Survivor of a Twisted Fate 2

Prom

Friday had finally arrived. The school was full of excited chatter about who was going with whom, what freshmen victim was picked for the football team to prank, and who was throwing the after parties. Thanks to Jasmine's dad, prom was being held in Charton, at one of the classy hotels that he owned. Jasmine, Joseph, Damian, Kevin, Chelsea, and Mandy were sitting at their lunch table.

"I can't wait till after graduation, we are so out of this stupid town!" said Damian angrily.

He sighed a heavy sigh and looked at his brother. Mandy crossed her arms over her chest angrily.

"It's not fair!" she grumbled, as she sat back in her chair.

Joseph looked at the floor and kicked his foot. Jasmine could feel the heavy air sitting around her friends, and she wondered why they were so glum.

"What's not fair?" Jasmine asked, as she looked at Joseph in question, as Mandy looked at Damian and he shrugged his shoulders.

"We can't go on our trip to Guatemala," Mandy said, sadly, as she hung her head.

"What? Why?" asked Kevin in disbelief, and Chelsea looked up at Damian with sad eyes.

"But we have been planning this trip for half of the year,” she said, as she held back her tears.

She was really upset that Damian wouldn't be going with them, and she wondered if they were still going to go, even though half of their friends couldn't.

"Our parents are making us go on a stupid trip with them,” lied Damian.

Joseph hated the fact that he had to lie to Jasmine. She had always been completely honest with him.

Maybe I could tell her after school, alone, he thought for a moment. I know what I will do after prom is over, and we have some secluded time alone. I'll tell her everything! He decided, and he leaned into Jasmine's ear.

"After tonight, I promise everything will make sense, and you will understand,” he whispered.

Jasmine looked at him for a moment, and she nodded.

Everything will all make sense? Does that mean his parents weren't making them go camping? She wondered.

"My parents said I could go, but I told them we were going cross-country to see concerts," said Chelsea.

Jasmine thought for a moment and then looked at her friend.

"Good cover. We hadn't come up with anything to tell our parents yet, but thanks to you, we have got a cover!" said Jasmine cheerfully.

At the moment, Chelsea knew that they were still going, no matter who was coming or not.

Jasmine was sad that Joseph couldn't come along. They had been planning this trip together since the day she and Kevin brought it up. Kevin nodded to Chelsea.

The end of the school day had arrived, and the gang met up in the parking lot beside Jasmine's car. Joseph walked up to Jasmine and gently grabbed her by the arm, and he led her behind the car. He felt that his time was about to run out, and he would have to leave soon. Joseph wanted to make every moment count with her. After she had shown him her abilities, she would sneak into his bedroom in the middle of the night.

They would spend many nights together snuggling and talking. He loved the way she made him feel. She made him feel complete. At that moment, Joseph pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. Jasmine looked at the box, and then she looked back up at Joseph.

"What's this?" she asked in awe, and he smiled at her.

"Open it, silly!" he said, as he chuckled, and she grinned at him excitedly.

Jasmine opened the box and her eyes went wide. She looked back up at Joseph, shocked. It was his favorite gold necklace with a wolf's head pendant, and the wolf was calling to the moon. Jasmine never saw Joseph ever take it off, as long as she had known him, and she wondered why he was giving it to her.

"I can't take this! It's your favorite necklace!" Jasmine exclaimed, as she closed the box and tried to give it back.

Silently, Joseph took the box and opened it. He took the necklace out and held it between his fingers. Heavily he sighed as he looked at it. He wanted her to have something of his before he left, because one day he was going to disappear without an explanation. Joseph looked at Jasmine and waited for her to turn around. Jasmine grinned and then she turned around. He moved her hair to the side, and then he clasped the necklace around her neck.

"I want you to hold on to this for me,” he said, softly, and Jasmine touched the pendant and turned around, as she looked at Joseph.

Why does this feel like he's saying goodbye? she thought to herself.

Nervously, she searched his eyes as tears threatened in the back of her eyes. He looked back into her eyes with sorrow. A tear slid down Jasmine's cheek as she realized that this might really be goodbye. Joseph put his palms to her cheeks and pulled her face close to his.

"I love you, keep it safe for me,” he said, softly.

"I will. I love you,” she said, as another tear fell from her eye and landed on his skin.

"Joseph, come on!" called Damian.

