You're going to hate her more.
Thank you, love
And then I'll be waiting for you to be online again

Chapter 14: Slowly Getting There

The next three months Stephen lived with the Riccis were okay. He eventually went back home and everything was back to normal. Everyone was happy and Stephen became a healer.

If only things were that easy.

Now for the real story.

The next three months of Stephen’s life were hell. Well, at least the last two were. For the first month, almost everything was going well. That was before Stephen had misplaced his wand. After that, Diana was forcing him to eat meat or anything that had its taste. Since he refused to eat anything of the matter, Stephen was “grounded” almost every night. If his wand hadn’t gone missing, he would be back home, with people he actually liked. At least Raul was trying to make his life a bit less difficult by letting out the house without Diana following him. Stephen couldn’t even visit Chelsea to ask for help without Diana following him there and being nosy. But even after that, Diana still had someone keep an eye on Stephen, which was starting to freak him out.

Quickly dialing his brother’s number on his phone, Stephen waited anxiously for Leonard to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Giraffe, I need you to apparate me back home,” Stephen said.

“Why can’t you do it yourself? You have your own wand,”

“I would if I knew where my wand was. It’s disappeared and I can’t find it anywhere,”

“Then go to Chelsea’s house, she’ll apparate you back,”

“Again, I would if Diana would stop following me everywhere I go and eavesdropping on my conversations,”

“Then how are you able to talk to me right now?”

“They’re going to some gala thing tonight and are out shopping. I said I already had clothes so I won’t have to go with them. I seriously think Diana doesn’t want me to leave,”

“Wow, I knew the woman was somewhat mental but not like this. Since I personally can’t get you, I’ll send Lexi and Kat to Chelsea’s place. Hurry up and get there, then apparate back to your parents place, find your wand, pack your things and apparate home,”

“Simple enough, I guess,” said the monster, quickly making his way out the apartment and catching a taxi crosstown.

“But are you at least eating well?” Leonard asked, hinting the worrying tone in his voice that reminded Stephen of his mom.

“Define it,”

“Don’t tell me they’re making you eat meat. If I wasn’t touring for the next three months, or the entire summer, I’d come get you and feed you myself,” Leonard chuckled.

“Well then it’s a good thing you’re touring. I’ll call you back if anything else happens, just make sure your phone is on,” Stephen said, feeling Leonard nod over the phone and hung up. Hurrying his way to Chelsea’s floor, he knocked hoping someone would answer right away.

“I’ll get it!” Stephen could hear the voice he sadly hadn’t heard in so long and missed. When Lexi opened the door and laid eyes on her best friend, all Stephen could see was horror in her eyes. “Stephy?” she asked, her hand slowly reaching up to touch his face. “Why do you look so dead?”

Stephen sighed. “It’s a long story,” he said as he walked into the senior Way home. Out of instinct, Stephen made his way to the kitchen and sat down at the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Chelsea and Kat, along with Lex, rushing into the kitchen.

“May I ask as to why you’ve gotten so thin in three months?” Chelsea asked; more like demanded. “Your dad as called me once in a while and I kept lying saying that you were alright and doing well. It’s pretty obvious you aren’t,”

“Grandma, is Stephen going to die?!” Kat cried, clinging onto her dear friend. “Don’t die, Stephen! I won’t let you die!”

“Katlyn, Stephen’s not going to die, but he might become very sick if he doesn’t take care of himself. Have you spoken to anyone else? What about your girlfriend?” Chelsea sat in front of him; her bright blue eyes staring into Stephen’s dead green ones.

“No. Every time I try to call someone to write a letter, Diana would barge in on me and make me do something to keep me distracted. Now my wand’s gone missing and you’re the only hope I have to get back home. As for Aimee, I haven’t talked to her either. She’s most likely mad at me and would break it off again,” he explained, banging his forehead onto the counter. “Oh and as for why I’m freakishly thin now, Diana made meat every night and when she offered me and I denied, I was ‘grounded’. So I haven’t been eating right these past months and since I don’t go anywhere without Diana as a shadow, I stay indoors. That’s also the reason why I haven’t passed by here recently or at all,”

“So what do we do now?” Lex asked.

“We have to apparate back to their house, get my things, and summon my wand and apparate home,”

“No, don’t apparate home. They’ll know you’ll go there first so just apparate back here and to Tyler’s house. I’m sure they’d like the company,” Chelsea smiled, getting to her feet and heading to the secret room she had in her big apartment. “On second thought, don’t go to Tyler’s house. You can stay in here for some time. Just until they believe you’ve run off, into the world on your own,” she called out, making her way back into the kitchen. “Go on now. I wouldn’t want them to catch you sneaking out or anything,” she shooed them. Lex nodded, taking Stephen’s and Kat’s hands and letting Stephen apparate them to his parents’ home. The condo had seemed orange, with the sun slowly setting from the outside. This meant they only had enough time to pack and find his wand.

