The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 24 ~ Jamie

     It was very late by the time we decided to leave. We stayed the entire time. "Do you think Ella's asleep by now?" I asked as we walked out to the parking lot. Christopher shrugged. "Well, do you guys want to hang out in one of our dorms for a bit?" There was a chorus of agreement. "Alright, I'll see if Ella's awake. I don't want to go to our dorm if she's sleeping, and I don't want her to miss out," I said. "And I'll make sure Thomas is awake," Christopher agreed, smiling. "Just in case, let's go to our dorm," Lilly suggested. "Yeah. Dave is probably with his girlfriend anyways," Jeff agreed. I nodded and texted Ella.

Hey, are you awake?

A few seconds later, she responded.

How could I not be after everything tonight? Are you even coming back?

We were going to hang out at Amelia and Lilly's dorm. Are you up for it?

I suppose.

     "Ella's coming," I told them. "Thomas as well," Christopher added. Jeff and I rode in the same car since Ella had left in the one we took. "So, how's your sister? Is she totally in love?" Jeff asked, smirking at me. I laughed. "Yeah. She totally is." He looked over to me for a moment and made eye contact. "What about you?" My eyes widened and I blushed. "Well, I- uh..." Jeff laughed. "I've never seen you at a loss for words," he said, and I smiled shyly. "I usually am good at this," I admitted. Maybe that's because it's more than just a crush? I thought. This isn't at all like the other people I've dated. I pushed my thoughts away. We pulled into the parking area. Neither of us moved. I was about to open the door, then Jeff spoke again. "You still haven't answered my question." I paused, then looked back at him. My impulses seemed to take over, and I leaned forward and kissed him. When I pulled away, I said with a smile on my face, "is that a good answer for you?"

~~~

     Ella was already at the dorm when we got there. "Hey!" I greeted. "Hi." She still looked a little emotional, but that made sense. I was thinking about what had happened only minutes earlier, but I doubted I would stop soon. Jeff was holding my hand as we walked into Amelia and Lilly's room. We sat down on the floor and just talked. We didn't play any board games this time, since we were pretty exhausted. We decided it was time to go back when Lilly and Amelia passed out on the couch. "Bye Jamie," Jeff said as he moved to go to his dorm, letting go of my hand. I paused, then whispered, "bye." The two of us didn't move for a moment, then he kissed me on the cheek. He turned and walked away. "Looks like I'm not the only one who had an interesting night," Ella muttered as we went back to our room. I chuckled. "Hey. I'm not the one with the enemies to lovers romance going on," I joked. She blushed. "We are not going to be lovers," She protested. I rolled my eyes but didn't respond. The two of us passed out the moment we hit our beds. It was probably around three in the morning, after all.

~~~

     The next day all my problems hit me like a truck. The moment I looked at my phone I was reminded of my parents. I wanted to call them so bad. But they would never answer. At least we didn't have school to think about on top of that. Ella, on the other hand, loved distracting herself when she was upset. "Alright, Jamie. Today we have to do something other than sit around all day," She stated. I rolled my eyes. "We could spend time with friends," I suggested. "Exactly, but we have work to do too. I know it's dangerous, but I want to find out if Amelia and Lilly have magic like we thought." I was about to speak, but she cut me off. "Yes, I said that we shouldn't because of our parents' problems. I need to know, though." I couldn't argue with her. I wanted to know too. "So... is project Make Hybrids Legal back on?" I asked with a sly smile on my face. Ella rolled her eyes. "We are not calling it that. And no, I'm not saying we're going to make it official. I just want... someone like us to..." her voice trailed off and I nodded solemnly. "I know." We paused for a moment, then got up. "So how are we doing this, exactly?" I asked. Ella bit her lip. "First we ask them about their opinions on hybrids, like we tried to before. Try to sound like you don't really care about it, either." I paused. "Wait. I might have an idea for how to make it sound innocent. What if we tell them that the people who caused our parents' car to crash were being accused of having magic?" I suggested. Ella nodded slowly. "That could actually work," she agreed. "Let's ask if we can hang out at their dorm."

~~~

     We started out slow. Just talking and laughing. Then we moved to a darker subject. "So you know how Jake and I were talking?" I started. Lilly and Amelia nodded. I explained the fake situation to them, excluding the magic part. "Oh... I'm so sorry that happened," Lilly whispered. "It must be hard." I sighed. "And the whole thing is getting worse. Apparently, the person who hit them might have magic. That's what the police are saying, anyways," I muttered. Amelia's face fell very quickly. Lilly's expression stayed neutral. "I think the whole thing is kind of stupid if you ask me," I added. Amelia looked surprised for a moment. "I mean, hybrids are- uh..." her voice trailed off and she looked at Lilly nervously. "Oh, not saying there's anything wrong with hybrids," Ella added. "Yeah. I don't think it matters whether they have magic or not. They hit our parents' car." Lilly nodded. "I know some people also like to make them out to be the bad ones." We all paused for a moment. "Yeah. Maybe they have absolutely no evidence at all that the person is a hybrid and they just want to blame it on them," Ella muttered. There was more silence, then I shrugged. "Well, whatever happens, at least we know our parents are alright. They're doing better already," I lied. Lilly smiled softly. "That's good." Ella and I shared a look. For all we knew, they could end up being found by the Hybrid Hunters again. Ella decided to talk to me in my mind. I think they're hybrids. Did you see Amelia's face? I thought back to her. She did seem like she knew more than she thought we knew. Yeah. So what now? Ella didn't respond for a few moments. I don't think now's the time. Who knows who could be listening? We have to be careful every step of the way. She was right, of course. We'll find a time.