Clink. Another failure. No matter what I did I couldn't get the chain to break.
"Just give it up Jenna. It's not going to break." Ari said, clearly bored. I started just aimlessly stabbing at it with my knife.
"You're going to hurt yourself!" Iggy exclaimed and took the knife away from me. I sighed.
"This is so frustrating." I whined. Ari, Iggy, and I were sitting at the base of a tree. I was desperately trying to free Ari and I from the annoyingly heavy chain connecting us. I let my head fall back and rest against the tree's trunk.
"Too bad you can't just pick the lock…" Gazzy said from across the campsite. My head rose up slowly.
"Oh my gosh. I literally never thought of that." I admitted out loud.
"Oh my God, Jenna." Max and everyone else laughed. I pulled my backpack close to me and dug to the bottom.
"C'mon, there has to be at least one…" I mumbled quietly to myself. AH HA! There at the bottom of my backpack… "Ha! Found one!" I sang and pulled out a single bobby pin. I held up my end of the chain and stuck the pin in the lock hole thing. A little tweaking here… Some jimber-jabering there... And a schbrig, just a schbrig, of magic somewhere else…
CLANK!
The metal chain around my wrist fell into my lap.
"Boom." I said all cocky like.
"There you go, Jenna." Max snickered. I started massaging my chafing wrist.
"Good job. Now do it to me." Ari snapped all rude and junk. Wow, someone acted differently around the flock…
"Rub this." I demanded and pushed my throbbing wrist into Iggy's hand. I pulled Ari's chained wrist and to me went to town on that lock.
"Ouch! Careful! My shoulder's still all messed up and crap!" Ari snapped.
"Shhhh. I'm focusing…" I snapped. Did I mention I hadn't slept in like two days because I've been trying to break this stupid chain? I didn't? Well… I haven't slept in like two days because I've been trying to break this STUPID CHAIN!
CLANK!
The metal chain around Ari's wrist fell into my lap.
"What now, chain!" I exclaimed and threw the unlocked handcuffs into my backpack.
"Maybe now she'll actually sleep." Fang snickered from beside Max. Iggy was rubbing my wrist. What a saint.
"We're free!" I giggled.
"Great, now go to sleep. Both of you." Iggy said to Ari and I. Nicer to me of course…
"Okay…" I giggled again. I was so giggly and out of it… I needed sleep… Really, really bad…
"Should I just leave?" Ari asked.
"We'll talk about it after you're not two days sleep deprived." Max replied. "Now go to sleep." Ari nodded and laid down on the ground. Iggy laid down and I got comfy on his chest.
"Nighty night everybody!" I exclaimed, even though it was broad daylight outside...
"She's so loopy." Nudge snickered.
"Good night Jenna." Max snickered.
"Night Jenna." Iggy chuckled and I felt him kiss my head. I closed my eyes and was out like a little bunny rabbit chasing after another little bunny rabbit… What? I'm an alien, not a poet… Don't you judge me.
Where am I? I feel… weightless… Floating… I think I'm floating. Where could I possibly be?
"She can't be too hard to find." I heard an Aussie accented voice that sound much like mine snap. Huh? I opened my eyes to see three figures sitting around a campfire much like our own when we had one.
"If she's anything like you, she can stay under the radar though." A muscular guy with blond hair and, I squinted, blue eyes replied.
"She's young though. She'll slip up. And when she does, we'll notice." The girl stated crossing her arms around her chest. She looked so familiar… Who were these people? I noticed the third figure just sat there and listened like he really didn't get a say in what his group. He was thin… Like I doubt he weighed over one hundred pounds. He had dark brown hair and, I squinted again, hazel eyes.
"She's number nine though. We have time before we need to find her." The first guy spoke up again. My eyes widened. They were talking about me?
"You're right. I just don't want to take any chances with her. I feel… protective… of her…" She said, her voice sincere. I raised an eyebrow.
"As you should. But her Cêpan is still alive, so she has protection."
"That could change in one night." Her Aussie accent droned on.
