Pt 2
Friday
You were in your hotel room getting ready to explore the scene. Last night when you arrived Larissa went to bed and you stayed up and watched a movie. Larissa was at her conference bright and early this morning, and she would be finished around 5pm. You put on your maxi skirt and crop top. It was warm but not too hot, you loved the weather here. You took your notebook and set out to the conservatory. The whole hotel was nothing but botanical gardens and restaurants. There were beautiful waterfalls, huge rocks, ponds with fish and lily pads, and an abundance of different trees and plants. It was gorgeous and calming. Although it felt like you were outside, everything was covered by a skylight. It smelled so good, fresh almost. You got to the coffee shop and ordered an iced chai tea latte and a soft pretzel. You walked around until you settled by a waterfall underneath a large rock. It was a bit hidden, like a cave, which you loved. As you ate, you wondered how the conference was going. You wanted to surprise Larissa with something, or plan something fun to do. You knew this was a work trip, but that didn't mean she couldn't also have fun. She deserved it. Walking around the conservatory, you figured you would go through one garden a day and scope out some interesting plants that might be good additions to Nevermore. You loved the palm trees and banana trees, some were 60 feet tall, reaching to the second level. Unfortunately, those would never fit in the conservatory at Nevermore. There were rare international blooms and southern species, many that you hadn't heard of before. You sketched a banana tree from Madagascar, a huge Bird of Paradise from South Africa, some succulents, and Physostigma venenosum from tropical Africa. For a good part of the day you sketched plants and researched them, taking notes in your book. At 2pm, you figured you would go for a walk outside. It was a beautiful day, you wished Larissa could walk with you. You found some thrift shops and headed into one. They had antique houseware, clothing, jewellery, everything you could think of. You ended up buying a ring and pants for yourself, and a vintage scarf from the 60s for Larissa. There were so many things you thought she would love, but you couldn't choose what she would like most. You set out again and ended up in a liquor store. You bought some red wine, you knew Larissa's favorite, and some rum then headed back to the hotel.
You had a few drinks and walked around the conservatory again, admiring the fountains and the lights that covered the ceiling and trees. The rooms all had balcony's overlooking the conservatories, it reminded you of a painting. You settled down at a table under a pavilion next to a large fountain. You got out your notebook and started sketching the scene in front of you. A beautiful building to your left, a pond and fountain to the right, pretty sky lights and a pathway littered with plants on both sides. Walking down the pathway was Larissa. She was adorning her matching cream colored outfit with her lip brooch and kitten heels, admiring the plants as you were admiring her. She wasn't really there of course, you were imagining her, drawing her. You looked to the time, she would be done in 30 minutes. You ran back to the room, cleaning yourself up and cracking open some wine. You had in mind some fun things you and her could do around the hotel if she was up for it, you hoped she was. You were flipping through your notebook and you felt giddy about her return. You liked being alone most of the time, but you really liked being in her presence. She returned to the room after what felt like forever, looking pretty tired. "Long day?" you said trying not to be too obvious that you were happy to see her. She put her things down then turned to you and smiled, she looked adorable. "Yes, it was very eventful, but it was a lot" she let out a huff and plopped down on her bed across from you. You sat on the edge of your bed and looked at her. She was wearing the cream coloured outfit you had thought of earlier. You took a minute to admire her as you knew her eyes were closed. You started smiling big, ear to ear. You couldn't help yourself, you were a bit drunk. She heard you giggle and opened her eyes, catching you staring at her. She sat up and kicked at your foot with hers, "What are you giggling at?" she laughed, knowing you were admiring her. You pretended you weren't just looking at her, you turned your head and quicky said "nothing" in a joking manner. Larissa looked to her feet and huffed and you realized she wanted to rid her heels. You knelt to the floor and took them off of her feet, placing them away. This surprised and flustered Larissa, like you knew what she was thinking. She was taken back by you doing this, nobody cared for her in such small but meaningful ways before. You knelt back down by her feet, you knew this could look weird, like you were worshiping her. You didn't want her to think that's what you were trying to do, although in reality you would. You took a chance, "Do you want a foot rub? Not in a weird way" you laughed. She blushed and looked down at you, "Well, if you're offering" she said shyly. You did so, coming to learn that her toe nails were the same color as her fingernails. You got up and poured her a glass of wine, "Wine for you my dear" you said while handing it to her. She looked up at you, eyebrows raising questioningly. "Yes, I bought your favorite wine, and yes, I may have had a few drinks while you were gone" you laughed, grabbing your wine and sitting on the bed next to her. You opened your notebook "But, I also did some work. I sketched some plants, I think a couple of these would be good additions back home." She viewed all of your sketches and