Fayette and the others pretty much slept through rehearsals. They all knew their magic like the back of their hands; there was much to rehearse. So by one, they were finished, and there was five hours before the show.
"So what do you guys want to do?" Danny asked after they all flopped lazily into their respective chairs in the den, "We've got some time to kill."
"We could watch a movie." Fayette said absentmindedly.
"Is that your go to suggestion for everything, Fayette?" Danny asked. She shrugged, scrolling through the twitter feed on her phone.
"Would you rather I said we could make a movie?" she asked. Danny shook his head.
"No, please don't. Okay, any other suggestions?" Danny said.
"There's a mall nearby. We could go shopping. We did get paycheck from the last show yesterday, and since the Eye takes care of most bills, what else could we do with money but shop?" Henley said. Danny was about to immediately disagree, when Merritt nodded.
"That's not a bad idea. Shopping doesn't sound too bad, and we could split up to save time. As long as Fayette and Henley aren't together we'll be okay." Merritt said.
Simultaneously, Henley and Fayette said sarcastically, "Ha-ha." The guys laughed.
"Okay, shopping it is. Anyone oppose?" Danny asked. No one said anything, so they all stood up. As they walked out to the driveway to Fayette's truck, they tried to decide how to split up.
"Well," Danny said, "we know Fayette will go to FYE and GameStop, then Rue21 and Forever21. And Henley will go in just about every clothing store. Does anyone want to be alone?" They all shook their heads. Alone wasn't something the Eye really encouraged, and if possible, they were to stay together. Danny nodded.
"It comes down to whether you want to look at just clothes, or maybe a little bit of clothes, and a lot of movies." Danny said, talking to Merritt and Jack. They all knew that he would stay with Henley. Both Jack and Merritt shrugged.
"I really don't care." Merritt said. Jack nodded his agreeance. Danny sighed.
"You two are indecisive little buggers. Fine, Jack you go with Fayette and Merritt can stay with Henley and me. Say, let's meet at four-thirty at the fountain in front of the Disney store?" Danny said. They all nodded. By this time, they had gotten to the mall, and were getting out of Fayette's truck. Once inside the mall, they split off.
Jack and Fayette had the farthest to go, as FYE and GameStop were across the mall from the main entrance, and so they kept at a certain pace, chatting as they walked.
"So did you ever find out what Danny meant last night before the meeting?" Fayette asked as they entered FYE. Jack shook his head.
"He was half-asleep when I went to talk to him about it. There wasn't much progress."
"Right. What movie do I want? Do I want a movie?"
"You've got the biggest movie collection I've ever seen, Faye."
"I'd hope so; I've only been working on it forever."
"So I've heard. You started back in the-what, seventh grade?"
"My dad had one going before then, I just took it over in the seventh grade."
"Right, okay." Jack said. Fayette smiled.
"I think I'm gonna get these two." She said, picking up two movies. Jack nodded, then picked up another movie.
"I used to watch this one all the time when I was younger."
"Really? I've never seen it."
"Well then, I should get it, so we can watch it together."
"You do that. I'll get these two." Fayette said, walking over to the counter. She paid for her movies, then Jack got his, and then they left the FYE, and crossed the hall to GameStop. They didn't stay in long. It was rather crowded for a GameStop, and Fayette just didn't feel like looking at games with so many people around.
So Jack and Fayette left the GameStop, and started just walking around the mall.
"Any particular store you want to go in, Faye?" Jack asked her. She shook her head.
"Not really. Just FYE. Any particular store you want to go in, Jack?" Fayette asked, looking at him as they walked. He shook his head as well.
"Not really me either. Did you want to go into Forever 21 or Rue 21?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No, Danny was just listing places I've shopped in before. I don't want to go into any clothes stores right now."
"Faye, are you alright?" Jack asked her after a few moments of silence. She nodded.
"Yes. Jack, are you alright?" she asked. Jack grinned.
"You do that a lot." He said.
"Do what?"
"Re-ask the question I asked you if I said your name, the exact same way. Except my name instead of yours."
"And it's funny?"
"I dunno, Faye."
"You laughed."
"I did."
"Does it annoy you? Would you appreciate it if I didn't do that?"
"No, it's fine, it's just that you always do it. You've never missed it. And it's specific, too. If I don't say your name, you don't re-ask me the question. If I say your name, you do, replacing your name with my name."
"What are you talking about? You call me Faye. That's not my name."
