Chapter 7:
''Your headphones are around your neck? Is the apocalypse coming or something?'' Leo looked at Jason incredulously when they met at their usual spot in the school hallway.
''Don't worry, you're safe for now.'' Jason answered slightly amused by his friend's reaction.
''Well then what's the cause to your sudden change? Maybe a certain someone has to do with this, eh? Tell your old friend how the things with Piper are going?'' the other boy asked with an impish grin, wiggling his eyebrows at his best friend.
Jason's thoughts returned to the previous day when Kellan had announced his…lucky charm? Okay, maybe it's not lucky but it was sort of a charm anyway. Jason's was a lightning bolt. Piper promised to find the charm since it had to be very detailed for it to work better and they don't sell these in regular stores. He hoped that keeping up the shield would be easier after that because he had a lot of difficulties doing so now. He managed to redo the shield this morning but then he came to school where it became harder to focus and the voices were now quiet murmurs in his head. At least it was better than before since he could function normally without music blasting in his ears.
''It's not what you think.'' Jason immediately denied Leo's unspoken thoughts. ''We're just friends. She's helping me…with something, that's all.''
Leo looked at him suspiciously but the bell rang and, for Jason's relief, he decided to drop the subject.
''Well, she's helping you alright. At least that much I can see. But you'll tell me if something happens, right? I'm up for all the details bro!''
Jason laughed, surprising his best friend even more.
''Don't worry man, you won't miss anything.''
With that they entered the classroom and prepared themselves for a long English lesson.
…
Friday afternoon came quickly and Jason sighed once he pulled his car keys from the ignition. His eyes skimmed the inside of his garage before he exited the car and made his way towards the house.
Thalia was out with her friends for the rest of the afternoon so Jason wasn't surprised that the house was empty. As per usual, his father was at work and would come back sometime in the evening. He strode to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge for something to eat. After gathering some milk and cereal, he took the bowl and a spoon and headed for the living room.
Half an hour later he noticed that the basketball game he had decided to watch was doing little to occupy his attention. His mind was still drifting back to the events of the week and his meetings with Piper. He had went to her house yesterday too for a practice session, as she called it. They did some meditation and stuff and after that decided to take a break for some normality. They had watched a movie, Fast and Furious 6 of all, and he found out that he actually enjoyed spending time with her.
That of course made him even more confused than he was before. How could he feel comfortable with a girl he barely knew? Even around his own sister he felt on edge more times than he would like to admit and now…He was sure that it wasn't only because of the mind reading thing. He didn't know why but there was something about Piper that just…
His phone started ringing then, breaking through his reverie. He quickly fished it out from his pocket and a small smile turned his lips upward, noticing the caller's ID.
''Hi, I thought you said you were busy today?'' he said after picking up.
''Oh, um…my dad got an emergency call from his manager and had to leave so basically, I'm free now.'' Piper chuckled, her voice coming out a little strange. Was she nervous? ''I was thinking that we could go out maybe? Not…not like on a date or something but just to be around a bigger crowd than at school. You need to work on your control over the shield and it get's difficult when you're in a crowd.''
''I get it, yeah.'' Jason managed to answer, his voice a little shaky from surprise.
''You don't need to come if you aren't ready. I just thought it will be a good practice and…'' she defended nervously and he could almost imagine her sitting on her bed and nervously fiddling with her feather necklace. He chuckled.
''Do you have a specific place in mind?'' he said, interrupting her mid-sentence.
She was quiet for a few seconds, leaving Jason to wonder if she was still on the phone but then her voice sounded again and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
''Well, I was thinking of going to Coney Island since there are a lot of noise and people there and touching is practically unavoidable.'' She was hesitant in her answer and that made Jason nervous for some reason.
''Okay, when should I pick you up?''
''Umm, in an hour if it's okay?'' it sounded more like a question than a statement.
''Okay, see you then.''
Jason pushed the end button but didn't put away the phone. He stared at the blank screen for a few more minutes, wondering where that come from but decided to not over-think it. Piper was just bored and had decided to hang out with him. Her friends, including Thalia, Annabeth and Percy, were already somewhere so she probably had no one else to call. Why else would she want to hang out with him? They barely knew each other!
He shook his head in exasperation. And he had said that he won't over-think it! Great job doing so!
