Hello everyone! I made changes to the previous chapter [B(S)-Day] so just check it out again so everything makes sense, thanks for reading! Comment and add -

Chapter 6: Truth Be Told

The monster lowered his head, and his muzzle formed a strange wolfish smile. His eyes were nearly invisible against his black fur, revealed only by the fire cast across their glossy surfaces.

The sound of rain and a soft gray light seeped through the blinds when I blinked once again from the vision. I find Mom standing at the kitchen stove scraping scrambled eggs into a serving bowl, already dressed and ready for work like any other day, her long, dyed-auburn hair still wet from the shower. She's humming to herself. She seems happy.

"Morning," I announce.

She turns, puts down the spatula, and crosses the linoleum to give me a quick hug. Her smile full of joy, like that time I won the district concerto competition in sixth grade: proud, but like she never expected anything less. "How is my adult daughter doing?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What's wrong?" my mom said in complete worry. She stares at me, a flicker of fear crosses her face, like she's bracing for horrible news, like someone we know has died, "You have been acting odd lately. Is there something going on?"

"I couldn't sleep." I smile, but it's less jubilant than planned.

A cautious smile. She looks at me up and down like she'll be able to find evidence of the divine somewhere on my body. "Nervous about tomorrow?"

"No, I just keep having these nightmares. But they don't feel like nightmares." I shut my eyes and see it all again: the claws, the fear, and being saved.

"How do you know it wasn't just a dream?"

Because I wasn't asleep. All of this must have been new to her. She's not in that time when the supernatural stuff can be exciting and cool, and I never talk about a lot of personal stuff with my mom since we disagreed with several things.

"It's nothing, it was just a really lucid nightmare. It's not like it can happen in real life or something."

It happened again two hours later. I'm in the middle of jogging laps around the outside edge of the gymnasium, and suddenly it hits me, just like that. The world as I know it—Daylight and the gym—promptly vanishes. I'm in a forest. I can actually feel my fear. This time I see a boy with rosary pink hair.

And then I almost crash into a cheerleader.

"Watch it, dorkina!" she says.

I stagger to one side to let her pass. Breathing hard, I lean against the folded-up bleachers and try to get the memory back. But it's like trying to return to a dream after you're fully awake. It's gone.

Crap. No one's ever called me a dorkina before. Derivative of dork. Not good.

"No stopping," calls Mrs. Schwartz, my PE teacher. "We want to get an accurate record of how fast you can run a mile. That means you, Jace."

She must have been a drill sergeant in another life.

"If you don't make it in less than ten minutes you'll have to run it again next week," she hollers.

I start running. I try to focus on the task at hand as I swoop around the next corner, keeping my pace quick to make up some of the time I've lost. But my mind wanders back to the vision. The ground under my feet strewn with rocks and pine needles. The boy standing there with his back to me as he watches the fire approach. Or, he was on fire. My suddenly so-very-rapidly-beating heart.

"Last lap, Jace," says Mrs. Schwartz.

I speed up. Why is he there? I wonder, not closing my eyes but still seeing his image like it's burned onto my retinas. Did he go to this school? My mind races with questions, but underneath them all there is only one:

Who is he?

At that point I blow past Mrs. Schwartz, sprinting hard. "Good, Jace!" she calls. And then, a minute later, "That can't be right."

Slowing to a walk, I circle back to find out my time. "Did I get it under ten minutes?"

"I clocked you at five forty-eight." She sounds truly shocked. She looks at me like she's having a vision, of me on the track team.

"The watch must have been messed up," I explain, cause I've never been under nine minutes before. But either way, it means I will not have to run the stupid thing again next week.

"Yes," she says, nodding distractedly. "I must have started it wrong."

School flew by like a breeze. Friday's often that way. Everyone, including teachers and staff, just wanted to get the hell out of there and enjoy the weekend. The night before, I had fallen asleep almost upon impact with the pillow, and obviously I hadn't gotten any work done on my paper.

I drove home right after school to squeeze out three of the five pages needed for my lit paper. That night I wore the crystal necklace Peter had given me. It felt right wearing it, like it was some bubble protecting me from my negative thoughts. The feeling was comforting, and the necklace was beautiful. I loved it.

