Chapter 9 – Death at the Disco
"Nick," Mini breathed out as she pressed his hand down on his wound. He looked up at the sky, as his hand stayed over the bullet wound. "I don't know what to do."
"Mins," He stuttered to her. "He didn't have a gun…"
"I know," She whispered. She thought about dialing for an ambulance or the police, but would they get here fast enough? She knew Grace was her best option. "I have to go get Alo and Liv… We'll take you to the hospital."
He held out his hand to her and tugged on her glove. He only let out a low groan, but she knew it meant he didn't want her to leave.
"I'll be right back." She said and she prayed that she was actually being honest. She removed her heels and ran as fast as she could back to the club.
They left the restaurant after only being there for forty-five minutes. Franky had tried her best to make Rich like her, but the truth was becoming clear, he didn't like her as herself or as Grace. There has to be something else to do…
"I'm sorry," She began and Rich looked at her, interested in what she had to say. She felt Grace's phone in her pocket buzz, but she ignored it. "Tonight wasn't great, I know."
"No, it was shit." He said, nodding his head and looking slightly aggravated. "What was going on?"
"Sorry, I was just… so nervous and was trying to make sure you would like me." Her phone buzzed again, but she ignored it once more. She wringed her fingers together as Rich took a step back on the pavement so he was even further from her. He paced back and forth over a tiny distance and took a second before responding.
"What?" He stopped pacing and closed the gap between them so that he could make his point clearer. "Grace, I liked you because you… are you. You don't change for anyone. You should just be you, be Grace."
Franky lowered her eyes and sighed. She wasn't Grace, she couldn't be Grace. Rich patted her shoulder twice in an awkward manner in a semi-comforting manner. She glanced up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood on tip toe, so she could press her lips against his. It only lasted a second though, as his phone began to buzz and he didn't ignore it.
He pulled away from Grace and she turned away from him, but stood on the same spot. He didn't know what was going on with her and picking up the phone seemed more attractive than pretending he was still interested in this girl he was originally fascinated and awed by. Things had changed drastically in less than twenty four hours.
"Hello?"
"RICH!" He had to hold the phone slightly away from his ear as he heard Alo shouting on the other end.
"Where's Grace?" He asked urgently and Rich glanced over at her standing near the entrance to the restaurant.
"She's right here…" He said slowly, registering the fact that something was wrong. Grace turned around in surprise at the mention of her. "What's going on Al?"
"Okay, where are you?" He heard what sounded like Liv yelling at Alo in the background. "I've got to go, but -"
"Rich?" Liv asked, before continuing on. "Where are you both?"
"Rhubarb Tavern." Rich said in an annoyed tone. Liv repeated it to Alo. "What the fuck is going on?"
"Stay right there; we're coming in the van, we need Grace's help…" She sighed. "Nick got shot, Rich."
Rich didn't say anything. He couldn't really comprehend what was happening. Just a few days ago, he had seen Alo get turned into stone and now his other friend had been shot. He looked up at Grace's gaping face and took a deep breath before getting a grip of himself.
"They want you to heal Nick, he's been shot." Grace opened and closed her mouth several times before straightening up.
"Shot?" She repeated as she ran a hand through her hair. "Huh, I can't…"
"What do you mean you can't?" He asked, completely bewildered.
"Are they close by?" Mini asked, holding onto Nick's hand. Liv turned around in her seat to look at them crouched in the back of the van.
"Five minutes away." Alo said, and he seemed to be trying to go as fast as he could because the van lurched forward so Mini had to hold onto the side.
"Turn him Mini!" Liv shouted and Mini shook her head adamantly. She didn't want to risk him being turned and dying. It was a slim chance she knew, maybe even impossible, but she was scared he wouldn't wake up. He was getting worse though and if they didn't hurry to Grace then he would die right now. Liv threw her arms up in defeat and turned back round to the front.
"Where…" She looked down at Nick and he was trying hard to keep his eyes open. She sighed and proceeded to bite down hard on her bottom lip in her state of anxiety.
The blue van pulled up and the back door slid open so Rich and Grace could clamber inside. Liv was ushering them in with a manic expression. Grace blinked several times at Nick's nearly motionless body before shaking her head slowly. Liv saw the girl again, the girl with short hair and scary dark eyes, who wasn't Grace. Powers…
"You're not her," She spat out venomously and Grace snapped her head around in her direction. Rich threw his hand up to his forehead as if he should have realized this was the reason to her weirdness earlier. He wasted no time in trying to tune in to her thoughts.
'How does she know? What the hell am I going to do now?'
"What the fuck is going on?" Mini asked, from where she sat on the floor and Alo gave her a blank stare to show he had no idea what was going on either.
"She can't heal him, because she's not Grace." Liv muttered darkly. Mini looked torn between crying and laughing, but finally decided on a simple shake of her head.
"Where is she?" Rich asked and Grace inclined her head upwards and saw the look of absolute disgust in his eyes – she knew it was over. She let her eyes turn dark and her skin slowly turned lighter and molded back into her own form. Her hair turned light and short; when she looked like herself again, the blackness in her eyes disappeared.
