The Uprisen

Chapter 12

The next morning at school, Cameron and Waverly walked through the hallways looking for anyone who resembled Devin.  Of course, they didn't find him, but their paranoia spiked each time they saw a tall blonde guy.  They made sure to stay near each other throughout the day but they didn't get to meet up with Willow until lunch.

"He didn't go to any of our classes today, though I get the feeling that he was just following me to my classes yesterday," Willow explains.  Today, Waverly notices, she walks with a more reserved posture.  She figures that that's because of the dagger that's strapped underneath her sweatshirt.

"And you're sure that you haven't felt like you've been followed at all today?  Even if it's not while you were going to class?"

"No, Cameron.  It's not like there's this giant arrow above his head or something.  He looks like any other guy, and for all we know, he's changed his appearance."

"Honestly," Waverly offers, "I don't think he'd be stupid enough to come back here, especially since we all know what he looks like."

Cameron sighs.  "No, I don't think so either, but I'm just hopeful.  If we can find him, we can take him and James down."

Hearing her boyfriend talk this way makes Waverly feel uneasy, but she tries to push the thought aside.  Now is not the right time to start focusing on the small things, not with their lives hanging in the balance.

As calmly as possible, Waverly, Cameron, and Willow walk into their high school cafeteria and sit at their usual table.  If it were any other day, they'd just sit there and eat and talk about silly things that some of the kids in The Group did.  Today, however, they scope out the cafeteria for any potential threats.  After a triple check, they decide that they're as safe as they can be, and they try to eat.

"So have you heard anything from anyone back at the house?" Cameron asks Willow.

"Not yet.  I'm assuming that they're enjoying their day off, but I get the feeling we'll get bombarded with a lot of questions tonight at dinner."  Willow stares at the baby carrot she's holding in her hand.  She's been dozing off all day, which is unsurprising considering she hardly slept last night.  When she did finally doze off, she dreamt about waking up to Devin holding a blade to her throat in the night.  Normally, nightmares don't scare her, but this one seemed real.

"You're probably right.  I just hope they're not destroying the place.  I kinda feel bad for leaving Jake alone with them all," Waverly says.

Cameron laughs lightly, though there's hardly any humor in his voice.  "As if we haven't scared him off enough already."

"Hey, he's still there as far as we know.  I'd say that's pretty good for someone in his situation," Waverly jokes.  She tries for a smile, but she gets distracted by a few random people who walk by.

Willow pushes her food in front of her slowly.  She watches the people around her intently: a group of girls laughing, a few band geeks shouting across their table, a couple that is way too interested in making out rather than eating their lunches.  Willow almost feels bad for not ever really getting the chance to live a life as normal as her classmates', but she knows that if she did have a normal life, she'd feel like something was missing.

"Willow?" Waverly says as she waves her hand in front of her sister's face.  "Hello?  Earth to Willow."

"Hm?  Yeah, what?"

"Have you noticed that those people have walked by our table three times now?"

Willow looks around for the group of suspicious people her sister is referring to, but she sees nothing.  "I don't even know who you're talking about."