Diligo Est Amicitia

Chapter 21: One Last Spark

A/N: Well, this is a chapter that I feel likeness towards because I think it's neither crappy nor too cheesy. However… I am not the reader so please review to tell me what you think about it. For those of you who wonder whether Jane White will tell, well… stick around to find out.

Peter stalked down the hallway, somehow able to still look debonair as he glared at any obstacles that hindered him. It wasn't really a problem however; the student body parted for him like the Red Sea parted for Moses. He could feel the human eyes on his back but he didn't exactly care. He was in an irate mood and anyone foolish enough to mess with him right now would be at the receiving end of his fury.

Still, the female population gazed dreamily after him, hoping in vain that he might notice them. It was common knowledge that the guy was chummy with the Sons of Ipswich though there were whispers that he was there to steal away the three new girls. Nobody had ever gotten close enough to him to have found out the truth, not that Peter half-cared what others thought of him.

The whispers earned an ever firmer ground when the handsome young heir paused beside the locker of the pretty but tough Jamie Chapman. Jamie, who had been innocuously cleaning out her locker, paused as she felt more than two pairs of eyes on her. She withdrew her head from the metal cubbyhole, turned around and found herself already dead - if looks could kill – as Peter glared at her, his amber orbs flashing dangerously. She plastered on a polite smile, as she had always been forced to do so in front of other people but her own eyes asked him a question. What the fuck? If he was accurate enough.

Slowly, he tilted his head to one side as if studying her but Jamie knew that he was telling her to follow him. He walked off first and after a few seconds of consideration, Jamie shut her locker door and followed the direction he had taken. He was already out of sight when she turned the corner but he left trails only she could sense. Closing the door of the broom closet behind her, Jamie suddenly found her arm being squeezed in a vice grip.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She hissed, wrenching Peter's hand away from her arm. "Hey, watch it!"

It was dark in the closet and Peter's yellow-ish eyes stood out more than ever. Jamie felt her own silver ones flashing.

"What in the name of the Elders are you doing?" That was Peter.

"What? What did I do?"

"You know what you did! You told our secret to that human!"

"Jane? We can trust her, Peter." Now, if only she believed that as much as she wanted to.

"Yeah, right." Peter scoffed. "Let's see if you'll still say the same thing when she blabs it to the whole world."

Jamie slapped his arm lightly. "Oh, stop it, you neurotic little freak. She won't." Then she hooked her arm with his. "Besides… it's lunch time. Take a break from being such a phobic dog and don't spoil your appetite." She reached for the doorknob of the broom closet but before she could push it open, someone at the other end had already flung the door wide open.

"Uh… hey."

"Caleb! Hi!" Jamie said it like there wasn't a single percent of awkwardness surrounding them.

"Hey, Caleb… what're you doing with the closet--- uh… hi. Wow."

"Pogue." Peter nodded coolly at him.

"We were just heading to lunch." Jamie said brightly.

"Oh-kay. And well… all this, uh…" Pogue gestured to the background with his right hand, looking adorable and confused. Caleb was right beside him in that.

"We were just checking the brand of the brooms." Peter quickly covered. Jamie inwardly cringed. Checking the brand of the brooms? What kind of a lame cover is that? But Peter had said it already so they had to go with it.

"Because… you know…" She started to stutter as they turned their eyes on her. "Peter wants to stock up on brooms… for his house… and obviously he had to have the elite."

"The elite?" Peter looked strangely at Jamie and was stepped on the foot for that. Hey, you made up that story, now keep to it! Her facial expressions seemed to say. He changed tacks immediately. "Oh, yeah… the elite. Only place you can get them is Spencer. Hehe."

Caleb and Pogue didn't look too convinced.

"Wanna join us?" Jamie asked.

"To check the brooms?" Caleb asked weakly. It was the first time he had spoken since he had opened the door and he sounded sick to his stomach right now.

"No, dum-dum. To lunch!" Jamie stepped forward, dragging Peter with her before hooking her free arm around Caleb's.

"Well… uh… yeah. Okay." Caleb registered the fact that Peter didn't seem to mind that Jamie had her arm hooked with his and he breathed in relief. I mean, if there is something between them, shouldn't he be reacting just a little?

They arrived at the table with a few skeptic looks here and there and muffled giggles from the others in the canteen. "Hi?" It seemed more of a question than a firm greeting from Kate as the mocha-skinned princess ran from her seat and into Pogue's arms. Sarah, Jamie noticed, didn't look too happy at the trio and she quickly slipped her arm off Caleb's.

"Well, if you'll excuse us… I think Jamie and me need to get our food. Lilith? Fin? Care to join us?" Lils and Fin nodded, grinning to the despair of the Sons of Ipswich. Had they fallen too, under his charismatic smile? True, Peter was a great guy to be around and all but beneath that, they couldn't help but feel there was more to this guy. He didn't deserve warning bells like Chase did but still… something sinister was lurking.

In reality, however, they had nothing to worry about. Fin and Lilith had only been amused by their entrance – and by Pogue secretly snickering as he followed them.

