Mom lead us to the arrivals gate and stood opposite us, considering our appearances. She licked her thumb and straightened out my eyebrows as I griped in disgust. She did the same to Phil, who was too absorbed in his phone to notice our mother. She patted down Phil's hair and fluffed up mine.

"Okay, okay, stop!" I said when she began to coach me on how to smile. "We're all nervous for one reason or another—"

"I'm not."

"Shut up, Phil. Mom, you're not making it any better."

She sighed and put her arms around us. "I just want to look more together than we actually are. Is that so much to ask?"

"They've been on a plane for seven hours, they're gonna be less together than us when those rats moved into the house and nested in our clothes." I was referring to the great rat invasion of '12.

The first person walked out of the automatic doors, pulling her wheeled luggage behind her.

"It's starting," Mom said, like we were in the Purge. We watched the people pour from doors, and with each person who walked past us without a second thought, my stomach tightened. Great time for the only thing that scared me more than dogs — social anxiety — to kick in.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I saw a text from Charlie.

Charlie Chen was my best friend since grade two — the grade where I dropped out of school. He knew how much I was anticipating the Watters family's arrival.

Charlie: Hey how u?

Me: I'm okay — nervous

Charlie: Should i pick up a candy bar for u? It'll make u feel better....?

Me: No. Just a warm bath and a electrical cord will do

Charlie: Very disturbing. I'm getting a candy bar anyway. Maybe we can watch a movie 2nite?

Me: Maybe. Just not into the woods again

Charlie: WHY NOT????1!!!!11??//??

Charlie: I NO UNDERSTAND U

Charlie: Y U DO THIS TO ME

Charlie: IM DISAPOINTED IN U MY CHILD

Me: Bye chuckles

Charlie: Good luck jack

I put the phone back in my pocket. A woman in a trench coat, Mrs. Watters assumably, stumbled through the gate and, at the sight of my mother, ran and hugged her wholeheartedly.

"Celeste," the woman said, "how are you? It's been so long! Too long."

"Cassia, it is so great to see you," Mom said. "You remember Jackson and Philip." She gestured towards me and my brother.

"Of course," Mrs. Watters said. "You've grown, Phillip." She looked him up and down. "Are you taking care of your mother?"

"I try, Mrs. Watters, I try," Phil said. I rolled my eyes again.

Mrs. Watters looked at me. "Jackson, it's great to see you."

"Yeah, you, too," I mumbled. My voice got quiet when I talked to people I didn't know well.

"Raegan is very excited to see you again," she said. I tried to hide how taken aback I was. How can a person I didn't remember be excited to see me? Her face, her personality, memories with her — all distant like a dream. Yet she remembered me enough to be excited to see me? "She and her father are just filling up our water bottles."

"Oh," I said. "Great."

"Jackson!" someone said from behind Mrs. Watters, fluttery and high.

The strangest thing happened next.

"Oh, here she comes," Mrs. Watters said. She and Mom stepped out of the way in almost choreographed precision. A stream of sunlight cascaded down as if it was a spotlight.

Short of a chorus of harmonizing singers, doves taking flight in slow-motion, and the presence of Hugh Grant — the moment was like something out of a movie I would hate. Suddenly it was quiet, like I was wearing noise-cancelling head-phones. All I could hear was her footsteps on the hard floor and the sound of my heart growing three sizes.

"Wow," Phil said, and brought the moment to a screeching halt. "She's pretty."

I forgot whom I was talking to for a second. "Yeah."

"What?"

"What? Nothing. You're an idiot."

Nice save, Jack.

Raegan Watters — wearing a white sweater, corduroys and many jingly bracelets, with dark brown hair only to her ears and blue/black bags under her eyes — walked up to me, dropped her bags and gave me an unyielding hug. A hug like it was the only thing that could save her. I wrapped my arms around her as well. She let go and smiled at me, holding my hands like we were about to start salsa dancing.

"How are you?" she asked, as I struggled to pick my jaw up off the floor and reattach it to my face-head.

"I-I'm good. Totally good," I said, wanting to compulsively tuck my shoulder-length hair behind my ears. I had to fight the instinct. I didn't want to let go of her hands ether. "Uh, how are you? What — was your flight...good?" I struggled to think of the normal questions one would ask another person who was just on a plane.

"The flight was good," she said. Her english accent made everything she said sound like Shakespeare. "Though my phone ran out of charge half way through the trip. And I had to go to the restroom after a very large man. And I threw up in a bag. But I was going to leave that out and I'm not sure why I just said it." She she shook her head as if bodily shedding the experience, raised her hands above her shoulders and waved them twice.

I gleaned that she liked to talk. "Cool," I said, smiling. "That's cool, Raegan."

"Call me Rae," she said.

"Okay," I said. "Call me Jack."

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Hi again! Thank you for reading Preternatural Part 2, and surprise!

IT'S GAY!!

*ahem* Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll post chapter three whenever, because of the aforementioned chiiillness. If you like this chapter, vote, comment, or message me, if you don't, then I don't have to tell you again that that would obliterate me, so it's probably best that you keep it to yourself....*shudder*

Catch you on the flip side, mah peeps!! *i hate myself* :/