#They made Izzy so wet people finally saw what a sad wet cat he is

[blue-b-bro]

I've begun to think this season it's Stede who's non stop mischaracterized

[ubernoxa]

The Dare: A Guns N’ Roses Fanfiction

Chapter 35: Bring Her Home

(Masterlist)

Pairing: Duff Mckagan/OC

Story Summary: A stupid harmless dare, that’s all it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be something they would do, and never revisit. For Delilah, little did she know that visiting the strip wasn’t going to be a one time thing when she made the choice to accept the dare. Life is full of choices. Some choices can mean absolutely nothing, while others can change your entire world. Delilah had heard many rumors about the Sunset Strip or Devil’s Strip. Teenagers would whisper stories about how the Devil walks the streets of the strips without a care in the world. It was known as a place untouched by God. After years of hearing rumors about the Devil’s Strip, Delilah wants to see it for herself. Thus a Dare was born.

Chapter Summary: Mags finds out Duff and Delilah had sex, and Mark finally gets the nerve to pop the question.

Taglist: @gingerspicetalks @str4nge-haze @queen-crue @dustnbones

It was cold.

Everything was cold.

Even the sunlight that shined through her apartment windows was cold.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room, and the only thing that changed from the night before was that Tonya was most likely in her room, fast asleep. A state Mags envied.

As if Mags was on autopilot, she took a shower and got dressed for the day. She was still mad at her brother, but she still sprinted towards the bus stop not wanting to miss the bus that would take her to her brother’s apartment. Not only did she have some food she wanted to drop off, but she also wanted to check up on Del.

She adjusted her jeans as she sat on the hard plastic seat watching the bus shoot through traffic. Part of her wondering the entire trip how the bus drives didn’t get into an accident. It was borderline impressive.

“Morning Mags,” Mags turned to see a familiar blonde smiling at her.

“Hey, Sasha! What’s up?” Mags would describe Sasha more as an acquaintance than a friend, but Mags always puts on a smiling face. Like her brother says, it’s a lot better to spread happiness than make enemies.

After several minutes of casual small talk, Mags began to get the sense that there was something Sasha wanted to ask. There was something lingering in the girl’s eyes, and when the conversation began to die off, Sasha always kept it going. Mags knew something was up, and hoped it wasn’t about the stupid article. She was in no mood to deal with talking about how the bastard got her pregnant.

But sure enough, only a few moments later, Mags paranoia was proven right.

“So if you want, I’m having a big party...we’ll Christian my...boyfriend...is having a party at his place this Saturday, and I’d love to see you there...unless you know….it might be weird because...of the...whole pregnancy thing,” Mags took a deep breathe as it took every ounce of her sanity to not punch Sasha. Mags wasn’t Axl, she wasn’t him by a long shot. Unlike him she could control her temper, or atleast that is what she told herself.

“The pregnancy thing? Ohh you mean that bullshit article? Girl that was full of lies! What he chose not to mention was that I broke his heart because he wasn’t my type,” Mags let out a fake laugh to try to cover the lie that rolled off her tongue.

Was she going to admit she was pregnant to Sasha? No.

Was she going to admit that Drew, the man who wrote the article, shattered her heart into a million pieces? No.

Why? Because that’s not who Mags Adler was.

“Oh my god! The fucking bastard! I tell ya, the media only wants a story that sells their magazines. It’s despicable that they don’t think about how the lies they are telling are going to affect the people. Like I bet that Stef girl who is dating your brother never said how he wouldn’t make it. And oh that Del girl, I bet she does more than fawn over Duff and be his groupie. Like the girl has to have a life. I should have known this were off when the article framed Trixy as a good person. She is a fucking bitch,” Mags nodded and smiled as Sasha spoke.

The truth was Del really didn’t have much going for her besides the fact that she was in love with Duff. Of course Del had hobbies, but none that paid the bills which was a discussion for another day. Mags tried not to think of it, but Del was turning into a groupie. She quickly reassured herself that Del technically wasn’t a groupie Del wasn’t going around having sex with Duff, but little did she know what Del did last night and into the morning.

