Finding Fae

I woke up to birds. Loud ones that sounded far too cheery for it being morning. I wanted to strangle everyone of their tiny, little, feathery necks. I grumbled and rolled over, putting my pillow over my head and sinking farther into the soft mattress as I pulled the thick comforter closer.

Wait a minute...

I sat up with a gasp. I slept on a cot, not a mattress. It was hard as a rock, not comfy. And I had an ancient wool blanket that smelled slightly of cheese for some reason. I certainly didn’t have soft pink and lavender walls in my room. I needed to be back home hours ago! There was no way Dad didn’t notice I was gone by now and I was totally screwed.

“No no no no,” I whispered furiously as I threw back the comfy quilt and shot out of the bed, then the door, faster than an arrow.

I charged out of the room so fast, I hit the wall in front of me before turning down the hallway. I was in Ben’s house. Why was I in Ben’s house and not at mine?! Dad’s going to kill me!

“Fae’s up!” I heard Nando shout followed by the sound of running feet and a sleepy curse as I was headed off at the front door.

“Whoa there, Pixie,” Blaine said as I bounced off him and hit his brothers chest. “Where are you going?”

“My dad’s gonna kill me!” I shouted.

“One of us will drive you back, but I don’t think running off in a tee and your undies is the best of ideas when it’s twenty degrees outside,” Ben yawned, rubbing his eyes.

I looked down and squealed, slapping my hands to the bottom of the shirt I was wearing and trying to pull it down farther. It covered the goods, but only just barely.

“Why am I naked?!” I shouted. “And where are my clothes?”

“You aren’t naked,” Zane rolled his eyes as Nando handed me a small blanket. “What do you remember about last night?”

“Huh?” I asked, dumbly.

“You heard the man, Pix,” Ben yawned. “Out with it so we know where to start and what to tell you.”

“What do you mean “what to tell me”? You better tell me everything, you crotch hunting fiend!” I snapped then covered my mouth, eyes wide. “Oh my God! I’m sorry, Ben.”

“You’re not wrong there,” Blaine laughed.

“No worries, Pix,” Ben smiled and, I swear to God, he looked like a fox. Not just “fox like grin”, not. He had fur on his face and EARS! What in the world was going on?!

“Way to go, stupid,” Blaine sucked his teeth at Ben when I took a few small steps away from him.

“Fae,” Zane said I looked over my shoulder at him. “What do you remember about last night?”

“It was fun,” I said and knitted my brows together as I tried to focus on the funny feeling I had. “I sort o felt a little funny. You guys were going to take me home because the drinks were laced with something. Victoria happened and... I can’t swim,”

“Yeah, we found that out when you didn’t surface,” Ben said and they all hung their heads like scolded children.

“What happened while I was in the water?” I asked, holding the blanket tighter around myself.

“It was so fast,” Nando whispered.

“Victoria is an evil harpy, but I never thought she would do something like that,” Blaine shook his head.

“We froze, Fae,” Zane said, looking at his feet. “We’ve known these people most of our lives and none of us thought she would go so far. It shocked the holy stars out of us and we froze. By the time it hit me that you weren’t coming up, it was too late. Someone got there before I could even move.”

“Malachi,” I whispered and they all shifted a little and Zane nodded once.

“After, in the truck,” I said and they all turned into iron rods, they were so stiff. “What was that? Did I hear you right or was that because of whatever drug or another I was on?”

“Elixir isn’t a drug. Not really,” Nando said. “In the Unawakened, it can have some side effects, but not like that.”

“Unawakened?” I shook my head. “What is going on here? Straight to the point, because I’m going to be dead when I get home, so I want truth.”

They all shared a look and Zane shook his head.

“You aren’t human,” Blaine said.

“Enough, Blaine,” Zane said, looking like he wanted to hurt his brother.

“She needs to know,” Ben said.

“Know what?” I exclaimed. “Not human? What in the world are you talking about?”

“Well, not entirely human, at least,” Nando said.

“So, what? I’m some sort of alien or something?” I scoffed.

“Don’t be silly. Aliens don’t exist,” Ben rolled his eyes.

“We don’t know, exactly, but you’re at least part fae,” Blaine said.

“Stop it,” Zane warned.

I looked from one of them to the other and they all looked sincere. I’d only known them a week, but I could tell when they were being jokers and when they were serious. This was them being serious. Nervous and awkward, but serious. It didn’t make any sense. Aside from my name, there was no such thing as fae. They were just stories and myths. Folktales.

“This is insane,” I rubbed my forehead. “Whatever that drug was, it sure did a number on you guys. Take me home. Where are my clothes?”

Ben got my clothes from the dryer. Apparently, I threw my whole bag into the bathtub when I was brought up. Sleepwalking, I guess. I’d never been drunk, or drugged, before so I just shrugged it off and I got dressed. Then, we all piled into Zane’s truck and they took me to my end. The ride was all about tension and awkward silence, aside from the directions I gave on occasion.

Zane drove while Nando sat up front, leaving me squeezed between Ben and Blaine in the backseat. I was still a little freaked out about seeing Ben with fox ears and reddish orange fur on his face, but he was just Ben. It was hallucinations. Drugs cause those sometimes.

I was busy rationalizing things that I didn’t notice when the truck stopped. Blaine nudged me with his elbow and I looked up in time to see Dad walk out of the house. He didn’t do anything. He just stood in front of the door, arms crossed and feet planted apart, but I could see in his face that he was very much angry with me. I’d never seen him so mad before. Not even that time I broke the rule about kissing.

I shuddered and Blaine opened his door and got out, offering me a hand to scoot across the seat. Zane cut the engine and I groaned.

“You’ll only make things worse,” I said softly and Ben scoffed.

“Like we’re going anywhere,” he said, putting a hand on the small of my back and giving me a small push forward. Towards my fuming father.

“You boys can leave now,” Dad said as I shuffled closer and he stepped aside to let me in.

“We need to talk, Mr. Young,” Blaine said. “Something happened.”

“What happened was you four clowns put it in my daughter’s head to sneak out,” Dad cut and turned to follow me inside.

“What happened was a Call,” snapped Ben.

“WHAT?!” Dad bellowed as he flipped around so fast, I thought he broke something.

His face was so red, it was almost purple and his eyes were bulging out of his head.

“Sweet stars,” Zane exclaimed as all four guys went into defense mode. “He’s a Demi!”

“Nando! Charm him or something!” Blaine yelled as my dad ran at the guys, yelling like a maniac.

“I can’t charm a freaking Demi, idiots!,” Nando said as he ran.

“Dad! Stop it!” I yelled as he tackled Ben.

Everyone froze and looked at me. I was curious, but considering Dad was currently choking Ben, who was turning red as he tried to claw Dad’s hand off his throat, I wasn’t about to ask questions yet.

“Let him go before you kill him,” I said, running to Ben and pulling Dad’s hand off his throat.

He sucked in air desperately as I pulled on the back of his shirt to get him away from my dad, who was looking confused and emotional. He never got emotional, unless he talked about my mother, which was never. I still caught him sometimes, looking at an old photo he kept in his wallet when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.

“You have to tell her,” Blaine said and the look of defeat on my fathers face crushed me. “This is only going to get worse if she doesn’t know. Tell her.”

“Tell me what?” I whispered. When he didn’t answer, I licked my lips and spoke louder. “Tell me what? Dad?”

“I’m not your real father,” he said, sitting back in the dirt and pulling his legs up so he could put his forehead on his knees.