Diligo Est Amicitia
Chapter 4: Night Out (Part 1)
A/N:All right, to my readers, I am so, so, so sorry for not updating sooner! For one, I had a writer's block and two, my computer was facing a virus terror! But everything's well now and the block's gone away so I'm able to write! So, for not updating so long, I think you guys deserve a longer chapter!
RedRogue: Thank you for being concerned enough about my updates to PM me; I appreciate it. I PM-ed back, asking for help with my writer's block but I'm fine now! As for the title applause, thank you very much. If you're wondering about Aaron being the only baddie, that I can't answer yet just like I can't answer the question about Jane White but there's the suspense and mystery of the story! I promise to try not to be excessive in my dialogue though sometimes I can't help it! Haha… an unfortunate curse that has been placed upon me. I get what you mean when you wanted Fin with Reid so that Pogue would be like 'You'd better take good care of her or I'm gonna bust your ass' sorta thing. I know there are stories out there about Caleb's sister being with Reid, which sends Caleb into a 'Stay the hell away from my sister' mode but for now, the romance plot is a little unsure; I'm trying to work on the action plot. I'll keep you updated though! Remember; things may seem going in one way when in the end; it totally backs up and walks the different road.
BlueFlameDancer: I'm delighted that you liked Chapter 3… I was afraid that it was a little draggy! Sorry that I took so long to update but I hope you like this one!
Draco's Secret Lover: You really are one of the most brilliant reviewers I have ever come across! From the start, you guessed part of the plot and now you're speculating bonds between the others? Haha! Yes to both choices the one with 'romantically inclined' and the one with 'bond'. You're going to hate Aaron even more than what you did when you read Chapter 3 in this chapter! As for Kira deserving better? Maybe a little but a bigger part of my heart says they deserve one another…well, at least in this story!
Angelique-du-Coudray 1: Yes, the title is Latin. No, don't feel like an idiot, say you're a genius! If I came upon this title, I would have thought it Spanish or Italian or something like that! You and RedRogue are the only two who know the meaning right now; either that or the others have chosen to keep quiet!
And now, to continue with the story…
The first day of school passed quite uneventfully with the exception of awkward introductions for the first period of their subjects. The most aggravating one to Jamie, however, happened during Language period. William had personally requested the school that the three girls be signed up for Latin so however reluctant and however much they complained, they turned up on time for their lessons together with the Four Sons of Ipswich whom had been forced as well, by their parents, to take Latin; it being an ancient language of which spells, enchantments and charms were written in.
The Latin teacher, a plump, animated woman, by the name of Maria who seemed to have no shame had encouraged the three girls to introduce themselves, making it seem like an interview - or in Jamie's opinion - a confession and in front of the whole class too. So far, the woman had managed to get out of Lilith that she was of Jewish heritage and that Fin was an Italian whom had spent the last thirteen years of her life in New York among Americans, thus losing whatever accent she had gained. It was considered an amazing feat since Jamie hadn't managed to make any of the two girls open up to her until a good month or so. Jamie's turn had been last and she had dreaded it terribly.
"Ms. Chapman, it is your turn now." Miss Maria proclaimed.
Jamie who had been standing by the board behind the seat where Lilith had sat now took her place. Twenty-four faces stared down at her, six of which she recognized. "Now, Jamie, your profile said you lived in Las Vegas. all your life until the death of your parents." The woman paused then beamed at her. "How was it?"
Jamie blinked a few times before she thought of her answer. "Uh… it was… really cool." She said lamely.
"Come now, tell us; did you drink? Gamble a bit? Everyone here loves a rebel."
Jamie shifted in her seat uneasily. What kind of a teacher asked these questions? "No… no of course not. My parents would have killed me." She replied.
