“Rebecca! It’s time to get up!” Her mom banged on the door.
Bex groaned and opened her eyes, her alarm blaring in her ear.
“Rebecca!”
“I’m up!” Bex shouted back.
Bex sighed and sat up, turning her alarm off. She stretched and rubbed her eyes before getting up and dragging herself out of bed. Quite literally. Her feet dragged the ground and she just felt heavy in some weird way. Like her whole body weighed an extra ten pounds. She got light-headed but grabbed onto her nightstand to help stable herself.
Everything took her longer to do for some odd reason. She took longer to get dressed, longer to get washed up, longer to get her stuff ready. She walked slower, and it took her brain and an extra three seconds to process everything.
When she got to school she walked up the steps one at a time and plopped down at the table with a yawn.
“Morning.” Darci smiled.
“Morning.” Bex smiled back, still half asleep.
“You okay?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, just tired.”
“Long night?” Jaden supplied.
“Something like that.” Bex smiled, remembering when Lyssa showed up last night.
“Any good news?” Darci pushed.
Bex turned to the empty seat next to her and frowned.
“Guess not…” Bex said.
Joan made her flinch when she began to laugh so hard she choked on her milk. Everyone looked at her.
“Sorry, sorry, it’s a, you had to be there, thing.” Joan shook her head as she stared at her phone.
Bex glared at her.
Darci sighed.
Joan giggled at her phone.
Bex mocked her silently, but Joan was too distracted to notice. Darci elbowed Bex to force her to behave. Bex rolled her eyes. Darci gave her a chastising look, Bex pouted and slumped in her seat. Mike snickered at them, and Jaden shook his head.
When Joan looked up, Bex pretended to be innocently looking at her phone, almost as if she was mocking how oblivious Joan was. Joan didn’t get it and eyed her suspiciously before looking back at her phone.
Mike tried to contain his laughter. Darci sighed.
Bex smirked at Mike and then silently mocked Joan by pretending to laugh at her phone extra dramatically.
Joan quickly looked up again when Mike laughed and Bex quickly went back to pretending she wasn’t doing anything. Which only made Mike laugh more. Joan narrowed her eyes at Bex. Bex smirked and texted Joan the word, boo.
When Joan’s phone vibrated she looked down once again. Bex giggled and got into position, leaning over the table to scare Joan. Joan opened the new text and eyed it in confusion. When she looked up to Bex, Bex was right in front of her face and yelled,
“Boo!”
Joan flinched so hard she nearly fell off her seat.
Everyone but Joan started laughing.
“Got you,” Bex stuck her tongue out.
“Haha, very funny.” Joan rolled her eyes.
Bex giggled and smiled big, Joan saw how Bex’s cheeks filled with color and how happy she looked. Her heart ached and she couldn’t help but smile too. Bex’s smile was contagious like that. Joan texted Bex back, saying Look up.
When Bex’s phone vibrated she looked down at it. She then looked up to Joan who flicked her in the nose. Bex giggled.
“Got you back.” Joan smiled.
“So this is war I see,” Bex smirked.
“Bring it on, you know I’ll win.” Joan teased.
“Please in your dreams.”
“You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”
“You know I can!”
Darci smiled as she watched the two behave like they used to. She sighed in relief knowing everything was going to be okay between them. That is until Joan’s phone vibrated.
Right in the middle of their playful banter, Joan stopped and looked at her phone. She laughed at the text and quickly typed a reply. Darci watched as Bex’s smile slowly faded away, her eyes locked onto Joan’s phone. Darci could see the pain there and her relief was short-lived. Before she could say anything the bell rang.
“See you guys at lunch,” Joan said without looking up from her phone and walking off.
All lunch Bex watched Joan be distracted by her phone. It got to the point where Bex was trying to do anything to get Joan’s attention. She would flick food at Joan, kick Joan under the table, even say her name over and over and over, but Joan just shrugged her off.
“Joan,” Bex said for the 10th time.
“What?” Joan finally looked up.
“Today Ms. Hoboken put her teeth on wrong! She put the bottom teeth on top.” Bex giggled.
“Oh, very funny.” Joan forced a laugh before looking back at her phone.
Bex frowned and deflated a bit in her seat.
“I think it’s funny, have a picture?” Mike tried.
“No.” Bex looked down at her tray of food and picked at it.
Darci sighed.
“So how’s Lyssa?” Jaden asked.
“Okay, I guess. We talked a little bit yesterday. She’s doing some research for me.” Bex brightened up a bit.
“Research?” Darci raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah our bond got even weirder, so she’s trying to figure it out.”
“Weird how?” Mike leaned forward.
“I’ve been dreaming about her memories! Like blood gore and all. It’s so gross and very uncomfortable.”
“What kind of things have you seen?”
“Oh uh… that’s sort of personal, I don’t know if Lyssa would want me to tell you guys. You know how she is.”
“Oh, well I hope she finds some answers then,” Darci said.
“Yeah… me too…” Bex once again looked down at her tray.
Joan giggling once again drew her attention.
“Joan,” Bex tried.
Joan ignored her.
“Joan,” Bex said again, ready to continue her quest to get Joan’s attention.