I met Brit and Evan at the theater, and we were soon joined by Mady and Nathan. As soon as I arrived, Brit noticed my necklace.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, gaping at the pendant and examining it closely. "It looks so boho. So gorgeous."

"Yeah, it's really pretty." I didn't want to tell her Peter had given it to me, or that it supposedly protects me with magic.

"I'm going to steal it," Brit said, and walked away.

It was chilly outside, so I was glad I was wearing a hoodie over my tank top. We wouldn't have many more forty-degree days in December. The movie was all right, with some pretty good special effects, but I couldn't focus enough to enjoy it as much as my friends seemed to. I had already forgotten most of the plot by the time we all left the theater, with my friends chattering about how sweetly some random henchman had taken a knife to the head and how the hero had escaped the burning train. The boys were pretty stuck on recalling how hot the love interest was.

I found myself looking in the darkest places around me, fearful of what might leap out from the shadows. I wondered if I would pass someone on the sidewalk who might be killed by a demon. If I was to be some kind of hero, how many people would I be unable to save? I couldn't even eat fries without dripping ketchup on myself. How could I be responsible for someone else's life when I couldn't even be responsible for my own shirt?

"You okay, J?" Brit asked, lowering her head to whisper into my ear. "You seem so distant and quiet."

I heard someone cough loudly behind me. It was a derisive sort of cough, the kind of noise someone might make who was trying not to laugh out loud.

I turned around.

Several feet away from me was the boy. The boy I saw while I was running. His arms were bare and his left arm covered with faint white lines like old scars. His neck bore a white muffler; I could see he was only wearing a black tank top, some pair of jeans, and a bean over his head to cover the pink hair. He was looking right at me, the side of his mouth quirked in amusement. Worse than the feeling of being laughed at was my absolute conviction that he had been standing there five minutes ago. Waiting outside the theater for me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've just got to get going."

"Huh?" Brit asked, surprised. "Are you ditching us early again?"

Evan overheard and jogged up beside me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "You'd better not be thinking about bailing. It's only ten and your party is tomorrow. There's got to be a preparty and then an after party. And a day-after party. Stay out later. Your paper can wait. I haven't even started mine."

"No, it's not my paper." I didn't want to lie, but a partial truth would do. "I'm meeting Peter in a little bit." Evan's arm became stiff around my shoulder.

Brit's eyes bulged. "You mean that hot guy in cosplay? You're going on a date with him?"

I put my hands up defensively, not wanting them to get the wrong idea. "No, no, no. It's not a date...When he transferred Coach told me that I had to tutor him." Now that was the best cover-up.

"Honey, it's Friday night, and when it's just you and him hanging out, that's a date. He's hot as hell, so have fun, okay?" Brit winked.

Mady nodded. "Yeah, he is. Let me know if you don't want him! I will gladly take him off your hands." She laughed and playfully pinched me in the side. I twisted away uncomfortably.

Evan's expression turned dark and he withdrew his arm. "Are you serious? You're going somewhere with that guy? You don't even know him!"

"Yeah, do you think his sisters need a tutor too?" Nathan asked.

"One, yeah he's a little strange, and two, no Nathan. They're smarter than you." I said, "Look, I have to go. Now."

"See you later, J," Mady said.

"Be safe," Kate said. "Just call me if you want me to bail you out."

I nodded. "See you bright and early? We'll get to Somerset around eleven? Maybe lunch while we're there?"

"Sounds great!" She smiled, and then her expression wiped clean.

I looked over to the guy again and he waved at me, moving his way towards a alley. I stared at him and he raised his left hand to wave at me. One foot forward and he began walking, unhurriedly, toward a alley. My lips parted in surprise. He was leaving, just like that.

I sprang off, forgetting the I wasn't going to my car. I raced toward him, leaving everyone staring after me.

"Jace," said a voice as soon as I turned a hard left.

I was shocked to see Starfire. "Starfire! What are you doing outside?"

Her eyes flickered to the necklace around my neck and a warm smile shaped her lips. "We were going to meet, remember?" I didn't see the boy anymore and couldn't see anything in the dark alley.

I sighed and accepted it, "R-right."

Looking down, she wasn't wearing her bunny outfit, but a very trench coat over her turtle, skirt, and stockings. Just a closet change made me realize how beautiful and stunning she really was.