Part of Mags wondered if Stef actually said what she said. There were parts of the article that were true, but it was also filled with lies. Did she mean it when she said her brother was going now where? Mags knew with her whole heart that Stef adores Steven, but there was a small pit in her stomach that said otherwise. Mags tried connecting the dots on my Stef had been making excuses and events for Mags to go to that happened to be on the same days as concerts, but there wasn’t any connection. It just didn’t make sense.

“So I’ll see you on Saturday?” Sasha asked, pulling Mags from her train of thought.

“Maybe? My brother is playing a gig, but maybe after?” Mags offered the girl a soft smile as she saw her stop coming,

“Yeah, we will be partying till sunrise! Feel free to bring friends! Chriantian’s place is huge and there will be a live band!” Sasha smiled before Mags pulled the cord asking for the bus driver to stop.

It was only a 10 block walk for Mags, one she had gotten used to over the years. She kept her head high as she took in the peaceful strip. It was weird seeing it like this, but at 8 AM in the morning this was to be expected. Mags would admit that she appreciated the silence over the cat calls. She figured that one of the few benefits of being pregnant was that once she started to show she would get fewer cat calls.

Once inside the apartment, the smell of a cooking kitchen hit her like a truck. Eggs, onion, peppers, and paprika filled her nose causing a smile to grow on Mag’s face. Del was awake!

She froze as she saw the tall blonde over the stove instead of little Del.

“Hey Mags, how’s it going? Are those apples for breakfast?” Duff casually asked as he continued cooking, as if this was a normal occurrence. Mags placed the bag of apples on the table trying to make the confused look that grew on her features.

“What’s wrong Mags? Did you think those were oranges or something?” Mags shot her attention to Izzy who was sitting at the table. Mags wanted to slap the smirk off his face, but she knew that would only get her kicked out of the apartment, and if she was going to be kicked out it was going because she slapped Axl.

“Those are red apples to be exact,” Mags ignored Duff’s comment and placed the apples in the one of the few bowls that was at the apartment. It was a actually her bowl, but after a month of fruits rolling off the table, she figured they needed it more than her.

“Where is Del?” Mags asked quickly looking around the kitchen and their sad excuse for a common area.

“Still sleeping, she had a busy night,” Duff casually said, earning a snicker from Izzy.

Mags froze in place as she heard Duff’s comment.

“Did you fuck my roommate?” Duff was taken aback by Mag’s tone. She seemed agitated. What did she care? They were two consenting adults. Plus he would barely count Del as Mags roommate since she slept with him most nights.

“What does it matter-“ Mags cut Duff off before he could continue talking.

“I asked, did you fuck my roommate? It’s a yes or no question?”

“It’s none of your fucking business what I did between me and my grilfriend. Fun fact Mags, you can’t control everyone. Del isn’t your puppet,” Duff shot back, making sure to keep quiet so he wouldn’t wake Del.

In another room, Del remained frozen in Duff’s bed using his only blanket to hide her naked body. She tried to make sense of the emotions that were currently flowing through her.

Regret wasn’t the right word. She loved Duff, and from what she knew, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Pride was also wrong. She wasn’t proud of losing her virginity. It was something she was taught her entire life to protect and save until marriage. Having sex was sacred.

It wasn't that she wasn’t happy, but she also wasn’t sad. She possibly felt more content than happiness or sadness.

Shame, was another word that filled her head. Shame was the word that she felt right for her. She was ashamed that she had gotten so tipsy that she lost her virginity to the man she loved.

“Hey, you okay?” Del rolled over towards Slash as he spoke.

“Yeah...just trying to figure out how to get out of this pickle. I feel kinda…..”

“Gross?” Slash finished Del’s sentence earning a nod from the girl.

“I wouldn’t recommend putting your clothes from last night on, they’re probably still wet. I can grab a shirt from Duff’s stuff to help you cover up,” Del nodded at Slash’s kind offer, but before Slash could get up to help Duff walked into the room.

“And this is my cue to leave. I believe Duff has this under control,” Del shot Slash a quick smile as he headed out of the room to enjoy some breakfast. For the first time, Slash was kind to her. Usually he just existed in the room she was in and never truly interacted with her, but now...now he was kind.