Joseph looked at his brother and sighed. He turned back to Jasmine, and he kissed her and hugged her tight. She thought she felt him sob. Suddenly, he let go of her and walked away. She watched him leave. She didn't know it at that moment, but that was the last time she would see him.

********************

Joseph, Damian and Mandy walked into the boy's house, talking and laughing about prom when they stopped short. Both their parents were sitting at the dining room table. They looked at their children sadly.

"Boys, Mandy, why don't you guys come sit down,” said Andrew, as he sighed.

Joseph's heart sank as he realized that was the last time he was ever going to see Jasmine, and Mandy crossed her arms angrily.

"I'm still going to prom!" she growled, and Lynn and Braun looked at their daughter nervously.

"Oh, you no longer need to worry about prom!"

A dark figure emerged from the corner and came out into the light. Joseph, Damian, and Mandy were surprised that the human-looking figure was Leonard.

"Hello Amanda, Damian and Joseph. You are the final three that have been selected to join the trainees leaving tonight. Ship sails in a few hours." Said Leonard as he looked at them with his still reptilian eyes.

Mandy snarled at Leonard and lunged at him. Damian grabbed her, and she tried to squirm out of his grip.

"He's a monster!" she cried, as she tried to get out of Damian's arms.

"I hate you and I hope that you die a painful death when you fall at the hands of your enemy!" she snarled.

Joseph looked at her sadly. Tears fell from Mandy's eyes as she growled and snapped. Leonard smiled and walked past them.

"Train well,” he said and left the house.

Mandy sobbed, and Damian and Joseph hung their heads in defeat. Andrew and Cara looked at each other sadly, and Braun hung his head. Lynn was left by herself as she sobbed.

What have I done? she thought to herself sadly, as she watched her daughter fall apart in her cousin's arms.

**********************

Jasmine, Chelsea, and Kevin arrived at the classy hotel. It was beautifully decorated inside. They decorated the ballroom with cream-colored drapes that matched the carpet. There was a wooden dance floor in the center of the room and a live band was playing against the far wall. The lights were dim in some places, and bright in other places, and they were decorated with green garland. Jasmine thought the place really looked amazing. They waited for their friends as they sat at the table closest to the door.

"Where are they?" asked Chelsea, as she looked around, and Kevin looked at his watch.

"They are an hour late. They are never late for anything, especially when it comes to making plans with us!" stated Kevin.

Jasmine sighed and shrugged her shoulders. They waited for another hour and their friends never came. Jasmine, Chelsea and Kevin sadly left Charton and drove home.

*****************

Jasmine pulled into her driveway after she had dropped Kevin and Chelsea off at their houses. She cried her eyes out as she leaned her head against the steering wheel.

Why didn't he come? Did he know earlier that he wasn't going to make it to prom? Why didn't he tell her he wasn't going to be there?

Tears soaked her dress as her mind whipped rapidly with thoughts. Her pain started to turn to anger. If he knew, why didn't he just tell her? She lifted her head and looked straight ahead.

Suddenly, Jasmine angrily slammed her hands against the steering wheel and the whole front of the car groaned and came apart. She watched in terror as the front end of the car went flying forward and skidded across the driveway. Shocked, she stared in disbelief as she watched the front of the car land in the field next to the barn. She blinked a couple of times and a chuckle escaped her lips. She saw her parents run out onto the porch as she unfastened her seatbelt.

"Jasmine?" called Anna, as she ran down the porch steps.

Jasmine got out of the car and stood in the driveway. She looked at her mother as tears started rolling down her cheeks. Anna looked at her daughter and felt her pain.

"Oh, honey!" said Anna, as she reached Jasmine.

Jasmine began to sob and collapsed into her mother's arms. Justin ran to them and wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter. They stayed in the driveway and held their daughter as she sobbed.

*****************

The last days of school dragged by for Jasmine, Kevin, and Chelsea. Joseph, Damian, and Mandy never returned to school. They grieved for their friends, and they felt lost without them. They didn't know what happened to their friends or if they would ever see them again.

Evidently, Jasmine had used her invisibility ability to sneak over to Joseph's room in the middle of the night a few times, but he was never there. There wasn't any sign of him being there, either. One night she even laid on his bed and silently cried. She missed him so much.

The school year had finally come to an end and the summer began. Jasmine, Kevin and Chelsea were still planning their trip to Guatemala. Jasmine still had to find whatever it was that was calling to her. She hoped that Joseph would be there waiting for her when she returned.