The smallest smile formed in the corner of her mouth. "So you believe us."

"I don't want to." I said immediately, "But something is going on."

"Don't worry, we will explain everything when everyone else arrives." She looks around,

I stood there seething for a moment. She obviously wasn't going to give me a straight answer, but my phone started to vibrate erratically. It was my dad: Albert. "Hold on, I need to get this." I said.

She nodded in full understanding, in a way that made her seem a lot older and mature than I perceived.

"Hi, Dad," I say into the phone on speaker.

"Hi." There's a pause. Three words into our conversation and he's already out of things to say.

"So what's the occasion?"

For a moment he doesn't say anything. I sigh.

For years I used to practice this speech about how mad I was at him for leaving Mom and Allen. I was three years old when they split. I didn't remember them fighting. All I retained from the time they were together are a few brief flashes. A birthday party. An afternoon at a beach. Him standing at the sink shaving. And then there's the brutal memory of the day he left, me standing with Allen in the driveway, her holding me on her hip and crying brokenheartedly as he drove away. I can't forgive him for that. I can't forgive him for a lot of things. For moving clear out of state to get away from us. For not calling enough. For never knowing what to say when he does call. But most of all I can't get past the way Mom's face pinches up whenever she hears his name.

Mom won't discuss what happened between them any more than she'll dish about her fashion nightmares. But here's what I do know: My mother is as close to being the perfect woman as this world is likely to see. She's beautiful. She's smart and funny. She is musical. And he gave her up. He gave us all up. And that, in my book, makes him a fool.

"I just wanted to know if you're okay," he says finally.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

He coughs. "I mean, it's rough being a teenager, right? High school. Boys."

Now this conversation has gone from unusual to downright strange. "Right," I say. "Yeah, it's rough."

"Your mom says your grades are good."

"You talked to Mom?"

Another silence.

"How's life in the Big Apple?" I ask, to steer the conversation away from myself.

"The usual. Bright lights. Big city. I saw Derek Jeter in Central Park yesterday. It's a terrible life. Oh, I was thinking," he says now. "Maybe you and Allen could come to New York."

I almost laugh at his timing. "I'd like to," I say, "but I kind of have something important going on right now."

He doesn't say anything.

"Sorry," I say, and I shock myself by actually meaning it. "I'll let you know if things change."

"Happy late-birthday, by the way." He's clearly trying to change the subject, "I have a meeting just at Bellevue this summer, you think we can celebrate when I come to town?"

My mouth drops open. He's just full of surprises.

And then I smell smoke.

The fire must have been close. But I don't see it. I don't see people outside running. And I must have been dreaming cause I'm not in my car anymore.

A hot gust of gritty wind sends my hair flying out of its ponytail. I cough and turn away from the blast, swiping hair out of my face.

I'm in the vision, and the vision is moving on. I turn away from the fire and walk quickly into some trees. Smoke drifts across the forest floor. Somewhere close by I hear a crack, like a branch falling. Then I see a boy, someone I have never met. His back turned. The fire suddenly licking the top of the ridge. The danger so obvious, so close. The crushing sadness descends on me like a curtain dropping. My throat closes. I want to help him. I step toward him.

"Jocelyn? You okay?" My dad's voice. I float back to myself.

I'm leaning against a brick wall, staring out the street where a hummingbird hovers near my mom's feeder, a blur of wings. It darts in, takes a sip, then flits away.

"Jace?" Starfire sounds alarmed. Still dazed, I dropped my phone.

"Jace," Starfire whispers urgently close to my ear. "Hey!"

I jerk back to earth. Dark alley.

Peter, Rose, Starfire, and Mystery Boy.

They were all staring at me. "What's going on?"

I'm dazed, disconnected, like some part of me is still up in the sky with a bird.

"Your hair's, like, shining," murmurs Rose. She glances away like she's embarrassed.

I look down. Gasp. Shining is not the word. My hair is an iridescent silvery-gold riot of light and color. It blazes. It catches the light like a mirror reflecting the sun. I slide my hand down the warm, luminous strands, and my heart, which seemed to beat so slowly a few moments before, begins to thump painfully fast. What's happening to me?

Mystery Boy kept looking over at me like I'm about to burst into flames.

