Daughter of the Fae

Bullies

It was halfway through the movie before Jade noticed Peter had relaxed and was laughing at the characters. She nudged her arm against his and grinned at him, happy that he was enjoying himself. The pair shared a smile before turning back to the movie. However, as her eyes moved past Peter, Jade noticed that the couple that had sat behind them was gone. She shook her head and looked at the screen.

Once the movie was finished, the trio, along with the rest of the crowd, flooded the hallway, laughing and sharing their favorite moments. William and Jade cling to each other as they left the building, laughing as they did so. Jade turned to look at Peter, a question ready on her lips, only to notice that her ginger friend was no longer with them. Instantly, she stopped and quickly turned her head to look for him.

“Where’s Peter?” Her voice was soft, but she could hear herself beginning to panic. Her heart began to race, and although she didn’t know the reason why, Jade knew they needed to find Peter quickly. “Peter!” She called out, turning to try and spot him.

“Jade, I’m sure he’s fine.” William commented as he too turned to look for their friend.

The air around them grew thick, making it difficult for Jade to breathe. She felt her throat squeeze shut and began to claw at her neck, feeling as if an invisible hand was choking her.

“Jade?” Williams’s voice rang out beside her as she fell to her knees, silently trying to pull in air. She felt his hands on her back as he tried to help her. “What’s wrong?” His fear evident in his voice. “Come on, girlfriend, you gotta breathe.”

As she continued to struggle, Jade felt her mind and body grow heavy, and her vision darkened. She knew she was moments away from passing out, if not dying, and tried to grasp onto William. Her eyes closed and she felt her body fall completely to the ground, aware that a circle of people had gathered to see what was going on.

“JADE!” Peter’s voice rang out, and as quickly as the feeling came, it went, and she violently sucked in a lung full of air, her back arching as she coughed. She felt herself being lifted and settled against a chest. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking up into Peter’s frightened golden orbs. Gold? No, his eyes are green. She reminded herself and gave her head a shake.

“There you are.” She whispered, her throat sore from the squeezing sensation. Her lips curved into a smile, earning a chuckle from both William and Peter.

“Is she alright?” A voice rang out.

“Yeah, is she okay?” Another asked.

“I have 911 on the phone, should I let them know she’s awake?” A third asked.

“Let them where we are and I can direct them.” William directed, standing and making his way to the side of the building.

“I’m fine. I don’t need an ambulance.” Jade muttered as she tried to untangle herself from Peter.

“Princess..” Peter sighed and helped her to her feet, keeping a hand on her waist to steady her while they headed towards William.

Moments later, paramedics were checking Jade’s vitals and making sure she wasn’t in immediate danger of dying. When she explained what happened, the medics told her she most likely suffered from a panic attack, earning a confused look from their patient. Promising to see a doctor, the ambulance left and the trio decided to head back to the school so Peter could pick up his truck before heading home.

The ride back was quiet and somber, with each person lost in their own thoughts. Jade sat with her head against the headrest in the front seat and her hand constantly checking her neck for sore spots. It had been years since her last panic attack, but she knew what they felt like, and while this had been similar, she’d never had one feel so vivid. She had really felt a hand around her throat, squeezing it, and was sure she’d have bruises to prove it. Unsure of what to make of the incident, she gazed out the window as they drove, getting lost in the scenery as it zoomed past.

After what seemed like forever, they teens pulled into the school parking lot, spotting Peter’s truck easily and dropping him off beside it. With a wave goodbye, William and Jade made their way home. It wasn’t far from the school and was built in an older neighborhood. As they pulled into the driveway of the two story house, they noticed that both parents were home and sighed softly. Not that they had a problem with their foster parents, they were great, but more often than not the couple became a tad bit over protective. They hadn’t been able to conceive children of their own, so decided to give other kids a loving home. William and Jade, being the oldest in the home, almost always received the fifth degree when they went out. Jade always assumed it was because any trouble they could get into could land them in jail, but never argued with them about it. She liked that they cared, it made it seem like someone did anyway.

“Mom, dad, we’re home.” William called as they walked through the door. The main entry was a long hallway that led to a massive circular living room, and was furnished with a shelf for shoes, bags and keys. They walked into the living room and saw their younger siblings watching one of their favorite shows, Bluey. The living room was large enough to fit two circle couches, a coffee table, and the entertainment center that housed their electronics. The walls were painted a calming pale blue that complimented the dark wood floors and gray furniture.

