Switched

Chapter 23: Now THAT Was Ironic

Rory's POV:

Lena goggled at me and began to sway, and I hoped that she wouldn't faint. "Rory?" she whispered. "How are you--"

"But you're dead!" Kyle sputtered.

I snorted. "Why does everyone say that?"

And so, the crowd exploded with skeptical and shocked comments:

"WHAT THE BUTT?!"

"HOW IS SHE ALIVE?!"

"IT'S A GHOST! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm not dead. No, I'm not a ghost--" I swatted away someone's hand, which was probably supposed to determine me being a ghost.

"She's alive, guys! RORY IS ALIVE!" Chase exclaimed.

Once again, it took at least one minute for all of them to process that information. I groaned and threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "Yes, I'm alive!"

Everyone cheered and tackled me. I grinned and laughed.

Lena squeezed her way through the crowd and hugged me tight. "I'm so sorry, Rory!"

"Why are you sorry? It's not like you did anything wrong," I said, hugging her back. When she didn't respond, I stepped back and watched her carefully. "Um. What happened exactly?"

"You were killed," Lena said hesitantly.

I raised an eyebrow. "How?"

No one answered. I abruptly turned to look at Chase. "What--" Unfortunately, I was not able to continue due to a sharp pain in my stomach. I doubled over. I might've shrieked, too, but how would I know? I could barely feel my ears.

Chase and Lena both took a step towards me, but when I raised a hand, they both stopped and glanced at each other.

"Why aren't you answering any of my questions?!" I asked, almost angrily. They didn't respond to that either, so I glared at both of them and crossed my arms.

On the ground, Adelaide snickered. "Rory, you have no idea what just happened, do you?" 

I completely lost it. I crouched down so that I was next to Adelaide's face. "What's wrong with you?!" I hissed. "The only thing I did was make a new friend! And, what, you torture me for it?"

Chase put a hand on my shoulder and I moved forward indignantly. I grabbed Adelaide's shirt so that our faces were right in front of each other's. "I hate you. You never deserved Chase! If you do anything else to threaten me or my friends, there will be pain," I snapped.

Adelaide just smirked.

I let go. (I basically dropped her, but I was too furious to narrate my actions properly.) "Well," I said to Chase and Lena. "Explain."

They stared at me cautiously.

"Adelaide cast a spell on you...," Chase began.

"And we couldn't find a way to save you," Lena continued.

"When we finally did, uh..." Chase glanced at Lena nervously.

"What? Hey! Spill it. Apparently, I died, and now I am somehow alive again! So, just tell me what happened already!" I said, losing my temper.

The crowd was just watching us like this was a new teenage drama movie. Like they did not want to miss a single word. Even the Director was listening to us, just as carefully.

Lena cringed and took a deep breath. "Rory, I am so, SO, sorry."

I didn't say anything, I just listened.

"I... I killed you," she said.

Now THAT was ironic.

My jaw dropped in disbelief. "Heh?"

Lena nodded slowly, staring at the floor.

I turned to Chase for further explanation.

"Adelaide made her...evil," he said.

I thought about it. This wasn't Lena's fault. It was Adelaide's, as usual. But how did Adelaide turn her evil?! It's not like she had a gold coin that could possibly manipulate her into believing that she was doing the right thing and made her lose her conscience and such.

Ohh.

"She had another one," I whispered.

"Yep," Chase replied.

I stepped forward and hugged Lena, who began to cry. "It was Adelaide's fault. Not yours. But I will forgive you, no matter what happens," I said softly in her ear.

Lena cried harder, hugging me tighter. "Thank you, Rory."

I smiled and stepped back. Even if this whole scene was ironic, it was actually sweet.

Suddenly, Chase's happy expression switched to a more horrified one. "Crap! Did I say 'Oh my gumdrops?!'"

I laughed and nodded. "Yes, Chase. Yes, you did. Talk about a late reaction."

It couldn't get any better. Or, at least that was what I thought, because it definitely didn't
get better. Definitely not. In fact, it might have gotten worse.

----

Chase's POV:

I couldn't stop grinning.

She was alive. Rory was really alive. I was happy. Maybe even too happy.

I'll admit, though, I was so embarrassed when Rory woke up.

She opened her eyes, then...she saw some random lips right above her. Trying to kiss her.

Dude, I would even be freaked out.

But who cares? Rory was alive, and she was happy. Everything was going well.

"I warned you," whispered a voice coming from the ground. "But did you listen?"

I looked down and saw Adelaide smirking evilly at me. "Adelaide--"

Adelaide closed her eyes and mumbled something I couldn't hear... Although it strangely sounded like a spell...

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I yelled.

Rory's attention went to me, and she ran over. "Chase, what--"

Lena gasped behind me and pointed down at Adelaide.

Somehow, Adelaide's hands were free from the rope and holding two coins: one pewter and one gold.

Adelaide grinned and mumbled something again. This time, bluish light surrounded me, and I felt like something inside me was being drained away.

"CHASE!" Rory screamed.

Adelaide laughed. "I decided that it's time for another switch."

And with that, the whole world went black.