Special Thanks to:
QueenyLeAcH for favorite story and story subscription. Thanks also for the review!
Esme Reid for favorite story + author, and story subscription.
Rosalie for ever faithful reviewing and inspiration for this chapter.
twilightismydrug for the review. You asked about the formality; that's mostly my doing, haha.
Wolfess for the two reviews. Yes, Zach definitely has something evil in mind, and Jim's reaction is…well, you'll just have to see. ;D And thank you for your concern; I'm feeling and doing much better now. :)
Emilie for the very beautiful review! Thank you for your concern for my friend; it seems her situation has somewhat improved. :) I am so sorry to hear of your friends' turmoil, and I pray their lives will improve and that God will be with them. You are so compassionate; I love that! I really like your development of the Sprite and Jim, and I can't wait to read your story! Thank you again, I always love your reviews and they put a smile on my face. Take care, Em! :D
NOTE! I want it to be clear that I do NOT hold anything against Harry Potter! I have nothing but respect and admiration toward the Harry Potter series and J.K. Rowling. (:
Woo! I'm back baby! Finally—it feels so good. :D
Check it out! Fanfiction author twilightismydrug is currently writing "Talent Show"—a hilarious Twilight sequel to "Karaoke with the Cullens" (due to popular demand)—and "End in Sight"—a brilliant drama. Both stories are cleverly written. If you're looking for some good reading, I suggest you check her out!
Dedication: I dedicate this chapter to my dear Rosalie. Thanks for always being there for me and putting a smile on my face, sweetie!
Chapter Eighteen: Mysterious Behavior
She was thoroughly confused. She had understood nothing that Monique had just told her. "All I got out of that is that Voldemort is the antagonist. I don't understand how he can fear death and name his band the Death Eaters, yet they're all out to kill. It's incomprehensible," she said, voicing her exasperation.
Monique shook her head. Kayley was a lost cause. "You're gonna havta Wiki it."
Kayley groaned in agony and fell back against the sofa arm. "What's Wiki?"
A hand swiftly flew to Monique's forehead. "Don't tell me you don't know what Wikipedia is."
"I'm beginning to believe I don't know what anything is." She sighed. "Face it, Monique; I'm never going to absorb all this Harry Potter information. I can't grasp it; it's beyond me."
"I can't believe you never saw the series," the blonde said dismally, sadly shaking her head as she paced the room.
"Or read the books," Kayley added, folding her hands across her chest.
Monique stopped pacing to declare, "You're not helping yourself."
"Sorry, but I can't help it. I'm an alien to virtually everything classified 'teen'."
Monique chuckled, and then resumed her pacing. "Well, there's only one thing we can do."
"What do you prescribe, Doctor?"
Hands linked behind her back, Monique turned on her heel and faced her patient. "We must have a Harry Potter movie marathon and get you all caught up."
Kayley rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to be helping me, not putting me through endless hours of torture."
Monique kicked the bottom of the sofa—on which the English girl was resting—causing Kayley to laugh. "Hey. Be nice."
Kayley giggled. "Alas, I am being nice."
Monique narrowed her eyes and announced melodramatically, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two will come to theaters soon enough, and you're going to see it with me, even if I have to hike up five flights of stairs to fetch you and then drag your struggling body along with me. And that's final. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
Kayley sat up and inquisitively glanced over at her friend, whose serious expression caused her to crack a smile. "And how exactly do you plan to accomplish kidnapping me?"
Monique shrugged. "I'll use my magic wand," she stated simply.
Kayley snorted. "Magic wand? Are you a wizard, witch, warlock, or simply a madwoman?"
"No, it's true…well, at least about the wand anyway."
Kayley raised her eyebrows.
"Ah, now you want to know, right?"
Kayley crossed her arms, clearly amused. "Humour me."
"Well, during last summer I went to Florida. I of course went to the Harry Potter theme park. There is this one special event where only a few select people are chosen to complete a 'training course in wizardry'—it was awesome, by the way. So at the end, I was handed this box covered in authentic dust—"
"Authentic dust?" Kayley repeated, a crooked smile forming on her face.
