Diligo Est Amicitia
CHP 24: Going Crazy All Over Again
A/N: Well, it's been ten days since my last update and before that, it was eleven. See a pattern? … Nevermind. Just enjoy this one!
-
"There's a fair?" Lilith stated incredulously as she tore the piece of flyer off the wall, nearly taking a chunk of it along.
"Down girl." Jamie commanded. The four of them were walking down the empty hallway. School had let out hours ago but they'd stayed back with the mere reason that they felt like it.
"Yeah, I think Delancey mentioned something like that." Peter frowned slightly as he struggled to remember her exact words, forgetting that just saying her name would evoke some exaggerated expressions from the girls. Oops; too late.
"Oh… you still seeing her?"
"How many times you've been going out with her?"
"It's already been quite some time. Things got hot and heavy yet?"
Peter had to make a huge effort not to trip over his own feet over that last comment and instead decided to ignore them. "It's to celebrate the end of spring and the start of summer. It's actually quite a big affair; the streets are going to be jam-packed with game stalls and…" He trailed off, realizing that his voice had gotten more excited with each word. He looked back at the three girls who had simultaneously stopped and stared at him.
"What?" He asked defensively.
"Gosh, what's happened to you?" Lilith started.
"Our Petey's changed." Fin's voice was slightly babyish and it annoyed Peter to no end, which was why – as he suspected – she used it.
"We'll miss you." Jamie added and started waving at him as if expecting him to walk away, never to come back for eternity.
"Fine!" He yelled, turning on his heel and stomping - quite immaturely, for a sixty-five year old – away. He had had enough of this behaviour; no doubt, it was the effect of being among mortals for far too long. "Fine! I'll go! You think I'm attached to this place? Well guess what – you're wrong! You're never going to see me again!"
"Mr. Lycan!" A sudden voice boomed. The four of them jerked in surprise and turned towards the direction of the voice. The Chemistry professor glared back at them from his office. "I hear you shouting again and be assured that we will see you again, five times a week, four hours a day for detention." And with that, he slammed the door, leaving the three girls in near hysterics of laughter and Peter in a near-fit.
"So… you coming for the fair, Pete-y? I'm sure the clown might cheer you up some." Lilith suggested sweetly.
The guy in question turned dagger-eyes at her, so chilling that the three girls eventually gave up and talked amongst themselves as they walked out of Spencer into the full glare of the orange sunlight. It was evening; near sunset and tonight… they would party.
-
"Hey, did you hear about the fair?" Pogue yelled over the music.
"Reid had an affair?" Jamie pretended to scowl in confusion as she quickly defended her goal.
Pogue smirked despite his miss. "The fair! The autumn fair! You going?"
"No, Pogue; it isn't snowing. Besides… winter was a long time ago." Jamie cheered as she managed to kick in the ball, aided by Pogue's confusion. Standing by their side, Caleb snickered softly.
Pogue 'harrumphed' and Jamie howled with laughter at his expression. "Yeah, Parry… we're going. All four of us."
Suddenly Caleb stopped. All four of them? "Is Peter coming?" He asked casually as Pogue dropped the ball into the game box.
Jamie paused for a second to spare him a glance. "I believe I did say 'all four of us'." Caleb didn't like her tone or the way she said it. He decided to try again. "Grown pretty close to Peter, have you?"
"Yeah." She replied nonchalantly. "We bonded."
"Oh." 'Oh' was right. He didn't have anything else to say and he hadn't the right to say anything else at this point of time. What happened, Jamie? He thought desperately. I thought we bonded.
The kiss was a mistake, Caleb. Jamie replied silently, unbeknownst to him. It was all a big mistake.
-
"So… Jamie and Caleb have gotten pretty close." Kate stated as she observed the two brunettes from their nearby table. Since Reid and Tyler were at the pool table and Fin and Lilith were chatting to Nicky, it was only her and Sarah.
"Mm-hmm." The blonde girl answered, trying to make it sound relaxed. Truth was, she was nothing close to relaxing. At the mention of Caleb, her heart had sped up thrice its original steady speed and hearing Jamie's name attached almost made it shatter.
Kate looked at her friend worriedly. "Seriously, Sarah, don't you think you should talk---"
"I think I'm gonna dance." Sarah interrupted. "You wanna join in?"
Kate stared disappointedly at her friend but shook her denial. Sarah simply shrugged her shoulders in a 'Suit yourself' way and skipped off to the dance floor. She started shimmying enjoying the thrill of just losing herself to the music blaring out of the jukebox. Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands encircle her waist but she didn't care. To hell with Caleb, to hell with this guy holding her… to hell with the world. "You know… you got some fine moves." A voice, so furtive it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, whispered into her right ear.
