***Chapter 16***

Meanwhile with Hilary, Amanda, and Allison

Hilary, Amanda, and Allison walked into the set acting as casual and cool as they possibly could. Allison took the lead as the others dragged not far behind.

"Allison, if you plan on telling them first hand about what’s going on, then you’re going in alone!" Hilary threatened in a hushed whisper.

"Fine see ya at home," Allison said calmly as she kept on walking. Hilary slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Told ya that wouldn't work," Hilary told Amanda.

Amanda shrugged, "Worth a shot." The girls stopped behind some crew and watched Jamie-Lynn, Joanna, and Mika shoot a scene together.

"Okay they’re filming lets rocket." Hilary grabbed Allison by the arm and tried pulling her along with her.

Allison drew her arm back, "No! We'll just wait here until they have a break. Then we can make our move." Hilary sighed not feeling the urge to argue anymore. The girls continued to watch as the their innocents shot the scene.

"Who are you?" A sudden voice came from behind them. The girls froze in their place.

"Oh no." Amanda managed to squeak out. They slowly turned around, becoming face to face with a big muscular man. And not just any muscular man, but a security guard of all people!

"What are you girls doing in here?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of his huge chest, staring them down hard.

"Uhhhhh.....uhhhhh......" Amanda stammered on and on. Allison rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

"We are fans of Mika Boorems and we won a contest to meet her so, Mr. Guard dude, we have a right to be here." Allison said with an attitude.

"Oh really?" He said, his eyebrows raised. Hilary rolled her eyes. She knew this guy wasn’t going to buy Allison’s bullshit story. If he did then this security guard really must be an idiot.

"Yes," Allison huffed. The guard glanced at the other two girls.

"What she said," Amanda and Hilary said in unison. The guard pressed his lips together.

"If that is so, then where are your passes?" The girls eyes widened. They quickly stole glances at each other. On the other hand Hilary’s glance turned into a glare.

“I hate you,” Hilary said to Allison, just as two more security guards joined in.

The girls screamed as they were literally thrown outside by the three security guards.

"AND STAY OUT!!!!" The girls groaned and lifted up their heads and looked at each other.

"You know, come to think of it....this is harder than I thought." Amanda groaned.

After a few minutes of brushing themselves off, Allison took off toward the other side of the building. Amanda and Hilary groaned in annoyance and ran after her.

"Okay, plan B, girls. We wait behind theses bushes until they come out." Allison said, crouching down beside the building, the bushes shielding them.

"Allison, do I have to remind you that your first plan didn't work?" Hilary mentioned, sitting cross legged in front of her.

"Yeah why should this be any different?" Amanda added. Allison glared at her.

"Amanda if I had an active power, I would use it on you right now." She threatened. Amanda's eyes widened, but she didn‘t say anything. Allison blew her bangs out of her face and laid down in the dirt.


Meanwhile with Aaron

Aaron walked into the long empty hallway of the school. He stopped behind the trophy case and leaned against the wall. Aaron jumped when he saw a male student walking down the hallway, reading a piece of paper. He quickly shape-shifted into the trophy case, before the guy saw him. Aaron waited until the guy walked past before making his move. He shape-shifted back into himself and trailed behind the student, silently. The student stopped by his locker and began to take down his combination. He then opened his locker, taking a few school books out and rummaged carelessly through a stack of papers that was sticking out of his Geometry book. A piece of paper slipped from the pile and floated to the floor. The student bent down and snatched it back up, muttering curse words under his breath. Aaron swallowed down his laughter and took a deep breath and then quickly tapped the guy on the shoulder. The guy jumped and quickly whirled around.

"Hi! Hey, I was wondering if I could borrow your body for a couple of minutes. I'll give it right back." He said quickly and to the point, with a big cheesy grin plastered on his face. The guy stared at him, his voice caught in his throat.

"Who-who are you?" The guy finally choked out, his voice cracking. Aaron's grin disappeared and his expression suddenly became serious.

"For now...I'm you." Aaron said in a low tone. Before the guy could react, Aaron quickly slipped his spirit into the other guy’s body. He shook violently, trying to get a feel of his new body. Finally, his body stopped shaking and he stood there for a moment, taking everything in. He took a slow deep breath and opened his eyes. Looking around to make sure no one was lingering in the halls. He gave his neck a little pop, picked up the books from the ground and walked casually to class. Along the way, Aaron hoped this great disguise would lead him to some answers.

