"You haven't really answered my question, though... If you're a magician, what's your specialty?" Jack asked. The three of them were now sitting on plastic chairs, waiting for Henley and Daniel to return.
"It's hard to explain," she said after a while.
"Oh. Oh, I see now!" Merritt exclaimed suddenly. "That's cool."
"Not cool, Merritt," Jack said, rolling his eyes.
"What? I couldn't help it. Not now, since our minds suddenly understand each other," he said, winking at Kait. She smiled sweetly at him.
"No."
Merritt threw up his hands. "Well, a guy can try."
"Can everyone please stop changing the subject?" Jack demanded. "What. Do. You. Specialize in?!"
Kait smiled at him. "I think it's better if I show you," she said, and reached down to unzip her right boot. Hidden neatly just behind her calf and underneath the leather boot, was a pack of cards.
"Card magic?" Jack said, clearly surprised. He had taken her for an illusionist kind of person.
"You could say that," she said, and shuffled the cards expertly in her hand. "I do card magic, but what I'm most skilled in is..." Suddenly she flipped open a card, the Queen of Diamonds, picked it up with her thumb, index, and middle finger, and threw it - like a shuriken, towards a poster of someone named The Anchorman, which was on the wall opposite then. The corner of the card stuck right in the middle of The Anchorman's eyes. "That."
Jack and Merritt's mouths dropped open. Even though Jack could basically do the same thing, it was clear that this skill of hers was her specialty. She smiled, shrugged at them, and continued to throw the cards, like darts, at the Anchorman poster, successfully hitting him in all of his (supposed) vital organs. (It was a full-body poster)
Both had to admit that Kait was a better marksman than Jack was. He let out a low whistle. "Nice." He turned his head to whisper to Merritt. "That wall has to be like 15 feet away."
"Something like that," Merritt said, nodding appreciatively.
"And they're stuck there. So let's assume she can fling cards into a concrete wall."
"Impressive."
"Thank you," she said, and smiled. "Now for my card magic." She shoved the deck of cards in Jack's direction. "Pick a card, any card," she said teasingly.
"But that deck's still incomplete, you threw what, like ten cards at the..." Jack's voice trailed off as he noticed the lack of cards on The Anchorman poster. "Holy shit."
"You know, it takes a lot to impress us," Merritt said, clapping slowly. "You've impressed us."
She winked at Jack, who just stared at her in awe. "Alright, let's see what else you've got," he mused to himself, and reached out for a card somewhere near the bottom of the deck. Flipping it over and making sure she couldn't see, he snuck a look at his card. The six of Hearts. "Okay..."
"Now, slip it back into the deck. Wherever you want it to be, just not at the very top." He obliged, by slipping the card back somewhere in the middle. She stepped back. "Okay." And then, facing in another direction, she threw the cards up into the air, scattering them around her. In rapid yet fluid motions, she plucked one card out of the air, and threw that card upwards, pinning one card on the ceiling as the others fluttered to the floor.
Not bothering to pick those other cards up, Kait, Jack, and Merritt looked up at the ceiling. "So, Mr. Wilder, is that your card?"
He merely smiled in amazement at the brilliance of it all.
Pinned to the ceiling by the Ace of Spades, was the six of Hearts.
(*)
"Thaddeus is out of prison? What? How?" Henley asked, as Daniel looked more than a bit troubled by the news.
He sighed. "There was some kind of legalities involved. Rhodes didn't want to talk about all of it on the phone, but the thing is, Thaddeus just walked out of prison this afternoon."
"But that isn't our problem anymore, right? I mean, Rhodes told us that he told Thaddeus that it was all him-" Henley gasped. "What is it gonna do to Rhodes?"
"He didn't say." Daniel, despite all of his arrogance, looked actually a bit shaken up. "But Rhodes said that the way Thaddeus looked at him before he walked out... It looked totally creepy. I think he's gonna try something." He sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Rhodes is actually on his way here, now. Wants to talk to us."
"Did he..." Henley's voice faltered. She knew it wasn't the right time to ask.
However, Daniel knew what she was going to say. "No, he said nothing about us being safe."
Henley looked like she was about to burst, but she just sighed, and let out a weak laugh. "I hope it's soon... I miss my red hair!" she exclaimed.
Daniel smiled at her weakly, and then hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go tell Merritt and Jack."
The two walked back, and were able to experience Kait's last card trick. Both were as amazed as Merritt and Jack were. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Henley asked.
"She's... Okay."
"Oh, come on, Danny, you know that was cool."
"Meh."
She punched his shoulder. "Stop being mean!" she exclaimed, knowing he was just too arrogant and hard-headed to admit that he was actually impressed by Kait's card trick. "Admit it, you actually thought it was cool."
Before Daniel could say anything else, someone called out. "Hey, you two, making out in dark corners is doing nothing to your claims of being 'nothing'." Merritt winked at the two of them, while the two younger magicians had a delayed reaction to Daniel and Henley's arrival.
"Wait, they were making out and I missed it?" Jack groaned. "Damn it, Merritt!"
