Malice and Madness Part One

Prologue, Dream One

"Down the hole we go, love!' said Arrin. I stared at my friend uncomprehending. " Come now, why don't you get it?" he asked. "First of all stop with the Alice in Wonderland crap. Next where do you see a hole? Last, why are we Floating?!" my voice began to quiver at the end.

Arrin pointed up, or down , or wherever the heck it was, and said, "There's the hole, now we jump." He pushed me down the hole and it all went dark.



Day one.





BEEP! BEEP! my phone alarm went off and I sat up in my Nightmare Before Christmas bed. I looked at the clock. 9:15. Crap, I'm late. Again. I hopped into the shower and got that done. Next I put on my black and white arm sleeves, my one sleeved Rob Zombie t-shirt, a black skirt with lace leggings and headed out the door.

About five minutes later I arrived at David Harley Middle School in Rockford, AKA Retard City, Illinois. It turns out the clock was wrong I arrived at 8:00 sharp.

I look around for Arrin, Sam, and Kaley. I turn toward the tennis court and, low and behold, its Jakob McSuperIdiotPopularGuy.

As always he's wearing that stupid grin. I want to beat the crap out of him so badly! His blond hair is, as always, long and super girly. He might as well wear a bow in it.

Jakob goes and gives his lackeys, Brennan, Howard, Caleb, and Marcus a glance, and walks toward me. "Hey, I heard Frankenstein proposed to you. He could do so much better!" he screams. I clench my fists, grit my teeth, and keep walking. "Why don't you turn into a bat and fly away if you're that eager to run!" I turn around walk up to him and spit two words that I spiked with venom, "Bite me!" " McIdiot gives me a supposed to be innocent look and says in a sickly sweet voice that barely covers the daggers he laced it with, "I'm not the vampire, sweetie," the way he said sweetie made me want to hit him, "you are." the lackeys are howling with laughter now, and now there'e a nice, big, crowd. So I do what any decent girl would do. I haul off, sock him in the jaw, and kick him in the gut.

He is now doubled over in pain, so I lean by his face and say sweetly, "That, honey, is why you don't piss me off." I made sure that he was the only one who heard that, and it worked be cause everyone is asking me what i said. I walk away and turn back one time to see his blue eyes staring at me with hatred that is palpable. "I'll Get you Elizibeth Loyola, I'll get you," he says.

I'm over by the wall of the school now with Arrin, Sam, and Kaley. All three of them agree with me. "He deserved it," said my closest and best friend, Arrin. "I completely agree, he is a huge jerk," said Kaley. " he just doesn't get it, you don't mess with Elizibeth, she doesn't let you. She gets you back. You know, Its kinda like karma," says Sam.

Arrin is the shy guy friend who everyone knows. He is goth, emo, normal, mix with longish black hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. Today he is wearing his favorite jacket, the one with a kinda neon blue sorta plaid pattern, and his black Tony Hawk T-shirt, and some regular jeans. Sam is the emo Mickey Mouse lover. She is self assured and doesn't take crap from other people. Sometimes she has panic attacks, though. Her hair is brown with streaks of blue, green, purple, and black, her eyes are brown, and her skin is deep tan. Today she is wearing her emo Mickey T, and black skinny jeans with her favorite eyeliner and eyebrow Mickey Mouse ring combo. Kaley is girly (YUCK) with blond hair, pale freckled skin, and baby blue eyes. She is wearing a horrible pink T, and blue shorts. We are the weirdest bunch ever and it is awesome.

About fifteen minutes later we were all in class, me and Sam dying of boredom in math class, Arrin happily in art class, and Kaley is literature, in the less than average class. I have learned everything that the teacher is talking about, so did Sam, Arrin is already done with his project, so we are all texting. About an hour and fifty messages later, we all headed to lunch.

Arrin, Sam, Kaley, and I have our own table that we got permission to paint black. We are all sitting down and munching on some pizza, when i tell them about the dream. "Why am I the only one of us who's in your dream?" asked Arrin. "I honestly have no idea, but if it helps you were sort of not yourself." "How?" "You acted different, were in a tux, and seemed more dignified." "You mean like a king?" "Yeah, a king." I say to myself. "Well I'm sure you'll figure it out," chimes Sam. "Thanks Sam, I appreciate it," I say. " If you can't do it yourself, I'll help!" peeps Kaley. I chuckle a little and thank her. About half-way through my second slice of pizza, Jakob walks by. I notice that his cheek is bandaged. "Hey Jakob , what happened to your face? It looks way great!" I scream. Arrin starts to choke on his food from laughing. Jakob looks over at me and smiles, it looks like he is grimacing though, and says, "At least I don't wear a mask, oh, wait, that's your face!" he calls back. "Hey, you want another improvement on that disaster?" I answer. A bunch of the girls who are in love with him shot me a look that said, "He's ours, you can't damage someone else's property!" I get up and start to move towards Jakob, but Sam grabs my arm and says, "Don't there's a teacher over there." She gestures to the left. I see him. It's Mr. Evil. He'll give kids referrals for looking at him funny. I look at Jakob and say, " You better watch your back pretty boy!"

