The next day at school is chaotic. Almost everyone is asking me questions about what happened. Luke stays by my side the whole day other than when we have different classes. Alexis and Max were shocked to see me walk into homeroom. Alexis started crying. Last night everyone had been happy to see me. Well, naturally. Jake had felt bad because he felt like it was his fault. I assured him that none of them could’ve done anything. Then we’d talked for a while about our new powers. So apparently our powers only work when we’re surprised, excited, or mad. He also warned me to be careful five minutes after using my powers, because if I was exposed to too much fire or heat it could knock me unconscious. We’d promised we would each be careful around each other, considering he has fire powers and I have ice powers. Me and Mark had talked for a while about everything that happened, and we straightened everything out. Anyway, now it’s lunch. “I honestly still can’t believe it.” Alexis says, shaking her head. I laugh. “Neither can I.” I say. “That makes three of us.” Luke adds. “Four.” Max says over a mouth full of an apple. I grin. “Wait, Luke, last night you left without telling how you found me.” I say curiously. “Ok, well, a few days ago word got around that someone had seen someone that looked exactly like you around RiddaTown, which is where you were.” He takes a breath. I nod. “I’d been searching around here and hadn’t found anything, so I decided to go there. It was my first day there and the place I was staying had like, no food. I went to Harris Teeter and… there you were. Then there was the whole shabang where they caught me and tried to lose me but couldn’t and I followed, called the police and uh… here we are.” He explains. Suddenly I hear a microphone squeal. I plug my ears quickly and look up to the platform a few yards away. Mrs. Hintel, our principal, is standing up there trying to figure out the microphone. I stare with amusement. Finally she figures it out. “Hello students!” She says brightly. “Hi, Mrs. Hintel!” We all chorus. “Well, first I wanted to welcome Princess Ashley back…” She says with a smile, gesturing towards our table. I sink into my seat as people start clapping. I look at Luke who’s sitting beside me. He knows I hate attention like that. Mrs. Hintel starts talking again, drawing everyone’s attention. I sigh in relief. Luke takes my hand under the table and squeezes it. I smile at him. “Anyway, I also wanted to announce this year’s Holiday Dance. It will be on December 15th, around three weeks from now. Please RSVP online! Thank you and have a great day.” She flashes us one last bright smile and exits the stage. The room gets even louder than usual. Alexis kicks me under the table. “Dress shopping later?” She asks. “Duh!” I say with a mock eye roll. Luke looks at Max with a smirk. “They didn’t even give us time to ask them. I guess they just assumed we would…” He says with a glance towards me. I kick him in the shin playfully. “You know you would, doofus.” I say. Max grins. “I thought he was planning on asking me.” He says, laughing. Alexis elbows him. That just makes him laugh harder. A few hours later me and Alexis are at the mall in a prom dress shop. She had already found one she liked, an emerald green ankle length with short puffy sleeves. She looks amazing in it. “Let’s find you something light blue. Something that’ll match your eyes and hair.” She says thoughtfully, thumbing through a rack. “Aha!” She exclaims a minute later. She pulls off a light blue dress with silver sparkles. It’s a little shorter than knee length. It has short see through sleeves with sparkles. She holds it up to my hair. “It matches your hair almost perfectly!” She says, grinning. “It’s beautiful!” I say enthusiastically. I try it on. It fits perfectly. “I think I have shoes that’ll work with mine, what about you?” I ask as we walk to the checkout counter. “Yep, I’ve got some.” She replies. “I’ll pay. Mom gave me her credit card.” I say, giggling. She laughs. There’s only a small line so we wait for a few minutes, pay for the dresses, then walk out to Alexis’s car. Everybody had gotten their licenses while I was gone. I already have my permit, I just need to go pass the test for my license. We put the bags with our dresses in the back of her car. Just as we’re leaving I see a familiar dark blue van a few parking spots away. “Alexis. We need to go.” I say quickly. She follows my gaze. “Is that them?” She asks curiously. I nod grimly as she starts the car. I see Leo come from behind the van and jump into the drivers seat. Alexis pulls away quickly as me and his eyes lock. As we start down the road my suspicions are confirmed. They’re following us. I quickly pull out my phone. “I’m calling Luke.” I tell Alexis. She nods. He answers quickly. See below for more.
