Beyond Reflections (In Writing)

And so the plot thickens...

Too tired to edit right now, so sorry if it's crappy. XP

Chapter 14 - Confusion

After a nice, long listen to Veronica’s prattling, Penny was finally graced with a bit of peace since her friend had left to go shopping for maternity clothes. Penny felt a bit guilty about not offering to go with, but she definitely needed a bit of alone time now. Perhaps she had taken Veronica’s previous quiet spell for granted. Sure, she loved just letting loose and having fun with Ronnie, but there really was only so much she could handle. Though she was grateful that Veronica was happy again, she could only take her in small doses.

Besides, I have a coffee date tonight, she remembered, clenching clumps of her hair in stress. Penny had no idea why she agreed to it, but maybe Adam had something important to say. It wasn’t likely that he knew anything about the mirror deal, but there were other things going on in the world. She just hoped that Razz really was okay, because if Wyla had done anything to him, it would be Penny’s fault. The idea hadn’t struck her before that Razz really could be dead, but now, it seemed sort of likely to Penny.

Psht, calm down, drama queen. I didn’t hurt Razz… He’s fine. Honestly, I was just screwing with you; there was no other way you would have come with me. Unless I said it was Bane, but that would have hurt you too much, Wyla muttered to her telepathically.

“Shut up, Wyla! Just let me think in peace!”

Whoa, I was just trying to reassure you that-

“Get out!!” Penny shrieked, burying her face in her hands. She paused for a few minutes, muscles tense as she waited for the voice to come back.

God, I think I’m going crazy… she whimpered to herself mentally once she realized Wyla was no longer in her head. Penny hated this. She hated this feeling of violation: knowing that she was sharing all of her thoughts, all of her feelings, all of her memories with someone else. It was horrible; nothing was private for her anymore.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Penny pulled her phone out of her purse again to check her usually empty inbox. To her surprise, there was a text message from Bane, saying that he was staying at his friend’s place in the city. She smiled, for things had worked out perfectly. If he’s in the city, there would be no reason for him to be suspicious of her going out for coffee with Adam. Not like there was anything to be suspicious about, but Penny had to be careful.

Glancing at the clock, Penny gasped. It was 6:45, meaning she only had a quarter of an hour before she had to meet Adam. She quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail and retouched her makeup. Once she was done, she sauntered over to the closet and pondered the items that were there. She chose some faded jeans, a lacey pink top and a white cardigan. The outfit looked cute, but with the cardigan, it wasn’t too revealing or anything. He was a good-looking guy but Penny was dedicated to Bane now and didn’t want to send out the wrong vibes by wearing anything slutty.
She speed-walked out of the university, the streets blanketed with night as she made her way to the bistro. The slight chill on the breeze made her shiver, causing her to have to wrap her cardigan around her body tighter. By the time she reached the shop, her fingertips were numb.

Ah, the joys of fall, Penny thought to herself sarcastically, striding eagerly into the doors of the bistro, welcoming the warmth that the heaters provided. She saw Adam wave to her and noticed that he had already ordered a coffee for her. She took the empty seat at his table, sipping on the drink; it was just how she liked it, with hazelnut flavoring and a dash of cream. “Thanks, Adam,” she said with a smile.

“No problem,” he replied, green eyes gazing at her intently.

She faltered under his stare, shifting uncomfortably. “Um… So, why did you want to talk to me?” she asked. She only had met the guy a few days ago, so she had no idea what his intentions were.

“You’re dating Bane, right?” he questioned her, eyes narrowed.

“Yes, I am,” she answered reluctantly. It seemed so strange admitting to it because it didn’t even really seem like they were officially dating. They only had gone on one real date, after all.

Adam bit his lip in thought, as if contemplating what he was going to say next. “Listen, before you get in too deep with him, I have to tell you something,” he began, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Now, I don’t want you to tell him that I told you this, but… Well, Bane Goldmore isn’t the good guy you think he is.”

Penny rolled her eyes, the frustration rising. He was the second person who told her that in the past few hours, and it was absolutely infuriating her because she knew it wasn’t true.

“That’s absolute bull, Adam,” she snapped, “I think I know Bane a lot better than you do. I’ve been his best friend since middle school! And you’re what, his friend’s brother?”

Adam sighed, shaking his head. “I knew you’d react like this…” he groaned.

