Creating a Life of Trends and Make-Believe

Jenna’s POV

Kellin looked at me with an unsure expression as I finished drawing a symbol onto the wooden floor beneath us. He was still a bit hung-over from last night and looked absolutely drained.

“I thought you needed the book?”

“We do, it’s more risky this way, but it’s literally impossible to find.” I shot a sympathetic glance Kellin’s way. This was a big deal, it was risky and I knew the consequences if it went wrong. Truthfully, I think Kellin knew them as well, judging by his quietness. But this is what he wanted- he wanted Vic so I was merely helping him.

I gestured for Kellin to come and stand in the centre of the pentagram. Candles surrounded the unique Sigel, along with numerous other symbols representative of dark enchantment. I certainly did not like to mess with it; horrible things happen to people who meddled in dark magic. For most of my life, I have avoided it.

Kellin shuffled his way to centre of the pentagram, a distant look playing on his features. He quizzically looked at the items surrounding him, probably trying to determine what they did. I left him pondering in his thoughts as I needed to find something that may potentially save his life. I walked over to the drawers, and rummaged around in the top one, praying that I still had it. After a couple of minutes, I found it. The little red box in my hands was coated in a thick layer of dust that I brushed off with my hand before handing it to Kellin.

"This is important. You can't lose it, Kellin." I kept my voice stern, and never broke eye contact with him, which seemed to make him flinch slightly. He fumbled the box around in his hand, and then opened it slowly. Gingerly, he pulled the necklace out and stared at it intently.

"What does it do? Will it protect me or something?"

"In a way, yes. It's an apotropaic charm. See the pendent? Well, the reason it's an eye is because it's supposed to represent someone looking over you- it's like a lucky charm. Except it actually work, to a certain extent. It won't protect you; it'll just give you the upper hand in some things, make things in your favour." Kellin locked it around his neck and tucked it under his shirt, ensuring it couldn't be seen.

"I still don't get what I'm supposed to do once I get there. How am I supposed to know my way around? What do I do?!"

"Well, if Vic has that eternity ring, you both hold it, and I'll know. Then I'll have to somehow get you both out of there, unnoticed. It's going to be difficult though Kellin, I've never done anything like this before. And you're going to have to be very, very careful. You've got to stay out of sight, got it? Good." I stepped out of the pentagram and reached the book Alex gave me last night. Undoubtedly, the book was old; when I say old, I mean ancient . There was stuff in here even I couldn't read- archaic languages that only the most experienced sorcerers could understand. And when you see that, you know you’re dealing with extreme magic.

“Good luck Kellin.”

“I guess I’ll need all the luck I can get.” He forced a smile on his face, but I knew he was masking his fear. I simply nodded and began to flick through the pages, finding the appropriate spell. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to leave this room until Kellin’s soul returned back to his body; I had to guard him.

I started to mumble the spell under my breath, feeling the energy drain out of me as I recited it. The more I read, the heavier the air got, and a breeze blew out the candles. Still, I kept my focus. Kellin however was slowly losing his consciousness. He was swaying on his feet, and he had his eyes shut. After a couple more lines, he had slumped to the floor. Now, the only thing I could do was to wait.

Kellin’s POV

My body hit the floor with a thud. Fuck that hurt. The wooden floor I had hit was pressed up right into my face, and the dust went directly up my nose, causing me to jerk away and sneeze. Nice. Right, where the fuck am I? Glancing around made me even more confused- I was in a library of some sort. Literally, from floor to ceiling there were books, and they looked pretty old. But it wasn’t like any modern-day library, oh no. Instead, the rows and rows of books made a makeshift hallway, and hopefully, a way out. I scrambled up from the floor, deciding that if I sat there and did nothing it would probably land me in trouble. Bewildered and confused, I walked down the corridor of books, praying that it would lead me to Vic. To my dismay, it didn’t. Instead I was greeted by an extremely large room, filled with more books. There must have been thousands. All of them were stacked upon several bookcases, and the giant wall across from me. I now just had to find a way to get through unnoticed.

The act of being discreet- much harder than I thought it would be. I decided it would be best to weave my way in and out of the bookshelves, hoping it would make my movements less attentive. All was going good: no one had seen me, I had been quiet, and an exit was in my sights. That was until I caught glimpse of a figure right ahead of me. Oh fuck. My body froze right in its place, and despite my brain’s order for me to move, my legs were reluctant. Naively, I thought that if I just stood where I was, perfectly still, this person wouldn’t notice me. Wrong.

