My Mother is giddy at our being back in town.
Luckily, Finn and Lucas found us a huge house to move into. It's not too huge, but huge enough to start a life and possibly a family. The house, like all the other houses, has a Gothic look to, though it's painted a maroon and black color. The house isn't the same as the others in the neighborhood, just one of the houses in a row of houses.
It's called the Proctor Manor.
It's got a huge sitting room, a parlor with many windows, a small dining room, and a half bathroom with an alcove nearby and a spacious kitchen. The second floor has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and another set of stairs, leading to an empty attic.
Honestly, it's like something one might see on television.
All the other houses are smaller in design but still nice. I watch with annoyance as Porter, Parker and David carry boxes into the house. They all agree that I shouldn't lift anything heavier than a lamp. Luckily Charlotte and I sit on the porch, trading quips and horror stories.
"I can't believe you agreed to teach at the high school. You are one brave bastard." Charlotte laughs.
"It won't be so bad. And helping people in this town will start with children." I nod, "If I wasn't in a weird, weird place in my life, I'd drink heavily."
"How is that?" She asks.
"Throwing up in every trashcan in the house and craving mustard sandwiches. So, good."
Charlotte looks onto the street, "This town is just getting back to normal. I guess none of us can outrun this."
"I think you and Porter should go to our apartment in New York, just until this is over." I says softly, "I have this bad feeling. At first, I thought it was gas. Now I think it's more."
"I see you still haven't lost your sense of humor." She chuckles.
"There are some statements there that are serious."
"No." She says simply. I stare over at her. She shakes her head, "When are you going to try to stop us from standing with you? Don't be mad but I told Eva."
I glare over at her, "About what?" I ask.
"About the pregnancy. About you moving back and inheriting a destiny that you dislike."
I roll my eyes, "Why?"
"I don't know." Charlotte says quietly. She stares at me with a perturbed expression, "I miss us. All of us, together. I chose to come back to this town, with Porter. But it's lonely. You and Eva have been my best friends since we were crawling, Rugrats style. Eva moved to the other side of the world and you..."
"Char, it's what we all wanted."
"No, it's what you told us to do." Charlotte scowls, "You never took into account that maybe it's not what we wanted."
"Charlotte, Eva wanted it. Parker wanted it. Jason begged for it. Charlotte, I love you but it's what I needed it. Fuck, Charlotte! I was sixteen. My life changed forever and I was helpless. I became self-loathing, self-sacrificing and...I stopped being me. I lost me."
"We all lost something." Charlotte frowns, "We all lost ourselves. You can't micromanage people, just like you can't do it to yourself."
"I've lived my life in New York by letting go of the anger and resentment. I don't feel like raging or crying anymore. This topic, my past self, isn't one I want to talk about."
Charlotte nods, "Still not leaving."
"Bitch."
"Whore."
"Butthead."
"You win."
-
Thank God for old style Manors.
It seems like every one is built with fireplaces. David convinces me to cuddle by it. It's something we do often but doing it here feels like it's the first time. It's like being calm in this place if foreign. I love how peaceful we are now.
He makes what little pain I still feel manageable.
As we watch the fire, I begin to wonder if, like the fire, I made a mistake in coming back. I wonder if this town will consume is, send us into a tailspin. I wonder if the emotions I felt will come back. And I won't be able to stop it.
I don't want to become that anymore.
I pull myself into an upright position. David stares at me with worry.
"Hey, you okay? Is it the nausea?"
I look to him, "I'm afraid." I say with unease. I take a deep breath, "I need you to tell me that this wasn't the hugest mistake in the world. I don't want to lose this. You."
"You're not going to lose me. I couldn't leave you if I tried."
"Because you marked me?" I look down at the floor.
I wonder if us being together is all because of that mark. I've gone through all the worry in my mind a thousand times and I keep hoping that's not the case. I keep hoping that our relationship isn't based on that.
On something supernatural.
"Because I love you, Marked or not." David says pulling chin up to meet his gaze, "I wasn't a werewolf then. I had it in me but I wasn't a werewolf. I have loved you since the first day I saw you."
"Don't get all sappy." I joke.