“I’ll go pack while you guys summon my wand. It has to be in this house somewhere,” Stephen said, hurrying over to his rental room. It was a good thing Lex cast the undetectable extension charm on his suit case. And it was a good thing Stephen barely unpacked and put everything back whenever he washed his clothes or used something. Closing his suit case and heading back to the hallway, Lexi’s voice called out to him; sounding as if she had found something interesting.

“Well, we found your wand,” Lexi said, handing over one of Stephen’s prized possessions. “Diana was hiding it in the closet, behind many clothes. I guess she really didn’t want you to leave. Plus, she kept all the letters we’ve sent you,” she showed them and stuffed them into her bag.

“I thought only stepmothers were evil,” Kat said, bracing herself to apparate again. “Come on, you know I really hate to apparate but we have no other choice. I just want to get out of here and -,”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Diana, Raul and Clare burst through the door.

“GO, GO, GO!” Kat yelled, hugging Stephen’s arm tight as Lexi held his other arm, and apparated. But the apparition wasn’t quick enough. Diana managed to jump on the misfits, apparating herself with them. Mostly everything was a blur. One thing Stephen could remember was kicking Diana’s shoulder so she wouldn’t know where they were going. He also felt Kat tighten her grip on his arm and his sleeve was suddenly wet; as if she were crying. As Diana’s figure became smaller, the misfits hit a floor with a thud, all in different places. Slowly getting up and rubbing the back of his head, Stephen looked around; recognizing the familiar home he hadn’t visited in a while.

“It’s going to be okay, Kat! I’m sure Stephen would cure you!” Lexi cried from another room. Quickly getting to his feet and heading upstairs, all he saw was Lexi and Kat on the ground, and Kat’s arm had a large cut on it. “She got splinched!” Lex cried a bit harder, pulling Stephen to his knees on the ground. “When Diana managed to grab her, Kat lost her concentration. I couldn’t go back to her grandmother’s place, it was just too risky. I just had to bring us further away where your mom had never been before. Do something Stephy!” Nodding, Stephen quickly ran downstairs and opened his suitcase. He knew one day this little potion would come in handy. Especially since Kat never really liked to apparated; but getting to places was much faster that way. Basically running up the stairs, he knelt next to Kat.

“Don’t let me die, Stephen! I’m too young to die!” Kat sobbed, her tears coming down like waterfalls.

“Shut up, you’re not going to die,” Stephen said, opening the small vial.

“Hurry up! I CAN SEE THE LIGHT!” she cried harder, reaching her hand towards the “sky”.

“Kat, that’s the light bulb above you,” Lexi said as Stephen slowly poured some essences of dittany onto the cut. “How did you manage to make that?”

“From the book Leonard gave me. Tricky little potion, but I think it came out pretty well,” Stephen said and watched as the cut began to slowly close up.

“Stephen, give me your glasses! I wanna look smart for when I go to heaven!” Kat said, reaching up for his face and taking his glasses.

“I don’t have my contacts with me. Give me my glasses back or I’ll splinch you!” he threatened, taking back his glasses from her. “Anyways, let’s get you bandaged up and rested. I’m sure your uncle wouldn’t mind us staying here again,”

“At least he would feel better if you called or wrote a letter before entering his home,” Tyler spoke, walking up the stairs with a sleeping Nathan in his arms. “What are you doing here anyways?”

“Rescuing Stephen from his evil biological parents. Kat got splinched apparating here so we’re just going to clean her up,” Lex explained, heading towards the room Kat had always stayed in whenever she felt like crashing here.

“Alright. We don’t mind you staying here, but does this mean your mom is going to end up coming here, Stephen?” Ty asked, entering the room behind the misfits. Though he should’ve put Nathan in his crib first before entering.

“No, she doesn’t know where we went and she doesn’t know where you live. So I think we’re good, hopefully for the rest of my life,” Stephen said, bandaging Kat’s arm. Tyler nodded, heading out the room and into Nathan’s. After Stephen was done with Kat, the misfits just sat in the room, quiet for the first time around each other.

“Oh, I have to show you guys something!” Kat suddenly spoke, making Lexi and Stephen jump. The hyperactive girl jumped from the bed and reached for her bag. “My band is touring in the fall and you guys are invited for when we hit London,” she clapped her hands together and took out a flyer. “You’re allowed to bring one guest each and you get in for free,”

“Sounds like fun, I’ll go,” Lexi smiled, looking over the colorful flyer in front of her. “Well, we all know Stephen’s bringing Aimee,”

“I haven’t even asked yet,” Stephen defended.

“Right, her dad can be uptight at times. Looks like it’s time to meet the parents,” Lex teased with a smirk growing on her face. “That should be fun,”

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“I’m nervous, my palms are sweaty, my heart’s racing and I feel like my legs are going to give in on me. Is this normal?” Stephen asked as he walked with Aimee towards her father’s job.

