She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." "No one will tell me," I said. "Maybe it doesn't lead to anywhere," Onyx said. "Then why is it locked?" "To keep us from tripping down the stairs," Onyx said. "Duh."
I could only imagine what it led to. But maybe it was only the unfinished, never remodeled Covenant room. Maybe the worker was only reinforcing beams to make the main floor sturdier for dancing.
"I saw someone going in there once," Scarlet said. "Really late at night, when everyone else was done working. I saw Jagger go down there with one of the guys from the Coffin Club. When I spotted him and asked him what he was doing, he acted like I'd caught him doing something."
"So you think he's doing something sneaky?" Onyx said. "Why does everyone think he's such a bad guy?" "Would you be so into him if he wasn't?" Scarlet teased.
I wasn't going to tell her that it was really Jagger who made the circles. She adored him so, and since he'd fixed the problem there was no reason to address it.
The mysterious locked door, on the other hand, was worth addressing. "So what do you think it is?" I asked. "The underground club he said he wasn't going to have?" "I have no idea," Scarlet said. "But I'd love to find out." "We need a key," I said. "We can't break down this door. I know; I tried," I said with a smile. "The only one with a key is Jagger," Scarlet said. "And I don't know how to get it from him." We both turned to Onyx, who turned a paler shade of ghost white. "I can't do it," she said. "He keeps his keys locked away. Besides, I don't want to do anything against him." I was ready to continue putting pressure on her, but Scarlet let her off the hook. "Do we know anyone else with a key?" Scarlet asked. "That workman I just saw," I said. "But I don't know how to get it from him."
Then it hit me. Trevor. "Trevor wears a key around his neck and always shows it off to me like it's something I'd want."
"Do you think it goes to this door?" Scarlet asked. "He and Jagger are friends, and apparently Trevor's dad was part of sealing the deal for the club," I said. "Trevor may not even have a clue what it goes to, but I think he holds the key to this door." Scarlet's expression brightened. "I could always use an excuse to see him."
My stomach almost turned. My friend was excited about seeing the one person I loathed. But this time I'd be excited to see him, too.
Alexander and Sebastian were taking a break from the Crypt and hanging out at the Mansion. Normally I'd happily join them in their fun, not wanting to spend one nightly hour away from my true love, but curiosity was getting the best of me and, thankfully, of my new friend as well.
Scarlet picked me up in the Beetle. She cranked up the music and we sang at the top of our lungs until we got to the soccer field. We walked down the hill to the woods behind the field, recalling our music fest and laughing from the bottoms of our bellies. My cheeks hurt so bad I was afraid I'd split open my lip again. But what I didn't know was I already had.
"What's wrong?" I asked. Suddenly Scarlet was staring at my mouth. "Oh no," I said.
Her eyes were a weird shade of red. Something had come over her. It was the scent and presence of blood. I backed away.
Scarlet took my arm. I was moments from a struggle. She was my friend and I knew she was fighting her internal impulse. I wasn't about to go down without a fight.
My mind raced. Instead of being turned by Alexander, I was going to be mauled by Scarlet. There was no one to defend me. She was a little bit bigger than me, and with her underworldly powers, I wasn't sure how I'd fare. "You aren't going to attack me, are you?" I asked. "No - why would you think so?" She did her best to close her eyes. She turned away from me and covered her face. "Could you please just fix it?"
I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and pressed a tissue to it. Trevor was suddenly standing in the woods. "What's going on in here?" he asked as I held the tissue to my lips. "I thought you'd at least wait for me!" he said. "Don't be gross," I said. Scarlet lit up in Trevor's presence.
"Why are you covering your mouth?" he asked me. "Grrr," he growled like a tiger. "Catfight? Don't stop on account of me."
"Cut it out," Scarlet said. "We were just in the neighborhood." "In the high school's woods?" he asked suspiciously. "You shouldn't hang out here. Without me, of course." "We wanted to see you," Scarlet said. "I wanted to see you." She gave him a hug, her hands fiddling with his back pocket. "What are you doing?" he asked. Scarlet turned to me and held out her empty hand. Then she fiddled with the string around his neck. "What's this?" "A necklace," he said. She brought it out from his shirt. The key dangled below her hand. "What's this key for?" she asked playfully. "Nothing."
She pulled him tightly to her and planted a major kiss on his lips. As she did, his hands wrapped around her waist. She folded her arms around his neck and within a moment had unlaced the cord. Trevor turned to me. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Red lipstick was smeared across his skin. For some reason I was resentful, but I didn't have time to think of that now. "We have to go," I said, pulling Scarlet away. She slipped the necklace into my hand.
"Jealous?" he asked. "Can't stand the sight of it?" "Yes," I said. "I can't stand the sight."
I headed up the hill as Scarlet continued to say good night to my nemesis. Trevor's key hidden in my hand, I wondered what it led to and why it bothered me to see him kiss another girl. * * * It seemed like an eternity before Scarlet caught up with me by her car. Her hair was a little messy from her mortal make-out session.
"That was fun!" she said. "Let's do that again." "Yeah . . . fun." "He didn't even know I took his necklace." We hopped into the car. The tunes were still blasting and she sang, but I was silent. She turned down the music. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing." I was staring out the window, watching the trees as we passed them by. "You seem weird. I shouldn't have been so PDA, sorry. I'm not into that, really. It was just that I had to get the key." "I know." "So what's up?" "Nothing." I continued my zombielike staring. "Do you . . . like Trevor?" she asked suddenly. "No - are you crazy?" I was stunned by her accusation. "Of course, you have a thing for him," she prodded. "No, I don't!" I said with a laugh. "I didn't know. You guys used to date?" "No! Yuck! Are you kidding?" "There's something between you two. I could feel it. Like a magnet." "I'm in love withAlexander, if you haven't noticed."
"I didn't say you were going out with Trevor. I just thought you might have dated. There's that sexual tension between you two."
"I can't believe you just said that. He's such a creep! I mean - not to offend you or anything, but me and him?" "Opposites attract in a big way. Why do you think he likes me?" "Because you are gorgeous and fun. What's not to like?" I asked.
"Thanks," she said sincerely. "But I'm not at all like those girls he normally goes after. Pink nails and luscious blonde hair. And now that I think of it . . . I'm like . . ."
"Yes?" "You!" "Me?"
"Duh! Why didn't I get it sooner!" Scarlet laughed. "He likes you because of you," I said. "But didn't he like Luna, too? Now this all makes sense." "He likes girls. That's his thing. That's why I didn't want you to go out with him. He likes a lot of girls." "No, with him it's more." "Maybe he likes goths." "Yes, because they remind him of you!"
"Stop!" I was close to covering my ears. I couldn't stand the thought. I was so in love withAlexander, nothing else mattered. No one else mattered.
"He's in love with you. Trevor Mitchell loves you," she teased. "Please. Do you want me to be sick?"
"Sucks for me. I finally found a guy I'm crazy for and he only likes me back because he secretly wants to be with my friend."