PERMANENT
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

NO ONE KNEW WHAT HAD happened. By the look of everyone's faces as they entered Baxter High, it was clear to Dani that her friends– ex-friends– had covered up the other night's events. No one had been unfortunate enough to have seen the werewolf in person or to have witnessed their own friends reveal their own inhuman powers. Dani's eyes were green with envy as she took in the smiles on all her classmates faces as they talked and laughed, walking around the entrance of the high school while she was still sat in the passenger seat of her father's car, dreading the idea of having to part ways with her dad and brother and have to face Sabrina, Harvey, Rosalind and Theo. At least she wouldn't see Nick, though.

"I told you, honey, you don't have to go in today," the firm hand Matthew placed on his daughter's knee caused the girl to flinch, only giving him more reason to encourage her to stay home. "I don't think that you're healthy enough to go to school... not after everything you went through."

Playing with her fingers, Dani turned her attention back to the window. She wanted to stay home... forever, if she could. Every time she even thought about school, she'd think of her friends and her mind would instantly replay the night of the attack. Her heart would beat just as fast as it had when Amalia had tried to kill her, her breath would catch in her throat. Dani could feel Amalia's hands trace over her face and her neck all over again. And Nick... she'd remember his face when she had left him alone and broken to deal with the death of his loved one, and how she had rejected his apology and his request to meet him at Sweetwater River– their spot. And she'd remember how her dad and brother always protected her. They had done supernatural-related things numerous times without Dani getting hurt. Nick, Sabrina and her other friends, however, hadn't protected her the same way. Now Dani was plagued with nightmares and fears that she didn't know existed. She didn't want to go to school. Of course she didn't. She would have much rathered to stay at home with her dad or brother. But Dani knew that the more she relied on them for safety, the more dependent she'd become on them and she'd be even more distant on the idea of going to school or doing anything else.

Inhaling deeply, she forced a reassuring smile as she faced her dad. "I'm okay. I'm already falling behind in some classes."

"I can always talk to your principal, Dani. I'm sure your teachers have extra credit work for you to do," Matthew compromised.

"I'll be fine and if anything goes wrong I promise I'll call you. Plus, school is almost over for the day. I'm only here for the last two hours to catch up on algebra and physics. I'll be home right after," Dani tried to assure her dad though deep down, it was more for herself. Two hours wasn't going to be too hard, right? Before her dad could say what Dani was sure he was going to say, she quickly interjected, speaking up before he could. "Don't worry; I won't talk to them. You don't need to tell me." Associating with Sabrina and her friends was the last thing Dani wanted to do after everything they had put her through.

Dani's dad nodded, leaning over to kiss his daughter before she pushed the door open and climbed out of the car. "You sure you're alright walking home on your own after school? I can find a way to pick you up." Dani bobbed her head up and down slowly, pursing her lips as she slammed the door closed, anxious to turn around and split up with her dad. Even though she was only going to be in school for two hours, she was sure it was still going to be like hell, and after Amalia's attack, Dani had a relatively good idea of what hell must feel like. She was grateful at least, that although through her paranoia of what may be hiding in her locker or in the bathroom cubicles or staring at her through classroom windows, she'd have several classmates (who she prayed had nothing to do with the world of magic) around her. Tomorrow, of course, was going to be way different. She only came into school for two hours today to slowly adjust to being away from her dad and brother and to being in the same place as Sabrina Spellman. Tomorrow was when she was really going to start coming to school; she couldn't stay at home for the rest of her life.

Reluctantly, Dani began trudging up the stairs to the entrance of Baxter High, her fingers tracing over the bandaid on her cheek, positive that it was receiving stares from her schoolmates. It was a big bandaid that definitely couldn't go unnoticed, and Dani was too aware of that. It was just another worry that ran freely around her unstable brain. It was the least important of her worries, however, and she was reminded of that when her eyes landed on Rosalind, Sabrina, Theo and Harvey who all stood by the lockers together. Upon making eye contact with them as she entered the school, Dani immediately began walking the other way, moving toward her class instead of going to her locker to retrieve her algebra book. She couldn't brush off the apologetic look in their eyes and the way they began moving toward her to talk to her when they saw Dani. Dani had promised herself and her family that she'd stay away, though, so that was exactly what she planned on doing. She was only at school for the last two periods; it wouldn't be too hard to avoid them.