"Even with her being sixteen, I'm sure her Legacies developed to an extent, enough to protect herself from the Mogs." He reassured her.
"Yeah. You're right. I'm sure she's not defenseless." She nodded in the firelight.
And then everything began to fade away.
My eyes flew open, I felt like I couldn't breathe. What had just happened to me? I jolted off of Iggy's chest. It was so dark! Why was it so- Oh, it was nighttime… A small fire crackled in the center of us. Everyone was asleep except me and now Iggy, who was at my side.
"Jenna? What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" He whispered. I was still trying to catch my breath. What had just happened had rendered my breathless for some reason… I guess you could call it… breathtaking… If you wanted too… My heart was racing. Who were those people? Iggy shook me gently. "Jenna?" Was this a Legacy developing? My breathing was ragged and uneven and wasn't showing any signs of improving. "Are you okay?" Iggy asked after a few minutes of waiting for me to respond.
"To be honest, I don't know." I replied. I sucked in a long breath and held it.
"What happened?" Iggy grabbed my arms to stop me from walking.
"On my planet, people like me develop Legacies… I-I think I'm getting one now." I exhaled.
"Will this stop?" He asked.
"Probably… But I'm not sure when." I replied. Iggy pulled me into a hug. My whole body was quivering. Iggy just held me. I listened to his breathing and tried to match it. I saw Moe get up from beside Angel and trot over to my backpack. She started sniffing it and pawing at it. "What is she-…" I whispered. Iggy kept one of his arms around my waist as I pulled my backpack to me. Moe followed, still sniffing at it. I unzipped it and was instantly blinded by a brilliant florescent blue light that matched the color or my knife. "C'mon." I whispered and grabbed Iggy's hand and towed him behind me. Backpack in hand; I lead Iggy a few yards from our campsite. Moe followed right on our heels. My breathing had returned to normal.
"Where are we going?" Iggy asked.
"Something in my backpack is glowing and want to figure out what without waking anyone up." I replied.
"Glowing?" He asked.
"Very brightly." I replied.
"What is it?" He asked.
"No idea yet." I replied honestly. I set my backpack on the ground and opened it again. I found the source of the light and pulled it out: it was the box that I had taken off Marianne's desk in the fire. I fumbled around with it for a few minutes until it stopped glowing. Strange, it still wouldn't open. I shrugged and put it back in my backpack.
"Find it?" Iggy asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know what it is…" I replied.
"Want to go back?" Iggy asked.
"Yeah." I sighed and turned and we began making out way back. Moe had leaped into Iggy's arms. Awww. They were so cute together! Iggy wrapped his free arm around my waist and we walked back to our camp like that. We arrived back at out campsite and everyone was still asleep.
"Still tired?" Iggy asked.
"Eh, I could sleep." I replied. "You?"
"Me too." Iggy laid on the ground and I resumed my position on his chest. Moe curled up in a ball at Iggy's side. Awww! She likes him! "Hey, wait. There's something I want to do quickly."
"What's that?" I lifted my head to look at his face. He sat up slightly and I felt his hand slide across the back of my head. He expertly guided our mouths together. His lips felt soft and warm against mine. My eyelids fluttered closed. Iggy's hands slide down from my head and I felt both of his arms snake around my waist. I sat up more so he could pull me closer, which he did a second later. Our lips broke just long enough for him to lean his head the opposite way. His lips were back on mine in less then a second. I ran my hand down his chest: his heart was racing and so was mine. A smile made its way across my lips. This was literally the perfect moment…
Too bad it was interrupted by a low growl from beside us…
Our mouths ripped apart and my smile faded. I turned my head to see Ari glaring at us in the firelight. His sinister stare sent chills down my spine.
"Ari? You okay?" I whispered from still coiled in Iggy's arms. Ari blinked a few times and the shook his head.
"Yeah. I'm fine." He growled. He tore his eyes from us.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Yes. I just slept on my shoulder wrong and now it hurts again." He grumbled. 'What the hell could she possibly see in that blind freak? He can't even see how amazing she is!' His mind snapped. My eyes widened. Could Ari- No. He couldn't… could he?