Sarah shivered and opened her eyes. Aaron Abbot smirked at her as he moved his body against hers. Her first instinct was to immediately move away but as she glanced at Caleb still chatting with Jamie and Pogue at the foosball table, she instead continued to shimmy against him. To hell with Caleb…
-
"Whoa… dude." Pogue tapped Caleb on the arm and nodded in the direction of the dance floor.
Caleb's eyes followed the invisible line. At first, he didn't see the cause of such concern but when he finally focused, his jaw dropped to the filthy cheap floor and his eyes became twice as large. The result was quite comical but at that moment, no one was in the mood to laugh.
Caleb seemed about to explode at that moment but suddenly, his shoulders slumped and his face calmed. Instead, he gently pushed Pogue out of the way so that he was on the other end of the foosball table. "Dare to take me on?" He challenged the brunette girl on the other end.
Jamie looked slightly thrown off but grinned all the same. "You're on, Danvers. Loser buys us fries."
-
"So… you coming for the autumn fair tomorrow?" Peter tried to make the question informal but he did hope that she would say 'yes'.
Delancey, who had been staring out the glass window, didn't hear him the first time. Peter had to snap his fingers before she paid him any attention.
"Huh?"
"I asked if you were coming for the autumn fair tomorrow." Peter repeated.
She looked confused, a little lost for a few moments before comprehension dawned in her beautiful grey eyes. "Oh… you know… I don't think I wanna go."
"Why not?"
She shifted in her seat, looking apathetic. "Well… because I don't feel like it."
"But, Dee, it's gonna be fun. C'mon…" He coaxed.
A small smile and a gentle bite on her lower lip. Mentally, he slapped himself. He couldn't stop thinking about her lips, damn it! "I don't think so, Peter." She shook her head. A gentle rejection.
Then she nodded at the empty Styrofoam cups, which had already been stacked neatly on the edge of the table. "You might wanna slow down on that."
"Oh look; the hyena calling the werewolf crazy." Peter shot back.
The look of confusion returned. "What?"
But Peter wasn't to be thrown off so easily.
"Don't change the subject… C'mon…" He tried again, this time puffing up his cheeks and looking very much like a child who had been refused something he wanted badly. Delancey couldn't stop the giggle that escaped. "What harm could it do?" He reached for her hand, covering it with his tenderly. "Besides," He added gently. "I'll be there with you."
He didn't know how he had gotten so bold. Perhaps those seven cups of cappuccino had made him braver the way fifteen bottles of whiskey made men bolder. All he knew was that he wanted her there… he needed her there with him.
She seemed to hesitate, then nodded ever so slightly. Peter rewarded her with a mega-watt smile but inside, he was… euphoric. No, more than that… it was simply indescribable. But in the back of his mind, Peter recalled the conversation he had had with Jamie the morning after he had stayed over.
Surprisingly, I believe you. You regretted every moment that you stepped into Ipswich… because you met Delancey… and fell desperately in love with her.
Jamie… your words are a curse, he thought desperately.
-
Jane White stepped out of her dorm room, all dressed up for the autumn fair and looking very glam. Okay, maybe they were not the most fab boots but they were sensible. The ground was probable to be moist and she didn't want to get her feet dirty.
As soon as she finished locking the door and turned around, her eyes met the most heart-stopping sight. Five guys, all extremely good-looking hung around in the hallway. They looked up at her, startled by the sudden noise of the door closing but she mustn't have been the person they were waiting for; they immediately went back to what they had been doing before – which was practically biting their nails and looking down at their feet.
Only one of them approached her but kept a distance. "Jane White, I presume?" He asked.
She nodded and her heart skipped a beat as he flashed her the most stunning smile she had ever seen. "Peter Lycan." He nodded.
Oh… so this is the one! She silently screamed. "Uh… hi…" After she said that, her mouth started opening and closing several times, unable to think of what to say. She could hear one of the guys – the blonde one – snickering to her off-left and she immediately shut her mouth, her face resembling an over-blown cherry.
"Jamie told me about you." He continued when he realized that she wasn't saying anything else. Well, actually, she made it that I had to get to know about you knowing our secret from Soren… He corrected mentally.
"Yeah… she told me 'bout you too." Jane told him. All the while, she couldn't help but realize that Caleb Danvers was shooting Peter murderous glares. Rivalry perhaps? She wondered. It seemed as if Peter had read her mind; he immediately turned around slowly and raised an eyebrow at Caleb. Caleb just scoffed and looked away.
