Coalition (LUX series fan fiction novel #1)

Chapter 5

Saturday night came and Ashley was super nervous. Seth would be here any minute. Did she have everything she needed? Oh crap her eyeliner was uneven. "Honey Seth's here," her mom called from downstairs. Holy mother of...already? "Coming!" She yelled back. She decided the uneven eyeliner wasn't noticeable and bolted downstairs praying she would trip in her heels. When she reached the living room, Seth was looking quite uncomfortable as her dad talked to him. Her dad stared at him as if he were Arum. Well Arum weren't all that bad. She met Hunter when she was 12 and he was nice. But her dad said he still didn't trust him. Or any Arum for that matter. "Hi Seth," she said breaking the awkward tension in the living room. Seth stood up like a bullet and smiled nervously. "Hey Ashley. You look amazing," he said. She blushed. "Thank you." Moments of awkward silence went by before her mom finally broke it. "You two ready to go?" "Yeah! I'm ready!" Seth said too enthusiastically. Her dad shot him a skeptical look and Ashley was sure he was scowling. She had to get out of here. "Well let's get going, " Ashley said reaching for Seth's hand. "Oh wait!" her mom jumped in front of them nearly knocking Ashley off balance."Let me get a picture of you two. You look so cute together. You don't mind do you, Seth?" she asked. "Oh not at all Mrs. Black. Take as many as you'd like." Ashley faced her mom. "Please hurry." Her mom shot her a look. After what seemed like hours, they finally headed out but not without her dad putting the fear of God into Seth. "You'll take care of my daughter, right?" Seth nodded. "Yes sir." "And you'll have her back by 11?" "Yes sir." "And you wouldn't dare..." "Dad!" Ashley exclaimed cutting her dad off. "We're going to be late." Her dad backed off and the two finally climbed into Seth's convertible. Ashley really thought she wasn't going to get out of the house. She turned and faced Seth. His blue eyes were unreal. Well for human eyes that is. "Sorry about that," she said. "My parents were so over the top back there." He smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're parents were fine." Ashley smiled and took a deep breath. She was so excited for prom she could hardly wait. Her excitement escalated when they turned into the school's parking lot. The music was booming and she could see the lights flashing from where she sat in Seth's car. They both got out of the car and Seth cleared his throat. "Shall we?" he asked. Ashley linked arms with him and smiled. "We shall," she said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Adam rang the doorbell to Kelsey's house at exactly six. He held a bouquet of roses in his hands and was ready to see his pretty girlfriend all dressed up. The door opened and her mom stood before him in skinny jeans and a black blouse. "Come on in handsome. Kelsey's almost ready," she said to him. He smiled nervously and walked inside their suburban home. The Tv was on and their house smelled of vanilla. The Summers' house was always so clean. Everything had its place. "Go a head and make yourself comfortable dear. Can I get you anything? Perhaps some water or tea?" Adam shook his head. "No thank you ma'am. I'm fine." She smiled. "Alright. Let me know if you change your mind. I'll go check on Kelsey." She left him alone in the living room. Adam tried to relax himself. His heart was beating so fast he felt like it would burst. As he tried to gather his thoughts, Kelsey's dad wandered into the living room. "Well well well. Look who's here." He said with a cheesy smile plastered on his face. Stand up son let me get a good look at you." Adam was a bit thrown off but he did as he was instructed. Mr. Summers placed a hand on each shoulder and patted them firmly. "You look sharp Adam. I'd say you clean up well." "Thank you sir," Adam responded. "You know," Mr. Summers started. "One day you'll become a father and when you do you will realize no man will ever be good enough for your little girl. But I can honestly say I'm pleased with my daughter's choice. You're a fine young man Adam." It meant so much to hear those words from Mr. Summers. To have Kelsey's father's approval meant he was one step closer to making her his wife one day. He smiled gleefully. "Thank you sir. That means a lot." Just then Kelsey gracefully walked into the living room. Her golden hair was neatly tied into an elegant bun. She wore a red dress that cut off at the knees. A black ribbon circled the middle of the dress adding a nice touch. She wore sparkly silver heels, a diamond bracelet, necklace and earrings. Her nails were painted red and her makeup stood out. She looked at him and flashed her bright smile. "Hey Adam," she said sweetly. Adam thought he might pass out. He was completely mesmerized by her beauty. He swallowed hard. "Hey Kelsey. You look so...beautiful," he finally said. "Well I'll let you two get on to your prom, " her dad said. "Take care of my baby girl ok? he said to Adam. Adam nodded and took Kelsey's hand. She was