After school, I went over to Arrin's. We were hanging out when I see McIdiot down the street and instantly grab Arrin by the arm and drag him along to mess with McIdiot. "Hey, you're still wearing that bandage, I'm touched!" I sneer. He looks over and comes across the street. "Say that again," he says when he gets in my face. "I would but I don't like to reuse insults. Let's try another one," I would have said more, but Jakob cut me off in a tirade. "Since when do you know everything about me? I'll tell you when, NEVER! The way you act like your so much better than me pisses me off! I promise that you'll be begging for my forgiveness, and it'll be soon, really soon." "Look, I just don't like how you act like nobody is worth anything if you don't like them. Or how you alienate those who don't think like you. And the fact that you're our student body president when all you ever do is make everybody else's life a nice big pile of crap! Not only does that annoy me, it proves how jacked up school is! But then there's that stupid way that you think everyone is in love with you! You are NOT a god! Stop acting like it!! Why don't you realize that the universe doesn't revolve around you?!" By now I am in his face and screaming my lungs out.

Arrin just looks at us helplessly and continues to watch. By now, Jakob is so angry I can practically see his eyes turning red. Instead of starting a fight he stalks off.

"Sorry you had to see that Arrin," I say. "Um, it's OK, I think," he says numbly. I check the time on my phone, 8:00. "I have to go home Arrin, see you tomorrow," I say way too sadly, like it makes me depressed to have to leave, but I never enjoy having to leave any way, so I guess that it is appropriate. I give Arrin a quick hug and then take off.

Now I am home, I just had dinner, and i am watching TV. it is 9:00. I'm sleepy, so I'm headed to bed. I get into my black T and shorts for bed, crawl into my Nightmare before Christmas bed, and drift into sleep.









Dream 2



I sit up and I am in a field wear all the grass and flowers are wilted. There are two roads, a black one and a red one. I look at my self and I am in a black lace dress. My hair has a skull bow in it. I look up and see a reflection. I lift my hand to touch my it on the cool, smooth surface, and instead my hand passes into water with a ripple. One drop falls and hits me on the nose.

As I am wiping my hand I notice that my dress is spotted with With little red hearts and silver spades, like how they are on playing cards. "I feel like Alice in wonderland," I think aloud. I stand up, don't touch the water, and start down the red road.

About a half hour later red roses start to blend into the scenery. They kinda look like blood. As I continue on, more and more blood roses pop up. I begin to see people walking on the road. The men are wearing red tuxedos with top hats and the women are wearing white dresses that have red hearts in the chest and they are also wearing top hats

I keep walking until I reach a castle. As I approach the gate two boys that are about my height block the entry. I can't see their faces. "ma'am, I am dreadfully afraid that we cannot let you through without the lord's permission."

Their voices sound really familiar. "please lift up your heads for a minute. I think I might know you," I say. As if I were their king, or lord, or whatever, they lifted up their heads like that.

I look at them for a minute and realize its Brennan and Caleb, the lackeys. But, they look kinda different, more dignified and kinder. "I am no threat therein you should let me pass to meet your lord. I need directions home, you see," I say this calmly, to disguise my rage. "you do not look like a threat, so you may pass, ma'am," they say in unison. Creepy. I tell them my name so they don't always say ma'am this, ma'am that. It'd get annoying. When I walk in I am greeted by a boy in crimson suit who is wearing a mask, so I can't see his face. This guy hasn't got a top hat on, so I can see his hair. It's blond.

"Welcome to my home, I am the red king. May your stay be enjoyable," he says. It didn't sound like he was being kind, more like he was commanding me. I don't like it. "Thank you for your hospitality. I am sure that I will enjoy your company," I say in an equally commanding tone.

He chuckles and leads me to a humongous dining room and pulls out a chair for me. "You must be starving! Please turn your attention to your meal and eat. We'll get a room for you to stay in. We'll talk about whatever you like in the morning," again, he commands me. "You're right, I'm really freaking hungry! Thanks for the food. Are you going to eat now too?" I ask. "of course!" he states in a mock-famished voice. A man comes in with a large tray of all my favorite foods. Strawberry pie, pizza, stir fry, fried chicken, and of course, soda! His mask only covers part of his face so he can still wear it while eating.

During dinner he and I make polite conversation as would be normal. After dinner he leads me to an awesome bedroom that is all black silk. "I'm sorry about the lack of color, it was the only room left. Here you are, a nightgown that I believe will fit you. Good night miss Elizibeth," he says and the walks out the door.

I change into a white silk nightgown and crawl into bed. I think about my new surroundings and I think I could get used to the place, as long as I can make it suit my tastes like this room does. Just as I begin to really forget the old life, I fall asleep.



Day 2

I wake up in the other bed and , for a few minutes, I honestly believe that this is the dream, not Vice Versa. I got up n hopped in the shower. After that I put on a pair of black skinny , a t-shirt that is, of course, black., and today I make sure that I am wearing my black lipstick. Then I take off for school.

