Chapter 20
The morning was especially bright, bright white clouds replaced the normal grey ones that I'd become accustomed to. The morning was made brighter with Alice standing over me another tray full of food in her delicate hands.
"Morning sunshine!" She said in a voice that was too cheery for the morning.
"Morning yourself." I said in a groggy voice, taking the tray. "Smells great." I said looking at the bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast. My stomach painfully reminded me that I didn't eat last night.
"Sounds like somebody's hungry." She giggled referring to my stomach, "Eat up we're leaving in ten minutes."
"Ten minutes!" I said choking on my breakfast. "Damn it, I need to get ready. Remember mystery person to catch?" I said standing up. I wasn't dressed I wasn't clean I didn't have any way to find the non-warlock.
"You're too easy." She choked out in between fits of laughter.
"Damn your quote sense of humor unquote." I said collapsing back on the couch thing. Note to self: find out the name of this thing. Better yet figure out the most appropriate way to sleep on it. I rolled my head from side to side trying to get the multitude of knots out of it.
"Besides," she continued as if I had said nothing, "There are some clean clothes behind you and I grabbed your soap shampoo and razor from Bella's. They're in my bathroom; first door on the left." I started to stand up again. I didn't make it very far; maybe halfway; before Alice pushed me down. I struggled to get up again, but Alice was too quick yet again. She straddled my hips and pushed my shoulders against the back rest. "I'll let you up if you answer a quick question." She said musically.
I nodded, "what's the question?" Is there any point in arguing in this position? There's no way I was going to win this fight.
"Why haven't you kissed me?" She asked in a low, husky voice; inches away from mine.
"That's not a simple question. And I don't have a simple answer." I asked moving my face to meet hers. Our lips were less than an inch apart. It was as close as I could get.
"Tell me." She demanded in a voice filled with something I couldn't quite identify, pain maybe.
"This isn't the time, or the place," I started my voice shaky, "I want to tell you, but more than anything, more than everything I want to kiss you. Please let me leave it at that for now." She shook her head, slowly. Her eyes were darker now, dark amber color. "If it means that much to you." My lips were still dangerously close to hers I could smell her sweet, sweet breath. I gulped before continuing, "Certain vampires have venom, that's more addictive than heroin, mixed with nicotine, mixed with crack. During the war, I was bitten…" I stopped mid sentence. I didn't care anymore, I couldn't resist. I kissed her. Passionately. Hungrily. With complete abandon.
She didn't resist, not for a moment. She melted into me, but I pulled her closer; tangling my hands in her silky spikes of hair. Alice finally broke the kiss after what seemed like days. "Don't think that kiss means you don't have to finish the explanation." She said with a cheeky grin. She gave another quick peck before disappearing out of the door in a blur.
It took me a moment to get my body working again. My breakfast was by now quite cold, but I ate it anyway, and it was delicious! I picked up the change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.
It took me a few tries to find the bathroom. I made one wrong turn and ended up in a bowling alley, or a library. I always mix those two places up. Eventually I found my way to the bathroom. It was every bit as feminine as the bedroom. I turned on the water to extra, super hot. When I stepped into the shower I was glad that I had my own soap and shampoo.
There was a good solid three shelves worth of stuff (for lack of a better words.) Most of this 'stuff' I couldn't identify. If I was forced to wash with it, I would more than likely wash my hair with foot scrub, and the rest of me with moisturizer. Quick question: why does someone with a supernatural beauty actually need all this…this…stuff?
Showers are the one place that thinking random thoughts comes as natural as breathing. Today's topic: what do I do with the mystery person when I catch him slash her? I suppose I could go for the total dramatic package; cryptic instructions, dark meeting place, candles, fire, lightning, ominous threats. The basic wizard package. Or there's the more subdued approach; normal conversation, cryptic threats, understanding, compassion. Boring, but effective.
I kept running through the options as I shut off the water. The bathroom had turned itself into a sauna. That water must have been really hot. It showed, I looked like a steamed lobster, but hot water is too big a miracle to turn down. I dressed quickly, in the clothes Alice had given me. It was only after I put them on that I realized that they weren't mine. They were too nice and way too expensive for my taste and my wallet. But they were clean, which is more than I could say for the entirety of my 'wardrobe'.
