The Wallflower

Sorry for such a long delay. I can go on a long list of what kept me from writing, but ya'll want a story not my excuse. After this submission there will be at least a 2-3 week delay in the next submission. I'm sorry >_<. But I hope you enjoy this submission and that it will last you for the time away. This chapter is more about character development for Nicholas. Love the support. Also I don't mind the criticism. Rate it. Comment. Anything to improve myself as a writer. Thank you for all the support.

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Lily brushed her teeth furiously as she mentally chanted

'ASSHOLE! ASSHOLE! ASSHOLE!'

Her eyebrows knitted together in concentration, trying hard not to think about the crap Nicholas pulled in the kitchen.

Lily had gone into the kitchen after getting off the floor. As she got nearer to the kitchen, there was a weird smell coming from the kitchen. Lily didn't even bother to roll her eyes. When living with Nicholas, anything strange became normal. She covered her nose as she entered the kitchen.

Standing at the stove was Nicholas smoking a blunt while fixing himself an overly large sandwich with some Doritos. Lily just stood there in the doorway dumbfounded. She had only heard of people smoking weed, but never seen someone actually doing it. Vanessa had told her that she had done it once but it was at a party. She didn't typically hang out with people who regularly did any kind of drugs.

He glanced at her from behind. "What are you gawking at, cowgirl?" he said, removing the blunt from his mouth. "Never seen a man fix a sandwich?"

Lily opened and closed her mouth as she searched for the words to say. Nicholas puffed a bit on his smoke while he waited. Lily looked down at the floor and shook her head a little to clear her thoughts.

'C'mon Lily. You're an adult. Open your mouth and talk.'

She let out a breath as she looked back up at him.

"Yo...You're mom said ... in the contract that she doesn't want any drugs in her house," Lily said in a soft tone. Nicholas turned around with his dinner in hand and walked to the table. His eyelids were drooped lower than usual, making him look more at peace. He sat down and ate a bite of his sandwich before looking back up at her.

"And?"His voice was casual as usual, but it unnerved her how he didn't care at all what upset his mom. Yes, his mom was stern, but she never came off as being mean or unfair. "To me that sounds like more of a you problem."

"But you live here...In her house."

Nicholas took a long drag on his smoke before answering her. "Me and my mum have an understanding. This." He held out his blunt for her to see. "This is a herb. Not a drug. This is the only thing I smoke, so it's fine. Plus I'm twenty-three fucking years old. I know what I'm doing." He took a moment to eat before taking another drag. "Wanna hit?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't...do that...I don't smoke." He looked back at her calmly. His gray eyes were searching hers as if looking for something hidden inside her. The stare was not only intense, but also felt invasive. He was invading every inch of her body and soul and conquered every part of both. She smoothed her hair as she look down to fake interest at her fluffy pink house shoes. She heard Nicholas let out a slight snicker.

"You're a good little princess, aren't you, Lily?" She raised her eyes to look at him, amazed that he actually used her name for once. She expected to see a humorous look on his face, but all she found was a stern look that mirrored his mother's. "You over react when I touch y-"

"You grope me like a pervert," Lily said, finding her voice.

"I'm not talking about your verbal reactions. I'm talking about your body's reactions. It's always so tense before I even touch you. That tells me you're not used to being touched. That tells me two things: you haven't had many boyfriends and you're a virgin."

Lily's face heated up to full flames. She knew she was less experienced than all the other girls. She just... wasn't experienced with guys. Only thing she experienced from them was pain. "With the disturbed looks you gave me when I was drunk and high, I'd say you've never done any of that either. So, miss princess... what have you done besides be the perfect teenager?"

Lily couldn't answer him. How could she be perfect? How could she be when with all the hard work she went through to be the perfect daughter had failed? She was supposed to be a smart, beautiful woman with a future. But only to be viewed as a stupid, ugly girl who works at a library.

"Answer me this one question." He took another drag on his blunt before putting it out. He got up and threw away his plate before coming towards her. "Have you ever been kissed?"

Lily avoided his eyes again by looking down at her feet. "It's none of your business."

