Chapter XXIX

Liz wound up leaving Lilly’s place a little later than she had expected and so, she hadn’t been gone before Alexa returned. Given how suspicious her sister had been of her in the past few weeks, Lilly had been determined to keep the Magic Club from interacting with her family any more than they already had. It was why she invited Liz over while everybody was gone. However, unlike when Eric had visited, Liz was very polite to Alexa and the two seemed to get along for the brief moments they interacted. Although, Lilly didn’t miss the few looks her sister gave her during the conversation. For that reason, she made sure to go out for a walk after Liz left so she wouldn’t have to endure her sister’s questioning.

While she was out, she called Eric to see how his conversation with Vinny went but, apparently, he hadn’t been able to figure out what he did to Rina that would cause his sense to shift so drastically. However, both of them had managed to convince Liz and Vinny to try and fix the relationships that had been damaged. Liz seemed like she truly wanted to make peace with Damien and Vinny hadn’t opposed it either. Now, all they needed to do was speak with Damien himself, something Eric had volunteered to do.

This is all so strange, she thought. When I first met them, they seemed like such a close group. To think I’d be helping them put themselves back together.

Lilly sighed, glancing up at the darkening sky as she walked down the street and toward her apartment building. The street lamps had already turned on and the air was getting colder by the minute. She was anxious to get back home to enjoy the heated interior of their apartment. When she made it into the lobby, she smiled at the rush of warmth that greeted her. She briefly greeted Mr. Esteban as she headed toward the elevator.

I just hope Mom and Dad are already home. Otherwise, I’m sure Alexa will be all over me about Liz coming by.

Unfortunately, her prayers were ignored when she walked through her front door to see only her sister’s shoes waiting beside the wall. Lilly silently cursed her luck as she kneeled down to untie her laces. She could only cringe more at the sound of Alexa’s footsteps approaching from the living room.

“Where’ve you been all day?” she asked, an accusatory tone to her voice.

Despite knowing she had been actively avoiding her sister and that Alexa was right to be irritated, Lilly couldn’t help but to get a bit defensive.

“I went for a walk,” she growled. “I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I?”

She slid her shoes off and slid past Alexa into the living room. She instantly walked toward the kitchen, feeling her stomach grumbling in anticipation of dinner.

“What’s been up with you lately?” Alexa snapped. “You’ve been acting so…weird.”

Lilly cocked an eyebrow as she pulled open the fridge and reached for the leftover pizza from the night before.

“Weird how?” she grumbled.

Alexa scowled. “Oh don’t act like you don’t know what I mean. What was with that girl earlier? Not that I care if you invite friends over but she’s another one of those magic weirdos, isn’t she? You still haven’t even told me what your deal is with them.”

Lilly couldn’t help but grimace as she put the pizza into the microwave. She hadn’t heard her sister sound this pissed at her since they were younger. As they got older, they stopped bickering as often but now, it was clear that Lilly keeping as many secrets as she had been was irritating Alexa more than she realized. The only problem was that she couldn’t tell her about the stone and so, there was no easy lie to explain her involvement with the club that would satisfy the older girl. With each passing day, her sister was getting on her case more and more.

And the whole Alice debacle didn’t help that, Lilly thought irritably.

Everybody at the school knew that the club had been involved in the drama with Alice since her relationship with Vinny had spread like wildfire. Those rumors had gone even crazier once they were mixed with the ones revolving around Evan Wright. Almost everybody suspected a club member of being the anonymous tipper. Since Lilly was pretty much accepted as being one of them now, she was lumped into that mess. Alexa spent most of the winter break badgering her for details about Evan and Alice but Lilly just kept dodging her questions.

I really do wish I didn’t have to lie but…I’m not getting her involved with the stone.

“My deal with them?” she muttered, staring at her pizza as it spun inside the microwave. “I really don’t know what you want me to say. I’m friends with them cause I am. Eric, Liz, and the others were nice to me. That’s all there is to it.”

“And they don’t annoy the hell out of you?” Alexa pressed. “You’re somebody who used to get pissed at me if I tapped my food too loud. If even half of what I hear about them is true then you should avoid them like the plague!”

One would think, she mused.

Lilly shook her head. “They aren’t as bad as people say.”

“Oh really? So was I the only one listening to Eric Reiner talk Dad’s ear off about the quote-unquote ‘mortal realm’ back before Christmas? That’s not strange or annoying to you?!”

The younger girl exhaled softly.

“Listen, Alexa, why does it even matter?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Who cares if I’m hanging out with them? What harm is it doing to you?”