Izzy’s words echoed through Duff’s head as he joined Del on his bed. He had to be slow and gentle with her.

“How are you feeling,” Duff played with her hair as he spoke, watching the curls bounce as he dropped them.

“I’m sore, and I feel gross,” this caught Duff off guard as a frown flashed across his face.

“Like you regret it,” Duff let a sigh escape him. Fuck, Izzy was right.

“No, I don’t regret it. I regret the fact that you don’t have a nice shower though,” Del teased back in attempt to make him smile. It worked, and she felt her heart flutter as a smile formed and she guided him gently ontop of her.

“Ohh is someone ready for round two?” A cocky smirk was placed across the bassist’s features as he hovered over Del.

Del let out a soft chuckle before shaking her head no.

“I’m still sore Duffles,” she cupped his chin as she watched a smirk cross his features. This was a view Duff would do anything to see. His small little Del, under him in full view.

“Did you...did you make breakfast?” Del asked, trying to change the scene that had unfolded in front of her.

“Yeah, and Mags brought apples,” Del smiled at the mention of Mags. It was good to hear that she left the apartment.

“How...how tense is it out there?”

“Well Steven is asleep, and Mags came in with a bitchy attitude so pretty tense?” Del was caught off guard by Duff’s tone. Del knew she should have said something, stand up for Mags but she remained silent. Something was wrong, and Del didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire.

“Is everything...okay?” Del asked as Duff climbed off her and dug through his bag and handed her on of his shirts. She knew he wasn’t mad at her, but she still wanted to know why he was pissed.

“Yeah,” Duff’s one world answer irked Del, but she quickly brushed it off.

“Come one Duffles, you can tell me anything,” Del quickly got out of bed and walked over towards Duff. As the words escaped her lips, she laced her fingers into his shoulder length hair.

“Why don’t you go fuck yourself Axl!” Del dropped her hand from Duff’s hair and snapped her attention towards the kitchen. She couldn’t see a thing since the door was closed, but she recognized who the screaming was coming from.

Del turned back towards Duff to see a scowl had formed on his face. In attempt to lighten the mood, she said “Mags knows that there is probably a line of people who are waiting for Axl to go fuck himself.”

This earned a small smile from the blonde and Del quickly got dressed in Duff’s shirt he handed her.

“Duff, can I borrow some shorts too?”

Del froze as Duff's laughter filled the room.

“I love you Delly, but my shorts are going to be a little too big on you,” Duff teased back, earning a playful eye roll from the girl. He wasn’t wrong, Del looked like a twig compared to Duff.

She threw Duff’s shirt on and followed him out to some breakfast. Her stomach rumbled as the smell of a freshly cooked breakfast drowned her senses.

“Good morning lovebirds!” Slash bellowed as Duff guided a slowly moving Del into the kitchen.

Izzy and Slash shared knowing looks as they watched how slowly Del was walking. They were defiantly going to tease Duff about this later, once Del wasn’t in the room.

Duff and Del sat down at the table joining the rest of the band minus Axl. Del figures he was probably in his room either lying on his bed or drawing in attempt to calm himself down. She wished there was something she could do to help, but she wasn’t in the position to do that at the moment.

“Thanks, Izz! It smells amazing,” Del said as Izzy placed a plate of eggs in front of her.

“Hey! I’m the one who made it!” Laughter echoed through the tiny apartment as Duff spoke.

“It tastes delicious,” Del said before kissing him on the cheek.

Axl was the last to join the group. He almost froze as he sat down as he saw Del at the table. Her hair was a curly mess that framed her features perfectly. To Axl, she looked like an angel in his shirt that she was practically swimming in. He had forgotten that he gave that old shirt to Duff a month or so ago, and now after seeing Del wear it part of him wished he had kept it.

Feeling Axl’s stare, and immediately misinterpreting it why he was staring, Del quickly spoke, “Ohh...I can..I can eat in another room..if you guys want to have a band meeting. I can go eat with Mags..wherever she went off to.” Del began to look around left and right to see where her friend went.