The teacher checked her clipboard for a moment, pretended to squint at some non-existent writing then refocused on Jamie. "Speaking of killing," The woman said and Jamie's heart sped up. No, no you pathetic excuse for a teacher! Don't you dare bring that up! She mentally screamed at her. "How did your parents die? The newspaper report," And she flipped through her folder, searching for some non-existent article, Jamie was sure. "Stated that Mr. Gordon and Mrs. Elizabeth Chapman were found, quote 'amidst a pool of their own blood, the murder weapons still impaled in the backs.' unquote." The buzzing that had been going around the classroom stopped completely and all of the students paid their undivided attention to Jamie.
"W-e-ll…" She said slowly. "I'm not really that sure. I was only thirteen. I'm not sure." She repeated, glaring into the eyes of her teacher, who becoming uncomfortable with the hardness in the eyes of her student, dropped the subject completely, thanked her, showed her a seat and went back to lessons to Jamie's relief.
Lunchtime was a quiet affair; they had been invited to join the Sons of Ipswich and Kate and Sarah at their table. Kate and Sarah whom hadn't had Language were oblivious to why the rest were so silent and rather puzzled. Ironically, it had been Jamie to start up a cheery conversation, indirectly encouraging even the bashful Tyler to join in. Nobody whom had attended Language spoke of what had happened though they were all thinking about it. When they asked, not even Fin or Lilith knew about it. It seemed that Jamie had skeletons in her closet, which she was not willing to share even with her best friends.
"So what extra curriculum activities are you participating in?" Sarah asked.
"Well, what is there?" Fin shot back.
"Just about everything." Sarah laughed. "Reid and the rest of the boys are on swim team, I'm in English Club and Kate's in Mathletes."
"We'll think about it." Lilith promised, chewing on her straw thoughtfully.
"Hey, meanwhile, why don't we head out tonight?" Kate asked.
"To Nicky's?" Jamie asked hesitantly. When Kate nodded, she just moved her shoulder in a way that indicated she was fine with it.
"Great!" Sarah exclaimed. "We'll meet you at the dorm parking lot at seven-thirty. Uh… I've got Science period now. See you later!" She dashed off with her books.
"You guys coming along?" Lilith asked. While Caleb shrugged, the rest of them promised to be there and to celebrate their arrival to Spencer's and the 'blossoming of a new friendship' as Pogue had so skillfully put it. He means romance. Jamie thought as she watched Reid eying Lilith. Her eyes darted to Tyler and Fin and quickly averted them again when she realized that they were making goo-goo eyes at each other. I just knew William should have drilled in those rules into those hard coconuts Lilith and Fin call their heads a little more. She thought exasperatedly. It was unfortunate that she was too deep in her thoughts to notice that a certain someone across the table was watching her.
A sudden rapping of three knocks was heard on Jamie's wooden door and throwing it open, found her two fellow Archos dressed immaculately for the occasion. Lilith was wearing a pink off-shoulder top and Fin had thrown on her favourite denim jacket, wearing it biker style. She groaned. She hadn't thought up of anything to wear despite having practically gone through her whole neatly organized closet.
"Uh…why are you not dressed?" Lilith looked her up and down and finding her attire of mini shorts and a tube top unsatisfying. "Or are you actually planning to go to Nicky's in that outfit? You're gonna kill the guys with that…" But before she could continue her ramblings of what consequences Jamie's current apparel could induce out of the male patrons at Nicky's, Jamie had already held up a finger and dragged Fin and Lilith inside.
Finally deciding on a cream-coloured cropped top with flaring sleeves that started from the elbows, she quickly pulled it on, dressed in some dark blue jeans and gave herself a once over in the mirror. Perfect. She grinned. The top exposed her midriff, showing off her bellybutton ring. She had gotten it despite William's protests and had been grounded as a result. Nevertheless, it had been lifted and she now had a piercing to boast. On a last-minute decision, she ruffled her hair slightly and arranged it so that it looked a little more natural instead of the neat-combed way it was. Or had been, she thought amusedly. What shampoo did I use? Giving her glossy raven hair a last toss over her shoulder, she exited the bathroom.
