

I wonder if Aiden is taken aback enough to let me go. I was proved wrong. "Not so fast, witchy one. This is your fault, isn't it?"

I scoff and say, "I didn't realize you were ugly and stupid."

He doesn't take this very well and decides to put his lips to my throat. I could puke. I kneed him where it hurts. Apparently, I didn't knee him hard enough, because he bounced back quickly. He tightens his hold on me. "Fiesty and freaky. I like it."

Two things happen. Ashley gets up and she looks even angrier than before. Vibration starts to form at our feet. It has the sudden effect of stillness in the room. Soon, everything is in motion.

Aiden lets me go, and everyone starts running out, thinking it's an earthquake. Chelsea starts yanking on my arm. "Chels, I'll be right out. I have to find Ashley."

"Ashley can take care of herself. This place is about to collapse. It's an EARTHQUAKE." A few seconds later, Chelsea points at a spot. "There she is, go get her and lets go!"

"You go and I'll call you later." Chelsea takes off. I wanted her to stay, but I didn't want her thinking anything abnormal is going on with Ashley. She could handle it, of course. But Ashley is oblivious to this herself and this needs careful planning.

I walk to her and I notice she was like in a trance. Nothing I do or say had any effect. A huge chandelier comes crashing down and I pushed Ashley out of the way, landing on top of her. It does little to break the trance, but at least she's moving now, slowly pulling himself upright. Leading her, I find my way around the back way of the kitchen.

At last, we're in the back alley where everything is still and quiet. There were no walls, windows, or roofs crashing. No hysterically screaming people. I have to think about this later, at home. My first priority is getting Ashley to safety. If anyone sees her in this semi-catatonic state, then people might remember what happened in chemistry class and start asking questions. Questions Ashley can't answer.

It might be the fresh air, or whatever it is, but Ashley starts coming around. She's still vague and exhausted though. She can hardly walk and I slid my shoulder under her arm and help her.

Eventually we get to Julia's store. We get her upstairs in my bed, and her eyes close immediately. I look worriedly and Julia.

"I'll brew him something to get her senses back. While it's working, you can tell me what happened."

Julia comes back ten minutes later with a strong-smelling drink. Between the two of us, we get the stuff down her throat. While Ashley was resting, I explain what happened at the café, Aiden's acts, Ashley's trance, and the violent earth tremor.

Julia listens intently and shakes her head at times. "Ashley doesn't even know she has the gift. Her mind was using the trance as a coping mechanism. And until she learns of her gift, she can't control it."

"That's the problem, Julia. She doesn't want to deal with her gift. And there's another problem. I think her family is cursed."

I explain about all the bad luck and misfortunes that run in her family, right down to the clumsy things Ashley can't seem to control.

Julia looks thoughtful. "It could explain the reason her gift has been released. Maybe it was meant to be used as a tool. A subconscious attempt to reverse the curse. Of course, there's no way to know, unless Ashley shares us information. Her acceptance is important. And by the look of things, time is essential. As Ashley's powers grow, so could the curse. These two things are probably linked.