“Mags left. She just stopped by to drop off some food,” Del knew that Mags didn’t leave by choice. By the tone in Steven’s voice she knew that Mags was kicked out.

“You’re not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me now..like it or not,” Duff whispered into Del’s ear earning a sweet smile to cross her lips.

——————-

“Come on Beth, we are almost there and then you can take the blindfold off,” Mark said as he guided the blindfolded girl through the church basement. His heart was racing a million miles per a minute, and he couldn’t believe he was going to finally do it. He was going to propose to her. He felt giddy, excited, and nervous all at the same time. He had finally found the right moment to propose to her.

“It smells amazing! Are you sure we are still in the church?” Beth asked as Mark guided her to sit down.

“Yes, and you can take off your blindfold,” Mark couldn’t help, but smile as Beth remained silent as she took in the room.

The first thing she noticed was that the room was illuminated by candles instead of the ugly yellow lights that traditional illuminated the room. The second was the rose petals on the floor. The third wwas photos taped to the wall.

“5,110 days….that’s how long I’ve known you. We met when we were 5 years old. I am going to be honest, but I don’t remember much from back them. This though….this memory I will always remember,” Mark pointed at the first picture that he had tape in the wall only a few hours ago.

Beth let out a giggle as she stared at the photo. It was of Beth and Mark covered in flour. Their smiles were large as they posed for a photo which Beth assumes Mark’s mother took the photo since from what she remembered her own mother wasn’t to pleased with the situation at the time.

“It was in the middle of a small bible study, and we were being read from one of those children’s bibles with the large colorful photos. You wanted some cookies for a snack and after begging…..” Beth began to say.

“I didn’t beg!” Mark playfully shot back.

“No you begged because I remember Delilah teased you for a month about it!” Mark shook his head trying to hide his giggle at Beth’s comment, but she was right.

“Anyway, after you harassed the poor book reader he finally said you could go and grab some cookies from the kitchen, but you couldn’t go alone so I had to go with you. Anyway we ended up in the kitchen, but there were no cookies. So we decided to make some….and….” Beth couldn’t contain her laughter as the memories of how poorly their cooking went filled her head.

“I was grounded for a week,” Mark added smirking.

“A week? I was grounded for two months! Delilah and I couldn’t play because of it,” Beth playfully hit him as he spoke.

“I’m assuming I follow the rose petals?” Beth asked as she followed the rose petals towards the next photo. She smiled at the thought of celebrating her four month anniversary with Mark looking through old photos.

Mark nodded and they walked down the rose petal path looking at photos that ranged from their first day at school to after school activities.

“I still think you look good it Delilah’s hot pink tutu,” Beth said as they looked upon a picture taken from one of the talent shows.

“I think my rendition of the sugar plum fairy gave her cute little dance a run for its money,” Mark smiled as Beth’s laughter filled the room. They were just 12 years old when that photo was taken, and even back then he wore the tutu and jokingly danced around like a fool to make Beth laugh.

“Which one is your favorite?” Beth asked as they walked in front of the 12th photo.

“The last one,” Mark smiled as he purposely focused on the picture. If he looked at her he would cry because the last one was going to be a special memory.

“And which one is that?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Mark sneakily replied earning an eye roll from Beth.

The next photo was from their eight grade graduation. Beth, Delilah, Mark, and Matt were posing in front of the church holding their little diplomas in the air with the pride of a college graduates who had just earned their doctorates in advanced medicine.

“Do you remember how much of a fuss you were making because the cap flattened you hair,” Beth smiled as she pointed at the picture.

“Do you know how many photos my mother took that day? My brothers would still be making fun of me if I looked bad in those photos!”

“Ohh Mark...they make fun of you anyway,” Beth teased before she headed towards the next photo. It was from Halloween when they were 15.

“Do you remember when Delilah was told she couldn’t be Tinker Bell because Tinker Bell was inappropriate?” Beth asked as she looked at the photo.

“If I remember right it was because Tinkerbell promotes sin because she was a needy attention hog or something like that?”

“And how Delilah was so busy complaining that she forgot to tell her mother what she actually wanted to be for Halloween, so she went as a princess,” Mark couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of Delilah.

