Beautifully Dark Places
Chapter 4
Dance, Dance Nolan-ution
I woke up that morning, smiling and ready to face the day. Well, no, that was lie. I actually woke up, groaned at the thought of seeing Nolan again, and hid under my covers. The shadows on the ceiling grew longer and longer with each passing hour. I could hear the door open and shut down the hall, knowing that Malorn, Boris, and Nolan were meeting in the living room to discuss our next plan. I had lain in bed so long that I was beginning to get tired of lying. I sighed. I knew that facing Nolan was inevitable, but that didn't make me want to run in to the living room and dance.
I know you're awake.
I blew all that air out of my lungs in an attempt to hold back a scream. How did you miss the 'No trespassing' sign on my brain?
I could actually hear Nolan laugh down the hall. Come on, Dawn, we need to talk to you.
Dawn? I blinked for a second, and then realized that he thought my last name was Dawn. I didn't want to be Kymma Richardson, the ugly girl with a movie star sister; I wanted to be Kymma Dawn, the beautiful, fearless wizard who saved Earth. But, when I told Ambrose my last name was Dawn, I just didn't want to be Richardson. I had no idea what I wanted Kymma Dawn to be. Wait… He didn't call me stupid!
Oh… Get down here stupid!
I laughed a little and got up. Moments later, I realized that Susan had not left me any clothes. Great. I thought. All I had was my pajamas, which consisted of an old tank top I wore under my shirt at school and a pair of shorts I borrowed from Susan. Susan was much shorter than me, so those shorts were pretty, well, short on me. Nolan?
Hmm?
I bit my lip. Can you ask Susan to bring me some clothes?
Tell me how handsome I am and I will.
Screw it. I rolled my eyes and started down the hall. I knew how rather rugged I looked, but there wasn't much I could do. I was on the verge of hating myself for even attempting this by the time I reached the living room. I could see Malorn's eye brow shoot up from the corner of my eye and heard Susan gasp a little.
"I didn't have any clothes…" Nolan and Malorn said nothing, but Boris jumped up and started rambling about how I could change when I got home. I gawked at him. "How can I change at home when we're in Wizard City?"
"We port to Earth and you teach us how to be… normal Earthlings!" Boris exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.
"Oh," Nolan shook his head as he spoke, as if he was recovering from a head injury, "another kid from Earth was ported in today. Ambrose wants you to come see her in Moolinda's room."
"Show me," I looked between the three boys, Boris was the first to hit the door and lead me back to Ravenwood. Malorn and Nolan were close behind.
"The girl's kind of weird." Boris said as Malorn crossed the threshold to the rest of us. He nodded, signaling that we could continue. I smiled a little at him, he grinned.
"She keeps talking about how she's in some kind of game and how she's a level seventy in here." Nolan glanced at me, his light eyes glimmering, "What does that even mean?"
"I don't know." I whispered, a little unsure of why I whispered. Boris pulled the door open, flaring his purple cape out behind him as the wind caught it. The door revealed a very green room, with a cow in a green robe standing in the corner. The cow hovered over a girl, about my age with very, very pale skin and brown hair.
"You're Malorn!" The girl sat straight up, making, who I assumed was Moolinda, jump out of her way. The girl's eyes were a strange shade of purple, and the right one was half hidden by her side swept bangs. She had a strange symbol, like the one on Malorn's robe, tattooed on the back side of neck and it wasn't hidden very well by her short bob cut hair.
"Um, yes." Malorn glanced at me in what seemed to be confusion.
"I'm a level seventy Necromancer!" The girl jumped up with a huge grin plastered on her face, "My name's Ryan Hexcaster, by the way."
"Level seventy?" Malorn's pretty face was screwed up in a strange look at Ryan. She simply nodded.
"This is Wizard101, right?"
"The hell is wrong with this kid?" Nolan asked, looking at Moolinda with a expecting look. Moolinda sent him a warning glare, but her face softened after a minute.
"Ryan is very confused right now."
"No, I'm perfectly fine!" Ryan turned back to Moolinda, shaking her head vigorously. She too was wearing Earth clothes: a pair of black wash jeans and a Metallica T-shirt.
"Ryan," She turned when I spoke, "This is not a game. You were ported, like me, from Earth."
"By Malistaire?"
"We think so." I nodded to her.
"I want to help." I smiled at her reaction. I was hoping that she would want to help, because making Nolan, Boris, and Malorn normal enough to fit in on Earth wouldn't be an easy task.
We were standing on a hill that overlooked my old high school. It had only been a few days since I had been summoned to Wizard City, though it felt like a life-time. Malorn had ported all of us to Earth, including a reluctant Ryan, who insisted that we had to bring her back. I had to admit that finding the three boys had been the best thing that had happened to me. I was sure that Ryan felt the same way.