Aaron/student opened the classroom door and slipped inside, making the teacher stop teaching the lesson. She shot him a 'disapproving' look.

"Your late, Josh. Take a seat." The teacher said sternly. Aaron/Josh nodded and quickly took his seat. He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. He tapped his fingers against the top of the desk, whistling to himself. His tapping began to slow down, when he noticed the teacher and the other students staring at him.

"What??" He asked calmly, trying to stay cool.

"Josh....dude, you sit right here." A student said from the back, patting the desk in front of him. Aaron/Josh bit his lip and quickly moved to his ' right ' seat. He put on nervous smile and sat down.

"Detention, Josh!" The teacher said impatiently. Aaron/Josh rolled his eyes.

"Josh, are you okay?" The guy sitting behind him, whispered to him.

"Yeah," Aaron/Josh answered back. He winced, because his voice still sounded like his own. He became nervous, fearing that someone would take notice that something was wrong.

"There's something wrong dude…" The guy said.

Aaron/Josh could have sworn he heard his heart start to beat loudly in his chest, "What?" He said, lowering his voice and trying to disguise it the best he could.

"Your voice sounds weird. Are you sick?"

"Yeah," Aaron/Josh said quickly, trying to get out of the conversation.

"But—"

"Marcus!" The teacher snapped. Marcus quickly straightened up in his chair.

“Yes Ma’am?"

"Pay attention!!" Marcus nodded, picking up his pencil and began to write in his notebook.

Aaron/Josh sighed impatiently and slumped down in his seat. He just got into this classroom and it felt like he’s been there forever. When you’re dead, time felt like it went by like a turtle crossing a highway.

His eyes quickly widened when he noticed someone looking at him from across the room. He snapped his head to the side, to catch the eye of a hot looking girl on the other side of the room, giving him a seductive smirk. Aaron/Josh grinned and started to give the eye right back to her. The girl giggled. Aaron maneuvered his fingers, telling her to make eye contact. When she did, Aaron/Josh's' eyes suddenly turned into dark sunken black holes. Dark gore oozed out of the sockets, leaving black streaks down his face. The girl shrieked and turned back toward the teacher, shaking her head roughly, and trying her hardest not to look back at him. Aaron/Josh’s eyes turned back to normal and he smiled, pleased with himself. He had no idea that he could do something like that, but he was surprised that he did it without even trying.

More time went by and Aaron/Josh started getting antsy by the minute; no by the second. Occasionally, he would look up at the clock. The time seemed to just stop every time he would look up at it. It was like it never even moved. The teacher was still ranting on and on about a subject that made no sense to him at all. He wiggled his nose and slid further into his seat. He fingered the pocket of his shirt and felt a lump through the material. He frowned and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular unopened package of gum. He took a deep breath, looking at it dreamily. He unwrapped the package and placed a piece of Red Hot gum into his mouth. He savored it, loving the hot sweet taste if gave off in his mouth. He settled back into his seat and smiled, satisfyingly.

Aaron/Josh chewed the gum in silence, staring so hard at the chalk board, he could see right through it. He moved his gaze off the chalk board and let his eyes wonder over to the open door, blowing a huge bubble in the process. His eyes suddenly widened and his gum popped loudly on contact. It splattered all over his mouth, but that didn't seem to faze him at all. He stared open mouthed and wide eyed at the open classroom door.

Alexa....stood in the hallway chatting with some guy!

Aaron/Josh pulled the gum off his face, frowning more and more. The guy she was talking to...was the one getting his attention. At that time, he couldn’t care less about Alexa. Aaron/Josh watched Alexa nod and walk away, that's when the guy turned and looked into the classroom.........

KENT!

"WHOA!!!" Aaron/Josh blurted out, interrupting the teacher and getting everybody’s attention. Kent heard him and gave him a blank stare. He blinked and quickly walked away. The teacher cleared her throat and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Then the bell rang loudly and Aaron/Josh blew out a quick sigh of relief and flew out of the classroom. The teacher shook her head and sat down in her seat.

Aaron/Josh quickly walked down the hallway, trying to find a closet or an empty classroom, so he can escape out of Josh’s body. He turned the corner, but quickly jumped behind another trophy case, when he saw Kent and Alexa talking again, this time just a few feet away. Aaron/Josh frowned when he noticed a young woman with black hair also talking to them. Aaron/Josh narrowed his eyes and started to become more suspicious of the three.