"I'm scared as Hell that this was a mistake. But the one thing I know about you is that you fight for us. For all of us. And if you can fight for us, still, after all this time. The least I can do is fight for you."
"I love you, you know."
David smirks, "I know. But who's sappy now." He puts his arm around my shoulders and puts me in, "I love you, too. We're in this together, like we always have been."
"Good because ours Moms want to throw us a baby shower."
"That's so much scarier than any demon, you know."
I nod as I lay across his lap, "I know." I nod.
"So...have you hit the horny part of pregnancy yet?"
"Shut up."
"On the good side, you get to go to back to high school."
I lift my head and scowl at him, "Mood ruined." I say as I promptly rise to my feet and leave him on the couch.
-
The next day, I'm officially a teacher at Thebas High School.
I feel extremely nauseous and surprisingly nervous. I write the former off as pregnancy and the later as reliving the worst part of my childhood. The principal, no longer the one I grew up with, is Charlotte's mother. She tries to quell my nervousness.
Teaching isn't exactly on my list of things I want to do. Of course, if I had to, I rather do it in college. I think back to being a teenager in high school and pray that this isn't karma. As I walk in-to the classroom, the first thing I remember is the smell.
The smell of death.
I'm leaning on my desk when the bell rings. I take a deep breath as kids start filing to the room. I watch in horror as the kids take their seats. The normal ones anyways. A group of kids with letterman's jackets slip through and group up on the right side of the room.
"Hello, class. My name is Perry Gilbert. I'll be teaching part Sociology, part Literature and how they might connect." I say as my eyes scan the room, "I suppose we're suppo—"
I stop at the entrance of small African boy with honey colored eyes. His hair is styled into a very small afro. He's wearing bifocals that mirror something Harry Potter would wear. He's thinner than I've been in a long time. I can't help feel sympathetic towards him.
He reminds me of me, except with a worse wardrobe and sans the hotness.
I stare at him, "Can I help you?" I ask.
The boy pants and gasps. I notice that he's wearing a small, red messenger bag with stickers all over it. When he notices me, his eyes go wide.
"Micah." He pants, "I'm in this class. I'm late."
"Yes, I see that."
One of the jocks, a dark-skinned boy with dark eyes and a short fade, hisses something that sounds distinctly homophobic and wholly assholic. I nod to a seat in the second row and he moves to it, ungracefully, I might add. I go to the board and in the time it takes me to write my name, an airplane lands on the floor by Micah.
I turn and walk to the plane, picking it up my hands. I unfold it to see the word 'Fag'. I take a deep breath and look up to see a group of jocks, minus the black teenager, laughing. Anger fills my insides and I'm about to blow but I remember that I'm a teacher now.
I lean on the desk and lift the note into the air, "This...is the exact kind of thing I'm going to pick apart and analyze. Homophobia, the people who exhibit it and why they look for person they perceive as the weakest, most vulnerable person. In short, we'll explore what makes idiots group together and act like bigger idiots." I see the smiles disappear from their faces, "Now, can anyone tell me why a person would pick on someone else? Or, if we're talking about homophobic specifically, what is it?"
"Latent homosexual feelings." A light skinned girl with long brown hair and full, pouty lips says. She frowns at them before her eyes return to me, "It's a reaction that is solely based on internal struggles and conflicts.
"Good. Long-winded but it's actually very correct." I nod, "Now, before we dig too deeply on one subject, I'd just like to say that first and foremost, negative behavior will be tolerated here. Making fun of people is not in the syllabus."
"This is going to be a great class." One of the other jocks, a large guy with olive skin, blue eyes and the frame of a man in his twenties. His sarcasm is mildly annoying.
"Did you say something...what's your name?"
He clears his throat, "Ryan. The name's Ryan."
"Well, Ryan. Please enlighten me on why sarcasm is your best defense and why you believe my class isn't going to be fun." I wait for his response and I fold my hands over my chest, "I'll wait."
"What are you, like some 'fag protector'?"
There are whispers throughout the class. I try to reign in the anger I have but quite frankly it pisses me off. Call it hormones but I want to shred him apart. Of course, I can't just tell him to go to the principal's office. Any good torturer knows that when someone ticks you off, you don't leave or ask them to leave.
You stay.
