Stolen Lives, Loss Of Innocence - A Days Fanfic (Read 11,464 times)

[heroicmuse]

This was a cute scene. I'm generally not a Theresa fan at all, but you made her sympathetic. Having a friend does wonders for her character.

I wonder if Paul thought Theresa and Natalie were more than friends and was testing the waters to see if she was safe to come out to.

[André DiMera]

I like Natalie! She seems really cool!

[sevenna92]

I'm actually glad that I made Theresa a bit more sympathetic because I kinda thought that I was still making her sound like she was still blaming others for her actions.

FYI, if you're confused about the name of Victor's new club, I renamed it Mt. Olympus because I did not like the name the show gave it. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Really? Edge of the Square? What does that even mean? All of the names they could've picked, they chose that?!

Sorry, rant over. Anyways yes I think Paul might suspect that Natalie may be harboring some serious feelings for Theresa. Come to think of it, he might suspect that Theresa might have some romantic feelings for her too. She did seem pretty aggressive when she thought Paul was going to hit on her.

[sevenna92]

SCENE 4 – ST. LUKE’S TEACHER’S LOUNGE, MID AFTERNOON

Natalie then enters the teacher’s lounge as she walks over to a large, oval-shaped table where five other teachers were already seated. She then sits down next to a brown-haired woman with a tightly pulled back bun and thick-rimmed glasses. Natalie then digs into her brown bag and pulls out a tuna and cheese sandwich, a bottle of Coke Zero and some chocolate pudding.

She then grabs her tuna sandwich and starts to eat. The group then spent the next couple of minutes in silence as they too ate their lunches. Finally a dark-haired young man broke his silence.

“Ugh, today was a hassle. I had to confiscate a couple of students’ Iphones because they were spending time texting to their friends instead of listening to lecture.”

“Yeah, I had to break up a fight between 6th graders because of some petty dispute on some social networking site,” another female teacher griped.

“I just find it so frustrating that we’re trying to show these kids the right path and yet this world is pulling these kids away from the righteous path of God,” a male teacher grumbled.

“Yeah, these gays are corrupting the minds of our children. It is not right for two men or two women to be together. Marriage is only supposed to be a sanctified union between men and women,” a middle-aged redhead woman with a long, angular, pointy-nosed face and large glasses growled.

At this Natalie’s skin crawled with disgust at her words and she narrowed her eyes surreptitiously, trying not to pay attention to the conversation but her super sensitive ears refused to allow her to forget a single syllable the teachers were uttering.

“It’s not just them,” a blonde-haired middle-aged woman interjected. “It’s those young people that are spitting in the face of God by shacking up together and giving in to their wanton lust. It’s those celebrities and musicians that they show on T.V. and radio that are tempting them with easy money, easy sex, and an easy way of life.”

“Marriage should be about honor, love, and giving glory to God and God should be the center of all marriages. I think this liberal society is why these kids are so lost and adrift and in a desperate need of God. They are so disobedient to their elders and to authority, and I believe it’s because the father is not at home.”

“What a terrible shame,” said another young, dark-haired woman.

“Maybe if we made this society like the one in the Scarlett Letter, then perhaps all citizens would be more obedient to God’s rules and be more loving and kind to him. I also believe the young people with those gay tendencies should have them beaten out of them and they should be sent to therapy to have those unnatural tendencies cast out of their souls like unholy demons!” a young, brown-haired man declared solemnly.

“I hope my students that are reading that book right now will take the message that God watches all of their actions and they will be severe consequences for what they do. If they commit a grave sin, they will have the mark of sin in their hearts that will eat away at their soul until they confess to God almighty.”

Natalie’s eyes then glowered with horror yet sadness as she flashed back to Theresa confessing to her about what she did to John and Brady. She then put down her sandwich and stared at her Coke glumly.

Finally a middle-aged, balding man glanced over at Natalie with a soft, gentle smile.

“Ms. Callaway, what do you think about all of this?” he asked.

Natalie then remained silent for several minutes, trying to find out the right thing to say. She stiffened nervously as she felt all eyes on her and she averted her gaze, looking away at the wall. Finally she looked straight at the group and collected her thoughts, steeling herself.

“I don’t think gays are demonic influences that are corrupting our youth,” she announced with her voice soft and quavering. “I believe that they are God’s children and they should be loved and respected no matter if they’re sinners or not. We’re all sinners that fall short of the glory of God. Who are we to judge and say we’re better than them? If they love God with their hearts and want to do good and right by him, they should be commended, not condemned.”

A harsh, palpable silence soon fell amongst the teachers as they could just hear a pin drop. Many of the teachers drew back in horror and some of their faces paled rapidly.

One of the teachers smiled warmly at Natalie. “Ms. Callaway, I know you are speaking with a good heart and with the best of intentions, but our job is to show a righteous path for the young ones so they can go to Heaven and be with the Lord. We must be mindful of God’s Word and God’s Word is law, regardless of what we believe otherwise.”

“I understand,” Natalie said softly as she finished her sandwich and gulped down her Coke. She then ate up her chocolate pudding quickly and threw everything in the trash. She then walked out of the lounge without another word.

The teachers then exchanged awkward glances in silence as they stared at each other.

“That Callaway woman is sure a strange girl,” said the young, dark-haired female.

“Yeah, she’s really not that talkative,” said the blonde woman.

“I wonder if there is something strange going on with her. She is a DiMera by blood,” the middle-aged, balding man mused.

“Ah, come on it now! Just because she’s a DiMera doesn’t mean she can be that bad. But besides, she was raised by a loving family away from that monster,” the middle-aged, redhead woman scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. Once that girl falls under that man’s dark influence, it won’t be long before she’s just like him,” the middle-aged bald man said.

“You can’t possibly think that,” a middle-aged, brown-haired woman gasped in horror. “She’s such a sweet, lovely, educated girl. Very eloquent.”

“You just watch,” the middle-aged bald man growled darkly.

The group then looked onward at the door worriedly, wondering if there might be some darkness within a seemingly meek and mild-mannered woman.

Meanwhile, Natalie was walking through the hallway as a redhead woman wearing braids and in her late 20s rushes over to meet her.

“Rosalina!” Natalie yelled as she caught up with her.

“That was pretty brave of you to speak up like that.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Natalie grinned anxiously. “I have to say what I feel, even if other people don’t like it. I know it’s not something people here at St. Luke’s exactly approve of, but whatever.”

“I really don’t mind, Nat,” Rosalina smiled. “Besides, I agree wholeheartedly with what you said anyway. Even Pope Francis said it best. ‘Who am I to judge?’ I think the church has spent too many years worrying about what goes on in other people’s private lives and not enough about what goes on in their own.”

“I think so too. You know, I really like Pope Francis,” Natalie said. “I think he’s so much better than all of the other popes. Even my dad thinks so too.”

“So how is your family?” Rosalina inquired.

“Good. In fact, I just got a call from my sister Hilary saying that she’s getting married and wants me to attend her wedding as her maid of honor. I’m going to go to New Jersey in the fall and be there. I was thinking of inviting you, and Theresa too.”

“Theresa?” Rosalina wrinkled her nose. “Look, I don’t mean to be a Negative Nancy, and I do respect your right to make whatever friends you want, but why her? She’s such a mean-spirited loser, not to mention that she’s such a drug junkie and a tramp.”

“Rosa!” Natalie gasped in shock.

“What? It’s true,” Rosalina shrugged. “I can use so many choice words to describe her but I’ll be nice and just call her a tramp. God, Natalie, if I didn’t know any better, I could’ve sworn that you might have a crush on her!”

“I do not!” Natalie growled irritably. “We’re just good friends, that’s all.”

“Yep, keep on denying all you want,” Rosalina laughed as she walked away. “See you later.”

Natalie then groaned and rolled her eyes as she walked off.

[sevenna92]

SCENE 5 – SALEM U, MID AFTERNOON

In the hallways of Salem University, J.J. was walking over to his last class of the day with his books in hand. He had a very glum look on his face and his mind was preoccupied over the recent break-up with his girlfriend Paige and the immense guilt he was feeling right now.