"I didn't do anything. It just happened." I exclaimed finally.

When I looked at the other three for some sort of explanation, I didn't recognize Peter without his blonde hair. His hair was shaggy-like, and this guy had a color of dark blue and black, and wore a white collar shirt and black pants that had a singular chain hanging.

"What is wrong with me? What is going on here?"

"So, you're remembering then?" Rose said, wearing a pink sweater over a white collar with a jean and boots. Her hair was up in a ponytail.

I shook my head, "Sure, I guess, but I'm not here because I want to help you with these demons, I want answers. I've been seeing and doing things I can't explain, having these random flashes, these scenarios or - or - visions the past two days, and then THIS?" I lifted a strand of my hair.

"You're the Bellator." Lucy said.

"I don't know what that means because I know who I am. I don't even know who you guys are." I said as I clench my fist, "I knew you guys were fishy the first time I met you. Your obviously made-up names from Google and your lack of knowledge of this modern era." I started reviewing in my head what Peter was talking about yesterday, "Let me guess, you're all Mages huh?" I said sarcastically.

"Yes. We have been told that you know who we are. That's why we were chosen to come here for you. Because when we tell you our real names, you will trust us." Starfire had this very stern look, giving off this whole Wonder Woman persona, and had her arms even crossed when she spoke.

It all sounded so covert. I was having a difficult time believing that I was taking part of this charade. "Right, and judging by your getup, you guys must be Team Natsu from Fairy Tail right?" I joked.

"She knows my NAME!!" NATSU exclaimed, "Aha!! So she is the one Lucy!!"

LUCY shushed him immediately, "Can you be any louder? We're trying to be discreet dummy! Will your lungs ever die from exhaustion?" Lucy said as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, that proves that it was toooootally safe if I went undercover with you guys! But you know what I did instead of going to that boring castle-looking-school? I tried this thing called, a hover board!" He jumps in excitement, "These guys had a blue one, a yellow one, a black one, and a red one! I don't know what kind of lacrima they used to drive their feet around, but one guy was nice enough for me to try one!"

Lucy slapped her head in frustration, "Erza, Gray, we shouldn't have let him out all by himself in this place."

ERZA looked at him disappointed, "Nastu. You were suppose to help and search for clues."

Natsu scoffed, "I did! By riding on the hover board!"

"Did you steal it from the owner??" Lucy said worriedly.

Natsu paused, "Well...I kind of broke it. Ran. And ended up running for a while from those dudes."

"You are a real idiot, you know that?" Lucy said and hit his back.

He winced, "Ow! Hey! At least I didn't use magic! That makes not a real idiot." He exclaims and crossed his arms to pout.

I could see it completely. Not to mention how they look now, but the tattoo! "You guys aren't real! Your world doesn't exist!"

"How do you know your world is not real?" GRAY said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not kidding. You guys are NOT real." I pulled out my phone, searching through Google. "See? You're characters!"

Natsu was mesmerized, "Are these those light boxes you guys were talking about?!" He immediately snatched it from my hand.

"H-hey! It's a iPhone and those aren't durable!"

"Yes, cellphones." Erza said with crossed arms, "They are these devices that do not require a lacrima."

Gray grabbed the phone from Natsu, "Give it back, Flamebrain. You're gonna break another technology from this world."He insisted physically but tugging it away from him, but when he looked down on the screen, he scrolled down to something that made him look at me. "What are smuts?"

I gasped and grabbed my phone from him, "H-how far down in the internet did you scroll down??"

"So you trust us now!" Natsu said cheerfully.

My gaze lifted to her. "Nuh-uh."

"You don't have to trust us, but we want you to believe us." Lucy said.

I shook my head furiously, "Believe what exactly? That four people from literally a magical land, is in Seattle, Washington."

Erza stepped forward, "Throughout our lives monsters, people, and our land has been influenced and effected by Zeref's magic, and you are catching his attention." she said with an edge to her voice that forced shivers through my body, "A lot of his attention, hence the demons."

"But no worries, there are only a few." Lucy said, "The lacrima Gray gave you has been camouflaging your presence. As you can tell, not a single demon has come to attack you."

Speaking of the attack, "But wait, how come I wasn't able to see it at first?"

