Chapter three
“Y-you can’t be… how is that even possible?” Rosalyn nearly screamed in terror.
“Just forget about it, Rosalyn,” Alexander sighed, wishing he hadn’t said anything.
“B-but…” Rosalyn stuttered as she tried to get a hold of her senses. Rosalyn’s head was spinning; the fallen weren’t supposed to be anything more than a scary story… anymore. They used to be around, but Rosalyn had heard that they were all wiped out in the war.
“Look, just forget I said anything for the time being,” Alexander complained, the silence had began to make him feel uneasy, “Either I’ll explain later, or everything will reveal itself on its own.”
Rosalyn stared at him dumbfounded. Forget? How could I simply forget something like that?! How is he one of the fallen? Even for a forsaken there’s no way he could be that old!
“It’s starting to get late out. Come on, I’ll walk you home.” Alexander offered.
“I can make it home on my own you know!” Rosalyn complained.
“It’s not safe for you to be out alone. Last night proves that.” Alexander warned her.
Rosalyn stared at him in wide-eyed horror, “What do you mean?”
“It’s never safe for a pretty girl to be out alone at night, Rosalyn. Let’s get you home.” Alexander commented as though he were stating the weather.
Rosalyn merely nodded and began to follow Alexander as he walked down the dark streets. She didn’t understand why, but tonight she was very much afraid of the dark.
They walked together in silence for a few minutes when Alexander turned around to face Rosalyn.
“Look, nothing is going to hurt you while I’m here, so will you calm the hell down already?!” Alexander demanded impatiently. Rosalyn looked up at him, still worried, but that tension soon left her once she looked into Alexander’s eyes. They were ferocious but sincere and she knew she really would be safe with him.
“ALEXANDER!!!” A small voice rang out from the distance. The look of defiance soon left Alexander’s eyes and was replaced with shear terror.
Soon Alexander disappeared from Rosalyn’s line of sight and shortly after hearing a howl of pain he was replaced by a seemingly small girl.
“Damn it, Paige! Will you stop materializing out of now where and then tackling me?!” Alexander yelled in frustration.
“But Alex!” The girl named Paige whined, “Then that wouldn’t be any fun.”
“I don’t care; quit using me for your damn amusement!”
“Hey Alex? Who’s this?” Paige asked, pointing at Rosalyn and completely ignoring Alexander.
“Oh, Rosalyn, this is Paige. Paige, this is Rosalyn.” Alexander responded blandly.
Paige stared at Rosalyn while deep in thought. Paige was actually the same height as Rosalyn; she only appeared smaller due to her lively entrance. Paige had ebony hair just like Alexander that was in a braid that nearly went down to her waist. She had violet eyes and reasonably pale skin. She was wearing a black corset with white lace, a black and white plaid skirt. She was wearing a black belt that had a white skull on it tying it together, earrings that matched her belt buckle, and the she was wearing a collar matched her belt. She also had on a long black trench coat, similar to Alexander’s, and combat boots with white lace to match.
Suddenly Paige’s eyes lit up and she started jumping around in circles.
“Oh my god, Alex why didn’t you tell me?!” Paige nearly screeched as she went to tackle Alexander again.
“What is it I didn’t tell you that you’re most likely misinterpreting?” Alexander asked calmly as he dodged Paige’s oncoming attack.
“That you have a girlfriend now, that’s what!” Paige exclaimed.
Alexander stared at her in shock for only a brief moment before Paige began her onslaught of question.
“So how long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? How did you two meet? What do you like the most about her? Do you love her or is this just a crush? Oh my god I can’t believe you finally have a girlfriend!!” Paige squealed with delight.
“Are you done now?” Alexander asked impatiently.
“I guess…” Paige complained.
“We aren’t going out Paige,”
“Well, why the hell not?!” Paige interrupted Alexander.
Alexander sighed heavily, trying to ignore Paige’s constant pestering.
“So do you like, Alex?” Paige questioned, turning on Rosalyn because Alexander was not paying any attention what so ever.
“Paige, leave her alone. Why don’t you go hang out with Lilith or something?” Alexander asked to try to get rid of her.
“Oh my god! I totally forgot!” Paige exclaimed.
Alexander was about to sigh in relief when Paige grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him away.
“Where are you going, and why the hell are you dragging me with you!?” Alexander exclaimed as he tried to break free from Paige’s grasp.
“Demetri decided to throw a party and forgot to tell everyone, so he told me to come and get you!” Paige cheered brightly.
“Well to bad for him!” Alexander rebelled, “besides, I can’t just leave Rosalyn out here alone at night.”
“So you do like her!” Paige gleamed.
“No, I do not, Paige. I’m just being a gentleman and making sure she gets home safely,” Alexander retorted.
Paige sighed heavily, “You’re no fun at all, Alex!”
“Alright, well if you’ll excuse me I’m going to walk Rosalyn home now,” Alexander said with a smug grin on his face, “Let’s go, Rosalyn.”
