Hello again! I'm back with another chapter: Enjoy!
Jacob's POV
I stood with Mr Charles Dickens as he explained the latest ghost story. Around the time that Evie and I first came to London, he had welcomed both of us into his 'Ghost Club' and now he had me doing ghost stake-out's all over the place."And you're sure it's a ghost?" I asked him.
"Everyone seems to be. Now, they say this house is haunted. There have been reports of strange sounds and such emanating from it. Mr Frye, will you go and investigate it my boy?" he requested.
I sighed. Why couldn't Evie have taken this case? She was more enthusiastic about this ghost business than I was."Hmm, well... these ghost stake-outs are beginning to get rather boring. Could I possibly bring someone along?"
"Of course. Any friend of yours is welcome in the Ghost Club. Thankyou very much my boy, and be ready to come to the house at seven'o'clock."
"Yes, i'll be ready. Bye," I called, as I left the tavern.
y/n's POV
I lay upside down on the sofa, my hair touching the floor, when suddenly Jacob appeared in the train carriage. "La la la la la - oh hi Jacob!"
"What are you doing?"
"Making the blood rush to my head, what else?" I explained.
"Well, get up, i've got something to tell you," he laughed.
I rolled onto the floor. He helped me up. "Thanks. So what is it?" I asked.
"Well, do you want to come with me on a really super fun ghost stake-out with me tonight?" he asked.
I folded my arms. "Ghosts..."
"Yes, they're spooky and scaryyyy," he whispered, trying to creep me out, but failing miserably. "What do you say? Want to come?"
I was excited! A stake-out with Jacob? With Jacob... "Riiiiight. Hmm, okay fine, but I am not scared of ghosts. They aren't real, Jacob."
Jacob smirked. He really was devilishly handsome... snap out of it! "Oh-ho-ho, really? Okay, whatever. We leave at seven."
"Alright, if you get scared i'll hold your hand," I teased.
"Ha ha, very funny."
A few hours later, Jacob and I went to the tavern together to speak to Mr Charles Dickens before we did the ghosty thingy.
The white haired man seemed very enthusiastic about everything. Especially ghosts. "Good Evening, Jacob, and who might you be?"
"Oh, y/n s/n, pleased to meet you! I've heard a lot about you, Mr Dickens."
"Brilliant, then you know what you'll be looking for today?" Mr Dickens asked.
"Ha ha, yes Jacob told me all about it. He is very passionate about ghosts, after all," I laughed.
"Yes, he is quite a determined young man, isn't he. Here, these are notebooks for you to jot down anything supernatural that might occur," he gave us two small notebooks and pens, "and remember to report back anything you find, no matter how small."
I accepted them gladly. "Will do," I promised.
"Well, off you go then," Mr Dickens said as he put a hand on Jacob's shoulder "Oh and i'm very happy for you lad, you've found a beautiful young lady here. I wish you the very best for your relationship-"
Jacob's eyes widened, as did mine. "Yes, ha ha, good times, now we'll be on our way, come along y/n," he said hurriedly. "See you soon," Jacob called, pulling me out the door with him. I hoped I wasn't going as red as I felt I was.
I laughed nervously. "U-um, he didn't mean..."
"Uhh, no he's delusional," Jacob insisted.
"Right. Yep. That's all. It's a common mistake, really," I stammered.
"Very common, yes... Ready for some ghost hunting y/n? Or are you too afraid?" he mocked, regaining his cockiness.
"I'm ready. Let's go."
We arrived at a very large, dilapidated house. It didn't seem to belong to anyone, and there was a strange, mysterious aura surrounding it. "Scared?" Jacob teased.
"No. Let's go inside where there are no ghosts." I strode into the house. "Ah, it's really cold in here!" I exclaimed, wrapping my coat tighter around me.
"It's because of the dead people lurking in the shadows. They want revenge. And you're next..." Jacob whispered, circling around me. "Woooo!"
"Jacob, please."
"Wooo..." his voice faded away.
"Thankyou. Now, you're the leader, so what do we do first?" I asked.