“No, see, you don’t know anything! You just met me and you’re just trying to scare me away from Bane. I have no idea why, but I know that’s what you’re trying to do. But he’s a nice guy, and I really like him… So just please, leave me alone,” she told him, her anger trying to shadow the panic fluttering in her mind. She threw down a five dollar bill. “Here, that’s for the coffee.”

She turned on her heels, swinging open the door to leave but he caught her by the wrist, pulling her back. “Please, Penny. Even if you don’t believe me, just hear me out,” he paused, his eyes searching for a negative reaction from Penny. Since all she did was rip her wrist out of his grip and fold her arms, he continued, “I know that I don’t know you that well, but as sleazy as Jordan may act, he speaks very highly of you. Based on his judgment, I think you’re a really nice girl and I don’t want to see you get hurt. So just be careful around your boyfriend, okay? I don’t know how Bane acts around you, but there’s a reason why he hangs out with guys like my brother and guys like Vanilly… He’s bad news, Penny. He’s just like his friends.”

Penny glared at him, jaw clenched. “Goodbye, Adam,” she snarled, storming out of the bistro without looking back. He called after her but she pretended that she couldn’t hear him.

She couldn’t believe that Adam would say such a thing. Penny truly did have no idea why Bane was friends with the people he was, but she did know one thing for sure: Bane was nothing like them.

I have no idea what’s wrong with Adam… Whether it’s Wyla who somehow got to him and brainwashed him or it’s something that Adam just thought up himself, I don’t know. But something here’s wrong, because Bane is nothing like that, she thought while on her way to the university.

Just when she was about to enter the doors, she heard a sound behind her. It was a scampering noise, like that of a squirrel. It reminded her so much of something she had heard before, but she just couldn’t remember what that something was…

Until she looked at the wall beside her.

Penny screamed at the top of her lungs, leaping away from the side of the building. Valyra was clinging there, her oily strands of hair falling over her eyes. She had her mouth open wide, exposing the chipped fangs inside.

After sniffing the air for a quick moment, the creature leaped down onto the ground beside Penny, snarling. Penny backed away slowly, “Valyra… Whatever your name is… Get the HEAVEN! away from me!” she barked.

“Heck… What’s that?” she rasped, wincing at Penny’s harsh tone. “I don’t see the heck anywhere around here, so I don’t see how I can get it away from you.”

Penny gawked at her, mouth agape. “You can talk?”

“Yes, Gydan taught me as soon as he named me. I like this name better than my old one, actually… Valyra seems so much more suiting than Raina. But it’s been so long since I was called by my real name…”

“Wait, if you were just taught English, how can you speak it so well?” Penny asked, eyebrow raised. She knew she shouldn’t be having a conversation with this monster, but she needed to distract Valyra. So far it was working, for Valyra just went from hostile to casual.

“I’m a quick learner,” she told her. Something about the shapeshifter’s voice made her shudder. It was just so eerie, almost ghostly.

Penny took another step back, trying to distance herself as much as possible from the creature.

Valyra watched her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Are you trying to run away from me?”

“No… I…” Penny couldn’t think of an excuse.

Valyra curled her lip, obviously offended.

“Don’t give me that look! You almost killed me!” Penny burst out, not realizing how stupid she looked arguing with The Grudge Jr.

Valyra cast Penny a sorrowful look before skittering away. “They never understand…” she grumbled.

Penny watched the strange being crawl away and for some reason, she felt a little tug at her heart.

What? I can’t feel sorry for that thing! She reminded herself, shaking her head as she traveled the hallways to the dorm. All those shapeshifters are just naturally manipulative.

When she entered her and Veronica’s room, she immediately crawled into bed and tried to sleep, without even changing out of her clothes. All she wanted to do right now was rest, just forget about everything. Forget about Valyra, the rumors about Bane, about mirrors, just forget about her life in general.

Except, it was impossible.

Whoever invented the term “Sleep on it” was an idiot. Penny couldn’t possibly get a wink of sleep with all these things running through her mind. But it was just as well, for her cell phone started ringing almost immediately when her eyes closed.

“Hello?” she answered groggily, turning on the lamp with a click and sitting up in her bed.

“Penny…” Bane began reluctantly from the other end of the line.

“Bane! Is there something wrong?”

“Well, sort of.”

“What is it?”

“Umm… Listen- Wait, I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

Penny huffed with impatience. “No, Bane. Just spit it out.”