I padded over to the sink and wiped some of the fog away from the mirror. It was the first good look I got of myself since Arizona. In all my time in California I avoided mirrors like the plague. I hated what I saw. Now there was a difference, it was like I was taking a journey back towards the sun. There was life in my face, real life. It was in my eyes that I noticed a difference. They'd moved away from the icy grey that I was used to, and back to the deep blue of my former life. Love is a great and powerful thing.
I quickly brushed my teeth and exited the bathroom, followed by a plume of steam. I was ready. Ready to face the hell of school again; more importantly I was ready to face my potential warlock.
"Ready to go?" Alice asked, appearing out of nowhere.
"Sure," I said taking her hand. She gave me a quizzical look, "it's the little things in life." I said answering the unasked question.
"So you're making this official?" She asked without any hint of suggestion.
"What do you think?" I said before her into me with my free hand. I pressed my lips against hers, slowly, softly, but with every bit of passion as the first kiss. It wasn't long before our tongues were exploring the depths of the others' mouths. I loved the way her lips felt. A perfect paradox; hard as stone and yet as soft as silk; cold as ice and yet burning with passion.
"I'll take that as yes." She said in a breathy whisper when we finally broke the kiss. I just gave her a wry smile.
"Now I get to ask a question." I said pulling her along. "When did you first see me? In your visions I mean."
"Let me think." She started slowly, "six weeks, three days, seven hours, thirty two minutes, and fifty-two…fifty-three seconds." She finished so quickly I could barely make it out.
"What's that in date and time form?" I asked playfully, pulling her closer to me.
"December fifth, eleven thirty-eight P.M." She said matter of factly. "All I saw at first was someone in a dark cloak walking through the forest."
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, "That's the same night I first had a dream about you." I told her about my dream. In painful detail. Hell, I had six weeks' worth of it to remember.
She stopped suddenly when we got to the staircase. "I almost forgot; we're going out the window. Can't have Mr. Wizard blowing things up; now can we." She said pulling me back towards her room.
I followed her lead, "You're not carrying me." I reminded her.
"You can't jump down three stories, silly." She said playfully jabbing me in the ribs.
"Fine then, you jump, I'll climb down the ladder." I said in my mediator voice.
"What ladder?" She asked.
"The ladder you're going to bring to the window so that I can climb down. I don't care where the ladder comes from." I chided.
"Why do you insist on arguing with me, you know I'm going to win? I can see the future remember, and I saw you giving in." She said doing her fake psychic impersonation.
"I disagree. I think you're just trying to convince me to agree with you. You know I'm not going to give in. Silly vampire, I have a much stronger will than you do!" I teased.
"Fine, fine, you win." She said finally giving in, "there's already a ladder window." She finished as we got back to her room. "I'll meet you in the garage." She gave me a quick peck before doing an unnecessarily flashy dive out of the window.
I walked over to the newly furnished ladder and started down at a normal human pace. Except that I hooked the arches of my shoes around the outside of the ladder and slid down fireman style. Cheesy yes, but I HATE heights, and ladders; but mainly heights and ladders.
"Impressive," Alice said as I hit the ground with a soft thud, "did you learn that in wizard school?"
"Alas no." I said in fake lament, "one of the many useful things I picked up in Arizona." I said as she took my hand, interlacing her fingers in mine. Apparently we were the only ones left. The garage was completely empty, save for the Porsche. Damn it.
"Don't worry I did my best to wizard proof it. Or well Rose did." She said sensing my worry.
"I hope it works." I said cheerily.
"It better, 'cause now I can't roll down the windows." She said unlocking the car. I squeezed in. The car may be nice, but I sure as hell can barely fit into it. I settled in, knees up to my chin. Twice as bad as the first time. "Forgetting something?" Alice asked plopping my messenger bag down on diminished la, eliciting an 'umph' from me. "Oh and your homework is in there." I shot her dirty look, "What? I had some extra time." She said trying to act innocent.
"Thanks, that's one more thing I don't have to worry about." I replied.
"Oh, that's right, there's that whole warlock thing right." She gasped, "I almost forgot." She added sarcastically, "I mean it's not like you mentioned it thirty or forty times in your sleep last night."
"Have you seen who it is?" I asked as she turned the car on, put it into gear, and peeled out of the driveway. Damn these fast moving types. She can do three separate things in the time it takes me to get out six words.