"Want me to look at it?" Iggy asked from against him. Iggy had fixed my shoulder when we first were all reunited again. Ari had refused his help.
"No. I'll be fine." Ari snapped. Rage and acid was clear in his tone of voice.
"Just asking." Iggy replied. It was clear these two did not like each other… His arms loosened around my waist. "I'm going back to sleep. Night." Iggy said and cupped my face in his hands and pecked my lips with his once more before laying down on the ground, his head on my backpack once more. I felt my cheeks heat up once more; I was blushing, probably a very bright color.
"Night." I smiled. Ari flinched when our lips made contact. "Ari, you sure you're okay?" I whispered as I scooted closer to him. His eyes were locked on the small campfire.
"Yeah." He said plainly.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I figured if he didn't answer truthfully out loud, his mind would hold the answer.
"Nothing." He snapped at me. 'You had your mouth all over that idiot!' His mind snapped. Our kissing scene repeated itself over and over again in Ari's mind. His eyes were troubled. I sighed. "What?" He snapped.
"You seem upset about something." I replied.
"I'm fine, okay? Go to sleep." He snapped again. Ari wouldn't meet my gaze. He just kept replaying and replaying Iggy's and my kiss in his head, torturing himself. I sighed and nodded solemnly. I went and laid down on Iggy's chest. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep and truly fell asleep about a half an hour later.
My dreams were interrupted by someone gently shaking my. I groaned loudly.
"Yeah, I know Jenna. But you got to wake up, we got to get moving." Iggy's voice whispered into my ear. I opened my eyes and was suddenly blinded by the sun. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. He copied me and sat up too. "Max and everyone went to find more food."
"Did I take forever to wake up again?" I asked my voice was masked by grogginess.
"Yeah." He snickered.
"Sorry." I giggled. He smiled and got on his feet. This time, I followed him and got to my feet. My hand brushed against Iggy shirt.
"You're freezing! I felt your hand through my shirt!" He exclaimed.
"Am I?" I touched my face. "Dang! I am cold!" I exclaimed.
"I got you." Iggy snickered and pulled me into a hug. He was so warm compared to me! I buried my face into his chest.
"You're so warm!" I moaned into his shirt.
"I know." He snickered in a cocky tone. A few minutes later, he released me and I went back to freezing my butt off. Then, not two minutes later, Max and the flock along with Ari returned with food.
"Jenna, you suck at waking up." Max said while we were eating.
"Sorry. Heavy sleeper." I replied.
"We've noticed." Fang snickered. I snickered at Fang's statement. I glanced over at Ari. His eyes still looked troubled.
"Ari's coming with us." Max said after a few minutes.
"What? Why?" Iggy exclaimed.
"Iggy, relax." I whispered and squeezed his thigh gently.
"He doesn't want to go back to the school." Max explained.
"Yeah, neither do we! How do we know this isn't a trap?" Iggy snapped. I squeezed his thigh harder trying to get him to shut up.
"Iggy, calm down. He's an experiment, like us." Max replied in her stern, leader voice.
'She just feels sorry for him because he's her brother.' Iggy's mind snapped. Iggy didn't actually say anything else though. Ari kept glancing over me every time he saw me moving my hands.
'If she grabs that losers hand, I will lose it.' His mind screamed. Well. This was awkward… I wanted to just fly like we used to. Wait, how were we going to fly? Did Ari have wings? All my questions were answered about ten minutes later. We had packed up our stuff and were about to take off. Ari unfurled these awkward looking wings.
"We were all born with our wings but Ari has his grafted on his back when he was seven." Fang whispered to me when he saw me gawking.
"That explains it." I replied.
"Yeah." Fang whispered. And with that, we were in the air. We had been flying for about an hour when a thought suddenly struck Ari.
"How the hell are you flying?" He yelled at me.
"Levitation, my good man." I yelled back. "You didn't think I was a powerless alien, did you?" I snickered as I floated to his side.
