The unknown

Chapter 13

POV Third person

Jayden woke up to find Chloe playing with a teddy bear beside him. As he shifted his position and sat up in bed, wrapped in blankets, Chloe looked up at him through her lashes and smiled. Her expression was so innocent and full of joy that he couldn't help but think how cute she was.

"Good morning,!" Chloe said, her voice bubbling with happiness.

"What's got you so happy?" Jayden asked, his voice thick with sleep, which he couldn't stand.

Chloe placed the bear on her lap and beamed. "Don't you know? We're going to cast the spell today! No more tired adventures, no more chaos."

Jayden's expression shifted to one of concern. "Why are you so happy about that? After this adventure, we'll be strangers again-all of us. Except for you and Melanie. But Blade will go back to Vanus, Gaia will do her royalty stuff, and I..." He paused, his voice faltering. "I'll look for work, try to scrape by, and buy an apartment."

Chloe's smile faded as she looked at him her eyes filled with worry. "What about school? Aren't you going to the same college as we are?"

Jayden sighed, the weight of reality heavy on his shoulders. "I need to drop out, Chloe. I don't have the money for that kind of stuff."

"No," Chloe whispered, tears welling up in her eyes as she realized they might never see each other again.

"I'm sorry," Jayden said getting out of the bed and walking up to the mirror to try and fix his hair. "There's no other way. besides it's not like we're never gonna see each other again."

"Melanie mentioned getting an apartment for the three of us. Isn't that a good idea? Please, don't leave," Chloe pleaded.

Jayden shook his head, frustration and guilt mixing in his chest. "I'd feel useless, Chloe. You two would be paying the rent, and what would I do?"

"Don't think of it that way!" Chloe said, a touch of annoyance creeping into her voice. "If you become a successful author, you'll be the one leaving us," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Being an author is a dream, not reality," Jayden replied, his voice heavy with doubt.

"So? Turn your dreams into reality. You could write about this adventure as a fantasy book," Chloe urged him, her eyes shining with determination. Trying to make him believe it can all come true. Chloe was a big dreamer, she could romanticize everything.

Literally.

Meanwhile, Jayden had to live in a rough world. He only says reality. He didn't have a chance to dream of anything.

Jayden smirked, trying to tease her. "How could I leave the majesty herself?"

"You're right," Chloe said, her tone playful now. "I'm going to pray for more adventures so we won't drift apart, and so you can write part two."

Jayden raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "You pray? I thought you didn't believe in any god?"

"Maybe I lied? You don't know" She teased back.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "Go shower, Your hair's greasy, and your breath stinks!"

Jayden laughed, leaning closer to blow his breath in her face just to mess with her. "This breath?"

"Go shower!" Chloe shrieked, laughing as she pushed him again.

He walks up to the bathroom as he says "Maybe I'll use your vanilla body scrub to smell good, you know? the one you insisted on bringing?" He then closed the door and Chloe her eyes widened.