More than Anything

Brielle

    The library is a nice place to spend your time when you're trying to forget about you're girlfriend. I doubt that I'll ever be able to forget Everly; I don't even know if I want to. I can't bring myself to hate her for what she's done. I should hate her. I should. But I can't. I can't forget her smile, her bravery, and how loving she is. I love her still, and I hate that I do.
    I flip through the pages, searching for anything I can use against the vampires. Of course, there's nothing. The books can't tell me anything about our situation since no one's ever dealt with this before. It's terrifying. If I don't stop this soon, there won't be any students at Watford. Eventually, I won't even be able to save myself from the vampires.
    Someone's been letting the vampires in through the gates. I know that for sure. How else could the vampires get in? That means that there's a spy here at Watford, someone who is opening the gates for the vampires. But, who? Who would do this? Who would betray the students at Watford, their home?
    Who, who, who, who, who? There are hundreds of students in this school, and any of them could be the traitor. Any of them could be sneaking out at night to open the gates. I can't ask everyone if they're the spy. First of all, that would let the spy know that I'm looking for them. Second of all, people could easily lie to me. This is impossible. I can't win; I might as well admit defeat. The vampires won.
    No. I can't let that happen. There's still a chance—a very slim chance, but still a possibility. But, I can't do this alone. I need someone to help me, someone I can trust not to betray me. Everly.
    I need Everly to help. She would never let the vampires in, not after what happened to her. She may have betrayed me, but she's the most trust-worthy person in this school. And Millie. Millie can help us; I just need to persuade her. I know that she'll do this.
    I slam my book shut and race from the library. My first stop: Millie's room. I pound on her door and she answers within seconds.
    "What is it, Brie?" she asks, furrowing her eyebrows.
    I push past her into her room, pulling her after me. Once she closes the door, I start explaining. "You know how students have been going missing?" I ask.
    She nods. "Headmistress Bunce says she's doing whatever she can, but—" She hesitates. "I don't think she can do much since the Coven is dismissing this as nothing."
    "Right," I say. "Millie, we can do something about this. We have to. I've been searching for ways to help, but I can't defeat the vampires alone."
    "Vampires?"
    Oh. I never told Millie about the vampires. "Vampires have been coming through the gates at night and kidnapping students," I explain. "But, they can't be coming through the gates without someone letting them in." My voice speeds up as I speak; I can't tell if it's fear or something else. Nope, it's definitely fear. "There's a spy, a traitor in this school."
    "How do you know any of this?" Millie asks. "How do you know if you're right?"
    "I've seen it," I say without hesitation. Millie is my best friend, and I know that I can trust her. She deserves the truth. "I snuck out past curfew with Everly to—"
    "Everly?" Her eyes are wide, and her mouth forms a small 'o.' Right. I never told her about Everly. "As in, Everly Johnson?"
    I nod, looking down at my feet. I miss Everly. I shouldn't, but I do. "She was searching for the missing students as well, so we teamed up. She saved me more times than I can count and—"
    "But you hate her!" Hearing those words from her mouth hurts. There's so much I haven't told Millie, and being reminded of the way I should feel about Everly is painful.
    "I don't hate her," I say. "Not anymore."
    Millie is silent for a moment, taking in this new information. "Okay...Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Mils, I need your help."
"Okay," she says, and a wave of relief washes over me. I knew that she'd help me, but I guess part of me thought she would say no. "But first, you have to tell me more about this Everly situation."
I shake my head, immediately. She doesn't need to know about that. Not yet. "We just don't hate each other. That's all."
"Okay then." She sighs, and I know that she's trying to get more information out of me. It's hard not to tell her everything, but I don't want her to know about Everly yet. Anyway, our relationship might be over, so Millie doesn't need to know.
"One more thing..." I say, forcing a small smile. I don't want her to change her mind about helping me. I need her, and if she isn't there with me, I know I won't succeed. "Everly may be helping us."
Millie's eyes widen in shock. "You're still talking about Everly Johnson, right? Like, the girl you ranted to me about since first year?"
I look down at my feet. "Yes," I say. "I know it's a bit hard to believe, but we kind of—we work well together."
Millie stares at me like I grew a second head, maybe even a third. "You what?"
Maybe I shouldn't have even mentioned Everly. Then this conversation never would have happened, and Millie wouldn't be thinking I've been possessed by a demon. I haven't. I've just accepted my emotions. "We work well together."
"Alright." She grins, and I have a feeling that she's not going to let me forget about this. "Where is she?"