"I had my suspicions!" He replied.
"Nope! I can float!" I smiled.
"Obviously!" He chuckled. Iggy swooped in next to us.
"Hey." He said and squeezed my hand gently. Ari tensed up and tore away from us. I raised an eyebrow and then shrugged it off.
"Hey." I smiled.
"How you holding up? You haven't flown in a while." He said to me.
"Fine. I'm not exhausted yet. So that's good." I snickered.
"Good." He smiled.
"So hey, remember last night, when I woke up panting?" I decided I was going to tell him about what I had seen in my dream.
"Yeah. What happened?" He replied.
"I think I had a… a vision…" I stammered.
"Of what?" He replied. I like how he just accepts my weirdness. It's so sweet!
"I-I think it was of the other numbers… I'm not sure which ones though…" I replied.
"What were they doing?" He asked.
"Just sitting around a campfire, talking… about me…" I replied. A thought suddenly struck me. "What if they're trying to find me? I-if they find me, I might be taken away from you… and the flock… What then? I've never actually had a family before and I really don't want to leave this one…" I ranted frantically.
"Whatever happens, I'm for sure coming with you." He replied quietly.
"You don't know how much danger that would put you in." I whispered.
"Don't care. I'm not losing you for a third time." He replied firmly. I swear if we weren't flying, I totally would have thrown my arms around this boy and probably kissed him. But we were flying… so I couldn't.
That's depressing.
Another hour later, I was exhausted. I hadn't used my legacies in a while. I was glad when Nudge began whining.
"Max, I'm tired!" She complained. Thank you Nudge!
"Want to take a break?" Max asked everyone. Everyone agreed and we began our descent. My legs hit the ground and gave out. I face-planted. In front of everyone. Great job self.
"Mother trucker!" I screamed. Note to self: shake legs out every few minutes while flying so they're not numb when we land. Iggy and Ari both scrambled to help me to my feet while everyone else just snickered.
"You okay there?" Max asked.
"Yeah. My legs are numb." I chuckled. Ari and Iggy both held one of my arms. "I'm fine guys, really." I assured them. They let me go a few seconds later but stayed at my sides in case I fell again.
"Sit." Iggy urged me.
"Speaking of sit, where's Moe?" I asked looking around.
"I got her!" Angel called from behind me.
"Thanks! Just wondering." I turned and smiled at Angel. That kid was finally warming up to me! It's about time! A few of sitting later, Iggy turned to me.
"Want to go for a walk?" He asked me.
"Sure!" I exclaimed. I was bored. Iggy and I got up and turned to go.
"Be right back." Iggy told Max.
"Have fun you two." She winked.
"Can I come?" Ari asked. 'Yeah, like I'm actually going to let this loser be alone with Jenna.'
"Sure." Iggy snapped his face enraged. He clearly didn't want Ari to come but didn't want to deal with what the flock would say if he said he wanted me to himself. "Let's go." He said and walked off. Ari and I looked at each other. I shrugged and followed with Ari on my heels.
"Where we going Iggy?" I asked after a few minutes.
"I think there's a lake around here somewhere." He replied.
"Another lake? Max is really good at stopping us near lakes." I snickered. Iggy chuckled. Sure enough, roughly three minutes later, we stood in front of a large, crystal clear lake, the sun's rays reflecting off of the surface. It looked inviting… But I didn't want to be the only one wet… I shed my jacket and my sweatshirt and basked in the sun's heat. "Sheesh… I smell weird…" I said after a few minutes in the sun. "You smell fine." He called to me from in the lake. He had taken off his sweatshirt and was now walking into the water with his jeans rolled up. Lucky ducky. He wasn't wearing skinny jeans. He could do that…
"You're just saying that so I'll kiss you again." I joked.
"You found out?" He snickered. I glanced over to Ari. He was leaning against a tree in the shade. His face was unreadable.
"Ari, come out and bask in the vitamin D!" I called to him.
"Nah, I'm not really a sunny person." He replied in a plain tone.