Alexander began to walk off in the direction of Rosalyn’s house. Rosalyn glanced anxiously at Paige and then began to walk after Alexander.
“Wait!” Paige yelled out. Alexander paused for a second as he debated on whether to run for it or not.
“Why not just take Rosalyn with us?” Paige suggested brightly.
Alexander stared at Paige for a few moments then turned to look at Rosalyn.
“Would you like to go?” Alexander asked, secretly hoping she would say no.
“Well I don’t have to be home for another two hours, and your friend really wants you to go probably…”Rosalyn trailed off when she saw the look of horror in Alexander’s eyes.
“Yay! Come on, Alex! Lilith is going to be so excited to meet you new girlfriend! You don’t mind if we give her a make over and add her to the group though, do you?” Paige nearly squealed.
“Do what you want, I give up,” Alexander sighed in defeat, “and she’s not my girlfriend. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Come on, Rosalyn! You’re going to have so much fun! I need to introduce you to everyone!” Paige was nearly screaming at the top of her lungs. “Oh, but first I need to call Lilith and get her over here. We need to get you a new outfit, so we can add you to the group.” Paige explained as she eyed Rosalyn’s outfit. Rosalyn’s bronze hair was just hanging down, nothing fancy, and she was wearing a blue turtleneck shirt with a black jacket, baggy jeans, and regular tennis shoes.
Rosalyn stared in wonder as Paige bounced around in circles arranging everything. After a minute’s worth of debating over the phone Paige hung up and glared at Alexander.
“Oh god, what cruel and unusual punishment do you have for me this time?” Alexander complained.
“Go to Demetri’s house now! Lilith is going to meet me at the mall, we’re going to pretty up Rosalyn, and you don’t get to see until we get to the party.” Paige said in triumph.
“Fine, I’ll see you guys later then,” Alexander said as he began walking away. Then he turned around briefly and looked at Rosalyn. “I apologize for anything she may do in advance,” Alexander added briefly and then left.
“Oh, ignore him. We’re going to have so much fun!” Paige said, smiling at Rosalyn. Rosalyn smiled nervously back at Paige, not sure of how she should feel.
“Come on, I promised Lilith we’d be there waiting for her. She can’t wait to meet you!”
“Um… okay,” Rosalyn stuttered as she began walking after Paige.
“I’m Paige by the way, nice to actually meet you Rosalyn.”
“What do you mean actually meet me?”
“I’ve seen you at school before, so I know who you are. I’ve just never actually met you before. What you’ve never seen me at school?” Paige asked, pretending to sound insulted.
“Not that I remember,” Rosalyn said apologetically.
“It’s fine, I act a lot differently at school, so you probably wouldn’t recognize me anyways. That and Alex usually has the group hang out in unpopulated areas of the school,” Paige giggled. “So how long have you known Alex for?”
“Um, well I’ve known him since seventh grade because we always had at least two classes together, but I’ve never actually talked to him before until last Friday,” Rosalyn explained shyly.
“So you guys really aren’t going out? Aw, that’s no fun,” Paige complained.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I guess not. I’ve known Alex since we were five, and he’s a really great guy, but the entire time I’ve known him he’s never had a girlfriend.”
“Really?!” Rosalyn stared at Paige in shock. Paige turned to look at her and began giggling uncontrollably when she saw the look on Rosalyn’s face.
“Seriously, kind of surprising huh? He’s a real mystery sometimes.”
Rosalyn and Paige continued to talk idly until they got to the mall where they were supposed to meet Lilith. Paige was about to take out her phone to call her, but stopped when she saw a small girl standing in front of the entrance.
“What happened to you’d be waiting for me, Paige? I beat you again, as usual.” The girl said, flipping her bangs out of her face.
“Well you have a car; we had to walk all the way here,” Paige laughed.
“So is this Alexander’s new friend?” The girl asked, staring at Rosalyn.
“Yep! Rosalyn, this is Lilith. Lilith, this is Rosalyn,” Paige explained, trying to contain her excitement, “we’re making her part of the group now, so I need your help with her make over.”
Lilith smiled at Rosalyn. Unlike Rosalyn’s misinterpretation of Paige, Lilith actually was small standing at a 5’1”. Lilith was wearing a green tank top and a black skirt with a black belt that had green diamond patterns. She had on a black sleeveless trench coat with green lining, and black boots that went up past her knees and had a slight green trim. Her dark brown hair was up in pigtails and she wore a black headband with two green diamond shapes at each end. Rosalyn couldn’t help but notice that, just like Paige, Lilith had on a collar, only hers had the continuing diamond pattern, while Paige’s had a skull.
“So, any ideas on what her theme is going to be?” Lilith asked Paige as she continued her assessment of Rosalyn.
“Not yet, I was thinking something sort of cutesy but I don’t know what,” Paige whined.
“What do I need a… theme for?” Rosalyn asked curiously, trying to figure out what was going on so maybe she could help.