He cursed himself for having not once, but twice, sleeping with Paige’s mother Eve and he couldn’t understand why he did that. Eve always despised him greatly and had repeatedly warned Paige time and again that J.J. was no good for her and he’ll break her heart.

As much as J.J. hadn’t wanted to do anything to hurt Paige, he was now deeply frustrated and angry that he had somehow managed to ruin the one thing that made him happy and feel worthy of love. He never would want this whole affair to come out, not only because it would destroy his mother and sister, but because it could put a rift between Paige and Eve that may never fully heal.

He was then jolted out of his thoughts as he walked right into another student and they crashed together. J.J. fell flat on his face as he dropped all of his books on the floor. The girl landed right on her back as she was disoriented and stunned from being knocked out.

J.J. quickly got up to his feet and noticed the girl lying on the ground.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” he apologized as he pulled her up by grabbing her hand and the two soon started to pick up the books off the ground.

“It’s all right,” the girl answered as J.J. turned around to meet her gaze.

The girl had long, flowing, dark hair with light, creamy white skin and dark, bluish-green eyes. She had on a red cashmere sweater and a pair of blue pants with a red bandanna around her neck along with a blue beanie hat. She was at least two inches taller. She also had round dimples and long eyelashes.

J.J. then stopped right in his tracks as he was entranced at the sight of the girl. He then shook his head and held out his hand to introduce himself.

“Hey, I’m J.J. Devereaux. Nice to meet you,” he said.

“The name’s Myrna. Myrna Delaney,” Myrna answered in a thick Queens accent.

“Whoa, you’re not from around here, are you?” J.J. retorted with a raised eyebrow.

“Nope. I’ve been born and raised all my life in Queens, New York. About as rough as you can possibly get,” Myrna retorted. “There were a lot of gangs and drugs in my neighborhood and every other day I would hear police sirens ringing in the night. I used to own a bulldog named Budweiser but we had to put him down about a year ago when he developed terminal cancer.”

“Oh, that’s pretty rough,” J.J. frowned. “I know what’s it like to lose someone you love.”

“Really? Did you ever own a pet?” Myrna retorted demurely.

“No… But I lost someone very close to me. My dad died a couple of years ago during a citywide disaster… when the tunnels exploded. My life hasn’t been the same since. And I’m also trying to make sense of who my father was,” J.J. explained. “You see, he was a very complicated man. I wanted to be so much like him because I thought he was such a caring, kind, loving man and he was a really great dad. But now that there are some things that I’ve found out about him that made me have serious doubts about him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, J.J.,” Myrna replied sadly. “But I’m sure that your dad loved you very much.”

“Yeah,” J.J. sighed. “I don’t like to talk about it though. I’m also going through a rough time too. I just broke up with my girlfriend recently. I thought that I really loved her and I thought she loved me too. I was going to wait until she was ready for us to make love. But her mother always had a thing against me and she just kept on interfering in my relationship, telling me that I was bad news.”

“That sounds really bad,” Myrna frowned sadly.

“But enough about my personal life. What about you? What’s your story?” J.J. retorted.

“Like I said, my neighborhood was quite bad. There were a bunch of drug deals going on in every alleyway and corner and my mother wouldn’t let us go outside except ride and play in the local playground. I’ve had a couple of neighbors who got killed in drive by shootings. I even had a friend whom I’ve known since elementary school who joined a gang and also got stabbed to death in a fight during a party on New Year’s,” said Myrna.

“My mother thought it prudent that we teach ourselves how to defend ourselves, so we enrolled in a mixed martial arts school and I learned many different kinds of fighting styles, including kickboxing, taekwondo and judo. I became pretty good at it and I’ve won several gold and bronze medals in virtually every competition I’ve ever been in.”

“I was also in the women’s basketball team at my high school and I also wrote on an opinion column on my school newspaper. I mainly wrote about social issues, like women’s rights and gay rights. I even wrote long pieces against the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars too.”

“I believe the only reason we ever got into them was mainly for oil and greed courtesy of the private military corporations. But at least for the Afghanistan war we had to deal with those terrorists. I’m not against trying to wipe them out, but not at the expense of innocent, American lives. Besides, we never did find those weapons of mass destruction.”

“Cool,” J.J. replied. “You know, my dad was in Afghanistan too. He was doing some reporting over there and then he disappeared for a long while. We thought he abandoned us but then he eventually came back.”

“That was really brave of him,” Myrna smiled. “I had a couple of friends of my dad’s that were reporters and they were kidnapped by ISIS and even killed. Another one was in Baghdad when he got blown up by shrapnel. My dad was a war veteran himself. He fought in Vietnam in the early 70s. When he got out, that’s when he met my mom at a nightclub. They got married soon after and they had my brother. Then about 5 years later my sister was born. Then 6 years after that my other sister was born. Then some years later after that I was born, so I’m the youngest in the family.”

“My home life was kind of rough though. My dad suffered from some serious PTSD and he drank a lot. He used to hit and scream at my mom and they would have these terrible fights. He would even scare me and my siblings with his vicious temper.”

“But then my mom threatened divorce and my dad was scared enough to go get counseling and go to rehab for his drinking. It took a lot of hard work but he finally overcame his demons and we saved our family. He doesn’t drink much anymore but he still likes those cigars.”

“Your dad sounds like a really cool guy,” J.J. replied crisply. “I actually have an older sister named Abigail, but I call her Abby. She works with my mom at Salem University Hospital. I even have two cousins named Will & Sonny that are a gay couple raising a daughter named Arianna. I have a very big family.”

As J.J. and Myrna were standing in the middle of the hallway, Paige was walking over to class with her new friend Cole. Paige gasped in surprise as she noticed J.J. talking to another girl. Her feelings of jealousy and anger bubbled up inside her and she marched over to the pair.

“J.J.!” Paige screamed as J.J. spun around and was shocked to see her.

“Paige?” he stammered.

“Who is she?” Paige growled angrily.

“Paige, we’re not together anymore. What is your problem?” J.J. demanded.

“Who is she, J.J.?” Paige screamed louder as she stomped over to Myrna, glowering.

Myrna then glowered back at the smaller girl and crossed her arms, scowling.

“Why don’t you run on home, little girl?” she sneered.

“He’s my boyfriend and I plan to win him back!” Paige yelled.

“Oh, really?” Myrna laughed as she beckoned over to Cole. “What about your little boyfriend over here?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Paige insisted.

“J.J. and I were just talking. What’s your problem?” Myrna retorted sternly.

“He’s mine and I’m going to get him back if that is the last thing I’ll do,” Paige snarled.

“Why don’t you just back off, little one? He’s not yours any longer,” Myrna snapped fiercely.

Paige then moved towards Myrna and then Myrna grabbed her and pushed her down on her knee, wrapping her arm around one of her own arms. Paige then screamed in pain as her arm was being pulled back.

Cole then gawked in surprise as he approached Myrna.

“Hey, let her go!”

“Yeah, Myrna, get your hands off Paige!” J.J. screamed as Myrna finally lets go of Paige and Paige runs over to Cole, crying.

She then turns to her friend with tears falling from her eyes, sniffling and sobbing.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said as she and Cole walked away.

J.J. then turned around to see Myrna with a disgusted look on her face.

“What is your problem?”

“She needed to be taught a lesson,” Myrna insisted. “She was bugging us and wouldn’t leave you alone. She was acting like a real psycho.”

“Yeah, but you just don’t practically rip someone’s arm off,” J.J. retorted, shaking his head.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay,” Myrna sighed sadly. “I kind of feel bad about it. I was only trying to do what I thought was right. I didn’t mean to be cruel or anything.”

“Well, okay,” J.J. said as he held out his hand. “Just promise to not trap any more of my friends in a half-nelson, okay?”

“Deal,” Myrna nodded. “I’ll walk you over to your class. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” J.J. smiled and he and Myrna went over to J.J.’s class.