"Well, this seems boring." Nolan remarked as he leaned against a tree beside me.
"It's Tuesday, so my parent's won't be home." I started down the side of the hill towards my house, "We need to find you some clothes."
I was sure that between my two brothers some clothes had to fit the three. Boris had insisted we find him purple, because it was his color. I didn't take much time to get to my house; we had ported fairly close to it. I pulled open the front door, and started in. Boris was close behind me, making sounds of admiration at the "nifty architectural work" of my house. Malorn leaned against the kitchen island when everyone was inside and starting talking about how we needed to be prepared for a surprise attack. I glanced at the clock on the stove. We had about an hour before everyone would be home. I told them stay put and headed to Isaac's room. I was positive that his clothes would fit at least Malorn, maybe Nolan.
I pulled the door to Isaac's depressing black room open. Posters of girls were plastered across the walls, and the occasional grudge band poster joined their ranks. It was dimly lit, and it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. I power walked over to his dresser and rummaged through its contents. I found a rather nice white T-shirt with a picture of a band I wasn't familiar with on the front. It looked like it would fit Malorn. I tossed it on Isaac's bed and continued through the drawers. I pulled out a shirt I had never seen Isaac wear. It was a black button up with half-length cuffed sleeves. It was cute, but it was missing something. I found another black v neck t-shirt with 'I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid, I really thought you already knew." written across it in white. I smiled, that was Nolan.
"You seem stressed." I jumped and nearly dropped the shirt. Nolan was leaned up against the door frame in his yellow and blue robes. He had taken his cape off already and pulled his hood off his head. His hair was black, and majorly contrasted with his pale skin. His blue eyes seemed to pin me in one spot as I stared at him. I was still in awe of his long black hair. I had never seen it before. He snickered a little.
"Um," I blinked and shook my head. I held the button up and t-shirt up to him for his approval, "do you think these will fit you."
"Hmm," he looked at the two items and shrugged, "only one way to find out."
I nodded and started to the bed to lay out his shirts and bring the white one to Malorn. I turned to walk out so he could change, only to find him pulling his cloak off his tossing his hood on to the floor. I was relieved to know that he did wear pants that blended in with his cloak so well that I had never noticed them, but I was surprised to find that Nolan had abs. Major abs. He pulled the v neck out my hand and pulled it over his head. I was still standing there with my mouth hanging open.
"How can you people handle this being so tight?" Nolan pulled at the fabric across his stomach. He also had some serious biceps. I was practically useless, and my mind wasn't hanging on to words properly to answer him. He pulled the button up out of my other hand and slid it on. He looked in the mirror in the corner and glanced over at me, "These pants don't match this."
"Oh…" I whispered. He laughed a little, not the mean laugh he normally used, but a nicer one. One that didn't seem to be making fun of me.
"Here I'll just use these." I turned around for that one, because I knew good and well I would die if I didn't. I picked up Malorn's shirt off Isaac's bed and preoccupied myself by folding it a few times. "Ok, you can look."
I held back a gasp. Nolan could have been some boy I would have passed on the street. He looked so… human. He had a pair of very dark wash jeans on and some of Isaac's Nike shoes.
"Take these to Malorn; they'll fit him." He tossed me another pair of jeans, and then another plus a shirt, "And Boris will wear these."
"Ok," I started out the door.
"Hey, Dawn?" I paused, turning back to him. For a split second he looked almost vulnerable, "Thanks, for doing all this."
"You're welcome, Nolan." I smiled, and started back out.
"Hey, Emma!" I prayed that word hadn't gotten around to my sister that I was missing. Today, I had broken into my house, stole my brother's clothes, and had now stolen my mother's car that she didn't drive to work. Malorn was propped up in passenger side seat, proudly wearing his Black Veil Brides T-shirt, which Ryan had informed me was a very hip new rock band. I had changed into a much more figure complimenting one-shouldered light blue shirt and cleaner jeans. I wouldn't lie, I hadn't washed yet.
"Kymma? Is that you?" My heart sunk.
"Yeah, why?"
"You never call me? What's up?"
"Actually, I was wondering if I could use your house." I was hoping she would say yes, because we were already five minutes away from it. It was far enough away from town that no one would know we were here but Emma. She rarely had contact with our parents, especially when she was filming, and I was positive that she was.
"Yes, of course!" There was a pause, "Are you having a boy over?"
My face went red, earning me a look from Malorn. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, and I didn't want to get crap from Mom and Dad, so…"
"Kymmie!" I could hear her laughing, "I told you that you were gorgeous! Aw, have fun, honey."
"Thanks, Emma."
"Welcome. Ciao!" I hung up as we pulled into the drive way. I clicked the button to open the garage and pulled inside. We all walked in silently.
