Hey guys! Authors note, because I forgot to add this in the first chapter...

This story is old. It was first written on Quizilla between myself and another person with the username 'timberwerewolf', so if you have an account on Quizilla, by all means, go and harass the hell out of her and tell her how awesome she is. Seriously.

Secondly, I had no clue what genre to put this under. It's got a little bit of everything- mystery, drama, action, romance, humor, and so on. That tends to make things slightly difficult.

Okay. On with the story now.

Roughly fifteen minutes after entering the town limits, the car pulled into a small parking lot of a diner. PJ and Derek glanced around briefly before PJ turned to her parents. "... Is this Darkwood?"

"No, it's Canada." Derek replied sarcastically. PJ glared back for a minute before opening her door, stepping out of the car and stretching. It had been a very long ride.

"Talk about a ghost town. People actually live here?" Derek commented, coming around to the side of the car with their mother. Their father slowly stepped out of the vehicle as well, sighing as he looked around.

"It's not that bad. Small, but I could get used to it."

"Sure, if you were a vampire." Derek mumbled. Their father laughed, getting his wallet out of his back pocket and looking through it.

"Here, you two go eat. Your mother and I have to go finish some paperwork at the school, so we'll be back in about an hour. And stay out of trouble!" he instructed. Derek nodded slightly while taking the offered money.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. No blowing up buildings, no drugs, no sex, all that. C'mon PJ."

PJ rolled her eyes, following her brother into the small diner. The inside of it had an old-time feel to it, along with a slightly creepy vibe. PJ couldn't place why though. The twins stopped just inside the door as everyone inside got quiet, glancing to them. Derek frowned, tapping PJ's arm to get her to follow as he went to a small booth near the back. The pair could feel the others watching them.

After a minute, a waitress slowly made her way to their table, clearing her throat before speaking. "What can I get you? Drinks?"

Derek glanced to PJ before looking back to the waitress. "Uh, two cokes?"

The waitress nodded, hesitating before walking back up to the front. PJ exhaled quietly as she looked down to the table.

"It's really weird in here... Or is that just me?" Derek mumbled. PJ nodded slightly- she didn't want to draw anymore attention than they already had. "If I die here," Derek began again, "I want a white coffin. And a marble tombstone."

PJ smirked slightly as their waitress came back with the cokes, pulling out a pen and notepad. "You ready to order?"

"Two burgers, please." PJ replied. The waitress wrote it down quickly, then left again. PJ couldn't help but notice a few people still watching them.

"... You two just passing through?"

The twins looked up, seeing an older man at the breakfast bar turned toward them. "We're going to the Academy, actually." Derek answered. The man nodded slightly, placing one hand on his thigh.

"School starts up again in a few days. Word of advice- don't go messing around in things that don't concern you."

PJ stared at the guy with slightly widened eyes. He stared back for only a second before turning back around, his back to the diner. Glancing to her brother, PJ noticed that he looked as disturbed as she felt. When the waitress arrived with their food, the two ate in silence, keeping their eyes on their plates.

It was about half an hour later that their father came into the diner through the door, but, oddly, no one payed him any mind. He walked over, sitting next to Derek in the booth and stealing one of his french fries. "You guys ready to go?"

The twins nodded simultaneously, and their father smiled. "Alright, I'll go get the check and then we can get going. Your mom's checking out the school as we speak."

He stood up and made his way to the counter in front of the diner, leaving the twins alone again. Derek turned to PJ, sighing quietly.

"So, if the people in town are this... Friendly... What's the school going to be like?" he whispered. PJ shrugged slightly as their father came back to the table, still smiling.

"Alright Jennings, let's go! Derek, you can keep the money in case you need it later." he said, heading for the diner's door. Derek and PJ slowly got up and followed, but were stopped by the man at the breakfast bar. He put his hand on Derek's arm, causing him to jump and turn quickly with wide eyes.

"You two remember what I said," the man told them quietly, watching the pair intently. They both nodded, and as soon as Derek's arm was free, they hurried out of the diner and back to the car.

The Academy looked about as disturbing as the town itself. Of course, the overcast weather wasn't helping much, nor were the dark shadows near the entrance. The car pulled up just outside, as their mother was exiting. The twins slowly got out, and Derek snorted quietly before putting his hands in his pockets.

"... Hogwarts?"

"Hardly." their mother sighed, stepping over to them as their father also got out of the vehicle. "It's much nicer inside. Quite warm, too."

Derek nodded slightly, glancing to PJ. Their mother watched them for a minute before sighing again and placing her hands on her hips. "Your bags are already in your rooms. However, the dorms aren't co-ed. You'll be in the same hall though. The Headmistress has your room keys, and her name is Headmistress Ford..." their mother paused, looking back and forth between them with a saddened expression, "... Be good, both of you. Don't get into trouble."

The twins nodded before they were suddenly, and unexpectedly, hugged by their mother. She sighed quietly, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I love you... Both of you... We'll miss you..." she murmured, and hugged them for another minutes before letting go and walking over to the car. The twins turned to see their father smile sadly as well, and he waved before getting back into the car.

A minute later the vehicle pulled away, turning around and driving back down the road, and away from the school. The twins watched it until the trees became too dense.

"Well... We're here now... Might as well get this over with." Derek sighed. PJ nodded in agreement, patting her brother's shoulder before turning and heading up to the entrance. Above her, she couldn't help but notice an arch, with what looked like the schools slogan and name.

Mortem est Solum Temporaria

Welcome to Darkwood