"Yes, authentic dust, and inside the box was my wand!" Monique struck a threatening pose, aiming an invisible wand at Kayley. "Do you still doubt me?"
Kayley pushed aside the imaginary wand. "No, I don't doubt you," she answered, a mischievous smile creeping across her lips. "But I do doubt the power of your wand."
Monique's perfectly poised, outstretched arm drooped to her side. "Oh, well aren't you the cantankerous one today."
Kayley giggled evilly. "Sorry. You know I'm only joking. I'm sure I'd enjoy the movies and books, and I'm sure your dust covered box contained a wand."
"Mhmm."
Kayley resituated herself on the sofa until she was sitting on her knees. She rolled up her sleeves and glanced at Monique's tote bag sitting on the floor. Monique had decorated the bag herself. "At least we both love the Beatles," said Kayley, having noticed The Click Five and Beatles insignias that adorned the white bag.
Monique's face lit as if she was at Disneyland for the first time. "I know!" She was so excited that she began bouncing on the balls of her feet, and her words were a rapid fire assault; she was like a machine gun. "Oh my gosh, I love George and his crazy eyebrows! And I want the Beatles RockBand so badly! I wish they would make it for PlayStation 2. And they just put the Beatles on iTunes; I wish they would have done that before! Now I need an iTunes gift card." Barely pausing for breath she continued, "I so want to be proposed to with 'Here, There, and Everywhere', it's such an awesome song."
"It's a very pretty song," Kayley agreed, her words being spoken quietly. She was trying to imagine Monique getting married. The funniest mental image popped into her mind's eye—Monique bouncing off the walls and squealing with her bridesmaids—and a slight smile appeared on her face.
At that moment, Monique resumed voicing her daydream. "I need a boyfriend first. And I've got just the perfect someone in mind."
"Oh do you now? And what might the name of this person be?" Kayley asked, excited curiosity hinting in her tone.
Monique blushed the slightest bit as she answered, "Target T."
"Target T? Am I familiar with any T's? For all I know that could be Target Taco."
Monique doubled over in hysterical laughter and her hair fell in her face. Finally she was able to stand upright and, as she brushed the hair out of her face, exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, I'm gonna forever relate men to tacos now!"
"Seriously, who is this Target T?" Kayley persisted, joining in the laughter.
Just as Monique was about to reply, the girls were interrupted by the sound of a key turning in a lock. Sure enough, Mrs. Evans pushed open the apartment door, humming a familiar Carraroe tune. Preoccupied with her thoughts, Julianna unfortunately didn't notice the two girls curled up on the couch, and she began spinning to the song playing in her head. A muffled giggle startled her; she spun on her heel and faced the teenage girls. "Oh Kayley! I didn't see you—" Mrs. Evans trailed off as she eyed Monique. "Who's this?"
"Mum, this is Monique," said Kayley, standing.
Mrs. Evans offered a wave of her hand and a friendly smile. "Hullo, Monique, nice to meet you."
Monique did the same. "Hello, Mrs. Evans."
"So…what was that about, Mum?" inquired Kayley, referring to her mother's uncharacteristic dancing and humming.
Julianna turned her sapphire blue eyes to her daughter. "Oh, that. It was nothing. I was just thinking about your last performance—you were wonderful. Do you remember your old routines?"
Monique's blonde hair caught air as she whipped her head around to look at Kayley, who was carefully considering and thinking over the question. "I remember them perfectly," she replied slowly. "Why?"
"Just curious, it's been ages. It'd be a shame if you were out of practice."
Kayley was quiet, and Mrs. Evans took the opportunity to quickly excuse herself, momentarily disappearing from their sight.
Monique shot a quizzical glance at her friend. "Routines? Performance? What was your mom talking about?"
Kayley shook her head, confounded and puzzled, trying to figure it all out herself. "I literally haven't done them for years…"
"What kind of routines?" Monique pressed. "The Macarena? Singing? Comedy acts?"
