Pretty Little Witches

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Chapter 6: Witches

Emily smiled as she opened the door. Standing on her front porch was her girlfriend Samara. "Hey," Emily said as the two shared a quick kiss. "Just go up to my room. I'll go get us snacks."

"Sure," Samara said and went up the stairs to where she knew Emily's bed room was. When she got up there she look around and leaned against Emily's desk. When she did that a bunch of papers and notebooks fell off and onto the floor. "Oh man." Samara mumbled to herself as she bent down to pick of the papers. One of the notebooks had fallen open and Samara picked it up. She planned on closing it right away and putting it back where it was, but then something caught her eye. "No way."

Emily walked up the stairs with a bag of popcorn and two sodas. She figured her and Samara could just watch a movie together on her TV or something. When she got into her room she found Samara staring at a notebook. She was so engrossed in whatever she was looking at she hadn't realized Emily had walked in. Emily was about to ask Samara what she was looking at, but stopped when she realized what notebook it was.

It wasn't that hard. Emily knew that notebook. She knew every sticker that was on the cover. She could even see the words Ali's Girls written on the cover. It was the Circle's homemade Book of Shadows. The one the six of them had started when Ali had first told them about magic. The one Cassie had kept hidden for the year the five of them hadn't talked. Before Cassie had left Emily had taken the Book of Shadows. She had gotten a hold of her family book of shadow's for a few days and wanted to transfer some spells from it into theirs. After Amelia had died Emily wanted to give it back to Cassie, but Cassie refused. She said it belonged to the Circle. Since Cassie had left a few weeks Emily had been keeping it hidden in her bedroom.

"Samara, what are you doing?" Emily asked and Sarah turned her head. 'That's not what it looks like."

"Emily..." Samara started, but Emily didn't give Samara a chance to finish.

"It's nothing. Just an old notebook me and my friends used to keep. We used to just write about weird stuff. Most of it is just ridicules. What are you doing looking through my stuff anyway? You shouldn't have. That could have been a diary..."

"Emily, calm down," Samara said. Samara had a little smile on her face and seemed like she was about to laugh. "Your a witch and I'm not going to tell anyone."

Emily gave a nervous laugh. "A witch! I'm telling you I'm not. We just used to be a little weird. A real witch. That's insane." Samara held up her hand and the bag of popcorn flew from Emily's hand into Samara's shocking the girl. Emily stood there with her mouth hanging open staring at Samara as Samara took some popcorn. "Your a witch!"

Samara smiled at Emily as the girl sat down on her bed. Samara took a seat next to her. "It's funny us finding each other like this. Almost as though we were meant to be or something." Emily gave Samara a look. "Two witches just randomly finding each other, dating, and then finding out they're both witches. Sounds meant to be to me."

"I thought you said you weren't ready for a serious commitment yet," Emily said.

"When your a witch it's hard to get serious with someone who is not a witch. Keeping secrets from them. It never works." Samara smiled at Emily who smiled back. "Your a Circle." Samara flipped to the first page. The one with the Circle binding spell on it. "Alison, that's the one who died." Emily nodded looking away. Seeing Ali's handwriting in the book was always hard. "I'm guessing your not bound anymore then?" Emily once again nodded. "Cassie, that's the one who had to move because her mom died?" Emily nodded again.

"She'll be back this summer," Emily said. Every time they talk to Cassie it was always said she would be back that summer and they tired to talk every day. They made plans on how they were going to spend each day. Of course Emily knew Cassie was getting to be good friends with the witches in Chance Harbor. Ever since she found out a few week ago that none of them killed her mom she had really started to become friendly with them, especially Diana it seemed. It worried Emily that Cassie would actually join their Circle. Cassie always denied it and said she would never and Emily choose to believe that was true. She didn't want Cassie to truly leave them.

Samara took hold of Emily's hand. "I'm sorry. I can see I upset you. It's just that I've never actually seen a real Circle before. My parents have been training me since I was little and talked about Circles. I kind of always wanted one and think it's cool you have one."

"It's okay. Just it's been hard. First Ali died and we became unbound. Then Cassie had to move. It's sad that we don't have a complete Circle anymore."

Samara nodded and was about to say something, but then Emily's mom walked in. Emily grabbed the notebook and closed it right away setting it down on the bed. "Mom, hi. When did you get home?"

"Just now. What are you girls doing?"

"We were going to watch a movie," Emily said giving Samara a warning look confusing the girl. "But then we decided to go out instead. Bye mom." Emily took the notebook and walked out followed by a confused Samara.

Once outside and in Emily's car Samara gave Emily a look. "My parents don't approve of magic. They don't know I practice."

"Seriously?" Samara asked and Emily nodded. "Okay, I won't tell them." Emily let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "You know when Cassie comes back this summer you can have a full Circle." Emily gave Samara a confused look. "That is if your friends would accept me."

"You want to be apart of our Circle?" Emily asked confused. Samara didn't know the type of danger she could get herself into by being with them. The danger she was putting herself in by just knowing and being with Emily. A was always around and what if A started torturing Samara too? Emily would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to her.