She found Lilith and Fin waiting rather impatiently, and then was told that Kate and Sarah were waiting for them in the car park, as they needed a ride. All of the four boys, she was told, had agreed to come to Nicky's. The whole Covenant? Jamie realized, slightly alarmed. No, not all of them, a small voice in her head reminded her. There is a fifth son remember? Oh yeah, she thought. The one that was hanged, supposedly the last witch ever to be. There ended the line of the Putnums.
She had been right after all. There was more to the Sons of Ipswich that met the eye. She learned from the records that the founders of the Ipswich Colony, formed in silence, a secret Covenant. They had known that they would be found out sooner or later had fled religious persecution in England, coming to Massachusetts Bay and establishing the Ipswich Colony. Here they had created their Covenant and by the looks of it, the ancestors of Caleb, Pogue, Reid and Tyler had done some pretty amazing feats for the average human beings they were believed to be. For example, one of Pogue's ancestors, Peleg Parry 'miraculously' caused a British war fleet to run high and dry in Boston harbor, saving the city.
I don't know what you're up to, Sons of Ipswich. Jamie thought fiercely. Just stay out of our business. You belong in the mortal world and us in the immortal. Do not interfere.
But how was she to know that they would do more than simply interfere?
"This is a really cool car." Sarah commented as she ran her hand over the leather interior of Jamie's Cadillac. Jamie grinned proudly. She had always wanted a car ever since she was of age. William had bought it for her when she had excelled in her GSCE levels in a privat school after she had spotted it in a car catalogue and practically fell in love with it. Having had it for two years now, she was extremely proud of he ability to keep it in brand-new condition.
Sarah obviously had the same eye for cars as her; she had jumped at the chance to ride it. As they neared Nicky's, Jamie could feel her passenger tense up slightly. She turned to look at Sarah. "You okay?" She asked gently. Sarah shot her a look of surprise.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Sarah finally replied.
"You seem a little… nervous." Jamie answered cautiously. She was an extremely sensitive girl, taking care of other people's feelings.
Sarah sighed. "Yeah, well, after me and Caleb took that break in our relationship, things haven't been the same around him. Like the air got heavier when we were alone or that he wanted to say something but wouldn't. Or couldn't."
Jamie wisely stayed silent. She had wondered on what to say; pretending to be surprised at the confession could have Sarah saying a lot more – and digging into the past – but telling her that she had always sensed something going on between the two would have just about announced to her that the anxiety between her and Caleb was pretty obvious.
"What do you think about it?" Sarah suddenly asked her as if she expected the newcomer of two days to already know the full story. Jamie widened her eyes and Sarah, catching the look quickly apologized. "Oh, ergh… sorry. I forgot. You're new here…don't exactly know everything yet, do you?" When Jamie shook her head, Sarah slumped in her seat. "I just… had this feeling that you might…understand…what it's like." Jamie could tell Sarah was treading around this area carefully. So she knows their secret. Jamie realized. Probably the reason for the break. I wouldn't really blame her… if she had Caleb's son, it would be condemning her child to a life like his father's.
"Why don't you try talking to him?" Jamie asked quietly as she pulled into the 'parking lot' outside of Nicky's. When Sarah didn't reply, she turned off the engine and pulled out the key with a passion. "Hey, you asked us out tonight to have fun. And that's what we're going to do! No worrying about Caleb or any other jackass, okay?" Sarah managed a smile and nodded.
They went inside Nicky's and found Pogue and Caleb at the foosball table. Tyler and Reid were as usual, as Kate told them; betting on pool games which most of the time they won. Jamie had a pretty good idea why. They all assembled at a large round table half an hour later, sipping their sodas. Pogue sat beside Kate, Reid and Lilith across from each other. Caleb beside Lilith, Fin sandwiched in between Pogue and Tyler and Jamie in between the eldest Son of Ipswich and his on-pause girlfriend. Jamie spoke mostly to Sarah; Kate's lips were too pre-occupied with Pogue to chit chat, Fin was blushing like crazy, not knowing were to look; on her right were a couple having a make-out session, to her left was the object of her infatuation. Lilith and Reid were having staring contests and thus engaged in their own activities to pay attention to the rest of the group.
