Zoé slammed her lunch tray down on the table and tossed herself into the seat beside me. She was practically vibrating on the spot and there was a very wide smile on her face. This could only mean one thing.
Something very big had happened in the world of Zoé.
"Are you normally this excited to eat lunch?" Adrien asked Zoé with an raised eyebrow.
Zoé shook her head, not even minding Adrien's highly sarcastic tone. "Guess who just asked me to the winter formal, Marinette!" she said, gripping my arm tightly.
"Hmm... I'm going to take a wild guess and say Luka Couffaine did," I said, giving her a grin.
Zoé nodded vigorously and let out an excited squeal. "Do you know how long I've had a thing for Luka Couffaine? Since forever! And he finally asked me out! Oh my God, Mari, Saturday is going to be the best night ever!"
Luka Couffaine is the twin brother of Juleka Couffaine. Zoé had had a thing for Luka since she first laid eyes on him at one year ago. She just never actually talked to him. And I could understand why Adrien would have no interest in listening to this at all.
"He sure didn't beat around the bush, did he?" I said. "It's Thursday and the dance is on Saturday."
"Yes, well..." Zoé trailed off. "He told me he'd just been mustering up the courage to ask me."
"Do you even have a dress?"
"Yes! Of course I do! I was going to go with Alya and the girls even if I didn't get asked! I found this dress the other weekend, and let me tell you, Mar, it's absolutely gorgeous. It has this—"
She stopped her rapid babbling for a moment and then stared at Adrien. He was picking at my fries and the look on his face was anything but interested.
"Can I help you, Zoé?"
Adrien dropped his fry and leaned forward on his elbows, resting his head in his hands. He gave Zoé such a ridiculous smile I was surprised she didn't say anything about it. It was literally all I could do not to burst out laughing.
"Aren't you going to ask Marinette to the winter formal?" Zoé demanded.
My jaw dropped as I looked at her in stunned horror. "Zoé!"
Zoé shrugged off my comment like it was nothing and continued to stare at Adrien demandingly.
My boyfriend —I was still getting used to calling Adrien my boyfriend, but there was no getting around that fact, since we were dating —and one of my best friends embarked on a stare down of wills. It lasted for a good few moments before Adrien got to his feet, strode around the table, took my hand in his, pulled a look of full desperation on his features.
"Adrien!" I yelped. "What are you doing? Why do you look like that?""
He ignored me and immediately said in a serious voice, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Will you go to the winter formal with me?"
"No! I don't want to go to the winter formal!"
A smirk curled at Adrien's lips, "Thank you, Marinette." he took his seat at the table again and started picking at my steak fires.
"There," he told Zoé smugly. "I asked her to the winter formal, and she said no. Happy?"
"Okay," Zoé finally said. And then she rounded on me with an angry look. "Why don't you want to go to the winter formal?"
"I don't dance," I said at the exact same time Adrien said, "I hate everyone at this school."
Zoé stared at the two of us with a disbelieving expression, like she could hardly believe what she was hearing. She gave a very dramatic eye roll before huffing out, "Fine. Whatever. You two really are perfect for each other."
"I'm not nearly as unpleasant as Adrien," I said with a scoff. "Please."
"Thank you, sweetheart," Adrien said to me. "I was waiting to hear that."
This day was beginning to feel surreal. I'd been looking over my shoulder for the past two weeks so much I was afraid that if I let my guard down, something really, completely horrible was going to happen. To me, to Adrien, to the literally anybody.
It had only been one day since Snakes showed up in my chemistry class and I hadn't seen hide nor hair of anything that even remotely resembled that man. Colt's threat must have been enough to make him back off.
But as much as I was hoping I was never going to see Snakes again, there was this small, nagging thought in the back of my mind that this wasn't over yet.
It was Wednesday. I just had to make it to Saturday, and then everything that had been stalking me since early December would disappear.
Actually hanging out with Zoé and Adrien and joking and laughing was nice, sure. But it still didn't stop me from internally freaking out.
Colt was right. I sure hoped I knew what I was doing, dating Adrien. So far everything was going alright, but I was well aware of how easily that could change.
The apartment was empty when I let myself in later that afternoon after school. I wasn't so sure if I was upset by that or not.
I tossed my bag onto the couch and wandered into the kitchen, intent on making a cup of tea. I didn't really feel like doing any of my homework.
I grabbed a teacup out of the cupboard and my favorite bag of tea and set about making my tea. I'd just added hot water when I heard a soft rustling noise behind me, almost like a light breeze.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Colt seated at the dining table, lounged back in a chair with his arms crossed.
"I'm surprised," He said. "You didn't scream."
I shrugged, blowing on my tea before taking a sip. "I'm kind of used to your comings and goings by now."
Colt cracked a half smile. "Good to know. I'll try harder to scare you in the future."
I took a seat at the table across from him and set my tea down in front of me. "Why are you here, Colt?"