"You vampire!" I exclaimed. He snickered. Yay! I got him to smile! I got up and ran over to him. "C'mon!" I squeaked and grabbed his hands and pulled him into the sun.
"I guess this isn't SO bad." He snickered after a few minutes of sitting with me in the sunlight.
"Great, now ditch the jacket and get your butt in the water. You smell funny." I mocked, got up, and ran into the water. He actually listened to me and followed me into the water. I made my way over to Iggy.
"Hey." He said when he heard me coming.
"Hey. Water you doing?" I nudged him.
"Of course you'd say that." He snickered.
"C'mon! You've known my for a long time now, you should be expecting this!" I chuckled.
"What? You're full of surprises." He replied and pulled me into a hug. "But so am I." He added and tipped over into the water dragging me down with him. We both we under water in the next second.
"You jerk!" I screamed as I resurfaced.
"I know." Iggy laughed. "I couldn't resist." I hugged me again. I wrapped my drenched arms around Iggy's neck. He rested his chin on my soaked hair. "Let's head back. It'll take us a little bit to dry off." He whispered.
"Okay." I mumbled. He picked up my hand walked with me back to the shore. Ari was sitting in the shallow water playing with sand.
"We're getting ready to head back." Iggy told Ari as we passed him. Iggy, Ari, and I reached the shore at the same time. Iggy instantly took off his shirt and began wringing it out. I could do that…
"Hey, I'm going to go wring our my shirt and jeans. I'll be right back." I told them and walked into the cover of the trees.
~Iggy P.O.V.~
I listened as Jenna's footsteps faded away into the woods leaving me alone with Ari. I twisted my shirt in my hands. Ari just stood there unmoving. I wonder if this is as awkward for him as it was for me… After my shirt stopped dripping, I put it back on.
"You going to wring our your clothes?" I asked Ari.
"No. I didn't get that wet." He snapped in a angered tone. What was this dudes problem?
"What's up? You seem mad." I said plainly.
"I am mad, not that you care." Ari replied. I raised an eyebrow.
"I actually do care. You're part of the flock now. We're like family." I told him. Not really.
"Shut up, alright?" He snapped. "I know you don't mean that. None of you except Jenna and maybe Max even want me around."
"Then why are you here?" I snapped.
"I'm waiting for Jenna to stop being stupid and come with me." He growled. My fists clenched and my body heated up. I whirled around into the direction his voice was coming from.
"That will never happen." I hissed.
Then, I lost it.
~Jenna P.O.V.~
I slipped my shirt and pants back on and let my damp hair hang below my shoulders. At least I wasn't dripping wet anymore. I turned and slowly made my way back to where Iggy and Ari were waiting. I arrived just in time to see them charging at each other. I flashed into the middle of them and put my hands up to stop them.
"Whoa, guys. Chill. We're all friends here." I reasoned as they both stopped at my touch. Ari's violent eyes were locked on Iggy. Iggy's sightless eyes were locked on Ari's face. He too was pissed! What could've possibly happened in the three seconds I was gone? They remained silent. They looked as if they wanted to rip each other apart… This was not good.
"Jenna. Move." Ari growled.
"No. You two need to calm down." I growled right back. 'Max, I really need help over here!' I sent the thought to Max. Hopefully she would receive it or this could get messy… "Guys, breathe. Just calm down, please." I pleaded.
"Not until he goes away." Iggy hissed.
"Iggy-" I began.
"Shut up you blind idiot! Jenna, what the hell do you see in this loser?" Ari interrupted looking at me.
"Ari-" I began again.
"Don't put her on the spot like that! This is between you and me!" Iggy snapped.
"Fine with me!" Ari growled. This sure escalated quickly…
"What's going on here?" Max's voice hissed. The flock was here. Praise the Lord!
"Nothing." Ari and Iggy both growled. Ari's intense gaze was still locked on Iggy's sightless one. Fang and Max rushed in next to me to keep the two of them apart. They pulled Iggy aside and I towed Ari away. I pushed him into the woods far from where Max and Fang had pushed Iggy.
