So I had to update this, :3 this is kind of like an introduction chapter to one of my made up characters in the story. I won't be a spoiler so I wont say anything else but please read and review...send me your thoughts on how Brunette might impact the story! :D

This will be my last chapter for awhile, but please enjoy the other stories I have up. Thanks for the love!

Chapter Three: Brunette…

Coraline did not get any sleep.

As soon as she got home, she attempted to open the secret door…only to be caught by her mother.

"This is the worst you have EVER done, Coraline!" Her mother yelled in a fit of rage. Coraline had managed to slip the key into her pocket right before her mother grabbed her ear and started to pull her up the stairs "Sneaking out?! What has gotten into you?!" When they reached her room, her mother gently shoved her inside, then glared into the room "Now, if you want to stay up for such a long time, you can clean your room! You will not be doing anything after school for a LONG time, Missy!" She pulled the door shut, and that was that.

Coraline took out the silver button key and she placed it in her nightstand by her bedside. She made a small sigh, before she looked at the clock. She was so excited about going to the other world; she couldn't possibly fall asleep at a time like this.

And so, Coraline was in her classroom, sitting behind Wybourne, half asleep at her desk. The uniform didn't bother her anymore, either…now that she had something else to focus on; she didn't worry so much about how annoyingly tight it was around her neck or waist. She took off her colorful gloves so she could rest her head on them. She was actually a moment away from getting to sleep, when Wybourne shook her gently.

"Wake up, Coraline. Ms. Caroline is coming in."

Coraline mumbled as she buried her face in her arms that folded before her. Wybourne only watched for a little, before he looked ahead of him towards the front. The teacher from yesterday came in, and she scanned the room. She saw everyone being very attentive, all except one.

"Coraline!" She called, and the tired girl slowly lifted her head up "Hm?"

"Wake up, this is not the time to be sleeping," Ms. Caroline slowly walked her way over towards her desk "You had plenty time to do so last night, it is the morning! The day is anew!"

One of the girls at the front of the classroom giggled, and Ms. Caroline glanced over towards the area. It went silent, and Ms. Caroline turned her head back around to see Coraline asleep again. She growled "Alright then, sleep all you like… in fact…" She stood beside Coraline's desk, and then she yelled "You can CONTINUE TO SLEEP AFTER SCHOOL!"

Wybourne frowned and let his forehead hit the desk in front of him. Half of the class began to laugh as Coraline looked up and around, not even understanding what had happened. She then looked at Ms. Caroline, who was smiling smugly down at her.

"Ms. Caroline?"

The teacher continued to smirk "Yes?"

"I can't stay after school…I'm grounded."

The class shushed, and Ms. Caroline arched a brow. Her smile faded "Oh, is that so?"

Coraline nodded, before she dropped her head like Wybourne; who continued to pound his head on the desk gently.

Ms. Caroline looked around at the classroom, as the other students started to look at the teacher wondering if she would say something else. The woman cleared her throat "I will discuss matters with your parents then, we can call them after school…" With that said Ms. Caroline walked back to the front of the class and started to teach. It was silent, and Wybourne slowly turned his head and glared "Coraline!" He whispered angrily towards her "How are we supposed to hang out in the other world together if you're grounded and still getting in trouble?"

Coraline slowly lifted her head up "Leave it to me…" She whispered back, then went to sleep.

___

The school bell rang, and Coraline didn't budge. She now knew what was going on, so she knew she had to wait after school for detention since she knew her parents would agree with the teacher and not her.

Wybourne voluntarily staid after school as well only to keep Coraline company…whether they could actually talk in detention or not. Then another girl was staying after class, and Coraline recognized her only because of her name from the first day of school. That was Brunette, she had long light brown hair, and whenever she looked over at Wybourne or Coraline, she would reveal her bright grey eyes. Not even grey, they looked more like silver to Coraline, and they reminded her of the silver button key in her nightstand.

Brunette noticed the two, and she went over to sit by them without the teacher noticing. Brunette had light skin, not as pale as Coraline's, but not too pink. Her silver eyes made Coraline stare in awe, and Wybourne shiver in fear.

The girl smiled widely at Coraline "You're the girl who fell asleep in class, and used an excuse as to why you couldn't stay after school."

Coraline looked at the front of the room, where Ms. Caroline was still talking on the phone to her parents, then she looked back at the brunette haired girl "Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, I'm Brunette." The girl flipped her soft hair behind her shoulders, and she bowed her head to both of them "Pleasure to meet you guys…I'm here because I was passing notes and making fun of Ms. Caroline's serious attitude."