“It’s our group thing,” Paige explained dully, “You see how I have a collar with a skull? Well skulls are my theme so my entire outfit is based around it.” Paige pointed at Lilith, “And Lily’s theme is obviously diamonds.”
Rosalyn glanced between Paige and Lilith for a moment, “that’s so cool!” she exclaimed excitedly.
“It’s just a little thing we do, and since you’re going to be part of the group now we have to think of one for you too!” Paige cheered.
“I get to be part of the group?” Rosalyn gasped, she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had actually wanted her around, much less include her in a group.
“Of course! Didn’t you here me tell Alex I was giving you the group makeover?”
Lilith smiled gently, “it’ll be nice to finally have another girl in the group.”
“How many people are there?” Rosalyn asked curiously.
“Now that you’re joining, six; before we only had five: Alex, me, Lily, Demetri, and Vince.” Paige explained.
“Paige also gives everyone annoying nicknames, aside from shorting our actual names. Alexander is either Alex, or Emo-boy. Demetrius is either Demetri or Gremlin. Vincent is either Vince, or Skateboard, and I’m Lily or… Princess,” Lilith explained, hesitating when she mentioned the part about her.
Rosalyn giggled as Paige and Lilith explained to her how their group worked. It all sounded like so much fun to her, and she was really glad for the opportunity to make new friends.
“Doesn’t Paige have a nickname?” Rosalyn asked, she though that Lilith had forgotten about Paige.
“No, Paige is the one making the nicknames, everyone else calls us by our names. Although Alexander does call her Pain-in-the-ass sometimes,” Lilith giggled when she saw Paige pout a little.
“Anyways, back to work Lily, we have to get Rose the perfect outfit! Tonight is the best time to introduce her into the group; it’s a full moon and we’re having a party!” Paige exclaimed.
Lilith chuckled, “and the nicknaming begins. Don’t worry it usually takes her a while to think of the second one in case you want to back out. But you’re right about that Paige. Lets get to work.”
Paige grabbed Rosalyn by the arm and dragged her into the mall with Lilith skipping in behind them.
“Hey lets go to that antique store where we found that pentacle to use as Alex’s theme!” Paige exclaimed after they had walked around for a few seconds.
“That’s actually a good idea, Paige. That is where we’ve found everyone’s theme so far, so why not Rosalyn’s too?”
“There’s an antique store in the mall?” Rosalyn asked, obviously a little shocked.
“You don’t get out much do you, Rose? I’m not sure about other malls, but this one as a really nice antique store,” Paige teased.
“Well lets get going! I can’t wait to find a theme for Rosalyn,” Lilith cheered, “I agree that we should find something kind of cutesy for her.”
“Here we are,” Paige announced when they reached it. Rosalyn looked up at the sign Paige was pointing at enthusiastically.
“Candlelight Dust?” Rosalyn stared in wonder at the sign. It looked like a large scroll with Candlelight Dust written in a font that looked ancient.
“Yeah, this is the place,” Lilith said as she walked in.
“Hay old man!” Paige yelled out once they got inside.
“Oh, Paige… Lilith! It’s been a while,” an old man commented, coming out from behind a large bookcase.
“Paige, be polite. Good evening, Serge how’s business?” Lilith said.
“A little rough lately, but alright. Thank you, Lilith,” He replied.
Serge was a small old guy with pepper white and gray hair. He stood with a small bit of a hunch, and had a very friendly smile.
“So what can I do for you ladies tonight?” He asked politely.
“We’re looking for something cutesy to use for her,” Paige said pushing Rosalyn out in front of her.
“So you’ve kidnapped another person to add to your group?” Serge chuckled.
“Heck yes! Now help us get her situated Old Man,” Paige demanded.
“Well you’re in luck tonight, Paige. I just got a new shipment of pendants and other little trinkets I know you love,” He chuckled.
“Really?! Oh wow, talk about prefect timing!” Paige chimed.
“Paige come look at this!” Lilith called out, leaning over a glass box. Paige skipped over to Lilith’s side, dragging Rosalyn along with her.
“Oh wow! It’s so cute! Hey Old Man, can we see this?” Paige asked, calling over Serge.
Serge walked over and pulled a small belt buckle out of the glass box, and handed it to Paige.
“A good eye as always, Lilith,” Serge commented.
Paige held the buckle up to Rosalyn and glanced back and forth between the two.
“So Paige, what’s the call?” Lilith asked looking over Paige’s shoulder.
“I think its prefect,” Paige smiled, holding the buckle in the palm of her hand. “What do you think, Rose?”
Rosalyn walked over and looked at the buckle in her hand.
“I think it’s beautiful…” Rosalyn exclaimed.
“Then it’s settled, Old Man do you have anything to match this?” Paige asked.
“Yes I do have a few things. They’re in the back; I’ll go get them.” He commented as he walked away from the girls.
“Well Rose, you’re officially part of the group now,” Paige cheered, grinning from ear to ear at Rosalyn.
Rosalyn smiled as she looked at what Paige had chosen to be her “theme”.
A beautiful red heart with silver wings…
