"You need to get off my bed. Now." Narrowing my eyes, putting on a tiny scowl, and furrowing my brow, I glared at the dog sprawled out on my blankets with menace. "I'm not kidding with you, mutt. Get off."

Needle cocked his head, his long tongue plopping out over his white muzzle. I cannot STAND this animal. Everything he does is to just annoy me, I've quickly figured out.

"Well, I need to change the blankets. So move." I threw down the clean pillowcase I was holding, grabbed the sheets that he was laying on, and yanked them off of the mat I was using as a bed. Needle fell with a plop onto the floor, seeming confused as to why he was now on my carpet.

Giving the medium sized dog a sneer, I stepped over him triumphantly and reapplied the new blankets I had received for Christmas with caution. It was now 8:00 pm on Christmas night, and the whole family was busy putting away their millions of gifts into boxes to be sent to Washington State. My aunt always sends each a newly sewn blanket from her every year, which was quite fitting, counting our circumstances.

Tucking the blanket under the mat and fluffing the pillow into position against the wall, I looked around my room again. The pale purple walls that we painted when I was 6 years old brought back good memories. Countless scratch marks along the window sill marked the many times Obsidian had ran up the side hunting for laser pointers. I smiled faintly, turning to look at Needle. He was still in the same spot, panting and gazing up at me with his fudge eyes. The replacement for Obsidian.

With guilt, I suddenly remembered her. I hadn't thought about her in a couple hours, but now the familiar ache of longing was back. I'd had a bit more matters to worry about... My gaze drifted back to the receipt sitting on top of my alarm clock. The note from Reed.

I still had no idea when he was coming, or if he really was. Doesn't matter. I'm in trouble no matter what, with the voice.

I should probably be worrying about Needle being the voice, but the logic part of my brain was winning right now. He was a dog. When Reed arrived, maybe he'd have an answer for all of this crazy stuff. Or maybe not...

Obsidian. I hope she is okay.

"Hey, sweetheart. Looks nice, you changed your little pretend bed and everything." Mom teased, walking in.

"Yeah." I shrugged, plopping down onto the mat. Needle crawled over to me on his stomach, wagging his tail like a little whip. I gave him a pointed look, and he stayed off of the "bed."

Mom rubbed her arm, her bun messily holding up her wet hair. The smell of shampoo wafted in with her, and I sighed. This was home. And we were leaving. Before I hadn't cared, but now... Something was changing.

"We're going to have to go in a few days, Mel. You know that, don't you? There's no stopping that, and now that you have Needle, he can be your companion until we find Obsid." She blurted, and I didn't meet her eyes. I knew she would say that.

"Okay." I murmered quietly, and Mom looked taken aback. Instead of saying anything, in wise fashion, she kissed my forehead and left.

Now all I have to do is wait for Reed. I had a feeling that once he arrived, everything would change.

                                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11:00. 12:00.

I had already dozed off for 2 minutes at least 10 times. I was starting to think Reed would never show.

To make it seem like I was sleeping, I'd turned off my light and put on my flannel pajamas, which were overwhelmingly hot in my room. I should've been able to wear them without being uncomfortable on Christmas, but this weather was too warm. And I was not going to be indecent around Reed when- IF - he arrived.

Needle had been watching out the window with his little paws barely hooking over the top of the sill when he let out a loud, sudden bark. I scrambled across my mat to grab his muzzle, holding him against my chest. He didn't struggle, and I realized this might have been the closest I've ever been to the dog.

When there was no stirring from my parents room down the hall, I peeked out over the edge of the window, searching the dark yard 2 stories below for movement. Nothing. Must've been a squirrel-

Reed's head popped out into my view from the side of the house, his long curls falling over his shadowed face. The rain had ceased, but I could tell he must've fallen into a puddle somewhere, because his hair was soaked. Fallen into a puddle headfirst, then? Smooth.

I squealed, dropping the dog and backing up until my back hit the wall. Reed waved with one hand, his head disappearing for a second before a finger tapped at the window gently.

This was so bad. Inviting boys into the house? At 12:00 at night? I shook my head, stroking a lock of my hair nervously, and looked around before getting up to unlatch the window. Taking a deep breath, I opened the screen and backed away.

Reed agilely jumped through, landing on the carpet with a soft thump. I hurriedly stood up to close my door, my hands shaking with panic. Bad idea, bad idea, badddd ideaaaaa.

"Hey. Good to see you've gotten my note. Thought for a second that you might not have taken my hint." He grinned, shaking his head like a wet dog.

I crossed my arms, trying to stand tall enough to seem in charge. "What did you want? And how the heck did you get up to my level of the house?"

Not losing the cocky smile on his face, he pointed out to the window, revealing a long rope trailing down the side of my house. "I attached a hook to the end, fashioned out of kennel crate metal. I don't know, thought it might come in handy. Threw it up, made sure it was attached to the roof, and started to climb."

Wow, boys are as idiotic as my dad claims...

"You could've gotten yourself killed." I said, but it came out sounding like I was cold. I tried to force my shaking hands to stop, but it was useless.

"Well, it was for a good cause." Now he seemed rightfully awkward, shivering slightly. Standing in the middle of my room with his black hoodie on, wet droplets dripping onto my white carpet, he definitely didn't look like he belonged here. Not to mention he was insanely tall.

Needle huffed a doggy sigh, and Reed turned to him with relief. "Hey."

"UM, ANSWERS, PLEASE." I hissed, shifting my weight onto another foot. My wet hair from my previous shower was plastered to my neck, and I moved it to one side.

Reed looked at me for a long moment, hesitating. Finally, he lowered himself onto the floor slowly. "You might wanna sit down for this."

I obeyed, immediately feeling a sense of sickness. That was familiar. Needle plopped down in the middle of us, me in my blue bunny pajamas, and Reed in his jeans, jacket, and wet curls. I wondered how long it took him to get out of his house.

I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea, and leaned over myself, holding my stomach. Black and white flashes, you know the drill.

Without opening my eyes, I groaned, "Are you here to tell me that your stupid mutt gave me an un-curable virus or something? I've been feeling crappy like this since he came this morning."

"Something like that." I heard the undeniable guilt in the boy's voice, and opened my eyes to see Needle. He was up in my face, his damp nose touching mine, the fur under his eyes white and fluffy. And his eyes were glowing a bright gray, reflecting mine.

Frozen in place, all I could do what stare at the dog while panic clawed at me from the inside.

"Mel, Needle is- something you weren't aware of. He- Uh-" Reed's voice cracked, and he went silent.

"What? What is he?" I croaked, still unable to move.

"Feels good to chat again, Melody Sue Riller. Anyway. I'm not exactly a dog, as you might have already guessed. No, no, I'm something quite more sinister. Your friend Reed here, we're working out a deal together. I'd like to propose something to you that'll benefit you amazingly, and the price to pay is relatively small. But before we get to that, to answer your question; well, I'm definitely not the devil. You could say I'm more of a... Demon."