Nine Lives Kind of Girl

Chapter One

Four days. Fifteen hours. Thirty-five minutes. Sixteen seconds.

There had been a big gap between the day Marley saw her new friend grow to be something oddly creepy, and the day – actually a couple of hours ago – Kitty threatened to ruin her life if the secret about her being was revealed to the world. She was a cheerleader at school, very pretty, and ready to bring any house down. Why wouldn't she want a couple of cameras flashing in her face, or celebrity news reporters coming to ask questions, looking astonished and amazed? Marley thought that was her dream.

Marley wanted to be like that. Sure, she'd never pass for the beautiful, six-foot queen with the curly hair and the slim yet perky body in one of those lingerie photos in the clothing magazines. But she would want people to pay attention to her story, how she's become the next…possibly Hollywood singer or famous author of a best-seller. Whatever her mind settled with.

She thought to herself that, if she motivated herself to go for the right paths and to be a successful girl in this economy-stricken society, she would reward herself with a smile on her face every day and not taking another Slushie in the face by another cheerleader or some dumb jock who doesn't wear deodorant once in a while.

She had to go down the right path, though. If she turned the wheel and headed down that rocky road, chances are her tires get popped, and she'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere, all surroundings making her completely vulnerable. Crows or bald eagles could head her way, biting away all of the flesh those vicious birds could get to. Her body would rot in that car, leaving bones and organs in the car seat.

Marley's mother, on the flipside, knew she was a very smart and pretty young lady, even if the two can't really get much money in this country and they would have to suit Marley up in a homemade outfit with the tags sewn on. Mrs. Rose always knew her daughter would head down the right direction. She's been watching her guide herself ever since they both stepped foot into McKinley High School. Marley wouldn't lose anything, for sure.

However, there may be one thing she can lose. Boy, the tires on that car – or perhaps the gas in her tank – will mentally concave the brunette.

It was about five o'clock, and Marley was in her room reading some of the library books she had gotten. All the talks about supernatural beings in books, TV shows, movies, or in Kitty's case, real life, have gotten to Marley; and she wanted to know what all was offered when considering anything the mystical creatures had. So far, she's read up on a whole bunch of stuff dealing with vampires and ghosts, which didn't help as much.

Marley always wondered if she was doing too much lately. She found Kitty's world to be very interesting if one could think about it; but at the same time, it's digging into her world a little too much, which could lead to more danger. She can't get over how Kitty looked and sounded when she explained that she was going to ruin her life over a little secret.

Marley had no idea how to erase the thoughts out of her mind, for stuff like this won't just go away. She couldn't converse with her mother about this. Marley made a promise to the snarky blonde that she wouldn't tell anyone; in addition, the brunette could possibly be cursed or killed even.

Someone was bound to help her with this. She didn't understand what the big deal with being an immortal is. It seemed interesting in Marley's eyes. In fact, Kitty was considered lucky by her often times because she could do things regular humans couldn't do, like fly or run as fast as a cheetah – maybe even faster.

Whether Marley's discovery was interesting or a waste of time, she had to keep her mouth shut about it. If only she had stayed at her old school so she won't have to suffer through the rest of her years with the blonde stalking her each and every second about her big secret. Maybe sneaking out that night at the slumber party was a bad idea after all.

The worried and tiresome brunette was two chapters into a chapter book based on witches and warlocks when her mother stepped into the room to receive an update on her.

"Marley," the sweet woman called from the doorway. Marley set the book down so she would be able to see her mother across the room. She's worked a few hours that day, serving food for the many students in McKinley High. She's bound to be falling on her mattress, fast asleep. "Are you ready for dinner? Turkey salad and quesadillas."

Her mother shook her head, still gripping on to her book in anxiety, thinking about what she had gotten herself into. "No, thank you."

Marley was so engaged into her books that she didn't have much hunger at the moment. She felt bad for her mother, though. She must've worked very hard on something for her daughter to have.