At that moment, there was a small 'ping' and the elevator doors slid open to reveal Jamie, Lilith and Fin. Whatever tension there had been in the air disappeared immediately as if it had never been there and for a moment, it was all smiles and 'You look great.' Jane merely shook her head and sighed in relief. The last thing she wanted was to witness a fist fight on a beautiful night like this.
"C'mon… let's go."
-
"I thought Pogue had a girlfriend."
"Excuse me?" Jamie asked as they trudged to meet up with the occupants of Tyler's truck.
"Pogue. His girlfriend's name was… Kylie or someth--" Peter was cut off by an impatient correction from Jamie.
"Kate!"
"Yeah… her. So why isn't he with her?"
"Because she's here with Sarah."
"Why can't Sarah be here with her?"
"Becau---" Jamie started to answer but then she cut herself off and glared at the guy walking beside her. "Why can't you learn to shut up more?"
"Good point."
They caught up with four Sons of Ipswich and together; they headed up to the clearing where the fair was being held. "Aren't you radiant tonight." Lilith commented to Jane who was practically skipping.
"Well, that's because I'll probably meet my soulmate here tonight." She answered coyly with an unstoppable grin curving her lips.
"And why is that?" Tyler asked curiously.
"There's an old superstition. You close your eyes and count to five and when you open them; the first person who meets your eye is supposedly your soulmate." Jane explained. "I'm trying it out tonight. After all, everyone's gonna be at the fair."
"What if the first person you see turns out to be some brace-wearing bespectacled dude who has the worst case of acne?" Reid snickered to himself before Pogue cuffed him on the side of the head.
"Well, whoever he is, I'm sure he'll be better than you." Jane replied cheerfully.
"Well, sure, honey… but don't take the results too seriously, 'kay?" Jamie advised. They had reached the outskirts of the fair and she was pretty sure that some would want to go their own way.
"Well, I'll split here." Peter announced. Jamie looked at him bemusedly.
"Got someone you have to meet?" She asked, her smile devious.
"You got it." He winked at her.
Caleb made a weird noise, which only Peter paid any attention to but he decided to ignore it altogether.
"Well, you go ahead, Romeo." Jamie gave him a soft shove and a secret 'good luck' wink. Peter mentally thanked her and as she started to divide the rest of the group up, he crept away, walking hurriedly past food stalls, little carts selling ice cream and cotton candy and booths, which displayed and promoted foods of every kind.
He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning the crowd, which had already begun to congregate since evening. There she was. In a dark coat, which fell past her knees, Delancey had folded her arms, probably to keep out the cold but she seemed to be keeping a lookout for him.
"Hey."
She turned around, completely surprised that she hadn't sensed his presence behind her but a smile graced her lips nevertheless. "Hi."
"So… shall we?" He offered her his arm and laughing softly, she took it.
"We shall." She answered.
-
Forty-five minutes into their walk together and he had already lost her. She had wanted to get some popcorn but Peter had been engrossed in some books in ancient Latin that a stall was selling and she had asked him to wait. He had waited for a mere fifteen minutes but she still hadn't returned and he was getting bored.
There's an old superstition. You close your eyes and count to five and when you open them; the first person who meets your eye is supposedly your soulmate…
He sighed. Why not? He was bored anyway. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
One…
Two…
Perhaps there were people laughing at him for closing his eyes in the middle of the fair. Some cursing perhaps…
Three…
Four…
"Get out of the way, damn it!"
"What the heck is he doing…"
"Mother, Mother, look at that man! He's got his eyes closed…"
"You'd think these jesters would have a better place to play their tricks…"
Five.
His eyes flew open. Nothing. No one. People had avoided him, probably thinking he was some sort of lunatic. He looked back to the direction he had first laid his eyes on.
No… He staggered a few steps back. But it was unavoidable; those captivating eyes of hers… the eyes he had been so accustomed to gazing at over steaming cups of Moll's coffee.
Peter Lycan… you're insane.
A/N: This chapter, in a way, is dedicated to RedRogue. If it were not for you, I wouldn't be having as much fun with Peter as I am having now. I hope you're as looking forward to the next chapter as I am guys because things will start to go downhill and there will be more P/D action for those of you who favour that pairing. Before I leave however, let me just give you a little teaser on the 'action'.
On what is to come...
She didn't finish her sentence; Peter had moved closer to her… much too close. At the same time, his hand touched hers and he held it. He stroked her cheek with his other hand before gently cupping her chin and closed the distance between them.
Crickes