Once Upon A Dream

Chapter 19 - Black, White, & Gray

Ch. 19  

I watched Lea swallow as she took it all in. "And you're serious about this...crap?"  

I didn't know whether to be glad or angry at her reaction. "You don't believe me?" 

"I didn't say that," she replied heatedly, making my eyes widen and mouth open in surprise. She turned to Aesc, eyes narrowing as her arms crossed. "Prove it." 

Aesc groaned. "How?" 

"Think of something, demon," Lea ordered. "Can't you...I don't know, make fire come out of your hands?" 

"I'm not Johnny Blaze," Aesc retorted. Then he thought. "I can't. I'm not willing to risk it. If I did, it would alert my enemies where I am." 

"But, doesn't Ravus already know-" I began. 

"No," Aesc stated curtly. Though he tried remaining impassive, the tiny twitch of his tense jaw muscle told me he was lying. I frowned. 

Lea gave up with Aesc, turning to me now with sad eyes. "So, you're shopping because you're running? ...Why are police at your apartment?" 

Oh, right, that, I thought. 

"Well, Ravus paid a visit and it didn't end well and now we're running from her," I admitted. 

Suddenly, Lea's arms were around me. "I'm just glad you're okay. How can I help?"

"Help?" I echoed. "N-no." 

Aesc laughed heartily. "Cute, but you're not going to help." 

"How big is your car?" Lea asked, ignoring Aesc.

Faellan stepped forward at the mention of his car. "Not all that big."

"I'll squeeze," Lea said. "We can go to my mom's and steal her car. I'm sure if I call at least a day later, she'll get over it by next week. Also, I can steal some of Kate's clothes you just bought." 

Faellan leaned over to Aesc and whispered, "We did contact that other demon. With her, there won't be much room. It'll be cramped." 

Aesc scowled at Faellan before giving Lea the same irate expression. "You're not joking?" There was a shining hope in Aesc's blue eyes, and one word dulled the shine: 

"No." 

Aesc tried to hide his surprise at Lea. He was doing much better than I, no doubt. Even without a mirror, I could feel my dropped jaw and raised eyebrows. Faellan tried not to smile.

Lea and Aesc had very different ideas of what to do during an urgent matter. 

Lea looked at Faellan. "What's even your name?" 

Faellan had to think. 

"Yeah, that doesn't make you seem any less like a criminal," Lea muttered sarcastically. 

"Just tell her your demon name," I whispered. 

"Faellan," he said with a tight smile, as if accosted to smiling during a greeting but not in the mood for it now. 

"And I suppose you're no Dante?" Lea murmured, disappointed. "Too bad. I liked him better too." 

"Yeah, you're clingy-ness made that quite apparent," Aesc grumbled so I nudged him. "It's Aesc." 

"Anything else I should know?" Lea asked, gazing at all three of us in front of her. 

"Aesc is the Prince of Evil," said Faellan. 

~

"Pull over," said Lea. "It's two houses over. Don't get out. I would much prefer my mom not getting wrapped up with this." 

"We're too far from the house," Aesc said. "Pull forward, Faellan. If Ravus is close and you want to be a part of this, get used to us being close-whether or not you like it." 

I put my face in my hands while Faellan obeyed Aesc and Lea turned red with vexation. As soon as the car pulled to a stop, Lea hoped out. Faellan put it in park as Lea stomped into her parent's small home. 

"Aesc, please, just try not to show how much you would like to stab my best friend," I mumbled.

From where Aesc sat in the passenger seat, he reached back to behind the passenger seat where I sat, and slipped his hand into one of mine. He began making little circles with his thumb. 

"All right, I promise," he murmured huskily. Then Aesc turned his head in the direction of the driver seat, still not letting go of my hand, which was nice. "Are we meeting the other demon? Who is it?" 

"She's a rebel demon, like us, and her name is Danielle. We're meeting her at a restaurant," Faellan murmured as he shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Forget what the name is, but I remember where it is." 

I put a hand on Faellan's shoulder. "Headache?" 

"Yeah," he mumbled quietly so I gave his shoulder a slight squeeze. I looked out the car window. "That's Lea's mom's car." I pointed to the dark red with a brown tint Honda Pilot, 2011 model. "It fits up to six so should be good." 

Aesc looked at me curiously. 

"She had to pick Lea, Brad, Tara, Mandy, and I up when Mandy's car broke down on our way back from Magic Mountain," I explained, and he gave me a small nod, facing forward again and letting go of my hand to my despair. 

"Here comes Little Miss Sprinkles," grumbled Aesc. 

With his back facing me, I hoped Aesc could feel my narrowed eyes boring into his back. Lea came up to the car as Aesc rolled down his window, frowning. 

"Hurry up," Lea said. "Grab your stuff. My mom's taking a nap, and my dad's out!" 

We filed out and hustled to grab out stuff. Lea unlocked the car with a beep. She pulled open the trunk door and we started moving our things from Faellan's car to Lea's mom's. Aesc grabbed his two duffel-bags in one hand and the small bag of mine. Faellan grabbed his duffel-bags while I grabbed my two large shopping bags. 

"Don't you feel bad?" I asked Lea as she shut the trunk door with a loud bang. "We're stealing your mom's car! I feel terrible!" 

"Relax," she replied casually. "If this was your mom's car, I'd be the one to feel bad and you woudln't care so much. Besides, we can leave her Fallen's car." 

"It's Faellan," corrected Aesc. 

"Sorry, my bad." Lea didn't sound like she meant it. 

"Hey, whoa, whoa," Faellan interjected. "Don't I get a say in this? It's my car-and I like it!" 

"Yeah, well, we're on the run and in a rush, so now you don't," Lea replied. 

I started to wonder whether it was such a good idea to have her come along. First of all, she could really get hurt. Second of all, she was stubborn and bossy. Though she was smart and usually right when it came to her choices, she say things more in the black and white, one or the other. We needed some gray too! 

Come on, hand them over," Lea told Faellan, gesturing for his keys. "It's a trade. This is a nice car! You can have it, for now, and we'll leave my mom with yours. Okay?" 

"Uh-" Faellan began as he put his arms behind him. Suddenly, a fake smile spread across his face, and Lea and I stared at him, bewildered. 

Aesc grabbed my shoulders and spun me around to reveal the reason Faellan had done that. Lea spun around on her heels, and her eyes bulged out. I thought they would pop out. 

"Lea," said the woman who looked like an older version of Lea. Her arms were crossed and concern had filled her face. "Are you in trouble? What's going on? Who are your friends? I've never seen them before. Honey, are you all right?" 

It was Lea's mom. 

* What do you think they'll tell Lea's mom? What do you think Lea's mom will do now? Picture of her car -> *