"It's your nickname."
"You're the only one who uses it."
"Does it bug you?"
"No, it's fine. I like it, actually. It sounds better, though, when you say it. I think Merritt and Henley called me that a little at first, but didn't like the way it sounded. Even when I say ''Faye'' it sounds weird."
"Still, though, you replace ''Faye'' with ''Jack'' and re-ask the question."
"I hadn't even noticed I did it."
"That's okay. Say, what time is it?"
"Time for you to get a watch."
"I do have a watch, Faye, you've seen it."
"Then why are you asking me what time it is?"
"Good question. I have no idea. It is," Jack checked his watch, "seven minutes to two." He said, then looked at Fayette. She thought for a moment.
"Four hours and seven minutes, then, before the show; two hours and thirty-seven minutes until we meet the others at the fountain in front of the Disney store." Fayette said, "What do you want to do?" Jack shrugged.
"I don't really care to do anything. We could just get a coffee at Starbucks, and wait for the others." Jack suggested, "We could text them to say we're done and waiting for them. They might hurry." Fayette nodded, and the duo changed course to head to the Starbucks by the Disney store.
Once there, Jack pulled a chair for Fayette at one of the little café tables, and she sat. Then he went to order. The Four Horsemen often had coffee, and so they all had memorized each other's favourite drinks from Starbucks. Jack had no problem ordering, and returned to the table after a minute. He set down one of the coffees in front of Fayette. She smiled.
"Thank you," she said, and he nodded, sitting down.
"Really, though, are you alright?" Jack asked. Fayette gave him a curious look, and nodded slowly.
"Yes, really, though, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You don't, if truth be told, sound yourself today, is all. I was wondering if something was bothering you or if you're feeling ill?"
"I'm okay. I didn't sleep that great last night, but I'm okay."
"Why didn't you sleep that great?"
"Had some bad nightmares is all. I've been having them for awhile, but it makes sleep difficult. I'm just a little tired, I suppose, if I don't sound myself."
"I thought you could lucid dream?"
"I can. Lucid dream, not lucid nightmare."
"Is there a difference?"
"I dunno, but it's always been more difficult to control a nightmare as opposed to a regular dream. Everyone I've talked to who can lucid dream agrees."
"Do you want to go back to the house and sleep some before we need to get ready for the show? We could drive back, and I could come and pick the others up when they're done here." Jack offered. Fayette hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Jack smiled.
The duo finished their coffees, then stood up. As they left the mall and headed towards Fayette's truck, Jack texted Merritt. Merritt responded promptly, saying he would relay the message to Danny, and that one of them would call Jack when they were done at the mall. Once at Fayette's truck, Fayette headed towards the driver's side, when Jack grabbed her arm.
"Hey, do you- do you want me to drive?" Jack asked. His brown eyes looked straight at her storm eyes. He knew that if he wasn't paying attention, she'd just shake her head. But he could tell now, she really was tired. He hated saying it, but she looked exhausted. Fayette looked at him for a moment, slightly confused, it seemed, before she nodded.
"Yeah, you do that. You can drive." She said. Jack smiled. She handed him the keys, and then went around to the passenger side. He got in, and started up the truck. Traffic was pretty bad, and so it took thirty minutes to get back to the house. On the way, Jack had little concentration to put at anything other than driving, but he would occasionally glance at Fayette.
Almost as soon as they had left the mall parking lot, she had fallen asleep. Jack grinned to himself as he parked in the driveway of the house. Once he turned off the truck, he grabbed the two movie bags, and then walked around to the passenger side.
Fayette was a light sleeper, he knew, so he had to be quick. He carefully unbuckled her, and hit the lock button, then picked her up, and shut the truck door. He was getting to the front porch when she woke up.
"Jack?" she asked sleepily.
"Hey, I'm just gonna carry you to your bed. I'll wake you up when the others come back. Is that alright, Faye?" he asked. Jack knew she wanted to fight, but he shook his head as he managed to open the door and go inside. He carried her to her room, and set her gently on her bed.
"Go back to sleep, Faye," Jack said quietly to her, pulling the blanket up over her. She nodded, and quickly fell back asleep. Jack waited for a moment, smiling to himself before leaving her room.
The others didn't see what he saw. They saw her as a friend, a wonderful magician, a very important member of the Eye.
Jack didn't see her like that. To him, Fayette was Faye, his best friend, and absolutely adorable.