THE LESS YOU'LL SEE

NOTES: I cannot stress these points enough, so I will put these at the start of every chapter:

1) This is primarily a Lover's Death story.

2) I do not own anyone (i.e., characters, etc) or anything (i.e., lines, scenes, concepts, etc) from the Now You See Me no copyright infringement intended. I really am just a hopeless fan girl refreshing my feed for more stories about Lover's Death and Hermit+Priestess (daily, twice a day, might I add).

3) Some events in this story are inspired by my own experiences, and should you see yourself in the story, then let me give you a high five, but that honestly was not my intention.

4) Should anyone be willing to beta read the magic technicalities in future chapters, then raise your hand so we can talk. And can more of you please share awesome Lover's Death and Hermit+Priestess stories? We would all love that.

July 2006: Card Tricks

Senior year really was something to look forward to for Jack Wilder. He wasn't quite sure why he agreed to take summer preparatory classes for college admissions, given how college was not quite his plan. No, he really wanted to take the world by storm and be the greatest sleight of hand the world has ever seen. This was something he didn't confide with his parents, though he knew they would probably find it in their blessedly lovely hearts to support whatever calling he had in life. In this case, it was magic, and it always will be.

He was waiting for the rest of the class to fill up, absently shuffling his cards deftly. He was in his element too, and was only brought back to reality by a voice at the very back of the room.

"Nice shuffle."

Jack turned around to meet the eyes of the speaker, the only one in the room apart from him. The impossibly blue eyes belonged to a boy about his age, and in the same precise and slightly high-pitched voice, the speaker continued. "Know any other tricks?"

Jack broke into a grin, and the boy reciprocated by turning one corner of his lips upward. "Lift your pencil up high, man," Jack prompted.

The boy's left eyebrow raised slightly, but he obeyed Jack's request nonetheless. Jack scurried over to the very front of the room with one card in hand, took aim, and flicked his wrist quickly. As planned, his card whooshed past the blue-eyed boy, and half his pencil fell on the table in front of him.

There was no mistaking the excited whoop that escaped the boy's mouth as he dropped the other half of the pencil and started clapping, shaking his head. A very real smile was on his face, and Jack felt a strange happiness knowing that he put that smile on that new face. He gave a mock bow.

"I have to say, that was quite… impressive," the boy said in an appreciative tone.

"Hey, thanks man, I'm glad you think so," Jack said as he jogged back to the seats, but this time making his way closer to the boy, who had also moved a few rows down as he was clapping for Jack. "Are you into card tricks?"

His new friend scoffed as he pulled out a deck of cards from his back pocket. Jack's heart skipped a beat – finally, a fellow magician! "If you would call magic 'card tricks', then yes, I suppose I am." He turns his blue eyes on his deck and does a few flashy shuffles before looking Jack straight in the eye. "I'm going to flip through this deck. Keep in mind what card catches your eye – no, not this one, that's too obvious." He points to the two of hearts at the bottom of the deck, and Jack chuckles. "Ready?"

Jack nodded. The boy flipped through the deck, and a five or seven of diamonds catches Jack's eye. He must have frowned, because the boy prompted him, "One more time?"

Jack nods again, and this time he is able to focus more clearly on the seven of diamonds. The boy closes the deck and shuffles the cards again. "Do you have one in mind?" he asks Jack.

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

The boy spreads out the cards to face Jack. "Is your card here?"

Jack scans the deck for the seven of diamonds and does not find it. "No."

"That's because you're looking too closely," the boy berates with a smile. "I always say that the closer you look, the less you'll see. Check your pocket."

Jack stares at the boy incredulously for a split second before he complies. His heart skips a little when he feels a thin card nestled in his front pocket, and laughs loudly when he sees the seven of diamonds in his hand.

"Oh, man, you are a magical piece of work," Jack said happily.

The boy shrugged, unable to feign much modesty. "Oh, it would have been more impressive if I could have done it outdoors. Nothing like your card coming out on the side of a building to add to the showmanship of it all."

"The side of a building, huh?"

Jack's companion nodded. "Assuming I know the tower's electrician, and I have at least fifty bucks on me."

Jack laughed. "Is it usually the seven of diamonds?"

Blue eyes twinkled at that question. "I can do that trick fifty-two different ways."

"Yeah, but can you do any other tricks, man?" Jack teased.

The boy's eyebrows wagged playfully. "Well, let's see what I can do," he teases as he extends a hand to Jack. "J. Daniel Atlas."

Jack took his hand eagerly. "Jack Wilder, now a huge fan of yours."

Daniel smiled slightly. "You're not so bad yourself, Jack."

Jack checked his watch. "You know, we have about half an hour before people even start showing up. How about we grab a drink and you teach me how you did that trick?"

"Only if you teach me how to slice pencils in half with a card," Daniel countered.

"Deal, Daniel."

"Call me Danny."