Happy, happy, happy!

I got my first comment!

This is the first time I have EVER put my writing out there for people to read, and it's terrifying for me. I see that people are looking at the page, but that doesn't mean those people are actually reading it. So to find out that someone not only read it, but commented as well was incredible for me. And it was a good comment, too!!

It gave me a rush just to get the e-mail telling me there was a comment, because it meant that someone had read it. Someone had read something I wrote... and they liked it.

It may seem like I'm totally over-reacting to one little comment that was barely a sentence long, but it's a big thing for me. Thank-you to that person for giving me such a confidence boost! And thank-you to whoever - if anyone - who reads my posts! Hopefully they will lead to more in the future!

Thank-you so much!

Robin Prompt #2

"I didn't say you had to eat salad," Damon said with a roll of his eyes. "I haven't seen you eat anything proper in days."

"I've been busy."

"Would it make you feel better if the others came, too?" He obviously didn't want to ask that. He looked down, shoved his hands in his pockets and said the words like he knew that she was saying no because it would be just the two of them. Robin felt bad, but she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Yes, she liked him. Yes, he knew that. But she just... couldn't.

"I just don't want to go, Damon," she said. She looked up from her hands just in time to catch his eye. One corner of his lips perked up into a half smile, causing her eyes to dart to the movement. He was very good looking, and she did like him a lot. Would it be so bad if they went for one meal? It's not as if it was a date. They were just two friends going for dinner. Her glasses would remain glued to her face like they always did and she would eat some proper food for the first time in a week. "I'll go get my jacket," she said. His small smile stretched into a grin. Yeah... this wasn't a good idea.

Damon drove. They chatted a little on the way and she laughed when he got annoyed at some old guy going at half the speed limit. She found she was so comfortable around him, which was strange for her. She was used to avoiding most guys when she was sober. When she was drunk it was a different story. Sober she was fully aware of the risks - of what could happen if she caught their eye for even the smallest second without the protection of her glasses. After that, she would never know if their feelings were real, or just a side effect of her power.

He pulled up outside a restaurant that sat just on the edge of town. Robin got out and looked around at the deserted car park. There were two cars in it which she found odd. This place was usually busy all the time. "You okay?" Damon asked. Robin hesitated and scanned the area some more. She was being silly and paranoid, but something felt off.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled and went around the car to stand next to him.

"There's no point lying to me."

"It's nothing, I'm just overthinking things." She started walking towards the building and he followed a second later, catching up easily.

Once they were seated at a table Robin started to relax. There was a family across the other side of the room that were being loud but not annoyingly so, and an older couple by the window. There was nothing weird or God-like hiding in the corners. She took off her jacket, crossed on leg over the other and leaned forward on the table. "What's it like being able to sense everyone's emotions? How does it work?"

"It's... intense. Especially if there's a crowd of people all experiencing different things. You know what it's like to be flooded with different emotions? It's like that but all the time. I can feel everything that everyone in this room is feeling. I can tune it out, but it's still there. And on top of that I have my own emotions, too." Damon looked down at the table for a second. "Sometimes it can be a good thing - most of the time it's a good thing." She was about to ask when it could be a bad thing, but he got a question in first: "What about yours?"

"Mine is never a good thing," she smiled. "I play with the chemicals in your brain. When someone looks into my eyes... I don't know. Maybe they send signals across? I'm not sure why it's my eyes. But I know that I manipulate people's brains into thinking that they're in love with me. What they're feeling is real but... it's not, you know? And it's not just puppy love, it's full on I'd-die-for-you love."

"And the glasses stop it?"

"Anything stops it. If I looked at you through a window, in a mirror..." Robin paused and ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't look at him. She just couldn't. Talking about it made her realise how horrible it was. She could never properly look at him. What if she misjudged? What if she looked at him thinking he'd be okay and he was affected? "The feelings never really go away," she said out loud. "There'll always be something left over. I had a boyfriend once and I accidentally caught his eye and even though it was just for a second... The next day he told me he loved me. Although he was positive that it wasn't because of what happened, I couldn't trust what he was feeling. I would never know if what he was feeling was real or because of what I had done to him."

"Are we ready to order?" The waiter came out of nowhere. Robin sat up properly and realised she hadn't even glanced at the menu. She ordered something she remembered having before, too distracted by the conversation to think about it.

"You trust that Richard's feeling are real, and Sam, Piper, Kyle. What makes them different?"

