55 | Just the Start

Seaside, California May 18, 2013

Celesta

ONE second is enough to change your life forever. This past year has been one of the worst in my life. A few good things came from it though. Meeting Zach was the most important.

I've also learned a lot. Not just important lessons but learning more things about myself. None of us had been left the same after Seana came into our lives. Many things got lost along the way, most of all our innocence.

I was busy curling my hair for the graduation ceremony. The most surprising thing this year was that all of us graduated. My grades were acceptable; except for my English class. I had gotten away with borderline D's all year.

Orion's obsession with Shakespeare's plays made me want to flunk out. After he left the substitute didn't care how bad our papers were. He passed everyone.

"Do you want some help with that?" a voice called out.

"Huh?" I gawked as I saw Elle glancing at me with worry.

"You are starting to burn your hair," she grimaced.

I noticed the burning smell coming from the curling iron. I immediately released it and dropped it on the bathroom counter. I grabbed the scorched piece of hair, smoke still coming from it.

It was ruined.

"I have a pair of scissors somewhere in here," Elle chuckled as she started opening random drawers and dug through them.

I sighed in defeat. I know I should've let Elle do my hair. The only thing I could do with it was put it into a ponytail. Any braid or bun I attempted looked like shit. And hair styling?

Forget it.

"You guys almost ready?!" I heard Amberly shout from Elle's bedroom.

"No!" I yelled as Elle cut the burnt hair off.

Now I had a chunk of short hair that stuck out. Hopefully, it would just blend it with the bouncy curls I created.

"Has our dear cousin let us know when to meet up?" Amberly muttered as she waltzed into the bathroom to steal some of Elle's eyeliner.

"She and Scott are meeting us there at noon," Elle replied, finishing up perfecting her straight blonde hair. It looked paler now than ever, almost silvery in certain lighting.

All of our parents should be there soon as well. My parents were sitting with Samuel and Laura. I wonder how long that would last until one of them had to have a pissing contest. That apology my father tried to give didn't help ease the tension.

After graduation, we were all going back to Lily's to have a large ass pool party. Except this time there would be no booze, psychotic vampire bitches, and idiot football players.

Wait, Eddie and Zach would be there.

After we finished our hair, it was time to get going. All of us piled up into Zach's truck.

The parking lot was full of kids and their parents. We all agreed on meeting at a certain spot with everyone. After Zach managed to find a spot far away, it was almost time to go out on the football field and find our place to sit. All of our parents were in a group together outside the gate.

Lily and Scott were there, with her parents and Markus. Eddie was there with Sophia and Amberly's dad. Her aunt was talking to Elle's uncle. And on the edge of the group were my parents, sticking out like sore thumbs.

"There you are honey!" my mother greeted.

"Hey Mom," I smiled.

"We are very proud of you Celesta," my father admitted and pulled me into a hug.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Moone," Zach entreated, walking over to us.

"Zach you know you can just call me Miranda," my mother insisted.

"I will always be Mr. Moone to you boy," my father added, making this whole situation awkward.

"Cool, uh I will see you guys after the ceremony, we have to go!" I chimed in, wanting to get away from my parents quickly.

Dinners at our house were always like this. It was just about every night my father had to continuously make Zach feel like an ant.

"Guys we gotta go in!" Lily shrilled.

Elle and Scott were standing behind her waiting.

"We do have to go in," Elle announced and looked at her watch. "We have to be seated in alphabetical order in four minutes."

The number of gradation cords she had around her neck was ridiculous.

"Well, Scott you're with me right bro?" Zach chirped and gave Scott a pat on the back.

Scott just glared at him. "I am not your bro."

"I'll be your bro," Eddie chimed in.

"Thanks, man!" Zach grinned.

The two of them started smacking each other on the backs and went in without us. I didn't understand boys at times.

"Ready?" Lily asked.

"Ready to be done with school? Hell yes," I sighed and linked my arm up with hers.

"We aren't done with school, this is just the beginning!" Elle cheered excitedly.

Me and Scott gave her withering looks. I was forcing myself to go to college. I knew Scott was never setting foot in another school again.

"Let's get this shit over with," Scott mumbled.

I haven't felt this overwhelmed since Cynthia's funeral. We had it near the coven's meeting hall, there was a place dedicated to funerals. We laid her on a pyre and surrounded her body with her favorite flowers. It was similar to a Viking funeral in a way, except we didn't sacrifice people. It was custom for every witch that passed.

We would return their magic to the earth where all magic originates.

Now I was walking across a stage to grab a piece of paper that took me eighteen years to get. My heart was pumping out of my chest. Just as soon as I crossed the stage I was back in my seat.

When they called Zach and Scott's name seeing one look so happy and the other miserable was hilarious. You could hear Markus cheer over everyone else. Despite all the happiness Zach was feeling today, I knew he wished his mother was here.

She sounded like a wonderful woman and a great mother.

The bitch that killed her finally got her due. We all made it out in the end, but none of us will be the same again. In a way, all of our hearts had hardened. Going through shit that no teenager should ever go through.

But here we are.

Guess who ended up making salutatorian after she whined that she wouldn't get it? Elle.

She also complained that her rival Jordan Greene was only a half of a point higher than her. All morning we heard her gripe about it. I was probably ranked last in our class but was content that I managed to pass school.

Now came the speeches. I just zoned out for those. I had pulled my phone out and started playing a game.

I snapped my head up when the girl beside me started poking my shoulder.

"Why are you on your phone? This is our graduation," she complained.

I just gave her my signature smile before I told her to kiss my ass.