"We investigate. But seriously, if you are scared, just say," he insisted, actually serious this time. I gently pushed him forward a bit. "Okay, okay, let's go."
We investigated the area, and although I wouldn't admit this to Jacob, this place was a bit on the spooky side. There were sometimes weird noises out of the blue, and sometimes I could've sworn I saw an inanimate object move when no one had touched it... I didn't realise it, but as we advanced through the creepy house, I inched closer and closer to Jacob. Maybe it was because I was... scared. No, Jacob would not have his way. I wasn't scared at all. Ha ha. Not at all...
"Alriiiiight. There's absolutely nothing here," Jacob concluded.
"But, but didn't you see that thing move..."
"Hmm, y/n, you think there's something here? You think there's a - what's the word - a ghost?" he played with my hand as he spoke.
"No. No, I didn't say that."
"Anyway, there's nothing here, but if we go back and tell Dickens that he'll just say we didn't look hard enough, so we have to stay a bit longer," he explained.
"Stay? In this place?" I asked, my voice shrinking a bit. "Okay."
We went to the next room in the house, and Jacob sat down on the floor. He invited me to sit down next to him. "We just sit here for a while, look out for something ghostly, and then we leave. That sound good?"
"Uh... yes sounds excellent," I laughed nervously, looking around warily. I took a seat next to him."So, let's talk to pass the time," I suggested.
"Yeah. So... y/n, we're both 21, right?"
"Yep. I know, I know you're older though. Why did you ask that?"
"So in your 21 years so far... have you ever courted a man before?" he asked.
A subtle red rose to my cheeks as I looked to the floor. I drew circles in the dust. "Uh, no, never. Not - not yet... have you, Jacob?"
"Nope."
"I guess romance isn't easy to come by when you've been an assassin you're whole life."
"Precisely that. But it's not impossible."
A smirk appeared on his face and I was afraid he'd ask me a question like: have you ever kissed anyone, because then I would have to say yes, and he'd obviously know I meant him, and then the awkwardness, therefore I would die inside. Change the subject y/n. Change it! "So, when you first came to London, how did it feel?" YES, I changed the subject!
"It was... well I got my wallet stolen, then I killed a guy, then I got a gun uhh... so yes pretty good, i'd say."
"Right..."
The devilish smile reappeared. "y/n, have you ever-" Jacob was interrupted by - was that a piano playing? "What the..."
"I-Is that piano in this house?!" I gasped.
"It seems like it..." Jacob looked around warily. "Hmm..."
I shrunk into my coat."But, who's playing it?"
"I'll go check it out..." Jacob stood and cautiously walked into the other room.
"Wait, Jacob!" I called. The door had closed behind him.
"Crap," I heard him say from the other side of the door. "It's locked, y/n can you open it from that side?"
I ran over to the door. "There's no doorknob! What kind of door doesn't have a doorknob How cheap is this house?!"
"Oh... I probably should've been more careful, ha ha. It's alright, i'll find a way back. I'm just going to find the piano, i'll be back," he called, his voice fading away. I never usually panicked, but now I was really panicking my head off. I was scared. The piano was still playing eerie, screeching notes somewhere, echoing through the house, and the room was cold, sending weird shivers down my spine. I wanted Jacob back. Paranoia made me think there were noises and moving objects everywhere. I just needed to calm down.
I paced around, convincing myself that I was safe. I was. Right? "Ghosts aren't real! Of course they aren't! I've never been scared of them my whole life. Jacob and I are strong individuals who can fend for oursel-"
"AHHHHH!" I heard Jacob shout.
"Jacob?!" I shrieked.
"Ha ha ha HA! So you are scared!" his voice echoed.
I bit my lip with frustration."Oh, i'm going to kill yooou!" I yelled. "Have you found the piano?"
"Not yet."
"Well please hurry!"
"Why?"
"JACOB FRYE I AM NOT SCARED!"
"Nice to meet you, not scared, see you in a bit!"
I sat back down. Just wait, and this will all be over. Obviously there were no ghosts. "I swear when that man gets back i'll slap him in the face."