Coraline smirked and chuckled lightly, and Wybourne did the same.

Brunette then added "So when you guys get out of here, wanna hang out?"

Coraline groaned "I'm grounded…" She huffed under her breath, then Wybourne smiled "I'm not. We could, if you want…"

Coraline glared at Wybourne, a little annoyed that the male would leave her, then Brunette shrugged her shoulders "I wouldn't steal either of you from each other, I'd rather hang out with both of you guys."

Ms. Caroline hung up the phone, and it was declared that Coraline stay after school. With a sigh, the three of them waited for a long time for their teacher to dismiss them, before they left school together.

Wybourne was mostly silent as the two girls started to chatter away to each other, and Coraline got to know more about Brunette.

The brunette haired girl laughed "Well, let me think about what's important about me…um." She paused for a little, before she looked at Coraline "I'm fourteen, I like to drink chocolate milk and eat hamburgers. I also like to explore!"

"Me too!" Coraline gasped "Unknown places and curious things!"

"Same here!"

The girls giggled towards each other, and Wybourne only stared at Brunette.

The girl sighed "I was named Brunette after my hair; of course…my mom was never creative." Coraline smirked "You should have asked your dad to name you." Brunette's voice slowly lowered until she went quiet, and Wybourne immediately asked "What's wrong?"

"I don't have…a dad." Brunette frowned. Coraline blushed deeply "Oh… umm… I'm sorry, Brunette. I didn't mean to be rude."

"It's fine, one does not know until one asks." She made a weak smile "Besides, any male adult is like a father to me… they're all so nice." She sighed gently and nodded to herself. The three walked in an awkward silence towards the blue haired girl's home, and when they made it to the pink house Wybourne and Brunette stopped at her door.

Brunette smiled "Maybe we can hang out when you're not grounded anymore?"

Coraline nodded quickly, and she slowly opened her door 'I'll see you guys tomorrow." Wybourne waved, then the door slowly shut and Coraline leaned against it.

She made a soothing sigh, before she looked down at her feet. She slipped out of her jacket and boots, then she heard footsteps come closer until she felt the presence before her.

"Take a snack with you, then go upstairs and don't come out until I call you for dinner." Her mother instructed, and when Coraline looked up she saw her mother's glare aimed directly at her, and she pointed towards the stairs.

Coraline groaned in annoyance, before she dragged her back pack up the steps and went into her room. She shut her door, and she missed dinner later that night.

____

Coraline fell asleep while doing homework in her bed. She woke up with a jolt, from the strangest dream. Brunette's bright gray eyes…they seemed so entrancing. In her dream the eyes were glowing so brightly that they blinded Coraline. Most dreams never made any sense, so she ignored it as she rubbed her eyes.

She checked her clock, it was eight P.M. She rushed to her bedroom door and opened it slowly, peeking outside. The hallway light was still on, and she huffed as she closed her door. She went back to her homework.

She was waiting for her parents to get to bed, when they were asleep she would head through the door. Coraline looked at her nightstand, the silver key inside the drawer, and she sighed with a smile "Very soon…we will see what's going on."

Two more hours passed, and Coraline finished her homework. She put everything away and packed for school tomorrow. She stood at her window, slowly sitting down on the bench and staring out into the night. Brunette…the girl was just like her.

She heard footsteps outside in the hall, and she quickly looked and watched as the hallway lighting dimmed until it was dark. She would have to wait again, but she knew it would be worth it.

____

It was eleven at night.

Coraline was dead tired but she continued to sit at the window. She kept dozing off every now and then, and she would hit her head on the window and wake up with a gasp. She would stay alert, but then she would doze off once more.

She heard soft scratching.

Coraline moaned gently and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She yawned, then she looked down on the window pane and saw the black cat pawing at the window. She smiled and opened the window; the feline slipped inside and landed on her lap. Coraline picked him up in her arms and walked over to her bed "Alright," She said in a whisper and placed him on the bed "I'm going to get into something more comfortable, pajama's sound better than a school uniform."

She stuck out her tongue, and she moved to the door to her room and opened it slightly "Meet me by the other world door."

The black cat squinted his eyes, and he pawed at the air.

"Just do it."

The cat hissed under his breath, before he did as he was told and left the room. Coraline quickly changed into plain yellow pajama's, then she snuck out her bedroom door and rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen. She grabbed the phone, and she dialed the first numbers that came to mind.

A tired voice picked up the phone.

"My grandma is sleepin', so you're gonna have to call back a little later…"

"Wybourne, it's Coraline."

