Witch of the Wild Woods Ch. 01

Chapter 1 - Misunderstood

They'd finally made it to summer. Spring semester was nothing less than a slog to get through. No electives. Only seventeen units worth of core classes and a part time job that often became more than part-time. Still, Lane was thankful both he and Luna had survived long enough to settle into a mostly ordinary life. University courses, a customer service job, and a quiet studio apartment to come home to at the end of a long day. It didn't hurt either that the University of Irvine in sunny Southern California was a stone's throw away from the beach, mountains, and a fist full of national and state parks. There were ample places outside to relax, if Lane ever got the time to do so.

"You need to get out," Lane pleaded as he knocked on the shower door once again. The faucet was going full blast, but that didn't muffle the soft squeals and occasional explosive moan from making their way into the kitchen room. "Luna, please, Becca is gonna be here in ten minutes. We talked about this two days ago-!"

The rushing water cut off abruptly.

The door flew open and a wall of steam hit Lane in the face. Stepping out wrapped in a purple linen towel, Luna licked her fingers and smiled, "Finished. Okay? I'm going. I wouldn't want to intrude on you and your... Girlfriend? This is the volleyball one, right?"

Lane stepped aside to allow Luna room to saunter over to the dresser. She unwrapped the towel and tossed it over her shoulder at Lane. He caught it in his off hand and threw it onto the towel rack before addressing his naked sister determined to take her sweet time to get dressed. She could be a real pain if she wanted to.

"She's a friend. Possibly girlfriend material. Could you hurry up?" Lane replied exasperated. Not necessarily because his sister was deliberately stalling, but he honestly didn't know where things stood with Becca. It was unlike him to leave things so ambiguous in any kind of relationship. For the last two semesters, Lane hadn't been on any supernatural quests or dangerous missions overseas. He had been simply a college undergrad slinging coffee on the side. Becca was a nice classmate, coworker, friend? Life was simple for once, but that surprising lack of otherworldly tension or impending doom left Lane... On edge.

"Here, how's this one?" Luna had stepped into a cowl neck, thigh length, satin slip. At first glance, Lane thought the cowled neck line made it appear as if she were wearing the dress backwards, but there was no back. Wearing it the other way around would have only been slightly more revealing than Luna's typical garb. The marbled green satin hugged her slim, athletic frame, but left just enough to the imagination. Luna gave a quick twirl and threw a mischievous smile at her brother.

"Looks great. Where are you going, exactly?" He asked while stepping from the bedroom through the living space, and back into the kitchen; a whole fifteen feet.

"Bowling," Luna shouted. "Some kind of fundraiser for the National Parks."

"Don't think that's the sort of dress that goes well with socks, or bowling shoes... Or, Bowling," Lane considered while dicing mushrooms.

"I appreciate your concern for my wardrobe. I've got it handled," Luna had followed Lane out into the kitchen holding a pair of black Spanish Heels. She lifted her right leg up and set it gently on the kitchen counter top like a barre, "See? Stockings. Perfectly acceptable bowling attire."

"If you say so. Leave now. Begone," Lane pointed a spatula toward the door.

Luna remained, smiling, raising her leg off the kitchen counter and bringing it around perfectly at a ninety degree angle before bending the knee, and sliding it back to the floor. She'd only trained as a dancer for a year, mostly as cover for one of their misadventures. She still had that same ballet grace. But, Lane kept his focus on adding the finishing touches on the toasted ravioli he'd prepared.

"So," Luna said, leaning over the counter, "You're gonna ask her out then? In the afternoon? In the apartment? Super romantic." She rolled her eyes and leaned back on the counter top.

"I'm cooking an early dinner and we're going to the beach. That's all we have on the agenda today," Lane replied and added the diced mushrooms to the sauce simmering.

"No sex then?" Luna asked with a pout.

"Out," Lane huffed again, a little more forcefully conducting his sister once more with the spatula and unwittingly sent a few flecks of the marinara sauce arcing across the room.

"Oh, no," Luna exclaimed in a mock whine.

Lane's patience was running thin, "What now?"

Luna pointed to nothing in particular on her chest, "You got sauce on my dress. Going to have to change now and it's all your fault. Thanks."

Lane was a hair-trigger away from throwing his sister in the garbage, "Fine, go change! If you want to meet Becca so bad, then you can stick around when she shows up. But you gotta-" Luna had already stripped down in the living room and wandered into the bedroom. Keeping his eyes on the green peppers he shouted, "Get dressed, Ursa Minor!"

"Fine," She chuckled.

Lane could practically hear Luna's eyes rolling to the back of her head. She was in a mood. Unfortunately, Lane was not in a state of mind to do anything about it.

Tapping her brother's shoulder, Luna asked, "I don't know which one goes better with the heels, now that you've ruined my dress. You pick."

Lane spun around and nearly knocked the saucepan over, "Damn it, Luna, what part of, 'Get dressed,' don't you understand?"

Standing in the buff, her honey brown skin shone in the afternoon sun coming through the blinds. She feigned innocence, "Just pick one."