[sevenna92]

Author's Notes:

Well, here's the final scene for this "week". After this I'll upload the next preview with all of the scenes that are supposed to go down. I think after the last couple of scenes I'll add in a new chapter. So yeah that's how it's gonna work. Anyways, this is where Brady and Melanie go out on an actual, real date, not that stupid pretend thing that the show put out. That was really awesome. Ugh! Today's episode really annoyed me on so many levels but I'm going to try not to let it affect my writing. I'll do my best to write Brady and Melanie as a reasonable couple. So yeah, there's that.

And one last thing, I've decided that Clyde is going to die for real and so now there's going to be a murder investigation. I wished he had actually died not only because he's scum but I also thought it would've been more dramatic that way. Hey, you never know. I may even have Ben go dark too while I'm at it. That'll be cool. Also I might be adding in a couple of new detectives later to make things more interesting besides Abe, Roman and John. Maybe Abe hired some other people besides John. I am so excited for this subplot to unravel!!!! 

So enjoy!

SCENE 6 – ARCADE, MID AFTERNOON

Meanwhile, Brady and Melanie entered an arcade for their first date. They went over to the front counter and Brady paid for about 20 tokens. As soon as the couple received the tokens, they went over to the basketball shooting range.

Melanie then picked up a basketball and threw it at the basket. The ball then bounced off the rim and fell into the hole. The young redhead woman then bit her lip as she picked up another ball and threw it at the basket. The ball missed the basket and fell into the hole too.

“Let me try,” said Brady as he grabbed another ball and tossed it at the basket. The ball actually managed to go through the hoop. Brady then threw a couple of more balls as he made more successful baskets.

“Wow, you’re really good at this, Brady!” Melanie grinned.

“Thanks,” he said. He then turned towards an arcade game with two plastic guns in orange holsters.

“Want to shoot some aliens?”

“Sure!”

Sometime later, Melanie and Brady were shooting at the screen as they were picking off several green, slobbering, creepy-looking aliens one by one.

“These games are always fun to play,” Brady replied.

“Yeah. They really don’t have these many games in Europe anymore. But they do have a bunch of nightclubs with karaoke. That was definitely a lot of fun,” Melanie remarked wistfully.

“You know, sometimes I wonder if aliens really existed out there and there might be others besides us. Maybe they might be friendly and want to co-exist with us,” Brady mused.

“But what if they want to kill us? Wouldn’t they have these big guns and those spaceship cannons and tractor beams and stuff?” Melanie frowned worriedly.

“Maybe,” Brady shrugged. “They could have those weapons, and more. I’m just not sure we’re the only intelligent beings out there. I mean, how could that be?”

“Stranger things have happened in Salem. Look at all of those reports of people claiming to be abducted from their homes and sucked into UFOs and getting probed by aliens. Isn’t that silly?”

“Yeah,” Brady chuckled.

“You know, I’m glad I’m hanging out with you. You’re such a great person to be with,” Melanie grinned.

“Yeah. I’m glad that Theresa is out of my life forever. That would have been horrible if we actually did have a kid together. I don’t think there was any way our child could ever live a happy life. And if we did have one, it probably would have been better if we gave it up for adoption,” Brady remarked.

“I agree. I think that baby might have been left out in the car cooking to death or God knows what would’ve happened,” Melanie replied.

“I won’t blame him or her if years from now he or she decided to commit suicide or even get into drugs. I’ll bet that kid would inherit the worst parts of us. Maybe it would have even grown up to be an evil serial killer. Who knows? It’s better this way. Hopefully for Theresa’s sake she gets the help she desperately needs.”

“I agree. I feel kind of bad for her sometimes,” Melanie chimed. “I wonder what happened to her in her childhood to make her so screwed up.”

“Yeah, and to think she really thought she was pregnant. As mad at her as I still am, I can’t help but feel terrible that she went through that,” Brady said.

“Let’s not talk anymore about Theresa and let’s go have fun,” Melanie interjected and she and Brady continued playing.

Over an hour later, Brady and Melanie returned to the Kiriakis mansion as Maggie greeted them in the living room.

“Hello, you two. How was your date?”

“It was good, Grandma,” Melanie answered. “It was a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad,” Maggie beamed as Melanie kissed her and went upstairs.

She then went over to Brady with a concerned look on her face.

“I hope you’re taking my advice about taking it slow. I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be dating so soon after Theresa but at the same time I’m glad to see you happy.”

“Thanks, Maggie. I’m glad that you’re happy for me,” Brady said as he went up the stairs too. “Good night.”

Maggie then sighed and then went over to her chair to sit down and have a cup of tea.

Meanwhile, deep in the snow, the body of an old man was lying in the ground as a powerful blizzard pelted through the air. A cop on patrol just happened to be by the area and noticed a large mound sitting there. He then approached it and dug through the mound only to discover something shocking.

The cop then jumped in horror as he gawked at the sight of the bloody mess and picked up his walkie-talkie.

“#0-392, this is #0-588. I have just uncovered a corpse buried deep in the snow in Salem Park. Requesting back-up.”

Less than an hour later, a group of police cars swarmed the area as a dozen cops and CSIs corralled the crime scene and were now doing their investigation. Abe was dressed in a beanie cap, a black scarf, and a heavy black coat as he was shivering violently and he rubbed his black glove-covered hands together. He then turned around to see John, who was dressed in a black sweater, a black scarf, black gloves and some earmuffs.

“Hey, John,” Abe greeted his old friend as John approached him.

“So what’s the situation, Abe?”

“We got a dead body that’s got at least a couple of gunshot wounds to the chest. There’s blood spilled all over the body and there are a couple of spent shell casings too. And from the looks of it this man was shot at close range. And you are not going to believe who it is.”

“Who?” John cocked his eyebrow in confusion.

“The victim is none other than Clyde Weston,” Abe announced and John’s eyes widened in shock. “You kidding. Are you sure?”

“Affirmative,” Abe nodded as he glanced back at the medical examiner that was now looking over the body. “We better gather as much evidence as we can. Who knows how much has been compromised already. And we may have to notify the next of kin too while we’re at it.”

“So this is now a murder investigation. Who knows how many enemies this man had?” John retorted.

“That’s what we’re gonna find out. John, I’d like for you to notify any other relatives Mr. Weston had and break the news. Then try to find any friends or colleagues he may be associated with. Find whatever you can about this man and his life.”

“Sure thing, Abe,” John nodded.

Abe then shook his head. “Lord help us all. I fear that things are going to get worse before they get better.”

[sevenna92]

Okay! Onward to the next set of previews for next week!

NEXT WEEK ON "STOLEN LIVES, LOSS OF INNOCENCE":

Theresa has a heart-to-heart conversation with her grandmother.

Theresa and Natalie go out on a girls' night out at Mt. Olympus where Theresa sees a different side to Natalie.

Theresa learns a new power from an unexpected source.

Paul decides to open up to Natalie about his personal feelings.

Natalie decides to confront Chad about his big fight with Ben.

John breaks some tragic news to Jordan and Ben.

[heroicmuse]

I loved Melanie and Brady's date! People actually going out and doing something other than fighting or having sex. YAY! I'm also a sucker for the arcade...that's pretty much my dream first date, so I was totally caught up in this.

It's neat how you are able to weave current storylines into your story. I like the way you're having Clyde's death play out.

[sevenna92]

SCENE 7 – THE BRADY PUB, EARLY EVENING

“Grandma? Are you there? Grandma?” Theresa called out as she entered the Brady Pub. “Grandma?”

She then looked around the pub as she walked through the area, searching for her grandmother. Finally she entered the kitchen and was relieved to see her grandmother standing over the oven baking something.

“Hey, Grandma!” Theresa waved.

“Hello, Theresa,” Caroline greeted her young granddaughter as she turned around with a sweet smile. “It’s so nice of you to drop by.”

“Yeah,” Theresa sighed. “I figured I got nothing else to do really so I decided to come by for a visit just to see how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing all right, thank you for asking,” Caroline replied with a smile. “Although I can’t quite remember where I put the frosting though.”