“Then Matt kept telling people she was the princess from the princess and the pea. How would warm the people who handed out candy that Delilah was cranky because she didn’t get a lot of sleep the night prior because of a pea under her mattress,” Mark and Beth’s laughter once again filled the room before heading onto the next photo.

After 20 more minutes of reminiscing on other photos, Mark guided Beth towards a room filled with even more flower petals and a candle. Beth smiled as the smell of roses engulfed the room. The small room had a table and some tables and chairs pushed against the walls with a large mirror in the center. Beth could tell that he tried to hide what the room actually was, but she recognized it. This is the room where Matt, Mark, Delilah, and her would hang out every day.

“Mark, I know you didn’t intend for this to be creepy, but I’m getting horror movie vibes,” Beth half joked as she looked around the room.

“Where is the photo?” Beth added while continuing to look around the room.

“Come,” he held both of Beth’s hands and stood in front of the mirror. Beth was hesitant, but let him guide her out of curiosity.

“Beth, from the moment I met you I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my days with you. Whether it was getting in trouble for attempting to make cookies or just spending time with you on that ugly floral couch, I love spending every moment with you. I feel like I can be my true self when I’m with you,” Mark felt the nerves come back as he spoke.

“I love you too,” Beth smiled as she squeezed his hands tight.

“Beth Marie Jacob,” Beth gasped as she watched him get down on one knee.

“This afternoon we reminisced over some of my favorite memories for every year I have known you,” Mark pauses as he watched tears of happiness slowly flow down Beth’s face.

“Will you make one more memory with me tonight?” Mark pulled out the small box he had kept in his pocket for the past month.

“Will you Beth Marie Jacob marry me?” Mark’s heart stopped as the words escaped his lips. A sliver of fear slipped into his thoughts that she would laugh at him or say no.

“Yes! Ohh God yes, I love you,” The tears now began to stream down her face as Mark put the ring on her finger, and kissed her.

“I love you too!” Mark spun her around causing her to fill the room with her giggles and screams of joy.

Once they let go of each other they turned and stared into the mirror.

“I think this is my favorite memory too,” Beth smiled as she continued to look at her and Mark.

Mark watched as a frown quickly formed on her face.

“What?” Mark pulled Beth in close attempting to comfort her.

“I just...I wish Delilah was here to share this memory with us,” Beth spoke no louder than a whisper.

In that moment, Mark kissed Beth’s forehead and made up his mind. He was going to go to Sunset Strip and bring Delilah home, no matter what.

[a-page-of-sanctuary]

Happy Birthday

I compose myself and sneak into Eddie’s room. Eddie had a hand resting in Jolly’s mane and Jolly was laying on Eddie like a little pillow. I swear, that dog acts more like a cat sometimes. I grin and poke Eddie’s cheek “Happy Birthday, Brother Mine. Open up those blue eyes. Wake up now and get ready. For a great birthday dash!” He groaned and tugged at the blankets to cover his face. I make a face,”I’m not singing that again. Get your ass up. You’re 12 today and we’re gonna have fun!” I rest a newly turned hoof on his mattress and start shaking his bed. Jolly jumps off the bed and Eddie finally gets up. “Eat breakfast and get ready, Oh Brother, my Brother! Today’s your birthday and I don’t have to work today. So I have a fun day planned!”  He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and smiled,”Really?” I nod,”Yep. And today, it’s all about you!” “When isn’t it about me?” He joked, yawning. I figured he stayed up later than I told him to. “This is different. This is fun instead of frustrating.” “The Good F word!” He laughed sleepily. “Yay verily. C’mon. Shower, eat breakfast, and brush the dragon breath outta ya nasty mouth!” I said in a tone to make him laugh. Exaggerating a gagging noise. He laughed and rolled his eyes. “It’s warm today so you don’t have to wear a jacket.” I said. “Kay..” He walked to the bathroom.