Lane growled, "Black dress, white waist belt, switch to the white heels and put some underwear on for once in your life, please!"

Lane's phone rang on the countertop, nearly vibrating off the edge and onto the floor. He reached out to answer, but Luna was quicker. She answered and stepped back just before Lane could tackle her; "Good Afternoon, Lane's phone, how may I direct your call... Oh, of course, glad you called! One moment please." Luna pressed the mute button while practically jumping up and down with excitement, "You have to take this call."

Ordinarily, Lane would find a way to calm himself and center his mind. Instead he tackled Luna into the couch. She barely resisted, flailing her legs and arms wildly all while happily screaming, "Take the call, take the call, take the call!"

Sitting on his sister's stomach, pinning her on the couch, Lane swiped the phone out of her hand. He took a breath and calmly answered, "Good afternoon?"

Half expecting a crank call or telemarketer, an overly enthusiastic voice answered, "Lane Guster Woods, how are you, bud?"

Lane checked the number. It wasn't logged, but his caller ID App pinged from somewhere way outside Seattle, Washington; "How can I help you?"

"Jude Abidalli, Trillion Pines Youth Camp. I was looking over your resume and wanted to reach out to you. Do you have a minute?" Spoke the giddy voice over the phone.

Lane pressed the mute button, "Luna, what the fuck is Trillion Pines Youth Camp?"

Luna squealed, "Keep talking!"

"What the hell is Trillion Pines Youth Camp?" Lane interrogated his sister as he tickled Luna under her armpit.

"Just keep talking, I'll explain after, I swear!" She yelped.

The man on the other end continued to hold; "Um, hello? Lane, bud, ya still there?"

"Sorry," Lane said as he unmuted himself, "Bad connection. How can I help you, Jude?"

"As I was saying, we received your resume and wanted to offer you the position," There was a silence for a moment while Lane waited for Jude to further explain, "Um, a Youth Camp Counselor?" Jude chuckled trying to fill the silence, "You're more than qualified. Perhaps, over qualified; four years coast guard, overseas missions trips: says here you helped Interpol with a... Disassembled a Sex Traffic Ring in Ukraine? Is that true?"

Lane was staring daggers into Luna, but the topless girl was grinning back ear to ear; "Jude, let me put you on hold for just one more moment, okay?"

"Sure thing, bud. Standing by!" He replied with another nervous chuckle.

"Luna," Lane said calmly shifting his weight on top of Luna, "Explain. Now."

"So, you were whining about how we didn't have time all year to go to the mountains, or Joshua Tree, or the Beach, 'Bitch, bitch, bitch, whoa is me,' That's you by the way. That's what you sound like," Lane pinched the muscle underneath Luna's armpit. She yelped, but continued, "I thought about it. You're actually right. We never really got to do normal kid stuff growing up: like go to a summer camp-"

"We've been to camps," Lane interrupted.

"We toured Auschwitz when we were fourteen," Luna corrected, "I mean a fun, relaxing, drama free camp. You and me, up in the mountains. AND, we get paid a little on the side for watching other normal kids have fun too." She looked up into her brother's eyes trying to stop the gears in his head from over thinking, "Please, Lane. I think we could both use a vacation. For once?"

Without a second thought, Lane caved; "Jude Abidalli?"

"Right here, bud. So, whatcha say? You wanna join us up here for some fun in the sun, under the stars and across from beautiful Spirit Lake?"

Lane shrugged, "Sure. Count me in. What are the details of the job?"

Jude proceeded to rapidly dump an encylcopedia's worth of minutiae and legal liability that Lane only vaguely paid attention to. Instead, he looked down at his sister and recalled the last sixteen years they've spent together. The victories. The heavy losses. It was rather incredible that they'd survived up to this point. He'd always been taught, trained to keep pushing forward and grow. Perhaps it would be healthy to take a moment to breather?

"...So we'll see you up here on Monday then. Don't forget those passports and sign those medical release forms. Take care of yourself, Camp Counselor Woods," Jude chuckled again, and the line went dead.

Lane continued to sit on top of his sister, "You drafted me into a youth camp?"

Crossing her ankles, Luna held her cheshire grin, "I did, yes. I drafted us for fun."

"What. The. Fuck?" A distressed voice from the front door gasped.

Becca.

Standing about an inch taller than Lane, the olympic level volleyball player was the picture of disgusted and furry. The buzzed blonde crew cut presented an edge of intimidation meant for the court, but resonated in this particular situation too. Becca crossed her pair of strong, tanned arms across her washboard chest and rapidly tapped her foot. Her fiery blue eyes shot daggers into Lane.

"Rebecca, hey!" Lane shot up from the couch. He reached out to greet her, but Becca recoiled. He continued to explain rationally, oblivious, "Sorry, I lost track of time, but dinner should be-" He dashed over to the kitchenette.

"Dinner? You have the nerve to invite me over when you're fooling around with some side-chick? Are you for serious right now about Dinner?" Becca spat out, livid.

Lane had grown up with Luna. Modesty was not something regularly practiced in their home: even less so after their parents disappeared. So having Luna in any state of undress near or around him was more annoying than shocking by this point. Of course, Becca hadn't met Luna yet, and admittedly this was the worst possible introduction.