Why did he even want to know about her personal life anyway? It's not like he liked her or anything. Even if he did...what if he did?

'Don't be stupid. He's only known you for three days. Plus he could have any girl he wants. Why would he waste his time trying to flirt with you.'

A firm hand on her chin brought her from out of her thoughts, and a pair of lips erased all essence of what she was thinking. His warm soft lips worked slowly against her still inexperienced ones. Gradually his wet tongue began to open her tense mouth to welcome her into their lips' passionate union. His breath was pungent with the taste of weed but yet still managed to be so sweet. His tongue searched for her bashful one to coax her to join him. Once he had found it, he stroked underneath her tongue slowly. The feeling felt so weird to her but felt so good at the same time. But ever so slowly, he withdrew this wonderful feeling he gave her till he had fully withdrawn himself from her.

She opened her eyes and looked back at him while warring with herself about what to feel. She didn't know what to feel. Something inside scolded her for letting him kiss her. Another part was chastising her for being exactly what her mother had called her. The other was simply hungry for more of that good feeling.

"That was your first time," he said.

"Huh?" Lily couldn't make any sense of his words.

"That was your first kiss." His burning coal gray eyes added on to the heat she felt creeping up her cheeks as she finally understood. "I'm more observant than you think I am. Remember that." He left her once again with a dazed expression on her face.

She eventually settled on anger to be her response. Her first kiss was supposed to be with a guy who loved her. Not with some asshole who wanted to prove a point!

'The sad thing is you let him kiss you! You didn't struggle or nothing! When did you start letting yourself be so easy?!'

Lily seethed as she increased the pace on brushing her teeth. After awhile her hand started to cramp up. She sighed in exhaustion and spit the remaining toothpaste out. She slipped into her fluffy house shoes before stepping out the bathroom. The lights were already turned out as she slipped into bed. Lily proceeded to put away her glasses. She looked at Nicholas sprawled across the bed beside hers. Lily shifted her body to the other side of the room.

Nothing good ever came from looking at him for too long. Both when he was awake or asleep. She was too exhausted just thinking about what he did just today. Her eyes began to droop as she drifted off to sleep.

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SLAM!

'

Not now...ugh... It's too late for this.'

Lily's eye lids were firmly pressed together with her body still curled up in comfort

'Just five more minutes Mr. Ghost...'

Her thoughts wondered off into muddled oblivion as she returned to sleep.

SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

Through closed eyes, she saw an intense light flickering on and off. Lily eventually opened her eyes to see the room in ultimate distress. Furniture was tipped over on the ground, doors were banging in a deafening slam, and papers were swirling all over the floor around her bed. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and picked up the only one that was placed beside her head. It read in capitalized red letters: AWAKEN OR ELSE FACE PUNISHMENT

Then all of a sudden, the banging doors became silent. The swirling paper remained motionless. The flickering lights bathed the room in darkness. Utter darkness. But not for long.

A blood red light bathed the whole room, but it didn't come from the light bulbs. Lily had a feeling, but she didn't want to look. It would be too much! She crawled back under her covers hoping and praying to make it stop. She had never made the Spirit this angry. Why did she have to go back to sleep?! Why didn't she just get up?!

Lily screamed a loud and kicked her feet wildly. Something had touched her. They were cold as ice and felt like hands. It tried to grab her ankles. Again it wrapped around her ankles but refused to let go as she kicked frantically and screamed for help. It dragged her from underneath the covers like it was nothing. Lily closed her eyes and began to scream, "I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!"

She felt a hand ball her hair into its fist and guide her head upwards. This caused her to start crying and chanting her apology to the Spirit. It tugged on her hair harder as it pulled her head backwards. "Open your eyes." The voice was measured and deep, commanding her to do what he said or the ominous promise would be fulfilled.

Lily found enough courage to stop crying and opened her eyes. It was Nicholas with blinding red eyes. His expression was filled with absolute rage. The eyes glared at her ominously as he brought her head towards him, bringing more attention to those ominous eyes. Her eyes flickered anywhere she could, but the closeness became inescapable. The eyes were now her main focus.