While he was in there, I put together a few bags of his clothes. After talking with the Inquisition Agents, I had figured this would be the best way to ease him into the transition from living with me to going away to the Wizarding School. They helped me feel better about sending him away since, unfortunately, I had it in my head that the school would be Cold, Unfeeling, Militaristic, and force me to be disconnected from Eddie.  And yet...... The knots in my guts wouldn’t go away. I don’t know why I felt sad and scared he was leaving. I had put his things together.  Things I knew he needed. Things I knew he’d want. And a few I want him to keep. Like a family photo where we were all happy and relaxed. Maude’s rose quartz necklace, so she can be with him when I can’t. And the Jolteon plush I had gotten him a while back.

I finished his bags and left them on his bed by the time he was out of the bathroom, he was dressed but his fluffy hair was still dripping wet. I rolled my eyes and went over to him. Taking the towel out of his hand and dried his hair and made funny “Boogety” noises to make him laugh.

Once he was dry, I hugged him and smooched his head. “Ew, no kisses!” He laughed. “I can’t help it, you’re so cute!” I teased him, rustling his fluff. “So what are we gonna do today?” He asked. “Well, Turkey, we’re gonna go to the park so you can play with kids your own age and have fun, then we’re gonna wander aimlessly around the city and look at the cool shit, and then we’ll have ice cream before we head home.”  He hugs me and we eat breakfast in the living room and watch cartoons instead of the news.

We go to the park and there are tons of kids running around and playing. Eddie seemed excited to actually be out and about. He hasn’t been outside and playing for a while, not because he didn’t want to but because I wanted to help him with his homework and magic studies. My brain was thankful for the day off, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been running on fumes for a while.

“Alley! I’m gonna go with these guys, ok?” He said, motioning toward a few kids who were playing with foam swords, one had an extra.

“GO! It’s your birthday! Be MERRY! Go play!” I laughed. He nodded and ran toward the little group.

“SHE SAID OK!!” He called to them. The only thing I could think of was how much I’m gonna miss having him at the apartment. But I had to think of the positives! 

I’ll finally get to relax.

The Responsibility of taking care of Eddie and constantly helping him with his homework will go to someone who actually knows what they’re doing! He’ll be taken care of, he’ll be protected, and his abilities as a Wizard will grow stronger than anything I could even begin to comprehend! Granted, I haven’t had a relaxed nerve in my body since Junior High but it doesn’t hurt to attempt to calm down.

I’ll finally get to act my age!

I’ll finally get to act like I’m 20. I could hang out with some of my friends after work! I could work on my book again, pick up painting again,......maybe even attempt a relationship! Ok, that last one’s not likely but a girl could dream.

I could walk around the apartment in my underwear!

Ok, a weird one but it’s something I’ve never done.

.....I could cry....loudly.... Kinda sad but it’d be cathartic. Honestly, I could watch a sappy romance or a great animated movie and get hit in the feels and cry afterwards. It would be great to actually cry and not hold anything back.

After a while, Eddie’s little group had to leave and he was ready to go do something else. We decide to walk around the city until we saw something interesting. “Eddie, do you like it uptown?  It’s quiet uptown.” I sing. He looks at me with a raised eyebrow, not getting the reference. I pick him up and put him on my shoulders and he smiles. “You knock me out  I fall apart!” I finish the line before a chuckle escapes me.

As we walk around the city, Eddie resting against my head as he sat comfortably on my shoulders, we got looks from strangers. Some were amused smiles, others were expressions of confusion, but it was the glares of disgust that annoyed me. But I sure as hell wasn’t gonna show them it bothered me.  “Hey Brother, wanna play the Moon Game?” I asked him. “Sure!” He smiled.

“Hmm.....” I looked around “Ugly old cat?” “Send it to the Moon!” He laughed. “Little Puppy Doggy?” “No! Never!”  “Bag of Brussel Sprouts?” “Ew! Send it to the Moon!” “Uuuuuuhhhh, Bucket of Swedish Fish?”  “Send it to the Moon!”

We did this until we found an old fashioned store with little magic trinkets and crystals. “Wow. Cool!” We both say in awe. I put Eddie down and we go inside. We look around the place and I admire the pretty crystals. Peridot. Rhodochrosite. Blue Lace Agate. Even chunks of Bismuth. All kinds of stuff I don’t have in my collection. Eddie calls me over to the other side of the store and he looks at me.