Arrin and I are sitting by one of the bleachers talking about my dream and stuff while we wait for Sam and Kaley. "Arrin, this is really messing with my head. I mean, have you ever had a dream that made you think reality is a dream? Its pretty freaking creepy!" I tell him. "No, Elizibeth, I haven't. But I can imagine what it is like , and it doesn't seem pretty. In fact, I'd be scared outta my mind! But you are way more level headed than me, so I am certain that you'll be just fine!" he tells me.

Sam and Kaley never show so by lunch I am really miserable. Arrin and I are sitting at our table, eating mozzarella sticks, when Jakob and his lackeys come in. I look at McIdiot for a second and an image of that masked boy floods my mind. I turn my head away from him and look at the lackeys. Again, the dream pops up.

Jakob notices that I'm not yelling at him, so he looks around the lunch room for a bit. when he spots me his eyes narrow, he gives me a wicked grin, and says, "Please turn your attention to your meal and eat." I swear he sounds exactly like the masked boy. He even has the blond hair, the same height, and the same look in his eye.

Wait, he is the masked boy! That is just scary. The red reminds off the queen of hearts, and that would make the lackeys Tweedledee and Tweedledum! Ha!

I'm shot out of my mental breakdown by Arrin nudging me in the shoulder and he whispers for me to make a comeback under his breath. "Oh, what, are you gonna cry if I don't?" I holler. "Rm, looking at a face like, uh, that would make anyone cry!" he shoots back weakly. I just laugh and ignore him.

Later that day, I head over to Arrin's place and we start to have a really deep discussion about my dream. "I think that the masked boy is McIdiot, which means that if the dreams continue and they keep coinciding with my conscious mind, then I will be leaving his castle shortly," I say. "Hey take it easy. Its just a dream," Arrin says. I should believe him, I usually do, but I don't know if I do.

Arrin tries to talk about it a little more, but there isn't much to talk about, so we decide to chat about other stuff.Arrin tells me about how much he hates his step mom again. We joke around and say that when I rule the world I will destroy her. Arrin and I are sitting in the tree in his yard trying hit squirrels with pebbles when Sam shows up.

At first, neither Arrin or I notice her because we were aiming. Since we didnt see her she decided to throw pebbles at the back of our heads. "What, now hitting a squirrel is more important than me. I feel so unloved!" she said. She climbed into the tree and hit us both on the head. Arrin and I have to over so that she can fit in her spot. Now we are all pretty much smushed together. If I move my hand about an inch I could poke Arrin or Sam.

Sam, Arrin and I are all talking and stuff when Arrin points to something. It's Brennan, he is just down the street. I suggest that we yell at him, but Arrin and Sam convince me to just throw acorns at him and the hide in the branches. I get him three times in the eye, Arrin gets once in the eye, and Sam gets him to choke on one for a minute.

At about seven o'clock Arrin asks me if he can talk to me alone. He and I leave the tree for a bit and go to talk. "Look, my mom, my real mom, is having a costume party on Saturday for my birthday. I am only allowed to bring one friend and so I was wondering if you wanted to come. She said that she was inviting other people from my school so i could make more friends. I hope she doesn't invite any of the populars," he said. "I wouldnt miss it. If she does invite a popular and they show up, we can prank them!" I say. We agree to tell no one about this.

At eight I have to go home. Arrin gives me a hug and says, "Remember, no telling anyone about Saturday!" in my ear. Sam gives me a hug and says, "I've got to go too, I'll walk with you for a while." We're walking home and she tells me something nobody would ever see coming. "Jakob asked me out! I really want to say no but I don't have the heart to say no to people, not even populars. Would you do it for me?" she begs. "Um, yeah, sure. I'd, uh, love to," I tell her.

Later, back at home, I call Kaley and check on her. She is running a fever and won't be at school tomorrow either. After that I decide to head to bed and allow myself to go to the other world.





Dream 3

I awake in the comfortable bed of the masked boy's house, and almost immediately I feel the need to leave. I don't want to leave without seeing if the masked boy really is Jakob.

I get up and change into the dress I was wearing yesterday only to find that someone washed it last night. I leave the room and try to find my way to the dining area where I was last night. I got lost, really lost, I honestly thought about just sitting down and staying in that spot till I was found. But I noticed a door that said the Lord's room above so I went up to it and almost knocked but I heard something. The door was huge! It was a silvery red door with gold lining, handles, and knockers.What I heard was a sort of hushed conversation. "My dear lord, she cannot stay. You have no clue what could happen! She could be the Cheshire!" said someone. "I shall not send her away yet! We must know what she knows about our world. If she doesn't know about the other than we may have a chance of keeping her. You know how much I enjoy the company of another who is as rational as I. Do not interfere with my new toy!" said the masked boy.

I knocked on the door and they went silent. The door sung in cracked voice as it was eased open. It literally sung. Arpeggios and all. It was something punk, that I know. I will always recognize my punk music. A boy came walking out and he didn't look like he belonged there. His outfit wasn't all red. It had black on it too. It was a suit that was divided in half in a way. The right half of the jacket was black and the left half was red. the pants were the same only left was black and the right was red. The suit had rose tucked into the middle. The rose was two colors. I'm serious. It was two colors mixed into one color while being two colors. Looking at it made my head hurt.