For a moment, Alexa’s irritation diminished, replaced by a look of hurt.

“W-well,” she stuttered. “I’m just worried about you, is all. I mean, I spent years trying to get you to break out of your shell and you dug your heels in and refused. Then, without me even realizing, you’re all of a sudden best buddies with the weirdest kids in school and going to a club and going out with people…it’s so sudden that I can’t help but worry that something happened. That’s all.”

Lilly glanced back to stare at the microwave just as it beeped to let her know her food was ready. She subconsciously reached up to open it as she thought her sister’s words over.

“Well, don’t worry,” she replied softly. “Cause I’m fine. They’re my friends and that’s all.”

Alexa snorted. “Don’t worry, huh? How can I not worry after hearing all of those rumors about your friends and that football guy? You still won’t explain that.”

“Cause there’s nothing to explain,” Lilly snapped, shutting the microwave door and stalking around the counter so she could sit at the table. “We had nothing to do with his supposed arrest and what happened between him and Alice is private. That’s it.”

For a moment, she prepared herself for more questions but, luckily, Alexa simply shook her head and scoffed. “Fine. I’ll stop bothering you then,” she growled before turning and walking into the hallway, leaving her alone at the dining table staring down at her leftover pizza.

I appreciate her concern but I wish she would just lay off me. I can’t tell her about the stone. I don’t need her getting involved with that…especially after everything that happened with Evan and Rina.

She sighed, feeling her stomach grumble again as she reached for her pizza. Yet, before she could even lift it to her mouth, her peace and quiet was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She cocked an eyebrow, placing the food back down on her plate then reaching into her pocket to check who was calling. She fully intended to ignore whoever it was until after dinner but, when she saw the caller ID, she couldn’t help but to stare in surprise. Despite her hunger, she pressed the answer button and placed it to her ear.

“Damien, hey,” she greeted. “This is a surprise. What’s up?”

“Hey, Lilly,” he replied, the tone of his voice making him sound tired. “Sorry to suddenly call you? Are you free to chat?”

She spared a brief glance at her pizza, feeling her stomach grumbling as she did so, but decided dinner could wait. With everything going on, she wanted to talk with him.

“Yup,” she said. “Why? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing new. Actually, I was wondering if I could get your advice about something?”

She frowned. “My advice? Well, I’ll do what I can but I have to warn you…I’m not really one who’s good at giving advice so…”

“Ah, don’t be like that,” he said with a soft chuckle. “You’re a bigger help than you’d think. Have more confidence.”

He was so blunt about it that she couldn’t help but to blush a little. “O-okay. Well, I’ll do my best. What’d you need advice with?”

Damien hesitated for a moment, as if taking a chance to gather his thoughts, before resounding. “Well, it’s actually about the whole situation with Liz.”

Liz? Perfect! If she’s what he needs help with then maybe I can try and steer this in a way that’ll help the two get past this.

“Oh, well, I might be able to help you there,” she said. “Liz was actually here earlier.”

“Y-you…? So you’ve talked to her?”

Lilly grinned, clearly hearing how desperate he sounded to get some news about her.

“I did. And she told me that the two of you haven’t spoken once since that whole incident.” She snorted. “What’s up with that? You two are supposed to be the smart ones in the club so why haven’t you done the obvious and talked?”

“W-well…” For a second, he sounded like he was going to get defensive, but his voice quickly petered out into one of shame. “Yeah, okay. I hear you. You’re not wrong. I just… How am I supposed to approach her after that?”

“By walking to her house and knocking on her door. That’s how.”

“You know what I mean,” he grumbled. “Liz and I…have never been in a situation like this. I started dating her pretty soon after she joined the group and we’ve rarely ever fought. I always thought we saw eye-to-eye and so…when I saw her sitting in that clubroom alone…I knew she had taken the gem and given it to Vinny. I knew without having to ask that she hadn’t agreed with me and so…she went behind our backs.” He exhaled softly and she could tell that he was struggling to say the words. “It hurt me. It hurt me a lot. It made me wonder if…maybe I was wrong? Was I doing the wrong thing by opposing Vinny?”

Lilly glanced up at the ceiling, realizing in that moment just how torn up Damien was. She had never heard him sound so defeated and conflicted. Liz stealing the stone really threw him through a loop and, even after three weeks, he still didn’t know what to do.