Frankly, it was pretty hilarious A polished Blue Quartz wand gave him several dozen eyes and it was just funny. I ended up buying it for him and he seemed happy, he said it had a good sense of humor. And we went around a little longer and ate lunch at a cheap little place he had picked out and we ate chicken nuggets and crunchy french fries. And after eating, we continued around the city, playing the Moon Game, telling jokes, I tell him funny things that happened at work and he’ll tell me movies he’d watch while trying to do his homework, things Jolly would tell him from his ventures in Hell, the stories my rocks would tell him from their time in the earth forming. It blows my mind the kinds of things he’s experiencing....things I don’t know how to comprehend and help him with. I eventually see an Ice Cream place and we get a couple cones. I get a vanilla bean cone, and Eddie get’s Moosetracks.

We make our way home and we continue our funny game of the Moon Game.

When we get back, there’s a large Double Decker bus and two people in long black cloaks were waiting by the Apartment.

“Ah, there you are. I’m happy to see you’re here.” An older man said to us. Eddie hid behind me and Jolly could be heard coming toward the door. “Hi....Sorry, Eddie’s a bit shy...” I said awkwardly. Something about the man intimidated me, despite his fairly friendly face and the fact he was only taller than me by an inch or two. “It’s alright. Most New Ones are. I am Jorah Henry, and that, over there, is my partner, Talia Weaver.” Eddie looked slightly afraid of the two. He shifted uncomfortably behind me.  Jolly got outside and went to Eddie. “Oh Good! He already has a Familiar. That makes things much easier!” “Uhh, how so?” I asked. “Familiars act as a Wizard and Witch’s companion,and not to mention that they can assist a young Wizard and Witch in the development of the magical abilities. It seems his Hell Hound as come to have taken a role as a Comfort Animal.” He said. Eddie finally spoke up,”Why are you here?” He walked over toward Eddie and squatted to his height,”My boy, we’re here to take you to the College of Wizardry and Witchcraft.” He looked at Jorah like he was stupid,”I can’t go to College, I’m 12!” He chuckled a bit,”No. Not that kind of College. Think of it as a boarding school. You’ll be taught how to channel and use your Magical abilities.” Eddie stiffened and went into a panicked stance.

The green mist started spilling out of his hands and his eyes lit up in that similar color. Jonah looked ready to take action, expecting the worst. “Y-You’re gonna take me away?!” He asks, his voice trembling. I grab Eddie’s hand and His magic BURNED!! I flinched but I didn’t let go until he calmed down enough to breathe. “Eddie....You have to go....” I say sternly but calmly. “B-But....I can’t....I...”  “Eddie, I can’t teach you magic. I can barely understand that book I bought to try and teach you on my own! I didn’t listen to Izzy because I’m stubborn and I thought I could do this on my own. But I was wrong. And if you don’t go, you could DIE.” I say seriously. He looked at me with pure terror. “I can’t lose you, too.”  He hugged me tightly and shook,”I don’t wanna be alone....” “Brother, that’s just it. You’re not gonna be alone. There are other kids your age. You’ll get to go and run around and learn to put your magic to good use. And the best part is, I’ll get to visit you and you get to come back for Holiday. You won’t be alone anymore.” I said, reassuring him. Making it sound like something fun. He seemed uneasy but he relented. We go inside and I grabbed his bags that I had packed this morning and pack them away in the double decker bus.

“Well Jolly......it looks like we’re going to school....Are you scared? I know I am..” Eddie said, nervously petting Jolly and gripping his stomach. He turned around and gave me one last tight hug,”Vale, o soror, soror mea.” He said in a trembly voice. I hugged him tightly, I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to smile,”Ego autem protinus te videre. O frater fratrem infantem.”

He and Jolly both got on the bus.

And I wave goodbye as the bus drives away. Out of sight. Toward the Wizard’s College.

Then the tears started falling and I wiped them away. I shouldn’t be sad. I’m still able to see him. I’m still going to be a part of his life. So why am I crying? The tears rolled faster and faster and I leaned against the door frame. I don’t understand why I’m crying.

And then I crumple into a ball.

I don’t understand. I just....don’t.