Caleb and Tyler – sitting across from each other - were the only ones awkward; having no one to talk to. They made eye contact, then looked away as if acknowledging to the other that tonight was lonely for them. "So, Garwin." Jamie addressed Reid. Reid pulled his eyes away from Lilith's direction to look at the other girl. "Any connection to Bernard Garwin?"
"Granddad." Reid replied. He smirked. "Why?"
"He earned a lifetime ban in the 1960s for beating the Arabesque Casino, didn't he?" Jamie asked, knowingly.
"12 million bucks." Reid nodded. "A big amount for that time."
"My granddad was a partner at the Arabesque." Jamie added.
Reid looked stunned, then broke out into a large grin. "Hey, we have family history."
"As in your granddad totally bankrupted her granddad's casino?" Pogue snorted. He and Kate had broken off the kiss, interested in what their pals had to say. "You should be lucky she isn't holding out a grudge."
"Hey, we're like what? The third generation?" Fin sounded. "12 million's no big right now, hmm?"
"Nope." Jamie shook her head. Then, she looked around. "Hey, anybody got a quarter?"
"Why?" Lilith asked, rummaging in her pockets for the coin.
"Jukebox." Sarah and Jamie announced in unison, then they giggled maniacally. The rest just watched on in confusion. When had Sarah and Jamie grown so close? And in the space of one day? When Lilith passed Jamie a quarter, the both of them scurried off to the jukebox to choose a song. "Make sure it's something hip, ya'll or I'm gonna kick your ass for wasting that quarter!" Lilith had yelled at their backs.
"Uh… how about 'Buttons'?" Jamie asked, pointing at the title.
Sarah cringed. "Ugh, no… too suggestive."
"Christina Aguilera's 'Come On Over'?"
"Too slow." Sarah replied.
"There's the radio edit of the song." Jamie offered. When Sarah shook her head, again, she sighed inwardly. But she had promised Sarah a good night so if she was going to have to go over the whole jukebox's list of songs, she would.
"Aha! Rihanna!" Jamie exclaimed. Sarah's face turned decisive as if she was actually considering it.
"No, wait! Jae Millz! God, he rocks!" She pushed Lilith's quarter into the coin slot without hesitation and pushed the numbers. Suddenly, without warning, classic tunes began emanating through the speaker. Sarah stared in shock. What had Jamie done?
"What the hell did you----" But before she could complete the sentence, the song completely remixed. "Yeah!" Jae Millz's voice could be heard in the background. The song began to have a beat.
"C'mon! Music is for dancing!" Jamie started breaking out into a few moves on her own, laughing at the look on Sarah's face. Pretty soon, Sarah began to join in. It wasn't long before Fin and Lilith came to join them, praising their 'sister's choice of song. Ira and George Gershwin plus Jae Millz equals brilliant, Jamie thought. The four of them pulled Kate to the dance floor, Fin dragging Pogue along. Jamie and Lilith took care of the other three still sitting; wishing they could dance along but to shy to bust a move. Everyone danced; a way to express their emotions and energy. It was easy as everyone wore jeans; it was just sexier. Lilith and Reid danced to the extreme however; they were freaking.
Suddenly, Fin shrieked. A hand had encircled her waist possessively and the body of the hand was moving with her, making her dance suggestively. Suddenly, the hand pulled back; not by choice but by force. Pogue and Tyler seethed at Aaron Abbott. They were the only two whom had seen Aaron grabbing Fin.
"Hey, what the hell's going on here?" Lilith demanded. She had sensed a fear in Fin and had pulled away from Reid. Jamie was by her side in moments. They pulled Lilith protectively between them and glared at Aaron.