He sighed, standing up and heading for the kitchen to put away his used bowl. He had an hour to sort out his jumbled thoughts. Better start working on that.
…
''You ready for this?'' Piper asked casually, watching Jason carefully while he was frowning at the crowd outside the car. ''We can always go back you know. It's not such big of a deal…''
''No, it's okay.'' He finally sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt. ''Let's do this.''
He tried to concentrate on the shield and on keeping it cool. He could do it, right? He was doing very good in school, using less and less concentration to kip the voices of the students around him away. It shouldn't be this difficult around here, right? Then why was he so nervous?
A sudden jolt went through his spine when Piper's fingers touched the back of his hand ever so slightly. His eyes immediately went to hers and he was startled to see her cheeks pink as if she was running. Her eyes were mesmerizing and he got lost in them, trying and failing to decide what colour were they. Her voice brought him comfort which made no sense.
''I don't want to force you into things, okay? If it gets too much just…just tell me.''
He looked down at their hands, his brow creased.
''If it gets too much…can I…''he swallowed hard, embarrassed by the question that he wanted to ask.
However, she seemed to pick up the idea because a second later her delicate hand slowly slipped in his sweaty palm. She squeezed lightly and he immediately returned the gesture.
''If it gets too much, you can hold my hand and I'll help you, okay?''
He nodded, too embarrassed to speak. She didn't push him to either.
''Okay then, let's go have some fun!''
With that she excited the car. Jason watched as she circled the vehicle and went to his door, opening it like the perfect gentleman…gentlelady. His brows were raised in a second and he found himself fighting a smile.
''Isn't opening doors supposed to be in my job description than yours?'' he asked, climbing out of the car and pushing the door closed before she could do that for him too.
Piper laughed good-naturally, shrugging in the process.
''You didn't seem too eager to do it so I said what the heck!''
Jason laughed with her, shaking his head.
''Piper Mclean, you are really something.''
He was surprised to see her blush and look away.
''I try.'' She shrugged again, not meeting his eyes this time. He was starting to wonder if he had said something wrong when she tugged at his sleeve and pulled him towards the entry. ''Come on, I have a whole list of rides I want to go to.''
And with that, they both headed towards the amusement park.
…
''No way, we are so not going on there again.'' Piper shook her head, trying to look stern but Jason knew better. She couldn't hide her bright smile. In fact, he wasn't sure if he could either. They both probably looked like overgrown children but neither of them seemed to care.
''Oh come on! It was epic and you know it!'' Jason was actually ready to plead with her. His eyes flickered to the inside of the house of horrors, from which came distinct screams.
''Well, you go then, I'm going there.'' She pointed behind him and he turned with a curious look. As soon as his eyes landed on the tent, he started laughing.
''Fortunetelling? Oh come on, you can't tell me you actually believe in this bullshit.'' He turned back towards her with a sceptical look.
She raised one eyebrow, allowing a secretive smile to play on her lips. her fingers came to rest at her temples long enough for him to understand that it was deliberate before she started walking. He didn't even hesitate to follow her.
''You can't tell me that you are a nonbeliever. After all, we should know better than that.'' She said matter-of-factly while glancing at him.
''That's one thing. But these people with all the smoke and cards and wild hand twirling...that's just plain stupid.'' He reasoned with her or tried to since she didn't seem to care.
''I just want to test a theory.'' She shrugged before turning to smile at him again. ''Besides, it's not as if we can be lied to, remember?''
Jason rolled his eyes in exasperation but followed Piper inside the purple tent.
He wasn't surprised that it was pretty much dark in it, aside from the light, coming from a few candles, lit in the middle of the round table. A middle-aged woman wrapped up in colourful scarves smiled at them from across the table with that mysterious smile that fortune-tellers had. As if wanting to tell you: 'You can't hide anything from me.'
Jason almost rolled his eyes. He was about to pull Piper away but she was faster in reaching his hand.
''Leson two.'' Her voice sounded in his head, startling him into silence. Their eyes locked and he found himself dumbly staring at her smiling face. She looked ahead towards the fortune teller.
''Hi. I would like a session please.'' Piper smiled at the woman who hummed in approval and gestured to both of them to sit.