"They're family. It took me a long time to trust them, especially Sam and Piper."

"You can't live in constant fear that you might accidentally look at someone."

"I don't... just that I might look at someone I like, because then the whole relationship would just go to shit." He didn't say anything in reply. After a second she forced herself to smile. "Anyway, change the subject. How do you and Lloyd know each other?"

So they talked about how he ended up being here with them, where Robin has travelled, where she liked the most, her family in Spain, his family further north. They talked about loads of different things and avoided going back to the topic of the first conversation. They finished dinner and desert and sat with half finished drinks for ages.

Just as Robin was about to suggest that they should get back, she adjusted her legs and ended up brushing her foot against his leg. Her heart gave a flutter - partly from fright and embarrassment and partly because... it was Damon. She looked down to hide a blush and pulled both her feet underneath her chair. "Maybe we should get back," Damon said. When she looked up he had a little smile on his face. She hated that he knew what she was feeling. There was no way she could hide or deny it. So she figured why even bother to try? She sat up properly again and didn't let that smile get to her.

"Fine." She turned find the waiter and gave him her sweetest smile. He was at her side faster than Tyler teleporting. "Can we have the bill please?" She asked. He nodded and scurried off again.

"No need to torture the poor guy."

"What? I'm just getting the bill." Damon raised an eyebrow at her but she just smiled. The waiter came back with the bill which Damon took. "I'll pay my half."

"No, I got it."

"Damon, let me pay for me." She held out her hand but he ignored her. "Damon," she complained, "if you pay for both of us it makes this feel like more of a date than it already does."

Damon's eyes lifted to look at her. "I'm paying. You're not complaining. And it's not a date." Robin huffed and sat back in her seat. "I'm much more charming and funny on dates." That made her smile. She grudgingly let him pay the bill and they both stood to leave. Robin was halfway through putting her jacket on when she heard the waiter coming over and turned to see what he wanted.

"I have a message for you?"

"A what? From who?"

"Robin..." The way Damon said her name brought back the feelings she had when they first got here. Something was off, and she might have been ignoring the feelings through dinner - even forgotten them - but she felt them in full force now.

Robin turned to answer Damon and that's when she felt the knife sink into her side. She gasped and her hands flew to feel the knife that was sticking out of her. "I was told that you've experienced this before, and was told to tell you that it's just a reminder of how weak you are, and a small taster of what's to come." Then the guy collapsed.

Damon was already at her side, his phone to his ear as he helped Robin sit down on the ground. "Richard, get Tyler. Robin's hurt. Yeah, we're still here. No, some waiter stabbed her, I think he was in some trance or something. He just passed out afterwards." Robin focused on breathing through the pain. It was more or less in the same place as last time, and although she remembered it being painful, she had forgotten just how painful. "Hey, hang in there, babe. You're okay," Damon said to her after hanging up and helped her get comfortable.

"Nobody's ever called me 'babe' before," she said. She tried to smile, but ended up wincing.

"Good," he smiled.

"Damon?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for dinner."

"Anytime." This time she didn't have to fight to stay upright. She didn't have to keep herself awake to save anyone. This time, Robin blacked out quickly and it wasn't Piper who's arms she was in, it was Damon's.

Robin Prompt #1

The so-called 'God' smirked. Despite the creature having Piper's lovely face, there was nothing beautiful about the smile. She twisted Piper's face into something gruesome - something of nightmares. She clearly didn't appreciate the way Robin spoke to her... him? It? She didn't even know what it was. It certainly wasn't a God.

"Your attitude towards me will change when my brothers and sisters arrive. Soon, you will be begging to stand by our side."

"I seriously doubt that." Robin had to get out of there. She could feel the blood pouring from the stab wound in her side and if she didn't get to Richard soon she was going to pass out. Her vision was already starting to go a little funny and her words seemed to be coming slower than she meant them to. But she didn't want to leave Piper. "That body surely won't be able to hold you long?"

"No, it won't. I can feel it weakening already." The creature stretched and wiggled as if it was trying to get comfortable. Like when you get new jeans and have to fiddle about to get them in a good position. Robin didn't like that the creature was trying to fit into Piper's skin at all. She had to somehow convince her to find a different body.

"Why don't you use another? Find one more suitable?"

"Yes, I will soon. I don't really want to be in this one when it- wait... why?"

"What?"

