Wizards: Tales Of Arcadia

Notes of Discomfort

(A/N: So in case you haven't guessed, Angel is me. Her backstory is mine, save for being 30 and the caveat of magical powers. So some triggers and reactions are different, but it's still mostly what I would do. Also, I'm 18 at the time of writing this.)

"Hey," Claire greeted as they entered the auditorium, which was just the gym with a stage and chairs set up like an auditorium.

"Dah!" She yelled as she jumped away then sighed in relief when she saw who I was. "Oh. Clarie. It's just you." It had been a few days since her breakdown in the forest with Douxie (now Monday afternoon) and she was still a little jumpy.

"Yeah, it's just me. What's got you all jumpy?" Claire was both suspicious and joking at the same time, crossing her arms and staring at her. Thankfully, Angel was spared having to answer. Unfortunately, it was because of Steve.

"Ladies," he whistled when he spoke. Apparently, Angel's mental health day caused her to miss Jim punching Steve. She was both glad and upset that she had missed it. Moreso upset as Steve put his arms around the both of them. "What do you think about the Palchuk joining your play about Roby and July?"

"I think that if you don't let me go in the next 20 seconds, you won't be able to breathe for the next 30," Angel threatened. She may look 18, but she had been around for over 30. She wasn't taking anything from anyone, especially not this high school jerk.

"And it's not Roby and July," Claire said as she pushed away. Angel followed suit. "It's Romeo and Juliet."

"Like it matters," he scoffed, pushing past them. Moving on to other game.

"Is it bad that I'm wishing Jim had done more to Steve?" Angel muttered as she reluctantly followed him. Claire muttered that she was wondering the same thing. But to not tell Jim that.

Jim didn't show up until it was almost over, bursting in just as Steve came out on his cue. Angel winced from her spot behind the curtains as he tried his best to undo the disturbance. He'd done this so often that he now only got a few glances his way before they went back to business as usual.

"Of all the people to be my understudy, why does it have to be him?" Jim asked to no one in particular.

"Claire did say that we were having a hard time getting guys to audition," she answered. He started but didn't jump in full. Guess he had a better reaction to Bular than her.

"But still, him?" Angel chuckled as she began closing the curtain.

"Trust me, I'm with you. I'd give anything to have seen you punch him and knock him down a peg."

"I'm actually starting to regret that," he chuckled humorlessly. Angel didn't have to ask because Steve came by and pointedly made a 'tick tock' sound and motion with his fingers. Angel just rolled her eyes as she hid a smile.

If only he knew what kind of training Jim was getting.

. . .

Douxie liked the bookstore ten times more than working at Benoit's French Bistro. The people who worked there were nice, if not constantly teasing him, he got to take food home at the end of the night sometimes, and a good amount of his regulars were nice to him and tipped nicely.

But the ones who were overly picky and self assured grated on his nerves. They either left without paying, refused to leave without a refund, or worst case scenario, had to have the police called in on them. So many times Douxie was very tempted to use magic on them just to shut them up.