leap of faith (Completed)

chapter 13

                    Evyana tried her best to seem calm, she smiled a smile Adrian could tell was fake , and Theo? Theo had seen her smile that smile countless times before , a smile she’d practiced in front of the mirror after she’d cried and had to pretend to be ok.

            He wanted more than anything to embrace her and tell her she didn’t need to be strong , but he wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate. It broke his heart that she was right there and yet he couldn’t comfort her.

           “ So , let’s try , try to think about Eirlys, maybe it could work?” she suggested , her voice shaky.

      

        “ Right now? “ Theo looked at her, his eyes radiated hurt and his voice almost defeated.

        “ Yeah , you ………aren’t you eager to get back to your life?” she said forcing herself to be cheery but she fooled no one.

                            “ Yeah! Very!” he said faking enthusiasm it seemed more like mockery to Adrian though.

         They’re both idiots he thought to himself , he did feel like an outsider but he was pretty sure, this would’ve not gone any other way even if he hadn’t been here, because he knew Ana was practically dumb when it came to accessing somebody’s feelings towards her , Theo knew her , but he seemed hurt and too overwhelmed by the situation to even manage to be understanding. Adrian could tell he’d have to spell it out for those two and they’d still be unsure.

                   “ Hey we aren’t even sure if there’s any magic left.” Adrian added , he knew what he was suggesting was a strong possibility , which the other two had ignored , in favor of their pining any one with eyes could see they just needed to talk it out , or kiss it out knowing Ana it’ll be the former .

           He decided he’d give them more time alone starting tomorrow , and he was pretty sure the idea to open the portal right now wouldn’t work , so he’d have to get started on research. Hanging out with Ana had made him think like her too.

          Theo walked away from both of them , and stood in the middle of the room , he closed his eyes , his posture straight , his expressions blank . Adrian and Evyana waited with bated breaths few minutes passed and nothing happened, Theo was still there.  It’d have been wild if he just disappeared.

                  “ Ok so, now that’s out of the way , you two can stop moping and try to bask in this while it lasts as we search for a way to get him back. Yeah?” Adrian finished his rant looking at the other two, his eyes seemed like they’d pop off from their sockets , he was the picture of frustration .

                   Theo and Evyana seemed to ignore each others eyes for now , but Adrian knew it wouldn’t last . Those two would suffocate if they didn’t look at the other for more than five minutes , Adrian knew it was way too quick and they’d just met, but even he could see , that the connection they had ran deeper , he knew the dreams played a part , but those two , still chose to fall for each other.

     “ I just ate but I guess you haven’t .” he addressed Ana.

      She didn’t answer so he knew he’d assumed correctly “I’ll get started with dinner then” he announced as he headed down stairs.

     Evyana and Theo stood awkwardly in her room , neither knowing what to say . “ I should head downstairs too, help him with the cooking.” Evyana broke the silence , ofcourse it’d be her he wanted to talk to her, get this stage past them , but he couldn’t and just watched as she headed down stairs .

                 Ana narrated the history of Eirlys to Adrian as they cooked ,
“Damn the betrayal might’ve stung and I wonder about the magic, he used , you know? Why would he even do that, knowing the consequences and that his own life was at stake.” Adrian mused he’d always liked a good story and this time, he felt like they were somehow a part of it, Ana more so than him, but they’d been like a package deal , if she was involved then by default , so was he.
        

        “ The whole of Eirlys was at stake, and I think somewhere, he felt like it was his fault too. The betrayal , came from his closest friend and it was personal, he didn’t even see it coming , so I guess he’d just gotten desperate. You know, sometimes guilt makes people so desperate that they could do nothing but focus on undoing the mistake , they just turn blind towards the consequences.” Adrian just stared as she spoke, she did make sense of course , it sometimes still surprised him how different they were , he more practical and she more attuned to people’s feelings, and yet they were best friends , sure they had their fair share of fall outs , but had always come back stronger.

             “ He did what he had to , and in the greater scheme of things , if it saved everyone else , I assume he thought his sacrifice was imperative.”  she looked at him to see if he agreed , he looked lost in thought , then his face broke into a smile .

                         " Well maybe, but we can always count on you to explain the perspective of a dead king from another world.” He chuckled , Ana couldn’t help it she did too as she punched him on the shoulder. This was the best part of their friendship they could switch from contemplating serious topics to light hearted jokes within seconds. 

“What do you think of him?” Ana asked , her tone contemplative again.

“ Hmm?” Adrian really wasn’t sure , who she was referring to here.

“Theo!” she rolled her eyes as if it should’ve been obvious, they’d hardly ever discussed a guy seriously , there had never been anyone as significant as Theo either , so this was uncharted territory for Adrian.

"Honestly Ana? I don’t even know if I could weigh in, what you both have, it’s something you can’t explain , and you being you, are obviously cautious, and he knowing you, seems to respect that , I see the way he looks at you Ana , like you’re the one adding stars to the sky.” They both smiled at that , “Talk to him , you’ve found yourselves in a situation that’s completely unpredictable , cherish it while it lasts.” He told her.

              Ana partially agreed with him, but it wasn’t easy for her to let go of her inhibitions and just embrace what was in front of her, she was scared , but she realized if any one was worth it, it was him and she’d try .

Adrian went upstairs to get Theo for dinner , which they had in peace , and then decided to just mindlessly watch a movie , to wind back from the days events , Evyana had to go to work tomorrow and they decided Adrian and Theo would accompany her, they’d do some research in the library , see if they could scour something regarding magic or anything close.