"Why do you care about who's body I use? Do you care for this girl? You do, don't you? That's why you want me out of it. Maybe I should stay and wait until she can no longer hold me." Piper's face smiled at her again. "I can see you are weakening too. I could take out both of you so easily."

"What would be the fun in that?" Robin laughed but stopped with a wince when it hurt her side. She couldn't stand any longer. She dropped to the ground with a soft thump and was worried she would pass out when all she could see was black. But slowly colours and blurred things came back to her, and when she could see she realised that the creature was looking at her with what seemed to be curiosity.

"Why don't you leave?"

"I want my... my friend back," Robin slurred. Her thoughts were getting slower. She was struggling to make sense of what was going on.

"I like you. You're not giving up on your friend - that shows loyalty. I'll make a deal with you: your life for hers. I'll just jump across into your body and let your friend go free. She'll be safe and I'll heal you and you'll be all better."

"My friends would kill you."

"Not if I was you."

"That won't stop them. They're not stupid. They'd do the right thing." Robin wasn't sure if what she was saying was true, but she wasn't about to make a deal without negotiating. Even if she was bleeding out and probably dying, she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Besides, Piper would kill her if Robin accepted those terms.

"Then tell me, what are you willing to give to save your friend?" Robin watched as Piper's blurry figure began pacing in front of her. She hated having to kneel in front of it, but she couldn't even think about standing back up.

"Your life. If you leave her now, I'll make sure you aren't killed when my friends and I come to find you. I'll make sure they send you back to your own world. Even better, you can go back yourself and we won't come looking for you."

The creature laughed. Robin wanted to cover her ears but couldn't lift her hands. It wasn't Piper's laugh. It was high pitched and more resembled a cackle than a laugh. It was forced, though. Something was wrong. "You think you... you think you scare me?" She struggled to say the words and finished with a coughing fit. It seemed as if she was trying to bring up a lung and Robin winced for Piper. She really hoped she wasn't feeling any of this.

"I think that this body is starting to shut down because of you and that you're going to have to leave soon anyway. My friend isn't anything special. She's not like us. Just let her go and you can go." The creature looked at her, considered her words. "Do we have a deal? You leave her alive, and you can go home."

"No," the creature snarled. It bent down in front of Robin and held her face in it's hands. They were as cold as ice and Robin flinched away from them. "We do not have a deal. I'm leaving this body, but I will find a way to bring my brothers and sisters into this world. Your threats mean nothing, because together it will be child's play for us to take over your pathetic little world." It turned away and coughed a little bit more. Robin sank a little bit lower to the floor while it's attention was elsewhere. She was going to collapse soon. "Be warned, girl: your threats and your friends don't scare me."

Then the creature tilted its head up and from its mouth danced wisps of smoke like from a candle that has just been blown out. It was blue and seemed to shine when the light caught it, as if it wasn't really smoke at all but a solid thing. It drifted away into the air and out of sight and Robin wondered where the creature would find a body suitable to hold it. She was didn't know if she had done the right thing, but it was too late now. The 'God' was gone.

Piper fell on her ass and, after a moment of pulling herself together, looked to Robin. "Not anything special, huh?"

"Oh shut up. You know I love... love..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Her body finally gave out, and the last thing she remembered was Piper catching her as fell to the side.

Alice Prompt #1

Dean glared at her but dropped his hands. "It wasn't my fault."

He raised his hands again and made a few sure movements that Alice could only just pick up. She was new at the sign language thing and sometimes missed something or forgot what one of his signs meant. Dean also had a habit of doing it too fast and forgetting who he was talking to.

"He did it for you, though," he signed to her.

"I didn't ask him to." Alice turned away from him and opened the boot of her brothers car. "He was showing off. That doesn't make it my fault or any of my business."

Dean turned her back to face him and raised an eyebrow. "It does," he mouthed.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm not allowed to talk to him. I'm not allowed to be anywhere near him unless we're in school. My dad is my Alpha, Dean. I have to do what he says."

"You're here with me, aren't you?"

"Yes, but it's not the same and you know it."

"Your dad told you to stay away from all of us. Not just him." Dean's hands kept moving but Alice wasn't entirely sure what he said.

"I missed that last bit - but it doesn't matter. When you leave - which will have to be soon - it will be the last time I talk to any of you. I'm not breaking my dad's rules anymore."

Dean didn't reply. He just stood with a sad look on his face and watched her unload the rest of the bags from the car. He carried a few to the gate for her, but couldn't go any further. She took the last of them indoors then went to stand on the opposite side of the gate. Dean opened the door to his car then looked back at her. "He really cares about you, Alice," he signed.