Just as I was about to make an attempt to run, the individual turned around, staring straight at me. Now I was in trouble. No hesitation was made as I turned on my heel, and sprinted for what looked like the exit.

“Hey! Come back, wait!” A voice from behind me called, which I just ignored, and ran faster.

I was literally a couple of feet from the door before a hand caught the back of my sweater, yanking me backwards. Losing my balance, I toppled to the floor, breaking the silence that lingered over the library. I cursed under my breath, and to my surprise, a hand was stuck out, offering to pull me from the floor. My utterly confused face was probably priceless. Once I was off the ground, I simply gawked at the person. He looked like a tough sort of guy, tattoos going up both arms, a micro-dermal piercing and quite large gauges. Intimidating have suited him if it weren't for his kind looking face.

"Hi, I'm Tony, and you shouldn't be here." He smiled at me mischievously. Something told me that he would keep our little encounter to himself. I looked up at him with pleading eyes, and he gave me another smile.

"Don't worry dude, I never saw you, ok?"

"Thanks. I was wondering if you could show me where to-” Without warning, Tony brought his hand up to my mouth and covered it, silencing me. "Aww shit." He muttered under his breath, looking slightly pissed off. Puzzled, I frowned at him, hoping to get an answer for his sporadic actions. However, my curiosity was soon answered when I heard heavy footsteps from across the room.

"Go, quickly!" He whispered harshly, pushing me quite boisterously through the exit.

I stumbled and tripped over my own feet as I ran down a random corridor. My laces were getting caught up as I ran, and I knew this would end badly any minute now. I didn't even know where I was going; I was guessing. There were many different corridors that I ran down, and all of them were constructed with the same dismal grey stones, making them look practically identical. The more I ran, the more lost and panicked I got. That didn't stop me though. I continued to race down the empty hallways, desperate for some sort of room to come into sight.

My running soon came to a very abrupt stop. Since I was paying any remote attention to what was in front of me, I didn't even notice anyone walking up to me. I was too focused on not tripping up on my laces to look up.

"Hello there!" A voice shouted me. I didn't even have time to respond to them, as I had smacked straight into the person, sending us both toppling to the floor. The person I had knocked into hit the floor with a loud thud, and I soon followed, landing directly on top of them. Oh fuck, I'm in trouble. I looked down at the poor soul I had completely squashed and raised my eyebrows. His hair looked like he had been stood in the wind for about 3 days solid, and had a large blonde streak going through it. Deep brown eyes looked back up at me with excitement and confusion.

"Ermmm..." I squeaked out awkwardly.

"Hello!! I'm Jaime!" Ok, not what I was expecting.

"I'm Kellin. Do you know wh-" I was cut off by Jaime shouting loudly in excitement. Damn, could I finish a fucking sentence without someone interrupting me?

"Oh my god! Are you Kellin Quinn?!" His childlike response was too amusing not to laugh at.

"Yep. That's me." I shifted my weight slightly, then realised that I was still lying on top of him. "Ermmm, I should probably, you know, get off you now." I grinned at him sheepishly, and pulled both myself and him off of the stony floor.

"Great! Come on!" Jaime tugged on my wrist and dragged me down another corridor. We walked for a while, Jaime babbling on about, well, I don’t even know. I just nodded every now and again. He couldn’t stop changing what he was talking about, so I eventually just gave up and let him ramble. After another 5 minutes, we stopped. Literally, Jaime just stopped walking. He turned to face the worn-down wall and frowned, looking slightly muddled. He prodded a few bricks until he reached one that sunk into the wall. A chain reaction followed as the surrounding ones twisted and turned, creating an arched doorway. Ok, hidden doorways, that's completely normal.

“Right, we gotta run, ok Kellin?” Jaime didn’t give me any time to answer, and instead grabbed my wrist once again and hauled me along with him. This hallway was unlike the others. What seemed like a silk carpet ran its way down the centre of the passage, and the whole thing was lit by torches of fire. It was much nicer than the others.

We must have run for a good 5 minutes until Jaime reached an oak door. He hastily swung the door open, shoved me through it, and shouted to the person inside.

“Hey Vic, you better fucking appreciate this, I’m putting my neck on line for you” Jaime patted my shoulder, and then carried on running.

Vic. He said Vic. I raised my lashes, and saw my Vic standing there with an angry and shocked look on his face.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?!”Vic walked up to me, and I could tell he was going to start shouting any minute.

