Chapter Five - Part One

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CHAPTER FIVE

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Unease must have been written heavily upon my face the next morning, as I sat glowering behind my coffee and toast. With a sharp eye, but a quiet tongue, Mrs. Trentley refilled my mug. Sensing my mood, she was hesitant to leave, but just as reluctant to stay.

"Naomi, dear, you look like death." Mrs. Trentley said finally. "What happened to you and Adelle last night? What kind of trouble have you landed yourself in?"

"Please, Mrs. T." I said with a scowl. "Must you always ask me that question? I am an adult, you know."

"Yes you are." she agreed briskly. "But what does that have to do with anything? It's us adults that get ourselves into the worst kind of trouble. Children don't know the world like we do - not in the least."

Fortunately, the doorbell sounded, saving me from having to reply. And with a sigh, Mrs. Trentley straightened, smoothing her uniform.

"I'll just get the door then." she said, and a few moments later, Addy joined me in the dining room, alone, and freshly showered. But the dark circles beneath her own eyes suggested that she hadn't slept a lick either.

"Here," Addy said, producing a baggy from her large, Coach purse. At first glance I assumed it was kush, but closer inspection revealed small clumps of dried, crushed leaves that were green and gray in color. She dropped it on the table and I opened it, skeptical, as strong, familiar odor began to permeate the room.

"Ew, what is this?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the bag.

"Its vervain." Addy said, sitting down heavily in a chair to my right, and plucking an apple from the fruit bowl. "It's a kind of plant." she continued. "It helps to ward off Vampires. Tastes like ass, of course, but it's worth the trouble it takes to force it down. I've heard it's easier drinking it in your tea..."

Tea... tea....

TEA!!!

"What the fuck?!" I said, running my fingers through my hair and scratching my scalp in deep meditation.

"What? What is it?" Addy said, chewing through a mouth full of apple.

"I had this stuff before - a few days ago. It was in this tea that Diane made. I only took one sip, but I remember it tasted fucking awful... Why didn't she tell me that she was giving me vervain?"

"I don't know, maybe this just shows that she's as scandalous as her douchey husband. Or..."

"Or?" I prompted back.

"Or, we should be on our knees kissing her Prada heels. Because what if Tidus had bitten you last night? Who knows - maybe that one sip of dear old Grammy's 'spiked tea', could have stopped him from draining you. And granted, what Diane did was kind of underhanded, but maybe that's just her dysfunctional way of caring about you. I mean, it's not like she poisoned you, babe."

"Yeah, maybe... Look, do you really think we need this?" I said, reckless in my uncertainty, I knew.

"Are you seriously asking that question?" Adelle said, looking at me with disbelief. "Because this stuff should be gold to you, honey. And are you gonna tell me what really happened between you and Tidus last night? I mean, I could totally fill in the blanks, but I'm thinking that that wouldn't do it nearly enough justice."

I said nothing, but focused on taking a dainty bite of my eggs.

"Hey, whatever, don't say anything then. But just so you know - ignoring it won't make it go away."

"I'm not ignoring it. I just... I mean... We kissed."

If Adelle's lower jaw hadn't been connected to the rest of her face, it would have fallen off entirely and hit the floor. She gaped at me, eyes wide and accusing.

"Don't look at me like that!" I snapped.

"Jesus, I thought Ethan was just being jealous, but... Did you really? Oh Naomi, how could you!"

"Shutup Addy! I thought he was Ethan. I was blindfolded, I didn't know -"

"Blindfolded?!" Adelle gasped, screwing up her face in mock disgust. "Blindfolded? What the hell were you two doing?"

"Addy, it's not what you think. We kissed a couple of times, he took the blindfold off and that was it. He was only using the blindfold to lure me into a false sense of security, and guess what? It worked."

"So... What was it like?" Adelle said in a harsh whisper, eyes bright with excitement. "Was he a good kisser?"

"He was fucking excellent." I replied, matching her enjoyment with misery. "And I have never been kissed like that. But I swear, I thought it was Ethan..."

