Chapter six{They that spy}I

Tori glared at all the furniture she was seeing, it was a confession that she almost forgot what Gracie's room looked like. It had been four weeks or so and she could hardly remember the position of the four poster bed in the room.

"Did you change your bed position?" Tori asked, tossing her herself on the well laid bed.

Gracie walked in after her, feeling so tired but still managed to use a leg on the other in removing her black oxford boot. She began with the buttons of her shirt, "Yes, it was always bit gusty in the former area, so I took in to my nana's advice." She explained.

"Of course, it's grandma Lily's idea. Sweet mama." Tori commented plainly, staring at the wooden ceiling while her both hands laid on her stomach leisurely.

Looking at Tori on her bed with shoes on only pissed Gracie off, she breathed in before taking the action. She strode quietly to where Tori lolled, bent low till she could sensibly inhale the mucky odor from the black boot. Slowly, she worked her hand on the shoelaces.

Tori tensed up slightly and peeked at her from beneath her eyes, "Uh-oh, almost forgot you're clean freak." she uttered and relaxed back on the bed. Not as soft as hers back home but she felt comfort.

Just as she was laying there on Gracie's bed, she remembered promising Shelia to ask Gracie for one of her vampire romance books, "Gracie-" She paused when she noticed that the room was all hers.

She sighed and sat down, facing Gracie's tall bookshelf with books on each section, filled up. Gracie was one book freak, it no secret that she was in Mary Hills high because of her brain, scholarship got her there, if not, how would her nana's knitting job sponsored her in the private school?

Tori scanned through the old book as she was already up there, searching for an interesting one when Gracie walked quietly into the room with water in mugs, she peeped over Tori's shoulder to check what she was doing.

"Witching hour." She read the book title loud making Tori to jump for she knew not her presence.

The water in the mugs happened to end on both their clothes, Gracie muttered some words while she dropped the mugs on her bedside table and went for her books, checking if the water had not spilled on them while Tori fumed in anger.

"Seriously, the books are more important than I? What's the content?" Tori busted.

Gracie frowned at her, "That was water, you dummy."

"oh! th- Whatever." Tori muttered, she removed her white shirt that now left her with her white lace bra then proceeded to Gracie's pine closet that was covered with neon avatars. That enchanted the green wallpaper of the room.

Gracie groaned and arranged back the book in the right places. The books were the antidotes that helped her, taking her to magical world well aware was unreal. After the boys on the basketball team had made live unbearable for her and even the thought of suicide had clouded her mind but a small glimpse of hope to endure life came from her nana.

After her father and mother had died in the fire accident, and papa Charlie died sixteen years ago. She was her comfort zone, the mere thought that Gracie was with her makes her happy every time.

"Can't believe you still have this skirt."

Gracie glanced over to where Tori stood, holding her long gypsy skirt with different shades of red. Her eyes widened on seeing the big mockery grin on Tori's face.

"Oops, Tori, gimme that." She tramped across the room in few steps to meet her.

Tori bowed her head in disapproval, putting the skirt behind her as she also pace around, enjoying the little exercise playing she was having with her friend.

"C'mon, Tori, this is no fun." Gracie groaned, stopping on her track with her hands in her hips.

"Really?" Tori's eyebrows rose in question. "Then come catch me." She laughed as she closed the door on Gracie's angry face and ran.

Nodding her head angrily, "you really know how to play your game!" she open the door and followed her running.

Tori was so fast that she made it to the kitchen and she unlocked the back door. Her giggles told Gracie where she was heading to. It wasn't a place where Gracie wanted to be, so she paused on getting to the door and watched Tori running barefooted to the river. Her heart pounded as her palm got sweaty.

"Do not enter the river with the skirt, Tori!" Gracie shouted, even though her voice fought trembling.

Tori threw her way a sneaky smile, leaping backwardly to the river. Gracie's eyes widened watching her bestfriend doing stuff like that reminded her of how she had tried to take her own life walking backwardly to the river before her grandma saw her through the window and screamed for help.

"Tori, please don't." She pleaded, unconsciously stepping forward and seemingly Tori's plan to get her in the water was working.