"I believe that some may consider it rude to stare, Madam," said the boy. I looked up at his face and studied his features. No mask so I could see his whole face. His eyes were the most interesting, I've always thought people's eyes are the best part. You could learn everything about a person by their eyes. It is like a window to your heart. The window is a circle and made of stained glass. His window was bronze brown and forest green. Two windows. Two colors. Pretty.

He grunted and I jumped up a bit. He chuckled and said, "I was told that you go by Elizibeth. Is that correct?" "Yeah. What is your name?" I say in a rush. "I am Allistair. Allistair Harts. You can call me Allistair or Harts. I couldn't care less about either." Allistair. How funny. That is my favorite guy name. Harts's hair is a golden brown, he has bangs, and I like his hairstyle.

"You're supposed to come with me when I leave but I'm starving, so I am going to go eat. You want to come?" he said. "Yeah, I'm going to die if I don't eat soon!" I say. He leads me to the dining hall, which was right down the hall, and we met the masked boy there. "Well it seems you have become acquainted with Harts, the Drifter. Did you sleep well? If you wish to stay you are more than welcome to," he said, all the while glaring at Harts. "Um, I'm OK with leaving. I want to explore a bit," Harts smiles right after I say that, "But I do have a request of you, if you don't mind that is" The masked boy grins mischievously and says, "Why of course. Anything for a guest." "Okay, then. Please remove your mask. I think I might recognize you and I want to be sure," I ask him. "Okay, though I know we haven't met." He removes his mask and I get a good look at his face. It is Jakob McIdiot, but he looks different too. "What's your name?" I say. "I am Jakob Diamond. why do you ask?" "You are him! I'm leaving. Now!! Do NOT bother coming to see me unless you want to be six feet under!" I scream.

I storm out of the castle and Harts comes running after me. He says something but I don't know what. Something about a white hare, The Black Castle, and missing his breakfast because of me. I tell him to back off and go back to his little puppet master. He leaves me and goes ahead and so now I am alone. I like being alone. Alone is normal, alone is good. I take the time to methodically destroy a rose bush. My hands and arms are bloody and scratched up, but I don't care. I got to break something so I'm not as angry as before. I try to remember what Allistair said. "You made me miss breakfast! You are so mean! We are going to go to Black Castle. You might like it better there. The people are more hospitable, less arrogant and you may not hate them right after you recognize them, if you do. Be careful though, Ella, the white rabbit is a prophet and she may know you so don't be surprised if she freaks out on you." That's what he said. I hope I know where this Black Castle place is.

I didn't realize I was moving while I thought and so it turns out I am back where I started, The sky-lake place. I flick my hand up and feel the water. I am so thirsty right now. I dunk my hand in the water and pull out a handful. It doesn't drop on the ground like thought. It isn't even moving. I let it go and it just sits there. In the air. Floating. I bring my face close and breath on it. It ripples and so I drink it and can actually see the bubble shrink. I do that for ten minutes and then get walking down the black road. About a half hour later I am standing at the open gate of an immense black castle.

There are no guards so I allow myself in. I am walking down the hall when I hear a really familiar voice. "Excuse me Lord Spade. We may have a visitor coming. Her name is Elizibeth Loyola and she may be the Cheshire. We have yet to confirm it, but-" "Harts, no more talk of the Cheshire! When our guest arrives she is to be respected of course, but do not jump to conclusions about someone just because their personality fascinates you!" Holy crap! That voice is Arrin's! I'd know him anywhere! He's here! He'll tell me whatever the frig is going on! "Arrin! I need your help! I have no idea what world I am in and no clue how to get home! Help!" I shout. Arrin and Harts come walking out. Arrin looks surprised but I have no idea why. I don't really care though, Harts is watching me wide-eyed, that doesn't matter either. I tell him everything from start to finish and he just keeps staring at me. "I'm sorry about all that happened Elizibeth. It was very unfair of Diamond to do this to you. You are now a guest here and may stay as long as you like," he responded. I nodded and sniffled. I hadn't known that I'd started crying.

A beautiful girl clothed in an all white silk suit came in holding a bundle of pearly white hankies. "Here, I knew that I sensed a melancholy presence. You must be nearly traumatized by your ungracious host. I am Ella Snowe. Some call me the white rabbit. I am an oracle. You are tired! I shall have Spade prepare a bed immediately. You shall sleep in the endless nights room. I shall be sleeping next door. We can talk in the morning," she said. She had ears that were ghostly white bunny ears and a little fluffy tail.

I followed her into a black room with thick black curtains and a soft bed with silk sheets. I shower off my makeup that sort of appeared on me. I got into a silk black T-shirt and sweats. I crawl in. Cry for all the time I wasted at Diamond's house. Somewhere in my tears I fall asleep.