Okay...Kent and Alexa are still alive. Still talking. Who is that girl? And what is she doing talking to a psycho killer and Hollywood's biggest bitch? But most of all...what the hell is Alexa hiding? She had to fake her own death but why? And why is Kent back? The fuckers head didn‘t grow back! What the hell is going on?" Aaron/Josh thought nervously. He had to strain his ears to hear what they were saying, because of the mindless chatter among other students, it was making it extra difficult. He cursed under his breath when they broke up and walked away in different directions. Aaron/Josh didn’t get to hear a damn word from them. He quickly slipped out from behind the trophy case and turned into an abandoned hallway, where only a few students lingered. All the students headed toward the main double doors of the school and he figured school was getting out. He found an empty classroom at the end of the hallway. He entered the classroom and quickly closed the open blinds.

"Okay, Josh. You can have you body back now." He said, bracing himself for his escape. Aaron lifted his spirit up through Josh's mouth and freed himself. He landed hard on the cold floor. He shook his head and pulled himself up.

"Man, I got to get the hang of that," Aaron said to himself, dusting off his jeans. He smiled and turned back toward Josh. His smile quickly disappeared from his face. Josh laid motionless on the floor in a pool of his own blood. “Or I could figure out a way to get out of a body without killing him first.”

Aaron felt himself begin to panic. He started to pace back and forth, nervously, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do with Josh’s body. He stopped in the middle of the room and sighed, resting his hands on his hips. He turned back around and marched toward Josh. Stepping over the blood, Aaron picked him up, and threw him in the storage closet. He grabbed a rug from the closet and placed it over the pool of blood.

Aaron walked to the door and swung it open. His breath got caught in his throat and he couldn’t move. There standing in front of him, was Alexa. Alexa stared at him in disbelief, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. A small squeal escaped through Aaron’s lips and he quickly slammed the door back, making sure he locked it this time.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this.......oh, I can't handle this." He dropped his head in his hands and groaned loudly. He snapped his head up when he got an idea, "Okay...let’s see...this always worked in Charmed. Frankie?" He called out. He waited a couple of seconds for an answer.

"Yeah?" A voice came from behind him. Aaron gasped and whirled around. Frankie stood behind him.

"Jeez! Whoa...it worked." He said, surprised.

Frankie frowned, "What worked?"

"Nothing. Did you find anything?"

Frankie shook his head, "Nope. You?"

Aaron pressed his lips together and hesitated, "Yeah.....I did."

Frankie slumped his shoulders, "Well, what did you find?"

"Two answers to our prob-problems," Aaron said, smiling nervously, twirling his fingers around and around, "I saw Kent....." He said slowly. Frankie's eyes widened, "And...A-Alexa."

"Say what?!"

"Ah yeah! Yeah! Big time still alive! Walkin around and talkin!"

"Oh man....what did Kent look like?" Frankie asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Well....let me put it this way....he still had his head." Aaron answered, crossing his arms.

"And Alexa?"

"No scar, no bashed in head. Nada. Ziiiip!" Frankie pressed his lips together and walked past him, deep in thought.

"It has been said thousands of times. Jesse’s been saying it, but now I'm going say it again. We came down here to save these innocents and kick Kent’s mutha fuckin ass. We didn't come down here to kill besides him....but.....Alexa is going wish she died along with us....because you know what? She's going to die.....TODAY!" He said angrily. Aaron grabbed him by the shoulders to settle him down.

"Whoa there! Lets just focus on the others first, before you start stalking Vega." Aaron told him.

Frankie sighed, "Your right. We'll focus on the others, then Alexa for lunch."

"Deal!"

Frankie sighed, “Dude, this doesn’t make a lick of sense. Kent walking around, still alive. I thought you killed him!”

Aaron shrugged, “Maybe I missed?”

Frankie groaned in frustration, “That would mean that Alicia’s theory was wrong.”

“What theory?”

“Well, we figured that sense you killed Kent, it had to be our second killer doing all this, the guy who killed Stevie. But obviously, it’s been Kent all along.”

“This isn’t making sense to me either. Maybe when I shot him, I didn’t kill him. But I could have sworn I saw his brains all over my attic wall before I died!” Aaron took a fast breath, “Anywho, on to our other problem…”

Frankie sighed, "What?"

"I saw Kent and Alexa talking to some other girl. And by the looks of it, she looked suspicious. She looked…evil. Like really disturbed. I don’t think Alexa and Kent is not the only ones we need to keep our eyes on."