I was glad when the ceremony came to an end and we all threw our caps into the air. they looked like confetti as they rained back down onto us. The girls had dark blue gowns and the boys had black.

And just like that, we were officially adults now.

I beelined it for the exit, wanting to get away from my parents who would want a thousand pictures. But I was blocked by Zach who lifted me and started spinning me around.

"Okay stop before I puke!" I shrieked.

He finally put me down.

"Cel this is the best day ever!" Zach cheered. "We graduated! I can't wait till we go to college!"

"Yes I can't wait too," I deadpanned.

"Oh come on, lighten up!" Zach insisted. "College will be fun."

"The only reason I am going is because I need an associate's degree in game design," I grinned.

"There's the graduate!" I heard Markus shout from behind me.

Zach and his dad embraced. Then Scott appeared out of thin air and hugged Zach also. He looked happy now instead of constipated.

"Thanks for looking out for Zach," Markus put forth. "I know you didn't want to repeat high school."

"It's all good. But the kid can look out for himself now," Scott assured.

"You sure you don't want to get the college experience again?" Markus teased.

"Not in this lifetime," Scott remarked.

I think he was about to start killing people if they asked about college again.

I stepped away from them when I saw my parents coming this way. Both of them embraced me tightly. Then my father said something that nearly made me pass out.

"How about you come join me on a mission?" he suggested.

"You mean, on an actual mission?" I gaped.

All the "training" missions I've done with all of the baby enforcers have been me just supervising them as they acted out situations. I wouldn't even call it training. It was just me realizing I would die if I ever let them lead.

"Yes, you've proven more than enough times that you would be great in the field," my father praised. "I think it's time we partnered up."

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow," my father replied.

My eyes widened. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes Celesta, tomorrow," he frowned. "We will be gone for an unspecified amount of time."

"Do we have to get up early?" I whined.

"At four o'clock sharp," my father chirped.

"Shit," I whispered.

THE night air was warm and crisp. For May it was surprisingly cold tonight. The party at Lily's had been fun, but it was winding down now. Laura had given us all champagne, something my father wasn't happy about.

I was surprised he was allowed to come here since last Christmas wasn't pleasant. Everyone was around the bonfire, talking and reveling. Zach had eaten about 20 roasted marshmallows, I was the only one close behind him.

I ate 10.

I was about to get another one when Lily came up to me.

"Hey can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure what's up?" I questioned.

"Just follow me," she whispered.

I followed her into the house, wondering what in the world was wrong now. She started upstairs, quickening her pace.

She was nervous about something.

We got to her room, and she closed the door behind me and locked it. I sat down on her bed slowly and raised an eyebrow when Lily got out a candle from her closet. She closed her eyes and muttered something quickly.

The candle lit up and she set it down on her dresser.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I implored.

"Making sure no one can hear us outside this room," she admitted and sat down beside me.

"Okay tell me what is going on," I demanded.

"A lot of things," Lily mumbled, her voice trembling.

She opened up her nightstand and pulled out a knife. I was about to ask her what the hell she was doing until she decided to run the knife across her palm, drawing blood.

"What the fuck!" I exclaimed.

"Just look!" Lily shot out.

I grabbed her hand and watched before my very eyes her wound close up. I just gawked at her. Was she dead? She didn't feel dead.

"What did he do to you?" I hissed.

"Scott didn't do anything!" Lily cried. "Ever since that shit with Seana went down I have felt different."

"And you are just telling me this now?!" I fumed.

"I haven't been able to get you alone Celesta," Lily remarked. "You've been up Zach's ass!"

"Whatever," I retorted with a roll of my eyes.

Like she wasn't up Scott's ass 24/7.

"Look, I don't know what to do," Lily went on. "I thought by now Scott's blood would be out of my system. Unless having too much of it has caused a permanent change in me."

"Then maybe it will just take a long time to wear off," I guessed. "Maybe you should go talk to Francis about it."

"Not tonight," Lily sighed. "I just want to have one normal day."

"Well, I am going with my dad in the morning on a mission," I revealed.

Lily smiled. "I'm happy for you. Do you know what it's about?"

"You know that coven my father briefly mentioned at the trial, the one that was kidnapping witches?" I asked. "He wants me to go with him to talk to the affected covens and see if we can get any more leads."

Lily's eyes widened in shock. "That is some scary stuff."

"I know, it's exciting!" I beamed. "I can finally use my skills for something productive."

"Productive? You?" Lily said in disbelief. "Good luck with that."

"Shut up bitch," I retorted.

"We also have to worry about Orion and all of that stuff with being reincarnated," Lily cautioned, completely changing the subject.

"Like you said, we will worry about all of this tomorrow and have a normal night!" I proclaimed.

My cousin was such a worry wort. But she was right, we would have to deal with that eventually. Right now I just wanted to get back to the party. Seeing that I was about to run, Lily did a deep sigh and got up.

She blew the candle out and reluctantly followed me back downstairs.

Zach was on the patio, eating yet another marshmallow. Lily went back over to Scott, leaving me with Zach.

"You guys okay?" he pondered.

"Yes, everything is great," I muttered.

"Want another marshmallow?" he inquired. "I saved you some."

"How many?" I groaned, knowing full well what he meant by some.

"A half of one," he grimaced. "Laura already yelled at me for eating them all."

"What am I going to do with you?" I teased.

"Love me?" he supposed.

"Idiot," I mumbled under my breath.

I pulled him towards me and kissed him, earning a large grin from him.

He wrapped his arm around me and walked back with me over to the fire.

We were at peace now, but I had a feeling we were far from being truly out of the darkness that had plagued this town. This was just the start.