“Would you mind picking me up tomorrow morning?”

Penny felt confusion rattle her brain. “Uh, sure? Why?”

“I… Well, I can’t explain.” His voice was strained with stress.

“Bane, I don’t exactly have a car.”

She could hear a muffled curse from Bane’s line. “Right… Why not?”

She rolled her eyes, “Because I don’t work in the city so there’s no point. Remember how small our town is?”

“Uh, right. Well, Razz is with me, so… Why don’t you see if Adam will lend you his car?”

Great, Adam…Whatever, I’ll see if I can get it out of him. If not, I can try Ronnie.

Penny had no idea what was going on but she nodded anyway, before realizing he couldn’t see her. “Oh, okay Bane. Promise to explain everything later?”

“No, but thanks. Good night.”

And then he hung up.

Choking in disbelief, she set the phone down on the night stand and turned off the lights, crumpling back into her mattress. After that strange phone call, Penny felt panic and despair surge through her like a bullet. Maybe she was just taking things to heart, and maybe she was exaggerating things a little… But after that phone call, Penny couldn’t help but see the possibility that Wyla and Adam weren’t lying.

Ooh... o.o Suspense.

NO! I DENY IT! Adam and Wyla are LIARS!!! >.> They got dropped on their heads as babies! That's it! And they chewed on the crib bars - covered in lead paint!! Yes, yes, that's exactly why they're telling all this bull!!!

Muahaha, I love suspense.

XPP Yes, shadow, yes. You're right.
*thinks to self* Just nod and smile and she won't kill me...

Hey, I heard you thinking!!!! >.>

*gasp* We have a psychic in our presence!

And apparently there's a carny amongst us as well... O.o

Haha, nice, Shadz. XD

OMG! A carny?! Where?!

Oh gosh. I was trying to find a smiley, and this came up. xD

Whoaa... Where'd that come from? o.0

Tinypic.

Omg I agree with shadz I DENY IT! I REFUSE TO BEILIVE ADAM AND WAYLA'S LIES!!!!! RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU THINK BANE IS A GOOD GUY! *Raises hand*.

*raises both hands*

Lol, nice smiley, Shadow. XP

*raises all three hands*



Wait...

Lol, yeah I was kinda wondering about that....

lolz.. love the comments before me. XD

still LOVING THIS!!!!! SO MUCH!!!!! lolz.. i was talking to my friends about this, (well.. this whole website really) and they were all confuzzled. XD

Keep going!! PLEASE! XD

Haha, I bet they were confuzzled WCL. Yes please KEEP GOING!!!!!!

Aw, thanks. :3

Yeah, I'll keep working on it. I'm like half done the next chapter.

Too bad I'll have to stop writing in November... Because of NaNoWriMo. -.-
I might just not do it, though... Because I'm not very well prepared. And school work's just too much. Ah, I'll leave that decision for November 1st. XD Besides, I'm really in to BR right now so I don't think I'll do Nano this year.

You could always finish BR with a crappy-last-chapter-to-be-revised, and then work on the sequel for the Nano!!! And then I - ooooh. 0.0 Er. Nevermind. *cuts self off very suspiciously*

Anywho, well, is it too late to raise my hand for Bane's innocence?

*raises hands and feet*

Awesome idea, Shadow!! I could do that, but Idk... XP I kinda want this to be at least novel length, and I have like 11 000 more words to go. So lemme see... If I do two thousand words a day for the rest of October, then I guess it could be done. But then I'd have to leave all the bab- I mean, er uh... All the uh... Other plotty stuff 'til later. XP

Muahahaha. Sorry Shadow, but it is too late...
Lol, jk. I actually dunno what I'm going to do with Bane at this point. I guess we'll have to see.

Whhaaaa.... My own story made me almost cry. That's what happens when you watch a sad movie (cough cough, PS I Love You) then write all the sad parts ahead and save them on your PC. XDD

Bab? BAB?! BABIES?! OMG DO IT!!!

NO! NO! NUUUUUU!!!!! *throws a fit*

That's good.

shadowsowner888 wrote:Bab? BAB?! BABIES?! OMG DO IT!!!

NO! NO! NUUUUUU!!!!! *throws a fit*

That's good.

Lol, nice one shad

Thanks.

No... Not babies... The erm... Babel tower. Or tower of Babel, whatever it's called. Somethin' like that. But good guess. XP