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05 // Disastrous Dinner

When it was time for dinner, I gladly sat beside Jake.

He pulled a face at me, and I giggled, lightly pushing his face further from me.

On the other side of me, Horace laughed. "Look at Enoch, he's jealous you're getting all touchy with Jake." Horace told me, a little too loudly.

The entire table heard it.

I almost choked on my food, while Enoch scoffed, "Why would I be jealous?"

The children at the table were all laughing.

I swallowed my food, before I spoke. "Did you know, Enoch threatened to murder me?"

My rhetorical question was met with gasps and 'Enoch!'s.

I shrugged, "So no, I don't think he's jealous. He also threatened to cut off my tongue."

"Enoch!" Miss Peregrine chided.

Enoch threw up his hands in frustration, "Have you heard her talk? She's the epitome of annoying!"

"Oh, like you're not as well." I retorted, and Enoch leant forward across from me, as though closing the distance between us would miraculously intensify his glaring.

"You talk too much. I don't talk." He spat.

I let out a dry laugh, "Exactly, Enoch. You don't talk. Do you know how weird that is? You just brood and sulk and you don't speak. At least my presence itself isn't annoying."

Around us, the children were having way too much fun, watching us go head to head in our roast battle.

"Children!" Miss Peregrine's booming voice silenced all of us. "That's enough."

Opposite me, the potential serial killer was still glaring holes into body. Well, go ahead, glare to your heart's content, you asshole.

The next minutes of dinner went by smoothly, and Jake and I got to know the kids better.

"So what's your peculiarity?" Olive asked excitedly, directing the question at Jake, making me roll my eyes.

Did she have to make it so obvious that she disliked me?

Jake opened his mouth, and closed it. "Uh, I don't have one." He finally said.

Enoch shot him a crooked smile, "And that's why Jake won't be staying with us. No matter how much we want him to."

"Oh, shut up." I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms.

"Don't you want to stay?" Fiona asked Jake, eyes hopeful.

"You could stay," Bronwyn said. "For tonight."

"Or forever." Claire piped in.

"Jacqueline could stay too!" Horace added cheerily.

I glanced at Horace, "Thank you, Horace."

I then nudged Jake. "How is it you're more popular than me here?" I hissed to him.

Jake chuckled softly.

"We've talked about this, children," Miss Peregrine voiced out from the head of the table. "Jake is just visiting."

"But you could stay." Bronwyn pressed, completely ignoring Miss Peregrine.

Enoch scoffed, "Why would he? Or even Jessica, for that matter. They could leave, grow old, have fun. They'll leave. Just like how Abe did."

Before any of us could reply, Emma slammed her cutlery down, and with a screech of her chair, she left the room.

"Wow, you're such a saint, aren't you?" I spat at Enoch, who rolled his eyes. "And it's Jacqueline, you jackass."

"That wasn't very nice, Enoch." Fiona chastised the older boy.

Miss Peregrine sighed, "You know why Abe left."

"To go to the Army!" Bronwyn announced loudly.

"And get married!" Claire chimed in.

"And have kids." Hugh added softly.

"Children!" Miss Peregrine raised her voice, and the room fell silent. "I'm sure Jake and Jacqueline have friends back where they're from. It's up to them, to leave. We can't make them stay."

Beside me, Jake was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

I pinned a dark look on the boy direction opposite me.

He arched an eyebrow.