The stone gravel driveway was similar to the one at Ravens' Boarding School. As it crunched under Amelia's feet she couldn't help but get a major sense of déjà vu. Yorken was also a boarding school. It was not, however, in the English countryside. It was two trains and a taxi ride away from Ravens', in a grey building in West London. It had been an impulse decision to come here, but three hours on a human train was more than enough time to think. More than enough time to wonder what exactly she was hoping to achieve from this. Nothing but a mild curiosity had driven Amelia here. Right now she should be in her bedroom, getting ready. It was New Years Eve and she'd promised to meet Nate was the roof of Ravens'. Now, she didn't know how she was going to get back in time.
Absent minded, she pressed herself against the school railing, gazing up to the building. It was looming over her like a question. What are you doing here? What are you going to say?
As a late December breeze picked up, she closed her eyes, feeling the cool metal against her skin. Sometimes she wished she could blow way with the wind, like a broken umbrella, discarded by its user when it was no longer any use. When she opened her eyes, she saw the gate next to her was open ajar and slid through. The 'playground' was busy; students were milling around, talking and laughing in the daylight, the sun shining off their faces. She missed the sunlight.
She knew from the website that he'd chosen to study music as one of his subjects, which meant she was looking for the human studies department, wherever that was. Once Amelia had entered the industrial building, she paced down the main corridor. She kept her head down self-consciously, waiting for someone to catch her out and tell her she didn't belong there. Her hair was in a messy bun today, and she resisted the urge to pull it down and let her hair cover her face. She was in her usual leather pants and matching top and even though she was wearing an oversized cardigan, she still wished she had worn something less figure hugging.
She found the human studies department at the back of the school; it was a small corridor that contained a few classrooms that said 'drama' and 'physical education'. These classes were usually taught by Placebos, people from magical families who were born human. The music room was at the end of the corridor. It had been a long shot, so Amelia couldn't believe her luck when she glanced through the window and saw him. She was pressed up against the glass in the door, watching as he swept his fingers across his guitar delicately. Smooth and gentle sounds erupted from his instrument; the sound was beautiful, even if he wasn't playing anything in particular. Listening, she felt light like air and most importantly, invisible. But of course, she clearly wasn't invisible, and as she pushed open the door, the music came to an abrupt halt and he was on his feet instantly. He was older than Amelia remembered and there was now a clear line of stubble from where he'd been shaving.
His jaw locked, just like it had done the first and only time she saw him. Seeing the surprise in Amelia's expression, his face softened. "Sorry, it was a bit of a surprise" he almost blushed; "It's just no one comes in here-" The boy stopped mid-sentence. Suddenly he was annoyed, violated. He turned and shoved his guitar into its case and clicked it shut. When he turned back, he studied her for a moment and then his face changed with recognition. His face hardened and he folded his arms across his chest. "Amelia?"
The sound of her name of his lips was strange, odd, like it didn't belong there. And for some reason, it made her breathing slow. "Jason."
Jason was shocked, in awe and moving across the room quickly, pausing only inches from her face. It was as if he didn't believe she was real. "I thought-" he stuttered, "I don't-"
Amelia felt her eyebrows rise against her will. When she'd meet Jason two weeks ago, he was cocky, completely unhelpful and beyond anything, annoying. Now he was softer somehow, almost as if he was reflecting Amelia's strange mood.
No, not strange.
This was Amelia's natural state. Something she didn't let anyone see, except for Nate. And that was only because he saw even though she didn't want him too.
Perhaps it was her mood that had changed the tension in the room right now.
Jason's deep eyes were wide, alarmed; "Sorry;" he said again; "It's just it's been so long-"
Of course. She'd forgotten for that brief moment that for Jason it wasn't two weeks ago, it was a year and two weeks ago.
"I looked for you."
Amelia frowned; "you did?"
He nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing; "you show up on our Mission, turn it upside down and disappear into thin air moments later. You didn't think I would be bothered? That I would just forget?"
Her only response was to shrug.
Jason was annoyed now; it was obvious, written all over his face. "So what are you doing here?" he questioned, as if only noticing his surroundings for the first time.
The words were tumbling out of Amelia's mouth before she'd thought about them, about the time travel, how for her, the memory was still fresh.
Jason's expression barely changed; "Jesus." Then, much to Amelia's relief, he laughed. "If it wasn't for the other boys, I would've thought I dreamed you guys. Believe me there was times when I thought I had."
Amelia almost smiled, and then caught herself.
"So," Jason smirked with a whistle; "are you just checking up on me or something?"
Amelia shrugged again. She didn't know why she was here, that was half of the issue. "I was curious, I guess;" she responded, her voice barely audible. "I didn't know what had happened to you, whether you'd got back."
"We got back alright." Jason moved backwards slightly, suddenly aware of his close proximity. When he rested on the desk behind him, his shirt hitched up slightly, revealing a strip of toned stomach. Amelia watched with fascination, he was so different to Nate physically. He was toned and tan, whereas Nate just looked like a human being. She preferred it that way.
She lifted her eyes to his face, waiting for him to continue.
"That thing, that noise-" he said, "It was some guy, looking for you."
Amelia's gulp was far too obvious. It was Jason's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Right;" he half-snorted; "whatever Barbie."
"Jason-"
"What?" he said, his voice was surprisingly harsh now. He'd cut off, retreated back behind his walls. She'd caught him at an intimate moment, the moment was gone. He held his hands in front of him; "Look, thanks for informing me about what happened, but you have to understand that it's a distant memory for me. It's not a big deal, you can go."