“Oh, what are you making, Grandma?” Theresa asked curiously.

“I’m making a peach and mango pie,” Caroline answered.

“Pie? Grandma, I thought you were making a cake,” Theresa retorted confusedly.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Caroline replied sadly. “You know how I am with my old age and all.”

“It’s all right, Grandma. Don’t strain yourself. Perhaps I can get you some tea,” Theresa said as she went over to grab a kettle pot and filled it with water. She then dipped some chamomile tea bags in the kettle to give it flavor and waited several minutes for it to soak. She then took out the tea bags and then turned on the stove to heat up the pot.

After several minutes the tea whistled loudly and Theresa turned off the stove and lifted up the pot carefully. She then poured in the tea into two cups as she set down the pot. She then grabbed the cups and went over to the table where Caroline was sitting. She then handed one to Caroline and then sat down in the other chair across from her.

Theresa then sipped on her tea as she looked directly at Caroline.

Caroline then gazed over at her granddaughter worriedly. “Theresa, why the long face?”

“I’ve been having so many problems lately, Grandma. Everybody hates me. Brady wants nothing to do with me, I have such an awful, boring job, I can’t find a good looking man in town that isn’t blood related and I have almost no friends. I’ve been thinking over all of the horrible, terrible things I’ve done and now I’m wrecked with so much guilt, especially with what I did to John and Brady.”

“I really don’t know what I was really thinking. I thought that if I married Brady and I had all of his money to spend on, I would be really happy. But it just turned out to be worthless. Brady isn’t a real catch at all. He’s such an idiotic, stupid, immature jerk and I still can’t believe I got myself involved with him. I’m glad I’m not with him anymore. He can have Melanie for all I care!”

“I know things are tough right now, Theresa, but I’m sure eventually they’ll get better. If your conscience is weighing heavily on you, I suggest you go to a priest in St. Luke’s and confess what’s on your mind,” Caroline advised her softly.

“Grandma, I hadn’t stepped into a church in who knows how many years. I doubt that God wants to have anything to do with me. It’s not like I wanted anything to do with him. What did I ever do to deserve having my parents separated from the time I was born and for my dad to spend all of his time playing spy and saving the globe? How come he hardly stopped by to spend time with me?”

“And every time he did come over to visit us, all he and Mom ever did was say how awesome and great Andrew is and what a great baseball player he is and what a smart and brilliant kid he is.”

“What about me? I was very good in gymnastics and I basically got a bunch of gold and bronze medals. I was on the international dance team and we ranked 1st in almost every competition we entered. Even in high school I was on the basketball team and I was one of the best players they had.”

“But somehow Andrew was always more charismatic, more talented and more popular than I was. I was never one of the prettier girls. I was the ugly duckling and even when I was in elementary school I didn’t have that many friends. Every time we got into groups I always have to fight to get into one because no one wanted to pick me.”

“The only friends I ever had growing up were Stephanie, Joel, Skylar, Rhonda, Alyson and Sylvia. The kids in school would always call me a bunch of names like pale face, nerd, Miss Urkel, dork-face and bug-eyed wonder and they would constantly make fun of my name Jeannie. They even poked fun at the fact that my dad was never around and they even said that he must hate me that much to not want to be around.”

“Not only that, but they also made fun of me just because I had better grades than a lot of them. I used to have As and Bs and I even was on the honor roll. At one point I made the principal’s list. My mom always tried to tell me that they were just jealous and they don’t know how special I was, but I never felt special. They would used to pull horrible pranks on me like one time they put snakes in my locker.”

“Another time I got dumped in the toilet and when I took a shower I even had my hair changed to a light green. And then there were the awful notes and messages all over the school. I would find them on my locker, in my desks in class and even on the walls of the locker room and bathrooms.”

“They would write all of these horrible things about me, like how I would steal boyfriends and that I was a tramp and slept with all of the jocks in school. Some of them even said that I had AIDs and all kinds of diseases and I had like 20 abortions. I just couldn’t take it anymore and I decided that there was no point in proving them right.”

“That’s when I decided to go out with the seniors and those college-aged boys. I also started getting into fights and also into a lot of other trouble with the other girls and I started getting sent to the principal’s office a lot. I got suspended so many times that I got expelled for like a year. I almost got thrown out of the school to the point where I might have had to get a GED.”

“Every time my mom would get mad at me, she would always say to me ‘You’re just like Eve. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up just like your good for nothing sister!’ The look of disgust in her eyes still registers in my mind… it was almost like she couldn’t stand to see the sight of me.”

Theresa then shook in tremors as she lowered down her gaze and she started to sob quietly. She then hid her face with her hands so Caroline wouldn’t see her cry. Theresa then bit her lip as she tried her best not to wail and sniffle loudly.

“How could my parents say they love me but the other stuff they were so focused on were more important than me? How could my dad’s own job be more important than me? How could my mom possibly think that Andrew is so much better than me at pretty much everything? All of the girls like him so much and I remember when he was in high school he had a girl on his arm almost every week.”

“I wanted to be that confident, sexy, smart and beautiful. I wanted to be everything that Andrew was! I wanted guys to look at me just like girls looked at him! Was it because that Andrew was born into a real family and I wasn’t? He had parents that were together when he was born and loved him very much. I never even got to have that! By the time I was about three months old they have already split up! How could God ever love me when all I ever had was a miserable life!”

Theresa then collapsed on her face and wept as Caroline went over to her and hugged her. She cradled her gently and shushed her as Theresa kept on sobbing.

“I don’t know what to do, Grandma. I hate my life. I’m so sick and tired of the way I’m living. I’ve been having these strange and weird dreams lately and I don’t know what they mean. I thought I was going to have a baby with Brady and it turns out that I wasn’t pregnant at all. I never gave much thought to being a mother but now every time I see a baby or anything baby-oriented, I can’t help but cry and freak out! What is wrong with me?!”

“Maybe there’s a part of you that wants to be a mother,” Caroline said. “You know that there’s a lot of people that have never thought of being parents when they first become one but they end up good parents. I’m sure the same can happen for you. You need to make amends with the people you’ve hurt badly and also make things right with God. I can’t stand to see you like this, Jeannie. I want you to live a good and happy life. I want what’s best for you.”

“I know, Grandma, but I don’t think I can offer enough money to pay for John’s medical bills just from my job alone. Maybe it’s time I took other side jobs, but I wouldn’t know where to start,” Theresa sighed.

“Perhaps you can do some volunteer work for the church. That will do a lot of good for you. Perhaps look into the Internet or even at the newspaper,” Caroline suggested.

“Of course! The Internet! That might just work!” Theresa mused curiously as she pulled back from her grandmother. “Thanks, Grandma. It was good talking with you. You know, I don’t know if I told you, but I have a new friend now. Her name’s Natalie and I’d love to introduce you to her.”

“That’s really wonderful, Theresa,” Caroline smiled. “I’d love to see you make new friends.”

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I got to go and hit up Victor’s new club Mt. Olympus. I promised Natalie I’d take her to meet some new people. But if you don’t mind I’d love to take home some of that peach mango pie to give her for a snack.”

“Of course,” Caroline replied as her nose wrinkled and she noticed a thick aroma of black smoke lingering in the area. “Oh my goodness! My pie!”

She rushed over and grabbed a fire extinguisher and opened up the stove. Huge bursts of flames leaped out of it as Caroline tried desperately to put out the flames. After several minutes, the fires finally died out and Caroline pulled out the pie to see if it could be salvaged. Her face dropped with sadness as she saw that the entire thing was completely burnt.

“Oh dear,” she said. “I better be more attentive to my things. What a shame. Perhaps your dear friend would’ve loved this pie.”

“It’s okay, Grandma. If you want, perhaps I can come over next time and help you,” said Theresa.

“I would most certainly appreciate it, love,” Caroline smiled.

“Goodbye, Grandma,” Theresa remarked as she walked out of the kitchen and left the pub.

