Alive
Chapter Five
“When is Lance coming over?” Catriona asked Faith Saturday morning as she stumbled out of her room.
“Huh?” Faith asked, looking at Catriona blankly.
“Lance, he’s coming over today, remember?” Catriona prodded.
“Who?” Faith asked.
“Never mind,” Catriona said. “I should know better than to ask you stuff in the morning.”
“What did you ask her?” Sarah asked, walking out of her room.
“When Lance is coming over.”
“Don’t ask questions when I first wake up,” Faith mumbled. “I never know what the hell is going on.”
“Yeah Faith, you’re a freak,” Catriona laughed. “How many hours of sleep did you get last night?”
“Four,” Faith mumbled into the can of diet Coke with Lemon.
“None of us get enough sleep,” Sarah said. “I wonder how we live.”
“With caffeine,” Faith said, raising her can.
“Here’s to caffeine,” Catriona agreed, raising her cup of soda. “Today is the autumn equinox.”
“What does- Oh!” Sarah said. “Yeah, it is. Thanks for reminding me.”
“So we all have to be back by ten?” Faith asked.
“Yeah. I’ll remind Elona that she can’t go out tonight,” Catriona said.
“She’ll remember,” Faith told her. “She always remembers the dates.”
“Now that you’re alive,” Catriona began, “what time is Lance coming over?”
“Ten,” Faith said.
“Sorry to tell you this, Fay,” Cat told her, “but that means you only have thirty minutes before he arrives.”
“Shit.” Faith stood up and walked to her room.
*~*~*
“This is Justin Timberlake,” Lance said, when Faith opened the door. “It’s ok that I brought him over?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Faith closed the door behind them. “Lance, Justin, this is Catriona Kapera and Sarah Aslesen. Cat, Sarah, Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake.”
“Hey, I have Spanish with you,” Justin exclaimed, looking at Sarah. “How did you do on the last test?”
Lance looked at Faith as Sarah and Justin talked. “Do you have any ideas of what we can do?”
“A few. We can work in my room so we won’t be interrupted.”
Hours later, Lance and Faith had nearly completed their presentation. Stiff from leaning over the desk for so long, Faith stretched, yawning.
Lance noticed her silver chain then and pulled it out of her shirt. “What’s this?” he asked.
“You don’t want to-” Faith began just as he freed it from her shirt. The small silver pentagram glinted in the sunlight.
“Are you a Satanist?” Lance asked as a look of horror crossed his face and he dropped the necklace.
“No,” Faith snapped, tucking the pentagram back into her shirt. “I’m a witch. I hate it when people think you’re a Satanist just because you have a pentagram.”
“They are the sign of the devil, you know,” Lance told her.
“No, they’re not. When they’re pointing a certain way they are, but otherwise they’re not.” She pulled the pentagram out of her shirt again and flipped it so two points were pointing up, two to the side, and one down. "This is the sign of the devil. This-” and she righted it so only one point was up- “symbolizes earth, air, fire, water, and the spirit.”
“And how do you know that?”
“I told you, I’m a witch. A Wicca.”
“Yeah, some devil worshipping freak.”
“I don’t even believe in the devil, so I don’t see how I can worship it.”
Lance stormed out of her room. “You’re just as strange as I thought you were the first day of the semester. You’re a freak.”
“And you’re a jackass,” Faith told him. “We still need to finish our presentation.”
“We can finish it Monday morning at the library.”
“What, don’t want your perfect presence influenced by me?”
“Lance, what’s going on?” Justin asked, walking out of Sarah’s room.
“Your friend is a jackass,” Faith told him. “Just because I have a pentagram, he assumes I’m a devil worshipping freak.” She walked into her room and slammed the door.
“What is she then?” Justin asked Sarah.
“We’re all witches,” Sarah responded.
“I’m leaving. Justin you coming?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Justin looked at Sarah. “See you Monday in class.”
“Bye,” Sarah said.
~*~*~*~
Catriona looked up at the sound of the bell ringing over the shop. She worked in a small arts store. And the last person she ever expected to see in an arts store walked in.
She knew who he was, Faith had identified him and she’d seen him hanging around with his friends enough times.
“Do you have an oil paints?” JC Chasez asked her.
“They’re right there,” Catriona told him, pointing to a shelf. “You passed them when you walked in.”
“I know.” JC grinned at her. “I just wanted an excuse to talk to you.”
“Why do you want to talk to me?” Catriona’s eyes narrowed. “And why do you need an excuse?”
“I figured you wouldn’t want to talk to me otherwise,” JC told her. “I wanted to talk to you because you seem interesting.” He leaned on the counter and grinned at her.
Catriona raised an eyebrow. “Really,” she drawled. “You mean you do have a mind and can form your own opinion? I’m amazed.”
“What is your problem with popular people?”
“Nothing. I have a thing against jocks through, and people who are just followers.”
“Why do you hate them so much?”
“Followers- because they’re so fake it’s not even funny. They can’t decide anything for themselves, can’t form their own opinion. They turn their backs on friends.” JC winced at that. “And I just don’t like jocks.”
“You are one bitter woman.”
“It’ better than letting myself get hurt.”
“So is that what happened to you, some jock hurt you?”
“I’m not saying anything. If I’m bitter, so be it.”
“Maybe you should open up a little more.”
“You’re the one giving me advice?” Catriona looked at him. “At least I’m not a sheep. I make my own decisions, do the things I do because I want to, not because some asshole tells me to. Take my advice and stop being such a sheep. Then maybe you can offer advice to people.”
JC refused to let her words get to him, although they would remain in his mind for days. “See you around, Cat.”
He walked out of the store and got into his car. He really wished he hadn’t agreed to go along with Wade’s plan.