“Hey, what’s up?” He asks. “Hey. Me and Alexis just left the mall. Leo’s following us.” I say, looking behind us. “Come to my house. I’ll watch for you guys.” He says hurriedly. “Ok. Thanks.” I say. “Actually, just don’t hang up. That way I can know if anything happens.” He says. “Sounds great. Thank you.” I say gratefully. “We’ll be there in about five minutes.” Alexis says. “Ok. I’m standing outside.” He says. I hear his front door shut. I look back behind us. They’re a good distance behind us. I turn back around. All is silent for a minute. “I wonder why they’re trying. I mean, even if they do kidnap me because of my powers, how do they plan on taking them?” I wonder aloud. “Who knows?” Luke asks. Alexis shrugs. We soon pull into Luke's driveway. Leo slows down behind, then speeds up and keeps going on the main road. I sigh in relief, then look after the van. I see John in the passenger seat, but no one's in the back. I wonder where Henry and Ty are. Alexis stops the car and we both hop out. Luke walks up to us, eyeing the road. "Good thing they didn't try anything." He says, shoving his hands into his pockets. He smiles at me. "Thanks for helping me not get kidnapped." I say slyly. They start laughing. Alexis slides back into the drivers seat. “Want me to take you home?” She asks me. I glance at Luke. He grins, jerking his head in the direction of the basketball court. “Nah, I’ll stay here for a little bit.” I tell her. She smirks. “Ok. I see how it is.” She says. I cross my arms and raise my eyebrows at her, then start laughing. “Ok, ok. Be careful. Bye.” I say, blowing her a kiss. “I’ll drop your dress off at the castle. Byeee!” She says. She winks at me and shuts her door, then pulls out of the driveway. We watch her go, then Luke comes up behind me and folds his arms around me, resting his chin on my shoulder. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “I won’t rest until they’re caught, you know.” He whispers in my ear. “Luke,” I say, turning around and putting my arms around him. I hug him tight. “You have to be careful. You have no idea how dangerous they are.” I say. He kisses my head. “I know, but you aren’t safe until they’re gone.” He says. I look up at him. “And I won’t be ok if YOU’RE gone.” I say softly. He kisses me. “I know that.” He whispers when he finally pulls away. After that we play basketball for a little bit. Soon it’s dark. I look at Luke, tossing the ball from hand to hand. “I should probably head home, before you know who tries anything.” I say, wincing. He sighs. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll walk you home. I would just drive you home but…” He says, giving me a small grin. “That’s less time with you.” He says. I throw the ball at him, laughing. He catches it and shoots it. Nothing but net. He leaves the ball where it lands and grabs my hand. We start for the castle. Soon Luke halts to a stop quickly, squeezing my hand. “Run.” He whispers. “Ha. Not happening.” A voice says from behind me. Ugh. Leo. I feel the cold barrel of a gun rest on my neck. I immediately make the ice appear in my hand. “You wouldn’t shoot.” I say through gritted teeth, looking at him over my shoulder. “Maybe not you, but I couldn’t care less if we shot him.” Leo laughs, nodding at Luke. I look at him. John is pointing a gun at his neck. “Drop the ice, Ashley.” Leo growls in my ear. I hesitate, then smash it to the ground. The shards float up, making the air around them glow. “Just leave me alone.” I say, almost whining. “Ok.” He says. He pulls the gun away from my neck. I turn and look at him, surprised and confused. He backs away slowly and nods at John. John follows him. “I’ll be nice. You’ve got till the dance.” Leo whispers as they disappear into the shadows. I shiver. “Ok, NOW run.” Luke yell-whispers. We sprint to the castle. I keep looking back to see if they’re following. They aren’t, as far as I can see. Soon we burst through the door to the castle. The guards that were standing outside look in and then shut the door behind us. I almost barrel right into Jake. “Woah, woah! What’s going on?!” He exclaims, grabbing my shoulders to steady me. To be continued… heyyyy! i am so so so sorry it took me SO long to post this chapter… i literally had no motivation whatsoever for this. i wrote some chapters that will be in like 10 chapters tho… not very helpful, right? XD there’ll be a part two of this chapter, i couldn’t fit it. :) enjoy!