"Look at him," the deep voice rang out again. "You will listen to me. I will not allow this disobedience again. Do you understand?" A jerk to her head caused her to yelp out a yes. She made sure that she continued to look into his eyes. His expression softened but not entirely. "We will not have this discussion again. Next time I will punish you. You play by her rules during the day, but you follow mine at night. You will get up and talk to me whenever I choose. You will not go to sleep until you have satisfied me. I don't ask for much. I just want to talk. Nod your head if you understand."

Lily nodded her head slowly.

"Good." He released her hair and walked over to Nicholas's bed. "This warning has exhausted me. You can go back to sleep. We will talk later." He yawned and laid on the bed. As soon as he closed his eyes, the room was cast back into darkness.

But Lily couldn't sleep. She sat there dazed. The whole situation was ...odd. Throughout this whole time he had communicated through the wall, but tonight he communicated through Nicholas. Why didn't he just talk through Nicholas instead of communicating by wall? Does Nicholas even know he's being possessed? How long had this been going on? Who was this Spirit? How much was Mrs. Yates not telling her?

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Lily drug herself out of bed to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She had literally gotten no sleep last night. The warning she had gotten from oversleeping had haunted her every time she fully closed her eyes. She didn't know what got to her the most. The cold tight grip that dragged her by her ankles or the red rage filled eyes that burned her from the inside?

Even though she was terrified to even look at Nicholas, she still needed to learn about the Spirit that took control of him. She needed to learn something, no matter how small.

She got in the shower and took a cold shower to clear her head of these thoughts. She got out of the shower and got dressed in a casual floral printed dress with a flower clip in to compliment her outfit. She fluffed out her hair a little before going downstairs. Just as she reached the last step, she saw Nicholas rush out the door. A few seconds later, a frazzled Mrs. Yates, still wearing he night dress, rushed to the door and yelled down the block, "You forgot your lunch, Nicholas!!"

She passed a hand through her frazzled hair and sighed exasperated. She let loose a spill of unrecognizable curses before she closed the door. When Mrs. Yates turned around, her eyes widened at Lily standing at the stairs. "Could you do me a favor, Lily dear?" Mrs. Yates rushed out in one breath. Before Lily could answer, Mrs. Yates handed Lily the brown sack bag. "When you go on your lunch break, could you please go by the tattoo shop down the street to give Nicholas his lunch? It's only four blocks away from the library. I'll write you some directions, so you don't get lost. I'll bring it to you once you finished your breakfast." Mrs. Yates hurried upstairs, muttering something about Nicholas being a forgetful bloke.

'Just my luck.'

Lily mentally sighed as she fixed herself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

'I don't want to deal with him again. It's enough to deal with him at home, possessed or not.'

She sat down and munched on her sugary breakfast in silence. Usually the treat lifted her spirit, but not today. She couldn't truly explain the dread that she felt when she thought of him now. Of course she knew that the Spirit didn't talk to her during the day, but seeing Nicholas being used as a physical form for it scared the shit out of her. If it was an only a one time deal than she wouldn't be as nervous, but no it was a daily occurrence.

Mrs. Yates padded into the kitchen and handed her the directions on a piece of paper and walked back upstairs. Lily looked at it and scanned over the contents quickly before putting away her bowl and heading out the door.

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'Oh my God, this table is so cool.'

Lily pressed the side of her face against the cool linoleum front desk. She was so glad she had an awesome friend like Vanessa. When Vanessa saw that Lily was zoning out while trying to put up the books, Vanessa switched her easy desk job with Lily. Vanessa lied that it was a slow day anyway. Far from it. The place was flooded with customers due to the new popular books that the library acquired that day.

At least she was sitting down, instead of being out there either putting books up or searching for books for customers. She risked stumbling on her face a few times but made sure to catch herself. At least at the front desk she could do something while sitting down. She looked at the computer clock at how much time she had till lunch. Two more hours till it was twelve o' clock.

'Ugggghhhhh.'

