All For Not

Page 32

If you've been reading this book lately, I re-wrote some of page 31 on feb 4, that's all :)

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The coffee shop was bleak, and everything in the back, every single coffee bean, that had been stored was too high to reach. With a depressing sigh, I walked out of the back, "Galpin." He motioned towards Xavier who stood wiping down a table a few spaces ahead of me, Tyler quickly rushing as he spilt coffee all over himself and ran to clean up, leaving me with no choice but to follow his gesture. I blinked a few times before stepping forward to speak to the 'tortured' artist.

"Xavier, could you-" he interrupted me swiftly, "sorry I can't right now," Pausing I looked, unsure of what to do now that he spoke with such a tone, he side eyed me speaking again, "I'm busy, go talk to Galpin." I spoke to him calmly and collected, not phasing myself for his viewment, "if you don't wish to be around me there's no need to pretend you're too busy to listen to a question or any other way," I walked back towards the counter, seeing an overflowing cup of hot espresso, He stood for a moment before following me to the counter, as I stood behind it, tampering with the machine to stop it. He paused, brows knitted together as he frowned, "what are you talking about?" I spoke as usual, not really caring for the time being taken away from my task, "you've been avoiding me, and your tone suggests many a thing," he tightened his jaw speaking in turn as he ran his hand through his hair, "I wanted to talk to you but when you got out of the infirmary I couldn't think of how to. I swear, I really did want to, but then it was awkward, so I didn't," nodding I contemplated it as he stood watching me, "did you see what happened, in the water? Is that why?" His head shook, he was lost with what I was talking about, "I didn't see anything, and I'm not mad at you and I don't wanna stay away from you either."

"I see, then I'm sorry," he stood, watching, waiting as he gave a single nod, "I was only coming to ask for some help grabbing an espresso canister," he scoffed, "don't be like that," I frowned looking up at him as he rounded the counter, "like what?"

"Indifferent, sorry, you didn't do anything wrong, I don't, want you to act like that, to be like that..." I contemplated his words, confusing but understandable at the same time, "and how exactly, what exactly do you want me to be then?"

"You could be my muse," he chuckled and paused, shocked with his own words as I stilled, the boiling hot coffee almost spilling from the cup, "actually, would you? I mean, maybe I could, you know, maybe paint you some time..." Swallowing I blinked back into the current moment, his words an interestingly pleasant sear in my brain, "paint me?" I looked up at him, a new light to his demeanor and not just the coffee shop light fixture giving him a halo behind his head, "yeah..."

I stood, hesitating but not in the way he thought, in a way were I wondered if I should ask him a question in return with my answer, "I," I turned away, back to the counter as I set the cup down, his aura becoming saddened as he slid back the slightest bit, "I, I'm not very good at sitting still for long periods of time," his brows furrowed and he took it as a rejection of sorts, until I spoke up again finishing my sentence, "I wouldn't say no to practice in the category, if maybe you'd let me sculpt your hands in return? Thing, prefers to not get close to clay... he once got some under his nails."

It was an awkward tone I used, a fluttering voice to accompany it as my nervousness took my voice in its control. Xavier on the other hand took my position and stilled, his face no longer crest fallen but mildly shocked; until it wasn't. "Deal," my lips tugged slightly just as the steamy coffee spilled onto my hand, the warmth a welcoming heat to my constantly chilled body, "shit your hand, here," Tyler appeared from the back, only to catch the sight just in time and begin shoving a rag over my hand as my brows knitted together and my small forming smile dropped. He grabbed the rim of the cup, picking it up with a single hand and pulling it away, "shit are you okay?" Xavier had no jealousy in his voice, only holding concern as he rushed over, Tyler moving away with the cup to toss into the sink, a waste.

Hands grasped my own and the towel was pulled back under scrutinizing eyes, my own flickering up to Xavier's face, "I'm, I'm okay... I swear..." He looked up at my face, catching my eyes with his own, an emotion fading over his face replacing itself with something new.

"That day at the lake, during the race. I'm sorry about Kent, how he did that to you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay but with the constant watch of the nurses I wasn't able to come see you, and when I did it was because you and Wednesday snuck into the library, it's just I, I wanna know, are you okay? Like really okay, not some fake thing to hide something like principal Weems and the nurses were, they were practically like hawks watching over you, not even Wednesday or Enid were let inside to see you..." I swallowed, owlishly blinking up at him, surprised by the level of concern very few had shown me, "I, I'm okay now," turning away I averted my gaze, "something happened with my amulet when I went under, I panicked and it set the magic off. I went hypothermic really quick as it backfired, they had to call a specialist to make sure... Principal Weems said that it was like I was dead or almost there, but because my species isn't really a knowledgeable subject, they had to make sure..."

"You almost died?" My eyes shot up to his and I could see the guilty panic setting in across his features, "no, no, I, it's hard to explain... the magic the amulet was made with, it attacked me," playing with my hands I continued, my thumb rubbing my palm with anxiety, "it was almost like it was electrocuting me from the inside, and I don't fare well without heat so it started to freeze me... they had me wrapped up in heated blankets for three days with standing heaters surrounding the bed."

"As you can see, I'm still being monitored," his eyes shifted over towards the tall woman and nodded before he looked back down at me, "too scared to let me out of their sight."

"Yeah I would be too..."