He blew out a sigh and leaned forward, drumming his fingers on the table. "You probably want an explanation, don't you?"
"About what?" I asked.
"About my interveining," He elaborated. "About my mother and brother."
I was shocked to hear those words coming out of his mouth. "You don't have to tell me that, if you don't want to," I said slowly, clearing my throat. "That's something personal."
Colt shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "No, I think you should know about them."
"Well then, who were they?" I finally asked, taking a sip of my tea.
Colt stuck a hand in the pocket of his jacket and came up with a small locket attached to a very old, golden chain, and then a crumbled up picture.
He tossed them to me and I caught them with my left hand before it could hit the table. I traced my fingers over the pattern of flowers on the locket and a few pieces of rust chipped off into my hand.
"How old is this?" I asked.
"A few hundred years old," Colt answered. "My momma gave it to me before she... passed."
"When was that?" I said, curious.
"1893."
"Holy— Colt. You're old."
Colt threw back his head and laughed. He must have found my comment somewhat funny, because it was a few moments before he finally managed to get a grip.
"Oh, Marinette, you are a trip, aren't you?" Colt sighed, still grinning. "But yes, I suppose I am old."
I carefully opened the clasp on the locket and opened it. On the right side of the locket was a portrait of a very beautiful woman. She had long, brunette hair piled up into a halo of long curls. Her skin was an even tone and even though the picture had obviously been painted, there was a secretive smile on her face, like she knew something everyone else didn't.
"She's beautiful, Colt," I said, handing him back the locket.
"I know." Colt snapped the locket shut and slipped it back into his pocket.
I then grabbed the paper and flattened it out, the man on the picture was the exact same man who Snakes had pretended to be in class yesterday.
Snakes had morphed to look like his dead step son? How cruel was that?
"How... did your Mom pass?" I asked, passing the paper back toward him, curious to know the story now.
"I suppose you could call it an accident, but I disagree." Colt began in a solemn voice. "With our rather special abilities, mine was that I knew when and how someone dies. But my mother, did not die the way she was supposed to. I was aware of my mother dying of a cruel sickness in June of 1899, but she ended up dying from poison in April 1893, by said accident."
"I bet it wasn't an accident," I said, unable to hide the sound of unshed tears in my voice.
Colt frowned. "Me neither."
"What happened then? How did you know it was poison that killed her."
"The night before, my mother, brother, Wren, and my step sister, Kacey, all had a family dinner together, which was a rather fun night. But my brother, Weston, had a strong hatred for my mother, cause she left our father and married another man, which was a dramatic way of putting it... my dad was abusive, but he had poor Wes brainwashed, is what it seemed like at first."
"Was it Weston? Who... did it."
A disappointed look crossed Colt's face as I spoke and he dropped his eyes from mine.
"Yes. That's what is seemed like. I tried to defend him, which was pretty stupid of me. But I was only nine, and wanted to help my big brother."
I felt my heart squeeze and drop in my chest.
"Do you remember all of it?" I asked hesitantly. "Could you tell me everything?"
"The next morning, my mother woke up and she was as sick as a dog. She was freezing cold, and looked so pale that it scared my little nine year old self so awfully. When I had found her like that, I ran to tell Weston who told me not to worry about her, that Wren would take care of it. And when I got home that night, my mother was gone and Wren had told me Weston had been taken away." Colt sighed. "I remember being so angry with Wren and Kacey, but surprisingly they were the good guys in the situation."
My jaw dropped. "Excuse me? Did you just say Wren was the good guy?"
Colt gave a slight grin at my shocked reaction. "Good guy, indeed."
"Well, what happened to him..."
"Uh, I guess when it was confirmed that it was Weston who had poisoned my mom... Wren decided that he'd hate the world from that day on."
Snakes was a good guy? That was certainly going to take some getting used to.
"Okay," I said, still dazed. "How did... Weston poison her?"
"She... ate it."
"Poison in the dinner bowl?"
"That's right," Colt said with a nod.
I frowned in confusion. "How did Weston..."
"Kill himself?" Colt finished.
"Yeah." I said breathlessly.
"Smothered himself with a plastic bag in the floor of his prison cell." Colt said, shrugging.
"Did you know..."
"That was how he died?" Colt finished once again. "No. Cancer at eighty years old was the way I was aware of, but he brought his actual death upon himself."
"Do you know how i'm going to die?" I asked, crossing my arms.
Colt laughed, "Not anytime soon."
Thank god.
"What about Adrien..."
Colt put his cap on backward and leaned forward in his chair, "He was headed down the same path as my brother, that's why I had you stop him. But now? I haven't been updated."
"How do I know if you're telling the truth or not?" I asked, a wave of suspicion crashing over me.
"About? I mean, if I didn't know how everyone ended up dying then would I have given you the chance to save Adrien before he even did anything?" Colt retorted, raising an eyebrow.