Jacob's POV
I knew it! y/n was scared after all. I followed the sound of the creepy tune being played to find the piano. Who could be playing it? There was no one in the house except y/n and I... not that I was scared. The great Jacob Frye was never scared - "Holy crap..." I finally found the piano playing the tune, except no one was actually playing it. "A piano that plays itself? What the..." There wasn't a ghost. There couldn't be. I investigated the piano and eventually opened it, finding the many strings attached to the keys inside. It was just a mechanism.
"Jacob, did you find it yet?" y/n called.
"Yep! It's a ghooooost!" I lied.
"A ghost?! Y- You're lying!"
"Nope, wait ah, AH AH, HE'S GOT ME! Just kidding."
"Jacob, you're so - ugh. Could you stop the piano playing please? It's... annoying too."
"You were about to say 'it's scary' weren't you," I laughed.
"No."
"So you don't mind if I leave it playing-"
"Yes! I do mind! Please turn it off."
I sliced away the strings and the music stopped. "There you go," I called. "Now to find a way back," I murmured to myself. I wandered around until I found a trapdoor in the floor. I opened the hatch, and there was a room below me. I dropped down into it. y/n was sitting in the corner hugging her knees. "Hey, y/n, there you are-"
"Jacob!" y/n jumped up abruptly, ran up to me and tackled me with a hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I could smell the beautiful aroma laced in her hair. "You left me alone, you - stupid person."
"Scared, were you?"
"Yes, I was pretty scared. Never ever take me to a haunted house again," she admitted, squeezing me tighter. We stood like that for a good five minutes, and I didn't want to let go. It was weird, because ever since I first hugged y/n, she left a little indent there, so every time I embraced her again, that indent was filled once more. It was weird, I know. I couldn't fully explain it myself. "Oh, right," she pulled away, leaving that indent once again. "What do we write in these?" she pulled out the notebooks and pens that Mr Dickens had given her.
I took one, and read what I was writing aloud. "'Found piano playing by itself. Not a ghost, just a mechanism. No ghosts or spirits.' There. That'll be disappointing for Dickens."
"Well, let's get out of here... before something creepy happens again," y/n insisted.
y/n's POV
"Alright, alright," Jacob laughed. He took my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine. I gasped slightly. Of course he and I had done things that were more than just holding hands, but this still made me just as nervous. "Let's get going."
"Mmm-hmm." I tried not to look at his eyes, and fall into the trap, but I failed. Now I was looking into them and I couldn't stop. The colours in his eyes were so mesmerising; they never failed to captivate me. "Uh, yep, let's go..."
We returned to Mr Dickens and gave him the notebooks (for some reason he was very impressed with the one sentence that Jacob had wrote) and then went back to the train. I definitely needed the rest after what had been a literal emotional rollercoaster of a day.
I entered my room, closing the door behind me and collapsed onto my bed. Ah, it felt good to be back in a warm room, where I couldn't embarrass myself in front of anyone. I yawned my fatigue away and stared up at the ceiling. What was I thinking about? Take a guess. It seemed like I could never take my mind off Jacob, and no matter how much I scolded myself, I liked it that way; although...Jacob Frye was the first man I ever really - well loved, so I was still trying to at least grasp these strange feelings that came with loving someone. Each experience had it's own unique feeling. For instance, when Jacob would tease me, and when Jacob would look after me in some way. I couldn't explain it with words, but they both came with different feelings. Revelations about being in love like that came to me every now and then. But the thing that confused me the most - the thing I didn't understand was how just one man could have such an effect on me.
When he smiled I was overcome with happiness. It was the strangest thing because if I did see that smile of his, I felt a strange urge to go into a different room and laugh or squeak to myself like a lunatic. If he was angry I wouldn't be able to feel happy in any way. Or when he did something very out of character I would find it amusing and reminisce about it for the whole day. Little scenarios of Jacob and I saying things to each other played out in my mind when I was bored. I even dreamed about him sometimes... Wow, listing it all at once just sounded like I was absolutely obsessed with him. Although, wasn't that what love was?
I took a deep breath. Love was all well and good, but I did have to remember the mission that I was helping Henry, Evie and... Jacob complete. Just stop thinking too much y/n. Seriously.