notes from the day as you explained what you had learned. "These are amazing Peyton, I wish I could have come with you." You looked up at her, eyes lit up. "Well, we can walk around tonight, it will probably be even more beautiful." She smiled and placed her hand on your back, it felt nice. You quickly got up, remembering the scarf that you got her. It was a cream color with some neutral brown tones and small blue flowers. You held it out to her grinning, proud of yourself for finding something you thought she would like. "I went to an antique shop across the street, they have so much stuff that I think you would love. We should go if you have time." She took it from you and admired it, "Is this for me?" "Of course, the blue matches your eyes perfectly." You were shy now, nervous that she would think that you thought of her too much, or that you were being too interested in her. "I mean, I think your eyes are blue, right?" you said while tucking your hair behind your ear in an obviously sarcastic manner. Larissa let out a loud laugh, and your heart filled with joy. "Thank you so much darling, I love it." Larissa would never let on, but her eyes were watering at the thought of you buying this for her. She didn’t get gifts often, and she cherished that you thought of her when she wasn't with you. You saw her eyes glisten, but you didn't say anything. You were happy that she appreciated it. Sitting back on your own bed, you fell down onto your back and stared at the ceiling. Larissa watched you, she knew you had something on your mind. "What are you thinking about love?" You absolutely loved when she called you cute names, you blushed and rolled away from her so she couldn't see your face. "Are you hungry? Maybe we can get dinner and go for a walk?" you said as you sat up to face her again. "Sounds like a plan."
You went to a restaurant in the middle of the hotel. It was surrounded by a pond with fish, lily pads and a waterfall, and trees of course. It did look more beautiful in the night, it was all lit up and you could see the stars through the skylight. Larissa started, wanting to get to know you better. You seemed to know a few things about her, but she felt like she didn't know you. "So Peyton, I saw you with a handsome man the other day at the Weathervane. Boyfriend perhaps?" You looked at Larissa, mouth full of pasta, and almost started laughing. Keep it together Peyton, don't spit your food out. The only man you could remember being with was…OH Cal, your cousin. For some reason you decided to mess with her, "Oh Cal? Yea me and him were together, but he cheated on me with a man, so we broke up." Larissa's eyes went wide, her hand covering her mouth in total shock. Her expression made you laugh, you could only be serious for so long. "LARISSA I'm joking! He's my cousin, he's having trouble with his boyfriend, we were just talking." She let out a breath you saw her holding in, and hung her head in relief. "Oh my god, you had me for a minute there." You both laughed, you were so geeky sometimes. "Yea, I don't have a boyfriend. I like-" you stopped yourself, you didn't really know if you wanted to tell her that you liked women. "You like what?" "Nothing, um, so do you have a boyfriend?" you said looking down and picking at your pasta. She looked down at her food as well, "No, I'm not really interested in that sort of thing." That sort of thing? Like a relationship? "I get it, relationships can be hard, and tiring" you tried to be reassuring. "Very true, the most serious I've gotten was with this girl once, but that was so long ago." Sorry, did she just say girl? Larissa Weems, the Larissa Weems likes girls? A huge smile crept on to your face, and you looked up at her, she was still looking at her food, thank god. "Did you say a girl?" you stuttered by accident, voice low and raspy. She looked to you, worry now written on her face. "Yes, I- I did" she said in an unsure tone. You didn't mean to sound like that was a bad thing, you were just really surprised. Maybe that joke about Cal wasn't the best idea, you weren't trying to make fun. "Well Larissa, maybe we should find a new girl for you" you said with a smile looking at her pretty face. She smiled back, and nodded slightly. You wanted to scream, you weren't the only one at Nevermore who liked girls! You still didn't want to tell her though, not right now. Changing the subject, she started, "What do you like to do for fun?" "Well, lately I like to mess with my powers honestly. I keep finding out I can do things that I didn't know about." Larissa was intrigued, but you didn't know why you told her this. You had hobbies and liked to do things, but you found them rather embarrassing. "Oh, like what?" she prodded. You knew she wouldn't let this go now, so you told her. "Um, well I can give someone a piece of knowledge, or I can erase knowledge or a memory from someone's brain. I can see other peoples memories if they have strong emotion, but only if they allow me to. I also recently obtained the ability to know if someone is lying, but it just comes on at random." She was in awe of your abilities, these things could be a lot of responsibility. "So, if I allow you, you can see my memories?" "Yep, if it's very joyous, traumatizing, or emotionally strong enough." She thought for a second, "Can I see it too? When you look at it?" This was the upside, you thought, to seeing peoples memories. They didn't know what you were seeing, just that they allowed you to see it. "No, you can't see it in time that I do. I don’t do it a lot though, there's no point." She looked like she wanted to say something, had something on her mind. There was silence for a minute, then she just looked away. "Do you want to show me the plants now?" she said excitedly.