“Well, I’m here to get your ass out of here!”

He narrowed his eyes, glaring at me intensely. It scared me- I guess despite his small build, Vic could be intimidating when he wanted to be. He clamped his hands down onto my shoulders and clenched them tightly, taking the opportunity to shove me against the wall aggressively.

“Do you not get it? You can’t be here, dammit Kellin! You know why? Because he knows you’re here. Does that come as a fucking surprise? Now Jaime has gone off to distract him, so you can talk to me, and then my best friend is probably going to end up dead because of you! Was the life you had not enough? You never thought of me! What changed your mind now? Because you caught a glimpse of me, then remembered?! You can’t have everything Kellin!” I’ve never seen Vic lose his composure like this. He hands were gripping my shoulders incredibly tightly and it was starting to hurt, but not as much as his words.

“I haven’t thought about you?! Bullshit! You were all I thought about! What do you think motivated me to make the band!? Oh, and the songs? Who do you think they were about, Vic? You know, I’ve never been truly content because you weren’t there with me! Let my fucking shoulders go, you’re hurting me.” Vic’s face held a look of guilt, and he loosened his grip.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. But you don’t understand how much shit you’re in now Kellin, Lucifer’s gonna come and take you an-“

“Vic, just shut up.” With that, I smashed our lips together desperately. To my surprise, Vic didn’t pull away like expected him to. Instead, he moved his lips against my own desperately. The kiss was angry, but fucking hot. Vic trailed his hands down my body, and a tingling sensation danced over my skin. One of my favourite things was Vic’s kisses, they were flawless and euphoric. So when he caught my bottom lip between his teeth, I couldn’t help but moan into his mouth. Vic wasted no time in shoving his tongue into my mouth, massaging against my own. A loud groan escaped from my lips when I felt his hands sliding lower down my body. Too add to the already dreamy feeling, Vic began to leave kisses and bites down my neck, settling on a spot just below my ear, which he caught between his teeth, and sucked gently. I whimpered slightly at his actions, and I buried my hands into hair, pulling on the locks lightly. I would have happily let him fuck me against the wall, but the sound of faint footsteps snapped me out of the lust filled daze I had fell in to.

“Shit Vic, I think someone’s coming.” I reluctantly pushed the Hispanic man away from me, feeling a little mean when I saw his disappointed face. “We need the eternity ring, now. You’ve got it, haven’t you?” Vic nodded, and started to look a bit more panicked, scrambling across the room, and searching for it frantically.

“Damn it Jaime, quit moving my stuff.” Vic grumbled under his breath.

The footsteps were getting louder, and we both knew who it would be. Vic started to get more stressed. “I can’t find it! It was here! Oh fuck, I swear if moves my stuff again. Hold on, is that it?” He reached down to floor, and picked up the ring.

“Come here, quickly!” Vic ran to me, it’s just he wasn’t fast enough. The door swung open, and I was greeted by the unfriendly face of Lucifer.

“Well, if it isn’t the infamous Kellin Quinn! Coming to pay me a visit! That’s very kind of you, but you really didn’t have to.” He gave me a sly look that made me feel immediately edgy. He quickly lost interest in me though, and turned his attention to Vic.

"Vic, I am disappointed! Even after I warned you. You know the consequences. Poor Kellin, he had such a bright future ahead of him, if you hadn't have dragged him down with you, literally." To say he was being spiteful would have been an understatement.

"Don't you fucking dare speak to him like that! Who do you think you are?!" Oops. Big mistake there, Kellin. Lucifer spun around, his eyes turning completely black, and holy shit, did it scare me. I don't know where that sudden surge of confidence came from, but I really wish I had saved it for another time.

"I'll tell you who the fuck I am. I am someone with more strength, power, and wisdom than you. I'm someone who doesn't meddle in others affairs unless it's necessary, unlike you. I'm evil. I'm cruel, and I'm someone who could break you with a click of my fingers. So if I were you, I'd watch your pathetic mouth and think before you speak." His smile was so malicious; he was thriving off of my fear, and enjoying every minute of it. Vic looked at me with the most pained expression I had ever seen, he looked sorrowful and was that a hint of guilt? Tears were brimming in his eyes but I didn't understand why.

That was until I felt my feet leave the ground. What the hell was going? Confused, I looked back at Vic, who's tears had started to fall from his gorgeous brown eyes. Panic settled in and Vic grabbed onto the devils arm, shaking it violently.

"Lucifer, stop." He said, his voice shaky as ever.