Kayley sighed resignedly. It definitely wasn't a fun topic to talk about. "Well, truth be told, I used to be on an all-girls—"
"Kayley, what size skirts do you wear?" Julianna asked, reappearing from the bedroom area of the apartment.
The girl shrugged. "I don't know, I hardly wear skirts. Did you check my Sabbath skir—"
"Yes, I did. That didn't help much, it's the wrong style," she answered quickly, sounding a little annoyed.
Kayley chewed her bottom lip. She wondered what had brought on her mother's peculiar behavior. "Why do you need the size?"
Julianna cast her gaze in the direction of the bedrooms, obviously distracted with her thoughts. "Why won't that girl wear anything other than jeans?" she asked herself as she walked back, departing the girls' company.
The two girls slowly turned to face each other. Monique broke out into a grin. "I love your mom!"
Kayley forced a smile, but she was skeptical of her mother's intentions. "Yeah, she's great."
"Kayley!" her mother called. Kayley skipped over to the hallway to see her mother emerge from the girl's bedroom, holding a pair of Kayley's shoes in hand. Before Kayley could question her mother as to what she was doing, Mrs. Evans asked, "Is your friend staying for dinner?"
That had definitely taken Kayley by surprise. She was expecting a query about shoes. "Umm, lemme go ask…" Kayley turned and crashed smack dab in the middle of Monique.
"Sorry," Monique apologized sheepishly, taking a step back.
"No, it's okay. So, what do you think?"
"Hmm…" Monique thought a moment. "Well, I still have to deal with Zach. He has to take me home, and I know he won't enjoy picking me up late."
"You can stay the night," Mrs. Evans offered.
"I appreciate the offer, thank you. It's so nice of you, but I really should be calling Zach to pick me up soon. I'll have to deal with him sooner or later anyway," she explained.
Julianna didn't understand what the petite blonde was talking about, but she asked nothing more, knowing Kayley would explain the whole Zach situation later.
"Do you think it's safe?" Kayley asked, concerned.
Julianna raised her eyebrows. Obviously the issue was much more serious than she would have surmised.
Monique shrugged and tossed her pin-straight hair over her shoulder. "I'll be fine…I should be fine."
"Wait," said Mrs. Evans, something occurring to her. "Kayley, I just bought you a pepper spray—you know how I feel about you walking alone around here. It's on the kitchen counter. Let Monique use it and I'll get you another one."
"Oh, I don't think she needs to do anything that drastic, Mother—"
"I'll take it, thanks Mrs. Evans!" Monique exclaimed, dashing toward the kitchenette and swiping the bottle from the counter.
Monique, tote slung over one shoulder and backpack over the other, slowly made her way to the orange Chevy waiting at the curb. Her hand in her bag, her fingers tightly wrapped around the metallic bottle of pepper spray as Zach's face became visible through the windshield. She avoided making any eye-contact with him as she approached. Mo outstretched her left hand for the door, pulling it open. Her grasp on the little canister was vice-like as she climbed into the pickup. Zach was silent, a frown chiseled on his face. As soon as she shut her door, Zach zoomed away from the curb, and the force of inertia tossed Monique back against her seat.
No words were spoken, and Monique began to wonder if silence was worse torture than a verbal lashing. When he was mute, she had no insight as to what he was thinking, scheming. "I'm sorry," she murmured after a long, intense stretch of silence. Zach's expression was impassive. "She figured it out. And she snatched the phone from me before I could answer. But I think what happened was right and justified. You deserved it."
Zach stared straight ahead. She hoped he was focusing on the road. "It's not your fault," he finally said, much to her surprise. He inhaled deeply and slowly let out his breath before stating matter-of-factly, "I should have known not to send a girl in to do a man's job."
On a normal occasion, Monique would have taken offense. But right now she was just happy he wasn't assaulting her. And, she was glad to be done with the whole fiasco. Yet, she wanted to know what he was going to do, for he wasn't the kind to let anything go, and the entire situation was developing into a soap opera scenario. "What are you going to do?" she asked quietly.
He didn't bother to answer. He was fuming inside. Some way or another, he was going to win over Kayley Evans. He'd find a way; he'd take advantage of every last opportunity.