No Good Witches | ONC √

Occult Vandalism

Okay, maybe I had been exaggerating a bit before when I said Black Veil Academy looked like a horror movie mansion. It was definitely a little rough around the edges, and for how high the tution was, there were far too many roaches. But on a typical monday morning, looking at the place from the outside didn't immediately give me the indication that I was never going to walk out.

Unfortunately, whatever dark magic business Dr. Alvarado's shadow was pulling on the building now gave that exact impression.

Dark clouds had rolled over the hills and now gathered around the steep rooves. Inside the building, through the windows, I could see shadows shifting, turning, spreading. The building seemed to vibrate, reverberating at a frequency too low for my ears to catch, but strongly enough for me to feel right to my bones.

Mallory set her jaw, hands tightening around the handlebars of my bike as she rolled to a stop. "Rebecca's in there, alright."

"This is fine." I said, not taking my eyes off the entrance. The double doors sat ajar, the wind whistling through them pushing them open and pulling them shut at odd increments.

"So, what—you just go in there and wave the Binding Stone around and then ride off into the sunset?" Jesse asked.

"That's the plan." I said. I tried my best at sounding upbeat and confident but the words got caught somewhere in the dryness of my throat. I coughed. "Does anyone have a glass of water?"

Mallory made a face at me. "No, unfortunately I left my tea set in my good pants."

I frowned, finally able to tear my eyes from the building at last to glare at her. "You know that's not what I—"

"Here you are, Cass." Sofiane wiggled a dark grey hydro flask under my nose. He smiled widely at my confusion, sitting back on his bike. "I never leave my house without it. It's important to stay hydrated, you know."

I eyed him suspiciously as I took a swig.

Mallory grinned. "It's almost like she's still with us..."

"Mallory."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm playing nice like I promised. Untwist your panties." She looked me up and down, standing from my bike. "And stop stalling."

I lifted the water bottle once more. "I'm not stalling."

She laughed. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just get this over with." She then proceeded to stalk off toward the building, the hem of her skirt brushing against her legs as she climbed the stairs.

I stood, and seeing me, Sofiane's eyes widened and he scrambled to dismount, his bike falling to the ground with a clatter.

I ignored him—at a certain point, you just have to with Sofiane. "Mallory, wait!" I hissed.

She didn't look back once as she threw open the door and disappeared inside the building.

"Hot." I heard my brother say behind me.

I punched his shoulder. "Creep."

He shook his head and grabbed himself where I'd hit him, stepping around me and approaching the building himself.

"Where do you think you're going? Jesse!"

He ignored me too, throwing open the door, joining Mallory, and leaving me and Sofiane alone in the parking lot.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Tensed before seeing it was just Sofiane. He didn't say anything, just smiled at me kindly with those stupid, understanding eyes of his. I may have been able to fool everyone else, even myself, but Sofiane saw right through me: I was scared.