Unsurprisingly, Dani was wrong. As she sat down in her assigned seat in the second row of tables in her algebra class, the figure of a person that sat beside her made her hold her breath. She wished that by some coincidence Sabrina was no longer in her algebra class or no longer had the assigned seat beside her, but with Dani's luck, she knew there was no chance of that happening. Remaining silent, Dani continued to stare straight ahead and wait impatiently for their teacher to speak before Sabrina could start talking to her.

"Hey..." Sabrina's soft, gentle voice trailed, "I didn't know you were coming in today." Hearing her voice sent chills down Dani's spine. In her head, it sounded like that amplified, loud voice Sabrina had suddenly switched on at the haunted house when she froze Amalia in the air with her powers. Dani squeezed her eyes tightly and shook her head to push the voice and memory out of her head. When she didn't respond, Sabrina continued to speak. "I just wanted to apologize for how everything went down. I'm so, so sorry you had to be involved in all of that. I hope you know that Nick never meant for you to get hurt. None of us did." Heart pounding in her chest, Dani tried her best to keep a straight face. She didn't want to look at Sabrina; hearing her voice and apology was enough for her to want to walk out of class and hide in the bathroom.

"Please leave me alone," Dani said in barely a whisper, glassy eyes glued to the pencil she couldn't stop anxiously twirling.

"Okay..." Sabrina's voice was even softer now like a weight was pressed against her chest, preventing her from breathing properly. "Just know I'm really sorry."

The rest of the class was as torturous as the beginning. Normally, Dani would have looked for something to distract her from the boredom of algebra, but not today. All she wanted now was for her teacher and math to be distracting enough to take her mind off Sabrina and the others, but of course, that wasn't what she got. Her brain continued to swim in memories of the night and also contemplating thoughts, making her wonder whether she should give her friends a chance to explain before deciding whether to even look at them ever again. Dani ran her hand over her face. Why did Sabrina have to talk to her? Her mind had finally found a little bit of ease, and now it was acting up again like a steam engine.

Beyond grateful when the class finished, Dani crumpled the paper on which she was supposed to be taking notes on but only filled with random shapes and scribbled lines. She came into school today late for the mere purpose of catching up on these last two subjects but it turned out to be pointless. Why had she come into school at all when all she was going to do was waste her time being stressed out by even the thought of her ex-friends being in the same room as her. She watched as Sabrina exited the classroom after mumbling a sad, apologetic "bye," to Dani. The blonde had hurried to her friends who waited outside, all holding similar expression on their face as they glanced between Dani and Sabrina.

Walking past them, Dani kept her head down. Eye contact, especially with every one of them there, was the last thing she wanted to do. Briefly seeing all of them there together already set Dani's heart off so loudly it was all she could hear. The last thing she wanted to do was show that she cared, and surely, looking in each of their upset eyes would bring tears to her own eyes and make her seem like she did actually care. She could feel their stares on her back as she walked away, hurrying to her physics class with her hands wrapped around her backpack's straps so tightly that her knuckles turned a sickly shade of white.

At least I don't have any of them in physics, Dani thought, sighing in relief. She entered the physics classroom and walked toward the table she usually sat at, pulling her heavy physics book out of her bag right as her teacher began to begin the lesson. Dani had been so sure that not having Harvey, Rosalind, Theo or Sabrina in her class would make it easier to focus, but even when she was away from them, all she could do was think about how she was supposed to survive the rest of the year when she had to face them almost every day. Would the images of Amalia leave her head eventually? Would she stop missing Nicholas?

And after what felt like just minutes, the class was over. Wasted, once again. She sighed, raking a hand through her hair as she continued to walk, grateful for all the chatter and the sound of footsteps that reminded her that she was safe around so many people. Her few seconds of peace were not long-lived, however, because a louder set of footsteps began to near her, and without warning, a hand was set on her shoulder. Gasping, Dani jumped and spun around, suddenly feeling like she was going through the same night all over again.

"Hey, hey, hey... it's just me." Dani sighed in relief and leaned against the wall when she saw Harvey, hands out in front of him, trying to calm the panicked girl. "Sorry," he mumbled with lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed in guilt.