Oh. Right. I look around the room, anywhere but at Millie. I don't know why I'm so nervous; It's not like I'm telling her that I killed a bunch of vampires. (Which I kind of did...) I guess it's just hard to bring Everly into all of this. The last thing Millie knew was that I hated her; I never told her that we're dating. (Or whatever we're doing now; I don't know.)
"I never really asked her," I force out. "This plan kind of just popped into my head a few minutes ago."
"Brie!" she says. "You can't just expect her to help!"
"If she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to." Why would she help us? Really, what does she gain from this? Nothing. Now, I'm suddenly not so sure of my plan... "But I know she will," I add quickly, more for my own confidence than hers. "She has to."
Millie nods. "Okay. I'll wait here while you go talk to your friend." She smirks at her choice of words, and I feel my face turn red. She doesn't know about this, I tell myself. She doesn't know. Not yet.
"We're not exactly friends."
"Whatever," she says. "Just go."
I step out of Millie's room into the corridor, and shiver. I don't remember it being so cold earlier; I would've worn a sweater. As I get closer and closer to my room, my heart pounds harder against my chest. Why am I so scared to talk to Everly? Oh, let me get my list out! There are so many reasons why I'm scared to talk to her, one of them being that we still haven't made up after our argument. I'm not even sure if we will. Does she want to? I might've ruined all chances at that.
I push the door to my room open as quietly as possible, not wanting to bother Everly if she's in there. Everly's lying on her bed, her notebooks spread out around her. Her eyes scan her notes as her pencil scratches against paper. A strand of hair dangles in front of her face, and she makes no move to push it away. Even when she's doing homework, she's beautiful.
"Everly?" I say, breaking the silence.
She looks up from her homework, almost surprised to see me. "Yes?"
Just hearing her voice makes my heart beat faster. Tears come to my eyes. I've missed her melodious voice and it hasn't even been that long since we last spoke.
Everly immediately gets up from her bed, rushing over to me. "What's wrong?" she asks. "Are you hurt? Did you get into trouble?"
Why does she sound so worried? Why does she care if I get into trouble? "I'm okay," I reassure her. "I need your help."
"Well, you can have it. What do you need me to do?"
This is going much better than I thought it would. I thought there would be yelling, arguments, maybe some punching, and eventually ending up outside because of the Anathema. Luckily, none of that has happened yet.
"You know how someone is letting the vampires into Watford?" I ask. She nods. "Well, I think our next step to defeating the vampires is to find the spy."
She sighs. "I agree, but it could be anyone."
"I know. We just have to watch for any unusual behavior, I guess."
"We're never going to find them that way," she says.
"What do you suggest we do?"
"I'm not sure. This isn't going to be easy."
I sigh. "It never is. Maybe if we just wait, the spy will show themselves! You know, like in the movies?"
"Unfortunately, this isn't a movie," Everly says, and I suddenly feel the urge to wrap my arms around her. I want to hold her and never let go. "It would be quite interesting if it were, though." "I wonder if we'd be the protagonists," I say, smiling a bit at the thought. "The superhero who can't do anything, and the one that can literally do everything."
"I wouldn't be a superhero," she says.
I shake my head. "You definitely would be. The All-Powerful Everly Johnson sounds pretty good to me."
"No." She crinkles her nose; it's adorable.
"Well, you're not changing my mind."
She raises an eyebrow. "Then you can't fight me when I say that you'd be the Unstoppable Brielle Taylor."
"I would not!" I say.
She smirks. "No arguing."
"Fine. Also, Millie's helping us with finding the spy."
"Will she be okay with me being there?"
I nod, smiling a bit. "She's a bit surprised that we aren't trying to kill each other, but I think she's cool with it."
"Understandable. And, um, you're okay with this?"
I give her a questioning look, and then realize why she's asking. Right. We're still kind of fighting. I nod. "I'm fine with it," I say. More than fine, really, but I can't say that. "We work well together."
"We do," she says, and I think she may be smiling. Most people wouldn't notice it, since it's so small, but I'm used to paying attention to Everly. She deserves every moment of everyone's time. "So, when do we start working?"
"Meet me at the library in ten minutes. I have to go get Millie."
"Sounds good to me," she says. "I'll see you then."
I can't help but smile at her before I leave. I almost wish that we could just agree to end our fighting and go back to the way we were before. But, she put a sleeping spell on me! Can I just forget about that? I can't hold a grudge for forever; that wouldn't be right, and it would make me miserable. Alright. The fighting will end tonight if Everly wants that. After we meet in the library, I'm going to tell her that I need her, and if I'm lucky, everything will be okay again. I love Everly Johnson, and nothing will ever change my mind.