“Goodbye, Theresa,” Caroline said as she went over the sink and attempted to wash out the pie.

[sevenna92]

SCENE 8 – MT. OLYMPUS CLUB, EARLY EVENING

Some time later, the nightclub was bustling with energy as red and blue lights were flashing in the air and several people were slinking and dancing close to each other. Ben was serving some drinks to some of the patrons and watched everyone move to the beat of the music with sadness.

Nicole, Kate and Paul were sitting on the bar stools with their drinks in hand as they were staring blankly into space. Kate was glancing over at the phone looking at the texts she had been sending to Clyde.

Nicole then sipped a huge gulp of martini as she glared at her. “So what’s gotten into you, Kate?”

“I don’t know,” Kate sighed. “Clyde hasn’t answered me all evening and I’ve been calling him and texting him for the last hour.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s busy,” said Nicole. “He’s probably doing something job-related and I’m sure he’ll get back to you whenever he can.”

“I would hope so. He promised that he would take me dancing tonight,” Kate sighed.

She then looked back at Nicole curiously as she continued to observe her. “How about you? You don’t look like you have a date.”

“Daniel broke up with me a couple of hours ago,” she said. “I came here alone. Besides, Eric has a new girlfriend now.”

“What did he break up with you for?” Kate inquired.

“I thought I had something solid on Serena and I really thought that there was this flash drive that was going to give me proof that I needed. But then Serena accused me of breaking into her computer and stealing her data and then it turned out that Ted was a crazy nut that was in a group home. His social worker somehow showed up and spilled everything.”

“He escaped and came here and he claimed that he and Serena were research partners on this project that they’ve been working on for years and then Serena stole all of the work they’ve done from him and he didn’t get so much as a byline. His reputation was ruined and he was desperate to do anything to have dirt on Serena, so that’s why he came to me. Turns out that it was all a lie and he was stalking and obsessive over her for a while.”

“Wow, sounds like things have been pretty intense,” Kate whistled.

“Yeah. Now I want to drown my sorrows in this pink lemonade martini and just forget everything that happened in the past 24 hours,” Nicole sighed.

“Suit yourself, “ Kate shrugged as she consumed a single sip of red wine.

Just then, a couple of people started to enter the club. Will, Sonny, Jordan, Chad, Serena, Eric, Melanie, Brady, Natalie, Theresa, and Anne all got inside and gathered around in the middle of the dance floor.

“Wow, Uncle Victor’s club looks really nice,” Sonny commented as he and Will observed their surroundings. “No wonder it’s doing much better than Club TBD.”

“Would you like some refreshments, Serena?” Eric asked his love and Serena smiled. “Sure thing, Eric.”

Eric then walked over to the bar table to order a drink and Nicole caught sight of him from the corner of her eye. Her heart stopped as she glanced over to see him and she overheard Eric talking to Ben.

“I would like a mango peach vodka for Miss Mason, please,” Eric said and Ben nodded.

Nicole then quickly turned away and sucked in more of her martini, sulking over Eric being in the same room as her and basically ignoring her.

Sonny and Will then turned around to see Theresa and Natalie all dolled up for the evening. Theresa was wearing a red dress with a black jacket on and her hair was slightly picked up with little curls cascading down her shoulders. She also had on dark red lipstick, mascara and some eyeliner.

Natalie also had on some lip gloss, eye liner, and blush and half of her hair was picked up with the other half wrapped up in long, tight curls. She also wore a dark sapphire dress with her shoulders exposed and a golden necklace with a crescent moon shape design and golden earrings.

“You look pretty good,” Sonny remarked.

“Thank you,” Theresa smiled at Sonny and then looked over at Natalie.

“You look good too, Natalie,” said Will.

“Thanks,” Natalie replied softly.

“Hey there, Theresa!” a female voice hollered and Anne barged through the crowd and she hugged Theresa. She then gave Natalie a side-eye and then turned to her old friend.

“Hi, Anne,” Theresa grinned.

“Gee, I thought you’ve forgotten all about me already, seeing that you’ve been doing nothing but hanging around this other chick,” Anne retorted sardonically.

“No, how could I possibly have forgotten all about you?” Theresa laughed. “Natalie and I are just friends.”

“Well, anyway,” Anne scoffed with an eye roll. “Why don’t we try to pick up some guys from this dump and hook up with them?”

“You go ahead,” Theresa retorted. “I’ll just stay here and dance.”

“Okay, whatever, kiddo,” Anne shrugged as she walked away. “More drinks for me.”

But unbeknownst to the group, there was a dark shadow lurking within the walls at the club and his eyes turned towards Natalie and Theresa.

Chad and Jordan were now dancing and swaying to the music as Chad picked her up and spun her in the air. Jordan laughed as he put her down and she grinned.

“So are you happy now that I’ve decided to take you out dancing as my way of making it up to you?” Chad remarked crisply.

“Yeah,” Jordan replied.

“So you’re really over Rafe, right?” Chad inquired.

“Of course, Chad! I care deeply for you. I would never cheat on you with any guy. You are the one I love right now,” said Jordan.

“Okay,” Chad nodded. “I love you too, Jordan, and I hope you know that. What I did was a really rotten move and I don’t want to lose you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me since I first came back.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet, Chad,” Jordan grinned.

Natalie and Theresa were now starting to dance together too as the song “Lovers On The Sun” by David Guetta began to play. Theresa then swung her hips to and fro and grinned at Natalie as she spun around her. Natalie was also moving and swaying to the music and was trying to move her arms, but they came off rather limp.

“Here, let me help you,” Theresa said as she grabbed Natalie’s hands and began to move them. Natalie then moved her arms alongside Theresa’s and the two began to waltz around in time to the music. Natalie then peered right into Theresa’s eyes and smiled widely as the two were now slow dancing together.

Brady and Melanie were also dancing just a couple of feet from Natalie and Theresa when Brady glanced up in surprise to see them. Melanie then looked up at Brady and she too was astonished.

“What in the world? What is she doing?” Brady muttered in shock.

“Um… this looks awkward…” Melanie retorted abashedly.

“I honestly could’ve sworn that they were friends. They look pretty close to me,” Brady said curiously.

He then looked over at Theresa and as he continued to watch her dance with her new friend, his eyes narrowed darkly and he marched over to her.

Natalie’s mind started to wander off as she found herself lost in Theresa’s eyes. She imagined herself in a Japanese-stylized garden as she and Theresa were waltzing together, dressed in geisha clothes.

Natalie was holding Theresa in her arms as they continued to move and sway in a graceful, slow manner and they were now going around in circles. Natalie then laughed as she spun Theresa around and pulled her away, fanning her umbrella seductively. She then pulled Theresa back and shielded her with her umbrella from behind.

The two then begin to move around in separate circles for several minutes as they grabbed each other’s hands and then they came together again. Natalie then smiled warmly yet tenderly as she put her arms around Theresa and giggled. Theresa then smiled back and peered into her eyes. Natalie then blushed as the two women made eye contact and then she leaned closer to her face. But just as she was about to kiss her, she was roughly jolted out of her daydream when she saw Brady pulling Theresa away from her.

“Hey!” she yelled angrily.

“Brady, what is wrong with you?!” Theresa screamed as Brady pulled her in front of him, and several of the people started to stare at them, including Melanie.

“What is wrong with you? I thought you had a boyfriend that you were sleeping with! And now you’re hanging around this girl? Are you sleeping with her too?”

“What is your problem, Brady? She and I are just friends, that’s all! And I was trying to teach her how to dance,” Theresa scoffed with an eye roll.

“She’s your friend? If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re trying to manipulate her to do what she wants. A nice girl like her is bound to be vulnerable to people like you,” Brady retorted sternly.

“I don’t care. Natalie likes me and I like her and I’m not forcing her to do whatever she wants,” Theresa shot back viciously.

Natalie was listening in on this conversation and her eyes narrowed angrily.

