Hollow Hearts

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Elijah

I'm a little embarrassed to admit, that it took Cole and I seven rounds of having our asses handed to us in laser tag, before finally catching on that the girls were cheating.

"You never said we weren't allowed to use powers," Paige says. "And nobody was stopping you from using yours either."

"Yeah, because healing powers and watching past memories would have been way helpful against an oracle who can see our next move and a ghost telling you our location," Cole complains.

"You could have had Eli burn holes in the walls and then heal any boo-boos that may have resulted from falling rumble or third degree burns," Alice says to him.

"You are both hilarious," Cole grumbles causing the girls snicker at his sour mood. "Next time we are playing air hockey."

Paige and Alice can no longer control their laughter and Cole watches them walk out of the arcade with a confused expression.

"I thought you were the smart one," I sigh while giving my brother a clap on the back. "Air hockey, Cole? Against Alice?"

I watch him connect the dots and slap himself on the forehead. "I'm never going to win anything ever again, am I?"

"Against those two? No, probably not," I smirk.

Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω Ω

Driving back to the hotel, we pass a place that has a sign advertising Friday open mic night. Naturally, Cole is itching to go. I much rather spend my time alone with Alice, but she seems just as excited to go as Cole is, declaring that she would love to hear him play. Though, by the conspiratorial look she shares with my brother, I have a feeling it's mostly for Paige's benefit.

We stop by the hotel first so Cole can get his guitar and the girls can change into 'going out clothes' before we head to the venue. And being the first one ready to go since I didn't require a wardrobe change or the need to gather equipment of any kind, I wait out in the hall for the others. I prepare myself to be waiting for quite a while, when surprisingly, it only takes Alice about five minutes before she is joining me out in the hall.

"Do you always look so incredibly stunning?" I ask as she comes of her room. She didn't even do much to change her look. She had on the same jeans and her chucks, and it didn't seem like she added any makeup to her face. She seems to like keeping it minimal. The only thing she seems to have changed was now her gorgeous auburn hair was down and framed around her face. And her plaid shirt from earlier was now gone leaving her in just the black, low cut undershirt. It was sleeveless and I worry that she might get cold despite the leather jacked thrown over her arm.

"Seriously, Alice," I continue, "I have seen you in pajamas while just waking up with bed head, all the way to this. And every single time, I find that you are the most beautiful person to ever exist.

"You shouldn't say those kinds of things to me," she says while pulling her arms through her jacket.

"Why not?" I ask confused.

She walks closer and looks up at me with those big blue eyes of hers. "Because you are going to make me fall for you," she says.

I watch her eyes lower to my mouth and I know she is thinking about kissing me. I slowly close the distance between us, not wanting to scare her away again. When she stays put, I place one hand on the side of her face and wait to see if we will be sucked into another vision. For the first time I am relieved when none comes. As much as I enjoy seeing memories of all the times I got to love her, I didn't want to ruin this current memory I was trying to make.