“Oh good, you’re home!” A feminine voice answered from deeper within the house. The pair dropped their back packs and walked through the open doorway that led to the kitchen. The kitchen was massive by Jade’s standards, since fifteen people could easily cook at the same time and still have enough room to move around. A large black marble island with a double sink sat in the middle of the room, an industrial refrigerator and oven took up one wall, while matching counter tops took up the other. The cabinets were painted black with white trim and silver handles to match the marble counters, and the white walls matched the chessboard tile floor. The back half of the room held a table big enough to fit eight, but everyone knew it opened to accommodate more, and large bay window that let in as much natural light as possible. Near the window, an another open doorway exposed the staircase that led to second story bedrooms.

Standing in front of the oven was a woman who looked to be in her upper thirties with a platinum blonde braid down her back and sun kissed skin. She turned to look at the teens and smiled warmly as she wiped her hands on a small towel.

Darcie Wilson stood just a few inches taller than Jade, with a similar build and caring nature. She spent most days painting sets for the local preforming arts center, when she wasn’t helping with costume designs. During the times of year when there weren’t any shows, she stayed at home and worked on commissioned pieces of art for clients all over the world.

“Yeah, the movie was good. We had fun.” Jade told her mother as she made her way to the fridge to find a drink. She grabbed a soda and started to make her way towards the stairs.

“Stop right there.” Jade froze at the sudden change in her mother’s voice. She turned slowly to see her mother with her hands on her hips and a concerned look on her face. “Peter called us when you dropped him off.” She explained.

Jade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Of course he did, the traiter.

“Don’t roll your eyes, young lady, it could have been so much worse.” Darcie walked up to the teen and pulled her into a reluctant hug. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Mom, Will was right there with me, and so was Peter, I was fine. Im not a little girl anymore.” She sighed, pulling out of her moms grasp and backing towards the stairs. “I promise, I’m fine, just a bit tired. Im going to go to bed.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran up the stairs, making her way to her room at the end of the hall. Reaching her door, she turned the knob and fell through the threshold with a huff.

Her room looked like a cross between a library, museum, and theater. Posters for both broadway and local shows covered the walls, along side hanging shelves filled with trinkets, and paintings. On one side of the room, against the wall, was a Queen sized bed with a small nightstand beside it, beneath a large window. A large black dresser sat against the opposite wall next to a matching bookshelf that was filled with both modern and classic titles. At the foot of her bed sat a wooden chest that contained her art materials, such as brushes, paints and small canvases. Her closet, while small, held more of her art supplies than clothes, with the exception of a black garment bag in the back that contained her graduation gown for later in the year.

Jade kicked off her shoes, made her way to her dresser and grabbed a pair of boxer shorts and tank top to change into. A few minutes later, she climbed onto her bed and opened her laptop to start on a project for one of her classes. The events of the day made her restless, and after only ten minutes or so she closed the computer and picked up her phone, opening a music app and letting the music fill her room.

Closing her eyes, she thought back over the day and tried to figure out why she was so on edge. First, her painting, while it wasn’t incredibly special, it still shook her that she couldn’t remember painting it. Second, the feeling that she’d been watched at the movies, not to mention Peter’s reaction to the woman who spilled popcorn on him. Then of course, there was the “panic attack” she had outside when Peter had been gone. Where had he been anyway? She thought he’d been right beside her when they left the theater. Reaching up to touch her neck, she felt how sore it still was and let out a loud sigh. Maybe she was being paranoid, and it was all just a freak incident. She’d had panic attacks before, so it was completely possible that she was overreacting.

As she let her thoughts run wild, Jade felt her phone buzz beside her and picked it up. Her lips curved slightly as she read the text.

“Hope you’re feeling better, Princess.”

She opened the screen and typed out a response.

“Traitor.” She set the device on her stomach and waited for an answer. She wasn’t disappointed when it was only a minute later that she received one.

“I didn’t like seeing you like that. I had to tell them for my own sanity.”