Though grateful that it wasn't a creature that had snuck up on her, just the sight of Harvey made her eyes sting and her heart race fast. If this was how upset she felt being a few feet near him, Dani couldn't imagine how she'd feel being close to Sabrina or Nick. "I have to go," she whispered, hands tightening around the straps of her backpack while she started to walk away.

"Dani, please," Harvey pleaded, evidently following her. "Just hear me out, okay?" Dani glanced at the door. The exit of the school was so close to her, she could walk out right now and go to the safety of her home. She turned away from the door but barely looked at Harvey, only making enough eye contact to signal him to speak. "Look, I know finding out all of this... especially the way you did... is terrible. And trust me, I know what it's like to find out that the person you love is a witch or warlock or whatever..."

"I don't love him," Dani mumbled, her voice almost raising defensively as she stared down at her hands. Nicholas Scratch was nothing more than a temporary crush.

He continued speaking with disregard to what Dani had said. "I won't tell you to forgive Nick, okay? But please just give 'Brina a chance. She's going through a lot with her powers and with the academy and stuff, and I know what happened to you is tough– I couldn't accept that she was a witch either but I learned to and I think you should too. She really cares about you, and as much as I dislike Nick, I know he also cares about you. We all care about you, Dani."

One last time, Dani looked into Harvey's hopeful, wide eyes, and though her lips begged to part so she could respond and allow herself to have a real conversation with her friend, to maybe allow herself to be more understanding and forgiving, she gritted her teeth. "I need to go," she repeated, and with that, she walked away.

Though only having been at school for a little over two hours, it felt like an entire day to Dani. She wanted to call her brother to save her from the short but exhausting eight minute walk home but she didn't want to be any more of a burden than she already was. Non-stop, her dad and brother had been chasing her around and helping her, and now she had finally been given a few hours of independence. The last thing she wanted to do was show her family that she wasn't okay yet and couldn't handle being alone. So, inhaling deeply and taming her impatience, she began making her way home with her phone tightly in hand in case anything sketchy happened. She couldn't wait to get home and bury herself in her bed for the rest of the day.

When she got home, that was exactly what she did. Climbing up the stairs after dumping her backpack near the coat rack by the front door of the house, Dani was more than ready to lay in her bed and watch romcoms on her computer until her dad and brother came home. As she entered her bedroom, Dani jumped at the sound of a door slamming. She glanced at her phone, surprised not to see a message from either Calum or her dad saying that they were coming home now.

"Cal?" Dani called out warily, hands gripped onto the edge of the door frame of her room. "Dad?" The lack of any noises or a response sent an uneasy feeling throughout Dani's body, her legs suddenly feeling like she was carrying heavy boulders that made it difficult for her to stand. "Who's there?" The thick lump that formed in her throat and the feeling of paralysis didn't stop Dani from quietly closing and locking her door and reaching over to pick up the acoustic guitar beside her bed to use as a weapon. The instrument was usually lightweight, but now in her trembling hands, they seemed to be filled with bricks. "Amalia?" Dani asked herself, eyes pooling with tears as she dreaded what could have made the noise downstairs. It couldn't be Amalia. Amalia was dead. She shuddered at the thought.

Dani clapped a hand over her mouth when there was continual knocking on her bedroom door. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping this was nothing but one of the bad dreams she had been having ever since the carnival. "Why won't you let me in, Dani?" Dani's eyes flew open, lips parting in confusion when she heard Sabrina's voice.

"S-Sabrina?" She almost gasped as she dropped her guitar on her bed and pulled away from the wall. "What... what are you doing here?" While searching for enough air to be able to breathe properly, Dani hesitantly opened unlocked the door.

"I want us to be friends." Sabrina's smile seemed unnatural, almost pernicious. There was something about it that made it seem like it didn't belong to Sabrina. She was too happy; her back was straight and her chin was up. She barely seemed to blink. What was wrong with her? Her overly-sweetness, especially at a time and situation like this, made Dani shift uncomfortably, biting her bottom lip.

"We can't be friends." Dani tried with all her strength to not look away from the blonde's eyes.

"Why are you mad at me?" Sabrina's supposed obliviousness set off frustration in Dani, her hands clenched into fists. How could she do this right now?