''You've come to the right place.'' Yep, cue a deep melodious voice. Jason was sure that this woman wasn't new to the business. ''You want for me to tell you the future? For that, I would need your left hand.'' And with that the woman extended her own right hand in an inviting gesture.
Piper squeezed Jason's hand before she willingly gave her own hand, palm up. In that second before their skin touched Jason felt a tiny jolt of energy go through him. He blinked in surprise and turned his full attention towards the girl sitting next to him who only winked in response before focusing on the woman again.
Jason turned to look at her too and almost fell out of his chair from surprise. He hadn't noticed before but now her thoughts were a low hum in his mind. He tried to hear something more specific but found that impossible. It was like something was blocking his full access.
''Of course that you're blocking it, the barrier is still up dummy.'' Piper chuckled in his mind and he shook his head. He almost face-palmed. Of course it was still up, he could feel its struggling after all. He had just gotten so used to it that he barely registered it anymore. Huh, and thinking that he had been doing this for only nearly a week.
''Then why do I hear her at all?'' he thought, hoping that Piper could hear him.
''I'm letting you hear her.'' And before he could question that she had concentrated on the woman.
The elderly woman grabbed Piper's palm gently, following the lines there with her index finger. She hummed before clasping the palm and closing her eyes.
''Ah, yes.'' She finally announced, opening her eyes and staring at Piper through her lashes. ''You've been through a lot my dear.'' She announced, her attention returning back to the girl's palm. Almost without noticing, Jason leaned in, wondering what exactly was this woman seeing.
Piper rolled her eyes at that moment, not that he could blame her. Piper's past and her mother's accident was a well-known story. This wasn't news for anyone.
''You've changed without wanting to. But pain does that to people, mhmm.'' She was talking so absent-mindedly as if they weren't there. Like a scientist observing his experiment, taking notes on the progress.
Suddenly, her face darkened a little. Jason tried to gain some information from her thoughts but the only thing he could learn was this dark feeling of dread. Clearly, she didn't like what she ''saw''.
Jason was startled out of his thoughts when something else entered his mind. His eyes locked on Piper as she took in a deep breath. She was no longer as calm as before, her hand in his was cold when her grip tightened. She was losing control of her barrier, he noticed and random thoughts and images started slipping into his mind. He didn't want to intrude in her privacy like that. Sure, he wanted to know her but he wanted to do it like a normal person. H wanted her to tell him what she wanted.
A quick thought crossed his mind then and he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He had never done this before but Piper was starting to breath heavier, almost gasping and her hand was trembling in his. He concentrated on calming himself and when he felt the barrier again, firm and thick as the first time he just pushed with his mind, imagining that the calm engulfed her too. He didn't know if it was working but he kept trying.
''Oh my!'' the fortune-teller exclaimed finally, finally lifting her eyes from Piper's palm, her look full of sadness. ''It's not over.''
''What? What's not over?'' Jason asked hastily.
''Your path ahead is full of trouble. You'll have to be strong, so strong to continue...'' she shook her head, ignoring Jason completely while staring at Piper with sympathy.
Piper stood up, her chair making horrible scraping noises. Her hand was out of Jason's as she stepped back and away from the table.
''We'll be leaving now.'' She said in a shaky voice, her eyes boring into the woman's.
Without another word she exited the tent, leaving Jason staring after her.
He stood up from his chair but before he could follow her, he felt a tight grip on his wrist. When he turned his eyes met the woman's worried ones.
''She won't be able to do this alone. When the time comes, you'll have to help her.''
''She's strong.'' He heard himself speaking. He pulled away his hand and started to walk towards the exit. But before he could leave, he heard a 'wait' and turned around.
The woman was smiling tenderly at him, almost exhaustedly.
''Dear boy, even the strongest people can survive on their own for so long...''
Okay, I'm gonna stop here because if I don't, it's going to take forever for me to update.
I want to officially apologise for all the months I've kept you in the dark. The truth is that I've been under a lot of emotional stress with all the university problems and then adapting to the new city and my roommates that are five years older than me...My mind was blocked for so long!
So I finally managed to finish this one and started the next. I'm not sure when the next update will come, Med school in really a handful even though I'm studying pharmacy.
Anyway, I hope that some of you haven't given up on me. I'll try to get the next one out sooner rather than later but I can't promise much. Please don't give up on me!