The shadowy figure then growled angrily and his eyes narrowed too at the sight of Brady and Theresa. He then turned towards Natalie and his smile grew wider and bigger.

“I’m just looking out for her, that’s all,” Brady said. “As a concerned citizen.”

“Maybe you should leave me alone and don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. Let us be,” Theresa snarled.

“Fine, as long as you stop going after me and Melanie, I will. But if I find out you’re doing anything to Natalie, I’m gonna know and you’ll be sorry!”

Theresa then let out an angry yell as she stormed off towards the bar to get some drinks.

Natalie then sighed and she walked up to Brady furiously.

“You know what? Theresa’s right! Sure I know a lot of unpleasant things about her said in this town and I’m quite familiar with the gossip. But I know better than to judge the book by its cover. I rather get to know the person as they are with my own eyes instead of what people tell me. So if you don’t mind, I’d like for you to politely buzz off!”

Brady then rubbed his head nervously yet sheepishly as he cleared his throat. The partygoers then started to whisper amongst themselves as they were astounded by what they were witnessing.

“I’m sorry, Natalie. I was just trying to look out for you, that’s all. Theresa’s known as quite the troublemaker, you know.”

“I don’t care. If you don’t stop meddling with us, you’re going to hear more from me,” Natalie snapped as she stormed off.

Brady then shook his head sadly and walked over back to Melanie.

“What was that all about?” Melanie asked.

“Just trying to get a newcomer to see that Theresa Donovan is nothing but bad news. Apparently she won’t listen to reason. I just hate to see her get burned,” Brady answered pithily.

“I know, Brady. She seems so trusting and naïve. Kind of a shame though,” Melanie sighed sadly. She then looked over at Natalie, who was now sitting alone in the bar.

“But I wonder if she sees what I see too.”

“I’ll have a glass of strawberry vodka please,” Natalie declared to Ben as he disappeared into a corner to fetch her drink.

Natalie then sighed sadly and placed her chin on her hand.

“Mind if I cut in?” a male voice said and Natalie turned around to see Paul.

“Paul?” Natalie gasped.

“You seem like you needed a shoulder to lean on right about now,” Paul remarked empathetically.

“Yeah,” Natalie sighed, shaking her head wistfully. “What is up with that Brady guy? I thought he had a girlfriend and yet he had to go in and barge in on me and Theresa. What’s his deal?”

“I don’t know,” Paul shrugged. “People do very strange things. You were quite a spectacle back there.”

“Oh, sorry about that,” Natalie blushed. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay,” Paul laughed. “I think you and Theresa danced really well. I saw a lot of sparks flying between you.”

“You really think so?” Natalie retorted wistfully. “That’s kind of strange the way you put it. I just don’t see Theresa as the type to like girls. She seems to be more into men.”

“You never know,” Paul shrugged. “A lot of people struggle with their sexuality. Even though things have changed in recent times, a lot of people still are afraid to reveal their true selves. They are terrified of being shunned and cast out just because they love whom they love. And that’s still very true even now.”

“Wow… You sound like you speak from experience,” Natalie murmured.

“Yeah, I’ve been here, everything, and all around in between,” Paul remarked casually with a wave of his hand. He then grinned widely and let out his hand.

“I would hate to see the rest of your evening ruined, so if you don’t mind, maybe you’d like to dance with me?”

“Sure,” Natalie grinned as she took his hand. Just then Ben showed up with her drink and she grabbed it. Natalie then paid her tab to Ben and she and Paul walked away towards the dance floor. It was then that the music changed and the song “Dangerous” by David Guetta began to play.

Natalie then started to flail her arms around dramatically as she bounced and swayed around nimbly in front of Paul. Paul then grinned as he bounced his shoulders around and watched his female friend dance. Natalie then moved even closer to Paul and shook her shoulders as she began to laugh. Paul then grabbed her arm and spun her around to and fro.

Natalie then shook her head wildly and gave out a joyous shout. She then swung her hands around excitedly and continued to bounce around on her feet.

Paul then laughed as he slithered his arms alternately and bounced his head to and fro.

“You’re a really good dancer.”

“Thanks,” Natalie replied.

Will and Sonny then glanced over to watch Natalie and Paul dance and were astonished. Will’s eyes widened in amazement with a blank gaze and his mouth dropped. Sonny’s expression soon quickly changed as he became more forlorn and despondent. His lips pursued in a frown as he eyed Paul and started to remember all of the times they had together, the numerous travels they shared, the many nights spent in hotels, and the great lengths they went to hide their love from the outside world.

Will then let out a sad sigh and turned to see Sonny, also feeling sad and miserable. He recalled that night where he slept with Paul and the guilt he felt when he looked at his ring and remembered that he was married. His stomach tied into several knots at the thought of Sonny discovering his betrayal.

How could he ever look Sonny in the eye again after what he had done? How selfishly he must have behaved with Paul, risking everything he ever held dear and losing the only man he had ever truly loved.

Sonny then turned to Will and smiled. Yes it was true that he did love Paul, but even though he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, Paul didn’t want to risk being shunned and condemned by his family and losing his lucrative multi-million dollar career if his secret ever came out.

And as much as he loved Paul, he wasn’t gonna let the public shame of his sexual orientation deter him, and Paul had already made his choice. And now he was with his one true love Will and their precious daughter Arianna, and nothing, absolutely nothing would ever destroy what they shared and held dear.

Sonny then turned to look at Natalie and observed her. He noticed that distant, faraway look in her eyes and even though she seemed to be having fun, she seemed very anxious and tense around Paul.

And now with Brady and Theresa having had a very public spat and with Natalie standing up to Brady, he began to wonder if there was more to Natalie and Theresa than meets the eye. And if Theresa had any idea that her new friend may be harboring some feelings for her.

Just as the song was coming to a close, Natalie turned around to see if Theresa was still sitting in the bar and she noticed that she was gone. She then turned to Paul.

“It was really fun dancing and meeting with you Paul, but I think I better take off.”

“Okay, Natalie. But if you ever come to Club TBD, you know where to find me.”

Natalie then nodded and then rushed off towards the bathroom. She then approached the ladies’ room and opened the door. She then went inside and closed the door. As she walked through the bathroom, she noticed someone leaning over the sink, sobbing. Natalie was surprised to see that it was Theresa burying her face in the sink.

“Theresa?” Natalie whispered.

“Go away,” Theresa yelled.

“Theresa, what’s wrong? Is it what Brady said to you?” Natalie inquired with a frown.

Theresa then turned on the water and splashed some on her face. After shutting off the faucet, she turned over to face her, her mascara now running and her eye liner all smeared up.

“I hate this godforsaken town, everything about it. I hate everybody here, I hate my job, I hate how people treat me with such contempt, I hate how dissatisfied, depressed, angry and frustrated I feel. I hate how I basically have no one to love me and the one boyfriend I do have probably stays around only because I sleep with him and I provide him with party favors.”

“I hate the fact that somehow I still have feelings for this stupid idiot moron Brady even though he despises me with the passion of a thousand suns! I don’t know how I could possibly keep on loving that man if I can’t even stand him! I can’t stand living in this town anymore! I wish I can get out of here and move out of the country and move somewhere peaceful and beautiful where I won’t have to deal with so much scrutiny and judgment!”

She then grabbed a paper towel and dabbed it on her face to clean herself up. She then chucked it in the trashcan and turned back to face Natalie, sniffling.

“Maybe you can come with me to live out in Bermuda, Aruba, Jamaica or any one of those places. You can be my source of amusement where you can tell me funny jokes and discuss with me about politics and literature and all of that good stuff.”

Natalie then glanced down hesitantly for a few minutes as she pondered her thoughts. She then turned back to face Theresa.

“As much as I hate to leave my friends behind here, I’d love to come with you. I’ll go anywhere with you. Wherever you go, I’ll go,” she said.

Theresa then looked at Natalie with a pained and sorrowful look on her face. “I don’t deserve a friend like you. You’re such a good person to love someone as rotten and awful like me.”