The voice on the other end gasped and then there was movement heard on the other line. Coraline waited for awhile before she spoke again "Get dressed and get over here, we're going through the door."

"Are you crazy? It's late, what if we get caught? You're gonna get ME grounded next!"

"You always worry so much, just get over here." And she hung up the phone.

___

Coraline was at the little door. Waiting, she was waiting with the silver key pressed to her chest. She was definitely nervous, unsure about what to do. She thought about checking to see if it was actually there or not, but she didn't want to feel any sort of disappointment or anything like that. She was nervous, but excited…and she wanted to keep the feeling.

The black cat would roam around the room, hopping on the sofa and curling up for a little, before he would just jump off and find his way back to Coraline's side.

Then there was a gentle knock.

Coraline jumped, gasping lightly as she quickly turned her head towards the kitchen. The knock sounded again, just a little louder, and she crawled to her feet and ran to the kitchen. She slowly unlocked the door and opened it, trying to keep it from making too much noise, and the fully dressed male stood outside with his flashlight on.

He had his mask over his face, and he wore his usual trench coat. He slowly used his free gloved hand to lift the mask off, then when he did he turned off the flashlight and smiled at the girl before him "This had better be good, Coraline."

Coraline smiled as she slowly took a hold of his wrist and pulled him gently inside. He shut the door behind himself, and he followed right behind her as she led him to the small door.

Coraline kneeled in front of it, and Wybourne slowly did the same.

Coraline took in a deep breath as she slipped the key into the hole. She looked at the darker skinned male, and he returned the nervous gaze. He nodded slightly, before she gave it a quick turn and pulled out the key.

She froze, and Wybourne decided to do the honors and open the door.

___

Coraline slowly opened her eyes, and she let out a light gasp as she lifted off her back…

She was in her bed.

"I was…dreaming?" She muttered in disbelief. She touched her face and shoulders, to see if it was all real, before she turned to her nightstand and saw her alarm clock. It was five fifty-nine in the morning…

"What?!" She yelled angrily, and the minute passed and her alarm yelled back.

She rolled out of bed, and angrily she pulled the alarm plug out of its socket and threw it to the floor. She pulled open her nightstand drawer, relieved that the key was there. But what had just happened? Was she that tired that she missed out and decided to—

The phone rang, and Coraline's mother yelled "I got it!"

Her father soon yelled as well "Coraline, get dressed and get your things! Remember that I'm your ride and I won't wait for you after seven!"

Coraline ended up kissing the silver key, before she put it back into her drawer and changed into her uniform.

She gathered her things, slid on her gloves and put in her hairclip. Not her usual dragonfly, this time it was a purple butterfly.

She hopped down the steps with a nervous smile, wondering about what had happened. It felt so real. She took a quick peek into the family room, and the door looked untouched. She wondered, before she slowly went into the kitchen. Her mother hung up the phone and went to the kitchen table, while her father served up a plate of eggs and bacon and put it down in front of the woman. He spotted Coraline and smiled "Hey, kiddo! Want some green eggs and ham?" He smirked as he turned to make another plate, then he chuckled "Without the green, and the ham?"

Coraline tilted her head and smiled, before she sat at the table. Her mother spoke up as she cleaned her lips with a napkin "So, why is Wybourne calling so early in the morning, Coraline?"

Coraline's eyes widened, and she slowly shook her head "I-I have, no idea…"

Maybe it wasn't a dream, it had actually happened…but some how they ended up being tricked into thinking it was a dream.

Her mother grunted, and she got up "I'm heading to work." She glared down at her daughter "You are to come right home after school, understand? No hanging out." She quickly left with that, and Coraline was given her food.

She quickly ate it all up, and drank down her orange juice, then she called "Dad, lets go!"

With that, Coraline was taken to school in a jiffy.

___

"Yeah, me too. It was completely weird. I was so excited, and I guess maybe we just got exhausted."

"How can we both get exhausted at the same time? How could you fall asleep in my house and wake up in your room? Even if it was just a dream, how could we have the same kind of dream?"

Coraline was in a deep discussion with Wybourne about what had happened. Wybourne, the whole time, had a disappointed expression on his face. He was obviously hoping to see what excited Coraline the most about this 'other world', but then something happened that caused them not to.

After their discussion was paused, school started and the day went by slowly, as always. The only upside on that day was how there was no homework, and they had five minutes of free time since the lesson was done early. At the end of the school day, the bell rang and everyone gathered their things and left.

While Coraline and Wybourne were heading out, someone tapped them both on the shoulder, which caused them to turn.

Bright silver eyes gazed back, and a cheery smile formed on the girls face "What's up, guys?"