Frankie licked his parched lips and nodded, "Okay, I'll tell Jesse later." Frankie walked past Aaron and headed to the door. He stopped when he noticed Aaron wasn’t following him. Frankie also sensed that something was wrong with him.

"Aaron? Are you nervous?" Aaron shot his head up and looked at him suspiciously, trying to look innocent.

"What? Me? Nervous? Shit boy, whatcha smoking these days?" He laughed nervously. But his smile faded when Frankie kept staring at him. Aaron sighed and sat down in a chair. Frankie moved away from the door and sat down next to him.

"There's another problem isn’t there?"

"Yeah," Aaron answered, looking in the other direction, "I went to go look outside to see if the close was clear for me to get out of here,” Aaron took a deep breath. “Someone saw me. I mean, face to face, inches apart, looking at me." He said flatly and quickly.

Frankie frowned, having trouble following, “But…what are you saying?”

“What I‘m saying is…is that when that person saw me, they saw me as me. My own self. They didn’t see my disguise.”

“How do you know? I mean they could’ve been startled---”

“Because when they saw me, it looked like they have just seen a ghost. Like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.” Aaron sighed and dropped his head in his hands.

"Who was it?"

Aaron looked at him, nervously, "Alexa...."

Frankie stared at him for a long while, "You better not be fooling, dude." He finally muttered.

"I'm not."

Frankie took a deep breath, "Well....I guess our only solution is to look at the negative outlook on this, because I really don‘t see a positive side to this…” Frankie said, clamping his hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

"Negative outlook?? Oh shit, what?!"

"You are so fucked!"


Meanwhile with Jesse, Alicia, Lindsay, and Stevie


“This is freaking crazy, man!” Stevie said pulling at his hair and breathing hard. Jesse laughed and exited out of the website he had been looking at. He sat back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach. Stevie jumped up and down with shock and excitement. He couldn’t believe what they just found out. The news was definitely a break in the case!

“I just can’t wrap my head around this. This is great news, man! This is even crazier than----”

Suddenly, all the excitement completely disappeared out of Stevie. His face and body froze instantly, along with the other three. Their eyes were wide and they all held their breath to keep themselves from breathing too loud.

“What is that?” Stevie mouthed to Jesse.

Jesse slowly stood up and listened. He heard what sounded like a door slamming shut, then followed by another. Then muffled voices came. Jesse’s eyes widened instantly and he shot out of the bedroom and raced into the living room. The others yelled after him, trying to get him to come back to them. Jesse ignored them and ran up to the front door. He quickly peered through the glass and saw his parents walking up the cement steps. Cursing out loud, he pushed himself away from the door and ran full speed back to the bedroom

“Time to go!” He told the others as he entered the bedroom, closing the door as he did so. The door swung shut but it never clicked into place. The group sprinted toward the window as quietly and as fast as possible. Stevie was the one in front. He dove out head first and landed hard on the ground, followed by Lindsay who landed on top of him. Jesse wasn’t too far away from Lindsay.

“Baby, the window!” Jesse said as he leaped through the window, Alicia following closely behind. She waved her hand at the window once she was out. The window came crashing down.

“Shit, that came down a little hard. I hope they didn’t hear that.” Alicia said breathing hard.

Before they could make a run for it, Jesse suddenly turned back around and dove back underneath the window.

“Damnit, I forgot to turn off the fucking computer!” He panicked. “Baby, open the window again!”

Alicia quickly opened the window with the wave of her hand. Jesse hoisted himself up over the window sill and rushed back over to the computer.

“Jesse, be careful!” Lindsay called after him. Jesse hit the shut down button. His hands shook nervously as he stared at his computer, preparing itself to shut down.

“Scot?” Jesse gasped and turned toward the door when he heard his mothers voice call for his father. She sounded way too close! Jesse listened as his father came walking over to her and asked her what the problem was.

“Were you in Jesse’s room?” Jesse heard her ask him. Oh fuck no! Jesse thought. His breathing came in hard gasps.

“Come on, come on, come on, you fucker. Shut down.” He cursed at the computer.

“Ginger, I don’t go in Jesse’s room. Why do you ask?” Yes! Jesse thought excitedly when his the screen of his computer went dark.

“Because it’s unlocked and opened a little.”

“What the hell?”

Jesse slammed the computer shut and shot up, quickly.

He spun around and came face to face with his parents.