I nod, "I am. Actually, I save the world every now and then too. The thing is, the world is bigger than your mind knows right now. There's all kinds of things out there that you're not going to agree with. The thing is, though, who cares? You're one person in seven million. It's only when one very misguided individuals finds the few other like-minded people that the world becomes unsafe and unsavory. My class is going to open your minds to what's out there. It's going to be hard and it's going to be very difficult to take a look at our culture, and even ourselves, and realize that we're not the only people in this world." I say as my eyes scan the room, "Also, it totally looks good on college application."
The class goes smoothly after, with everyone introducing themselves. It turns out that the emotionless jock is named Corey, The girl with pouty lips is named Melissa and the homophobic prick is named Ryan, of course.
After a full class, I'm ready to rip my eyebrows out. I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work out. I go over the syllabus and we finish in just enough time for the bell to ring. As they file out of the room, I notice that Micah is fumbling with the bag. The bag overturns and art supplies fall out.
I walk over to him and help him pick up the remaining supplies. I hand them to him, "Don't let them get to you. It's like they read from one totally stupid book."
"I don't need your help, you know."
I laugh, "Clearly. Just saying." I shrug.
Micah shakes his head, "I'm sorry...it's just been a really rough morning."
"Anything I can help you with? You seem out of sorts."
"No, I'm afraid not. Look, I have Chemistry."
Micah brushes past me and I chuckle. That went smoothly. My first day and I've pissed off quite a bit of the jocks, further alienated an already distant student and managed to confound myself.
I walk over to erase the board and see Charlotte standing in the doorway. She smiles at me and moves into the room. She looks around and her eyes fall on me.
"Holy Christmas...this is real. You're a real teacher."
"Yeah, I went into to full lecturing mode. I think I became my parents." I sigh, "When did we become our parents?"
"We're not. We're just highly developed. And..." Her eyes go wide, "Dammit!"
I chuckle to her, "Did you find anything on Circe? A picture? A sonnet?"
Charlotte nods, "Weird thing about Salem University is that they have some freaky ass occult books. I was able to snag a few without arousing suspicion." She smiles deviously. She displays them on my desk. I stare at her and when she notices how I'm staring, she chuckles, "I used my fairy powers. To entice the librarian."
"You used it on him?"
"Her and yes."
I stare at her before my eyes turn to the book, "What did you find, besides the obvious scary fairy behavior." I ask.
"I like to think of myself as Tinkerbell. You know, sweet but kind of scary."
"Circe." I say quickly.
"Besides for the beautiful image the Odyssey painted for us? Oh and that version with Vanessa Williams? She was so fierce." She smiles until she sees my annoyed face, "Right, serious. She's depicted as a frizzy, red-headed Caucasian woman with a staff. She turned men into pigs. She's kind of a bitch. And vain, can't leave that out."
I take a deep breath, "So, our plan of action is to look for a frizzy-haired red head with a staff. That almost sounds like Willa." I joke. Charlotte's eyes narrow to me and I groan, "It's not. This is giving me a thought. So, Hecate was taken in by the Nowhere Man, who is basically a fallen angel who was taken over by the dark side. What if the Nowhere Man isn't Lucifer? What if Lucifer wasn't Lucifer and she's born from the Nowhere Man? The devil is just a name, probably passed through different people. What if Lucifer isn't who we're dealing with? What if we're dealing with her Father, He—"
"So, you think Circe's father is Helios?"
"It's extremely jarring that you know who Helios is." I chuckle. She sneers at me and I stifle my laughter. I stare at her, "The only question is how did Helios ever end up the lord of Hell and also why is he reaching out to me?"
"I think you answered that a few minutes ago," Charlotte says pointing to a picture of Helios and Hecate. She points to a corner and I spot a dark spot. I thought it was just a mistake on the picture but I see what she sees. She chuckles, "Brain explosion! So, Helios and Hecate had a daughter, Helios was seduced by the dark side and Hecate almost went with him. The thing is...she wasn't sent the same Hell Dimension as him."
"Punishment."
"So, the Greek Gods are real?"
"No," I shake my head, "I don't think they are. I mean, they are but not in the way you think. Say you were a human that knew nothing about magic."
"Been there."