The corridors are empty (everyone must be asleep, or at least hanging out in their rooms). Millie's room is just a few doors away; I can't remember how many times I've been to her room and back over the years, but I know it's a lot. I've gone to Millie's room for study sessions, ranting about Everly, and so many other things. She's always been there for me; my years at Watford wouldn't be the same without her.
    I'm in a good mood when I arrive at Millie's door. Thinking about our friendship and the fact that I'm going to end the argument between Everly and I makes me feel as if I could start flying. I could just take off into the sky. Actually, flying sounds pretty fun. I know a few flying spells, but I've never tried them before; maybe I should someday.
    I raise my hand to knock on the door, but before I have the chance to, someone's voice stops me.
    "Brielle..."
    I turn around to face whoever's there. No one. No one's there. I look down the corridor, making sure that no one's pulling a prank on me. Still nothing.
    I sigh. "Alright, then." I turn back to the door, but the voice interrupts me again, soft, smooth, and sweet.
"Brielle..."
    I shiver, and take a step away from Millie's room. I don't know what this voice leads to, but it's calling my name, and I can't ignore it. It's like I'm being pulled by an invisible string. I know that I shouldn't listen to it. It could be leading me to somewhere dangerous, but honestly, I get into trouble without a voice leading me to it. I take a few more steps away from the door, moving towards the voice.
No. I'm not that dumb. Right?
    "Brielle..."
"I'm not listening!" Now, I must sound like a crazy person if anyone heard me. Great.
    "Brielle..."
The voice is more urgent this time, trying to get me to follow it. I hate that it's almost working. Maybe I should follow the voice, just to see where it goes. And if it gets dangerous, I can turn back. But, I'm not sure if I could resist the sweet sound once I start following its lead.
    "Brielle..."
My feet start moving without my permission, bringing me to wherever the voice is. "Fine, then." The voice gets louder as I get closer to its location. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. I should turn around and go back to Millie. I have to meet Everly in ten minutes, but I have to follow the voice. What if it's taking me somewhere important? I can't miss this chance. Everly will understand.
    "Brielle..."
The voice is getting closer and closer, and it feels as if the voice is right next to me, whispering in my ear. It sends a chill down my spine. Something tells me I'm where the voice wants me to be, a feeling in my gut. I take in my surroundings, and realize that I'm in the Weeping Tower.
    "Why did you take me here?" I ask, my voice echoing around the room. Now, it sounds like there are multiple whispering voices. "Not creepy at all..."
    The doors creek as they open, and a hooded figure enters. Instinct tells me to run, so I do (I'm not stupid). I put a few feet between us by moving to the other side of the room. Of course, that won't stop the hooded figure from attacking me. I reach for my wand in my pocket, and hold it out in front of me.
    "Tell me why you brought me here," I say. "Now."
"You are here because you are part of my plan." Their voice fills my head, which really creeps me out.
"How about you stop being vague and maybe actually speak to me with your voice?"
"I will continue to speak to you through my head, thank you very much," they say. "And you'll find out about the plan later."
I roll my eyes. "Very helpful."
"Great." They pull out their wand, and I back up further, my back against the wall. Then, realization dawns on me.
"You must be the spy," I say. "You have a wand, you're wearing a hood, and you speak to me in my mind! You don't want me to know who you are because you're the spy!"
"You're smart. But, clearly not smart enough."
I want to run away from here and go back to Everly. But I can't bring the trouble to her, and anyway, I can't get out of here. The hooded figure would stop me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, panic rising in me. "Just tell me what you want, okay? We don't need to fight." I hold my wand tighter in my hand, thinking of the right spell to use. "Back off!" I shout, and the hooded figure flies across the room, slamming into the wall. They get up immediately, barely giving me any time to run or think.
"Chill out!" Their voice sounds like thunder in my head, and I start feeling the effects almost right away. My fear vanishes, leaving me feeling pretty relaxed. I lower myself to the ground, and just sit there. Why was I so scared earlier? This hooded person seems pretty cool.
"Nice spell," I say. "I've never heard of it."
"Yeah, most people don't know it, but it's pretty easy." They cross the room and pluck my wand from my hand. I don't know why they'd do that, but okay.
"Nice, so what's your plan?"
"I can't tell you that," they say. "But I can do this." They lift their wand again and point it at me.
I can feel the spell beginning to wear off, and I start to panic. "Please don't!" I say. "You can't do this!"
"What's it like in your shoes?" Their voice is drenched with magic. I don't know what spell they cast, but there's no way it won't work. What's done is done. Black starts creeping in at the edges of my vision. No, no, no, no, no. I can't pass out! Not now. The last thing I see before I black out is the hooded figure standing a few feet away from me, their laughter echoing in my head.