Chapter 17

I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of Dawn waking me up, and her shaking me to get me up. She continually felt the need to remind me that today we were going to the mall for costumes. I slowly got up and crawled out of bed. I slipped on a pair of shorts and a tank top. I was too tired to do a lot of work on my hair this morning, so I brushed it and put it up in a clip. Dawn wore a white miniskirt with a plum blouse, and a cute pair of sandals. I did a quick sweep of my emails before heading out. Dawn and I met the guys down in the parking lot. Clarissa must not have minded driving us around everywhere. We all piled into the SUV. Austin and I hadn’t put much thought into our costumes, but Dawn had hers all picked out. She and Lucas decided to go as Dracula and his vampire mistress. Austin thought that idea was pretty sexy, but I told him “No way, Jose”. Dawn and Lucas were a better choice for that. Eric and Wyatt planned on going as an evil scientist, and his zombified assistant. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out, but I thought it was pretty cool. We decided that we would figure it out at the mall.

Once in the mall, we made a few stops at some other stores before we hit the Halloween stores. We went into stores such as Hot Topic, Claire’s and Sephora (Dawn needed makeup for her costume). When we finally walked into the Halloween store, it was as if we took a trip into a haunted world. The lighting was dim, and the ceiling was black. The floor you walked on was black with cobblestone-like paths. Ghosts hung from the ceiling, tombstones were placed left and right, and there were monster set-ups everywhere. The store was bustling with people. I should have known Saturday would be their busiest day. Austin took my hand and walked through the aisles with me. Some of the workers were already wearing costumes. Austin brought me down an aisle that stocked costumes from movies. My eye caught a glimpse of a costume from a movie I was quite fond of. The Wizard of Oz. It was a Dorothy costume complete with the ruby slippers. I didn’t even have to wear the wig that came with it since my hair was naturally brown. I didn’t like wigs anyway. I looked at Austin as I grabbed the costume package, and shoe box.

“What are you going to get? We don’t have to go as a costume couple, you know.” I said. Austin grabbed his chin as he walked around the aisles. He came to a stop at a Mad Hatter costume from Alice in Wonderland. I always thought those costumes were too overused, but Austin has always loved that movie, and felt he could relate to the Mad Hatter more than anyone.

“I think this would be perfect.” He said. “Don’t you think it would be perfect?” He looked at me. I smiled.

“Yes, Austin. It was practically made for you.” I said. I took his hand and brought him to the register.

As we waited in line, I looked around the store. I noticed some people had bought angel and demon costumes. Most of us didn’t find it too demeaning or thought they were mocking us, but we almost found it endearing. That’s when I saw that the sets came complete with wings. It made me realize just how real those wings were for us. They lied in our backs, and having them come out for the first time isn’t a pleasant experience (or so I’ve heard). When you turn eighteen, that’s when they’re said to be fully grown and they could try to push their way through at any time. Austin has been lucky to not have gone through it yet, but I know he’s not looking forward to it. His sister explained to him - in detail - how painful it was. I’m glad no one’s decided to share those details with me. However, it seemed that out of Eric, Austin, Jasper and myself, I was the only one who had no idea. My father never told me, and my friends probably thought I couldn’t handle it. But that didn’t mean I planned on asking anytime soon.

We finally got up to the register and were able to pay for our costumes. Our friends caught up with us - after getting lost in all the aisles. After paying for our stuff we walked out of the store. The mall seemed to plain and boring compared to that one store inside it. As we walked into the food court for some food, I wasn’t too thrilled to see a very familiar sight. I was getting the feeling that the “Three Musketeers” - as my friends liked to call them - were following me. I knew it was best if I just ignored them. My friends and I found a table that would seat all of us. It was a round table under an umbrella. I saw no use for using the umbrella inside, but I didn’t question it. Austin gladly decided to get my food for me, claiming he knew exactly what I wanted. Once he had confirmed that, he walked away. Eric and Wyatt decided to go get their food as well, and Wyatt was nice enough to get Dawn’s food for her (even though she insisted she could get it). Dawn and I sat there talking about Matt’s party when they walked over. Roland and Ben were sporting the sunglasses as usual, and Aeryn wore that cocky smile of hers.

“I’m beginning to get the feeling that you three are following me.” I said.

“Believe me, it’s not our choice.” said Aeryn. “Like I would honestly want to follow you on my own time.” She scoffed. I wasn’t sure if I should be thanking her or punching her.

