Brendan suddenly raised his eyebrows in delight, 'I have an idea…I could tell you where her domain is and you could go kill her instead!'
'It's too late for that. The forest is no more.'
'The protests didn't work?'
'Of course they didn't. It's impossible to change the mayor's mind.'
The two became silent.
'I guess there's nothing left to talk about,' Jack said.
Brendan nodded and the phantom disappeared.
Brendan was now pacing up and down the living room. Two things were on his mind now; where the Finch could have moved her domain and the words Marauder had last said to him: "Peace is the best weapon for war." Did Marauder mean that Brendan should have the Finch sit down with him and talk like two civilized beings? He dismissed this thought without the slightest meditation on it.
As he paced up and down the room, he heard a knock on the door. When he walked towards it he wondered who it could be at this time of night. He had not even the wildest of guesses. For the first time in a long time though, he felt a little drowsy and this made him feel a little comfortable. He desperately needed to sleep. When he opened the door he was baffled by who he saw.
This was barely the Samantha he knew.
She was in a grey sleeping gown and her eyes were teary, her hair hanging down all sides of her shoulders like an old mop. 'I'm sorry to just…rock up on your doorstep like this,' she started, sobbing softly.
'Sam!' he gasped, 'Please, come in.' He opened the door wider.
She walked in and kept her back towards him.
'What's wrong, Sam?' He had closed the door and moved in front of her.
'They found out.'
'About Fred?'
She nodded quickly.
He sighed and said, 'What did you expect? With everything happening you thought they wouldn't eventually find out?'
She continued to cry.
'But why come here?' he asked her.
'I just needed someone to talk to. I couldn't just stay there with how tense it was back at home, but…I guess I came to the wrong place.' She turned to leave.
He placed his hand on her shoulder.
She stared at it. Her sobbing had stopped but trails of tears were still on her cheeks.
'You must be hungry,' he said smiling at her.
She smiled back and turned to face him, 'Thanks, but I've already eaten.'
'Water, then?'
She nodded, 'only to wash my face.'
He took her by the hand and led her upstairs.
He left her by the entrance of the bathroom and went for his room. When he got inside, he was more eager to sleep. He couldn't let her go back to her house at this time of night and so decided to let her sleep in his bed, and he would take the couch in the living room. As he opened the covers of his bed he heard her whispering his name outside the room. 'In here,' he whispered loudly enough for her to hear him.
She opened the door and came in. Her face looked much more relaxed and calmer than before, glowing even. She walked over to his bed and sat beside him.
'Do you feel better now?' he asked her looking deeply concerned. He looked into her face but he could not recognize the expression on it. The only things he could see were her innocence and beauty. Such sublime beauty, he thought to himself.
'No, I just want to talk to you,' she answered him, still maintaining her indiscernible expression.
He sat down beside her.
'When I talked to Simon yesterday..,' she began, 'he wasn't interested in what I had to say at first but as we immersed deeper into the talk, he unlocked to me his deepest secrets.'
'You're talking about Simon here, right?' he asked her, his eyes widening in amazement.
She nodded now putting on a slight smile. 'I think he's been considering forgiving me for some time because he told me secrets I never dreamt of hearing from his mouth.'
Brendan felt an urge to ask her these secrets but he knew Simon would tell him when he was ready. He just nodded slowly in understanding.
'Brendan, I'm scared,' she said suddenly. Her expression was familiar now. It was definitely fear and panic.
'Scared of what?' he asked her, shifting on the bed to get closer to her so he could hear what she was talking about.
'Of the bizarre things that have been happening: my brother, Angus, Thomas, Mr. Sparrow, Mr. Price, The Bradwield Terror…These things are striking fear into our hearts. Its better the Anonymous got rid of Anvil but it's still not over yet. Just when we thought Anonymous killed Mr. Sparrow, Mr. Price, who everyone thought was missing, shows up on TV saying that he killed Mr. Sparrow and Framed Anonymous for his murder.' She stared at the floor in grief.
'Speaking of which,' he looked at her, first pausing, wondering if he should ask this question or not, 'do you think this Anonymous fellow is a good guy?' He waited in anticipation, wishing she would give him a hopeful answer.
'Of course he is,' she answered. 'I mean, seriously, what wrong has this guy done apart from maybe being a magician or something? He stopped Anvil, he rescued Miss Putin from Thomas…what other good deed do we need to see this guy do for us before we call him a hero?'
His heart danced with joy at each word she spoke. 'You're absolutely right,' he said nodding in agreement, fighting the happiness inside him from revealing itself. 'So…Simon forgave you?' he changed to their first subject.
She smiled and nodded innocently and kept her eyes on the floor, 'I've arranged for him to meet a counselor every weekday after school. He wasn't keen about the idea at first but I managed to convince him in the end.' She turned her face up at him. 'I know why he took so long to ponder on my apology and why he was reluctant to accept it.'
'Why?' he asked her.
'Simon is more sensitive than you…way more sensitive in fact. The name I gave him hurt him more than the name I chose for you hurt you. But at least I did get to see your sensitive side,' she grinned.
He shifted on the bed and slightly tipped his head to his right side in recollection, 'At the Dance?'
She nodded mechanically.
'That was very revolting and unethical. I don't even know what came over me, I was very…'
Her lips had pressed against his. She pulled them back after a while. 'I know we agreed before the Dance that you and I had no chance together but I was wrong because I don't feel the same way. I may have said it, Brendan, but…I think I like you… a lot.' She shrugged and turned away, 'Very much.' Her face flushed, 'I know you obviously don't have the same feelings I have for you and I could probably understand that, but…'
His lips were on hers. This time there was no separation. Their eyes were shut. He felt his muscles relax and his stress and worries disappear. He sneaked his right hand into her gown and rested it on her soft, slender waist; her body was so warm. He slowly and gracefully pulled her into the bed, his left hand on her delicate cheek and his right still on her waist. Their lips were still locked softly as they kissed and their eyes were still dreamily shut.