Chapter 13: Quid Pro Prank
Adam Stiels slouched in Nevermore's library, the air thick with the scent of dust and aged leather, candlelight flickering across raven-carved beams and towering shelves. His HUD glowed: Level 1, 14/100 uses, 10-minute cooldowns. The Time Control System was his prankster's toolkit, but memory gaps about Tyler Galpin's Hyde kept him on edge, the monster's face a blur. Tonight, he'd prank the Nightshades with a ghostly spectacle to ease the Hyde hunt's tension, hoping to stumble on a clue. His goals: pull off the prank, deepen his bond with Enid Sinclair, and dodge Ajax Petropolus' jealous glare. The system's voice was smug: Ghost prank? You're gonna haunt Ajax's nightmares, kid.
The library was a gothic labyrinth, its shelves heavy with tomes, their spines cracked from centuries of use. Bianca Barclay led the Nightshades, her silver jewelry glinting like scales as she briefed them on Tyler's trail, her siren voice commanding. Wednesday Addams stood by a frost-etched window, her black dress a void, her eyes narrowing at a rune-etched sketch—a claw-torn raven, its lines jagged. "Tyler's playing us," she told Adam, her voice cold. "Find the sketch's source, Stiels." Her trust was a tightrope, his gaps a fog where Tyler's Hyde should be, frustration coiling like a spring.
Adam grinned, his prank ready to lighten the mood. Slow Time: 40 seconds. Activate? The world lagged—Bianca's words slurred, Xavier Thorpe's pencil crawled across his sketchbook, Ajax's snakes twitched like molasses under his cap. Adam rigged a projector hidden in a shelf, casting a ghostly figure—a hooded specter wailing a looped recording—across the shelves. He scattered books, their pages fluttering slowly, and hid the raven sketch under a table, hoping to trace its origin. The system laughed: Ghostbusters called—they want their budget back, genius. Time resumed, and the specter wailed, the Nightshades jumping—Bianca cursing, Xavier dropping his pencil, Ajax's snakes hissing in unison.
"Stiels!" Bianca snapped, spotting his grin through the chaos, her braid swinging. "You're dead." But her lips twitched, amusement breaking through her annoyance. Wednesday's smirk was faint, her eyes glinting as she found the sketch. "Clever distraction, but focus," she said, handing it to Adam. "This ties to Tyler's Hyde." His gaps gnawed at him—why couldn't he recall the claws? Wednesday's right. Tyler's the key, he thought, his fingers tracing the sketch's jagged lines.
In the quad, Enid found him, her pink sweater glowing under the moonlight, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "A date with you?" she said, grinning. "I'm ready for chaos, Stiels." They sat on a stone bench, planning a Jericho diner outing, her hand warm in his, her vanilla-pine scent calming his nerves. "Neon lights, milkshakes, maybe a jukebox dance," she said, her laugh infectious. Adam's heart flipped, his monologue swirling: She's my spark, but Ajax is a storm cloud brewing. Ajax approached, his gorgon eyes flashing, snakes twitching. "Back off Enid, man," he said, fists clenched, his voice low. "You're not that special." Adam leaned against a pillar, his sarcasm sharp. "She chooses, dude. Chill." Ajax stormed off, tension crackling like static.
Adam rejoined the Nightshades, Wednesday dissecting the sketch's runes, her fingers tracing their curves. "It's Nevermore's crest, warped by claws," she said. "Tyler's hiding here." Bianca planned a stakeout, her siren instincts razor-sharp. Adam used Slow Time: 20 seconds to prank Ajax, tying his shoelaces together, the world lagging as he knotted them tight. The system quipped: Shoelaces? You're petty, Romeo. Time resumed, and Ajax tripped, cursing, as Enid laughed, squeezing Adam's arm. "You're terrible," she teased, her grin radiant.
His monologue churned: Wednesday's onto Tyler, Enid's my light, and Ajax is a thorn. These gaps are killing me. The system pinged: 15/100 uses. Pranks are cute, but don't haunt yourself, genius. The Hyde sketch loomed, a clue tightening the mystery's grip, Enid's laugh his lifeline in Nevermore's shadows.
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