Beca was sitting on her rock, just listening to the sound of the night.
For the first time in more than seven years; she felt alone again.
The one thing that she would never admit, but feared the most.
To think. Yesterday she had a family, a potential soulmate and a sister. Now, all thanks to a strange dark creature; she had lost it all. If it weren't for it then all those events would never have happened and she would never had ended up like this.
It was amazing how much one could think more clearly in silence.
She wanted to run of and find Emily.
Wanted to fall on her knees and apologise and ask for forgiveness. But she knew that she was the last person that Emily wanted to see.
Her wolf senses kicked in and she heard someone approaching.
But nobody was allowed to see her like this. She already showed too much tears when she yelled at Emily earlier. Her emotions were all outside now and she can't and didn't want to put them all inside again.
At least not yet.
There was only one person who would usually ever comfort her.
"Stacie I told you I wanted to be left alone!" Beca spat out putting her head between her hands.
"It's a good thing I'm not Stacie then," Beca tensed a bit at the voice she never thought she would hear and dreaded at the same time.
She let out a heavy sigh and looked down. "I must really have fucked up bad if you came."
Aubrey chuckled slightly at the shorter girl. She was angry at Beca for how she yelled at Emily, Chloe and Stacie. But seeing her like this actually made her feel sorry for the werewolf. Nobody deserved to feel like that, not even your enemies.
"Trust me. I didn't come on my own accords." Aubrey said while walking to stand next to the rock Beca was sitting on. "I'm doing this for the others."
Beca gave a small snort of laughter as she turned her face away from the blonde, trying to hide her face.
"Stacie must be totally pissed at me," the brunette chuckled out at the thought of the tall brunette being angry at her. She had been angry before, but in a joking way.
"Surprisingly no."
Beca swung her head around to look at the vampire with a surprised expression.
"Seriously?" Aubrey smiled and nodded. "She's not pissed?"
Aubrey giggled slightly, which was the exact opposite of what Beca usually made her do.
"Like, at all?" the brunette kept prying. Because she couldn't think that Stacie wouldn't be at least a smidge angry. Beca knows that she would've been fuming if someone had shouted at her like that.
"Nope," Aubrey responded popping the 'p'.
"I actually wanted to come over here and kick the living and dead daylights out of you, but she stopped me."
Beca didn't know what to say. She simply looked at Aubrey while the blonde talked.
Aubrey was looking over the dark forest, feeling Beca's eyes on her.
"She managed to calm everyone down and convince them to not leave you and go after your sis-... I mean Emily." Aubrey flinched slightly at her mistake. Although she never went through something like this, she knew it must be a tough topic for the brunette.
"No. Please say it."
This time it was Aubrey who looked at Beca with confusion.
"Please tell me she's my sister," Beca said before looking down at her findleling hands. "Maybe you can convince me that she still is."
"You care for her don't you?"
Beca gave a small nod. Because she did. She loved Emily like a little sister. It wasn't her fault that the things that happened to her lead to Beca's mother dying.
"I do. But she probably hates me now. I yelled at her and blamed her for something that was completely out of her control. I'm probably the worst sister ever."
"Yeah you are," Aubrey agreed and looked away again.
"Gee thanks for the GREAT pep talk and cheering me up Aubrey." Beca didn't even try to keep her sarcasm inside. Everything was out now so might as well let it all out.
"But seriously Beca. You've been so busy with keeping your feelings all inside, that you didn't even notice." Aubrey finished a little more harshly than intended.
Beca stared at Aubrey, cranks turning in her head. "Notice what?"
"Uuuggghh!" Aubrey threw her head back and groaned. "You're more idiotic than the humans."
The blonde looked at Beca who was now a little stunned by the tone why she kept her curious face.
"Did you know that all those times you and Chloe were alone was because Emily set it up right?"
Without knowing it Beca shook her head slightly.
"Emily asked me and Stacie to help because she needed eyes and ears when she wasn't going to be around. The little date, the nights sleeping with Chloe and even the karaoke moment; it was all her idea."
Now Beca practically hated herself.
Emily was the one who brought her and Chloe closer. Emily put Beca's happiness before her own and this was her way of repaying her. Yelling at her and chasing away Chloe.
All Emily's work was for nothing.
Beca was snapped back to reality as Aubrey started to walk off. "That's it? That's all you came to say?"