"What was that about?" Fin wondered loud once they were out of earshot, reaching the queue for food.

"They caught us in the broom closet." Peter replied evenly, looking for all his life's worth that it wasn't something scandalous.

"Ooh. No need to ask what you guys were doing in there." Lilith giggled as she high-fived Fin. Jamie's palms connected with the back of their heads in a slight shove as Peter looked thoroughly confused.

"Not that you dirty-minded little prats!" Jamie hissed.

"I was just reminding you that you needed to zip up your mouth a little bit more, maybe throw away the key and stay like that til you Ascend." Peter glared at the three of them.

The three girls immediately mimed what Peter had just ordered them to do – throwing in the exaggerating toss of an imaginary key over their shoulder - receiving more poisonous glares from the recipient and giggles from around them. "Peter?" A new voice called out. All four of them turned towards the direction of the voice.

"Delancey! Hey."

"Hey." She gave him a huge grin, then a more polite one towards Jamie, Lilith and Fin.

"So…" Peter trailed off, having nothing to say… yet. Besides it was hard; the three brats he unfortunately loved so much were making faces behind him.

"I'll see you soon at Moll's?" She asked.

"Yeah." Relief. "Sure. See you soon."

Delancey walked off with her loaded tray as Peter was left alone to face the vultures.

"Wow."

"Delancey, huh?"

"She looks pretty human."

"She looks pretty too."

"Moll's huh?"

"Preet-ty cozy."

"Girls." He gritted his teeth. "You just threw away your keys so I suggest you shut it.

Lilith walked out of the dormitory edifice, intending to take a walk when she noticed a figure by the trees. She recognized it almost immediately; dark hair and a jacket worn over a dark hoodie. "Hey."

He turned around and a small smile graced his lips. "Hey."

"What're you doing here?"

"Just taking a small walk. You?"

"Same." Lilith smiled.

"Where's Reid?" She asked though she already knew the answer. If she were right, they'd already be…

"Having dinner with Fin."

"Oh."

They stayed silent for a few moments, watching the sunset in the blood-orange sky. "Hey, Lils?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"If you were in love with a guy your best friend already liked, who would you give up?"

Lilith turned towards the brunette. Her heart ached; the question hit home for her but she could see it was killing him too. "Well, it depends. How much do you really like the girl?"

Tyler hadn't realized she had said 'girl'. "You've been crushing on her for two and a half months now. First you tell yourself it's an infatuation, then when it doesn't go away, you…"

"Realize its love?"

"But on the other hand, this is your best friend you're talking about. The guy you've been brothers with for five years and counting." He looked at her, then blushed and looked away. It was the first time he had realized what he was actually saying. He suddenly shook his head. "No." He said. "It's not worth it. She's not worth it. Not if it costs Reid."

"So you'd rather give up love over friendship?" Lilith asked, disbelievingly.

"If I asked you to give up Fin…" Tyler said slowly. "In return for Reid… would you have done it?"

"Not in a million years." Lilith whispered, unshed tears stinging her eyes.

Tyler let out a harsh laugh. "Now isn't this coincidence." He stared down at his shoe and wiped the few tears that had dared disobey him and fall, roughly. "We're both in love with people we can't have."

"Maybe that's love." Lilith commented. "Sacrifice. Heck, they're both happy. Who are we to tear them apart?"

Tyler took a sip from a beer Lilith realized hadn't been there a minute ago. She stared.

He turned to her and held out yet another bottle of it, ice cold and promisingly delicious.

"You're using."

"You gonna take it or what?"

When she didn't stop staring, he turned away from her angrily. "Damnit, Lilith! I am not Reid and you aren't Caleb… are you?"

Angered by the outburst, Lilith grabbed the bottle from his hand, tore the cap off and thrust it through her lips, savoring the first few gulps as she closed her eyes. When she had opened them again, Tyler was staring at her. "To unreturned love and friendships worth the sacrifices." She toasted.

Tyler imitated her before throwing his head back and finishing the beer. Too caught up in their anguish, they didn't realize someone watching them. A certain someone with long black hair and silver eyes.

Jamie turned away from the sight. It hurt her that Lilith was hurt. It hurt her even more that Fin was hurting in secret. And as she had been doing for the past four weeks, she waited for that five seconds to pass. And then… a red rose materialized on the floor in front of Fin and Lilith's dorm room. Jamie stared at it for a second before the emotions hit her. Damn him! Damn that man! She hated him! She hated him for being such a coward! The rose burst into flames as she walked away, heels clicking against the floor. The wind carried the ruined petals and ashes away as the fire sparked one last time and died.

Bila kita mencintai yg lain
Mungkin kah hati ini akan tegar
Sebisa mungkin tak akan pernah
Sayang ku akan hilang…

A/N: I wonder if you wonder what's up with the strange words in Italics. If you must know, that is a part of a song that I base this story on. It's very emotional and is in a language called Malay. Yeah, I know Malay. I may not be a pro but I know enough and speak it with my family. Translations will be given at the very end of the story but if you want to watch the video and hear the whole song go to my homepage and click on the first video in my Video Log.