"So, teach us to be normal." Boris grinned, pumped up and ready to learn. He had fallen in love with the shirt Nolan grabbed for him, even though he didn't quite get it. It said some blond joke across the front of it.
"Well…" I was a little lost at where to begin.
"Normal people don't cast spells." Ryan started, "And they don't battle, they fight."
"With their fists, not wands." I added. Boris looked disappointed, but Nolan seemed to like the idea. Malorn seemed indifferent about the subject, "and they have to attend high school."
"I will not go to school." Nolan shot back, shaking his head vigorously.
"You will if you need to." Malorn replied, injecting before I could day anything witty.
"And you need to know how to have fun." Ryan grinned, and nodded to me. This had been a plan of ours since we discussed it back at my house. Time to play Wii.
I led everyone into the living room, and turned on the TV and Wii. Nolan and Malorn were debating whether or not this was what Ryan called a TV and what that could possibly stand for. Ryan rolled out the dance mat and turned on its controller. The first song that came on was 'You Make Me Feel' by Cobra Starship. Ryan and I laughed and danced until I collapsed on the floor at the end.
"See? Its fun." Ryan grinned. Malorn smiled, and Boris was still trying to understand what we were doing.
"You look like idiots." Nolan commented, cleaning the dirt from under his fingernails.
"Your turn!" I grinned; he paused and looked up at me.
"I will not do that." He resumed what he doing. I glared at him and grabbed his arm. He looked back up at me, black hair falling into his blue eyes. I pulled him over to the mat and stood. He continued to stare at me until Boris walked over and stood on the other side of the mat, waiting for the music to start. Ryan was changing songs, I could hear her, but I couldn't break Nolan's gaze. P!nk's voice blared through the speakers and Nolan turned away from me. Ryan pulled me over to the couch were Malorn sat. I was sure that was the funniest three minutes of my life. Nolan was definitely not a dancer. Boris hit most of the notes perfectly, but Nolan couldn't figure out what he was doing. Most of the time he moving left when he should have went right.
"Malorn!" Nolan yelled when the song went off. Malorn sighed and pulled himself off the couch and to the mat. He motioned for me to dance to, so I joined him. Ryan chose 'Hey Baby' by Pitbull, which I wasn't crazy about, but didn't argue. Malorn could actually dance, and it wasn't as fun to watch someone who could dance as it was to watch someone who couldn't.
"Are you happy now?" Nolan asked me, looked rather aggravated about having to dance.
"Very." I smiled. It was getting late, so I helped everyone find their rooms. Emma had a huge house, so there were plenty of bedrooms. Boris crashed in the first one we walked by. The next one was a nice, big white room with a bay window.
"Why don't you take that one, Kymma?" Malorn asked, blinking at me with a smile.
"No, I'm taking the last one." I smiled back, "I think you should take this one."
He shrugged and walked inside. Ryan lingered at the door for a moment, and sweetly requested the next room on the right. It was just Nolan and I now. The next two rooms were down the hall a little way, because Emma had put a master bathroom between Ryan's room and the next one down, which I assumed that Nolan would take. We arrived at the door to Nolan's room. He sighed and leaned against the wood of door, hands stuffed in his pockets. He stared at me, hair still falling into his face. He must have pinned it down with his hood or something, because it had never done that before.
"Why do you keep doing that?" I whispered. I was too close to him. I felt like I needed to take three huge steps backward. I could fell the breath he exhaled on my face.
"Doing what?" He whispered back.
"Staring at me like that."
"I'm not staring," He grinned a little.
"Oh, do I need to get my ass out of the way again?"
"No," Nolan whispered, leaning a little bit closer to me, "you don't need move at all."
My stomach tightened, causing me to panic. "I-uh-good night." I turned and walked to my room as fast as I could. I shut the door behind as soon as I stepped into my room, and leaned against it with my eyes closed. That was far too close. I couldn't get wrapped in a boy. I liked Nolan and Malorn more than I should. I didn't deserve a boyfriend, much less one of those two. I flicked the light off and pulled my shirt off, leaving my tank top, and climbed into bed. I seriously needed sleep. I wanted to never wake up again. I wanted to lay in there and die.
But there was still that tiny shred of happiness way down in my heart that made my stomach do flips. There was still that tiny voice in my head that hadn't been broken yet that kept reminding of how close Nolan had been to kissing me. I closed my eyes, allowing a tear to streak down my face. I didn't deserve that kind of happiness, but I still wanted it. I wanted it so bad it made my head spin. I just wanted someone to like me. I wanted someone to make up for the hell everyone else had put me through. This time I didn't jump at Nolan's voice in my head. It was comforting in a way.
Good night, Kymma.
Sorry it took so long! I've been super busy! I think for the next chapters I will be putting up the song(s) that inspired me while writing them, because I think that it would help you get the feel of the characters. What do you guys think about that?
R&R!