Alice thought for a moment before speaking. Could she tell Dean their secret? Or just enough so that he understood? She trusted him. She hadn't known him for long but both him and Niall had been a big help in keeping Jason away. If she told him just a little, it would mean he would stop trying to convince her to talk to him every time they saw each other. "If I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret? You can't tell anyone."

"You can trust me," he said and came over.

"We're running, Dean. We ran here and we're hiding here. But I think they've found us." Alice found herself feeling better with every word she said. Talking to someone outside of her family might actually help her stop panicking about their situation. "Andrew has been helping us, but he can't keep them away forever. At first I thought my dad was telling us to stay away out of pride, but Jack and I overheard him telling our mum that it's to protect you. If they find us and we're involved with you lot then they'll know about you, too. We'll have taken you down as well and I don't want that to happen."

"Hunters?"

Alice nodded. "They're after us, Dean. It's a misunderstanding; we didn't do anything. But they're still coming because they won't let us explain."

"We can help you."

"I think we're going to run again. After the next full moon. Jack was talking about England and going further south. He doesn't think they'll expect us to go too far."

"You can't leave, Alice."

"We can. I don't want to get you hurt. Running means we're safe and, more importantly, you are all safe." She smiled up at him but he wasn't happy at all. "I care about you all, Dean. I think, in other circumstances, we could be really close. The trouble is we're in these circumstances, and after the next moon we'll be leaving."

"Alice-" Dean's lips formed the word, but he made no sound and he didn't attempt to say anything else.

"Just don't tell Jason, okay? We'll disappear with help from Andrew and the Guard and by next week you'll have forgotten all about us." Alice stood on her toes to kiss Dean's cheek. He kept a hold of her hand and squeezed it tight. "You better go. My dad will be home soon."

"I'll see you soon," he signed. "I won't tell Jason or any of the others, but you're not going anywhere yet." Alice just smiled and waved as he drove away. She didn't want to leave, but if it meant protecting Jason and his Pack she'd do it in a heartbeat.

Anya Prompt #1

For my first two little stories I was just sort of getting used to this blog and what I was actually going to do. Now that I'm happy that it looks the way I want, I'm going to start applying these little prompts to characters that I already know well.

I've had a book series in my head for a couple of years now that has been slowly building and coming together. Now that I could probably write the books, I'm never in the right mood. So I thought I'd do a bunch of little short stories to get my characters out there before I finally sit down and write these books.

I love these characters and I know them probably better than I know myself. I hope I can do them justice in my writing. This is a big thing for me. I've never introduced these guys to anybody else before, and posting them on the internet like this is scary for me. I don't mind criticism, but being nice about it would be great!

Hale followed a moment later. He struggled a bit more than Anya, due to him being quite a bit bigger than her, but he made it. He landed with a soft thud and she shushed him. He rolled his eyes as he pulled out his gun and she followed him down the dark corridor.

She already had the plan of the building memorised. She knew where they were to go, but actually walking the corridors in the dark was completely different from looking at it on a piece of paper. They turned a few corners, not speaking a word, before coming to the first mark.

Hale held out his hand as he knelt on the floor and placed his gun gently on the ground. Anya reached back to her bag and unclipped the small box from the bottom. She gave it to him and scanned the area while he worked to set up the explosive. The corridor was lit with a soft glow from the windows. It left a lot of shadows in a lot of places where anything could be lurking. Monsters were hard to spot, especially when they lived their entire lives in the shadows and could disappear as quickly as Anya could blink.

"Got it," Hale whispered a moment later. Anya inspected his handiwork. She screwed up her face and shrugged in an it'll do gesture. Hale shoved her playfully and they continued on.

"First mark set up." Anya jumped at the voice. She had almost forgotten about her friends on the opposite side of the building. "On our way to the second."

"Ditto," Hale replied.

"Does it seem quiet to anyone else?" Anya whispered. The building seemed suspiciously Monster free.

"I thought I saw something earlier, but we haven't actually met one yet," Simone answered.

Hale glanced back at Anya and shrugged. "Maybe Kent decided to go easy on us?" He said hopefully.

"Unlikely," Zack piped up. The four of them left the conversation there. Hale and Anya's second mark was nearer the centre of the building. Anya wasn't looking forward to putting distance between herself and an exit.

