Diligo Est Amicitia

Chapter 17: For Once

"Okay, you guys ready?" Lilith asked.

"What about Fin and Pogue?" Tyler protested.

"Moll's is an extremely cozy place." Reid told them with a glint in his eye, one that Tyler didn't like. "What with the tea and the fire, Fin might fall asleep there."

"Nothing to worry about then." Lilith rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure Pogue's capable of taking care of her." Caleb agreed.

"Then we'll start." Lils declared.

The boys, resigned to their fates, stepped forward to form a circle. Lilith linked Tyler and Reid together; they wouldn't touch each other for some reason and the two boys placed their hands on each of Caleb's shoulder blades. Caleb pressed the tip of his index finger on Jamie's forehead. All three Sons of Ipswich chanted incoherent words, though Lilith was sure they were speaking Latin. She wished she could join in but that would expose her for sure.

Instead, she had her own mojo. She made sure the other Sons were too engrossed into their spell to back out before closing her eyes and slowly, she felt herself melt into the same form she had taken that night at Deadwood. The boys wouldn't feel a thing; maybe a slight hint of dark magic in the air but they'd think their enchantment rather than Lilith caused it. Her magic strong now, Lilith started reciting the spell she'd memorized from a book Jamie hid in her room. It was one of the reasons they had placed Jamie in Lilith's room; if the boys looked around carefully enough, they would see spell books, scripts and parchments. It wasn't exactly the typical setting of a dorm room of an eighteen-year old girl.

The air around them started to get heavier. They felt themselves getting drowsy; the light flutter of a breeze around them made unsecured papers fly in the air but still, the Sons and Lilith concentrated on the objective: enter Jamie's mind. So far, it was getting good. When Lilith opened her eyes again, she found herself in a blank void. It was so bright… "Guys." When there was no answer, Lilith looked at them in irritation. It was only then that she realized that since she was still in Archos mode, they couldn't possible see or hear her. She powered down, and then tried calling them again.

This time, they heard her and when they opened their eyes, they found themselves staring at the same thing. "Where are we?" Tyler asked, awed. As in response to his question, the void suddenly melted away and in its place, stood pink walls covered with pictures of extremely girlish stuff; fairies, a unicorn, little elves. The furniture at the end of the room consisted of a four-poster, a drawer, and a wardrobe. All of them in different shades of pink.

Lilith moved towards a small table where picture frames had been arranged and placed neatly. She squatted down beside it, her eyes roving over the photographs and studying each picture. All of them had a brunette girl in it. She looked… happier than Lilith would have ever claimed her childhood to be. In one particular photo, the girl sat between a couple, both in their thirties; all three of them smiling. Something about the girl seemed familiar… brown eyes, her smile… Lilith couldn't place her anywhere. She stood up… and froze.

In large colorful alphabets pasted on the wall, someone had spelled J-A-M-I-E. Jamie. This was Jamie's room. "Lilith?" Caleb called out softly. He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Jamie." Lilith breathed. "This is Jamie's room."

"Jamie?" Reid sputtered. He looked around him. "Now, maybe Jamie might have a few skeletons in her closet… but pink?"

"I think I know where we are." Lilith ignored the object of her affections completely. She was too absorbed in her thoughts. "The Chapman house. Where her parents were murdered."

She looked the boys squarely in the eye. "I know why we were brought here. Jamie wanted us to see."

"See?" Tyler echoed. He felt completely creeped out. "See what?"

Lilith shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

They continued searching the room for clues to answer the questions. Like what we're even doing here. Reid thought angrily. He moved to open the door when Caleb pulled his hand back.

"What're you doing?" The brunette hissed.

"Opening the door." Reid answered calmly, wrenching his arm out of Caleb's grasp.

"What if they see us?" Caleb chided. "They'll freak."

"Yeah, well, it's better than just waiting around here, ya know."

"Caleb, let him open the door." Lilith agreed. "We've searched the place and found nothing."