“I don’t hate you, Theresa. I love you, more than life itself,” Natalie replied as she moved closer to her and held her hand. She then stroked her hair and Theresa flinched slightly, blushing. The two then looked directly into each other’s eyes as Natalie’s heart started pounding wildly in her chest and her throat tightened.

It was at that moment that she wished that she could just grab Theresa’s face and give her a big, passionate kiss. But then she remembered that Theresa was with Clint and she just couldn’t bear to put her friend in an awful situation. Besides that, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face the possibility of rejection.

“I’m sorry,” Natalie suddenly stammered as she pulled away from Theresa.

“It’s okay,” Theresa said with a smile. ‘Thanks for being there for me.”

“It’s no problem,” Natalie replied back with a toothy grin of her own.

“I’m going to go for a walk. You coming with?” Theresa inquired.

“No,” Natalie shook her head. “I need to make the lesson plans for tomorrow. Maybe another time.”

“Yeah,” Theresa nodded. “Besides, I need this time to clear my head.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Natalie said as she and Theresa left the bathroom

It was then that they left the club and were heading out towards Horton Town Square. But then they ran right into Clint!

“Hey, baby,” Clint growled in a seductive voice. “How was your night out?”

“Good,” Theresa answered as Natalie shrunk in fear, feeling rather disturbed and creeped out.

“Why didn’t you invite me to dance with you?” Clint demanded.

“I wanted to spend some time with Natalie, that’s all,” Theresa retorted.

“Is Natalie your girlfriend?” Clint snarled angrily as he got in her face. “Remember, baby, I’m your one and only. You don’t need to hang around anyone else to have a good time.”

“Listen, Clint, we’re just friends. There’s nothing going on between us,” Theresa insisted sternly. “And besides, just because we party together doesn’t mean that I can’t have my own friends.”

“All right then,” Clint retorted darkly. “Whatever you want, baby. But remember, you’re my girl, nobody else’s. Got that?”

“All right, honey. I’m going for a walk, all right? I’ll meet you later,” Theresa replied as she walked away from Clint and Natalie ran away in another direction.

Clint watched the two leave with a dark and sinister gleam in his eyes.

“I better keep an eye on that Callaway girl. I got a feeling she’s going to be quite a thorn on my side.”

[sevenna92]

SCENE 9 – HORTON TOWN SQUARE, EARLY EVENING

Meanwhile, as Theresa was walking through the dark and chilly night, she noticed that the temperature had dropped significantly and she was now freezing. She then rubbed her hands together and wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to keep herself warm. She then wandered further through the square as she noticed how empty and dark it was.

“So cold… so dark… so lonely…” Theresa muttered to herself, shivering. “I hate cold winters. Must think of something warm.”

She then experienced brief flashbacks of her snuggling close to Natalie while they were lying in bed together. Theresa then jumped back suddenly, startled.

“What in the world was that?” she whispered. “What is going on?”

She then experienced more visions of her holding Natalie in her arms, petting her hair, and even kissing her.

Theresa’s eyes widened in horror and her jaw dropped. “Oh my God… am I turning lesbian now? Why am I feeling this way? How… why could I be having these visions about Natalie… We’ve only been friends for a little more than a month. Why would this be happening now? Unless…”

She then shook her head. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. Sure there were a couple of cute girls at school but it’s I’m sure that was nothing more than a crush. Nothing of this nature. But what is it about Natalie that makes me go insane?”

“Hello there, child,” a smoky, velvety, feminine voice cooed softly from a distance and Theresa turned around to see who it was. She was surprised to see a tall, striking and stocky masculine-looking woman wearing a long, overflowing, wavy dark wig and a long, angular, emaciated face with heavy eye shadow, eye liner and some white powder. She was also wearing a light beige dress, golden earrings and also a red bandanna around her head.

“Who are you?” Theresa demanded.

“Call me Madame Serenity,” the strange woman answered.

“Um, are you some sort of gypsy?” Theresa retorted in confusion.

“Yes, I am a gypsy. But I am also a fortune teller and a witch. I deal with magical spells and magical incantations and all other kinds of magic. I can even see your future.”

“Huh. How interesting,” Theresa mused. “Okay, I’ll bite. I’ll go with you into your little commune and I’ll start exploring some of your weird magical stuff.”

“Excellent,” Madame Serenity grinned and she led Theresa into her tent.

It was then that Theresa got inside the tent and went over to a small table. She took a seat and waited until Madame Serenity showed up. The middle-aged gypsy woman then took a seat in front of Theresa and sat down in front of her. She then took out a deck of cards and then placed it on the table. She then collected four cards in one hand and threw them down, one by one. One card had an image of a newborn child. Another one had an image of a broken heart. Another one had an image of a red rose. Another one had an image of a knife with some blood on it.

“What does all of this mean?” Theresa inquired.

Madame Serenity then started to shuffle the cards together and then placed down the first card.

“I see that you have been having strange dreams lately, no?”

“Yeah,” Theresa nodded. “Can you tell me? I don’t understand what they really mean.”

“You recently went through a pregnancy scare, did you not?” the gypsy woman said.

“Yeah,” Theresa answered.

“Your dreams all have but one theme. Your life is about to change in a major way. There will soon be a child that will arrive in your life when you least expect it. You will get at least another chance to be a mother to replace the one you’ve lost. You will be reborn as a new person through motherhood. The love of a child is so powerful and it is empowering for a woman to reach into her nurturing side and rear up a helpless creature that is totally dependent on her. But there will be some serious obstacles along the way.”

She showed her the card with the bloody knife.

“Beware the man that sleeps in your bed. He may seem to you like he has your best interests in heart but you must keep in mind that he is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He will only lead to your doom. I sense he works for demonic forces.”

Theresa then covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. She then cleared her throat and folded her hands.

Madame Serenity then showed Theresa two more cards, one of the broken heart and the other of a red rose.

“This hand I am showing to my left represents the sadness that is weighing down your soul. You have feelings for a man that has no regard for you and has clearly moved on to a new love. I don’t believe there is any way you can ever win him back.”

“Really? Not even with some creepy voodoo magic?” Theresa retorted.

The gypsy woman shook her head sadly. She then showed Theresa the last card that was in her right hand. “Despite of the confusion, anger and sadness you must feel, you may have another chance at love. There’s someone very close to you that is very attached to you and has developed a real fondness for you. Perhaps she can help you forget your other love and you would finally be able to move on from the pain of that disastrous relationship. I think it would be wise to let that love in so you may finally find some lasting happiness.”

“Look, lady, I may be many things but a cheater I am not. I am not just going to have an affair behind my boyfriend’s back just because you think he might be bad news. I really don’t care what you think. I think Clint is a lot of fun and he’s very exciting. He’s so much better than Brady right now.”

“Very well then, your loss,” Madame Serenity shrugged. “But at least let me give you one last parting gift.”

“Okay,” Theresa shrugged. “Let her rip.”

Madame Serenity then placed a glowing dark purple crystal onto the table and gestured towards it. Theresa then gazed intently at the crystal for several minutes, fearful yet curious. Finally she decided that she might as well explore it to see if it did anything. The young redhead woman then slowly reached out her hand towards the crystal and gently wrapped her fingers around the rough, coarse surface.

Just then the crystal let out a huge burst of energy and Theresa screamed as she was engulfed in a huge burst of purple light. For several minutes her shrieks filled the air and she felt she was blasted and jolted with an overpowering force that totally and utterly consumed her.

Her body convulsed and seized violently as she grabbed onto the crystal tightly and she felt like she was about to be knocked away by this unstoppable force. The gypsy woman then smiled in satisfaction as she watched the spectacle unfold before her eyes.

Finally the energy dissipated and Theresa bent down over the table gasping and breathing heavily in exhaustion. She then shook herself and slowly got up, feeling a bit wobbly and weak in the knees.

“It’ll take some time for your body to absorb the energy in its entirety. You will be feeling the full effects of your abilities in no time,” Madame Serenity remarked crisply as Theresa turned to look at her, holding the table to steady herself.

