Chasing Dreams {Book 2: Chasing Butterflies}

Chapter 21: A Change in Plans

Hello again! Got a chapter in here done as well! =) Hope you all enjoy. =P

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"Within a day, you'll find yourself living in constant fear. Can you look at yourself now? Can you look at yourself? You can't win this fight." –Welcome To The Family, Avenged Sevenfold

Standing in front of Pansy Parkinson was not where Maverick wanted to be right now. Today was the day when he had to inform Pansy about the latest details in her plot. He was afraid to tell her about what transpired at the bachelorette party a few days before. He honestly didn't think that she was going to be happy about what he had to report. Things had not gone according to plan.

"So... did you manage to stop their wedding?" the black-haired woman asked him, leaning casually against a nearby wall. She was curious, he could tell.

Maverick hesitated. He was sure he was going to get cussed out because Audrey resisted his advances. The girl had royally hurt his foot; he still had the bruises to prove it. There was no denying it; Audrey knew how to deal some damage. "Err... no. It still happened."

"What do you mean the wedding happened?" Pansy screamed at the top of her lungs. The man standing before her stared at his feet, not daring to look up at her. "I ask you to do one simple task, and you can't even do that right!"

"I'm sorry, Pansy, but I tried my best," he finally answered. "The girl over-powered me."

Pansy gave him a skeptical look. "Really, Maverick. She's like this tall." She gestured to about a head shorter than she was. "How in the name of Merlin did she manage to overpower you?"

"She had on heels so she was quite a bit taller than what you suggest," Maverick replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Her height has nothing to do with it! Seriously, she's not that tough, Maverick," Pansy went on, rolling her eyes. "I hand you Audrey on a platter, and you couldn't handle it. Seriously. I ask you to dispatch her, get her out of the damn picture, and you couldn't even do that while she was intoxicated. How inept are you?"

"She about took out my foot with a stiletto!" Maverick countered. "Do you really think I should've proceeded?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Uh yea. You really should've. You had a key part of the plan, and you failed."

Maverick didn't speak for a few moments, watching as Pansy paced in front of him. "Honestly, if you wanted her out of the picture you should've done it a long time ago, by the sounds of it. You shouldn't have waited until they were only days away from them getting married to start interfering."

"I didn't know the wedding was going to be so soon, otherwise I would've killed it a long time ago," Pansy muttered, glaring angrily out the window. "I thought I had more time to plan, but apparently my time has run out. Now... it's time for drastic measures."

"Drastic?" Maverick asked, raising an eyebrow to her.

Pansy nodded. "I have no choice now. It's obvious to me that what I've done so far has been... ineffective in splitting them up. Obviously her friends aren't helping me like I was sure they would, and I can't just let nature take its course. I have to put matters into my own hands." She paused for a few moments. "Someone is going to get hurt."

Maverick didn't like the sounds of that. Granted, everything had gone south between him and Audrey, but he surely didn't want her to get hurt, especially not because some girl was jealous of her. The only reason he had agreed to help was because he had known Audrey, and perhaps that they would be able to reconnect. Obviously that wasn't going to happen now; he also didn't know that Pansy had planned on hurting her.

"Then count me out," he decided. "Harming someone was not in the deal."

Pansy turned back to him, giving him probably the ugliest look he had ever seen before. She took a menacing step towards him, causing him to take an involuntary step back against the wall. Typically speaking, Maverick was not afraid of women, but the crazed look Pansy was giving him was enough to scare anyone in their right mind.

"Fine. I don't need your help anyways," Pansy hissed. "You couldn't even perform the one pathetic task I assigned you. You want to leave, go right ahead. But I swear, if I find out you've revealed anything to Audrey and Draco, you will join your ex-girlfriend in her fate."

Maverick didn't say another word to her. He pushed her away, and left the room. If Pansy honestly thought that he wasn't going to say anything to them, she was clearly mistaken. He was going to have to find Audrey and inform her of Pansy's plot. All he could hope is that she didn't stomp on his foot again.

This whole plan made no sense to him. Granted, he could understand having the love of your life ripped away from you and you being hurt by it. But he certainly didn't understand the lengths Pansy was going to to get what she wanted. It was ridiculous! Besides, who's to say that if she did manage to get Audrey out of the picture that Draco would want to be with her instead? Last Maverick knew, Draco didn't want anything to do with Pansy; what would make the new situation any different? Especially now that he was married?

Maverick didn't love Audrey, at least not anymore, but he couldn't stand the thought of seeing her, or her new husband for that matter, being hurt. He was happy for her, and he certainly hoped that she could forgive him for his atrocious behavior at her party. He needed her to believe him; Maverick knew Pansy was up to no good and she needed to be stopped at all cost. The problem was going to be mainly getting Audrey to believe him in the first place. Not to mention locating her. He was going to have his work cut out for him, but Maverick knew he had no choice.

He wasn't going to let Pansy win.