"Lilith, we don't even know what's behind the door." Tyler emphasized.

Lilith just rolled her eyes, crossed over to the doorway and before anyone could stop her, had already turned the knob and threw the door open. Cautiously, she poked her head out and into the corridor.

"What're you doing?" A voice, full of laughter and innocence, suddenly spoke out behind her. Lilith whipped her head to the other side.

There stood the girl whom she had seen in the photos in Jamie's room, her head to one side and studying Lilith with an expression of great interest. She wore a denim jacket with butterflies printed on her collar and pockets, a shirt with glittery pink letters and a pink skirt.

"Well, well." Reid stepped out well into the corridor before Caleb could stop him. "What do we have here?"

"Hey, little girl." Tyler bent down, putting his hands on his knees to support himself. "What's your name?"

"Jamie." The girl answered in such a cute little voice that all four teens couldn't help but smile. "My name's Jamie."

"And how old are you?" Caleb added.

"I'm 8." Little Jamie said proudly. "And in two years, I'll reach my double digits."

"Of course you will." Lilith beamed at her, feeling her eyes water lightly. Here was Jamie at eight, young and new to life and unsure of what would happen to her but Lilith had the feeling that this Jamie was very positive towards the prospect of her future. Poor girl; she would never know what would happen during her thirteenth year in life.

There was a silence as Jamie observed the four teens and vice-versa. Then, she held out a small hand. "C'mon." She invited, cocking her head in the direction behind her.

"What about your parents?" Caleb asked.

"They won't see you." She promised. "C'mon." Lilith held her hand and Jamie led the way. They went down a flight of stairs, then another but in the middle of it, Jamie stopped them. She pointed at something happening on the first floor. They looked. The walls were decorated with birthday banners, balloons and glittering, shiny stuff. The floor was filled with people but it was clear that the main attention was on a small little girl in the very middle of the room standing before a towering cake, four-storeys high and covered with thick pink icing.

"That's me." Jamie told them. "Two years ago."

Six-year old Jamie laughed as a man – who Lilith presumed to be her father – picked her up and swung her around in his arms. Beautiful people get beautiful children. Lilith reminded herself.

"I was happy." Jamie continued but Lilith realized that her voice had changed into a more mature tone.

Lilith looked back at the girl and was shocked when she found that the eight-year old had grown – and within the space of five seconds. She looked back at the boys who were all as wide-eyed and open-mouthed as her.

"C'mon." This older Jamie tugged on her hand once more.

"Wait." Caleb said. "How old are you?"

The girl looked at him in the eye. It was then that Caleb realized where Jamie's eyes were silver, this younger one's was a chocolate brown. "Thirteen."

The single word hung in the air for a time in silence as they thought about it. "Watch." Jamie pointed at the scene downstairs. And then, it was as if someone had pushed a 'fast forward' button and people started moving thirty times faster. People came and went, little Jamie went to school and her parents to work and in twelve seconds were home again.

"My family was happy." Jamie said as the scene before them changed and moved. "I didn't understand why they were suddenly fighting. That was… until he came."

As her last words fell, the scene slowed down and moved at a normal speed again. It was dark, the four teens could see. The front door of the house opened and in came a couple. Necking and hugging, it was all very intimate. That was, until they moved to a spot under the moonlight and the audience of five could see the man's face. It wasn't Mr. Chapman, that was for sure.

"C'mon." Mrs. Chapman whispered. "The bedroom's upstairs."

Th two of them traipsed past the four teens and Jamie as if they didn't exist and up the stairs. Without warning, Jamie suddenly ran after her mother.

"Jamie!" The four of them hissed.

They hurried after her and paused for a moment as they saw her form stop a few feet away from the master bedroom.

"Jamie?" They slowly walked toward her.

"He slept with my mom." Jamie told them. "But that wasn't enough for him. Sometimes when my mom was already sleeping, he'd creep out."