With a sigh and no fight in her, Amelia nodded slowly and turned for the door. "You know;" she said turning back for a moment; "I came here because some part of me knew you deserved the truth." She let the corners of her mouth upturn; "And I'll tell you this for free Jason, I don't think many people deserve anything. I don't care about much at all, but this seemed important, so I came. Which I guess means that, underneath your exterior, you're a deserving person." Then she threw her hands up. She was frustrated and truly tired, though she didn't think that was anything to do with Jason.
"I honestly don't know what that means;" she breathed; "So maybe you can figure it out for me."
"I'm definitely putting my money on the vampires."
"Huh?"
"They're going to make us work with them for sure."
"Stop calling them 'the vampires' it's like me referring to you as 'a witch'."
"Except I don't drink people's blood."
"That's besides the-"
Reluctantly, Floria lifted her head off her arm and shot Daniel and Mark a frustrated glance. She'd been in a reading position with her head on the desk and rubbed the crick in her neck as she sat up. "Guys;" she whined; "Pipe down will you."
Next to her, Jake nodded in agreement; "It's like dealing with children. You have so much energy."
"Oh!" Mark exclaimed, pointing to his friend; "He does. The other day-"
He cut short when Daniel kicked him under the table. Floria raised her eyebrows. She smirked at Jake momentarily, before catching herself. Jake continued to stare at her.
"Right;" she coughed; "Maybe we should call it a night?"
It was Daniel's turn to look amused; "you're joking, right?
"We have no idea when the final Mission is going to be;" Mark added; "we need to be prepared."
Floria was tired. She shrugged at them lethargically; "But it's New Year's Eve."
"And it's not as if the other two were that hard;" Jake countered.
"Right;" Daniel said, rolling his eyes; "That's exactly why this one is likely to be harder."
The moonlight lit the table in the back of the library, drawing attention to the time. Tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear, Floria turned her head towards the view outside.
"We're going to miss midnight at this rate;" she said, pushing her chair out from under her. She reached for her textbooks and sighed at the others; "I'm off. Happy New Year losers."
She headed for the door and Jake practically feel over himself following her out the door.
In the corridor, Floria was walking fast, almost storming to her dormitory.
"Hey!" Jake called; "Wait up."
Floria ignored him. She made it up the stairs and into the novice dorms. It was dark in this part of the school. The corridor was windowless and Floria had to feel along the walls for support. She reached her room, the one she shared with three other girls, and opened the door, letting artificial light illuminate the corridor. Jake was directly behind her, out of breath and grinning. He put his hand on the door so she couldn't close it, leaving Floria paralysed in the entryway.
"I said;" he panted; "Hey."
She almost laughed then. "What do you want, Jake?"
He peered behind her into the empty room; "You weren't seriously going to see the New Year in alone?"
"I'm a big girl;" she nodded; "I can handle it."
His breath was getting back to normal now and he was panting less. Rather than leaning on the door for support, he pressed back into it, folding his arms with an amused expression on his face. A lock of his muddy hair was plastered to his forehead and he flicked his head casually, making a half-hearted attempt to get it to move.
"Why are you so keen to get rid of me all the time?" he asked. It was a gentle expression, not an accusation.
Floria's tone was somewhat defensive; "I'm not."
"Right;" he shook his head.
"I'm not going to be so easy to win round;" she said, and instantly regretted it.
Jake stood up a little straighter. "What do you think of me?" His voice trailed off towards the end.
It was a rhetorical question. Floria knew it.
He didn't know. He hadn't realised that she was wary of him, that she knew his reputation. And now he was hurt.
And he was leaning over, putting his hand on the wall behind Floria and trapping her. She suddenly felt small.
"So you're worried I'm going to what?" he whispered, his breath was on her face. It was uncomfortable. "Try and take advantage of you?"
Floria was breathing deeply. Her cheeks warmed. Her heart rattled against her ribcage.
"When it comes to me;" he held each word as if it were a sentence. "That's the last thing you should be worried about."
With a laugh, he moved and sauntered away, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor.
While the night was still, it was cold out. Amelia tightened her cardigan around her against the weather, wishing she'd bought a coat. Nate was facing away from her on the edge of the roof. He was wearing lots of layers and he looked chunky under his jumper. He'd laid a blanket out beside him, ready for Amelia to arrive.
She pushed the fire door shut behind her.
"We're have you been?" He asked without turning around.
She gulped; "To see someone who I met on one of the Missions."
He considered this for a moment. "I missed you today;" he said softly, smiling as she sat down.
She wrapped the blanket around herself and held it out to Nate who tightened it around them. "I missed you too." She rested into his left side, listening out for his heartbeat. She knew it was there, just as it always was, but to check calmed her down. It reminded her that he was real. Reassured, she sighed; "so what have you been doing today?"
"Observing;" Nate replied sceptically; "I noticed that the magical dead people tree had been vandalised."
Amelia quirked an eyebrow; "By you?"
"No;" Nate smirked; "don't give me ideas."
"Or you'll what? Kill me?" Amelia teased; "Because the way I see it, that would just mean you're stuck with me here, forever."
Nate laughed; "Ah, wouldn't that be tortuous?"
Amelia looked up to his face and grinned, nudging him in the side. "You'd love it."
Nate looked down, studying her face with raw fascination. "I think I've met my match with you."
The way Nate said it, made Amelia do a double take. She narrowed her eyes, giving him a quizzical look. His eyes were hard, the way they went sometimes when he was thinking. In the beginning, those looks used to make her suspicious, even concerned sometimes. But now, she just wanted to know what he was thinking. She wanted to be in on his train of thought.
"Nate?"
"Hmmm?" He was distant.
There was a chill in the air then, brought about by something other than the weather.
"You're planning something, aren't you?"
Nate's smile returned, knowing and spine-tingling. "Yes Amelia, I am."