She heard a noise then that made her turn. She had been checking behind regularly, but there were a lot of doors and corridors and she wasn't a miracle worker. Hale had stopped beside her and they both searched every corner - both on the ground and on the ceiling - for any signs of movement. She could barely hear over the sound of her heart beating in her ears, but she listened as hard as she could anyway.

Her hands were getting sweaty making it harder to hold her gun. Her hair stuck to her forehead and her bag pressed her t-shirt onto her wet back, making her uncomfortable. She didn't dare lower her gun, though. It might not kill anything, but it gave her enough time to get away from whatever Kent had sent them in there with. They had a limited number of Monsters they could use for training; they tried not to kill too many.

"I think we're clear, Annie," Hale said.

"I heard something." Anya was sure of it. She scanned what she could see of the corridor for the fourth time. There weren't as many windows here and the moonlight from outside was their only light source. It was difficult to see, but there had to be something.

Suddenly there was a crackle in her earpiece and she was distracted for a moment. That's when she saw a glint of light on the ground halfway down the corridor. As the sounds of Simone and Zack's scuffle played in her ear, she made out the dark silhouette of the Monster laying flat on the ground, its eyes catching the small bit of light from the window.

Everything became entirely focused on that black shadow. Her eyes seemed to widen. Her lips parted so she could take in deeper breaths. She was strangely calm, though. Scared? Yes. But calm. She nudged Hale and he glanced over his shoulder. He followed her gun to the Monster and tensed a little beside her. The fight in her earpiece ended and she heard the Partners check each other before Simone announced: "They're Vexbugs."

"Crap," Hale mumbled. The Vexbug could hit them over this distance. The poison they spit could fly for a couple of hundred yards, but at that distance they rarely hit what they were aiming for. With how close they were standing to it, it would almost definitely hit them.

"How far away is the door?" Anya asked him. The Vexbug didn't move. It just seemed to be watching them.

"We could make it. We're faster than it."

"Are you sure?"

"About 70% sure."

"That's not a hundred."

"Do you trust me?"

She didn't even have to think. "Of course."

"Then run." They both turned and sprinted towards the door that seemed further up the corridor than Anya expected. The Vexbug didn't bother with being sneaky anymore, she could hear the soft patter of it's many feet as it scuttled towards them. They were slow. They didn't need to be fast with that poison of theirs, but they were still fast enough that there was a possibility of it catching up.

Anya turned and shot her gun randomly down the darkened corridor. The tiny little ball was a bright blue spark in the darkness. It was enough to bring down even the biggest of Monsters, though the bigger they were the faster the effects wore off. She didn't wait to see if it hit the Bug, instead she turned to continue running. She did hear the feet stop for a fraction of a second as the Bug dodged the tiny ball of electricity. But it was running again in no time. "Almost there," Hale said.

A moment later they were through the door and they both turned to push their full weight against it. The Vexbug crashed into it and the door opened a fraction, but they got it shut. Anya fumbled with the lock but it wouldn't go. "It's broken," she huffed. The Vexbug kept throwing it's weight into the other side of the door and they kept pushing it closed before it managed to get through, but they couldn't keep this up.

"Get your gun ready," Hale told her. She did and on the count of three he yanked the door open. Anya barely took time to aim before firing the bolt. It hit the Bug on the forehead and it squealed so shrilly that Anya had to cover her ears. It fell though and stayed on the floor, twitching a little. "Come on," Hale said, "before it wakes up."

It was completely dark here. Anya had to take out her torch to see. She swept it over the room and found nothing interesting. There were desks stacked up against the walls and a few broken chairs here and there, but no Monsters.

"Uh... guys?" Simone's voice was quiet.

"Yeah?"

"We have quite a major problem."

"Which is?" Anya heard a soft clicking then. She frowned and searched around, but couldn't find the source.

"We just finished setting up our second bomb and... uh... might have accidentally set it off." She paused. "It was an accident." Anya knew what the noise was now. She took out the second bomb and saw the timer had started. Each click was one second lost.

"I still have our second one, Simone!" Anya yelled, panicking. They had five minutes to get this bomb off her and get out the building.

"I'm sorry, Anya!"

"Move," Hale commanded.

"Anya and Hale, where is your second bomb?" Kent's deep voice crackled in her ear.

"In my hand," Anya replied as Hale led her through the rooms. She kept an eye out for Monsters, her gun in her other hand, but she was more worried about the fact that she was going to get blown up in four minutes and thirty seconds if they didn't hurry the hell up.