As if on cue, the man Jamie's mom was having an affair with opened the door a slight crack and slipped out. "And wander into my room." True enough, the man walked a few steps, checked the hallway to see if anyone was coming, and then entered Jamie's room. Reid made a sound of disgust and Tyler punched the wall. Jamie started closing in on the door to her bedroom.

"Jamie, I don't think you should go in there." Lilith whispered softly though she knew that no one except the three boys and Jamie would hear her if she happened to scream out loud.

The thirteen-year old smiled gently at her. "The point is to have you understand. I am only a memory. Like a keeper of what happened here." She pointed at them. "You're only here because Jamie allows you to be."

She led them into the room where they – unfortunately – witnessed a thirteen-year old girl being raped though thankfully, the room was dark so they didn't see that much of it. Lilith looked down at Jamie, wondering what she thought about all this. But little Jamie's face was serene and calm. She's just a keeper. Lilith reminded herself. Jamie's voice soon jolted her back to reality and away from the disturbing thoughts that probed her mind painfully.

"And then one night," Jamie was saying. "Dad came back early. A surprise to his family."

The door which hadn't been fully closed, was thrown open again and a man's figure stepped in. "You can imagine what sort of surprise he received." The rapist jumped out of Jamie's bed in alarm and with a shout of surprise, Mr. Chapman launched himself at the other man. They both went down in a tumble, punching and kicking at the other guy. There was a pattering of feet from the room across the hall and Mrs. Chapman hurried in.

"Gordon!" She cried. "James! Stop! Please stop!" But her pleas went unheard. It was only when Jamie, tired from fighting against her attacker, woke up, disturbed by the sudden noise. She started crying, bawling her little heart out and Mr. Chapman grabbed James by his cropped hair and hauled him out of the room. Their fighting went on outside, then downstairs as Mr. Chapman tried to kick the unwanted guest out of his house.

Elizabeth Chapman hurried out, forgetting all about the daughter she had once treated as the most precious thing in the world. "I waited for a while." The Jamie not-crying-in-bed said. "And when the noise stopped, I decided to see." Jamie, still tearing terribly, cautiously slipped off her bed, her long hair curtaining her oval-shaped face. "I crept downstairs…" They followed her down the flight of wooden steps. "And into the living room…" The front door was wide open. Moonlight fell across the carpeted floor and Lilith could see the bloodstains.

"… they were dead."

Thirteen-year old Jamie screamed at the sight of her parents bathing in their own pools of blood; Gordon had an horn impaled in his chest – probably a souvenir he had gotten from a hunt since there had been newspaper articles about that – and Elizabeth had an axe sticking out of her back. Jamie ran from the house, out through the open door.

"Jamie!" Caleb ran towards the door but it suddenly swung shut.

"You can't follow her." The keeper of memories said. Then, she turned to Lilith. "But you know what happened."

Lilith nodded. Jamie would be found by William Lycan who would later have papers claiming he was the godfather of the young thirteen-year old and since she had no other relative, Jamie would then be placed into his custody.

"C'mon." Young Jamie tugged on Lilith's hand. "Let's take a look at what would have been if all those things hadn't happened."

Lilith nodded but she wasn't sure she wanted to. "If what hadn't happened?" Reid asked.

"If Mom hadn't had an affair. If things stayed happy like they had been on my sixth birthday."

The scene around them changed yet again and Lilith could tell that they were standing in the kitchen. Though the Chapmans were rich, she got the impression that they liked to live simply; there had been no sign of a butler around nor of any extravagant purchases.

"Mom!" Lilith froze.

Fourteen–year old Jamie bounced into the kitchen, her hair tied in two ponytails, her brown eyes gleaming excitedly. "Yes, honey?" Mrs. Chapman, looking a little older than when they'd seen her previously – entered via the back door, smiling at her only child.

"Guess what?"

Mrs. Chapman waited patiently for her daughter to break the news.

