Nothing Comes Easy (Hiatus)

Chapter 19

(Star's POV)

(A few days later)

It was the end of the school day, and Marco and I were leaving the building, when Marco stopped at the crosswalk. "Oh, damn, I forgot I have to sign up for the local karate tournament." Marco said as he facepalmed.

"Well can't you do it now?" I asked.

Marco looked at his watch and his eyes went wide. "Don't have much time." He began running in the other direction. "I'll see you at home Star." He said as he ran.

"Can't I come?" I tried to ask. Sadly, Marco didn't hear me because he was already gone. "No point now." I said with a shrug. "Looks like I'm walking home alone today."

I began walking home by myself. I had done so before, but for some reason I felt a little upset about it. "Ludo's not going to attack again; there hasn't been enough time for his minions to recover." I looked back at where I last saw Marco. "He's going to be fine … right?" I started walking again, then looked back. "Why can't I just let this go? Is it because I lied to him about Jackie?" I looked ahead and started walking again. "And why did I lie to him about her? Sure, she asked me to not tell him that she kinda likes him but … he wouldn't be any different than he was before."

I continued walking, with my head down, as I thought. "Hey Star!" Some boy shouted as he ran up to me with a pen and paper. "Can I have your autograph?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." I took the pen and paper, signed the paper, and handed it back to the boy.

"I HAVE STAR BUTTERFLY'S AUTOGRAPH!" He shouted with joy before running off.

"Okay." I said as I watched him run off.

"Star!" A girl shouted as she ran up to me. "Hi."

"Hi." I responded.

"I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH STAR BUTTERFLY!" She shouted before running off.

"Okay, that was weird." I said as I watched her run off.

"STAR STAR STAR!" Another guy said as he ran up to me. "Shake my hand?"

I hesitantly reached out and shook the boy's hand. When I let go, the boy was beaming with joy. "I SHOOK HANDS WITH STAR BUTTERFLY!" He shouted. "I'M NEVER WASHING THIS HAND AGAIN!" He also ran off.

"Okay, now this is getting out of hand." I said as I watched him run off as well.

"STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR!" Another girl screamed as she ran up to me, jumping excitedly.

"What!" I exclaimed.

"STAR BUTTERFLY BREATHED ON ME! NOW I CAN DIE HAPPY!" She also ran off leaving me very, very confused and worried.

"You'll have to excuse them." I heard someone else say from behind me. I turned back around to see a boy, not much older than myself with short red hair, and a white cloak. Behind him stood a number of people with similar cloaks, only with their hoods up, so I couldn't get a good look at their faces. "Some of my men aren't as … refined."

"Refined?" I asked.

"Able to control their impulses. Some just lose it and go mad, but what can you expect when in a group such as ours?"

"And what group might that be?" I asked as I placed my hands on my hips.

The boy laughed slightly. "We are a group of likeminded individuals with a great devotion to something, and have come together to properly attain and worship that something."

"Well, that's an awfully fancy way of saying you're a cult." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Perhaps." The boy said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "But that's not really important now, is it?"

"Can you just get lost already?" I asked. "I'm not joining your cult and … who are you anyway?"

He looked at me, surprised, before bowing. "How could I be so rude, you may call me Lannister, and I am one of our groups higher ups."

"Okay, why should I care?" I asked again.

"Because we need you … to come with us." He said, as he offered a hand.

I thought for a moment, before shaking my head. "Working with a cult sounds the exact opposite of smart, sorry."

He looked confused, then started laughing. "You misunderstand Star, we aren't asking."

"And there's nothing you can do to force me to help you." I shot back.

"Again, you misunderstand us." Lannister repeated. "We don't need your help, we just need you."

"Say what?" I asked, shocked, as I took a few steps back.

He laughed again and bowed. "We are the … cult … of Star Butterfly."

"Say what?!" I asked again, feeling an odd sensation of flattery and disgust. "I never asked for a cult!"

"One never does Star, now make this easy on yourself and come along quietly."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding; you honestly think that you can force me against my will?"

He raised an arm into the air. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this." He said with a frown. "Men, get her and try not to damage her too much."

All the cultists behind him charged me. "Rubber Ball Blast!" I shouted, causing a bunch of large rubber spheres to appear and collide with the cultists sending them flying. I began running in the opposite direction as fast as I could. I quickly turned a corner and jumped behind a bush; hoping that I would be able to lose them and much to my surprise, they ran right past me.

"Damn it, where did she go?" I heard Lannister ask.

"Looks like she got away." Some other voice replied.

"Well that's just perfect." Lannister said sarcastically. "Looks like we'll have to switch to plan B."

"As you wish." The other voice replied. "Shall I give the order?"

Lannister was quiet for a moment. "No … I would like to check something first then I will give the order myself."

"Understood." The voice replied.

I waited a few more moments until the sound of footsteps was gone, then I took a peek out to make sure that no one was there. "I inspired a cult … well that's just great." I said as I got out of my hiding spot. "I wonder what plan B is ... I'll have to worry about it later. I need to get home before more of these cultists find me."

(Star's POV)

(Later)

I was walking through the front door of the house after a longer then desired game of cat and mouse with the cultists. "Phew, that was close."

"What was close?" I heard Marco ask. I looked up to see him walking out of the kitchen.

"Oh Marco, you're not going to believe it." I froze as I was about to continue. "I … I managed to just barely get a C on a pop quiz today." I lied.

"You had a pop quiz today?" He asked.

"Yeah and it was brutal." I began as I walked over to him. "I'm just glad it was multiple choice or I might have not passed."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" He asked.

I looked away as I tried to think of what to tell him. "I … I didn't want you to worry."

He looked at me. "Star, … your acting kind of strange."

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I made my way to the stairs. "I'm perfectly fine, nothing's wrong with me, I just need to … um … study my magic spell book."

"But you never study your magic spell book unless you have a reason." Marco pointed out.

"Never a bad time to start." I said before running upstairs. I ran into my room and blocked the door. "I can't tell Marco about this." I began. "If I do then he'll end up getting himself dragged into it; then he'll get hurt like he did when we fought Ludo at the docks, or worse." I smiled and waved a hand. "And they're just cultists, how bad can they really be?"

Words Count 1354