"Are you serious, Sabrina?" Dani folded her arms over her chest, blood boiling in her veins. Did Sabrina think this was funny? "Did you forget what happened at the carnival? I almost died, Sabrina. And I found out that not only to monsters exist, but my friends are monsters too. And you literally just broke into my house just now! What "friend" does any of that? So I sincerely apologize for being mad at you and not wanting to see you ever again." Dani seethed, and though she was shocked by the words that left her mouth, the heat that radiates throughout her body made it feel normal. All that pent up anger and annoyed thought she had been thinking all this time, she had taken out on Sabrina, the nicest one of all her friends. She felt guilty, she did. But her anger dominated her guilt. All she could hear, see and feel was red. "Now, please just leave."

"That wasn't very nice," Sabrina said, taken aback. Her unnaturally friendly aura was soon replaced by one that made Dani step back. Her eyes widened when a strange noise, like that of trees being chopped down, seemed to be coming from Sabrina. Then, to Dani's horror, Sabrina's eyes went white. Just like the night of Amalia's attack. The brunette felt air catching in her throat as she stumbled back, Sabrina's arms raising up with a glowing light radiating from her.

"Sabrina, please," Dani whimpered when her back pressed up against the wall. With her entire body trembling, her breaths were shallow. She could barely find air to reach her lungs. Even though Sabrina was radiating light or magic or whatever it was that glowed so brightly from her, everything felt dark to Dani. She felt like she was back in that haunted house and the entire thing was replaying all over again. But then, there was a snap, like a balloon bursting. Before Dani could jump in fear or gasp, everything went black, as a static-like numbness took over her body.

____

The sting of the cut on Dani's cheek was nothing compared to the unfamiliar, stabbing pain that spread across her head. Groggily opening her eyes, she struggled to gain focus on the figure crouched down before her. All the words that were being said to her seemed too muffled for her to understand. It was like cotton swabs had been stuffed into her ears and as though she lost her perfect vision. Before she could manage to make out who it was that was talking to her, she froze at the roughness that scratched her arms. Trying to move, Dani gasped when she realized she was trapped, wrapped up in vines on the ground. It was Theo who hovered over her, now evidently tugging on the vines to help the thrashing girl out of confinement. She let out a strangled yell as she tried with all her strength to shove the invasive plant off her body. Rather than the situation improving after being freed from her claustrophobic position, Dani was now stuck with her internal tangledness; her mind raced with questions, making her feel like she was being physically tied up with vines again. She was back in the woods, the place where the entire mess began– finding out about her dad and brother and then soon after, about Nick and Sabrina. With her heart beating so fast she could barely breathe, Dani glanced around to grasp the situation. What were Roz, Theo and Harvey doing here? Sabrina was the last person she had seen.

"Sabrina- she knocked me out with her powers!" Dani muttered to herself, eyes darting around from the three other masses of vines. Beside each of them were enormous husk-looking vegetables. The tops of each of them had been smashed, and when Dani looked back at Theo, there seemed to be orange slime and seeds from the vegetables all over his face. "W-what's going on?" She almost screamed when Dani turned to her left to see her own head sticking out of one of the husks beside her. It had been smashed in just like the others. She gagged at the sight and looked away, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You need to calm down, okay?" Theo held his hands in front of Dani reassuringly but all it did was make the confused girl slide back in fear.

"No, no, no, no... stay away from me!" Dani screamed. Her eyes had blurred again and she could barely see any of them anymore, but all she knew was that she wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

"Dani-"

"I said stay away. Don't touch me!"

"We're not going to come near you, okay?" Roz said quietly. When Dani managed to blink her tears away, she could see the three teenagers had taken a few steps backward for her comfort. "But we need you to work with us, Dani. We have to get out of here."

Letting out a shaky breath, Dani stood up, hand pressed against a tree for support. "Someone tell me what the hell is going on!" She demanded, wiping her wet eyes with her sleeves.

"It was... it was Sabrina. She... she did something to us," Theo started, eyebrows furrowed in thought as he spoke. This entire time, Dani had hoped that despite Nick's and Sabrina's abnormal abilities, they were still good people. Hearing about this only crushed her faith in her old friends. "She was trying to duplicate us but don't worry, I killed them." What does that even mean? Dani wanted to say, but she was too much at a loss for words.

