A Dream's Curse

Too Many Thoughts

       "I cannot believe we won again!" Enid exclaimed, practically jumping up and down. It was the end of the Poe Cup, and Enid's team had finished first. I sighed. "I know you're really into this whole school spirit thing, but to be honest, I couldn't care less, so why don't you go celebrate with your other friends?"

Enid looked hurt, but before she could say anything Yoko walked over and started talking to her. I turned and snaked my way through the crowd. I noticed Wednesday glance around before slipping into the school, and I decided to follow her. I was a few steps away from the doors when I heard my name.

"Winter! Winter, over here!" It was the girl I had bumped into in the hall the other day. "My friends wanted me to introduce you to them!" Olivia said, grinning. I held back another sigh. Why did everyone here have to be so happy all the time?

"This is Corryn, but her nickname is Coco because of her sister Yoko. She's a vampire, obviously. And then there's Keira and Mackenzie, they're both werewolves like me. Jonah's over there, he's a siren." She pointed to a guy with chocolate coloured skin and short black hair, who was high-fiving some other sirens. There was another guy with short blond hair who was leaning against the wall beside May. "That's Elliot. We think he's a Psychic, but he's really secretive and won't tell us. Actually, he rarely tells us anything." Olivia said with a shrug.

"Uh, it's nice meeting you guys, but I really gotta go." I said, getting a bit impatient. Olivia smiled again. "Ok, bye! I hope I see you around!" I nodded and quickly left, hoping I could still figure out where Wednesday was going. I hurried into the school, and caught a glimpse of black hair as someone turned the corner. That must be Wednesday! I followed her, but when I peeked around the corner, I noticed it wasn't her after all. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Quinn. Wondering what she was doing at the school, I watched her walk into an open doorway at the end of the hall.

"What are you doing?" I jumped. I hadn't noticed Oliver come up behind me.

"I uh..." I was at a loss for words. How was I supposed to tell him I was spying on his sister?

"You were following her, weren't you." He nodded down the hall.

I nodded slowly. "I was actually following Wednesday to find out where she was sneaking off to, and I saw Quinn's black hair so I thought it was her. But I looked closer and realized it wasn't, so I decided to follow her instead..." I stopped. My cheeks didn't exactly go red, because I think that's impossible, but I could feel them heating up slightly. "And now that I say that I realize how creepy I must seem."

Oliver laughed. "I've never heard anyone rant about stalking people before. But, if I recall correctly, the last time I saw you I found out you were eavesdropping on me and my sister."

I gave him a confused look. "But..." I hesitated, and he cocked his head.

"What?"

I twisted my hair around my finger. "It's just... the last time you saw me was when you and Quinn were here at the school arguing. You were carrying Nevermore uniforms." I didn't meet his eyes.

"I don't remember seeing you." Oliver shrugged and leaned against the wall.

"But I was only a few feet away, you must have." I insisted.

He shook his head, then laughed. "You must have been invisible."

My eyes widened. "Actually..." I looked away lost in thought. Oliver just stared at me, a small smirk on his face. I almost asked him why, but then something came to my mind.

"I have to go!" I blurted, and sprinted off down the hall, which I have to say was very impulsive for me.

"Wait!" Oliver called, and I paused. "You still haven't told me your name."

I grinned. "It's Winter." And with that I continued running.

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I opened Wednesday and Enid's door without knocking and peered inside. It appeared to be empty, but when I walked in, Thing waved from the desk.

"Where's Wednesday?" I asked, walking over. He tapped a book, then used sign language to spell out statue. "A library behind a statue? Which statue?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to one side in thought.

He spelled out p-o-e. "You mean, Edgar Allen Poe?" Thing gave me a thumbs up. I remembered seeing a statue of him around school before, but I couldn't quite remember where. "Can you show me where it is?" I asked, but Thing tapped the desk, pointed to the dark walls, then made a gun and fell flat against the desk. It took me a moment to interpret, but I laughed when I realized what he was referring to.

"You have to stay here or Wednesday will kill you?" I said, and Thing gave me another thumbs up. "Ok, well when I find the statue, how do I get in?" Thing snapped three times.

"That's it?" Thing picked up a nail file and started using it, which I assumed meant that was all.

I left the room and wandered around the halls for a bit, trying to recall where I had seen the statue before. It took about an hour, but I eventually found it. I snapped three times, and after a moment, it slowly creaked open. I walked slowly down the stairs, gazing around the room. I sighed when I realized it was empty, meaning Wednesday had already left.

I spotted a picture of Wednesday's mother on the wall, and walked over, when I heard the door creak open. I looked over my shoulder as Xavier walked down the stairs.

"Winter? How did you-" He paused, as if remembering something, and shook his head. "Wednesday." He muttered under his breath.

"Thing, actually." I told him, and turned around. "What is this place, anyway?"

He hesitated. "It's a meeting place for a secret society called the Nightshades." He told me. "Only members are allowed."

I rolled my eyes. "Clearly the rule isn't very well enforced, considering Wednesday always comes here." I crossed my arms. "And you don't even need to tell me that Wednesday isn't a member; she'd rather stick needles in her eyes."

His eyes widened. "Actually, that's what she said about the Raven last year. Before she asked me to go with her because she thought I was the monster, then ended up going with Tyler, the actual monster, and being the reason Eugene almost got killed by the monster."

"The Raven? What's that?" I asked, ignoring his rant.

He shrugged. "Just a dance. This years theme is autumn, so reds, oranges, you know." He must've noticed the expression on my face, because he added, "Let me guess, you want to stick needles in your eyes too?"

"No, because unlike Wednesday, I don't typically torture myself unless I have to. Then again, I don't typically speak to people unless I have to, either." I turned to go up the staircase. "I'm not going unless I have a very good reason to." I added.

"Is going with me a good enough reason?" He said, and I stopped. "Tempting, but no." I told him, grinning, and continued walking up the staircase.

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I sighed and lay down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Thoughts raced through my mind. Oliver not seeing me, him and Quinn being at the school, Xavier practically asking me to the dance, that girl Olivia, the revelation of my curse, Oliver's stupid smirk. The fact that maybe, just maybe, I had made a couple friends here. And that scared me the most. How long could I go before something terrible happened? Before someone was killed because I got close to them?

And maybe all that thinking caused what happened next - something I would never forgive myself for.