“Now Aeryn, be nice.” said Roland. “However, it’s true. We don’t really care about you. We were sent by your mother. She wants us to keep a close eye on you.”

“You’re just lucky we can’t get by the gates of that fancy school you go to.” Ben said. “Although, we weren’t following you at the movies. It wasn’t until after we got back that Queen Evelynn wanted us to start following you.”

“Today just so happened to be a coincidence too. Looks like we both decided to do some last minute Halloween shopping.” said Aeryn.

“I thought you were already wearing a costume. You mean to say that that’s how you look every day?” said Dawn. I tried my hardest not to laugh. It was the oldest comeback in the book, but hearing it directed towards Aeryn sparked something inside me. I almost couldn’t control myself. And neither could Aeryn. She lunged towards Dawn but Roland held her back.

“I think you should take a chill pill.” I said. “It’s not our fault you can’t handle the truth.” I could tell that Aeryn was getting steamed. I wanted to keep going, but Roland had something to say.

“We’re not here to start any trouble. We’re here to get food and to leave. Let’s go Aeryn, Benji.” He said. Ben groaned at the name “Benji”.

Roland walked away with them. Dawn and I gave eachother a high five for our lame, cliche comebacks. The guys walked back with our food. Austin handed me a hotdog with ketchup, some cheese fries and a chocolate milkshake for us to share. Wyatt had gotten Dawn some Chinese food. It all looked so yummy.

“What were the Three Stooges doing here?” asked Austin. So now he was calling them the Three Stooges?

“To confirm that they are in fact following me.” I said.

“So far they’ve all been ‘coincidences’.” said Dawn. The guys shook their heads in shame.

“Guys, we still have to find out who broke into our rooms.” I said. “I have reason to believe those three had nothing to do with it.” Dawn looked down. She started picking at her food.

“What is it Dawn?” asked Wyatt.

“I think Ethan might be behind it.” She said.  “He probably found out about the book.”

“He must have one of his old school buddies helping him out then... After all, he used to be a student here and managed to make some pretty loyal friends. If there was a cure, they’d jump right on it.” said Austin. Eric looked at Austin. “What?”

“You used to be one of Ethan’s best friends.” He said. Austin stopped sipping our milkshake midway. He set it down.

“Yes, that’s true. We were like family to each other, but things change. I wouldn’t do a favor for him even if he begged me until my ears bled.” said Austin. “I don’t even want to see him as a Dark Angel, whether he looks the same or not.”

“But Austin, he’s not like the others...” Dawn said. Austin looked at her. “He’s still Ethan.” Austin stood up.

“Whether he’s Ethan Banks the Dark Angel, or just Ethan Banks the Light Angel, it doesn’t matter. Both are dead to me.” He said before he walked away. Dawn looked down at her Chinese food again.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” I rubbed her back gently.

“It’s okay, Dawnie. That’s a sensitive topic for anyone. He’ll be fine.” I said. I wasn’t entirely sure if that was true. Austin could be angry about it for days for all I knew. I decided to throw out the rest of my food - but kept the milkshake - and walked after Austin. I managed to catch up with him at a nearby Best buy. He was looking at laptops.

“Hey, are you okay? Dawn didn’t mean to upset you.” I said. He was silent for a moment.

“I know, Sky. Ethan’s still a rough topic for me. We had been friends as long as you and Eric have. We did everything together. Played the same sports, tried taking the same classes, we even got our first girlfriends together. We hooked each other up. To know that he’s one of them now...” His voice trailed off and he sighed. “I liked it better when I thought he was dead.”

“Where was all of this when you first found out about him last week?” I asked. He looked at me.

“I don’t know, Sky. I held it in. I can only hold it in for so long though.” He said. I took his hands and he smiled ever so slightly. “I’ll be fine though. Just imagine how you must feel about your own mother. My problems aren’t as big as that. It’s you I’m most concerned about.”

“Austin, I’ll get over my mother. I just want you to be happy. I don’t like seeing you upset.” He let go of my hands, and put his own on my cheeks. His smile grew.

“As long as you’re in my life Sky, I have no reasons to be unhappy.” He kissed my gently and then took my hand. He brought me out of the store. We walked back to the others. He assured Dawn that everything was okay, and that nothing was her fault. That made her feel a lot better. It was time that we all headed back to the school.