Whispers on a Wing

Chapter Twenty Four

"Tell me a secret," Jake said from next to me, leaning across the desk so his face was close to mine. "Something no one else knows about you."

We were currently in the local library and I was trying to get this psychology project done. I wanted to hand it in early so we had time to get notes from the teacher, but Jake seemed intent on distracting me.

"What?" I asked, keeping my voice low so we didn't attract the attention of the librarian at the front desk.

"Tell me something no one else knows about you," he prompted, smile tilted up in mischief as he stared into my eyes.

"I don't..." I trailed off as my brain tried to think of something other than the fact that I have huge arse black wings sticking out of my back and the fact that I live in a fire damaged abandoned house in the middle of the woods.

"I'll tell you one if you do," he grinned, not looking the least bit fazed at my lack of enthusiasm.

"Okay... I umm," god why was it so difficult to think of something interesting about me.

"Do you have a secret hobby no one else knows? Or an embarrassing story?"

I wracked my brain, trying to come up with anything. Did I really lead such a boring life that I didn't have a single interested thing to tell Jake that wasn't about my wings?

"I used to love to sing," I finally came up with.

It was something I hadn't done in years, the idea of purposely singing a song was to painful as it brought up to many memories of my family, of my life before my wings.

"No way!" He exclaimed, earning him a glare from the lady at the front desk. "Were you any good?" He grinned," picking me in my arm.

"I was okay," I shrugged. "I haven't done it in years though so god knows what I sound like now, probably a strangled cat or something," I laughed.

"Well I'd still love to hear you someday," he smiled softly, probably noticing how uncomfortable I was with the idea.

"Alright your turn," I shifted the conversation over, trying to get it off me. "What's your secret you haven't told anyone."

"Well..." he deliberated for a second, picking at the edge of the table, before finally looking up at me, a type of resolve clear on his face. "I like to take pictures."

I knew he liked photography, I'd heard it from the art teacher how good he was, plus I'd seen some that he'd printed out and put around his bedroom, but I wasn't supposed to know that so I played along.

"Take pictures like out with your friends?"

"No more like, photography kind of pictures," he clarifies. "I haven't really figured out my style yet, I kinda like both landscape and portraiture, but it's something I've been dabbling with for a while now."

This was the first time I'd ever seen him even the slightest bit nervous and I had to admit I liked it, the fact that for once it was him not being comfortable in a situation rather than me.

"Yeah? Have you got any you can show me?" I pressed, leaning closer into his space as he moved away.

"Yeah..." he trailed off as he grabbed his bag and started pulling things out until he got to the thing he wanted at the bottom. "They're raw footage so no judgment," he warned me as he took his camera out of its bag and turned it on.

"No judgment here," I reassured him, holding my hands up in surrender before leaning over until I could clearly see the screen.

I was excited to see more of his work, the few he had printed around his room were amazing, landscapes you'd see in a department store, and I felt almost giddy at being offered the privilege of seeing some of his work first hand.