In fact, Marley is worried for her mother about a couple of things. Of course, she felt sorry for not even accepting a bite of what she served in the kitchen. But she was also worried about the many people at school making fun of her. Why? Well, she didn't have much of a shape as everyone else. She had gained most of the weight after giving birth to her daughter.

Marley didn't understand why someone as wonderful would do such a thing.

Either way, it happened, and she and Marley were teased by it at Marley's old school. The brunette girl was slipping in grades and such, she couldn't go to lunch without getting a crumbled napkin thrown at her, and the students called her mother so many mean names. Marley didn't want that treatment for her or her mother. She begged to transfer. She would do anything to get rid of that misery.

Now, people still made fun of the poor woman, and there wasn't anything Marley could do. All she could do was give her mother all of the respect she could provide. She complimented some of her dishes she made at home, the clothes she made for the girl, and for taking care of her in general.

Marley's mother understood where she was going by the way she looked at her daughter's face. She would always love her back, of course. There was so much grief when she eyed her daughter each time. Other times there would be happiness, but there wasn't much of it. Most of the reason could be having to do with herself or her mother.

If only Mrs. Rose's daughter could be fully happy again.

"Are you alright, sweetheart? You didn't ask for dinner yesterday, either. Has something happened in school that you're nervous about?"

It was when that question came up that tightened the knot in Marley's stomach. Maybe she should've taken the dinner offer after all. It would be in good use for when her mother got concerned about stuff like this.

Stuff that she just couldn't bear to open her mouth about.

The brunette teen shook her head again, looking from the page in her book to her mother at her bedroom door. "No, I'm fine. Everything's…fine."

Things didn't seem to be from Mrs. Rose's eyes. She just wanted to help the girl if anything was going down with bullies or some personal problems. Isn't that what a mother's role is supposed to be for their children?

"Are you sure? This is the second day you haven't had dinner."

All Marley could do at the moment was shrug. Other than the debacle with the immortal girl at her school and a couple of snarky remarks made towards her and her mother, there wasn't much she could think of. If Mrs. Rose knew anything about this Kitty girl and what she was capable of, maybe she could work out a thing or two with her situation.

But if she would have anything to do with it, both Marley and Mrs. Rose would end up cursed or dead…possibly.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Marley answered. She held one of her chapter books in her hand, her thumb saving the page she was reading moments before. "Just doing a little reading, and I'll head back to my Algebra."

To Mrs. Rose, that seemed like a good change for the day, other than hearing about another football jock laughing at her, or some mean girl teasing and cursing the life out of Marley. All she wanted for her was to have a normal high school life and fit in – and that's what Marley seemed to have.

To Marley, however, she knew that was all a lie – with the exception of breaking from any assignment some difficult teacher would give her. Nothing was normal to her anymore. Although it seemed to be, some things seemed a little too imaginary or strange. People walked, talked, laughed, and lived like normal people; however, it could be a jungle deeper within.

The brunette hated lying to her mother about how life was treating her. Lying was terrible. For all Marley knew, though, Kitty – who claimed to be Becca Tobin to protect her true identity – could be watching her back at this very second. Maybe she was granted the power to have super vision or good hearing, and could do both from about a hundred and fifty miles away.

Whatever happens, finding out how will be pretty damn scary and creepy.

"Can I tell you something, sweet pea?" Mrs. Rose asked from where she stood, causing Marley to look up at her again. She really hoped she wouldn't dig deeper into this problem. She's already had to deal with sharp nails digging into her pierced ears earlier that day in the school library. Plus, more concern would grow inside of Mrs. Rose, and the whole neighborhood would hear about.

On the bright side, though, supernatural things aren't necessary real, unless it were something spiritual and religious like Jesus and heaven. Marley's anxiousness calmed down once she saw the sweet smile spread on her mother's porcelain face.

"You're a sweetheart, muffin. I love you." That sounded more sincere than she's ever been lately. Luckily, Marley willingly took the compliment.