“Honestly, Damien, I can’t answer that,” Lilly said. “I don’t disagree with your caution. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t always been as careful as I should be with that thing. But at the same time, I didn’t want to just leave Alice to deal with it alone. I was torn up and even now, after it’s all over, I don’t know what the right answer was. Maybe you were wrong, maybe you weren’t. But answering that isn’t something I can do.”

She took a deep breath, recalling everything Liz had told her earlier in the day.

“But I can say this,” she continued. “Talk to her. I mean that. If you’re hurt, tell her. If you want to know why she did it, ask her. When I spoke to her today, I could tell that she missed you. She wants you back as much as it sounds like you want her.”

For a while, Damien was silent. Lilly didn’t say anything either, content to let him think everything over. When he finally did speak, he sounded exhausted once again.

“Well, that’s exactly what Eric said earlier,” he said with a soft laugh. “It’s that easy, huh?”

“It’s that easy,” Lilly replied.

“Well, fair enough. I guess I know what I have to do. I’ll talk to her on Monday and see if we can work something out. Thanks, Lilly.”

She smiled. “Of course. Glad I could help, Damien.”

“Alright, I’ll let you get back to your night. I’ll see you on Monday. Bye.”

“See you.”

The call ended and Lilly set her phone down onto the table beside her now lukewarm leftover pizza. She couldn’t help but to feel a small sense of satisfaction knowing that she was able to help. Damien had become a really close friend of hers and she hated hearing him sound so depressed.

We’re going to fix this. The club isn’t allowed to fall apart. I finally found a place to fit in. I’m not about to lose it to something like this.

***

The first day of school after winter break came sooner than Alice would have liked but, at the same time, it also felt like a certain weight was being lifted off her shoulders. Ever since she returned to school in the aftermath of her locker incident, something had felt off to her. Vinny had explained Rina’s involvement with Evan in the whole situation and that he had dealt with the problem. To her, that had meant that The Switch had been used and, when she heard the rumors that Evan had been arrested, her theory was essentially confirmed. However, no matter how many times she asked, Vinny wouldn’t tell her what he actually did to them. He would only dodge the questions or act like it wasn’t important. Normally, she would have just trusted him and left the topic alone. What was keeping her so hung up on it was Jay.

For the past month, Jay had been acting off. For the last week before break, he avoided her and wouldn’t answer her calls and texts. Then, when break started, he never once came to visit her at the diner to the point that Monica asked if they’d gotten into a fight. The one time they spoke, he seemed shaken up and it seemed as if he was scared that she knew about what Vinny did. It was Jay’s reaction that made her suspicious.

So, if Vinny wasn’t going to answer her questions then she knew she would have to do what she had been planning since before break. She would have to swallow her fear and approach Rina Davens for the first time in years. It wasn’t something she wanted to do at all given both how they last parted ways and what Rina had done to her at the end of the previous semester but she knew she had no choice. If Jay and Vinny refused to answer her questions then Rina was her only option.

She had given Lilly a call about it before Christmas but the girl hadn’t really told her much. All she said was that Vinny and Jay never told the others what their plans were. She said they only found out they were going to do anything about it after they had lost the opportunity to prevent it. To Alice, the entire situation seemed strange and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

When she walked through the school gates and into the courtyard, she could immediately sense some of the students looking her way. With the news of Evan’s arrest, rumors and theories about how it happened were spreading and she was at the center of them all. It was common knowledge at West Wilham that he had been the one behind what happened to her locker and so, most believed her to be involved with it. Others took it even further and built upon the already existing rumors about Damien Clark, saying it was his revenge on Evan for attacking her. However, nobody seemed to be linking Rina to the incident so, for now, she had gotten away clean.

Alice crossed the snow-covered courtyard and walked through the main entrance. She knew that Rina had first period on the second floor because she had seen the girl talking with her friends outside room 2-11, the classroom next door to Mrs. Kentz’s room. She could only hope that Rina would already be there when she arrived. When Alice arrived atop the staircase, she didn’t see Rina outside the room so she prayed the girl would already be in the room. Room 2-11’s door was wide open so all she needed to do was pass it by to get a good view of who was inside. Sure enough, sitting in the middle of the room, talking to two other popular girls, was Rina Davens.

So she is here, Alice thought. Then there’s no getting out of this now. I have to talk to her. I have to know what happened last month.

Taking a deep breath, Alice approached the doorway and looked over at her old friend. Rina glanced up at her and immediately, her eyes went wide as if she were terrified. That reaction alone was enough to convince her that Vinny and Jay had done something they were trying to hide. When Rina’s friends turned to look at her, both scowled in disgust but Alice ignored them.

