The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 27 ~ Jamie

September 2, 2019

Soo... This week has been very eventful. We found out that Lilly is a light fairy, and Amelia has invisibility powers! Of course, Ella keeps teasing me about it. We were constantly debating what powers they had, before they told us. Anyway, nothing's official yet, but we have started meeting in a cave, underneath that waterfall, near the school, late at night. We talk about hybrid stuff, obviously... This is starting to sound like my original plan, which I'm liking! Ella is still a little hesitant, but she likes spending time with friends. And hey, it isn't like we're plotting to overthrow the government...yet...

     We left a little later that evening. We decided to meet every Friday and Saturday in the evening, as long as everyone else could. Of course I was going to be impatient all week, but it was the best we could do. We didn't have any plans for Sunday, other than finish up some homework, so once we were done with that I decided to call Jeff. He didn't answer. I sighed. "Ellaaa I'm bored," I complained loudly. My sister rolled her eyes. "Yeah," was all she said. "I feel like we can't be, though." I shrugged. "Well, we have to wait the whole week until we can meet up with our group again. Hey- what if we try to come up with a name? We need one!" I gasped, jumping up. "The Hybrids!" I joked. She rolled her eyes. "What about the Hybrid Legalization Society?" Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "That's waaaay too formal," I pointed out, and Ella simply shrugged. We went back and forth on names for a while, but neither of us could think of anything good. Eventually, we had to stop because Jake called me. "Hey Jake. What's up?" I asked. He seemed a little nervous. "I'm just worried about you- and Jeff." I frowned. "Oh?" I immediately felt bad for sounding defensive, but I was getting annoyed. First Ella, now my best friend? "I saw him getting in to his car with another girl," Jake explained, then I snapped. "Jake, you of all people should know that you can be friends. We're not dating, but we've hung out together alone!" "But-" Jake started to protest, but I interrupted him. "I think you're just jealous that I spend time with friends other than you. I'm sorry to tell you this, but things can change. I have more friends-" I cut myself off, almost dropping my phone out of shock when I realized what I was saying. "Oh... I'm sorry, Jamie," Jake whispered, clearly hurt. "I guess I'm not as important to you anymore. Um, I can go if you don't want to be friends anymore." I gasped. "No-" he hung up. "Ella," I called out to her. "I messed up bad. I need to go over to Jake's dorm, I'll be right back!" I raced out the door and down to Jake's. I knocked on the door urgently. Liam answered. "Hello? Jamie, what are you doing here?" He asked in confusion. "It's important. I need to talk to Jake," I rushed past him. Jake was sitting on his bed, and when he saw me, his eyes widened. Then he turned away. "Jamie, you don't have to apologize. I know it's true," he whispered. I flinched, but moved closer and sat down on the bed next to him. "No... I just snapped. I didn't mean any of that," I promised. "Jake, you're my best friend, and nothing can change that. Not having a boyfriend, not making new friends... not anything." Jake looked up at me, still skeptical. "I just feel like you two are drifting away from me. We barely talked at the skating rink, other than the incident with your parents," he whispered. I nodded. "I should have spoken to you more. We've just been going through a lot lately," I admitted, then paused. I held out my arms. "Hug?" He smiled and we hugged. "It's been a while since we've been alone together. Do you mind if I stay here for a little longer?" I asked. He shook his head. "No. In fact, that would be great."

~~~

It felt like we were in high school again. Laughing and playing cards together, on the floor of Jake's house. When I finally left, I felt so much better than I had before. Then I looked at my phone and saw that I had a missed call from Jeff. I was about to call back when I realized he had texted me.

We need to talk.

I shrugged in confusion, then texted back.

Ok. I'll go to your dorm.

     I made my way there, and when I went inside, Jeff was glaring at me. "Liam told me about you and Jake." I raised an eyebrow. "What about us?" I challenged. "That you were hanging out in his room." I nodded. "Yes. Friends do that often." Jeff scoffed. "Whatever." At that point, I was starting to get angry. "Jake told me about you hanging out with a girl. Is that not normal?" He paused for a moment. "Well... Jake may be jealous of us, so he may have told you-" I cut him off. "We're friends. You're being jealous." Jeff sighed. "Yeah... I suppose you're right. I'm... sorry." I smiled weakly. "Just... remember that, okay?" He nodded. Then I kissed him on the cheek. I drew back, but then he leaned down and kissed me on the lips, wrapping his hands around my waist. "I love you," he whispered. I smiled and said, "I love you too."