"Little touch of water won't bite, Gracie. It will only relax your mind." Tori winked, playing at the tip of falling in the river. When she detected that Gracie wouldn't be moving from a position, she groaned. "Okay, fine. Have your skirt." She stretched the red skirt and waited for her to come close so as to tow both of them in the water.

Confiding in the redhead, she left the door eventually. "I'm not in accordance with your kind of cruel joke Tori, you just made me waste an energy I could have used on helping- Ha!" Gracie screamed on her attempt to collect the cloth landed both of them in the water. Tori had gripped her hand and pulled them in.

Water filled Gracie's mouth as she surfaced from underwater, due to the result of the sudden dive that sank her in. She coughed and Tori giggled, wiping water from her face, along with her hair.

"You bloody... hob gobbler!" A blooming persistent cough shot out of Gracie's mouth with water.

Tori went for a dip and when she resurfaced, wheezing. She swam backward a bit far from the furious girl, Gracie furrowed her brows wondering what Tori's terrific motive was and unexpectedly, Tori splashed on her.

"Bitch." Gracie mouthed after a smile curved her lips, she splashed back at her.

Soon the girls were in a splashing war, giggling and swimming with clothes on. This was partially helpful for Gracie, she felt her heart lighten. Maybe she truly needed Tori's presence to feel better.

"I love the hills. It what I love most in Mary Hills." Tori said softly as she hugged Gracie from behind and both stared at the hill side calmly.

"Me too. But it gets scary at night, I live near so I know." Gracie added.

"Why?"

"It- okay," She removed Tori's hands from her shoulder and faced her as she spat out the water in her mouth. "This might sound totally insane but trust, it's true."

She stopped to get an approval that Tori was listening. So when Tori nodded as her hands guided her both side in the water. "At night, It feels as though... someone always come out of the hills to spy on me or something, but... I always feel watched."

Tori just stared at her best friend with a pure blank look and Gracie was left with wonders if she had made any sense.

"Do... I sound... weird?"

"Nope. You just sounded like a madcap!" Tori spouted into a roaring laughter.

"It's not a joke!" Gracie was angry, her red tomato cheeks shown that.

But Tori didn't take this serious, instead she laughed uncontrollably. To her, Gracie is probably telling a tale from one of her horror novel little did she know that somebody was truly watching her. Only that they were been watched from the hill now by two mysterious beings.

"When will this stop?" A honey haired boy said, his voice was deep and beautiful to listen to.

"Till we confirm what she is." A girl murmured with less interest to be distracted by her brother.

The boy hissed as his hands found peace in his pant pockets while he looked around unsettled.

"Would you rather be somewhere else than here?" Pissed, the girl turned back to him, hence he was making sound to disturb her from her peace job.

"With pleasure, Countess. Do you think I enjoy coming to this cliff everyday just to care after some mortal?"

"We are not caring after her, we are spying on her. For blood sake, Nick, it could be her."

"Whoo... and she hasn't shapeshifted all this while to go hunt." Nick mocked.

Countess took a breath, "There are instructions, brother. His majesty gave order."

"You mean your father." Nick stated bitterly.

Arguing with her twin brother would only make a fool out of her, he had better chance that her in mouth fight even though she was the best in physical combat. Nicholas and her were opposite.

"He's your father too and he's... wise."

Nick chuckled, unfortunately his edible, 'strongest of all' sister dwelt in bare darkness about that kind of man they called father. A callous, cunning man he was.

Bored, he licked his pure red lips, drawing them in as he took a last glance at the girls laughing in the river. Looking at her with her golden hair glued wet to her body reminded him of the night he had saved her from getting bone crushed by a flashing car and the next thing she did was running away, leaving him in his own dilemma.

How pathetic of him.

"Where are you going?" He asked as Countess made a turn to leave.

"I've got personal issues to attend to." She gave an excuse to leave the ground.

Nick groaned, "Of course you do." he brushed his hand through his soft curls.

Before Countess took her flight, she twirled and gazed at her twin's back while he wasn't looking.

"Remember she is a objet d'art. Don't torment her, it's a warning." With that, she fleeted in the air, taking a swift past the mountain.

Nick exhaled deeply and chuckled, "She was seriously laying rules for me."

If his sister wanted her rules laid then he definitely had his to pass.