“Thanks, lady. It was fun hanging out with you and your weird, creepy black magic, but I got to run back home. My roommate must be worried about me.”

“No problem, my dear. Come back anytime,” Madame Serenity replied with a sweet smile.

Theresa then walked out of the tent and walked through Horton Town Square on her way back to her apartment. When she turned back to see if the tent was still there, she was shocked to see that it was not completely gone.

“Whoa… was that all a dream?” Theresa muttered as she shook her head. “I must have had too much to drink. Maybe this was all some drunken hallucination. Yeah. That must be it. I drank too much and maybe one of the drinks I’ve had gave me a weird side effect. That’s it.”

She then exhaled heavily and kept on walking as the cold, bitter winds blew through the air.

Sometime later after midnight, Theresa entered Natalie’s room and noticed that it was dark and that Natalie was sleeping soundly. She smiled as she let out a yawn and walked over to the bed. She then crawled in as she cuddled close to Natalie and wrapped her arms around her belly. Theresa then smiled tenderly and nuzzled her friend. Somehow she could still hear her heart beating in the air and she felt the electromagnetic pulse charging in the air.

The young redhead woman then glanced over at Natalie, brushing her hair.

“Good night, darling.”

She then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

[heroicmuse]

Ooh I love the confrontation between Brady and the girls, and Theresa's growing attraction to Natalie.

Was the gypsy Serena in disguise? Perhaps that's her big secret?

[sevenna92]

LOL! That would be hilarious if the gypsy was Serena, but no... I don't think it's her. But that would be one heck of a secret though! Maybe the crystal was from Africa? *Wink* *Wink*

So what did you think of the last couple of chapters so far? Who are your faves so far?

[heroicmuse]

Theresa and Natalie of course Nicole and Kate were an unexpected, potentially interesting pairing too. Loved Sonny and Will's reactions to Paul dancing with Natalie.

[sevenna92]

SCENE 10 – CLUB TBD, THE NEXT DAY

Natalie then stepped inside Club TBD as the dull rays of sunlight got blocked off by the swinging doors. The young dark-haired woman then walked over to the bar and saw that Paul was sitting there by himself.

She then approached the raven-haired Japanese man and sat down next to him. Natalie then noticed that Paul was staring at his coffee in a reverie.

“Hey, Paul,” Natalie squeaked softly as Paul jumped and spun over to meet her gaze.

“Hey, Natalie,” he replied with a smile. “How are you?”

“Good,” Natalie grinned. “I slept very well last night.”

“Good,” Paul grunted and he turned back to his coffee.

Natalie then frowned wistfully and chewed her lip as she looked up at the menu plastered on the wall. She stared at it for several minutes, trying to figure out what she felt like having at the moment.

Paul then took a sip of his coffee and looked over at his new female friend.

“So how was everything last night with Theresa?”

“It was actually pretty good,” Natalie answered as T walked over to her and she turned to him. “I’d like a chocolate milk and two chocolate crossaints please.”

“Coming right up, my lovely lady,” T grinned as he rounded the corner.

Natalie then exhaled heavily as she turned her attention back to Paul.

“You know you’re going to get diabetes one day if you keep this up,” Paul chuckled half-teasingly, half-seriously.

“I know,” Natalie laughed. “I’m trying to limit my sugar intake as much as I can. Besides, chocolate really isn’t good for my digestion as it is. Anyways, I’m sorry I left you in the lurch last night. I was worried about Theresa and she seemed rather distraught when I found her in the bathroom. She talked about running away with me and I told her that I would follow her whether she went.”

She then lowered her gaze nervously as she fidgeted with her glasses and she whipped her head to the side. She then wrung her hands while in deep thought.

“It’s really weird because… I know how much of a mean, spiteful person she can be. She can be horribly cruel at times and she really likes to act like she’s so tough and street smart. She can be so cold and heartless whenever she starts throwing sarcastic comments around like they mean nothing.”

“But when I look into her eyes, I see a different person. I see a woman that puts up a tough front just to convince people that she’s so brave and fearless and she doesn’t really care yet the person I see in front of me is a scared and vulnerable little girl. As vicious and cruel as she tends to be, I can’t help but be drawn to her. I don’t know why. Maybe there’s a part of me that wants to save her. Or maybe it’s the excitement and thrill being with such a dark and seductive woman that emboldens me. What I find funny is that she acts like such a blowhard around other people but she is a totally different person around me. I sometimes wonder what attracts her to me but maybe she just likes someone that doesn’t judge her.”

“What an interesting analysis, Natalie. Maybe you should consider becoming a psychiatrist,” Paul remarked.

“I don’t know. It might take a while and besides I’m not sure if I’m up for yet another four years of college,” Natalie frowned.

“Well, you can always do what you set your mind to. You’re a very smart woman and I think you can achieve anything you’d like to,” Paul assured her confidentially.

“Thanks Paul,” Natalie smiled. “Anyways, you said that you wanted to talk to me about some stuff. Is there anything you like to discuss with me?”

“Well, yeah,” Paul mused, pursuing his lips. He then looked around and leaned towards Natalie. “Okay, I’m going to tell you a secret but it doesn’t leave this club.”

“Okay, my lips are sealed,” Natalie promised.

“Okay,” Paul sighed as he took a deep breath. After a few minutes he decided to reveal his darkest secret. “Natalie, I’m gay.”

Natalie’s eyes popped in surprise. “Wow, really? I never would guessed.”

“I’ve been keeping this a secret for a long time,” Paul explained. “I haven’t even told my grandfather or my mother yet. I’m worried that if I tell them that they are not going to approve. Where I come from, people tend to look down on that sort of thing, so for years I’ve been living on the down low. But then I met a guy named Sonny Kiriakis. It was among the happiest years of my life.”

“I felt like I found someone I was able to connect with on a special level and that person accepted me and loved me unconditionally. Sonny was a really great person and at one point we were going to get married. But I just couldn’t bear to face the shame and humiliation that would result if I came out.”

“At that point I was a rising baseball star and if everybody knew I was gay, my life and career would be ruined and I would have destroyed my family’s honor. I couldn’t live with that and in the end I lost Sonny. I have never forgiven myself for letting him get away and I’ve never found anyone else ever since. That’s actually why I did a magazine interview with a guy named Will Horton. I want my family and my fans to know the real me.”

“Paul, I’m so sorry,” Natalie replied sympathetically. “I really am. I actually do know somewhat how you feel. I’ve never been that much interested in boys and I always felt more comfortable around girls. I always found them more attractive and appealing anyway and even in high school I never went out much.”

“It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve started to wonder if I’m gay too. And now that I’m falling for my new best friend Theresa… I’m not sure how to tell my family about my new feelings. I’m also afraid that they’ll be bitterly disappointed and I never want to hurt them.”

“Natalie, it’s okay,” Paul remarked gently. “I know how you feel. I’m scared too, but I also think you’re really brave for telling someone you barely know how you feel. And that inspires me in a way to come out to my own mother. But I know for a fact that your family loves you dearly and they will understand. It won’t be easy, but they’ll come around.”

“Thanks, Paul,” Natalie smiled. “I feel a lot better now.”

“No problem,” Paul grinned as Natalie was served her breakfast. Natalie picked up one crossaint with a napkin and offered one to Paul.

“Want one?”

“Sure,” Paul answered and he accepted it. After he took a bite and swallowed, he then spoke again.

“And for the record, I think you should tell Theresa how you feel. She needs to know how much you love and care for her. I think it’s going to do her a lot of good to have someone in her corner. Maybe that could turn her around for the better.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Natalie mused. “And maybe I’ll go back to college and get my psychiatry degree too. I’ll just see where my relationship with Theresa takes me. When I go up to Jersey for my sister’s wedding in the fall, that’s when I’ll tell them the truth.”

“That’s the spirit!” Paul cheered.

“Yeah,” Natalie laughed. “You’re a really good friend, Paul. Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Paul grinned and the two shared a chuckle as they began to drink their beverages and eat their crossaints.