Unabashed in her nudity and not at all concerned about social norms, Luna sprang off the couch and waved, "Hi, I'm Lane's sister, Luna. I was just leaving, but it's nice to finally meet you. My brother says you're a middle blocker for UC. Eye on the Olympics?"

Becca's open jaw shut and her face contorted from rage to disgust; "You're fooling around... With your Sister?"

It finally hit Lane; "No. No, no she's... She's French. Clothing isn't really a thing she does well-" Lane stammered. "The girl hates clothes. That's just her malfunction."

"And, hold up, you expect me to believe you two are related," Becca added with a bitter laugh. "You think I'm some stupid jock, Lane Guster Woods?"

"We're twins, actually," Luna said leaning up against the wall.

Lane was a blur of embarrassment and frustration as he shouted, "Luna, get changed, get out, please!" Luna shrugged and sauntered toward the bedroom. Turning to Becca, Lane pleaded, "I know, I know, it's weird, she's weird, I'm weird, but--"

"No, you a freak, Lane Woods," Becca snapped.

Luna shouted back from the bedroom, "Clothes are the real 'freak', actually. Goes against nature, we're the only animals that wear them. If we weren't a shame based society, everything would be easier naked..."

"Seriously, not the time, Luna!" Lane shouted back exasperated. Again he turned back to Rebecca, "I am seriously sorry, she takes forever to get ready--"

"You live with her?!" Becca shouted, "Oh, and you thought you could just slide her out the backdoor before I got here-"

"We don't have a backdoor and I'm not trying to hide anything," Lane tried to take a step forward to console Becca. She took one last step backwards out the door.

With a hand raised up in aggressive defense, Becca scowled, "Give me a reason Lane, one reason why I shouldn't tell everyone on campus about how sick you are? Insta, Facebook, fucking Linkdin: you are unacceptable--"

"If you slander Lane for something that isn't true," Luna said calmly, fixing a gold earring into her lobe, "Then, you'd force my hand to expose your extracurricular activities."

Becca snapped and wagged a finger at Luna, "I don't wanna hear a word from you, miss-thing. You shut your Ho-Ass-Mouth and keep stepping. Okay?"

"You're right," Luna agreed, shaking her head. She straightened out the black cocktail dress she wore and stepped into her white heels, "You don't want anyone to hear a word from me, because I'll tell them everything I know about The Library."

"You think I care about books?" Becca snorted with a nervous laugh.

"No. Not books. 'The Library' gentlemen's club you moonlight at," Luna replied, pulling out her phone. She opened her photo app and began scrolling through a handful of shots. "A friend of mine dances there regularly. You know, Ruby? She's pretty talented. And, I've got nothing against showing off your body. Obviously." Luna gestured to herself and smiled, "But, if you even think about spreading false rumors about my brother; the facility, your coach, your family, everyone will know the truth you were hiding."

Becca was floored. Mortified.

Lane was bewildered, "Becca, how come you never told-"

"'Cause it's none of your damn business, that's why," The athlete screamed. She turned to Luna stern, but pleading, "If any of those photos get out, do you have any idea how much trouble that'll be-"

"Tons," Luna nodded, "So wouldn't it be easier to simply hear my brother out, have some dinner, and go to the beach instead?" She flashed a small smile, "Look, I'm over protective of my dumb twin; he's caring, loyal, and his cooking is out of this world. Give him a chance. I'm Sorry for interrupting. You two have a fun date night."

Becca was still fuming, recovering from the whiplash of being exposed.

Lane was equally pissed and made a second attempt at damage control; "Becca, I've got food on the stove, my sister's heading out, can we just talk? Please?"

Taking a deep breath, Becca threw up her hands, "I wasn't expecting to get blackmailed into a date tonight. I'm trying to hustle an education, sports career, and future just like everybody else. A relationship is probably gonna complicate all that. Maybe you are a nice guy, Lane. But, I don't need 'complicated' right now." Before she turned to leave, the athlete made one last plea to Luna, "I've got a family counting on me. Please, don't leak those photos."

"Don't spread rumors and you have my word; your secret is safe," Luna spoke gently.

Becca turned on her heels and walked away.

Both twins stood in the entryway. Silent.

"That was uncalled for," Lane sighed out, trying to control his anger.

"It was. I'm sorry," Luna admitted, "But, I know your heart and I have a responsibility as your sister to help it remain unbroken, if I can."

"That's how you justify stalking, taking pictures of someone?" Lane started, but drew a sharp breath, counted backwards from ten and strode across the room to the kitchen. The sauce had started to boil over.

"I wasn't stalking. I was already at the club with Ruby. I only noticed while scrolling through the photos a few nights ago: one of the background dancers looked familiar. That's when I did my homework," Luna stayed by the door, "Again, I'm sorry."

Lane was trying to salvage the sauce while taking the ravioli out of the oven. He set the tray with a meal made for two on the stove top.

"Do you..." Luna stammered, "What do you need?"

He sighed.

Lane needed a vacation.