Chapter 14: Flower

It had been days since Raven had bolted out angrily of the hospital room and I was getting worried.  I had wondered if I had upset her.  Then again, she was upsetting Whitney and I knew Whitney didn't need the extra stress.  I knew what it was like. The dorm room had been to myself and it was different not seeing Raven striding down the hall, smirking as she passed by.     

            Whitney's blood test had came back a few days later and she had tested negative for Demon.  Since Rhett was in most of her classes, he had taken it upon himself to escort her and tend to her every need. What a gentlemen. I could easily tell that he was falling for her big time.

            It was a week after the death of the kid (which I had learned his name was Leo) and Raven still hadn't surfaced.  I had figured that since she was so angry that she had found a hideout in a tree or somewhere on campus and was hiding, but now I was worried that she had flown over the borders.  I knew she was notorious for it but I sort of hoped that maybe she'd fall out of her old, rule breaking habits and be good for a change.  After a week, I started seeing flyers saying if anyone knew about Raven's whereabouts, that it should be reported to Principal Williams imedietly.

            When it came lunch time, I couldn't take waiting anymore.

            "Does anyone have any idea where Raven might be?" I asked the group franticly, hoping someone might have information they were holding back.

            "Flora, I'm telling you that she probably flew the border again." Betty informed, not looking up from her Stealth training book. She had a huge test today.     

            "Raven's a big girl," Whitney added softly as she sat next to Rhett. "She can take care of herself wherever she is and she'll probably be back soon." She smiled and then began a quiet conversation with Rhett.  I wanted to bang my head against the table. I thought Whitney would be the most worried about her.  Then again, she may be mad at Raven for screaming at her. I looked at my plate with a lost apitite and pushed it aside.

            "See you guys later," I mumbled as Betty looked up at me with worry.

            "What's wrong? We have plenty of time before next class starts." She stated.

            "I know." I said, "Just need some time alone. I have things to think about." I smiled, picked up my bag and walked away.  I could feel Betty's concerned gaze in my back, but I didn't look back.  As I walked toward the entrance of the Great Hall, Ethan caught up to me.

            "Hey there Flower girl." He grinned as he matched my pace.

            That made me feel a little better, "Hey, What's up?"

            "I was just wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me tonight?" He grinned widely.

            I giggled, "Where would we go?"     

            He slowly slipped his hand into mine, letting his fingers interwine with mine. I didn't pull away. "How 'bout a romantic evening in the woods?"

            "That's sounds like fun!" By now I had entered the classroom building and was walking up the stairs to the second floor. "Where do you want to meet?"
            "I'll meet your outside the girls dorm building."  Now we had reached my classroom. I nodded and kissed his cheek.

            I turned to enter the room as he called to me grinning, "See you soon Flower girl." while he twirled a small daisy in between his fingers

                                   ***

            After dinner, I raced back to the dorm room.  I knew I had no clothes to wear on the date so I knew I had to do one thing; raid Raven's closet.  I did feel bad about it, since all her clothes were very expensive, high end stuff, but I really wanted to look good on this date.

            Once in the room, I locked the door, tossed my backpack aside and half skipped, half ran to her closet door.  I saw myself in the mirror; brown eyed, long wavy brown girl with a slim figure.  Long lashes complimented my eyes and a stout nose with freckles dotting around it gave me a cute look.  I took a deep breath and opened the door and breathed inwardly.

            "Holy. S**t." I breathed. The whole closet was packed full with clothing.  I had peeked into Raven's closet before, but I had never actually seen the whole thing.  I fingered a white satin dress. It looked more like an evening gown, but it felt so smooth.  Someone knocked on the door and I nearly jumped out of my skin, half thinking Raven had came back to rip me to pieces.

            "Flora? You in there? I saw you left dinner early as well as lunch earlier.  Is everything ok?" I drew a sigh of relief. It was only Betty.

            "Yeah!" I called, "I'm fine. I just had things to get done."

            "Things to get done? What do you mean by that?" She pestered. By now I had quietly closed Raven's closet and was walking over to the front door. I unlocked it as Betty stood there in her uniform with her backpack slung on her right shoulder as she held a few magazines in her arms.

            "Things," That's all I needed to say about that.

            Betty changed the subject, "I was going to ask you at dinner, but since you sped off, I didn't get a chance to ask if you wanted to look through magazines for Winter Formal?"

            "Winter Formal? Like dresses?" She nodded happily. "But it's only October!"

            "It’s the best time to search for one. They have a great selection and they aren't as pricy." she advised.

            "Oh. I've got something else planned." I stuttered, breaking eye contact.

            "You have a date with Ethan don't you?"

            I gave in, "Yup."

            "Why didn't you tell me? I can help you prepare!" She shrieked with delight.

            "I'm good actually. I know what I want to wear and I just want some alone time as well. Sorry Betty, I'll make it up to you with the Winter Formal dresses."

            She looked bummed, "Ok. Let me know how it goes!" I told her I would and she waved goodbye as she bounced down the hall. I closed the door and bolted back to the closet.

            After carefully rummaging through the closet, I found a dark teal, strapless dress with a flower on the waistband.  The bottom ruffled in layers to the edge of the dress that hung about my knees.  Raven didn't own any teal shoes so I settled with a pair of simple black flats.  I found a silver bracelet that said Love on the band and a gold key necklace.  To fit my nickname, Flower Girl, I found a blue flower to go in my hair. Using Raven's curling iron in the bathroom, I curled my hair and then added very little make up.