"It's not Sabrina. It's something else. I saw it in one of my visions. Like... like a twin," Roz said, looking between the other three. Everyone seemed to know exactly what was going on... they understood each other perfectly well. Meanwhile, Dani was leaning against a tree, eyes wide, and breathing heavily. She had every reason and every desire to run and scream for help but she was so frozen in place. Between trying to understand Harvey, Theo and Roz's discussion and trying to understand her own thoughts and stop herself from freaking out again, she couldn't bring herself to speak or move or do anything.

"I... I don't understand," Dani said, eyes darting between all three of them, searching for clearer answers.

Harvey turned to Dani, his lips parted to respond, but then Theo spoke up, backing away slowly with huge eyes, "guys," he shuddered, staring ahead. Dani couldn't bring herself to look at whatever it was Theo looked so frightened about. It was going to be something scary or crazy– whatever it was, Dani didn't want to know. But instinctively, at the sound of high-pitched shrieking coming from behind her, she spun around and her jaw dropped when her eyes landed on Sabrina– or was it Sabrina's twin?– walking toward them. The blonde's mouth was wide, the unnatural shrieking clearly coming from her as she continued to near them with her finger pointed to them in shock.

"You murdered my friends?" Sabrina whimpered in disbelief, lowering her hand.

"Run..." Theo said breathily, stumbling back. He was clearly shocked, they all were. But not as shocked as Dani. "Run!" And while they all ran away, Dani's feet were rooted to the ground, just like vines. Her body wracked with a mixture of terror and confusion. The blonde in front of her was the one who had blasted Dani unconscious. She looked just like Sabrina, but at the same time, they were so different. She kept walking toward Dani, frowning with her eyes filled with hatred. "Dani! Are you insane?!" Harvey's hand gripped onto the frozen girl's shoulder, tugging her along with him.

Even while running, Dani felt paralyzed. Her legs were moving fast, but her eyes were stuck, staring ahead of her. She only blinked when Sabrina's doppelganger wailed loudly from far away. How was it that only a few days after the carnival, Dani had managed to get involved in another supernatural-related occurrence? So consumed by her thoughts and by trying to catch her breath, Dani hadn't even registered that they had run to Harvey's house. It was only when she was sliding into the backseat of Harvey's car, panting like she had run a marathon, that she realized they were on their way to the Spellman Mortuary.

The sound of nails being hammered into wood snapped Dani out of her silent stupor, her eyes finally focusing on something that wasn't her fingers. When the car stopped in front of Sabrina's home, everyone exited Harvey's car except for Dani. She watched cautiously as Theo, Roz and Harvey briefly interrogated Nick and Sabrina to confirm whether this was the real Sabrina they were speaking to. Though Dani was desperate to know what they were discussing and to finally understand what had happened less than an hour ago at the woods, she refused to leave the safety of the car. Whether that was the real Sabrina or not, Dani didn't want to go near someone who looked identical to someone– something that had knocked her unconscious and kidnapped her to turn her into a vegetable. And Nick... she didn't even want to look at Nick. She tried her best to avoid looking at him as they spoke, but her sad, tired eyes betrayed her when they landed directly on Nick's. The boy's eyes widened in realization at the sight of the girl who sat in the back of the car, and when he started rushing toward her, Dani looked back down at her hands, wishing she hadn't been so tempted to look.

"Dani!" Nick let out a sigh of relief when he reached the rim of the truck. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He removed his attention from her eyes and instead started searching her body for wounds to which Dani backed away slightly.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, refraining from looking at him though she longed so badly to be warmed by the kindness of his eyes. She wanted to see that homeliness that constantly bounced off his honey-brown eyes and made her heart feel comforted, made her feel safe.

He shook his head, staring at the floor with his hands at the back of his head. "I should've been there to protect you... I know I didn't do a great job at that with Amalia, but- I'm so sorry, Dani," he looked back at Dani, searching her for acceptance or forgiveness, maybe, and even though she could sense his upset eyes burning onto the side of her head, she refused to look up. "I know you don't want to talk to me... I understand that and I can't blame you for hating me. I just... I can't-"

"I don't hate you," she muttered, momentarily lifting her head to look at him.