"We weren't making out," Henley shot back, as she walked towards them, leaving Daniel in the dark. "Nice trick there, Kait!"
Kait smiled tightly, but didn't reply. Her eyes were on Daniel, a mix of thinly disguised disgust and rage. "You."
"Oh, it looks like you know our friend Danny, here," Merritt said lazily, but by the way his eyes were shining, everyone knew he could tell what was on Kait's mind.
"Believe me, I know him much more than I'd like to."
She stepped away from Jack, and advanced slowly towards the illusionist, who was looking at her, very confused. Apparently, it looked like he had no idea what his sin towards Kait even was. "I'm sorry. You must have me confused with someone else."
"No, I don't, Jonathan Daniel Atlas," she said threateningly, stepping towards him. Daniel, who hadn't seen her show of marksmanship with cards earlier, wasn't sensing any danger from her. But Jack and Merritt were both looking at the two cards she held in her right hand. "You bastard!"
"Whoa, there," he said, backing up. "What is your problem?" He paused. "Wait. Why do you know my first name is Jonathan?"
"Yeah, even we didn't know that his first name was Jonathan," Henley said, looking amused. The first tendrils of fear were starting to show in Daniel's face, and everyone was enjoying this, whatever it was.
"Looks like we're gonna have to start calling you Johnny from now on," Merritt drawled.
"Quit it," Daniel muttered.
"You don't even remember, do you?" she asked, now that she was only a couple steps away. "Well, then, why don't you just sit there or a second and try to recall how many girls you've told your full name to."
"Wait, you guys were involved?" Jack sputtered out. Henley looked just as shocked. "You and Danny-"
"No," she said shortly. "Someone I held very close to my heart had her heart destroyed by you, Atlas."
"She likes italicizing her words, doesn't she?" Merritt asked Jack.
Suddenly, it looked like Daniel got it. "Oh, shit." He stared at her, as if seeing her in a new light. "You're the roommate."
"Oh, you got it," she snapped. "You came into her life and you dazzled her with your promises, your eyes, and your 'devastatingly' good looks," she snarled. "Or should I say, your illusions."
Jack noticed her hand tighten slowly around her cards, and he remembered that there was nothing scarier than a best friend after the break up - especially when the best friend in question had mastered some sort of way to hurt people. He closed the distance between them, and wrapped arms around her waist. "Hold on, you look like you're about to kill somebody," he said, and he felt her struggle against him.
"Let me go, Jack!"
"Just tell us what happened," he said, wondering what had happened between Daniel and her best friend. She glared at Daniel, who was trying to slowly slip away from her stare. "Erika," she spat out. "Ring a bell?"
He winced. "Of course it does."
"Yeah, tell us the story, Kait," Henley said slowly, looking interested.
Kait bit her lip, and sighed. "Two years ago, I lived in Las Vegas. I roomed with Erika. She became a really, really good friend. Like an older sister. We went to watch one of your shows. She was like, practically worshiping you by this time. No arrogant ass comments out of you or I swear, I will slice your eyebrows off." She noticed him about to open his mouth. "She wouldn't shut up about you, because you were so good at magic, and 'oh, his eyes are so troubled and romantic'," she said, rolling his eyes.
"Let me guess, for you, his eyes aren't 'troubled and romantic'," Merritt butted in. She glared at him, and he smirked.
"And then, she finally had the guts to talk to you. She approached you. Don't remember?" she said, challenging him. "Tell me you at least remember that."
It was getting very heated in the room, and Jack wondered why she had never mentioned that she had this unending vendetta against Daniel. His arms were still wrapped around her waist, and once or twice during her little speech, she had tried breaking free of his arms. He had no doubt that if he hadn't been holding her in place, she would have slapped Daniel on the face.
Twice.
He wondered what Daniel had done to this "Erika" girl. It was no secret that Daniel had girls on his left and right, but Kait was acting like he had just killed a person. "I remember," Daniel said, slowly. "Starbucks. I was just sitting there, and she sat down in front of me."
Her eyes, if possible, softened, if even by just a little bit. "Yeah. Starbucks." She let out a long breath. "And the two of you talked for-"
"Four hours," he said, a half-smile on his face. "And after that, we met every other day at that Starbucks, just to talk."
"I thought you'd forgotten," she admitted, and Jack finally let go of her waist, knowing she had calmed down. "It seemed like you did." Her tone became challenging again, and Jack wondered if he needed to hug her again.
Because he had honestly enjoyed that. Merritt shot a knowing look in Jack's direction, and smiled knowingly. Jack made a rude gesture at the older Horseman, and stepped away, sure that his ears, or some other part of his face had turned red.
"It's... Complicated," Daniel said, actually looking remorseful. "I know you won't believe me, but there was something I needed to do."
The other three Horsemen looked at him in surprise, and Henley did the math. Two years... So that would mean around the time the four of them had been called together. He nodded slightly, and Henley knew she had guessed correctly. Kait frowned, and then let out a loud sigh. "Fine. For all it's worth, I'm sorry for treating you so rudely on our first meeting," she said stiffly, but also with resignment. "I just... I need some air-" she muttered to herself, and turned around, nearly bumping into Jack.
