The Life of Jezebel Firetongue

37

Jake paced the room; nervously glancing down at Jezebel's sleeping body. How can I do this?

Jake loved Jezebel more than anything in the world. Her smile, her confidence, her voice. He couldn't help but smile whenever she called him an idiot, because of the way she said it. But this...he wasn't being an idiot. Jake would be a scoundrel if he didn't tell her the truth about him, and what else he knew about himself.

Sighing, he sat in the chair in front of the computer and faced Jez. Scrunching his nose up, Jake listened in on her dreams.

At first, the dream was full of static. Dreams were harder to get into, because they were protected by a veil of sleep. Jake sighed and put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. With an extra push, Jake reached into Jezebel's dream.

"More Rainbow Pork?"

"Dang it, Jake, why'd you get the hair dye all over my bacon?" Even in the dream, Jez was beautiful and smart and Jake was doing something endearingly idiotic.

Dream Jake turned from Jezebel and started washing the bacon off in the sink. They were in a big house, apparent from the echoes made by every little noise. Jake went to sit at the table next to Jezebel. She didn't notice, of course.

Dream Jake came back, holding up the soggy bacon. "It didn't work."

Jezebel rolled her eyes and folded up the newspaper she'd been reading. "Alright, I won't have bacon for breakfast."

Dream Jake, somehow triumphant, sat down in his chair and began eating a bowl of cereal. Jezebel, however, did not approve. She picked up a bottle of what appeared to be the hair dye from earlier and started spraying it into Dream Jake's bowl of cereal. "Hah!" she cried.

But before she could retreat, dream Jake grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap. "As punishment for ruining my breakfast, you are now my prisoner," he growled into her ear. Jezebel tried to spray the hair dye at him, but Dream Jake tossed it over his shoulder. It clattered on the floor and started spraying the room in rainbow colors.

"Jake, the hair dye..."

"It can wait."

He then started kissing her neck. She turned around and met his lips with her own. It was about then Jake knew that it was a dream for sure. He would have never touched Jezebel so easily, and he would have been afraid to pull her into his lap like that.

Jake pulled back from the dream. He wouldn't disrupt Jezebel's privacy any further. She was deep in the dream and would not wake up.

Jake sighed and watched Jezebel, slumbering on with a smile on her face. How can I keep a secret like this away from her?

He needed advice.

Ten minutes later, Jake was sitting bathtub in the bathroom with the curtain drawn and the door closed. The laptop sat in front of him, Terence's sleepy face staring out at him. "What is it, Jake?"

"I need your advice, badly."

Terence yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I can't think well at one in the morning, so whatever I say will be sketchy at best."

Jake nodded and stared into his hands. "Well, it's about...Jez."

"If you did anything to hurt her, Jake Flyte, I swear to god-"

"That sure woke you up," Jake grumbled. "No, but I'm afraid I might hurt her. Terence, Jez tells me everything. And I'm...sort of...keeping a secret. From her."

"Jake-"

"Before you start lecturing me, I want to assure you that I love her more than I will ever love anything. Ever. Don't think this isn't tearing me up inside."

Terence sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Alright. Tell me what you're keeping from her."

Jake nodded and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, you see...I have this talent for...ah...reading minds. And I didn't tell Jez at first because I didn't even know what was going on. Then I started realizing it...but by the time I decided to tell her, she told me about Dr. Davis and what he did to her, and I have no idea if it's connected to me or not. And that's not the worst part," Jake added. He felt a small bit of pressure building up behind his eyes. "I think something else is coming."

"Like what?" Terence asked.

"I think it's another power."

They were silent for a moment. Then Terence asked, "How do you know?"

Jake sighed. "It's this feeling I get when I'm about to go to sleep. Like I'm as light as a feather, and I can do anything. The mindreading, it started out weirdly too. I would hear voices in my head every night before I went to sleep. It wasn't my voice, and it wasn't always Jez's voice. It would be the voices of random truck drivers, or people we had seen in town." Jake rubbed at his eyes and sniffed, looking down. "Terence." Jake's voice cracked and he waited a moment before speaking again. "I don't know what to do. But I trust your advice, because you know Jez too. You know what would make her happy. Please."

Terence sighed. "Okay, you won't like my idea...but I think you should tell her as soon as you can."

"Not tomorrow. We need to be in sync if we want the mission to work."

"Then tell her after the mission. Either way Jake, you've got to tell her."

Jake nodded and sniffed again. "Sorry I'm being such a baby, but...Jez is important to me, you know?"

Terence smiled wearily. "Yeah, I know. Now get some sleep, Jake."

"Later."

Jake closed the laptop and sighed. Jez would hate him for keeping this big of a secret. She might never forgive him. But he had to tell her.

Knowing that, Jake leaned back against the wall and let himself cry.