The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 63 ~ Jamie

     I sat down with Chris on the couch. Ella and Thomas were close together, and I smiled. They were very clearly in love. For a moment I wished I had love like that. I looked over at Chris. "Too bad we can't post on social media anymore," I said. He looked a little sad. "Yeah. Too bad." I liked hanging out with him. Even if it was just to fake a relationship. I noticed how close we were and I flushed, looking away. For a moment I caught Ella's eye. You comfy? She sent. I blushed even more. Shut up. Chris and Thomas were looking between us in confusion. "Ohhh right, we should probably explain the telepathy thing," I said. "The WHAT?" Thomas shouted, sitting up straighter. I explained it, grinning at his reaction. Then I paused. "Has anyone seen where Amelia and Lilly went?" I asked. Thomas shook his head. "I think they left a bit ago." I shrugged. "They probably went up to the room to sleep." Chris nodded. "Yeah." We stayed on the couch for a while, talking quietly. "Well, I'm going to test out the beds," Thomas said, getting up. "Just to make sure they're, you know, safe." Ella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like the bed's going to explode when you sit down on it." He simply grinned in response. Ella and I went up to our room with Lilly and Amelia. We opened the door quietly, just in case they were sleeping. And sure enough, the two of them were fast asleep, Amelia's arms around Lilly. We sat down in our bed. I passed out the moment I hit the pillow.

~~~

     In the morning, Ella woke me up early. I blinked, groaning in annoyance. "What do you want?" I asked, but it probably sounded more like, "whaduwant". My sister smiled. "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go watch the sunrise. It's pretty cool here, I'm sure." I nodded, getting up from the bed slowly. "I suppose so." Amelia and Lilly were still asleep. "Do they want to come?" Ella shrugged. "I want to let them sleep." I rolled my eyes. "Ohh, but of course you would wake up your older sister." She simply chuckled. The two of us walked through the beach house and out the back door. "I'm assuming you will want to swim later," I said, looking at the pool, and then to the ocean. She nodded. "Most definitely." We stepped into the sand and walked along the beach for a while. The sun hadn't started to rise quite yet, but I could see the smallest bit of orange and yellow at the horizon. Ella paused. "I can't resist. I'm going in the ocean," She said. I rolled my eyes. "Alright. Just don't go too far." She stepped in, her tail appearing. Then she was lost beneath the waves. I sighed and sat down on the beach, the water barely coming up to touch me. "Jamie?" I jumped slightly when I heard the voice. I looked over my shoulder to see Chris. He looked a little confused and surprised. "I didn't know you were here." I shrugged and muttered, "I'm watching the sunrise. Ella was here too, but she went to swim, of course." I grinned at him, though I didn't expect him to fully understand, since he obviously hadn't known we were hybrids until recently. "Yeah. Thomas was with me, but he also disappeared." I raised an eyebrow. That's a little strange... I didn't question it too much, though. I saw the sun start to come up at the horizon. "I have to admit, sunrises are pretty," I said. Chris sat down next to me. "Yeah." I paused, then continued. "It looks like the sky is on fire. I really like that effect." He smiled. "Of course you do." The two of us sat in silence for a little while longer. The breeze whipped his black hair around his face, and for a moment I found myself staring. He caught my eye and I looked away quickly, flushing. I stared out at the ocean, and I saw something jump above the waves. I stood up quickly. "Was that a dolphin?" I questioned, pointing to where I'd seen it. Chris looked over. It jumped above, and I was completely sure it was a dolphin this time. "Whoa," he muttered. "Wait- there's two," I noted as another one leaped out of the water. Chris leaned forward. Both of them came up at the same time, and formed a heart with their bodies. My eyes widened. I took a step forward, then I slipped and fell. But Chris caught me, his face inches from mine. Both of us were silent for a second, and I blushed. "You have quick reflexes." When I regained my balance, I saw a crab moving away from where I had tripped. That must have been what made me fall, I thought. "Um... do you want to start walking along the beach?" Chris asked. I nodded, and the two of us started walking. We talked lightly, laughing a bit at jokes. Eventually we made it to a boardwalk. We walked out along the wood, and I sat down on the edge, my legs dangling over the ocean. Chris was next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and we sat like that for a while. "Jamie, it's almost eight. We left at six. We should probably start going back," Chris muttered after a while. I sighed dramatically. "I don't want to." Then I paused. "I wonder where Ella went? Oh, right. She probably got lost in her thoughts somewhere out there." Chris looked at me. "Should we be worried?" I shook my head. "She's like that. Though now that I think about that, she's probably with Thomas." He smiled. "Probably." The two of us started walking back to the beach house, and when we got there, we found Amelia and Lilly in the pool. "Hey! Where have you two been?" Lilly asked. "We were out for a walk," Chris explained. She smirked. "Ah, I see." That made him blush, which I found cute. "Umm, speaking of that subject, have you seen Thomas and Ella?" I asked. Amelia nodded. "They went back inside." I grimaced. "We probably just missed them." Chris and I walked back inside the beach house. For whatever reason, we couldn't find Thomas and Ella.

~~~

     I was sitting with Chris on the balcony. It was around noon, and I was starting to get hungry. Kathy came up to tell us that we were going out for lunch. It was a nice little restaurant with lots of windows. We sat at a table by one. "What can I get you?" The waitress asked, smiling kindly at us. Everyone said their orders- Chris and I ordered two sundaes. A few moments afterwards, Ella left to go to the bathroom. I gave her a suspicious look, but didn't say anything. We continued chatting, until the waitress came back. She set down one sundae with two straws, and I flushed as she said giving us a knowing look, "A customer ordered this for you two lovebirds." "Oh we're not dating-" I started, but the waitress was already gone. Chris mumbled something under his breath. I shot Ella a quick glare. "'A customer, huh?" I said. She grinned sheepishly and I rolled my eyes, then turned to Chris. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, are you against sharing?" He blushed, then shook his head. "You can have the first taste," I said, smirking. He tried it, and his eyes widened. "This is good." I leaned forward and tried it too. "It is really good," I agree, and we finished it off together.

~~~

     The ocean was perfect. The water was glittering, and the waves right in between too rough and too calm. Chris looked over to me. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you," he murmured. I froze and met his gaze. "Yeah?" He took a deep breath. "Well, we've known each other for a while now. The closer we get, the more sure I am that I feel this way about you... and I know you might still be getting over Jeff, and I understand that... but I need to say this. I think I like you. And I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend?" He spoke nervously, and he broke eye contact for a moment, but when he asked the question, he looked right at me. Only then did I realize I was holding my breath. "Oh, Chris..." my voice trailed off as I searched for the correct words. I finally decided and grinned. "Yes! Of course I do!" I tackled him in a hug. And then I heard clapping. I spun around to see Ella. She was smirking as she said, "I told you I had the perfect plan for revenge."