"Maybe, but I'm not sure. It's still a bit hazy." She said in a disappointed tone. "Do you know how you're going to figure it out yet?"
"Yes, the building and room numbers we wrote down are a safety net. I put in a magical dye pack. I should be able to sense whoever got covered in the dye." I said smugly.
"Good luck then." She said giving me a quick kiss, "I'll see you at lunch." She left the car at normal human speed.
Holy shit! We were at school already. I took a big breath, inhaling Alice's scent, before slinging my bag over my right shoulder and getting out.
"English, English, English" I repeated over and over in my head. Trying to will myself into character. It was a giant pain. I was sick of this shit.
I kept my senses extended all morning. I got nothing. I did turn in the homework Alice had done for me. Hey, I'm not too proud; besides does it really mean anything, I've got the same piece of paper this school gives you. By the time lunch finally rolled around I was ready to kill myself again. Two days back in high school and I was already suicidal. "I'm not sure I can keep this up." I murmured when I saw Alice coming toward me from the other side of the cafeteria carrying a tray full of food she had no intention of eating.
"I feel the same way sometimes." She said sitting next to me at the same table as we had on Monday. I could feel the stairs immediately. "Anything yet?" She asked in a low voice.
"I'm getting something," I said taking another bite of my apple, "There are too many people for me to tell exactly who it's coming from though. All I know is that it's coming from that table." I said gesturing to a table in the middle of the cafeteria, where everyone was trying their damnedest to pretend they weren't staring at up.
"You mean the table where Bella is sitting right now?" She asked showing concern.
I nodded a few times.
"Why aren't you doing something?" She asked urgently.
"Alice, I understand that she's your friend, but every person in this room is under my protection. I'm not going to do anything to put anyone in danger." She looked at me with extreme concern. "Nothing will happen to Bella, or anyone else at that table, this school, or this town." I don't blame Alice for being concerned; she doesn't quite understand my entire world. It's safer for her and her family that way. I don't care how damn invincible they seem, there are plenty of things that would tear them apart without getting winded.
"Okay." She squeaked, giving in. "Don't let anything happen to her, or it won't just be me coming after you." She said, her eyes flaring in anger. Her voice was still low enough that no one noticed what she said in the noisy cafeteria.
"I won't, I'll figure out who it is by the end of the day." I said stroking her hand, trying to reassure her.
As I finished talking one of the girls at the center table stood up and walked towards the exit. I could feel the magic dye go with her. I knew exactly who it was. Well I didn't have a name, the only thing I really had is that she had a mess of curly brown hair, and eyes a piercing shade of blue that I'd only seen once before; and so I don't risk losing my 'guy status' I am duty bound to comment on her (oh god) banging D's. There I said it! I get to keep my guy status.
"Who just left the table?" I asked her trying to get a name. I was taking the chance that Alice knew everyone here; or at least that one girl.
"Who? Jessica Stane…" she stopped when the realization hit. After it sank in her eyes glazed over. She was having a vision. I tensed up. Something bad was about to happen. "She's who you're looking for, and she just decided to ditch the rest of the day."
"Duty calls, love." I said letting go of her hand and hurried out of the Cafeteria.
I got up from the table and followed her out of the room. I managed to keep my distance from her until we were out in the gravel student lot. The crunch of gravel under my feet was too loud; she knew she had been followed.
"What do you want?" She spat as she turned to face me, "oh, it's you. You're Aaron right?" She asked switching her tone from angry to her own brand of flirtatious, but she completely avoided eye contact.
"We need to talk." I said in a stern voice, dropping the accent.
"What do you mean? Wait, what happened to your accent?" She asked frantically, trying to act as innocent as possible.
"You know what I mean. I know you can feel me, just like I can feel you." I said trying to dance around the 'w' word and definitely the 'm' word. I closed the distance between us in two steps and grabbed her by the shoulders. "But of course if you don't believe me you could look me in the eye and we'll pretend like nothing happened." She recoiled when I mentioned looking in her eyes. She's soul gazed someone before, by the look on her face it probably didn't turn out too well.
"I don't know what you mean." She stammered fighting back tears.
"Yes you do," I said with a softer voice. She wasn't a danger, she came into her power, and she was scared. "Your cell phone, your computer they aren't working well anymore. In fact no complicated electronics are. You made the mistake of looking into someone's eyes and you don't know what you saw." I saw the fear in her face swirling with realization that she wasn't alone.