Jade felt her face redden and she rolled her eyes at the sensation before setting the phone down on her nightstand and rolling over to try and rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She must have drifted off at some point because the next thing Jade knew, her alarm for school was abruptly forcing her into consciousness. As quickly as she could, she dressed in a pair of old and worn jeans, a black tee shirt with the words ‘RENT’ painted on the front, and her converse. She stopped by the bathroom to quickly brush her hair and teeth, noting that the rest of her family must have already gotten ready and left, or were waiting for her downstairs. As soon as she was ready, she ran down the stairs and made her way through the house to the door, grabbing her back as she ran past it, and exited the house, locking the door behind her. She turned towards the driveway, seeing Peter’s truck at the end of the drive and tilted her head in confusion. Normally, she and Will drove to school together. Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle and climbed into.

“Will has a student council meeting this morning.” Peter explained easily as they drove towards the school. “Something to do with Prom, I think.” He added.

“That’s easily five months away, I’m surprised their even working on it yet.” Jade commented as she leaned her head back against the leather head rest. Peter’s truck was his pride and joy. He’d paid for himself after working and saving up to afford it, and he took care of it. The outside was a beautiful emerald green color and the interior was the softest black leather Jade had ever touched.

“Yeah, but you know Will, he’ll want to have everything planned out so that nothing can go wrong.” The pair laugh at the true statement and continued the rest of the trip in a comfortable silence.

They pulled into the parking lot and jumped out to join the horde of students that were trudging towards classrooms. Jade waves to Peter as she heads towards her locker, unlocking it easily to exchange books and supplies for her first few classes. As she was shoving her history book into her messenger bag, a hand slammed into the locker to her right, making her jump and drop her book.

“Oops, sorry Foster Kid.” A snide voice snarled beside her, earning a glare from Jade. She grabbed her book and slipped it into her bag before closing her locker door and facing the boy next to her, noticing his friends nearby.

“Don’t apologize to me, Scott, I’m sure you didn’t mean to trip and face plant.” She shrugged and started to walk around him. Scott stood a head taller than her and was built like a train, which made sense since he was on the football team. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, and the clothes he wore put his muscles on display, since they were at least one size too small.

“I’m not done talking to you, Foster Kid.” He states, grabbing her arm and pushing her back. Jade rolled her eyes and stepped around him again, refusing to let him intimidate her. “So Prom is coming up.”

“Scott, if you value your sensitive bits, you won’t finish that sentence.” She snaps at him, glaring up at him.

“Why?” He asked, leaning down to get in her face.

“Because your sister has a better chance with me than you do, which is saying something since she’s just..awful.” She answered as she walked around him, glancing over her shoulder at him. “At least she’s more my type.”

“You f*****g bitch.” As the words leave his mouth, Jade feels a hand grab her by her ponytail and yank, causing her fall backwards. “I don’t know where you get off on acting like you’re better than me, but I promise you, I will make you see how wrong you are.” He whispered menacingly, his hold on her hair tightening.

“Is there a problem, Miller, Wilson?” The voice of a teacher made Scott let Jade’s hair go as she straightened her back.

“No problem, Mr. Swaube.” Scott answered, which allowed Jade to hurry away to her first class.

The day went by normally as the students moved from class to class, only stopping during lunch.

Once again, Jade stood in front of a painting she knew she had done but had no memory of painting it. Her eyes traveled over what looked like a city built in the canopy of an ancient forest. Thick mist blankets the forest floor, making it almost impossible to see anything below. Jade found herself mesmerized by the way the rope bridges and vines wound themselves around the tall trees, and like the first painting, she felt like this place was familiar to her. With a shake of her head, she snapped out of her daze and reached forward to sign the piece of artwork. After signing and setting it to the side, she finished cleaning her space and made her way out of the now empty classroom.

It only took her a few minutes to reach the parking lot and find Will, knowing that Peter had practice today.

“There you are, I thought I might have to send a search party.” Will smiled at her as she climbed into his car.

“Yeah, I got caught up in a painting.” She answered, glancing down at her paint covered hands.

“I can see that. Are you gonna showcase any of them?” He asked as they drove home. “That’s only a couple of weeks away right?”

Jade nodded and thought about her answer. She wasn’t sure if she was going to showcase any of her recent painting yet, or if she wanted to keep them to herself. There was something about them that tugged at her memory, yet she was absolutely sure she had never seen anywhere like the places she’d painted.

“I’ll decide tomorrow.” She responded, letting her eyes drift closed as he continued to drive.