Love Next Door

Chapter Nineteen- Are you getting married?

Once they got back inside the house, they were met with high pitched shrieks and laughter. Into the main room came two small children, running. They stopped abruptly by one of the sofas where the two men stood, almost falling over each other.

"Hey! Uncle Adrien!" the taller one cried, grinning with several missing teeth. They both has deep brown hair with what looked like blue tinges amongst it. "Who's that?" the child added, pointing to Jay. Ash sighed.

"Tyler, this is my...friend...Jay. He's come to visit."

The smaller child, probably around five or six years old, stared up at Jay with big, blue eyes. The genes were certainly strong in this family.

"Are you gunna get married?" the smaller child piped up, stumbling over the words. Both men blushed profusely despite the child's simple curiosity. Jay wondered what Ash was thinking. He also wondered what had made the child think of it, did they just naturally look like a couple? That thought made him feel warm.

"No!" he barked, and the two children began giggling. "Where's your mother?" he asked sharply.

"She's not here. We're here to see grandma" the older child said, face red from laughing.

"Go and find grandma then!" Ash ordered and began shuffling the children off. They giggled even more and started running back through the house again. He turned back to Jay, whose cheeks were still pink. "My sister likes to dump her kids here for mother to look after while she goes off gallivanting with her husband who knows where " he explained bitterly. After a moment's silence he added, "Get what you need, we're going into the city to get your plane ticket."

Back in Ash's room, Jay quickly rummaged through his backpack, praying that he hadn't left it at home. With a sigh of relief, he pulled out the crumpled envelope filled with the extra cash he had taken from the lady staying back at Ash's apartment. He had the foresight to exchange it before he had left the country, but he began to worry that it wouldn't be enough. He certainly didn't want to ask Ash for help. He needed to show he was not completely incompetent without him around.

He was taken, by Ash, to a room at the back of the house, the windows showing the back garden. He hoped he could go into the garden before he left because his view from the window was beautiful, plus Ash had said it was the only reason he liked this place. In the middle of the room was a white chalk circle, with strange symbols and script written around the circumference. Ash stood in the middle and beckoned Jay over, who stumbled over, slightly afraid of what was about to happen.

"Don't be scared," he said, surprisingly soft in his tone. "Take my arm."

Jay shakily, but obediently grabbed onto Ash's arm. He was warm as always. Ash began to mutter something foreign under his breath and the chalk ring began to light up. Jay felt his heart rate rise. Soon they were bathed in a white light. He looked over and saw Ash with his eyes closed and head bowed. He closed his eyes tightly too. He didn't hear anything, but he knew the second the environment changed around him. There was a sudden slight breeze and the feeling of sunlight burning on his head and back.

He opened his eyes. They were in a small copse of trees and bushes. Beyond the trees was parkland, scattered with other trees and path ways. He looked up and saw tall skyscrapers and apartment blocks. He was in a city. He finally let go of Ash's arm and saw that the man was looking at him intently. Had they just teleported? This magic was always unbelievable, but Jay was forced to believe it. He looked down and saw, amongst leaf matter and bushes, faint white markings like that of the one back at the house.

"How are you feeling?" Ash asked, stepping out from the bushes they were standing in, out on to the neatly trimmed grass.

"Okay...I guess. That was..." He struggled to elaborate. "...quick?"

Ash chuckled for a moment, the first time in what felt like forever. Jay longed to hear that sound which had once been part of his daily life.

They began walking through the park, passing families and business workers who were either passing through or enjoying the early afternoon breeze. Jay felt homesick. Once they left the park they continued down the main street, which was also lined neatly with oak and birch trees. The smell of coffee and hot food lured him from all corners. Ash would not let him be strayed, however, walking firmly ahead and looking back to check he was still following.

They found a travel centre. Albeit the sign was not in English so Jay could only go off the shiny, white plane logo on the sign to confirm this. Ash led him inside the building . He found out that Ash spoke the native language, so he was glad to have him there as they approached the reception desk. Ash spoke quickly and fluently, with Jay having no idea what he was saying. Maybe Ash would just take care of the whole thing for him. After a back and forth conversation with the female receptionist, Ash turned to him.

"I've made sure you have an English speaking person to find you a ticket," he said. He pointed to a counter in front of them. "Go and speak to the person there, I'll wait back here."

Jay nodded and thanked him quietly. He gingerly walked over to the man at the counter, who looked at him almost sternly. Jay told him the destination and begrudgingly asked for any immediate departures. In a strong accent, the man told him that the next departure was tomorrow at ten in the morning. That sounded fine, but it was the price that made his heart rate increase. It was one hundred dollars more than he had on him. He shakily asked for the next departure. Within a moment the man replied that the next one with available seats was the following Monday at nine in the morning. For that one, he had enough money on him.

It wasn't what Ash wanted, but he had no other choice. He couldn't bring himself to ask for the extra money. Not to mention he would make a fool of himself by having to say he couldn't afford the ticket and leave awkwardly to get more money. What if Ash didn't have any money on him anyway? They would have to go back to the house. He thought it would only sour and break any progress in their relationship that had been made. Besides, this later flight was going to give him another five days to convince Ash to come back with him. That thought decided it for him.

Jay walked back to Ash with the leftover change and the printed plane ticket. Ash smiled as he approached and held his hand out for the ticket to see it. Doesn't he trust me to do the right thing? He hesitated for a moment before handing the paper over. Ash frowned as he read the details. He looked up at Jay with narrowed eyes.

"Wasn't there anything sooner?" He asked sharply. Jay deliberated whether to lie or tell the truth. He opted for the truth, which was perhaps not a good idea.

"Yes...but I didn't...have enough money on me." He mumbled slowly. Ash sighed loudly and shoved the ticket back to him.

"I guess there's nothing to be done now, I hope you're happy." He finished bitterly, immediately storming out of the building leaving Jay standing alone inside. This isn't my fault! He thought angrily.

Once he caught up to Ash outside, he grabbed him by the arm to stop him.

"Hey, Wait!" He shouted. Ash slowed down but didn't stop. "Why are you being like this? Why are you being so horrible to me?"

Ash finally stopped his brisk walking and turned around.

"You shouldn't have come!" he shouted back. "You've just put yourself in danger and left people behind to worry about you." How did he know that others were worrying about him? And the 'danger' Jay had encountered was not really that bad. He was capable of looking after himself. Well, except for when he fell over, but really he didn't need Ash's super healing powers for a shallow cut in his hand.

He didn't bother continuing to argue, deciding that Ash was being petty and perhaps the sleeping problems that his mother mentioned were also to blame. Even after a day, it didn't seem like much progress was being made.

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A/N: New magic thing! I wish I could use a teleporter, sometimes the commutes to university and back are really tiring :\

Thanks for reading :) Please remember to leave a vote if enjoyed this chapter (I really appreciate it).