But he didn't. I slowly felt my breathing get shallower, and I was starting to gasp. What was he doing to me? The harder I tried to get oxygen into my lungs, the more I would feel constricted of it. It felt like someone had their hands wrapped around my throat, killing me slowly.

"Stop, you son of a bitch! You're hurting him, he hasn't done anything to you!" Vic attempted to push him, but he remained unaffected. The shouting continued, but it felt like it was getting distant as my head started to spin. Despite Vic's frenzied actions, nothing would stop him, he was in an almost trance.

My breaths were turning into chokes now, no air was getting into my system, and my vision was getting blurry. I was trying everything, but nothing was working. I knew he was making process last as long as possible; he wanted me to suffer. Every attempt at breathing felt like it burnt me, and I could feel each individual part of my lungs closing off, depriving me of any air. This was it, I was going to die.

"Please stop. He's the only thing I've ever loved. Surely you've loved someone?" Vic's voice was barely a whisper, and I'm surprised I could even make out what he saying, due to my foggy mind. Abruptly, I dropped to the floor, clutching my chest in agony. He had stopped?! Vic must have hit a nerve or something, because it seemed to have him completely immersed in what Vic was saying.

"You have, haven't you? You know then how much that individual means to you. How much it tears you up being away from them, how it drives you insane. And you must know that amazing fluttery feeling that fills you each time you see them, hug them, or kiss them. But most importantly, you must know how much happiness they bring you. Even when things are absolutely shit, they somehow make things feel better. Why would you want to take all that away from me?" Tears ran over Vic's cheekbones, sparkling slightly under soft glow of the candles.

"I don't know Vic, I really don't." Lucifer's voice was quiet, and uncertain. His eyes faded back to their deep brown hue. It was so range seeing him like this. To be honest, I couldn't care less at this moment in time, I was till coughing violently, trying to regain my breath.

"Then please don't kill him. He's done nothing but good. If anyone had to die, it would be me. Look at all the unforgivable things I've done..." Lucifer looked over at Vic, his normal confident smile returning, probably happy about the mistakes Vic had made in his life.

"The only thing I can offer you is a deal. That's the way things work here, Victor. Now, Kellin, I'll let you catch your breath first!" He laughed slightly at the end of his sentence, obviously finding my wheezing fucking amusing.
"Kellin, here are your choices. If you wish to spend the rest of your days with Vic, you're going to have to give up everything you've earned; your fame, your lifestyle, and last but not least your friends and family." His smirked at the last part. "When they die, I will take their souls, and they'll be mine for eternity."

"What will happen to me?" I asked hoarsely.

"Ahhh! I'm glad you asked. Simple, you'll be dead to the world. As Vic was once a lost soul, you will be too. No one will see you except for Vic, as he's already lost his soul. They'll pronounce you dead, your body will be thrown six feet under, blah blah blah. If you choose not to do this, I'll send you back up to earth, and you'll never lay eyes on Vic again, since you have caused me a lot of inconvenience. So what'll it be, Kellin? Vic, or your life back?"

Vic came and sat down beside me, the odd occasional tear slipping down his face. It broke my heart seeing him like this. Vic just looked at me with sad, tired eyes.

"Hey doll face." He smiled weakly and slung an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his chest. "I want you to go back to your life, Kellin. You don't need me, you just think you do. You have a good life that most people would dream about having. Why waste that? Also, selling your friends souls to the devil? Could you live with guilt of that?"

"Probably not, but I'm sick and tired of doing things to make other people happy, when I'm stuck here feeling depressed and fed-up. Surely I should be allowed a chance at being happy? I'm going to do something for once in my life for me."

I looked to Lucifer, smiling. "I take your first offer. Vic- that's what I want."

"You're sure? I cannot undo deals once they are made, Kellin."

"Yes, I've never been surer." I stuck my hand out to shake his, ensuring the deal was done.

"Deal?"

"Deal" I smiled contently, and his eyes went ebony momentarily, before he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

I leant back into Vic's arm, breathing in his sweet aroma. I knew I was beaming, just the thought of knowing that we could be together made me elated. Vic grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together.

"Hey Kellin?" I tilted my head up so I could see him. Even with swollen, puffy red eyes he was still perfect.

"I love you." My stomach flipped at the words, and a whole new kind of happiness overwhelmed me. I reached up to peck him on the lips lightly.

"That's good to hear, because Victor Fuentes, I love you more than you'll ever know."