"Hey, what happened while I was gone?" I whispered to Ari when the flock was out of sight.
"I just don't get why you like that freak." He snapped.
"Ari, I don't get why you're mad." I said quietly.
"He's not good for you." Ari whispered.
"You don't know him like I do." I replied.
"Jenna, you don't know who they really are." He whispered.
"You don't know who I really am." I replied quietly.
"But I'd like too." He said quietly, his eyes locked on me.
"Ari, no. I lov-" I was interrupted by Ari's lips on mine. My eyes widened. Instead of pulling away like I was telling myself to do, my arms wrapped around his neck and my eyes fluttered closed. Ari ran his hands down my sides and stopped at my waist. He pulled me closer to him. My body brain and brain refused to coordinate on how I felt about this. My brain wanted to push him away and yell at him, but my body refused to push away from him. My fingers tangled in his dark hair. He leaned me leaning against a tree and he stood over me. He broke our lip contact and leaned in the opposite way. He pressed his mouth against mine once more. I sucked in air through my nose and I felt his warm breath on my face when he exhaled. My lips involuntarily spread into a smile.
"You're smiling." Ari chuckled and then put his lips back on mine.
"Am I?" I giggled and then his lips were back on mine. What was happening? I could only fall in love once! It's times like these when hated being Loric. I had no clue of the feelings I was experiencing right now. I mean I loved Iggy… I really did… But now, what was I feeling for Ari?
"Yeah." He chuckled and then his lips were locked again. I heard a twig snap somewhere around us. My eyelids ripped apart and I tore myself away from Ari. I shoved him away from me.
"Jenna?" He said and took a step toward me.
"Ari, stop." I snapped.
"What's wrong?" He stepped forward and grabbed my hand.
"I don't know what's happening." I murmured.
"What do you mean?" He asked in a quiet, patient tone.
"Let's just go back." I said quickly. He nodded once and let go of my hand. I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned and walked to the campsite. Everyone in the flock was waiting for us.
"It's about freaking time! What the hell were you two doing?" Max snapped.
"Nothing." Ari and I both said: me in an irritated, snappy tone and Ari in a happy excited tone. A smile had formed on his lips and I just glared at him. I looked into his mind and blocked off his thoughts from Angel. I did not want this to go public; I was already ashamed enough. I looked away and went over to where Iggy was sitting holding Moe.
"We're getting ready to take off." Max said her tone had changed. She sensed that I was upset. Her mind revealed it all. She also knew I didn't want to talk about it. Good. I nodded and picked up my backpack and slung the straps over my shoulders. I felt Iggy grab my hand. I flinched slightly.
"Hey, are you okay?" He whispered into my ear, concern present in his tone.
"I'm fine. Are you okay?" I asked as I turned to face him. Guilt slowly began to overcome me as my eyes met Iggy's face.
"Yeah. Max and Fang calmed me down." He smiled. "I'm sorry you had to see that." He whispered.
"It's okay. W-we all make mistakes." I replied in a nervous, shaky voice.
"I'm glad you're not mad at me. I thought you would be." He said and pulled me into a tight hug.
'Not as mad as you're going to be at me…' I thought and wrapped my arms around him. "Not at all." I replied into his chest.
"Good." He kissed my head. He released me and picked up my hand. "Let's go." He said and led me to where we were going to take off. I glanced over my shoulder at Ari. He had his back against a tree. His arms were crossed at his chest and his disgusted gaze was locked on Iggy. "By the way, I grabbed your jacket and sweatshirt for you." Iggy smiled and reached into his backpack and handed me my clothes, which was great because I was freezing! I slipped them on quickly and smiled at the warmth.
"Thanks." I told him.
"Anytime. We don't want you cold." He snickered. I was carrying Moe, who had fallen asleep in my arms. Pretty soon we had all taken to the skies. Iggy and Ari both flanked me. It was really awkward… I decided I should probably tell Iggy what happened between Ari and I…
But that could wait until we land. I hope…
I hoped you liked it. If not, tell me why not so I can improve it. :)