“What, didn’t you meet your other girlfriends’ parents before?” Aimee asked, rubbing the back of Stephen’s palm, trying to calm him down.

“We weren’t together long enough for me to actually meet them. You’re making it sound as if I’ve had loads of girlfriends before you,”

“Well then how many did you have?”

“Two,”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I’m capable of remembering. We’ve been dating for six to seven months; do I really have to meet your dad?” Stephen asked, but it sounded more like he was pleading not to meet her dad.

“Do the other months of us dating count?”

“Up to you,”

“Okay, so in this case they do count. This means we’ve been dating for over a year and it’s time for you to meet my dad. I’ve met your parents and you didn’t say anything about it,” Aimee protested, stepping into a building and pressing the elevator button. “Why don’t you want to meet my dad?” she added, now stepping into the elevator, followed by the annoying boy she called her boyfriend.

“You ended up at my house unexpectedly and stayed. No one told you to meet my parents,” Stephen laughed, still being dragged by the blonde in front of him. “Honestly, do you think your dad would be alright with his little daughter dating someone older than her? Plus, I’ve never met past girlfriends’ parents so I don’t know how to act,”

“We’re only a year apart. It’s not like you’re thirty years older than me. Then we would’ve had a problem,” she explained. “And just be you. He slightly knows you from my aunt’s party, remember?” Aimee knocked on a door, but stepped in anyway. “Hi dad, I want you to meet my boyfriend Stephen. Stephen, this is my dad. Glad we got that over with,” she quickly said and walked out the room. Dumbfounded, Stephen had no clue what to do now. Does he follow behind her or stay in her dad’s office?

“It’s alright, Stephen. Aimee’s told me all about you and so, you have permission to date my daughter,” Mr. Beaumont said. “Now go on, enjoy the concert,” he added, going back to his work.

“Oh, thank you,” was all that could come out of Stephen’s mouth. He walked out, headed towards the elevators and waited.

“I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Aimee poked Stephen’s temple and laughed.

“I hate you,”

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“I didn’t know the band’s fanbase was this insane!” Leonard yelled over the loud music. Stephen, Lexi and Aimee shrugged. Sure they teased Kat all the time, but they knew she was usually passionate about her band and playing drums. And speaking of the fans, they were mostly teenage girls who began flailing whenever someone from the band or another band, passed by. But luckily, Kat’s band was next and these fans would move closer to the stage in a few minutes.

“Oh look, the lights are diming!” Lexi jumped up and down excitedly. “Leonard, put me on your shoulders!” Groaning, Leonard did as he was told. He knew otherwise Lexi would stab him with one of her heels.

“Stephen, can you carry me on your shoulders?” Aimee asked, making her hazel eyes big, like that of a puppy dog.

“What?”

“Just do it!” Aimee said, lifting herself onto Stephen’s shoulders and making sure he was holding her tightly. Just then, both girls decided to scream their lungs out when Kat walked on stage.

“We love you, Kat!” they said in unison. Both boys had to endure their poor shoulders being crushed for the next forty-five minutes to an hour. Never again are they coming to a show where Kat’s band is headlining. Not to mention the pain they’re going to be feeling tomorrow after the exhausting night.

“Stephen, why aren’t you in a band? You know how to play guitar and you can sing. Why not try it out?” Lexi asked as they waited for the crowd of teenagers to clear up and bit. Sitting on the floor, Stephen shrugged. He never really thought about being in a band. Though playing in a “band” at Tyler’s wedding, felt pretty cool in a way.

“I guess I’ve usually been focused on being a healer that I haven’t thought about being in a band,”

“How about when you become a healer, you try out for a band? I’m sure someone’s looking for your skills,” the blonde smiled, leaning her head onto his shoulder.

“If Kat can get into a band, then I’m pretty sure you can too,” Leonard spoke, lying down on the floor, trying to trip people. Well, he was successful at one person who somehow didn’t see his massive body there. “Seriously, I’m not that thin for people just to walk into me like that!”

“The next time, just don’t lay on the floor,” Stephen laughed.

“So what did you guys think about the show?” Kat quickly rushed to them after being followed by her little fans. Stephen and Leonard gave her thumbs up. As for Lexi and Aimee, they both began talking about how amazing it was. Yet, they wouldn’t feel the pain Leonard or Stephen would be in later.

“Oh, before you came, we were telling Stephen he should be in a band, but he doesn’t want to be in one,” Lex said.

“I never said I didn’t want to be in one. I just said I hadn’t put much thought to it,” Stephen argued, pushing Lexi onto the floor.

“We can call my uncle! I’m sure he’ll know at least someone who needs a guitarist! Even more so, a lefty guitarist!” Kat squealed, taking out her phone.

“Can’t we wait until I become an actual healer to do this? I need a fall back at least,”

“Alright, fine!”