"What do you want from me?" She begged.
"I want to help you; I want to help you before you do something stupid and get yourself killed." I said releasing her from my grip. She relaxed a little, the tension left her shoulders, and her breathing was more even. "Let's go someplace more private, and I'll try and answer all of your questions."
"My car's right over here." She said fumbling with her keys to unlock her door. She slid in the driver's seat and reached over to unlock the passenger door. "Where are we going?" She asked with nerves still in her voice.
"Where ever you feel safe." I answered placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I should introduce myself, I'm Aaron Marsdon. You're Jessica right?" She nodded meekly putting the car into gear and slowly pulling out of the gravel lot. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions about what's going on right. Questions you can't ask anyone because they're about things that don't really exist. Am I right?"
"Yes." She answered timidly. "What's wrong with me?" She said as a tear streaked down her face. She pulled off the road a little less than a mile away from school.
"Nothing is wrong with you. What you have is a rare gift. You can do things most people think only happens in books and movies." I was starting to sound like the wizard who came to me. He was a lot more practiced than I was.
"What kind of gift." She asked looking for validation that she wasn't crazy.
"In a word, magic," she breathed a sigh of relief when I said the 'm' word, "When did you first realize something was different about you?"
"When I was like fifteen. I started being able to like know what people were going to say before they like said it, same thing with things too, like I saw this bowel fall last night like before it actually fell." She was really starting to 'like' get on my 'like nerves. "My friends thought I could read minds. Then I started being able to get things to come to me without touching them. They just appear in my hand, ya know?"
"Wow, when I said you have a rare gift, you have two with no training. The first, called clairvoyance, you know things are going to happen a few seconds you don't see them as visions, you just know." She nodded at my explanation, "the second is called transatrugy it's the ability to move things to you by just thinking."
"It's good to like know what's like finally going on. I was scared; I didn't like know what the fuck was going on for like three years. I've like tried to stop it but I can't." She said drying her tears with her sleeve.
"Here," I said reaching into my inside coat pocket, "take this," I said handing her a string of beads on a thin black thread, "whenever you feel your power getting stronger. Pull this out hold the top of it and try and move the beads one at a time to the top." She reluctantly took it.
"Something else I need to tell you," I said before she could interrupt, "there are rules for magic users. Only seven of them but if you break them you someone will throw a black bag over your head and cut it off."
"Geez, that's a little, like, dramatic." She said interrupting me.
"I know, but I need to warn you, whether you know it or not you were getting close to breaking one of them. There are only four you need to worry about for right now. Don't kill, don't read minds, don't try mind control, and no raising the dead. If you've done any of those let me know now so I can help."
"I tried reading your mind on Monday, I think." She admitted.
"Fortunately for you wizards don't have punishments for attempted crimes." I said smiling, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.
"What's going to happen now?" She asked.
"Well, you have a couple of options. You can either turn away from your gift, or we can find someone to teach you. Take as much time as you need. I'll be at school until the end of the year. Just let me know."
"I want to… ya know…like keep them." She said before I even had time to grab the handle of the car.
"Okay. I don't think you'll regret it. I wouldn't want to live without magic." I told her honestly.
"Will you be the one teaching me?" She asked hiding a blush.
I burst out in an earnest laugh, "God no, I'll help, but we need to find you someone a little more experienced than I am. As far as magic goes I'm just a novice" I said avoiding the obvious flirtation. After all I had a girlfriend now.
A look of obvious disappointment crept onto her brow, "oh."
"I promise it won't be a creepy old guy. I actually have someone in mind." I said trying to placate her.
"Who?" She asked excitedly.
"One of the few wizards I trust. She's in Portland I think. Her name is Alicia Harris; I think the two of you will get along."
"Wizard?" She said apprehensively.
"That's what I am, what you could be. It's just a word that's been used for, I dunno, three thousand-ish years." I explained.
"Okay," she said releasing a deep breath. "You said that you'd, like, answer any question right?" I nodded, "I have to know: what are the Cullens'? 'Cause I know that there not humans. They can't be."
"They're not. But I won't give up someone's secret. Just like I won't tell anyone what we just talked about." I said as I reached for the door handle. I got out of the car and turned back towards the school. If I hurried I should make it back by the end of lunch. I have to attempt to keep up the façade people in a small town have a tendency to talk, a lot. Talk ends up getting people hurt.
