Forever Never After

c h a p t e r t w e n t y

"No, marsh, don't worry. She's okay, she's fine. Breathe. Hey, look at me." He gently lifted my chin to face him. 

"Everything is going to be okay. You are going to be okay. No one, and I repeat, no one is going to hurt you. Alright?" I slowly nodded, and my breathing slowed, slightly. 

"Okay, good. Now, focus on your breathing and try not to puke on Graham cracker." I smiled, and nodded. "Now, let's go find Willow. Okay?" "Okay." He helped me up, and we slowly walked up the stairs. 

We found Willow crouching behind the study desk, peering out the window with a telescope. 

"Ahem." Willow whipped around and her expression softened when she saw us. 

"Oh, good. You're here." She stared at Graham, and then me. 

"You managed to calm her down. Without me?"

 "Yep. It was a piece of cake." said Graham, but his voice didn't match the confidence of his words. They glared at each other for sometime, but stopped when I cleared my throat. 

"Is she gone?" Willow  nodded, closing the blinds. I sighed, and fiddled with my hands. 

"That's good news. But, for how long? How long until she comes back?" Willow stared at Graham, who quickly shut his mouth, realizing that what he just said sort-of, well..definitely scared me. And Willow. Well, and himself. 

No one knew the answer. I had a bad feeling that we were going to find out very soon.

------The following day.----

Graham, Willow and I had constructed a solution to our problem the other day, or as Graham insisted to call it, the Overly Protective, Adapted Lifestyle (O.P.A.L). Yes, I see what he did there. Clever cracker. Basically, our (not very) genius plan was to:

1. Tell my parents to take security precautions. (and convince them that I wasn't crazy)

2. Make Graham and Willow my personal body guards.

3. Try not to get decapitated.

Yes, it was cowardly. And yes, it was pathetic, but hey, I would like to keep my friends and I alive rather than being  "brave" and illogically facing this by myself, thank you very much. I grabbed my schoolbag, and headed to the door. 

"Bye, mum. See you after school!" 

"Bye! Have fun!" I scoffed quietly. Fun. At school? That's hilarious. I opened the door and jumped back, gasping. Graham and Willow were waiting outside my door. I held my hand over my heart.

 "Oh gosh, you two scared me!" Graham shrugged.

 "Hey, if we want you home at the end of the day safely, we need to keep an eye on you at all times."

 "Yeah, like she is going to jump out at me, since she's obviously hiding in my mother's pansies." He raised his hands in defence. 

"I'm sorry, I thought we had a plan!"

 "And we do, but who is going to protect you?" I asked. 

"No one. I'm a man, I don't need any protection whatsoever." Willow scoffed, rolling her eyes.

 "A man? More like a 16 year old boy who watches Pokemon when he gets home." 

"I do not watch Pokemon! And even if I did, it isn't a crime!" Willow huffed, and started walking ahead of us. 

"Hey, hey, Miss Owen?" Graham whistled at her, calling her over. "I thought you were a bodyguard!"  Willow pouted, and walked back to us.

"There's a good Willow! Now, get into position!" I gaped at Graham as Willow stood behind me, and Graham stood to my left, draping an arm around me. 

"Hey, that's not the right po-" Willow started, but was shushed by Graham. Willow sighed, and positioned Graham in front of me. 

"Stay right there."

 "But, I can't see Opal from here!" 

"Good. You can shield her from any bullets that come her way." 

"Excuse me?!"  

"Oh, shush. I'm only kidding. Sort of." 

Graham looked over at me, grabbing my shoulder. 

"Do you see what I'm dealing with?!" 

"Ah, ah, ah! That formation does not benefit Opal's security."

 "How?! I'm just facing the other way." 

"Exactly. Opal sees your face. That does not benefit her." Graham gasped dramatically and put his hand on his heart.

 "Excuse me, darling. Have you seen this masterpiece?" said Graham, gesturing to his face. 

"Oh, yes I have. It's abstract art."

 "Guys, guys! Please, just focus on not letting me be assassinated, alright!" They nodded, and went back to their original formation. Sneakily, Graham tilted his head in my direction and whispered in my ear.

"Based on the first 10 minutes of us being your bodyguards, I think getting a bulletproof vest is your best bet."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WOOOO LONGEST CHAPTER IN HISTORY OF FNA! 1242 words :) Please vote, and comment! I would love to hear what you thought of this chapter!

QOTD: What is your favourite moment in this book so far? Let me know!

xoxoshelly