Day 3



I wake up in the other place and get dressed and everything. I'm wearing a black one sleeved shirt with zebra striped T-shirt underneath it. I am wearing a black pair of baggy that I got from Hot Topic.

I headed to school wishing that Jakob wouldn't mess with me. I wanted Kaley and Sam and Arrin there with me as I was walking across the tennis court, AKA popular central. My wish didn't come true. He was practically waiting for me over by the exit closest to the bleachers. I hate him so much. Jakob Diamond is dream version of my hatred. I let hate fill me. It is like a drug because it makes you feel lucid, like you're in a dream that you know is a dream..

I mix my hate with anger, sadness, and fear. It slaps me awake. I walk by with the cockiest air I can get. He grabs my arm and pulls me aside. Under the bleachers. He gets fidgety and says, "I know you know that I asked Sam out. Did she tell you what she said? Tell me what she told you, now!" This is weird. A nervous popular, I have to admit that I kind of feel sort of sorry for him. I don't like it. I renew my hatred and pity is lulled and I feel like spitting venom again. I like that feeling. I know that feeling. I don't like pity. Pity is strange.

I take a deep breath and try not to laugh at him. I fill my voice with pity and say, "Look, I'm sorry, but Sam isn't interested she already has a guy that she is crushing on," In my head I added that he was fake and she didn't like him because he was an egomaniac, but only in my head, "and she din't want to hurt your feelings so she had me tell you." "Oh, okay. Well tell her I said okay and stuff," he moped. He, the show-offish, self absorbed, egomaniac of a turd monkey, is moping?!

I go to my friends and Sam notices that Jakob and I come out of behind the bleachers right after each other. "Did you tell him?" she asked in a whisper. "Yeah. He was actually moping!" I whispered back. Arrin asks if he can talk to me real quick and so Sam walks toward the tennis court. She says that it is to apologize to McIdiot about not being interested in him.

Arrin tugs me toward the bleachers and we sit at the top row. "Look, about the costume party. It turns out that mom invited the two of the populars. Jakob and Brennan. I would understand if you decided not to go tomorrow," he said. "I've got to admit that I hate populars, but I'll come. It is your party and you are my friend, so I'm coming over in totally epic costume!" I tell him. He nods and we go get Sam. She is talking to Jakob and then she kicks his shins. That brightened up my day. Sam is muttering to herself about him threatening to beat the crap out of her crush. She tells me everything and he pissed me off so I went over to him and said, "You know what? Its no wonder you haven't got a girlfriend! I can't believe that I even pitied your sorry butt!" I kicked him in gut, too.

After school I headed home and nothing really happened. I picked out my outfit or the party though. I'll be a cheerleader. It'll scare the crap out of people. I watched Loony Toons, ate some chicken, had desert, got in my PJ's and left for the other world.



Dream 4

I wake up in the endless nights room where Ella had me sleep. I remember more of Ella's appearance too. She had long silver hair down to her knees, a silk white dress that flowed past her feet, ice shade blue eyes with a slight purple tinge to them. Her windows were pretty, too. Her skin was a pearly translucent white. It practically glowed. She had this sort of feel around her. She was young, like, fifteen or sixteen, but she gave off this feeling of being ancient. It was like she had lived forever, but her body hadn't. I had to admit that she kinda spooked me out.

I walked out into the hallway and realized that I had seen black roses on the way here, and roses like the one that Harts has in the sky-lake place. I head out of the room and go to the kitchen. Miraculously, I actually find it without getting lost. I go into the kitchen and see that Harts and Ella are already there. Ella is wolfing down some oatmeal, and Harts is having pancakes.

I go up to Harts and he looks up at me with a mouthful of pancake crammed into him. I say good morning and such, then have him look away for a second. In that second i manage to swipe his plate, grab a fork, and run into my room. Harts comes after me running. "Those are my pancakes! You're a thief!! That is mean!! Give them back!! I need them!" he screams while chasing me. I duck into a hallway right before my room, put down the pancakes, and run my butt off. I take route that squares back to my room and duck inside.

"Stealing pancakes isn't nice!" says Harts from out in the hall. "I don't have them anymore!" I call back. "Like I buy that," says Harts as he walks into my room. "You can check everywhere in this room, I don't have them anymore. I hid them," I say as he walks up to me. He looks at me for a few minutes. He looks like he wants me to just blurt out where I hid his food. I don't say anything and so he just walks out and goes to look for something, probably the pancakes.

I go into the kitchen to find Ella has made me some pancakes. I can tell it was her because her hands have flour on them. "Thanks, Ella," I say. I take my pancakes and head toward my room. "You seem to know your way around. Thanks for taking my food, by the way," says Harts as he walks out of the little hallway that I stashed his pancakes in. I jump up and give a tiny yelp. "God, you scared the crap out of me! Don't do that!" I say. He tells me that Arrin requested to see me in his council room.

I follow him through a part of Black Castle that I hadn't explored. We head up a very large flight of spiral stairs, down a long corridor, and go into a circular living room. The room was furnished with two three seat couches, a lounge chair, and a table that they were situated around.