            Once I was completely done, I looked at the clock; 7:35. We had never planned on a time and I didn't want to be early so I peeked out the window to see if he was sitting outside.  Sure enough, he sat there playing on his phone.  He wore black slacks, a white button down shirt and his nice pair of black school shoes. I rushed out of the room, checking myself in the mirror before I ran out the door and clambered down the stairs.  I walked normally by Mrs. Berlowski who was grading papers.  I was trying to control my excitement. When I made it outside, he looked up and smiled.

            "You look amazing." He beamed as I blushed.

            "Thank you." he outstretched his hand and I took it gracefully.  He pulled me close to him as we strolled to the forest. The sun was setting as streams of light and shadows danced and sparkled on our bodies, bringing out different features.  We reached the forest and Ethan guided me to the first bench.

            "So tell me about yourself." He began.

            "What do you want to know?"

            Ethan thought for a second, "Favorite color?"

            "Yellow. You?"

            "Royal blue." My eyes sparkled.

            "Favorite animal?" I asked.

            "Well I love Elephants, but I would love to be a lion if I could. How about you?"

            "I love dolphins. They're so pretty." Ethan smiled.

            "If you were a dolphin, you would be at the academy in Florida."

            I laughed, "I didn't say I wanted to be one. I just like dolphins." I thought for a second, "I'd want to be any animal that is pretty if I could choose."

            "Like a leopard?"

            "Yeah."

            Ethan leaned closer, "Being a flower is just as pretty."

            "But I feel awkward." I whispered, "I don't fit in here. Nobody can do what I can." I looked down at the ground.  A small bleeding heart bush had grown at my feet.  Ethan gently lifted my chin up so my eyes were looking into his.

            "You are not awkward. You're just different, Unique.  I like unique."

            "What if I'm dangerous?" I choked.

            "You're not dangerous. I know you're not."

            "How do you know? What would happen if I went demon?" I shouldn't have brought this up.

            Ethan's eyes sparkled with compassion, "Sweetheart, you are not going to go demon. I will protect you until my dying breath." He paused and then gently closed the gap between us, brushing his lips against mine.  His lips were soft as I placed a hand on his clean-shaven cheek.  Ethan's hands wrapped themselves around my waist, pulling me closer to him. Our legs were pressed against each others.  He pulled back for a second and stared straight into my eyes.

            "This is super early, but would you go to Winter Formal with me?"

            "I'd love to." I breathed as Ethan smiled warmly and leaned back in. This kiss was more rough than the first one.

            "I love you." he murmered between our lips.  I shifted onto his lap, not breaking the connection. He squeezed me, making me dizzy with delight. I smiled as we kissed, feeling power course through my veins as more emotion was pushed into each kiss. Ethan certainly knew what he was doing, so I let him take the lead. I wondered if he had kissed girls before.  When we did break apart, our body structures heaved greatly since we were both out of breath.

            "I'll take you on a ride." Ethan smirked. I grinned as he changed to his Elephant form and knelt down for me to climb on.  Once I was securely on, he stood up and walked down the path.  As we walked, we came to a creek trickling its way through the school grounds.  Ethan noticed and padded over there.

            "What's wrong?" I whispered.  He drew his trunk from the creek and sprayed me with water.  I shrieked with laughter. Hopefully this dress wouldn't  ruin.  He wrapped his trunk around my waist and sat me down gingerly.  Then he changed back, grinning his head off.

            "I'm surprised you didn't get mad because I got you wet."

            "it was funny." I joked. Ethan smirked with approval as he pulled something out of his pocket.

            "I got something for you. My mom sent it to me a while ago when I was dating my last girlfriend. I found out she was cheating on me with someone else, a close friend of mine." He handed it to me. I opened it and inside was a necklace with a jewel encrusted elephant as the charm. A gold chain complimented it.

            "Its not much, but its something to think of me as." I pulled it out as the jewels sparkled in the moonlight. Ethan clasped it around my neck.

            "Its beautiful." I breathed as I thanked him for it.

            "I think we should head back to the dorm rooms. I heard Williams might make curfew earlier."

            "That would suck." we strolled down the path, Ethan not letting me stray too far away from his side. When we reached the edge of the forest, Ethan stopped and turned to me.

            "Could I start sitting with you and your friends? My friends are jerks and I want to spend more time with you."

            "Of course! Anyone is welcome." I smiled and Ethan leaned in for another.  He would have gotten it as well if the loudspeakers didn't blare my name, asking me to go to Principal Williams office at once.

            "What does Williams want with you?" Ethan asked. I shrugged my shoulders. He linked my arm and told me he would escort me there at once. I laughed as we walked. When we arrived at the office building, he told me he'd wait outside for me.

            I nodded and entered alone.  Jan strutted out of the Principal's office with her same expression on her face.

            "Am I in trouble?" I asked

            "No, just someone here to see you." She wouldn't say who though. "You may enter." She told me and I did.

            A woman's figure sat with her back towards me.  Short brown hair fell to her shoulders. Her posture was very straight, not a slouch in sight.  She drank a glass of water with a shaky hand. Her voice was soft and delicate.  Principal Williams sat across from her, nodding kindly. He looked up and noticed  I was standing in the doorway.

            "Flora! Come in." The woman turned to me and I recognized her; My mother.

Author's Note

ignore grammar