“Hey, Rina,” she called out. “Can you step outside a moment? I was wondering if we could talk?”

The girl turned pale and seemed as if she was ready to get up and run. So, instead, it was one of the others, a girl Alice recognized as Charlotte Banks, who responded.

“What do you need her for?” she asked haughtily.

Alice simply smiled back, ignoring the girl’s harsh tone.

“I just wanted to ask her a question about something…out of this world,” she replied.

Rina’s eyes somehow widened further at that and Alice knew she both knew about the stone and knew that’s what she was referring to.

“God, she really is a magic freak,” Charlotte said with a cocky laugh. “If Rina doesn’t want to talk to you then she doesn’t have to.”

Alice nodded. “Of course.” Then, she looked at Rina once again, ignoring her friends. “So, Rina? Can we talk?”

The other girl glanced away but, luckily, she managed a nod, much to the surprise of the others. Rina got to her feet and walked over to where Alice was standing and, aking that as her cue to go, she turned and began making her way down the hall with her old friend in tow. When she noticed a spot between the lockers where there was a drinking fountain, she stopped and moved to stand beside it. Rina reluctantly followed. She still looked terrified and she was looking over her shoulder as if not wanting to be seen with her.

“S-so?” Rina stuttered after a moment. “W-what did you…need?”

Alice frowned. What on earth is wrong with her? I mean, I knew this would be awkward given everything we’ve been through but I never imagined she’d be so scared.

“I just wanted to talk,” Alice replied. “With all that’s happened, I thought it was time I stop being a coward and just approach you. We did used to be friends, after all, right?”

Rina swallowed. “Um, I mean, I guess but…I thought I wasn’t supposed to go near you?”

“Go near me?” Alice asked. “What do you mean?”

Did Vinny threaten her or something?

The other girl clenched her teeth and took a step back, sparing another few glances over her shoulder.

“Look, I get it! I’m sorry!” she hurriedly said. “I won’t do anything to you ever again! So please, just leave me alone! I already swore not to do anything else! Just please let me go!”

She sounded so desperate that, despite what Rina did to her, she couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Whatever Vinny and Jay did had really shaken her up. In fact, now that Alice had a good look at her face, it was obvious something was wrong. She looked utterly exhausted.

“Rina…?” Alice began softly. “Did they use their magic on you?”

Her question was vague enough that if she was wrong and Vinny hadn’t used The Switch then Rina wouldn’t know what she was talking about. Yet, Alice didn’t miss the flicker of recognition in the other girl's eyes. It was her final confirmation. That stone had been used on her and it was the reason for her current terror.

“Please,” Rina whimpered. “I-I’m sorry.”

Then, before Alice could protest, she turned and rushed off, leaving her standing beside the drinking fountain alone, staring after her in shock.

What was that? Now I’m really worried. They did something…but what?

She shook her head, deciding it might be best to try and confront Vinny again, as she turned and was about to begin making her way toward Mrs. Kentz’s classroom. However, before she could even take a step, somebody called out to her.

“Alice?”

She immediately turned around, having wanted to hear that voice all through break, but when she did, she found herself staring wide-eyed. Jay was standing beside the lockers, looking somehow more worn out than Rina had. His hair looked as if he hadn’t brushed it since waking up, his eyelids looked heavy, and his skin was pale.

“Jay,” she said. “Where’ve you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you the whole break. And why do you look so…exhausted?”

He quickly shook his head. “Uh, sorry about that. I’ve been busy, is all. And I just stayed up too late last night.”

He’s lying, she thought. She had known him almost all her life and so, she could always tell whenever he was trying to hide something from her. This was one of those moments where she just knew that what he said wasn’t the truth. Something was wrong with him and he didn’t want her to know what that was.

“Enough about me,” he continued before she could speak. “That was Rina, wasn’t it? Why were you talking to her?”

Alice narrowed her eyes, irritated by his accusatory tone. “Am I not allowed to talk to her?”

“That’s not…what I meant,” he grumbled. “It’s just…after what she did, why would you want to?”

“I want to because of what she did,” she replied. “You and Vinny still won’t tell me what happened to her! Vinny’s been dodging my questions and you haven’t spoken to me once. Obviously I’m gonna get suspicious. I know you guys used the stone…but I don’t know what you did with it.”

His eyes went wide and she could tell that he was afraid she would find out.

“I don’t…”

“Save it, Jay,” she interrupted. “I’m not stupid. I know something happened and I want to know what. Rina looked terrified of me. She said she wasn’t supposed to talk to me. I want to know why! What did you do? What did Vinny do?”

