deCEIVED (Book 2)

35: Michaela

A/N: By the way, guys, the music starts at the next author's note. Also, this is the final chapter of this book (not including the acknowledgments) so I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope you decide to read the third book in this trilogy, "deMENTED", once it's released. (I'll explain more about that in the acknowledgements.)

❤️❤️Luna❤️❤️

The next day, there was a strange atmosphere in the Society. Everything looked normal, but at the same time, you could tell that something bad had happened. Isabella and Stephanie were whispering things about Axel in one corner of the room, while Samantha, Jared, and Stella kept changing the topic of their discussion.

Then Jared walked over to Tiffany casually, and before he could say anything to her, Tiffany mumbled, "I know you're here to pick on me, Jared. I understand that you hate me. I won't stop you from showing me that."

Jared winced. "Tiffany, I never actually hated you. I was just upset with you for picking on Stephanie." He explained, but Tiffany rolled her eyes and turned away from him while sitting on her bed.

"You always acted like you hated me," Tiffany reminded him.

"Tiffany-"

"Look, Jared," Tiffany sighed and raised her index finger in front of Jared's lips, "I know you may be upset with me still, but that was just one mistake I made out of many. And as a human being, I make mistakes, and there's not much I can do about it except to learn from them."

Jared tried to say something, but Tiffany stopped him the second he opened his mouth. "We both lost a friend this weekend who was really close to us, and it was all Bill's fault. We're on the same team, Jared. We're both fighting against Bill. And the sooner we stop fighting each other like cats and dogs, the more likely we'll be to defeat Bill and avenge Lucas Powers- once and for all."

"Tiffany...I just wanted to know if you were ready to go home or not."

"What home?"

Jared dropped his jaw. Tiffany just shrugged and repeated the question. "Huh? What home do I have?"

Tiffany walked away from Jared in frustration, and I left the room for a similar reason. When I walked into the hallway, I gasped once I recognized the ghost that was standing in front of me.

Claudua King. The ghost of my mother.

"Mom?" I called out.

"Sweetie," Mom said, "don't tell me you and your friends are going back to Gravity Falls!"

"Um...we are-"

Mom did a facepalm and groaned, "Michaela, I tried to warn you! That city is in trouble! Bill is getting ready to-"

"If Bill is there, then I have to go back! I need to face him before things get any worse!" I reminded her.

"Michaela, you need to stay here and train more! You're still not strong enough to face him yet!" Mom insisted.

"Mom, I have to do this! If I just sit here and wait for Bill to get stronger, I'll never be able to bring him down! I'll never be able to avenge you and Dad!" I pleaded.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Because once you leave, you can't come back."

"I'm positive, Mom. This is what I've been training to do. I have to get rid of Bill, and I have to do it now."