Samara nodded. "I've always wanted a Circle. What better Circle to be in then one with my girlfriend?" Samara paused. "Unless you don't want me in it. I know this is kind of weird. Finding out I'm a witch and then me asking to be in your Circle. I know a Circle is a special thing and I would never want to replace Alison. You need a sixth member and that could be me."

Emily looked at Samara and then took out her cell phone. It took a couple of rings, but Aria finally picked up. "Hey Aria, get the other girls. I have something I need to run by you all."

"Okay, where do you want to meet?" Aria asked.

"The woods where Ali brought us to bind the Circle." Emily told Aria.

"Okay," Aria said.

"Oh and by the way. Samara is going to be with me. Bye." Emily told Aria and then hung up before Aria could say anything else. Emily looked at Samara. "We have to see what everyone in the Circle thinks first and then we may have to tell you something that could cause you not to want to be in the Circle."

"I understand and I'm sure whatever you could tell me wouldn't stop me from wanting to join. " Emily very much doubted that, but decided not to say anything.

-TSC/PLL-

Cassie sighed, resting her head against her textbook. Yet another Friday night where she was stuck at home with nothing to do but homework. She supposed that she could watch TV… still, everything on TV was sad. She already felt horrible, and she wasn't going to make it worse. Sometimes, at the place where she'd gotten therapy, there was a boy there. He used to tell her that watching sad shows made him realize that his life wasn't all that bad. Cassie could never understand that. She got so attached to fictional characters, and when something bad happened it made her feel awful.

Of course, Calculus wasn't making her feel any better. She wished that Diana was able to help her, but no, she had "plans." Cassie knew that she and Diana weren't that close, but it upset her that Diana couldn't even tell her what she meant by plans. Diana was the one that had wanted them to be friends in the first place and now that they have sort of become friends she was never around. What did Diana not want her to know?

Cassie finally gave up, shoving her textbook off the bed. It was pointless. It wasn't like she would use Calculus. It wasn't like she had any idea of what she wanted to do in the future. It wasn't like she had any idea of what she wanted to do at all.

Cassie trudged downstairs, wondering if she should eat. Her grandma's note was still on the kitchen table, telling her that she had a late shift and would be back early in the morning. There was money, in case she wanted pizza. Cassie despondently turned the note over and over in her fingers. She didn't want pizza. She wanted her grandma to be home. So many late shifts, and that meant she was asleep when Cassie went to school.

Cassie took deep breathes, and she told herself to stop. She was getting the feeling, the sinking one where she was on the tip of an iceberg and it was going under, in the icy water. She didn't matter. No one wanted to be around her anymore, so they kept themselves busy. Busy, busy, busy.

"No!" Cassie hissed furiously. "I do matter, I do, I do. Grandma works long hours but it's not because of me. Diana has things to do, but it's not because of me."

The second statement had her losing belief in herself. Who was she kidding? Diana was avoiding her. Her grandma didn't care enough to take time off and visit with her. She was alone.

Later, Cassie remembered how her therapist taught her to repeat things, to be repetitive. If she kept telling herself she was important, that people cared, it would be true. But if she kept telling herself she wasn't important, that would become true. Still, the evidence for the second was far overwhelming the first. It was hard to make oneself believe a lie, no matter how many times it was repeated.

Cassie laid on the floor, knees pulled into her chest. Blood oozed from her wrists. The doctors had tried to explain it to her… whenever she was hurt, her body released hormones that helped numb and sooth the pain. When she kept repeatedly hurting herself then her body would keep releasing the hormones, to the point where they overcame the feeling that she was alone, abandoned. It wasn't so bad, not really. Her chest loosened. Her breathing slowed. Yeah, her wrists stung and burned, but at least she felt better.

Eyelids fluttering shut, she drifted off into a heavy sleep.

-TSC/PLL-

Emily and Samara waited in the wood. Emily looked around. This seemed to have been the perfect place to meet at first, but once Emily got here she thought differently. She could remember the night they bound the Circle so clearly in her mind. She almost felt like she was watching it again. Looking around she remembered where everyone stood. She could almost see Aria with her pink hair and Cassie next to her. Spencer and Hana had been next to Emily. Right across from Emily had been Ali and that was the creepy thing. She could see Ali there in her mind. She could hear the words coming out of Ali's mouth. The ones that bound their Circle, but it was just a memory. Ali was dead. It was all just a memory that Emily found herself reliving.

Slowly the others started to show. Looking at them Emily could see they were thinking and remembering the same thing she was. "So, what's up?" Aria asked as her eyes went to Samara.

"Guys, I just found out that Samara..." Emily stopped not sure how to tell them. Samara took care of that one.

"I'm a witch," Samara said. "Just like you guys." Emily knew her friends well and even though they had kept their faces calm and emotionless Emily could see the shock behind their eyes.