"Whoa. Sorry," he said, and tried to smile at her. "Look, I'll walk with you. I did promise you coffee, remember?"
She smiled faintly. "I'd like that," she said, and looked up at him. She paused, though, and before anyone could move, she turned back around and faced Daniel, and threw the two cards at him.
Daniel had closed his eyes as a reflex when he saw her turn around and throw the cards at him, and he had actually almost thought - childishly, might he add, that that was it for him. He opened his eyes slowly, not feeling any pain anywhere on his body, and slowly opened his eyes. He saw mixed expressions on everyone's faces; Henley's was one of complete shock, Jack looked somewhere in the middle of awe and horror, Merritt looked positively gleeful, and Kait's eyes were calm, focused, and clear.
It was then that he noticed that he couldn't see anything if he turned his eyes to the left or right.
She had trapped his head in between two of her cards, as they stuck into the wall right next to his ears. "Wha-What was that for?" Daniel asked, slowly stepping away from the wall.
"Henley. I see how you look at her. You break her heart..." she narrowed her eyes. "And I won't miss your eyes."
(*)
Jack howled with laughter as the two of them exited backstage. Henley had given Kait a high-five on the way out, eyes sparkling with glee, and Merritt had made her promise that it wouldn't be the last time she saw them. "I've never seen Danny speechless before!"
Her smile was slow, and tiny. "I think I was a bit too hard on him."
"You were perfect!" Jack exclaimed, and grinned. "I swear, Danny was asking for it anyway, he gets away with it too often. And I think Hen's in love with you."
She giggled. "I think I probably scared Danny away from her."
"Nah, he deserved a little butt-kicking," Jack assured you. "He looked like he thought he was going to die!" The two of them started laughing again, Jack realizing how pretty she looked when she laughed. They reached the door, and he opened it for her. She smiled warily at him.
"This show of gentlemanship..." she said, leaving the statement unfinished.
"I open doors for ladies," Jack said. "I did it for you in the coffee shop, remember?"
She had a faint smile on her face. "Yeah... Okay."
(*)
The two of them then proceeded to the coffee shop, laughing about random things, and of course, their trademark sleight-stealing thing. By the time they had reached the coffee shop, Kait's beanie was on Jack's head, and her deck of cards was in his hand, while she (again) had his watch and his wallet. "Are we ever going to get tired of this?" she asked him.
An unspoken agreement went between them, and Jack went to order for her, while she looked for a seat. As she waited for him to come back, she foolishly wondered to herself if this was a date. He's actually really, really, handsome, she thought to herself as her eyes wandered over, noticing how the shirt he wore clung to his back, showing his well defined body, and his arms... She blushed, and busied herself with ripping open a pack of sugar that was on the table, and making shapes with it. Jesus, Kait, you're acting like a high schooler again.
She was just starting to work on forming a heart out of sugar when Jack approached, a smile on his face, and two mugs in one hand, and a plate of two chocolate chip cookies in the other. "Merritt said the chocolate chip cookies were to die for."
"You should have called me," she said, surprised. "I could have helped you-"
"Oh, I did, but you were too busy spelling out your name in sugar that I couldn't bear to drag you away from your hard work." He saw the horrified look on her face and he laughed. "I was kidding," he said, and put down their mugs. "Of course I'll bring these myself."
"Right," she muttered. "Thank you," she said, and reached for her wallet. "So, uh, how much do I owe you-"
He waved his hand dismissively. "It's on me. I promised to buy you a drink, but apparently you don't drink. So, we're here." He gestured grandly, and she couldn't help but smile as she put her wallet back into her bag. He's so nice...
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me," he said, taking a sip of his latte. "There's going to be plenty more of this, so you better get used to it." He winked at her before setting down his mug.
Now, she was sure she was red. "Um... Er-"
He looked at her, amused. "Did you think I'd only be buying you a drink once?" She didn't respond at first. "And besides, Hen and Merritt are gonna kill me if they don't see you at least twice a week."
Before she could reply, the door to the coffee shop opened, and Jack could see easily over Kait's shoulder to see who had just come in. He blinked, surprised, and she turned around to see who had shocked him so much. A man, disheveled, graying hair and a face that looked like it hadn't been shaved for at least two weeks came in.
"Rhodes," Jack said in a low voice, as he approached the duo.
"Nice to see you again, Jack," Dylan Rhodes said, after coughing a bit. "Sorry to cut this short, but could you please move outside?"
Kait had thought this Rhodes guy was speaking to her, and she was about to retort to him about how absolutely rude that sounded, but as she turned up to face him, she realized he was talking to Jack.
Jack seemed as surprised as she did. "What?"
Rhodes finally looked at Kait, and smiled tightly at her. "Miss Lawson, I have a proposition for you."
(*)
Chapter 3 done!
Anyways guys, if you were wondering why the names of my chapters are songs, they were the songs I used mostly for inspiration in the chapter.
Thanks for favoriting and reviewing! :)