"Franks?" Alo choked out. Rich shook his head, not wanting to believe this was actually true. Liv had no idea who this person was, but she was so close to jumping out of her seat to give her a hard slap.
"Rich, you never even looked at me in the way you looked at her. You knew me for two fucking years and her for about two seconds -" Rich threw a hand up to gesture for her to stop.
"He's dying," Rich said, pointing at Nick. "I don't want to hear this now or ever really… Where is she?"
"My place." She reluctantly said in between pitiful sobs. Alo nodded his head and started driving; he still knew how to get there. Franky knelt down on the floor and curled up against the side door of the van. Mini glared at her, as Rich came over to where she was sitting.
"I swear I will turn her into stone." She said vehemently, but Rich was ignoring her as he touched Nick's chest.
"He's not breathing…" He said quietly, as if he didn't understand why this might be happening. Mini tried to shake Nick, but he wasn't moving or breathing and she didn't want to check for a pulse for it might mean she couldn't deny things anymore. She flung off one of her gloves and placed her hand roughly on his hand. Slowly his nice warm flesh made the transition to stone and Mini let go.
"Gracie will fix this now, yeah?" She asked, smoothing Nick's stone surface with a few delicate fingers. Rich just stared straight on as the van pulled to a stop. He jumped up and was immediately ready to find her.
"Are you coming?" He asked, looking behind him at Mini. Franky already was getting out of the van with her arms crossed.
"Uhm… yeah." Mini breathed out, stepping over Nick as if he was made of lava. Alo turned around in his seat and gave a thumbs up to Rich.
"I'll look after the van." Rich followed the others as they went towards the lift up to Franky's flat.
Mini grabbed hold of Liv's hand, thus transferring some of Nick's blood onto her hand. An awkward, silent lift ride later and they reached the floor of the Franky's place. Her hands shook as she removed the key from her pocket and put it in the keyhole. Once it was opened she pointed in the direction of the closet in the corner. Liv ran forward and unlocked the closet and Grace, who must have been leaning against the door, fell forwards. Neither of them said anything, but Liv held Grace close whereas Mini simply stood overlooking the two of them with a smile spreading out across her features. It was the only thing she could do in that moment. Grace caught Rich's eye over Liv's shoulder and gave him a half smile. He wondered how he could have possibly thought Franky was Grace to begin with when Franky never managed to perfect Grace, let alone her smile that made the hair on the back of his neck tingle.
"What do we do with her now?" Liv said gesturing at Franky as she got out of her hug with Grace. Rich moved back towards the door, so Franky couldn't make any quick escapes, but she seemed to not really be present in the room. She looked down at her feet as everyone else shot daggers at her.
"I think she should be turned -"
"No," Grace began, standing up and walking to the middle of the room. "I think we should just let her go."
Franky looked up surprised and Mini swore audibly. Rich pulled a face, but waited to hear what Grace had to say.
"But Grace, you don't even know why she was being you." Mini said angrily.
"Why?" Grace asked, glancing from Mini to Franky.
"She wanted Rich." Liv said and Grace turned to look at Rich. A small smile crept on her face as she realized why Franky was using her body and why Franky thought being Grace would be advantageous to her goal.
"I still want to just let her go," She repeated, lifting up Franky's chin so that she could look into her eyes. "I can't promise how my friends will treat you though if you come near us again."
"Yeah, can we get a fucking move on, Nick is dying outside." Mini said aggressively, trying to break up the current reconciliation going on. Grace snapped her head around and widened her eyes at Mini's statement.
"Well, where is he?" She asked, in a small panicked voice. She didn't really know Nick that well and had only seen him once, but she knew Mini liked him and he was good friends with Rich.
"Out in the van." Rich said, opening the door to let them all out. He didn't like that they were just leaving Franky be, but what else could they really do about her. Liv shoved past Franky so hard that she fell against the wall, so Liv could leave with a little bit of satisfaction.
Grace was a bit disoriented after being in the closet for nearly twenty-four hours, but Liv was helping her stay steady. Mini chewed on her bottom lip all the way down in the lift ride as she now had to deal with how badly a state Nick was left in inside the van. Liv's arm was flung around Grace's and Rich was standing just behind Grace. She found Rich's hand and wrapped a finger around his thumb. She knew he was probably really upset right now, but from she knew about him he would be fighting hard to not show it.
"Real Grace now?" Alo asked, as Grace clambered inside the van. Mini stood outside the door to the van, pacing back and forth as she waited for Grace with a hopefully healthy Nick.
Soon he wasn't in stone form anymore, but Grace shook her head as he stayed lifeless. She kept trying to place her hand over the wound, but her hand wasn't sticking it to it anymore…. Nothing was happening. She glanced up at Rich and he simply nodded – this was what he had expected. She stepped outside the van and sucked on her lips, whilst Mini's eyes looked wetter than usual as if she was on the verge of crying.
"He was already dead…"
A/N: Okay, so I'm kind of proud I managed to update faster than I think I've done before for this fic and also longest chapter yet! HOPEFULLY Y'ALL FOUND IT A LITTLE SAD.
This chapter is dedicated to The Grif Cannon who has stuck with this story all the way through (and hopefully you continue to!)
Please review, because I put a lot of effort in to this chapter and I would love some feedback on it :D