Huh. Good point.
"So, all in all this is Weston's fault." I said. "How selfish is that?"
"You'd say very selfish, but i'd say that isn't the case." He told me. "It keeps me wondering... I will never know If Weston had good intentions when killing my mother. He could see the future."
I opened my mouth to ask him the very question he answered before I asked, "I see death. Wren can pause time. Weston seen the future. Kacey could travel back in time, and my mother had this telekinesis of some sort."
"Thanks. Well... also, I figured you would be angry with your brother, not pained by his death."
"Here is where it gets interesting." Colt said, looking as if he were readying himself for a life long story.
"When I turned sixteen, I begged and begged my step sister, Kacey, to send me back in time before Weston killed himself, and luckily she did. With that, I convinced my big brother that not to kill himself and brought him back to the future with me. When Wren caught sight of Weston, I blacked out, and when I woke up... I seen my brother lying dead for the second time and came to the conclusion that Wren had paused time and killed my brother."
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. I really hoped the tears burning my eyes wouldn't escape.
"Did Weston ever tell you why he killed himself?" I whispered, my breath catching in my throat.
"Yes. My... My biological father decided to get to my mother through my innocent brother," Colt ground out through gritted teeth.
Innocent?
"Weston wasn't at dinner the night my mother was poisoned. We were just seeing him instead of my father because of an illusion. He killed my mother and framed my brother. And while my brother was rotting away in prison for something he didn't do, my father made him think that he was seeing things, that people were trying to kill him. He would think that he was being poisoned and scream for hours. The last days of his life were spent locked in prison."
"Didn't you try to do anything to help him after you found that out?" I asked. "Didn't you try and—"
"Marinette, there are a lot of things you do not understand about otherworldly dealings," Colt said. "There are some things that cannot be stopped. After I was aware, I tried to go back and stop my father. Of course I did. But my power only goes so far, and so did Kacey's. There was nothing I could do to save Weston, after what had already been done. He took his own life because we couldn't save him."
"I am so sorry, Colt," I said. I couldn't keep the tears out of my voice. "I'm so sorry you couldn't save him."
Colt waived away my words and leaned towards me across the table. "I hear you're dating Adrien now. How's that working out for you?"
"Ugh!" I snarled, banging a fist down on the table. "Does it really matter that I'm dating a guy? If you've got another warning for me, then come out and say it!"
Colt said nothing. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, looking at me with a cool expression.
"Well?" I snapped. "I'm waiting!"
"You want me to tell you the truth, Marinette?" He said in a quiet voice. "Then I will. You've been given a double edged sword. If you use one side, make no mistake that Adrien will take his life, or his father will."
"And if I use the other?"
Colt looked up at the ceiling as if he were mentally trying to find the answer to my question, "Adrien will live."
I breathed a sigh of relief and fell back into my seat. It felt like a huge weight had just been lifted off my shoulders.
Adrien was going to live. Adrien was going to stay out of trouble and live.
"But I'm not going to be able to keep Wren away from you forever. He's going to get to you sooner or later."
And then it was back again.
"I know how you feel about Adrien," Colt said, getting to his feet, leaning across the table towards me. "Really, I do. But listen to me when I tell you this. If I hadn't showed up in your classroom that day right at that second, Wren would have killed you. He is not human anymore. He doesn't feel emotions like love and hope and fear like everyone else. The only thing he thrives on is power and hate and the taking of lives. It doesn't matter that you're sixteen."
I was finding it hard to breathe as Colt's words swarmed around in my mind. I was only sixteen. To think that I had almost lost my life because I'd just gone to school one day was enough to make me have a panic attack.
I had known this was going to be difficult. I didn't think I would end up losing my life, though.
"I am sorry, Marinette," Colt said, snapping me back into reality. "If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have come to you with this."
I sat in stunned silence for several moments.
"So you would have just let get into trouble? You would have let Adrien die?"
Colt's fathomless, dark eyes bored into mine, making me feel uneasy, but I forced myself to stand my ground.
"One life lost is bad enough, Marinette. If two lives don't have to be taken, then yes. I would."
"No." I stood up, shoving my chair back, coming face to face with Colt. "Even if I could go back, Colt, I wouldn't. It's just that when I'm with Adrien, I feel like myself and I'm not afraid to... I don't know. I just... want him to stay with me. His family? They're good people. Adrien is the one person that they can really rely on, and they need him! It's bad enough that they all lost Emile. They need Adrien, too. So what if Wren comes after me? I'll survive. So you can take your warning and leave!"
— ᴀɴ ✍︎︎
How confusing was this chapter? :D
Lol, I gave myself a headache writing and rereading this chapter. I think i'm going to have to read it one more time when i'm not sleep deprived and motion sickened. I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter as it is for now!
Update: I attempted to make this chapter less confusing, but if it still is too much, please let me know.