There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" I asked.
"Evie,"
"Alright, come in,"
"Are you alright, y/n?" Evie laughed as she breezed into the room. She sat on the bed next to me. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
I was still staring at the ceiling. "Nope, that was earlier, long story... Say, Evie, when you talk to Henry, do you ever have that...thing when you don't really know what you're saying, but you keep talking anyway?" I asked her.
"Yes, actually all the time!"
"Really?!" I bounced up, now sitting cross-legged, facing Evie. "Brilliant! I thought I was the only one! What about... oh, do you ever do - yes - do that thing where you give him something - like an object of some sort - in the wrong way, so the awkward hand touch thing happens?"
"Yes! And then you just don't know where to look," Evie exclaimed. "Okay, I know. Does this ever happen to you? Where he looks into your eyes, and it's the weirdest feeling ever!"
"Yes! And it feels like you can't look away because they're so bright," I sighed.
"And warm," Evie added.
"Is it weird that I sometimes... well a lot of the time... make up little romantic scenes in my head?"
Evie shook her head. "I do that too. Sounds a little weird, but I do it..."
"Oh, Evie, you have no idea how relieved I am! I thought I was crazy. I still am, probably."
"We'll be crazy together. y/n... do you think that a relationship would compromise the mission?" Evie asked, staring into space.
"Why would it do that?"
"Just something my Father used to say. 'Don't allow personal feelings to compromise the mission.' Except, lately i've been thinking that maybe Henry and I can be together and we can still complete everything that needs to be completed. But that's ridiculous. Absolutely absurd..."
"Evie. No offence to your Father but that's rubbish. I know you. You are the most focused woman I know. Always attentive. Always rational. You would never allow any feelings to get in the way. Love isn't getting in the way, so it's alright. Right?"
"Right."
"Whoa what's going on in here?" Jacob asked, peering into the door.
"How scandalous! A man must always knock before entering a woman's chamber, Jacob Frye! She could've been undressed for all you knew!" Evie mocked in an utterly posh voice, pushing Jacob out of the room.
"Right... sorry... i'll just leave then..." he slowly backed out through the door.
"Ta-ta brother dearest." she slammed the door in his face."Ha ha."
"You and Jacob are the best brother-sister duo I have ever seen," I laughed.
Evie smirked. "Thanks. I do all the work to make that happen of course."
(THE NEXT DAY)
Jacob's POV
"Aleck, how's that telecommunication business coming?" I asked, as I strolled into Alexander Graham Bell's workspace. We had become good friends over time, even though I was only interested in him fixing my things to begin with... Now I visited him regularly, and sometimes Evie tagged along. I preffered it when she didn't...
"It's going pretty well Jacob, only, Starrick is really getting on my last nerve. I think you and Evie are probably the same, no?" Aleck said slowly as he played around with some electric device. "Ow!" he got a little electric shock in his finger. "Ha ha ha..."
"He won't be bothering us for much longer," I assured. "So-"
"Aah!" I heard y/n squeak from outside. She appeared in the doorway. "Um, yes so the carriage rolled away unexpectedly... ha ha, horses, right?" she laughed sheepishly. "Oh hello there, Mr Bell," she greeted when she saw Aleck.
"Good day, I believe we met once before, um, Miss s/n was it?"
"Yes, you remembered!" y/n walked in and looked around the workshop.
"You've met before? When?" I asked them.
"When I came here with Evie once. I helped Mr Bell make things to give to her - when she was gone of course. He's excellent with a screwdriver," she explained.
"Well, thankyou," he laughed. "Jacob, uh, Miss s/n, I don't suppose you could, well, help me out with something for a short while, could you?"
"What do you need ?" I asked.
"Well, it's similar to what happened last time, you know, when you mended the fuses atop Big Ben. Except, it seems that someone has sabotaged us and the lines are disconnected again. If you could help me again, that would be excellent," Aleck explained, brandishing his hands around as he spoke. One of them had a bandage wrapped around it.
"You hurt your hand again?"
"Ha ha, yes, I was, uh, messing around with delicate equipment." he stroked the back of his head sheepishly. "So, Jacob, y/n?"