"Yeah, that's possible." Addy replied, with innocence that was clearly false. "Or maybe you were just enjoying Tidus Romaine so much that you didn't wanna let yourself notice..."

"Adelle Ivy Newport, you shut your mouth!"

But even so, I couldn't help the smile that slipped across my face either.

"Well, look babe, regardless of the fact that Tidus didn't kill you when he had the chance, we are still treading in some seriously dangerous waters. And as your down-ass bitch, I feel obligated to help you stay on track. So let's not make Tidus our focus. Instead, we need to worry about this witch who clearly lied to him."

"You're right." I agreed. "I've got to find a way to convince her that I'm not going to kill him. That's the only way he's not going to kill me. But in the meantime, this evening we still have the Pack meeting to get through."

"Then cheers to you - the Garou's sexiest new Leader." Addy said, raising a glass of orange juice. "And may you live a happy, healthy life and not have it cut tragically short tonight by an extremely good-looking, but murderous, vampire."

"Ugh, you bitch."

But for my sake, I hoped that Addy was right. Otherwise, I knew very well I could wind up dead by morning.

* * *

By the time Addy and I reached the old warehouse in the field, there were already dozens of other vehicles parked they a large section of dead grass a few hundred feet from the warehouse's front. Addy guided her own vehicle to the patch, and selected an empty space. I then got out of the car, and waited for Addy to stretch, before joining the other Garou who were also making their way through the field.

The warehouse was an ugly, dreary building, several stories high, and made of fading, grey sheet metal. And although it was an eyesore, somehow it still held the ghostly semblance of a granary that had once been very useful in its prime. But now, most of its large windows were either cracked or shattered, and thick cobwebs caked the upper crevices of the building, swinging down in long, eerie tendrils on the wind. The warehouse also had no doors, and its innards had been completely gutted. There was only a tall, wooden stage that was left inside. And its position was in the very center of the dusty concrete floor, which happened to be littered with leaves and other various bits of nature.

But as we drew nearer, I noticed Lucas Blacklock loitering beside the entrance, as if in wait. And as we drew closer to him, eventually he and I made eye contact, and then I knew for sure that it was me he had been waiting for.

"Naomi, can we have a minute?" he said gruffly, and looking extremely uncomfortable. I nodded to Addy, who shrugged back, and then kept on her way. In the meantime, Lucas led me a little further from the entrance, away from eavesdroppers and prying eyes. I waited patiently for him to speak while he squinted at the sky, as if searching up there for the right words to say.

"Look," he said finally. "I know that you and I don't know each other well, but you should know that your dad was my best friend. Jack was like my brother, and he looked out for me, which is why I've always tried to do the right thing by him and his family - even if it killed me. So I have to ask, Naomi, if you honestly think you're doing the right thing by making Ethan Raines your Champion."

I opened my mouth to reply, but Lucas cut me off to speak again.

"Now I know you two were talking privately about this, but I've got extra eyes and ears at the bar. And I know I've crossed boundaries by asking you that, but I have to know."

"Well ..." I said, blowing out a deep breath. "By definition, I might not be doing the right thing, but I'm doing the only thing that I can think of. For some reason I get the impression that my grandfather doesn't think I'll last - which is probably why he's ok with even giving me this job. And not to mention my mother obviously hates me, and I don't think my dad will be around to drop me some friendly advice anytime soon. So I'm really just... winging it - ya know?"

"I understand." he said simply, and I appreciated him even more for not lecturing me or telling me that everything was going to be ok. "But Ethan comes from a family that's groomed for power, and they'll do anything to get it. So just be careful."

"Thank you," I said. "I don't have very many people in Harbor that I can depend on, so I appreciate the advice."

"Yeah, and that reminds me..." Lucas said, pulling something small from his pocket, and handing it to me. It was a slip of paper that looked as if it had been torn from a piece of mail, with a name and address scrawled girlishly across the front.

Thalia Talimer

2786 Gossamer Rd

Hasting

"Uh, it's your Aunt's address." He clarified, even though he didn't need to. "Hasting's about a half hour north from here. You should reach out to her sometime, get in touch with her."