"That's surprising," Spencer said. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Look, I know this might sound weird," Samara started. "I know Circles are special. That the members in them are important to each other. The closest people in the world. I understand that. I do, but you need a sixth member and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me joining."

The four of them exchanged looks with each other. They didn't need to talk to understand what they were all thinking. "No offense, but why would you want to join our Circle?" Hanna asked.

"I always wanted a Circle. I can be helpful to you. Emily explained none of you have access to your Book of Shadows. I have mine. I will let you guys look in it and add to your notebook Book of Shadows. I've been training since I was little." Samara waited for what she said to sink in.

"If we do this all five of us have to say yes," Aria stated and everyone right away agreed. "We have to call Cassie." Aria took out her cell phone, but Spencer held up her hand to stop Aria .

"Before you make that call their is something you should know Samara," Spencer said and gave Emily a look. Emily knew what Spencer wanted to tell Samara and nodded. "There is someone after us. Someone who hates us. If you join our Circle. If you get closer to us your putting yourself in even more danger then you have already by just knowing us. Do you still want to join?"

Samara looked at Emily. She had never once thought Emily was in danger in the tie that she knew her. Samara nodded. "I know a Circle can be dangerous and if someone is after you that's more of a reason for me to join. To help protect you. A Circle is strongest with six members."

Spencer looked at Aria and nodded. It didn't take long for Aria to put in Cassie's number and put the phone on speaker phone. It rang and then it continued ringing. Aria was sure it was going to go to answer machine soon, but then she heard Cassie's voice saying "Aria."

"Hey, Cassie. Everyone is here," Aria said with a smile glad that Cassie picked up. "We have something to run by you." Aria heard Cassie moan on the other end. "Are you okay? Did I call you at a bad time?"

"No," Cassie said a little fast. "I just woke up."

"Just woke up?" Hanna said. "I thought you were behind us like three hours or are you ahead?"

It was Spencer who answered the question. "Washington is behind us. What were you doing asleep?"

"Oh god, what's with all the questions. I got sick of Calculus, I was bored, so I fell asleep," Cassie snapped. No one talked for a minute. "You guys had something you needed to run by me?"

"Yeah," Aria said and looked at Emily.

"Cassie," Emily started "I just found out Samara is a witch and she wants to join our Circle." Emily stopped letting the information sink into Cassie.

"Your replacing me," Cassie said and her voice sounded so sad it broke her friends. Right away all four of them said no at the same time.

"We're replacing Ali," Aria explained. "We're completing the Circle. If we do this we'll have a complete Circle of six when you come home, but we won't do it without your okay."

"Oh," Cassie said and Aria heard her taking a couple of deep breaths. It sounded like she almost started to cry and was now trying to calm herself down. "Yeah I guess that's fine. It would be nice to have a full Circle. Tell Samara I can't wait to get to know her better." Cassie paused. "So anything interesting happening with you guys."

The four looked at each other. Cassie seemed as though she didn't want to hang up. "Nothing really,' Aria answered. "What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Nothing," Cassie mumbled. "It's so boring here. My grandma is always at work and I have no friends."

"I thought you were getting pretty close to the Chance Harbor witches," Emily said. She remembered earlier worrying a bit that Cassie might start getting too close to them. That Cassie might actually want to join their Circle. Now it sounded as though Cassie wasn't close to them at all.

"A little," Cassie mumbled. "Really only Diana and she's always busy. Never wants to hang out with me or do stuff. I miss you guys."

"We miss you too," all four of them said together and then Aria added "it's only a few months away. Then you can come here for summer. I've been talking to my parents. I think if you can get your grandma to say okay they'll let you stay with us next year. This way we can all spend senior year together."

"That's great," Cassie said. No one knew what to say next. No one dared to hang up the phone though. "I guess I better go get something to eat and then maybe find something to watch on TV." Cassie voice sounded sad and the girls wished they had something to talk about.

"Okay, I have a date with Ezra later, but afterwards I'll call you up and tell you all about it. Does that sounds cool?"

"Yeah," Cassie said. "Bye."

"Bye," the girls said and then heard as Cassie ended the call. The four looked at each other. No one said it out loud, but Cassie had sounded very lonely and a little sad. They all wished they could spend time with her, but she was so far away. All four of them shrugged it off though. Cassie would be back in a few months and it's not like anything bad could happen to her by just being lonely. The girls looked at Samara.

"Okay, your in," Spencer said and then looked at Emily. "Why don't you get her on the A Track and make her A knowledgable." The girls laughed a bit confusing Samara.

"A Track? A knowledgeable?" Samara asked finding it weird that Spencer said that.

"Emily will explain," Spencer said. "I got to go." Spencer left followed by Aria and Hanna who waved a quick good bye.

Samara gave Emily a look. "Spencer was just being cute." Emily kissed Samara and smiled as she pulled away. "I have a lot to catch you up on."

"I'm all ears," Samara said and listened as Emily explained everything to Samara.

AN: okay here is the next chp. Hope you enjoyed. REVIEW

Please remember that me and my co writer are returning to school and will not be able to update as often as we would like,