As you walked around the conservatory, you showed her every plant that you knew something about, and jokingly told her that she was as tall as one of the trees. Larissa smiled at how cute you were when so caught up in something you loved. She used to love hearing Marilyn talk about the conservatory plants, but unfortunately, who she thought was a real friend turned out to be an enemy. She didn't know if she would ever get over that. "This one is Alsophila latebrosa from Singapore, and this one is Physostigma venenosum from tropical Africa. It has Physostigmine, which is a highly toxic parasympathomimetic alkaloid, it can cure deadly nightshade if taken in the correct dose. I thought that might be good to have in the conservatory.." you cut yourself off as you looked up at Larissa. She was staring into space, not listening to you anymore. "Larissa, are you okay?" you said, really worried about her blank expression and even more pale than usual skin. A minute later she snapped out of it, looking down at you, who was holding her hand staring up at her. "Oh, sorry love. What were you saying?" You were confused, but you continued. "I was saying that I think we should have this in the conservatory at school. It’s the antidote to deadly nightshade." "We don't need it, we don't have Atropa belladonna anymore" she quipped quickly and seriously. This made you more confused, "Yes we do, it's just a small plant. I found it in a locked cabinet behind the desk." Larissa's mouth dropped open, they must have missed it when they searched through the conservatory last year. "Oh, um, Peyton, can you do me a favour?" "Sure Larissa" you were worried about what the favour was going to be. "When we get back to Nevermore, can you bring that plant to me, and if you ever find more in the conservatory, get rid of it immediately." Her tone was strict and demanding, you felt like a student who did something wrong. "Oh, sure Larissa, I can do that" you said quietly but sure. She then realized that you were new to the school and had no clue what this was about, or why you couldn't have this plant. She drug you back to your room, not saying a word.
You were sitting on your bed. Larissa had instructed you to sit and stay as she went to the bathroom. You were wondering if she was mad at you, or if you did something wrong. Searching in your notebook for Physostigma venenosum, you thought of something. She said to get rid of the deadly nightshade, like we weren’t allowed to have it anymore. Something must have happened when Marilyn, or Laurel, went crazy. Why would it be locked up otherwise? Larissa came out of the bathroom in her satin pajamas and sat on her bed. She just sat there, looking down at her lap. When you noticed her staring at nothing again, you sat up to face her. "Peyton, I want you to consider doing me a favour." "Sure Larissa, I'll do you a favour" you said with a hopeful smile. She looked at you, sadness written on her face. "Will you consider erasing a memory for me?" You went wide eyed, you had only done that once before. "I, um, I've only done it once before Larissa, I don't know if it's a good idea" you said in a nervous and sad tone, you felt sorry for her. If she wanted you to erase a memory, it must have been a bad one. "If you consider erasing it, I'll show it to you first, if you want." You pondered for a minute, was it the memory you think it was? "Larissa, is the memory from last year? You know, Marilyn?" Her eyes met yours and she nodded her head. You got up and sat beside her, taking her hands in yours. "I'll see it if you want me to Larissa, but maybe it's better that we don't dig it out any further." In reality she wanted you to see it, she wanted someone else to see it, to feel it. She wanted Marilyn to feel what it was like. She wanted someone, you, to tell her she wasn't crazy for being scared. "I want you to see it" she said in the lowest whisper you had ever heard. You moved closer to her and with an "Okay," you were in her mind. This was the only memory available for you to see, she really did want you to see it.
