"Don't talk to me, single bitches, I've got a boyfriend now." Rita said as she got into Julia's minivan. Rita was going to be staying at Julia's house and Jude and Scott's while their parents went to New Jersey because of a family emergency. Jude had convinced their parents to let them stay at friend's houses because he knew Rita would be safer in Julia's house than with him, especially since the nogitsune was running around.
"It's about damn time." Eleanor said. Rita turned to flip her off but saw Martha's little brother and gasped loudly.
"Is that my seed, Liam Dunbar?!" Rita asked, loudly. Liam laughed and pushed through the girls to hug her.
"How's my baby bubba." Rita said, hugging him tightly.
"I'm good." Liam smiled.
"How come Martha's dragging you around?" Rita asked, letting him go and fixing his hair.
"He got suspended." Martha said. Rita looked at him, faking an upset expression, but smiled widely.
"My boy." Rita laughed, giving him a high five.
"Of course little miss suspension would be proud." Penny laughed.
"Don't start, you're the one who gave me the edibles." Rita said.
"I didn't know you would start crying in middle of gym!" Penny argued. They started bickering as the others sang along. Rita got a call and she shushed all of them.
"Hello?" Rita said.
"Are you home? I want to see you." Isaac said.
"No, I'm staying at my friend's house for a while. I wish I could see you, though." Rita said, leaning on the window.
"Is she talking to her boyfriend?" Liam asked.
"No, she's talking to her friend." Michelle replied. Rita shushed them and leaned back on the window.
"You're going to school, though? Right?" Isaac asked.
"Of course. My friend is letting me use her car." Rita replied.
"Then maybe we can hang out after school, yeah?" Isaac suggested.
"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." Rita smiled.
"Alright. Well, I'll leave you to it. Have a good night, Ri." Isaac smiled.
"You too, Isa. Bye." Rita said and he hung up. They pulled up to Julia's house and went in.
"You guys really just came to pick me up?" Rita asked as they got ready to leave.
"No, we ate before getting you. You're not that special." Michelle said. The girls and Liam left, leaving Julia and Rita alone.
"Mom's working the night shift so we'll be alone for the night." Julia said. Rita nodded and went to Julia's room.
"Is Rita here?" Julia's sister, Angelica, asked. Rita raised her arms up in excitement and Angelica squealed as she ran to Rita to hug her. The three girls went downstairs to make dinner and ate as they watched some random tv show. Rita couldn't help but worry about Scott. He had texted her earlier, telling her that he had a talk with his dad and she automatically knew that he was upset.
"Call him. You've been stressing since we got here." Julia said. Rita nodded and went to the kitchen to call Scott.
"Hey. What's up?" Scott asked once he answered.
"I just wanted to check up on you. Are you alright?" Rita asked.
"I've been better." Scott sighed, making Rita frown.
"Is it because of your dad or because of the nogitsune stuff?" Rita asked, sitting down on the dining room chair.
"Both?" Scott said.
"Wanna talk about it?" Rita asked. Scott smiled, appreciating how much she cared about him. Stiles glanced at him, pursing his lips as he saw his best friend smile for the first time today.
"My dad apologized for leaving and I told him not to because it doesn't really matter now." Scott said.
"Did it make you feel a little better, at least?" Rita asked.
"A little. It was kind of like closure." Scott said.
"Then maybe it did matter, even if it was a teeny bit." Rita said. Scott nodded but realized she couldn't see him.
"And I'm really worried about Stiles." Scott said, after a second of silence. Stiles glanced at him again and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Scott looked at his sickly best friend and gave him a small smile.
"You're going after the Nogitsune tonight, right?" Rita asked.
"Yeah." Scott said, picking at his lips.
"I don't know what to tell you to make you feel better, but I just hope everything goes well. I'm sorry." Rita said.
"Don't be sorry. You just talking to me is making me feel better." Scott said. Isaac and Jude looked at Scott in disgust and they dry heaved, exaggeratedly.
"You're so corny." Rita laughed. Scott smiled at the sound of her laugh, forgetting his worries for a second. The boys got closer to where Lydia was and Scott's worries came back and he knew he was going to have to cut the phone call short.
"I have to go, Ri." Scott said. Rita bit her lip and took a deep breath.
"Alright. Don't worry, everything will be okay." Rita said.
"I really hope so." Scott whispered.
"I know so, Scott. Be careful, okay? You mean a lot to me and I don't want to lose you." Rita said.
"Okay. I l- you mean a lot to me too, okay?" Scott said. Jude smiled, knowing already what Rita said. She'd given him a whole speech about being careful and about how much she loved him because he wasn't only her brother but her best friend.
"Okay." Rita said, smiling to herself. He hung up, leaving Rita to stare at the flowers in front of her.
"They'll be okay. All off them." Rita whispered to herself. She went to the bathroom and saw black smoke coming from the bathtub. The oni slashed the curtain, scaring Rita. She turned off the faucet and backed up as the oni stepped out of the bathtub. He slashed her arm making her cry out in pain.
"Rita?!" Julia called out, running down the hallway. She busted open the door and gasped when she saw the oni. Angelica, who was right beside her sister, pushed Julia away and lift up her arm to shoot a bright light ray of light straight through the oni's chest. The oni vanished, leaving nothing but a dead firefly and two shocked girls gawking at her.
"What was that?" Julia asked.
"I can manipulate light." Angelica shrugged.
"Does mom know?" Julia asked. Rita began hissing in pain again, getting their attention.
"It's always your left arm." Julia said, looking at Rita's already scarred arm.
"It looks cool, though." Rita shrugged, smiling weakly. Julia and Angelica gasped as they saw black smoke ooze out of the gash.
"We have to take her to the hospital." Julia said to her younger sister.
"They won't know what it is, it's supernatural." Angelica said. Julia bit her lip, knowing she was right and pulled out the first aid kit.
"Keep her awake." Julia told her younger sister as she took care of the cut. She was thankful for her her school provided a first aid class sophomore year so that she could help her friend.
"It's like a poison." Angelica said, staring at the black smoke while tapping Rita's cheek to keep her awake. Rita's eyes shut and stopped breathing.
"Rita. Rita, wake up. Rita!" Julia said, shaking her. The two sisters started crying, hugging Rita tightly. The black smoke stopped oozing out and Rita gasped as she shot up.
"Oh my god." Rita breathed out, scaring the two sisters. The hugged her tightly, stitched up her arm and wrapped it up.
-
"Julia, wake up. Get up, right now. I've got to go. My friend- she- Allison died." Rita cried after Jude called her. Julia shot up and looked at the crying girl with the wrapped up arm.
"She's dead, Jules. Allison," Rita sobbed. Julia hugged her, knowing how it felt to be woken up because someone's death.
"I don't think you'd do much going over there right now, Rita. It's three in morning." Julia said, rubbing her back.
"I know. I'm so fucking useless." Rita hiccuped.
"No, you're not, Ri. It's just something you can't really get involved in." Julia said. Rita nodded and rested her head on Julia's chest.
"Allison was the first person I had a conversation with- she was so nice- she was so good." Rita mumbled.
"The best ones always go first, Ri. That's just how things are but you still have to make the best out of it because she didn't die for you to be moping around." Julia said. Rita hugged her tightly and started drifting off as Julia ran her hands through Rita's hair.
"I love you, Jules." Rita said.
"Love you, Ri." Julia mumbled and they both fell asleep.
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Angelica Ramirez