Aubrey glanced back with a sympathetic smile. "You need some time to think. A lot of new information was just inserted into your brain and you might want to process it."
Beca nodded; to herself mostly before calling out to the blonde. "Thanks."
"What are friends for?"
And with a grin, Aubrey walked away back to the rest of the delinquents.
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The wind was rushing past her as she ran. Her eyes were cold as the wind was drying and cooling the tears streaming from her face.
But it didn't matter and she kept on running.
"Emily! Wait!" Amy called out as she and Chloe chased after the brunette. She couldn't face them, not with the knowledge they now knew.
It wasn't until an unseen log in her path that caused her to stumble to the floor, did Emily finally stop running.
She just laid there on the ground, crying.
There was no more will left in her. No will to get up. No will to go and make things with her friends better. No will to even keep living.
Amy and Chloe finally managed to catch up and nearly cried themselves at the sight they saw.
The once friendly and positive girl looked like nothing. She was on the ground sobbing uncontrollably while burrowing her head into her arms.
"Em?" Chloe finally managed to make the first attempt to approach the werewolf.
"Please go away," Emily managed to croak out. Her voice clearly hoarse from crying, but she sounded so weak and small. "Just leave me alone."
"Fluffy you know it doesn't work like that. We're buddies and buddies stick together no matter what." Amy slowly approached, trying to be as gentle as she could. She knelt down beside the brunette and tenderly pulled her into a sitting position in her arms.
Emily weakly struggled, trying to break free; but after a few seconds she gave up. She was too exhausted and emotionally drained to fight back.
So Emily gave in and tried to push herself even deeper into the angel's embrace. Desperately seeking comfort she grabbed hold of Amy's shirt and buried her head into her chest.
Chloe gently sat down on the other side of Emily stroking her back. The vampire could feel Emily's body shaking as she sobbed, letting it all out.
Seeing Emily like this always broke the other girls' hearts, but this was different.
Emily wasn't upset or hurt. She was broken and that sight made Chloe upset and angry at the same time.
She was upset that her friend was feeling like this and experiencing such pain. But rage filled her body at the thought that someone made Emily feel like that.
Right now that's how she felt about Beca.
Upset that Beca had talked to her that way, just when she was getting close to her. But she was also angry at the way she yelled at Emily.
"Sshhh it's ok," she whispered to Emily trying to calm her down, still stroking her back. Amy gently rocked them while the younger girl's tears stained her shirt.
A few minutes past by with the three girls sitting in silence; Amy and Chloe doing all they could to comfort their friend.
"It's all my fault," Emily whimpered after a few more minutes, breaking the silence.
"No." Chloe's voice was strong and firm. She wasn't going to allow Emily to blame herself for something that she could've prevented. "You're not blaming yourself because it wasn't your fault."
"But I'm the reason my mom...... Beca's mom is dead," Emily finally looked Chloe in the eyes.
Before Chloe could respond, Amy filled in for her. "Firstly she's still YOUR mother, no matter what." Chloe felt a bit proud of Amy for saying something that was comforting and not stupid. "Secondly, did you kill her?"
Emily looked at Amy and slightly shook her head.
"Then it's not your fault. They killed her and therefore it's their fault." Chloe made a mental note to compliment Amy later for the way she comforted Emily.
But Emily however still had thoughts on her mind.
"But if they hadn't found me then....."
This time it was Chloe's turn, "Then Beca wouldn't have found a great sister and your mother wouldn't have had a beautiful second daughter."
"But...."
"No," Amy and Chloe said in unison.
They glared at her jokingly with knowing eyes.
"You guys aren't going to let this go are you?" she asked, switching between them.
"No," they said again and this time Emily had to fight back a smile.
"So I'm not going to win this. Even with puppy eyes?"
"No," Amy shook her head, but kept her eyes shut just in case her friend's eyes became too much for her to handle. Chloe chuckled slightly and scooted closer to Emily.
"No you're not so just here and cuddle," Chloe said as she brought her arms around the other two.
Emily giggled a bit, feeling a lot better with the comfort of her friends.
She really did have great friends, but the kept thinking of ways that it was her fault that her mother died. However as much as she thought about it, the more she slowly came to the realisation that there was nothing she could've done.
That didn't mean she didn't still feel guilty, but that at least meant that she wasn't blaming herself.