I nodded."Easy, let's go."
We managed to find a different carriage - and by that I mean we just hijacked one from a couple of deliquent Blighters - and y/n took the reins. She insisted that she would drive because Aleck had an injury and I was 'not responsible enough.' A man crashes into a bus once and never gets given a second chance. Okay twice. And nine lamp posts... but anyway, the nerve of it!
"Aha, excellent driving, I must say!" Aleck complimented.
"Thankyou, Mr Bell," y/n laughed, giving me a look that said, 'ha ha i'm better than you.'
"Alright, see you in a minute," I called as I hopped out of the carriage. y/n came out after me.
"Jacob, should we split up for this one?" y/n asked.
"Hmm... how about a race?" I suggested.
She nodded. "Yes that sounds fun, i'll win."
"Not on your life. Ready? Go!" I sprinted away and ascended the Big Ben as fast as I could.
y/n's POV
I had already finished mending my switches and waltzed over to Jacob. "What? You're already finished?"
"Yes. Ha ha HA!" I laughed. "What's my prize, huh?"
"Hmm... you want a prize? Here you go," Jacob gave me a peck on the cheek, and the fluttery feeling returned to my stomach once again. He hopped off the ledge. "Ha ha, race you to the carriage! I won't lose this time!" he called, already climbing down the building. That was the best prize I was ever given... I descended the Big Ben, dazed.
Jacob and Mr Bell were waiting in the carriage when I got back. We returned to Mr Bell's workspace.
"Ha ha, success, once again, thankyou Jacob, Miss s/n, now we can continue to combat Starrick's Telegraph Company, so thankyou again."
"No problem at all, Mr Bell," I laughed.
"Yes, call on us anytime," Jacob insisted.
Jacob's POV
We left a very contented Mr Bell and returned back to the train. Before we got in though, I stopped y/n. "...y/n I won the second race. Where's my prize?" I hummed.
She played with her hands and looked at the floor. "...Alright, here." she planted a gentle kiss on my cheek.
I swayed a little. "Best prize ever," I laughed quietly, staring into space.
"Jacob... let's go inside."
"Yes, inside, good idea."
Evie's POV
Night had come quickly, and I lay in my bed ready to sleep. I was filled with excitement, as I had collected almost all of the flowers on my list. When I collected every one of them l would give them all to Henry in one go, and then he'd be so happy. And then maybe he'd like me the way I liked him... possibly. Or probably not. Oh well, it was still nice just being friends with Henry. I buried my head into my pillow. "Goodnight," I moaned, my voice muffled.
"Evie," I heard Jacob say from the other side of the door.
"Whaaaat?" I groaned. Jacob came in and threw a book in my face. "Ow, you little piece of-"
"Heyyyy, hey calm down, just open the book..." He gestured to the book.
I flicked through the book and found a single flower pressed into one of the pages. "It's a violet..."
"I just found it when I was walking around and you kept going on about it, so there, now you have it," Jacob explained. "I don't care, do with it what you will."
"You really listened to me mumbling about the flowers?" I asked, surprised at Jacob's sudden act of kindness.
"Well, how could I not listen when it was constantly filling my ears 24/7..." he muttered.
It dawned on me: "You're being a nice brother! Aren't you?" I laughed, folding my arms.
"No, I was just trying to shut you up about your violet okay? Anyway, i'm off- hey-" I put Jacob into a headlock. It was my way of hugging him. Yes we were strange twins indeed. "Stop, you're crushing my windpipe," he wheezed. I let him go.
"Thankyou Jacob. I appreciate it. Now you can get out."
"Wha-"
"Bye!" I slammed the door in his face. Twice in one day - new record! Jacob was a considerate brother from time to time. But rarely. Very rarely. Now and then he would do things like this, and that's when I fully restored my faith in him being a good brother. Now, knowing that I was one flower closer to giving them all to Henry I was even more excited. How would I ever fall asleep?
Bye. I felt like I had to do a chapter with Dickens and Bell, especially Bell. He's so awkward and hilarious. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, i'll be back with the next.