"Just leave it. Drop it where you are and get out of there. This isn't third year, those bombs are real and it will go off in four minutes."

"We're finishing the task, Kent."

"If you get blown up your uncle will kill me and Jensen will bring me back just to kill me again. Get the fuck out of there. And that's Professor to you."

"See you in a bit, Kent," Anya smiled. She picked up the speed. Her and Hale jogged through the building, looking but never really stopping to investigate. They could pass a Monster at any second and probably wouldn't notice until it attacked them. They were being stupid and reckless, but she'd rather have a scuffle with a Monster than be blown up by the package in her hand. They reached the mark as the bomb hit three minutes. Hale set it up quickly and nodded to her.

"Two minutes, thirty seconds," Kent growled.

"We're outside," Zack added.

"Run fast," Hale said. They sprinted as fast as they could towards the nearest exit. The ticking was gone now, but her internal clock told her how long they had. She was good with time and in this situation it was both a plus and a negative. With a minute and a half to go, they were almost outside. Then a Vexbug came round the corner. "Shit." Hale skidded to a stop. The thing reared back on it's back dozen legs, waving the other dozen in the air. It screeched and it's pincers snapped at them. Hale had to dodge to the side as it spit a blob of its horrible yellow poison at him. Anya heard him crash against the wall, probably harder than he meant to, and curse quietly. He then took out his gun and rapidly fired three times, too many times for the Vexbug. It fell with a thud on the floor and writhed horribly. "Bloody twat."

Anya picked her way over the convulsing body and watched Hale follow. He was rubbing his elbow but seemed okay. He was poison free, at least. "Half a minute," Simone's worried voice snapped into Anya's ear. They were right next to the exit, and jogged over. The moment they were outside they were hauled away from the building by a few of their classmates and they all ran towards the truck where Kent stood waiting. Now a safe distance away, Anya turned just in time to see the building explode. The bangs from the explosives hurt her ears and the flames still felt hot even from this distance. But it wasn't the first time she had seen something blow up, and it had lost its charm with her.

Hale put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. "I think that went well," he said. Anya turned to Kent.

"I have to take care of the Vexbugs. Go write up a report in the truck," was all he said. The Vexbugs wouldn't have been killed in the explosion. Their tough hides made them almost impossible to kill with fire.

"He's cheery."

"I think he's just a bit annoyed that it was such a close call," Anya said.

"He's proud of us really," Hale added.

"You think so?" Simone asked, still worried after she nearly got her and Hale blown up.

"'Course I do." Anya smiled to her friend and pushed her towards the truck. "Kent knows we're amazing."

Writing Prompt #2

"Well, your plan has sort of already failed then, huh? 'Cause I don't have a plan."

Claire contained her frustration but was screaming inside. The bush they were crouching in was starting to make her itch and she just wanted to get out of there. "You told me you knew what you were doing."

"I was referring to picking the lock. I know how to pick a lock, I just don't know how to get to the lock to pick it. That was where your plan was supposed to come in."

"Johnny-"

"Don't 'Johnny' me. This was your idea."

"And a bad one, too, apparently."