Now she only focused on the warmth and comfort of the arms around her. She let out a deep sigh of relaxation and sank into their embrace.
_________________________________________
The delinquents were all sitting around waiting for the dust to settle.
Stacie was lying on her back with her head in Aubrey's lap. Jessica and Ashley were cuddling against a nearby tree which Lilly was dangling from.
Flo and Cynthia had their backs to a tree on the left and the boys were sitting in the open.
Everyone's gaze lifted as Beca had climbed off of her rock and walked towards them. She cast her eyes cautiously over the group, scanning for any signs from them to show her what to do.
"Ummm...." Beca swayed a bit from side to side because she never had to do this in front of so many people. "Hi," she waved sheepishly.
"Hey," they greeted her in a calm and friendly manner.
They tilted their heads a bit when they saw the werewolf's flabbergasted face. Eyes wide and mouth dropped slightly.
"What?" Jessica and Ashley asked simultaneously.
"Is there something going on here? Or are you guys on some sort of a spell?" Beca couldn't believe what she was experiencing. She was a total bitch and they were treating her like she only left for some groceries.
"I may be a little high on the grass, but don't know about the others," Bumper pointed around.
The rest of the group mentally facepalmed except for Jesse and Cynthia who literally facepalmed. "Bumper you can't get high on grass," Jesse stated as he slowly dragged his hand down his face.
Bumper's eyes got a little bit larger as he let the words sink in. "You can't?"
"Nha you thinking of weed dude," Donald said equally surprised that the giant thought that he could get high with grass.
"But isn't grass a weed? I mean I heard Benji say so the other day." Bumper searched around until his eyes found Benji. "Right? You did tell me that?" he asked the wizard hoping for some backup.
"Yes grass is a TYPE of weed, but not THE weed that they usually use to get high."
"Plus you have to smoke it in order to get high on it," Cynthia filled in just in case the giant started thinking of some more stupid questions.
"Ok getting of topic," Beca raised her hands and got everyone's attention again.
"What I meant was, why are you guys so cool. I expected all of you to be shunning me and leaving me here." The girl shamefully turned her eyes to the ground.
"Some of us thought about it, but realised it wouldn't be fair," Jessica said with a small smile.
"But why did you guys stay? I mean I would've left."
Beca was confused because she had never been put in a situation like this before. She was a total bitch and they still stuck around.
"Because you need us to stay. If we leave it means we leave all of those good times we had behind. Like all the fun memories meant nothing," Stacie explained as she raised her head from Aubrey's lap.
Deep down, Beca was balling like a baby. The only ones who ever cared for her like that; were her mother, father, Emily and after a few years, Stacie.
Now all of these students in front of her cared for her.
"Thanks guys." Beca kept her face strong not to show that she was trying to keep herself from crying. All her emotions weren't all locked inside her yet.
Aubrey just waved her off, "What are friends for?"
Those words caused Beca to stare blankly at the blonde. Had she heard right?
The rest followed her gaze and soon all eyes were on Aubrey who was getting slightly uncomfortable with all the attention. "What?" she asked.
A grin grew from Beca's lips.
"You said we're friends," she smiled deviously at the vampire who's eyes widened a little at the realisation.
"Um no I meant to say companions," Aubrey tried and failed to cover up her mistake. All her answer did was earn laughs from the rest of the group.
"No you totally said friends. You admitted we're friends. Bow we can make friendship bracelets and share clothes and everything." Beca enjoyed mocking the blonde and everybody else thought it was quite entertaining.
Aubrey really wanted to be mad and ignore the girl, but she couldn't prevent the smile that formed on her face.
"Oh shut up Mitchell and plus you wouldn't be able to fit in my clothes any way. All you would be able to do with them is sink."
The awkward tension between them all had now disappeared and it felt like nothing ever happened.
"Have any of you heard anything about Emily?" Beca finally asked the question they were all waiting for.
"Chloe and Amy went after her, but we haven't heard anything back from them yet," Stacie said with a sympathetic expression. She saw that Beca was internally beating herself up over the whole thing.
"Don't worry. Things will work out," Jesse reassured her as she looked into the direction she recalled Emily running of to.
She should go check if their okay. Both Emily and Chloe.
"No, not yet." Beca's face formed a frown as she blankly stared at Aubrey.