Coraline smiled "Nothing really, just chatting about stuff…"

Wybourne nodded and agreed, as the three began to walk.

Brunette frowned and sighed "Aw, you guys got a secret? I wanna know! I promise not to tell anyone." Coraline shook her head fast "It's too much of a secret to just blurt it out. We don't know you well enough." Wybourne nodded in agreement before he added "Yeah, that and right now we're not even sure what to think about it…"

Wybourne looked at Coraline, and she let out a small sigh.

Coraline tried to think about what had happened, then her mind wandered to the key "It used to be black, maybe it's because it's silver now and there's a new door somewhere?" "That's a possibility." Wybourne said softly.

Brunette whined "You guys! Please! I'll be both of your best friends! I'll tell you a secret of my own! Please, please, PLEASE!"

She fell to her knee's and folded her hands as if she was praying to the God's of justice, and the two turned and stared at her. Wybourne smirked and covered his mouth to laugh, before Coraline placed a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. Brunette was SOMETHING alright…

"Okay. You can't tell a soul." Coraline said coldly.

Brunette got to her feet and rubbed her knees before nodding fast, and the three started walking again.

"There's this door that lead's to another world, in my house." Coraline said softly, and she continued gently "Last year I used to go all the time, until something bad happened… then the small door was locked until me and Wybie found the key again. The only difference is that the key is silver instead of black, and when we tried to get into the door we ended up waking in our beds as if it was only a dream…" Coraline quickly glared at Brunette "Believe us?!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Brunette held her hands up to defend herself, before she frowned "Well, I'd like to see it. Actually, if you guys are having problems I'm known to be a good luck charm!" She smiled proudly, then Wybourne looked at her "We can't risk trying it again, what if the same thing happens? Then what?"

Coraline wasn't sure what to say anymore. She looked ahead and remained silent, the pink palace slowly coming into view.

Brunette quickly added "I have a little door in my house, if you guys are interested. A key is needed 'cause it's locked… my mom doesn't have it, but I've been curious to see what's behind it."

Soon they all went silent. Wybourne and Brunette had smiles on their faces, while Coraline was deep in thought. When they reached her house, Coraline twirled and faced them "Okay…here's the plan. We're gonna try it again, and this time we're bringing the so called 'lucky charm'."

Wybourne parted his lips in a slightly shocked expression, while Brunette smiled happily.

Coraline then spoke again "If it doesn't work again, we might as well try Brunette's door. Who knows, maybe it does lead to the other world?"

Wybourne lowered his head and looked away as Brunette nodded "I'll be here around midnight then." She turned around and waved "Alright! I'll come prepared too! I know it will work this time for you guys!" She ran off without another word, and Wybourne smiled at Coraline "Alright then, I guess midnight it is."

Coraline nodded slowly "Midnight." And she watched as the male turned and walked away.

She sighed and breathed in deeply, before she entered her house.

__

So like before, Coraline waited until that time. Midnight was when Wybourne and Brunette would show up, and they would try to open the door. She was still wondering how they weren't able to enter the door last time… why? She thought that maybe the silver key was the reason why instead of entering… they sort of, exited? She had no idea.

She sat in her bed; the moon's light flew into her room. She was starting to miss her friends back home. They lost touch, they stopped calling and they stopped emailing and things like that…though Coraline was worried… she didn't mind. She had made her own new friends, and she was sure they had made some as well.

It was now eleven fifty-nine, one minute until midnight. Coraline took the key from inside the drawer of her nightstand and headed down the stairs quietly and carefully.

The black cat could have kept her company, but there had been no trace of him since earlier that day when they tried to open the door before.

Coraline soon heard a soft knock at the door, and she went over into the kitchen and opened the door. There stood Brunette, and her silver eyes had a strange glow to them until she stepped inside. The glow faded into grey, and she whispered "Okay, where's the door?"

"We gotta wait for Wybie first." Coraline said quickly as she slowly shut the door.

The two of them waited around for a little bit, soon Brunette wandered out of the kitchen and explored the main floor of Coraline's home. Coraline then heard a soft knock at the kitchen door and she opened it and yanked Wybourne inside.

The male stumbled, before the two of them headed into the family room.

Brunette managed to follow, and the three of them kneeled in front of the small door.

"Okay, this is it." Coraline whispered as she pulled out the key and slowly gave it to Brunette. Wybourne nodded "Our last try…"

Brunette looked at them and nodded slowly, before she looked down at the key. For a moment, Coraline thought she had seen something sparkle in the girl's eyes, but she let it slide as the brown haired girl slid the key into the hole and slowly turned.