I came in and sat down on th middle cushion of the left couch. Ella and Harts come and sit by me. Ella is to my left and Harts is to the right. Sam ans Kaley come in and sit on the other couch. Wait, Sam and Kaley are here too?! They look different. Sam is wearing a purple T-shirt, matching skirt. black leather leggings, and black arm sleeves. her hair is different too. It is black with purple streaks, and multicolored tips. Her tips are red and white. Kaley looks different, too. She is wearing a red dress with black bows on it, long black gloves, and black leggings. Her hair goes to the small of her back now, too.

Arrin comes in and sits in the lounge chair. He takes a quick roll call, looking at evryone in the room and then marking a list. When he looks at me He stares into my eyes for a little while. His eyes look different, they are sadder, more withdrawn, and more aged, as if he has experienced years worth of life in a short time. His eyes scared me. They made me really feel like I didn't belong here. I wanted to grab him and tell him not to be sad anymore. I wanted to tell everyone not to be sad anymore. I was terrified of what could taint someone's eyes like that.

"We are here to announce the Crimson Ball. Every year Lord Diamond and I have held this party to remind you that there was once peace between us, that we can end the war if we tried. Each year we have been the guests of honor. Now we have a new guest of honor. Elizibeth Loyola! Would you accept our offer? We wish to know if you would like to be our guest of honor. At Castle Rouge you were aquainted with Diamond, here, at The Black Castle, you met me. You know us both and the both of us know you. Please answer our request!" he said. I looked around with astonishment. I realized that Harts looked pissed off at this news. Ella looked delighted. Sam and Kaley looked unsure.

I began to feel dizzy, the room spun. I fell. I heard Ella, Harts, and Arrin ask me what was wrong. I don't know if I said anything. The world went blank. I fainted dead away.

Day 4

I'm in the other world. I get up and get dressed. Today is Saturday so I don't have to worry about school. I call Arrin. "Hey, Lizi. What are you wearing to the party?" he asks. "I have an idea. I saw this dress at the mall and I might buy and wear that. What are going to wear?" I say. "It is a surprise! You have to wait until the party!" He teases. Sam calls and I ask her what her costume is. "I can't tell you. Arrin swore me to secrecy." I call Kaley and she says the same thing.

I go to the mall and as I'm walking around, I notice a dress that looks exactly like the dress I wear in the other world. I look around and find the headband, too. I buy them, A Jack Skellington purse, and a new stick of black lipstick. I go to the food court and get a funnel cake. As I'm munching and thinking about random thigs, I hear the other chair at my table squeak. I look at whoever sat down and it is Jakob. "Why are you sitting at my table?" I say. "Because I know that you are going to the same party that I am and I want to know if Sam is going, too," he says. "Why would I tell you anything?" I say in a tired and bored tone. "Because if you don't, I will tell everyone about your little dreamworld." I swear that my heart stops for a second. I can't believe he knows. How does he know?! This has to be a nightmare. It just has to! "You and your little freak brigade are pretty loud. Especially when I am just few tables away in lunch." That's how it happened! God, I'm so stupid! "Why would I care?" I say.

Jakob gets up and leaves. he heads into a costume shop and comes out with a little bag and a zipped up black clothing case. He looks back at me and grins as he walks away. I feel numb. I wish I had never told anyone about the other world. I finish my funnel cake and go home. It is about five'o'clock when I get home. I change into the outfit I bought. Put some overnight things into my new bag, and wait for Arrin, Sam, and Kaley to show up. I wear a long coat over my outfit and make sure nothing but the headband can be seen. They did the same thing. Arrin's mom, his real one, shows up, and I hop in the back seat with the gang. We arrive at the party at about eight. I go inside and put my things in the room that Sam, Kaley, and I are sharing. I take off my overcoat and put it in the closet.

Sam and Kaley come in and do the same.They look exactly like they do in the other world. I want to scream, but I don't. "You look great, guys!" I say instead. They complement me, too. I walk out of there as fast as possible and go find Arrin. When I find him, he hasn't changed into his costume yet. "Elizibeth! You look amazing!" he tells me. I thank him. "Happy birthday! Thank you! Um, can I talk to you alone for a second?" He notices that I sound really worried, so we go into the kitchen and chat. "He knows! Jakob knows about the dream!!" I almost start to cry when I tell him. "Holy crap! I'm so sorry! We need to something in order to keep his mouth shut," says Arrin. We decide to keep this secret and plan to find out a big secret of his and then make a deal. Deal is, he doesn't tell mine, I don't tell his.

Arrin goes to change and so I go into the party room. I'm in there for ten minutes and Arrin comes in. He looks like the other version, too. I ignore it. Sam and Kaley walk up to us and compliment our costumes. We hang out for a little while, and the populars show up. Jakob comes in looking exactly like the other one. The lackeys look like the gate keepers. I can practically see Black Castle, Castle Rouge, and the sky-lake area.