"Then why can't we be together, Dani?" He looked at her with watery eyes, his eyebrows furrowed and arms hung loosely by his side wanly. "I won't hide anything from you, and if you don't want to be with me because you don't want to be involved with all of this..." he motioned his arms around toward Sabrina and the others, including himself, "...then I'll do everything in my power to keep that world away from you. I'll protect you, for real."

Dani stared at him, taking in the sincerity of his eyes. Though he looked physically healthy, his eyes told a completely different story. Dani felt somewhat guilty for putting him through so much pain, though realistically, she couldn't be blamed. She sighed, blinking a few times to maintain a straight face. "I can't, Nick."

"Why not?" He threw his hands up in frustration.

"Because!" Dani exclaimed, eyes now perforating his. She wasn't angry at him, not anymore. She was angry at how the entire universe seemed so against her. As though its sole purpose was to bring her to a peak of happiness before sending it all tumbling down like rocks on a hill. She was angry at herself, for being naive enough to think that after so much delightfulness in her life, from her mother dying to the insanity in Riverdale, she could have something great, something real. Something permanent. Here she was, though, wishing that she hadn't let herself believe that Nicholas Scratch could be just that.

"Tell me why, Dani," Nick stepped closer, reaching a hand over the bar of the truck and gently cupping her cheek. Unthinkingly, Dani leaned toward him the slightest bit, and. "Tell me why and I'll leave you alone." Upon realizing how much space she was closing between them, Dani pulled away, clearing her throat as she broke eye contact once again.

"We come from two completely different worlds, Nick," she brushed a lock of her wavy hair behind her ear.

"I don't care about that, though, Leesha."

"But I do, Nick!" She exclaimed, burying her face in her hand for a few moments before looking back up. "My dad and brother are hunters. And so was my mom and probably every single one of my relatives! And you... you're a warlock. It just can't work."

"We'll find a way to make it work!"

"I'm sorry, Nick. I really am. But I can't do this," Dani said, voice cracking. She couldn't bear to see the look in his eyes. If they hadn't looked broken just minutes ago, they definitely were now. Like Dani, he blinked back tears, and though he was clearly upset, his eyes still seemed to search hers again, this time for the possibility that they could be together.

"Nick," Dani looked down at her lap, wiping her tears away with the back of her hands when Rozalind and the others approached Nick.

"I have to get inside. Roz, Harvey and Theo are headed to the mines to find the Gates of Hell. Nick, I need you to keep your eyes open for the Dark Lord, okay? Stick to the shadows," Sabrina instructed, pointing between her four friends. She turned to Dani who refused to look into anyone's eyes, especially not Nick's. "Dani-"

"I'm going home," she stated firmly but her voice was shaky. "But... I can send my dad to come to help you out."

"It's okay; we've got this covered. Thanks, though," Sabrina smiled softly. Dani wanted to return the smile, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"I'll walk you home," Nick offered, but without hesitation, Dani shook her head.

"I'm okay. You guys go do what you need to do."

Pursing his lips, clearly disappointed, Nick nodded and stepped away, allowing the brunette to climb out of the car. "If you need anything-"

"I'll be okay, Nick," she called, already beginning to walk away as Sabrina rushed inside her house and Harvey, Theo and Rosalind slid into Harvey's car.

Dani internally fought with herself to not turn around and see if Nick was still standing there. Truthfully, she wouldn't have minded him walking her home. In fact, it would have been very welcome. She had made her point, though, that she and Nick couldn't be together. Had she agreed to walk home or anything else related to Nick then all the pain she had gone through to say goodbye to him would have been for nothing. No matter how much he promised that they could make their relationship work, that the unacceptance of the association of hunters with witches could be worked on, even if it all did work... she couldn't bring herself to agree, to let herself go through everything all over again. They were nothing but empty words, promises that could be broken. They were not and could never be permanent.

_____ ♔_____

→ author's note

that was sad to write whoops. i really enjoy incorporating stuff from the show (like amalia in chapter 11 & the mandrake and stuff) bc it's really fun to write and also helps move the story forward. i hopes you enjoyed this chapter! let me know what you think!

votes, comments and follows are always more than appreciated.