so soft. He had to use everything in him to refrain from kissing her right there in front her of her parents. He was really wishing he could take her to the cabin but that was out unfortunately. "Sherrie your daughter's about to leave," her dad called out to Kelsey's mom. "Ok I'm coming. I had to get the SD card ready for the camera. Say cheese you two." Adam and Kelsey posed for the camera and took several shots. Her mom moved around trying to get new angles but Kelsey eventually pretended to clear her throat, signaling to her mom she had enough. Thankfully Kelsey's mom got the message and shut off the camera. "I'm going to send these to your grandmother," Mrs. Summers said. "I think your mother will love these pics Brett." "Yeah that's fine honey. Now let the kids go have some fun, " Mr. Summers said impatiently. "Bye mom. Bye dad. I love you," Kelsey said as she hugged and kissed them both. "Can you text me when you get there sweetie and also if you happen to spot your brother smack him on the head for not telling me he arrived safely," her mom requested. "Sure thing Mom," Kelsey responded. Adam waved and the two finally walked to his car. He opened the passenger side door for her and took her hand. "Your carriage awaits my lady," Adam said in an horrible British accent. Kelsey laughed and played along. "Thank you dear sir." She slid into the passenger seat and Adam shut the door. As he walked to the driver's side he couldn't help but think tonight was going to be a magical night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daemon scanned the menu in front of him and couldn't decide on what he wanted. Pepperoni pizza was a safe choice but he couldn't help but wonder what the three cheese p'zone would taste like. He took a sip of his water and looked up deciding on the p'zone. Katy sat next to him. She looked so deep in thought. Daemon laughed and leaned over to whisper in her hear. "Ya know it just pizza. It's not like you're deciding who to elect for president." Katy furrowed her brow. "I know," she said. I can't really decide. Can I just share with you?" Daemon shrugged. "Sure. But you'll have to take it from my mouth if you want it." Katy looked at him. "Or I could just stab you with this fork." "Naughty kitty," Daemon playfully chided. "Wow you two haven't changed. It's kinda refreshing," Dee said across the table. Her dark hair was cut short but her green eyes were as vibrant as ever. Daemon missed his sister. After their lives began to settle she and Archer decided to move about three hours away from everyone. They weren't terribly far but she wasn't as close as he wanted her to be. He would never admit it but he was so relieved when Dawson and Bethany decided to stay close. And it worked out. Adam and Ashley became close and he was able to see his brother frequently. Looking back on what had happened to them when they were teenagers, Daemon was so grateful. They made it. It looked like they would all perish but somehow they made it. "So how is everyone?" Dee asked with a large smile on her face. They all nodded and gave the typical things are good answer. "That's great," she responded. "Hey Dee, Dawson tells me Archer's having some problems," Katy directed the conversation toward her. Dee's face dropped a little bit but she simply smiled. "He'll be ok. We kinda had a fight before I left." "What happened? If you don't mind me asking," Dawson chimed in. "It was sort of stupid really. He claimed I didn't love him anymore. I told him that was ridiculous but he was convinced. I don't know where he got that crazy idea from." She paused. "Well maybe I do. He caught me gazing at an old photo of me and Adam Thompson. I was getting a little teary eyed and he asked if I still loved Adam. I guess I took too long to respond because after that moment he refused to talk to me. I tried to make up with him before I left but he locked himself in his room. I just got fed up and left. I wrote him a note saying we'll settle things when I got back and that I love him." Everyone was silently listening to Dee. A small tear formed at the corner of her right eye. "I guess in some ways I still do love Adam. I catch myself thinking of him quite frequently. I don't know, sometimes I just think of what could have been." Her tear fell and Daemon reached over and handed her a napkin. Katy's heart dropped. It was years ago but she still felt responsible for what happened to Adam. She should have been smarter and trusted Daemon more. But she was stupid and got Adam killed. Dee brushed away her tear and took a deep breath. She smiled. "Well enough sappy stuff for now. We're here to have fun right? So turn down for what!" Dawson laughed and Bethany smiled. Daemon just smiled and shook his head. Katy let out a small chuckle. Just then the waitress walked to their table and took everyone's order. "It'll be right out guys, " she said as she collected the menus. Several minutes later their waitress laid down everyone's food. "Enjoy!" she exclaimed. Dee took a huge bite of her meat lover's pizza and sighed with satisfaction. "So