I ignore the costumes and continue to caht with Arrin, Sam, and Kaley. Arrin's mom puts on the music, so the four of us dance. Jakob dances with his lackeys for a while. When a slow song comes on, Jakob comes up and asks Sam to dance with him. She doesn't really have a choice because Kaley has gone to dance with Brennan, and Arrin and I both hate slow songs, so she ends out dancing with Jakob, all the while scowling at Arrin and me.

Arrin and I go into the kitchen. We discuss how Kaley has a thing for Brennan and both agree that they could date without us brfing too much. We would barf, just not alot. We talk about other things, and I end out telling him about everything that happened in the other world. He doesn't like Harts, He thinks that it is really weird that tonight we all matched the other world. B

By the I finished telling him everything, I am practically sobbing. Arrin hugs me and says that it is Ok. "Sam, Kaley, and I are here for you. It'll be Ok. Don't worry," he says. I listen to every word he says, wishing that it does end Ok, but I just don't know. The slow song must have ended because Kaley came in the kitchen and saw me crying. She ran to get Sam and they both come into the kitchen. We all crowd together as I tell them everything. Sam and Kaley both hug me and say that it'll be Ok. Brennan and jakob come in to get some pops and see me crying. Jakob looks like he just won the lottery and brennan looks kind of sorry for me. Maybe the lackeys aren't that bad. "Aw, did you look at yourself in a mirror?" says Jakob. I ignore him. My mind is realing from everything that has happened. "Leave her alone or you'll have to deal with all of us," says Kaley. Sam and Arrin say somethig in agreement, and then Jakob says something I really don't like. "Sam, you could be so much better than these freaks. You know it. You could be one of us. We're the better ones, and you know it. Why do you stay with them?" The way he said it, like we're vermin. The way he decided that only Sam was good enough. I don't know why I did this, I don't even think I should have done it. I stood up, left my friends' arms, and went up to Jakob. "You wanna call me crap? Fine! You wanna mess with me? Fine! You wanna blackmail me? Whatever!! You mess with my friends, I get pissed!! You act like you're God! Are you God?! That's amazing! Come on, God! Perform a miracle! Make me back off! Oh, wait, you can't?! No way, you're God, you can do anything can't you?! Huh?! You can't?! I guess that means that you're not God! I had no idea!!" Fury coursed through my body. I liked it It chilled me to a point where the coldness was palpable. Icy daggers shot through my gaze. I looked at Jakob and knew that he was scared. I made sure that he got the message. I leaned real close to his face and made my voice all soft, filled it with sappy sweetness, and whispered, "If you're in love with me just say it. Careful though, I don't feel the same way." After that I walked offand headed into the room. I looked at the clock, three in the morning. I guess Jakob is here overnight. I washed off my makeup, got into my pajamas, and crawled into bed. I fell asleep in about five minutes.

Dream 5

I am on a soft bed in a brightly lit room. When i open my eyes I have to squint against the bright light. My throat is dry, so I can't speak. I'm drowsy, dizzy, and really sleepy. I sit up and notice a glass of water. I grab it and notice my shoulder is sore. I take a long drink and then close my eyes. I let the sounds of this place fill me. I hear people walking in. Arrin, Sam, Ella, and Harts are talking. I can't hear what they are saying though. I hear their steps stop close-by. I open my eyes to all four of them leaning over me. "She's awake!" says Ella. Harts still looks peeved, Sam looks worried, and Arrin looks really depressed. I feel bad about making them all feel this way.

I realize that I never answered Arrin's question. "I guess I would like to be your guest of honor," I tell him. His eyes light up for a minute. And then he notices the bandage on my hand. "I think I sprained it," I tell him. He goes to find to a doctor and when he comes back he tells me what I already know. "You were right, its sprained. He said that you'll Ok in a few weeks. Just in time for the ball, actually. We need to find you a dress, accessories, and all that jazz. Do you know how to do the waltz, tango, or any ballroom dances? If not, I could tutor you." Harts's frown deepens at that. I don't think he likes the thought of me being the guest of honor. I make a mental note to ask him about it later.

About an hour later I am back in my own room, getting dressed, when I notice a new dress on my shelf. The dress is black with a large red heart on it. I put on the dress and notice long white gloves that have one large heart at the end, so that if you wave hi, you have the heart facing you, and a red bow. I put those on and they looked really good with the dress. A note fluttered out of the bow and landed on the shelf. It said to go down to the kitchen and that I will be escorted to the dance room.

I followed the instructions, and Harts was the only one in the kitchen, so I asked him if he was the one to escort me to the dance room. He nodded so I followed him down a hall. After a few minutes, Harts says, "I don't see why you want them showing you off like this. I'd hate it." "I don't like this, I'm doing it because I'm Arrin's friend, and he asked me to," I reply. He looks at me like he just gained respect for me, I think I see something else in his eyes, joy, maybe. I don't know. We keep talking and it turns out that Harts isn't that bad of a guy. He said that he has this disease that makes him have more than one personality. He said that so far he's only developed two personalities. One of them is formal, detached, and when it gets attached, it is angered easily, the other is easily attached, highly protective, and rather casual. And he admitted to being overly cautious. After he told me this, I told him all about myself, it felt good to really talk to someone here. I told him things that even Arrin doesn't know.