She focused all her attention in checking out books, collecting book dues, looking up books, and placing returned books back on the return cart. In between these tasks, she kept looking back at the clock. The time just seemed to tick as slowly as possible.

'C'mon stupid clock. Hurry up,'

she groaned inside. As the time drew nearer to twelve o' clock, she became more eager to get done with her tasks as fast as possible.

When it finally hit twelve o' clock, Lily nearly fell out her seat trying to get up fast enough to go on break. But when she was about to exit the desk, her boss stopped her. "I need you to finish with this last line of customers before you go on break." Without any explanation to follow, her boss turned on her heels and exited Lily's work desk. Lily wanted to scream what the fuck, but she had never confronted her boss on the decisions she made. She gritted her teeth and turned around to return to her station to check out books.

'Almost done. One last customer.'

When she turned around in her seat, she froze in place. There looking down at her like he had done many times before was Brandon Atreides. The star football player at her high school. The hottest guy in school that every girl in school wanted. The guy who had invested every extra time he had in making her life a total hell.

Lily immediately shifted her head down to look anywhere. She didn't know. Just anywhere than to look at him. She had hoped that she would never have to see this asshole again after graduation. It was enough to deal with her ma talking shit about her but to hear him repeat the exact same thing had totally crushed her. Even just looking at him made her feel...inadequate.

"Oh hell, no," she heard him mutter. She didn't even have to look up to know he was wearing that crude look of disgust every time he saw her. She passed her hand over her forehead and sigh.

'C'mon, Lily. Just do whatever this asshole wants so you can go on break, deliver Nicholas's food, and HOPEFULLY take a nap before my next shift.'

Lily reasoned with herself

.

She let out a breath and looked straight at Brandon. As she thought, there was the same look of disgust. "Hello, may I help you?" she asked in the most deadpan voice that she could muster.

"Yeah, take your fugly ass somewhere else and get Vanessa to help me," Brandon basically snarled at her. Lily closed her eyes momentarily and exhaled slowly.

"She is going out to break, I am the only one who can help you with what you need." she said looking back up at him. Her eyes wavered a bit because of the huge stature of this guy. He pressed his knuckles on the desk and hovered his body over her. "Brandon, I don't need this. Vanessa is on break. She won't be back for an hour. And honestly you're wasting my break time with your foolishness. Either you state what you're here for, or go somewhere and wait for her."

His hazel eyes burned into her as his presence became more intimidating by the second. "Bitch, who do you think you're talking to? If we weren't in this library right now, I'd slap you like the dude you look like. But hell I can't even stand looking at you, let alone touching you even if it was to beat yo' ass. People like you aren't even worthy to talk to me. Yet you think you have the nerve to talk to me like you better than me. Well here's a reality check bitch. You're a dark fugly ass bitch who NO ONE would touch even if you paid them. I already told y-"

Fuck what she was told to do. Her job was to check out books not argue with people. She got out of her seat while he was in mid sentence. She already had to deal with this bullshit for the last eighteen years, she'd be damned if she let someone belittle her for another minute. "That's right you dark bitch. Go back to the slave ship where your nappy ass self belongs." A bark of laughter followed behind her as she walked as fast as she could to the break room. She punched in the clock, got Nicholas's lunch and ran out the library.

'Shit...I forgot the instructions in my locker.'

To hell with that though. She wasn't about to go through Brandon again to get a napkin. According to the directions that she had memorized, it was straight down and to the right. Mrs. Yates had even given her a description of the tattoo parlor. It was Rosie the Riveter with tattoos going up the arm she flexed and several facial piercings.

'That shouldn't be very hard to miss.'

And it wasn't. By the time she was a block away, she was able to see the image of the elaborately done woman. She walked calmly inside the door hopefully to see Nicholas. All action inside the store died down to a halt as everyone stared at her. Lily stared back at everyone else in the store. They all had a retro punk fashion and had their piercing and tattoos on full display. She, in comparison, was average in her simple floral dress. She crossed her arms and walked towards a man at the front desk. He was bald and had tattoos creeping up his neck with a septum piercing.