"Our little Hopper's gotten scholarships to the best prep schools in the country!" Mr. Chapman suddenly appeared beside Jamie who immediately gave him a smack on the shoulder.

"Dad!" She cried resentfully. "I wanted to tell her!"

"I do look happy don't I?" A sudden voice piped up beside Lilith. The blonde turned to see an eighteen-year old Jamie, complete with silver orbs, smiling at her.

"Jamie!" Lilith threw her arms around her best friend, her sister. "I'm sorry." She apologized, her voice muffled as she hugged the brunette. "I never knew."

"It's okay, Lils." Jamie laughed. "I'm past that. You guys helped me through this. Thank you."

Before Reid could open his mouth, though, she added, "Yes. All of you. Even you, Garfield." Reid rolled his eyes but the other two Sons of Ipswich could see that he appreciated the gratitude.

"So… let's look at the list." Elizabeth Chapman called their attention back on the scene. "Hmm… Bridgton Academy, Brenau Academy… wait, here's one that sounds good… Spencer Academy. This one promises an entry to Harvard. How 'bout that, huh?"

Lilith, Caleb, Reid and Tyler froze on the spot. "Don't worry." Jamie broke the ice, so to speak. "I never did choose Spencer in the alternate reality."

"No?" Caleb asked.

"Nope." Jamie shook her head.

"So where did you go?" Tyler asked curiously.

Jamie grinned at him. "Wouldn't you like to know." She answered mysteriously.

"Jamie?" Lilith rested her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"Let's go home."

"On it." Jamie was about to use magic… when she remembered that the Sons of Ipswich were present. "Well?" She raised an eyebrow.

The boys looked completely bewildered.

Jamie rolled her eyes. "I don't suppose I have to say 'Beam me up, Scotty' now do I?"

As they prepared to leave, Reid suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and Jamie... Hopper? Plus what is with all that pink? It's all so gro---"

"Reid? Shut the hell up!"

And for twice in that week, Reid actually did what a girl told him.

A/N: There, I hope you aren't too disappointed with this chapter. I promise the next one won't seem as bad and to those whom I have let down, I am so sorry because really, no author wants to fail his/her readers. I fact, I've been thinking that there's been too much seriousness and time for some fun! So... here's introducing a little of my next chapter:
What's coming up:

William: Due to the fact that the council will be arriving, I can spare no men to watch you. It's up to Peter now. I trust he will do a good job.

Mr. Waugh: And class, if you'll believe it, we have yet another transfer-in. Please give a warm welcome to Peter Lycan!

Peter: (voiceover) Now, taking care of three wild eighteen-year olds can be tough. And when the going gets tough, the tough get going… (camera pans over to a small little café)… to the coffeehouse.

Peter: Can I get a mochaccino, double mocha? Extra mocha, in fact. Thanks. Then again, just dump as much as you can into my cup.
(owner looks at him weirdly)
Peter: It's kind of an emergency…

Peter: (voiceover) Humans may be selfish, greedy, idiotic scumbags but there's one thing no lycan, vampire or centaur can disagree about and that is: humans make great coffee. Only some, though; most of them deserve to go right to Hell where Jamie can make sure they stay there.

Peter: Can I take a seat?
Girl: (absent-mindedly) Sure.
Peter: (sits down, then notices a newspaper) Can I take a look at this?
Girl: (absent-mindedly) Sure.
Peter: (leans forward) Can I get a kiss?
Girl: Su--. (catches herself, then glares at Peter)

Girl: (refers to the cups of coffee Peter's drunk) You might wanna slow down on that; that stuff's addictive.
Peter: Oh look; the hyena calling the werewolf crazy.
Girl: What?

Of course I realize that amidst all of this, there has to b some action. No worries there, I'm only revealing the fun side of the upcoming chapters. There's the dark side of it as well but we'll save it for the next update, eh? And in case you're wondering who the 'Girl' is, you'll find out soon though I reckon there's a certain Californian citizen out there who already knows.

Crickes