“It’s not…” he uttered. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

She scowled. “Oh don’t give me that! I know when you’re lying, Jay! And I’m certain you’re lying to me right now! I want to know why!”

“I’m…” His voice seemed to be getting weaker with each sentence he spoke. “I’m sorry, Alice. I can’t tell you. Vinny didn’t want it hanging over you so…for your sake, I won’t answer you.”

For a moment, she just stared at him. That, at least, was the truth. Whatever happened, they weren’t keeping it secret for some malicious intent. They were just trying to protect her. However, that didn’t excuse lying to her.

“I don’t need protection,” she snapped. “I’m perfectly capable of handling whatever you did. I just need to know. Rina…was my friend, too, Jay.”

“I know,” he whispered. “That’s why I won’t tell you.”

Then, with that, he turned and walked off into the crowd, leaving her once again standing alone. Part of her wanted to call out to him and demand he come back but another part knew it would be futile. Jay made it clear that he wouldn’t tell her a thing no matter what. If she wanted answers, she’d have to get them elsewhere.

Well, Vinny. I know you’re just trying to protect me but…it’s time you stop hiding what happened.

I have to know.

***

After her call with Damien, Lilly found herself feeling a little more confident that the club might be able to move past the incident and return to normalcy. Damien and Liz both clearly wanted to make up and so, if they could do that, all that would be left was to get Vinny and Damien to set their differences aside. According to Eric, Vinny said he’d try to fix things so, hopefully, everything would be back to normal within a few days. That thought took some of the stress off her as she went into her second semester as a junior. Since it was only the start, her classes were relatively laid back and so, it felt like she made it to lunch faster than usual.

She made her way up that stairs and toward the third floor. Ever since October, she had been eating lunch in the clubroom with the other club members, as well as Alice and Jay on occasion. Back during finals week, only Eric and Damien had been there but this time, she hoped all seven of them would come. Yet, when she walked through the door of Mr. Lowe’s classroom and looked around, she saw only Eric sitting in their usual spot in the back corner.

Lilly sighed. Well, hopefully the others are just later than usual.

Aside from Eric, there was one other group of senior girls sitting on the opposite side of the room and Lilly could sense their eyes watching her as she made her way toward Eric. Mr. Lowe glanced up at her from his computer but said nothing. Over the course of her time with the club, she had never spoken a single word to their club advisor. According to Eric, Mr. Lowe was an advisor in name only. He essentially just left them to do whatever they wanted and only facilitated them for events like club rush or the spring festival.

“Afternoon, dear Lilly,” Eric greeted as she took her seat at the desk in front of him.

She then turned it around so the two would face each other before pushing the desks together. Eric seemed cheerful enough but she could tell from how he kept glancing toward the door that he was impatient for the others to arrive.

“So? Are they coming?” she asked, curious to know if he’d heard anything from them.

But Eric simply shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not sure. Damien said he’d come but Vinny said it would depend. I guess he was thinking about going to the courtyard with Alice so…”

Lilly grimaced, having hoped Vinny and Damien might be able to start working things out at lunch rather than waiting until club later in the day.

“And Liz?” she muttered. “What about her?”

“Dunno,” he replied. “I haven’t spoken to her. Did she sound like she’d be coming when you guys talked yesterday?”

Lilly nodded. “I think so, but I’m not sure. At the very least, by the time she left, it seemed like she’d come to a decision about something. Like I said, she’s pretty determined to fix things with Damien and…it sounds like he is, too.”

She had told Eric all about her call with Damien that morning during first period. The news that he seemed ready to talk to her had put Eric in a good mood and so, they were both waiting in anticipation for something to happen.

“Well, I’m rooting for them,” Eric said. “And… Oh, speak of the devil.”

Noticing him suddenly looking over her shoulder, Lilly turned back and couldn’t help but exhale in relief. Liz was walking across the room, toward them. There was no sign of Damien but just the fact that she was here meant that they were making progress. Liz had a determined look in her eyes as she stopped in front of them.

Then, much to Lilly’s surprise, she stuck out her hand and stared directly at Eric.

“Eric Reiner, I have a request!” she declared.

Lilly cocked an eyebrow as she looked at Eric, wondering if he knew anything about this. However, he looked just as taken aback as her.

“A request, huh?” he replied, a slight smile on his lips. “And what exactly can I do for you, Miss Tao?”

Liz grinned confidently.

“Give me the stone!”