Snow It Up [Shake It Up]

chapter fourteen

CeCe draped the red blanket around her shoulders, sitting down on the fluffy pillow she had set on the ground. She placed her cup of milk on the coffee table, moving a candle to the side. It was one that she had actually bought for Rocky but ended up not giving it to her because CeCe liked it the best. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought about her best friend and how selfish CeCe used to be. 

"Who is going to go first?" Gunther said from the other end of the coffee table. He had Flynn's comforter wrapped around his shoulders, holding a flashlight in his hands. "Because I have a good story to tell."

"Why don't I go first?" CeCe suggested, holding her hand out. Gunther passed the flashlight to her, his fingers brushing against her skin. She jerked it away from him, giving him a quick grin. "I'm going to have a better story than you."

"Sure," Gunther said, laughing. "Go ahead. Wow me with your scariness."

"Okay," CeCe said, her mind racing. She didn't think that he would say yes to it. In reality, she didn't have a story yet. She just wanted to show him up, be better. CeCe gripped the blanket in her hands, wrapping it tighter around her body. "Usually, scary stories start on a dark and stormy night, but mine doesn't."

"I am already getting chills," Gunther said with a grin. "Go on, please."

CeCe smiled, shaking her head. "The day was bright and sunny when she came to town. It was like everything glowed a little brighter and the music from the birds were a little sweeter. The first person that saw her immediately fell in love with her. Everyone else that saw her fought with the original guy to get her."

"What did she look like?"

"I'm getting there." CeCe closed her eyes, placing her fingers on her temples. She thought hard and said, "To everyone, she looked different. She was magical, Gunther, so to everyone, she was their perfect person. The person that they have been dreaming about for years. For example, she would look like Dina for Deuce, or Tinka for Ty."

"Wait, what?" Gunther said, leaning forward. His grin dropped from his face, a frown replacing it. "Why did you say Tinka for Ty? Is there something going on that I do not know about?"

"Oh, um, yeah," CeCe said, reaching toward her cup. She took a sip of the ice cold milk, furrowing her eyebrows. So, she wasn't the only one who didn't know about Ty and Tinka's relationship. But why didn't Tinka tell her own brother about her boyfriend? "Ty and Tinka are together."

"Together as in . . . boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Yes." Gunther sat back on his feet, a sad look on his face. CeCe felt bad for telling him about his sister's relationship, but it wasn't her fault that he didn't know about it. CeCe had thought that Gunther and Tinka were closer than this, but apparently she was wrong. "I'm sorry that you had to find out this way. Don't worry, though, because I didn't know about it until a week ago."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Gunther's voice was soft and sad, making CeCe's heart hurt for him. "We kept in touch while I was in the Old Country, but she never said anything about Ty."

"I wasn't told either," she said, trying to brighten his mood. "And for a while there, Tinka was my best friend when I had amnesia." Gunther nodded, but his eyes were downcast and there was a shadow from one of the candles on his face. CeCe reached out and placed her hand on his. He looked up at her, so she said, "I am sorry that this has happened to you. I know you were really close with Tinka, but sometimes people grow apart. Trust me."

"Okay," he said slowly. "I do trust you, CeCe." He gave her a small smile and gripped her hand with his, giving it a squeeze. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, taking her hand away from his. She really didn't want to, but she did it anyway. "Okay, on with the story. Like I was saying, this woman can shapeshift into the person you desire the most. That was part of her way to entrance the town, to get them to do her bidding."