"People in your world cannot see them as what they truly are, only those with magic within them." Erza points out.

"I have some magic?"

He nodded, "Seeing them proves it."

"What if I'm psychic, like the ones who sometimes see things others can't?"

"No."

"Then how can I see them?"

"I don't know. You're the Bellator."

"That doesn't give me a straight answer," I said, frowning.

Erza shook her head tiredly, "We don't know what you really are. You don't posses any obvious magic energy...but something is very different. There are a lot of things about you that we still don't understand."

I had a million more questions, but are these the answers I want to hear? There were flashes of images, of terrible things, battles and blood, scattered across my memory in distorted fragments. How could I adapt to this? I wasn't dreaming anymore. My skin felt raw like I had hit the ground. My arm ached when I remembered the attack. Dreams never hurt you. This was real. My nightmares had become real. I was frightened, and I didn't want to have to deal with this. Wasn't it enough worrying about getting into college?

I crumpled to the ground next to dumpster. I recalled at the enormous gashes and the dent in Marshmallow's fender. I'm lucky mom wasn't going to kill me, "This is all real, isn't it?"

"Are you going to black out on us again?" Gray asked

"No, I'm okay," I said. "Sort of. So then—I did black out that night?"

"Yeah. You hit the ground pretty hard afterward."

Heat crept into my cheeks. "Thank you for getting me back to my room."

I looked up at him, and his gaze met mine."I wasn't going to just leave you there," he said.

"So what now? What do you want from me?"

Lucy carefully placed her hand on my shoulder for comfort, "We need you to come with us. To Earthland."

I bolted up from the ground, my legs like jello, "There's no way I'm missing my own birthday party."

"It is better for us to protect you if we can use our magic. We have allies and Mages who are willing to aid you under your name." Erza said.

I shook my head tiredly, "This is a lot," I mumbled, I dug my cell out and checked the time, then shoved my phone back into my bag. It was after ten. Fantastic. I'd never be able to get anything written on my paper and wake up with a working brain in the morning. Strangely, my homework seemed quite insignificant. "I need to get home. My mom's gonna flip."

"I'll stick around close." Gray said, stepping very close to me.

His closeness alarmed me for a moment, and then I felt my unease melt away. It was really odd, my reaction to his presence. Perhaps it was because he was the first one to protect me. That should have made anyone feel pretty safe, right? Perhaps it was the fact that he was my anime boy crush, until Brit told me to find another bias since Gruvia was her OTP.

"I'd like if at least some of you are at the party," I said. "To protect me."

Natsu slammed his fists together, "I'll guard on the roof!"

"You don't have to be creepers to guard me, you know. Come to my party and experience my world. Have fun."

"We have fun here." Erza said.

I scoffed. "I'm pretty sure our ideas of fun vary drastically."

Lucy flashed me a grin. "We can show you what a real party is back home!"

I frowned, "Look. I owe you all for saving my life, making me safe since the attack, and lifting my chest by answering questions for me." I clenched onto the lacrima necklace, "But I am not going to your world. I don't know how I'm suppose to stop Zeref, and I can't leave my whole life behind. I have my friends, college, my mom."

"Your life in this world is good here, we have experienced that." Erza said, "But the longer you ignore your fate, the more danger that will come of this land, not just ours."

I picked up my stuff and grabbed my car keys, "I-I promise I'll give you my answer. I just need to think this through, de-stress myself, and then I'll make my decision."

They could tell how exhausted I was and understood that it was their time to leave. They all understood, nodded, and started walking away

I couldn't help it and spoke to Gray one last time, "So will you come? Indoors, too, and enjoy the party?"

His smile was sly. "Don't you think Evan will have a problem with that?"

"How did you—? Oh, right."

"I've seen the way he looks at you," he said. "What shocks me is that you don't."

"Well, now that it's been pointed out to me, I just may."

He drew his face close to mine. "You don't read people very well, do you?"

I did a hmph and I turned away from him, "You're sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." I felt a sudden warmth behind me, like his body was close, "Good-bye, Jace," he whispers.

I spun around, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Gray?"

The street was dark, and the wind blew leaves and old papers down the sidewalk—the only movement I could see. "I am so sick of you pulling this Batman shit on me!" Exhausted and angry, I got back in my car and drove home.