"Thank you, Mom," the brunette girl replied with a cheeky smile on her face, and she watched as her mother returned into the hallway and down the stairs for the food. The woman has such a warm-hearted soul. A soul that Marley wished everyone had so people could be treated equally no matter what race, gender, sexuality – or even supernatural power – you consisted of.

Then she won't have to worry about walking down the halls of McKinley High and getting cold, wet Slushie facials ruining her hair and clothes.

Satisfied, Marley picked the chapter book back up and returned to her reading. This one she was reading was called Purified Surroundings, and her attraction to the story contents grew to her as she continued glancing upon the words on each page. Every time Marley read a sentence, mainly the ones with a lot of description, she would imagine herself in that place. Bright and beautiful, with all of the flowers in the world just on the earth floor. It never thundered, death almost didn't exist, and there was no such thing as words such as harsh, offensive, or mean.

God, Marley really wished she lived in that world right now.

A multicolored, glowing crystal ball floated in mid air in an unrecognizable room inside the Wilde family household. The entrance was a section in the basement wall somewhere, and can only be activated with a pixie wand and a magical song. Kitty knew how to handle that easily. She would watch her mother do it all the time ever since she was able to speak.

Aside from dealing with Marley, Kitty has so many problems of her own. She can't be seen in public showing off her powers to anyone, especially in the night time when it's dark and people could gaze at her in the sky, floating around like she's possessed or something. In the magical world where she was born, there's so much controversy with the way she is right now. Sure, she was as beautiful as the next pixie in line, but she's the center of conflicts between the fairy and the vampire creatures.

She sometimes wondered why her mother, a pixie, would love or even give a shit about her father, a vampire. He didn't look as charming as Kitty thought he would be. She was glad he didn't have a lot of weight on him, or he could crush a squirrel on the ground if he were to sit in the grass one day.

Furthermore, vampires were so evil to Kitty's eyes. They bit people and went in search for blood, and people end up dead because of them. That was pretty much the controversy part of this whole debacle in Kitty's world. The fairy-born citizens blame the vampires ones for their affect on general human beings. However, the vampires believe that the fairies' powers can be a little too powerful, and could cause such tragedy in the real world.

Kitty was only eight years old when she overheard this from her father, but if a vampire has a baby with another immortal creature, or even a human being, the child will grow to a certain age and suffer through blood loss and die. Then moments after, their souls are taken to the dark side. She knew that was pretty silly, but it sounded so real for the most part. She preferred to have fairy wings and just fly out into the nighttime like all the other fairies in her world.

She just wished to be a normal supernatural creature, and not something as unusual as the combination of a snake and a fish. Vampires and fairies weren't meant to have a magical and blood-thirsty bat as a child. Kitty wondered if there could be a way to change into what she truly wanted to be. Plus, being a magical pixie like her mom would benefit more than being a blood-sucking vampire like her father.

When she was relatively around nine years old, her parents were working on multiple experiments. One involved a potion that gave mortal or immortal beings the behaviors – and often times, physical appearances – of a feline. They had tested their experiment on a dwarf that came to their house and stole some of their food one day, and he grew to have yellow cat eyes and pointy, triangle ears moments after. And whenever he spoke, he just hissed at people.

Kitty could just giggle at that ridiculous memory.

But…well, Kitty just didn't understand the next few events. Like, she didn't know how she wasn't careful when she took a part in that feline experiment. All she did one day was work out in the home gym, and found some pink liquid, which looked to be pink lemonade or something, in the refrigerator. She took a cup full, and got dizzy that evening. She lost her appetite, got sleepy all the time, and kept scratching herself on the arms. It wasn't like she had the chicken pox; however, she had no idea on what the idea really was.

And then, the clock struck midnight. The moment in time when everything's dark, and not one person stirred through town. The moment when all souls are asleep, and not one drum or strike of lightning could wake them up. Kitty rolled around in bed so much; she felt like she was having cramps. She continued to scratch herself on the arms, and she made a soft hiss snore when she slept. That never happened before. She never snores.

The following morning, that's when she realized that she has made the biggest mistake of her life.