After talking for about two hours I realized that we'd been walking in circles. "Are we lost?" I ask Harts. "I think we're not, the staircase leading to the ballroom is right there," he answered with a crooked grin. As I was walking away he grabbed my hand. "Don't hesitate to come and get me if you want to talk. I'm in the room four doors down and to the left," he told me. "Thank you so much!" I tell him. I head into the ballroom, and Arrin was waiting for me. We practiced the waltz, and it turns out that I'm not bad at dancing. At the end I walked out and practiced as I was walking. "Don't you need a partner for that?" said Harts as he was laughing. My cheeks got all sorts of red and I stumbled. "I was just practicing!" I say right after jumping. "Are you walking me back to my room, too? Don't tell me that you were there the whole time!" "I am, and so what if I did? It was worth to see you flip out!"

We are walking back to the room and Harts pulls me into a little hallway. He looks at me for a really long time, then says "I don't know why, but I think you may the only person I trust." I'm stunned. He was basically saying that I am the person who he is closest to! I want to say something, but that wouldn't work. My mouth won't work. So I just give him a really long hug. At first he is shocked, but then he hugs me back. He holds me close lilke I am the only person that ever accepted him. I might be.

He and I are hugging for a really long time, or so it seems. It feels right hugging him, like I was supposed to do this. When we finsh hugging, we just sit down in the hallway and talk for a while. I tell him that I will always be there for him. After that he just stares at me for a while. He looks absolutely thrilled. He leans in and sets his head on my shoulder. "Thank you," he whispers.

After that we go to my room. We say our goodnights, and Harts does something unbelievable, he kisses me. He leans in and kisses me. His lips are soft and they feel good against mine. I kiss him back, and I need to mention that this is my first kiss. Kissing Harts made me feel like I was on fire, and I really like being on fire. At some point we ended up standing.

When we broke apart I was really tired. I decided that now was a good time to go to bed. I said goodnight to Harts and then went into my room and passed out.

Day 5

I don't want to leave the other world, I want to stay, but when I open my eyes I'm in the First World. I get up and get dressed in black skinny jeans, a plain black t-shirt, and I put my hair up. No make up today. I don't feel like it.I go out into kitchen and grab a bowl of cereal, pour milk, and eat. When I am washing out my bowl, McIdiot comes in and gets food. He is avoiding looking at me. "Pass the milk, please," he says. I hand it to him and then he says, "Why do we fight all the time? I can't even remember why we hate each other. We should stop and become equals." When he looks at me, his eyes are all puffy and red from crying. I'm really startled by that. It makes him look, almost, kind. That scares me. "I agree, we don't need to fight so much. It gets really tiring. But one thing, you aren't going to blackmail me anymore, are you?" I say. "No, I won't blackmail you," he says.

I am pretty happy that I am done with him now. It leaves me time to think about Harts. I'm still in shock about what happened. I don't know why we did that. I'm not sure if I should've let him kiss me. I'm confused and now my heart hurts. I don't think I regret anything, though.

I'm lost in thought when Jakob shakes my hand and says, "Thank god that this stupid rivalry is over! Thank you for not biting my head off. I owe you! I'll tell the boys to lay off, too." "No problem. Even being mean gets boring. I'm happy that we're done with this fued, too. I got really sick of it. We aren't friends, though. You should know that I'll still hold a grudge,its just that I won't speak to you anymore," I respond. He just nods and then walks away.

Arrin comes up from behind me and pulls my ponytail. "I think that your tail is on the wrong end of the donkey," he jokes. I chuckle and say, "Well, good morning to you, too. You feel the creak in your bones yet, you old fart?" "Nope but my back hurts!" he says. I look at him and my eyes say, oh sure it does! I punch him in the arm and go watch TV. He follows me and sits in the lounge chair. My mind flashes to the Other Arrin. He was good at dancing. I laugh as I remember how he tripped over tht stool. Arrin looks at me for a second, shakes his head and just laughes under his breath.

I go home at aboutthree in the afternoon. I watch TV for a while and then get online. I listen to my favorite band, Panic at the Disco. Their song Mad as Rabbits plays. The first few lyrics are "Come save me, from walking on the window sill, or I'll sleep in the rain! Don't you remember when I was a bird and you were a map?!" "I know just how you feel. I think that I might be crazy," I whisper. I get on Facebook and talk to Kaley for a while. We don't talk about anything important. Arrin texts me and tells me that Sam knows about the popular/misfit feud being over. I tell him Ok.

I miss Allistair. He would've made the day interesting. We could've talked more about our pasts. Or we could've visited with Ella. Or we could just sit and read. Anything really. I'm going to ask Arrin if Harts can be my new dance instructor. I wish that I could feel the warmth of hugging Harts for a little while longer.

I spend the rest of the day thinking about the other world. I want to leave here forever. Just stay with the Other Versions for the rest of my life. I decide that if I ever get the chance, I'll stay there. I get in my pajamas and get in bed. I listen to Panic at The Disco for a while, and then go to bed.