They stayed crouched there for a moment, looking up at the huge house. Inside somewhere was Claire's Grimoire and she was determined to get it back. Contained in it was the necklace she needed to do spells. Without it, she was just a normal girl.
"We'll get it back, Larry. I won't let them keep it from you."
Claire rolled her eyes at the old nickname, but she appreciated how willing he was to help her. After a short argument about how to get in the house, they decided to go in through the back door.
They kept to the bushes as much as they could. It wasn't long before they accepted they were going to have to cross the open stretch of garden to get to the back door. Johnny looked around for a bit, making sure it was safe, then led the way across the garden.
Claire stayed pressed against the wall as Johnny worked the lock. Her heart was beating fast and her hands were shaking like crazy. She wasn't an action type of person. She preferred to stay in the background and work her magic and keep out the way. She didn't like this one bit. What if they got caught? She was just glad Johnny was here.
"Got it," he mumbled a moment later. He pushed the door open. The whine it gave made Claire flinch. Johnny disappeared inside the dark room but Claire hesitated. She could still go back. Johnny would go on ahead and get her Grimoire for her if she asked him to. But he didn't know what it looked like... and she didn't fully trust him with it. "It's safe, Claire. Come on in," Johnny's voice whispered from inside.
Okay, on three, step inside. One... Two... Three!
Her feet didn't move.
"Come on, you." Johnny reached out and pulled her inside. He closed the door behind them, throwing them into darkness. As Claire's eyes adjusted, she saw that they were inside a kitchen. "Where do you think it will be?"
"Upstairs somewhere." She could feel the pull inside of her, leading her back to her necklace. It held a part of her and she had to get it back.
"This way then." Johnny led her through the house, their footsteps muffled by lush carpets. She could hardly see anything around her, but what she could see looked grand and expensive and over-the-top. It angered her that people lived like this, with luxuries they didn't need, while others were living in squalor like her friend Lola.
When they got to the stairs Johnny had to take her hand to keep her going. They were getting closer to the bedrooms of the thieves who stole her Grimoire. What if they weren't sleeping? What if one of them got up to go to the toilet? They reached the top of the stairs. Johnny's first footstep onto the second floor creaked loudly, causing them both to freeze. What she heard next convinced Claire that this was the worst idea she had ever had in her whole entire life.
"Did you hear that?" A voice came floating down the hall. It came from the same direction as the tug from her necklace.
Johnny looked at her and he must have seen the panic on her face, because he gave her hand a soft squeeze. "It will be fine," he mouthed to her.
Claire nodded reluctantly. He pulled her on, closer to the direction of the voice and the quiet conversation she could now hear. They passed door after door. At each one Johnny would look back and she'd shake her head to tell him to keep going. She couldn't lead even if she did know where she had to go. She could barely move her feet without Johnny's hand in hers, never mind being able to work her way towards the voices. She couldn't get over the fear that, at any moment, a door could open and someone would walk out and catch them. Then where would they be? She should have stayed in the bush outside.
"It's late, go get some sleep." The conversation ended and a door somewhere around the corner opened. Johnny tightened his grip on Claire's hand and dragged her, almost pulling her off her feet, into the nearest room. He silently closed the door and they sat in the darkness, listening. Claire barely took a breath, though she doubted she'd be able to hear anything over the sound of her beating heart. Footsteps came to stop outside the door, and to Claire's complete horror, the handle started to turn.

Writing Prompt #1

Lindsey shook her head and plonked herself down on the hard floor, her head tilted back against the wall. "I can't believe you."

Ryan smirked and leaned casually against the opposite wall. "There's no need to get grouchy."

"We're in a prison cell, Ryan."

"I know, I just told you that after you tried to be funny."

"I'm aware, I was there when you said it."

"See, there you go again."

Lindsey looked away from him and turned her attention to the door. It hadn't opened in the ten minutes since they had been put in here and didn't seem to be opening now. This was ridiculous. She had classes tomorrow and her parents would be worried sick.

Oh God. Her parents. Her dad would kill her. And her sister would never let her live it down.

"It was funny, though," Ryan spoke up a few minutes later.

"Nothing about this situation is funny."

"Well, not this situation, no. But the actual event was funny - especially the chase."

Lindsey looked down to hide the smile that was tugging at her lips. She refused to let him see that she agreed with him. She was mad at him for getting them thrown in here. She wasn't about to let him see her cave. "We could have gotten away if you hadn't fell."

"I only fell because you went down first and pulled me with you!" Lindsey retaliated. "You are not putting the blame on me!"

"I wasn't about to get caught on my own. You'll be going down with me every single time."

"If you were a gentleman you would have let me get away."

"Yeah, right, and miss out on this conversation?"

Lindsey had to smile then. She was annoyed about getting arrested. She wasn't annoyed about being arrested with Ryan. Even if it was his fault.
"You know the only thing I could think of when I was getting handcuffed?"
"'I'm going to miss tonight's episode of Corrie'?"
"Nope," Ryan shook his head. "It was 'God, she looks hot when she's getting arrested'."
"Ah, is that when you started yelling at the officer to get his hands off me?"
"About then, yes."
"Next time, I'll let you do it."
Ryan quickly recovered from his shock, but before he could say anything the door opened.
"Lindsey Yates?"
"Yes?" Ryan asked.
Lindsey laughed from where she sat on the floor.
"You're mother is here to collect you," the officer said to Lindsey.
Lindsey picked herself up and smiled to Ryan. "See you later."
He gave her a big grin and a little wave. The last glimpse she saw of him as the door closed was as he lowered himself to sit on the floor, both legs stretched out in front of him.