She attempted flying into town for errands for her mother, and caught herself climbing up a tree instead of flying into the sky. Her eyes would glow in the dark in a pale yellow. Her diet, although disapproved of most fish foods, consisted of tuna sandwiches. She still worked out normally and could take the weight off easily; but the way she behaved was so unusual.

She asked her parents what was wrong, and they realized that their daughter had gotten into the solution. They told her to keep herself on the down low until they could come up with a remedy. In order for that to happen, she couldn't leave the house to see anyone. The pixie wand, which was powered with 200 pixie dust watts, couldn't help anything. The potion had seeped into the girl's cells, and striking the wand at her at the earliest moment after consuming the liquid would radiate her skin and burn her.

They grabbed a bunch of ingredients for another potion that could remove this curse. They tried their best to come up with something that could cure her. Their recipes didn't work. So they had to go out to the village area to find the nearest warlock, leaving Kitty alone in their home in the supernatural world. Somehow, Kitty escaped home and caused mischief downtown. Everyone on the news saw her as an exorcist girl or something.

In the supernatural town Kitty lived in, it had been a law decades back that stated that it was illegal to mix mortal and immortal creatures to combine one, whether it was a normal human being or some type of animal such as a dog or a goldfish. Kitty didn't want to be in a family where the town's drama is centered around them. But there was no changing back anyway, because she was already half fairy, half vampire.

That was the whole second part of the problem as well. Each race of supernatural creature believes that something bad will happen to them. Vampires – being allergic to sunlight – could easily get killed by fairy wands, which were filled with so much dust that was made up of gases similar to the ones in the sun. The fairies feared death and gory sights such as dead corpses. In fact, they died in a cloud of dust than just closing their eyes and rotting in the space they fill. And they didn't seep out blood; it was just a vinegar-smelling scent, but the pain was just as great as anyone's.

Kitty couldn't believe how complicated her life was. It was so confusing. It wasn't the best of both worlds for her. One world was a sweet dream, and the other was a frightening nightmare. Why couldn't she just be a normal supernatural creature? That's all she wanted to be. Just normal.

Though in the supernatural world, nothing is ever normal. At least to humans, it's not.

The blonde girl heard footsteps behind her. The secret opening into the secret room hadn't been heard all that time Kitty was in there by herself, observing the glowing, floating object in midair. Vampires did have super speed. Kitty couldn't blame the old man.

"Kitten," he called to her using one of Kitty's nicknames of some sorts. "It's late at night. Go on to bed."

Although Kitty heard what the man said, she still had something on her mind that was bothering her: Marley.

She was an innocent girl. She attempted getting good grades in school, wanted to fit in with a whole bunch of people, and had a mother that was clearly in favor of loving her until the day she died. But something about Marley bugged her. She didn't know what, but it was true. She got into her business sometimes when she wasn't wanted, and she was so lost.

Kitty thought back of when she joined the cheerleading team, which lead up to the morning after Marley found out she was an immortal being. It must've been the dark side of her kicking in, or the fact that she wanted to keep on Marley's tail in case she told anyone about her secret; but she just made fun of her most of the time – sometimes for no reason.

And then in the real world, she felt like she gained as much power as she did in the supernatural world. She was enjoying the feels, the laughter, and the people that were strangely on her side. Sure, it upset Marley; but Kitty felt that it was what she deserved for spying on her in the first place.

She wanted to tell her dad what Marley almost did, but that would mean that the blonde would end up losing another friend. Marley could die at any moment. She could be sliced with one of Mr. Wilde's sharpest knives for all Kitty knew.

As the girl got up from where she sat, she heard her dad speak again. "Did she say anything today?" His voice sounded so stern. He wasn't a violent man, but he could throw back when he wanted to.

"No," Kitty answered, taking steps towards the entrance with her head bowed and her eyes facing her purple glitter shoes. "The coast is still clear."

At least she hoped for it to be.

Author's Note: Yeah, this looks pretty weird as hell, doesn't it? I'm not that good with supernatural stories; so bear with me on this, okay? I appreciate it.