The blonde knew the look on the brunette's face and knew what she was thinking about. "Just give them some time."
With a nod and a heavy sigh Beca took a seat on the ground under a tree.
She smiled and giggled internally as she felt an upside down Lilly playing with her hair from the branch above her.
Yeah, everything will be alright.
_________________________________________
The three girls were still huddled together.
Their moods completely opposite from the forest. While the forest was dark, cold and quiet; the three felt like light was shining from inside them.
With Amy and Chloe's embrace; Emily felt warm and welcoming. She hadn't felt this way since the night before she caught Beca and Chloe in the act.
She sighed contentedly, not wanting this moment to end too soon.
"C'mon we've got to get back to the others," Chloe stood up and she and Emily helped Amy back to her feet.
"You think Beca will forgive me?" Emily questioned quietly looking down at the floor. Chloe and Amy looked at her with questioning faces.
"We already told you it wasn't your fault. And if it was, which it wasn't, she would always forgive you. She loves you Em. She was just a bit frustrated that's all," Chloe reassured her and reached out her hand towards her.
Emily smiled and took it without hesitation and joined her two friends as they made their way back to the group.
As they walked Amy noticed the leaves and branches moving in the wind except... she didn't feel any wind. Just to make sure she glanced over at Emily and Chloe. When she studied them closely she saw that their hair weren't moving from any source of wind.
"Guys?" Amy got their attention and they stopped in their tracks.
As if they could read her mind, Emily and Chloe looked around and noticed the wind but didn't feel it.
They turned around in circles, checking for any sign of what was causing the wind.
Once they turned into the direction of the groups, they were frozen in fear.
It was right in front of them.
The dark shadow figure floated above the ground just ten feet away. As they wanted to turn and run, they were faced with further extensions of the dark mist.
Amy sprouted her wings and was about to grab Emily and Chloe to fly away; but the dark figure countered her escape.
With a yellow glow and a quick swipe of it's hand, it sent a log crashing into the angel, sending her tumbling to the ground.
"Amy!" Emily exclaimed and ran over to help her friend.
However her attention was snapped back when Chloe let out a shriek. When Emily spun around, the mist had somehow picked up the redhead like a giant hand and was holding onto her tightly.
The next thing Emily knew, she was hoisted into the air as well.
Both girls twisted and turned, struggling to escape the grip of the dark force.
The dark figure brought them closer to it and with one last glance at Amy; disappeared into the direction of the academy.
"No!" Amy shouted as she finally managed to throw the log off of her. "Chloe! Emily!" she called after them and tried to follow, but the mist blocked her vision and the figure moved too fast.
Amy flew up and saw the dark force enter the highest tower of the academy. She knew that she couldn't save them; not alone.
With panic in her eyes and mind she flew back to the rest of the delinquents, hoping that they could form a plan before it was too late.
_________________________________________
At the moment, the small clearing where the delinquents were gathered was the loudest part of the forest.
After a few minutes of silence, the group had started sharing jokes and stories. They were laughing their stomachs out and enjoying each other's company.
"You didn't?" Beca asked, shocked at the story Aubrey had just told them.
"Jip. The first time I had to give a speech in front of a large audience, I nearly threw up my guts and lungs."
The group laughed while some stared in astonishment at what the blonde was capable of. She had told them of her barfing experience when she was giving a speech in front of the entire school and she blew under pressure.
She didn't know that anyone could throw up that large amount of fluids.
Beca was about to ask her something when she heard a cry for help.
Looking up she saw Amy soaring towards them with as much speed as she could.
"Help!" she cried out as she drew closer and realised to late that she had to slow down.
Once she pulled on the breaks of her wings, the ground was already too close, causing her to crash right in the middle of the group.
"Amy what's wrong?" Stacie asked as she and Aubrey helped her back on her feet.
Amy didn't answer her and directly stared at Beca who had a worried look on her face. The angel knew why the werewolf looked like that. Beca was searching for Emily and Chloe and was now worried for their safety.
"It got them," she panted out looking at Beca.
With the silence surrounding her, Amy knew she had to be more clear in case someone didn't catch what she was trying to say.
"That thing attacked us and took Chloe and Emily back to the academy."
Beca's heart dropped and she slowly turned around staring back towards the place they had escaped from.
What now?
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