*The Nevermore Conservatory, last year*
You were in the conservatory, a red head a couple feet in front of you and Wednesday by the desk. You looked down at yourself, you weren't Larissa. You looked like a, boy? "I never made it to the station, heard enough?" Wednesday said, eyes switching from the read head to you. The read head, who you suspected to be Marilyn, turned around to look at you as well. Her face dropped as you felt yourself getting taller. You looked down at your body, jacket and jeans turning to a matching dress and coat set. You were, shifting? You weren't a boy anymore, now you were sure you were Larissa. "Your slave is probably still at the station" Wednesday chirped. "Please don't make this more difficult than it already is, Marilyn" your voice, well Larissa's, sounded with regret. You felt sad, betrayed, like you just lost a friend. Like you failed at bringing the outcasts and normies together, you were stupid for letting a normie in the school, an idiot for not seeing the danger. "My name is LAUREL" the red head belted before bringing a needle to your neck. You had no time to run, you felt a sting, and then you couldn't move. You fell to the floor, you couldn't breathe very good all of the sudden. You could feel your heart beat fast, vision going blurry, and you were gasping for air. Your mouth started foaming, and the last thing you saw was Wednesday over you, calling your name. When you looked up at Wednesday, all you could think about was her mother. How you two had drifted apart, how you two fought, how you loved. You spent most of your life with no partner, no friends, just taking care of the school, and recently taking care of Wednesday. You didn’t regret it, of course, but you still had so much more to do. You were scared, then everything went black.
You opened your eyes gasping for air, heart pounding. You realized you were in your hotel room, Larissa was beside you holding your shoulders steady, staring at you in concern. She didn't want you to be burdened by her memory, she just wanted to get rid of it. The thing about taking memories or knowledge from a person is that by taking it from them, you got it. The memory had to go somewhere, right? Of course, they aren't your memories, so it wasn't as traumatizing for you to see them. You looked at her, your eyes watering, you tried to blink the tears away. You didn’t believe she lived through that. Marilyn had stabbed her in the neck with nightshade?! What the hell! You were glad she was dead, you would've killed her yourself. Larissa noticed you were crying and pulled you into her arms. You cried into her shoulder for a minute, then took her face in your hands when you cooled off. You were so shaken that you spoke unevenly, you couldn't even talk loud. "I'm so sorry Larissa, I didn't know. I'll consider erasing it for you." She pulled you against her again as a tear fell down her face. "I'm sorry too little one, I didn't know how much that would hurt you." In truth, it hurt you so much because you cared about Larissa. Some peoples memories weren't that bad because you knew they weren't yours, but hers, hers felt real. You connected with her so easily, and you wanted to help her. You pulled away, "Wait, you're a shapeshifter?" She let out a quiet breathy laugh. "Yes, I suppose you learned two things about me tonight, please don't say anything though, not many people know." You nodded, you wouldn't tell her secret. "Can we lay together?" you muttered, praying that she would say yes. "Of course love." You both laid in her bed, you felt way better being in her arms. You were so glad that she didn't die, but how did she survive? You wanted to ask her more questions and say that you were glad she was alive, but you didn't. "That's so cool" you mumbled, turning to face her. "What is?" she questioned, eyes meeting yours. "Being a shapeshifter. What can you shift into? People? Animals? Does it feel like anything when you really do it?" She smiled, stroking your hair, "I can shift into people. And no, it doesn't feel like much." You looked in her eyes, she was still adorning her makeup, and her lips were still painted red. Her eyes were so bright and daunting, her lips looked so soft, her skin so smooth, the little creases in her mouth and eyebrows were so cute. Uh oh, you thought. Turning back over, you took her hand and put it to your chest, then you closed your eyes. You felt her pull you closer, a soft "Goodnight Peyton" was the last thing you heard.