She was about to say it a third time when Joan looked up at her,
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“Oh uh… I was wondering if we could hang out today.”
“Can’t have plans.” Joan looked back at her phone.
“Oh.”
Joan once again looked up after hearing the amount of disappointment in Bex’s voice. She watched Bex slump down in her chair and stare down at her food. She could see tears welling up in Bex’s eyes and sighed. Her heart hurt for her.
“You could come along if you want.” Joan caved.
“Really!” Bex perked up.
Darci cringed and gave Joan that face, the don’t give her hope face.
“Yeah, Rooney and I were just going to get some slayer supplies for the training session coming up,” Joan said.
Bex made a face.
“Or not.” Joan made a face back.
“No, I mean… Yeah, sounds fun.” Bex forced a smile.
“Really?” Joan raised a skeptic brow.
“Sure.” Bex shrugged.
“Okay… well just walk with me to my house after school, Rooney will meet us there.”
“Cool.” Bex forced enthusiasm.
Darci, Mike, and Jaden all shared uneasy looks. This was sure to be a disaster.
After school Bex called her mom to ask for permission.
“So can I hang out with Joan after school?’
“Hmm, I guess Rebecca but only because your father and I have to go to a company dinner and your brother is going to his friend’s birthday party. Your sister said she has a date with Rory and I don’t want you at the house alone. So I guess. But keep me updated. Please.”
“Yes! Thanks, mom, you’re the best.” Bex hung up.
“She said yes?” Joan asked.
Bex smiled and nodded.
“Cool, well come on then.” Joan began to walk home.
“I always wondered where you guys get all those slayer weapons,” Bex said as she followed after Joan.
“We have to get them custom made by specially qualified blacksmiths. Orders have to placed way ahead in advance because it takes so long to make.” Joan said.
“Really? Wow, how many orders do they get?”
“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.” Joan smiled at her.
“Can’t wait.” Bex forced a smile back, though the thought of going to a blacksmith whose only specialty was making vampire-killing weapons made her stomach turn.
For once, Bex was glad Lyssa wasn’t with her. Bringing Lyssa along on something like this was bound to go bad one way or another. The vampire was safer elsewhere.
They walked up to Joan’s house where Rooney was already waiting outside with a big black van. Rooney smiled big and wide when her eyes landed on Joan. Joan smiled back and picked up the pace as she jogged over to Rooney.
Bex felt like she had been stabbed in the heart as she watched the two kiss.
“Missed you,” Rooney said as she pulled away from Joan.
“Missed you more,” Joan said.
They both giggled.
Rooney let her eyes drift over to Bex who was standing awkwardly off to the side.
“She comes in peace,” Joan muttered under her breath so only Rooney could hear.
“Emm, why is she here to begin with?”
“She wanted to come.”
“You could have said no.” Rooney eyed her.
“We both have one arm out of use, it couldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of arms.” Joan reasoned with her.
Rooney huffed and eyed Bex, a clear look of displeasure on her face. Bex glared at her. Joan sighed.
They got into the van, Joan sitting upfront with Rooney and Bex sitting in the back. She eyed the back of the van and felt sick to her stomach as her eyes landed on a box of silver bullets.
“So, where’s your vampire?” Rooney asked.
“She’s not mine, she is her own person, and she isn’t here that’s all you need to know.” Bex snapped at her.
Rooney chuckled having successfully got a rise out of Bex.
“Let’s be civilized please.” Joan sighed.
Bex rolled her eyes and picked up a rope off the van floor.
“Murderer vibe,” Bex mumbled to herself as her eyes landed on a bottle of suspicious liquid.
“What was that?” Rooney asked.
“Nothing!” Bex lied.
Rooney slammed abruptly on the breaks causing Bex to tumbled around in the back and slam into the wall that divided the front from the back.
“Oops my bad, thought I saw something in the road.” Rooney snorted in laughter as Bex groaned in complaint.
“Sure you did,” Bex grumbled.
Rooney slammed on the breaks again. And again Bex slammed into the wall.
Joan was trying not to laugh and glare at Rooney at the same time. she was both amused but also annoyed that she was taking so much pleasure in this. Rooney was snickering and glancing at Joan. Joan tried to give her a serious look but only ended up smiling.
“Next time I’m riding front,” Bex complained.
“What was that? Can’t hear you sorry!” Rooney turned the radio up.
“Then you can’t hear me call you an asshole,” Bex mumbled.
Rooney slammed on the brakes again.
Bex glared at her as she once again fixed herself and sat back down on an empty crate.
When they finally got there Bex had been slammed into the wall so much that a bruise was forming on her shoulder.
“Anyone ever tell you; you suck at driving?” Bex complained.
“Anyone ever tell you; you have an annoying voice?” Rooney walked up to the front door of what looked like some run-down barn.
“Play nice, please,” Joan said to Bex.
“She started it!”
Joan eyed her.
Bex pouted and grabbed Joan’s hand on purpose, just to make Rooney mad. Rooney glared at her which only caused Bex to lean heavier into Joan. Joan felt her cheeks flush and avoided eye contact with Rooney, letting Bex hold on to her.
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