"He…" Fin hesitated. She was shivering and when Jamie touched her hand, she found it icy cold. Quickly, she used her power to send heat through her friend. Their skin glowed slightly but not enough for anyone to notice. Fin shuddered away the last of the cold, then spoke. "He tried to touch me." Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she said this.
"Jerk." Lilith strode towards Aaron, eager to give him a little more taste of her knuckles. Jamie quickly pulled her back.
"Lilith." She whispered. "This is Nicky's place."
But Lilith was not deterred. "Outside." She challenged the taller boy. She stalked off towards the exit and Aaron, knowing he'd lose face if he went back to his friends before defeating her, thus proving that he was afraid of her, followed, albeit reluctantly. Jamie, leaving Fin in Tyler's care trailed behind him. Everyone else except Kate, Sarah, Fin and Tyler, went outside.
"Lilith!" Jamie shouted as soon as the door slammed behind her. No sooner than it had closed did it open again, Caleb, Reid and Pogue coming out.
Lilith had already kicked him in the stomach, earning her a volley of rocks being thrown by Aaron and his gang who had reached the parking lot before Jamie. Lilith was already slightly bleeding from the eyebrow and her lip was cut from another sharp rock. Besides that, Aaron hadn't put a hand on her. Jamie, angered by what Aaron's cronies had done, had revenge with just a few sharp pokes on their necks.
"What did you do?" Reid gasped, amazed by the simplicity of the way she had taken care of them.
"It's an old Chinese method. Sort of like acupuncture. I froze them. They won't be able to move until about four more hours. Easy way to take care of trouble." She explained.
Reid poked the guy standing nearby him experimentally. When he didn't move, he threw a punch, making the poor fellow fall straight on his side.
"Reid." Caleb said, warningly. "The poor guy's immobile; give him a break."
"Guys, can we break off that fight?" Pogue asked.
Jamie whipped around to see that Aaron and Lilith were still at it. Poor guy just doesn't know when to back off. Jamie thought, amused.
"Hey! I told you to stay away from my boyfriend!" The voice of Kira Snider floated in from the entrance of Nicky's.
"Bitch fight round two." Reid muttered under his breath so that only his brothers could hear him. Privately, Caleb and Pogue agreed. He pulled out a ten-dollar note "Anyone wanna bet who'll win?" His only answer was a couple of glares.
"He's still your boyfriend?" Jamie asked, disbelievingly. "God, lady, are you blind? He just tried to make a move on my friend and you still want him? Can you say 'desperate'?" Kira, angered at her words, tried to punch her but Jamie ducked and she missed. "Before you share the same fate as those boys." And her eyes darted to the inert teenagers standing right beside them and one just lying at their feet. "I think you'd better take your boyfriend somewhere else and leave us the hell alone." Kira, seeing the boys, widened her eyes in fear, then dodged away from Jamie. She dragged her boyfriend off, for once not listening to his demands that she let him go.
"Lilith!" Jamie rushed over to her sister. "You okay?"
"Why didn't you come help?" Lilith fumed.
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, admit it; you'd be even more pissed off if I even offered." She touched the wound on Lilith's eyebrow and Lilith hissed in pain.
"It'll heal." She promised.
"I know it will." Jamie said, referring to her sister's accelerated healing ability. "It's what makes you think it's okay to be in fights all the time."
Lilith rolled her eyes. "How's Fin?" She asked as they headed back inside, Pogue, Caleb and Reid at their heels, walking in silence.
"She's okay." Jamie replied. "She's with Tyler and Kate and Sarah."
"She's really getting along well with that Tyler guy, huh?" Lilith smiled.
Jamie watched her sister carefully. "Too well." She muttered her breath.
To be continued…
Crickes
Night Out (Part 1) Credits:
Song Title: I Like That You Can't Take That Away From
Me
Artist: Jae Millz, Mashonda, Rakim…
Taken From: Soundtrack
of 'Take The Lead'