good guys." Daemon halfed his P'zone and gave one half to Katy. "Hey Beth can you pass the salad," Daemon asked. Bethany nodded and handed Daemon the bowl of salad. He put some on his plate as well as on Katy's. The five of them ate, enjoying each other's company. They got to catch up on each other lives as well. Dawson lamented about his job and Bethany gleeful told stories about the kids she taught art to. Katy was a stay at home mom and she would sometimes write for an online blog to make some extra cash. Daemon throughly enjoyed his job. He studied computer programming in college and fell in love with it. "It's pretty fun being able to manipulate machines," Daemon would tell Katy. "How's Adam and Ashley?" Dee asked. "I hear their at their prom tonight?" "Yeah. They were pretty excited," Dawson answered. "Ashley looked so beautiful tonight in her dress. I had stop myself from crying," he continued. "Aww. How sweet. I wish I could see," Dee responded. "Don't worry. I took lots of pictures," Bethany interjected. "And how's Adam?" Dee asked, directing her question to Katy and Daemon. "He's great. He went to prom with his girlfriend Kelsey. And he'll be back by 11," Daemon said slowly turning to Katy. Dee looked confused. "Mind filling me in?" She asked. Katy sighed. "It's nothing. Adam and I got into a little argument over what time his curfew should be. It's over though." "Oh really? What happened." Dee's eyes widened. "He just kinda lost his temper a little and his powers went a little out of control," Katy said. "What? You didn't tell me about this," Dawson interjected. Dee took another bite of pizza. She swallowed and sat back. "Don't you guys ever get scared? I mean of what your kids could do to you?" "I don't really think about it. Besides you get used to the outbursts and no matter how crazy it gets you know they would never hurt you," Daemon responded. "Huh," Dee said somewhat to herself. "So you resolved the whole curfew thing?" Dawson asked Katy. "Yeah. After he calmed down he agreed to be back to by 11," Katy explained. "Well I don't really blame him," Dawson said. It is his senior prom. He probably wanted to take Kelsey to the cabin." Daemon put down his fork. "What cabin?" he asked. Oh shoot, Dawson thought. He just let the cat of the bag. Adam is going to be ticked. He remembered finding Adam hanging around the cabin that day he took him hiking with Ashley. He ran off and Dawson kinda panicked. If anything happened to Adam, Daemon would have killed him, resurrected him and then killed him again. He legit flipped his lid that one time he blasted Katy at the store years ago during the Luxen take over. Really though, he had no choice. Anyway Adam literally begged him not tell his parents because he knew they'd be against the idea especially if he planned on taking Kelsey there. Dawson thought it was bad idea himself but Adam pleaded with him and consented. What Daemon and Katy didn't know wouldn't kill them. "Dawson. I asked you a question." Dawson snapped out of it and looked at Daemon. Daemon looked very serious and the whole tone of the conversation took a dip. Should he play it off? Pretend he never said anything or feign ignorance? Nah that would never work. Daemon wasn't stupid. Dawson swallowed his pasta. "Well, Adam found this abandoned cabin in the woods about 6 or 7 miles from where we live. He fixed it up and now he and Kelsey spend their weekends there. No big deal." Daemon narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean no big deal? You knew about this and didn't bother to tell me? And why didn't you discourage him? A cabin out in the woods? That doesn't sound a least bit shady to you?" Dawson didn't like his defensive tone. "Like I said before It's no big deal," Dawson responded. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Daemon raised his voice and the people around them began to notice their argument. "This is my son were talking about. I'm the only the only who gets to make that kind of call. I'm telling you now it is a big deal because first of all he never told me or Katy about this cabin and he's been taking his girlfriend there. Who knows what they've been getting into? Plus you don't know what could be out there. It's dangerous. You can't just keep secrets for my son. I have a right to know." Dawson gritted his teeth. Daemon continued. "You know what Dawson, if the shoe was on the other foot you'd be all over me about it. I know you. God Dawson I trusted you to look out for my son when I'm not around. You've obviously can't handle that so..." "Shut up Daemon. Don't get all self righteous on me. I'm not in the mood." Daemon bent the fork he was holding in half and pushed his plate away. "I've lost my appetite. Come on Kat let's go." Daemon got up from his seat. "Bye sis it was great seeing you again. Thanks for the invite Beth it was a nice gesture. As he turned to leave, Katy grabbed her purse and rushed to chase after him. "Daemon wait!" she yelled. But just as she got out of her seat she could see Daemon already getting inside their car.