Jessica's car stayed by the side of the road for a while. At least until I was well out of the line of sight. I heard the engine turn over a few moments later. I didn't see the car when I got back to the gravel lot. I can't say I blamed the girl. It was a lot to take in; especially in only one day.
This way at least she could get her feet wet first before being pushed in to the deep end.
I got back to the school proper just in time to hear the lunch bell ring. Occasionally I do have good timing, not often – but it does happen. Alice was standing at the mouth to the school holding my messenger bag. "I'm glad it went well." She said with a small, musical laugh.
"Better than I expected, I guess." I admitted, "She took it better than I did. Of course she didn't almost kill a store full of people."
"C'mon we're going to be late to English." She said thrusting my bag into my chest. Wait 'we'!
"What do you mean by 'we'?" I asked trying to keep up with her.
"I had my schedule changed at lunch to match yours." She said like it should make perfect sense.
"It's a good thing I already like you." I said, "Or I would find this very creepy." I said opening the door for her. At least seeing Alice all day would make school go down a lot easier this time.
It worked the end of the day passed by so quick I had to take a double take to make sure. Rumors were flying around like it was high school. Oh wait… it is. The rumor was that Jasper had run off to find his biological parents or some other bullshit, and that Alice had taken a liking to me. I didn't pay any attention. Truth is far more exciting than fiction when it comes to me.
"I don't know how you do it." I sighed as I shut the door to her Porsche, "I'm barely making it through one repeat."
"Ya but you have a job and real things to do. When we go to school, that's our way of pretending to be human, pretending to be normal." Alice told me. "Besides it is fun to be the beautiful people everyone is jealous of."
"You're right. I didn't think of it like that." Alice put the car in gear and headed out the parking lot at a normal human speed. It didn't take long before she was flying down the roads at speeds normally reserved for supersonic jets. I didn't realize that, even with the way she drives that we would ever be the last ones anywhere. Turns out I was wrong.
We were the last one back to Castle Cullen. As much as I'm beginning to like these quote people unquote, I needed some alone time. I never thought that I would say that again after all I've been through these past few years.
Maybe I just needed to take a break from all my warden stuff. After all there's no problem that can't wake a week or two. That'll give me time to reconsider my standing with the world. "I think I'll take your advice." I said unfolding myself from her car. "I'm going to do the normal human thing for at least a week." I said slinging my bag over my shoulder.
"It doesn't look like the world is going to end if you do." She said leaning into me. "Trust me, I know these things." I started to walk around back to the hopefully still awaiting ladder. "Where are you going?" She said ushering me towards the garage door, "Esme spent the entire day making sure that the house was safe for you."
"You mean safe from me." I corrected. "Electronics don't bite me, I bite them."
"You know what I mean." She joked, "She felt bad that you had to stay locked up in my room."
We walked through the door, and were greeted by an intense rant coming from some other room. "C'mon, my boyfriend is a vampire, my best friend is a werewolf, and now Jessica's a wizard. Am I the only one in Forks who's just a normal person?"
"I'm glad I don't have to deal with that." I whispered into Alice's hair.
"Me too." She giggled back.
The two of us walked hand in hand into the living room. The same room where Bella's rant continued on. "There's nothing wrong with being a human." Edward said trying to placate her.
"Nothing? Nothing! Why does everyone around me get to be something special? But I don't!" Oh god this was going to get ugly
"It's okay Bells" Alice said suddenly appearing by Bella's side, "Just remember what I told you." Apparently those were the magic words. Bella relaxed immediately. So this is what it's like to be a regular human. Regular drama. No one dying, no mystical problems. Just plain old relationship headaches. I'm just going to pretend replace the word vampire with rich, werewolf, with really hairy, and wizard with bitch; and normal, with normal. I quietly chuckled to myself as I sat down in an armchair.
Edward looked over at me and gave me a slight nod. Apparently he approved of my new found mantra. One week of normalcy. Just what I needed.
With the current crisis adverted Alice curled up next to me, in the overly large arm chair.
"You know this normal thing is beginning to work for me." I said putting my arm around her shoulders.
A/N: I only have one thing to say about the current direction of this story…Everything happens for a reason. Trust me, I speak the truth.
As always, should your muse descend feel free to drop me a review or a PM, anonymous or signed I don't care.