"If you saw rampant magic and powerful beings that may or may not eat people, including their children, which has to be an exaggeration, what would you think?" I ask.
She slams the book shut, "Seriously? God, human beings really are idiots." She stares at me, "I will see what else I can dig up on him. You worry about molding the future generation." She says as she leaves.
I look after her thinking, 'We are so boned'.
-
I have to admit that teaching isn't as bad as I made it out to be.
Sure, the kids are borderline assholes, the pay almost sucks and it'll probably give me grey hair. I'm essentially molding kids to my will, but it's kind of cool in a way I didn't expect. Good thing David gets paid a lot more than me, because as I said, the pay sucks.
I return home with a sense of accomplishment but also a sense of needing a very strong drink. Too bad for me that David cleared out all the alcohol. He has this stupid idea that it could hurt the baby and the scary part is that he might be right.
So much is unknown about this magical pregnancy that I'm not quite sure what to believe. Of course, David is extra cautious. Overly so. Annoyingly so.
I close the door and David peeks around the corner. I walk into the living room and he meets me with a box of wine. I stare at him and he flashes a sympathetic smile.
"How was school?" He asks.
"Well, Dad, I met some new kids and they bullied me and a couple of other kids so I called them idiots. But I didn't get fired...plus."
"I literally love you more now."
"That's what I live for. Where are you going with the rest of the Calvary?"
David frowns, "You've been hiding this crap everywhere. We only drink beer now and you don't even drink beer now. You are like apple juice and sparkling water."
"You're depressing me."
"I know something that can make you less depressed."
I laugh, "That is going to have to wait just a little."
David groans, "So, we're that couple?"
"I said wait, not quit altogether."
I feel a twinge of nausea and feel like I'm about to pass out. The feeling comes and passes quickly and I take a seat on the sofa. David moves over to me, dropping the box on the white sitting chair.
"Hey, you okay?" He asks as he moves beside me, "Your eyes did that black thing. Creepy as shit."
"Nice to know my husband thinks I'm creepy." I say with a tired expression.
David frowns, "Not a joke. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. The whole 'pregnant but not pregnant' thing...I think I've been hanging around with you too much."
I laugh and lean back on the couch. My head leans and I take in a deep breath. It felt like a panic attack, severe but it was much, much shorter than a panic attack. It drains me. I look over to see David staring at me. I put on a weary smile.
"Maybe you should get some rest, or maybe working at the school isn't a good idea right now."
"Hey, you talked me into this—"
"Actually, Charlotte did that."
"So I'm going to see it through. I'll probably get fired first."
"Comforting." He smiles pulling me close, "Charlotte tells me that we have some information on Circe. What I don't understand is why she hasn't attacked yet."
"Something tells me that she has and we just don't know. We killed her mother. Of course her mother was a total man-depend crazy bitch, but I can relate to her." I sigh, "She'll come at us with a vengeance. This time I'm ready for her."
"Are you?" He looks down at me, "I know I said I didn't want to come back here, that I wanted to leave this all behind but...I'm glad we came back. I missed my mom and...it gives me chance to see you in your element."
I chuckle, "The only thing I'm not ready for is..."
"The bloodshed?"
I nod.
"Everything isn't on you."
I laugh, "No, but it's still my job to protect people. It's my job to keep this world from closing in on itself and to keep the demons and whatever the fuck else from coming in. Kind of wish I could call in."
David kisses my forehead, "I'm here. Not going anywhere." He says with a smile, "I'm just waiting for that horny thing to kick in."
"Honestly, it might actually be happening."
"Excelsior!"
I lean back against his lap and he leans down and kisses me.
Probably the only part of the pregnancy I'm looking forward to.
-
Micah stands next to a bubbling cauldron. He moves his hand over it and it swirls. Micah jumps back as almost unnoticeable face jumps out at him. The face becomes obscure and a cackle fills the room.
"Mistress, I don't understand. He doesn't seem bad. Not evil, as you said. I don't know if—"
"The devil wears many masks." The voice hisses, "We must be vigilant."
"We're literally speaking through a bubbling cauldron." Micah frowns.
"Do you doubt me?"
"No, Mistress Circe." Micah says with an edge of fear.
Circle cackles again, "Also, my lips, I've been trying something new with them? Do you like this color?"