Echolocation (Enoch O'Connor / mphfpc fanfic)

Chapter 13 - Everything and Anything

"Alright. Here is our situation," Miss Peregrine began. "I scoured this entire island and found no trace of any Hollowgasts. This is extremely concerning, considering the fact that whatever killed that man, was most certainly a Hollowgast," she looked around the table, watching the shocked and fearful expressions on our faces.

"Because of that, I've made an executive decision. One that many of you may not like, but it is for the safety of all of you that we do this," she continued.

"We're leaving the island," she flat out stated.

Shocked and horrified expressions flashed amongst everyone's faces. Gasps of pure surprise came from the mouths of us all. She had everyone's attention.

"We won't leave forever," she said, "but seeing as I do not know the severity of our situation, we must depart our loop," she finished.

Emma was the first to speak, "But Miss Peregrine, where will we go?" She asked, fear and concern lacing her voice. "And how much time do we have?"

"We will leave at dawn tomorrow," Miss Peregrine explained, ignoring our sudden gasps, "And seeing as we will be gone for some time, I decided we would make a proper holiday out of it," she said, trying to ease our nerves with a smile. "Children, I have managed to arrange a new living situation for us, and please keep your excitement at a minimum," she continued, "After talking it over with the Ymbryne council, we have been relocated to a loop located on an island in Italy."

Millard couldn't control himself, "But we don't speak Italian!" He exclaimed, obviously just as confused as the rest of us. This outburst caused some amusement among us, easing our nerves for a split second.

Enoch's eyes met mine, and I could tell he was thinking exactly what I was thinking. Something was brewing on this island, something Miss Peregrine wasn't letting on to. He shot me a look that said it all. 'You thinking what I'm thinking?' I nodded my head, inconspicuously, returning my gaze to Miss Peregrine.

Miss Peregrine finished the details of our impending departure from the island and dismissed us all to pack and gather everything and anything that we would need for the time being.

•//////•

I don't know what it was about this island, but it felt as if I'd lived here all my life. I was almost scared to leave, afraid that I would lose the feeling of having a place to call home.

I had just finished packing when I heard a knock at the door. Eerily familiar. I started to feel nervous, for a reason I just couldn't rationalize for the time being.

"Come in," I said. Knowing exactly who it would be.

Enoch entered quietly, shutting the door behind him and walking over to where I was.

"Are you up for an adventure?" He asked me in almost a whisper. He stood no more than two feet away from me. I could feel his gaze, and it set my heart on fire.

I turned around.

"What kind of adventure?" I asked.

"One that could totally get us in trouble," he said with a small laugh and grabbing my hand. The coolness of his hand set off an opposite reaction. My body radiated heat, I felt my skin burn from his touch.

"I'm in," I whispered. "When do we go?" I asked.

"At lights out," he said, releasing my hand. The coolness went away, but the heat remained.

He crossed over and sat in the chair in the corner of my room.

He looked down for a minute, seeming to contemplate something. He then looked back up at me, devious curiosity written all over his face.

"I would have thought that you would have said something by now," he said, in an almost condescending way.

"About what," I asked, acting ignorant and indifferent.

"About what happened before we found the body," he said, raising his eyebrows.

Dammit. I felt my heart rate quicken, and I suddenly felt the urge to turn away from him to hide my palpable nervousness.

I turned around, pretending to pack something away in my bag, although I had already packed everything.

"Nothing, huh?" He asked, almost seeming disappointed.

I felt bad now. "Well, what do you want me to say?" I asked him, sort of annoyed at how awkward both he and I were acting. It was just a kiss, oh my god.

I heard him stand up and walk over to where I was turned. He put his hand on my shoulder, spinning me to face him, I averted my gaze.

He brought his hand up to my cheek, causing a raging fire to dread from my face to every other area of my body. I looked in his eyes.

I change my mind. It wasn't just a kiss.

Gazing into his eyes, I saw curiosity and a hint of admiration. His eyes shifted from my eyes to my lips, and I felt the breath catch in my throat. Dammit, he knew.

He chuckled. "Still nothing?" He asked with a small smirk. He moved his other hand to my hip, causing me to forget how to breathe.

It wasn't nothing anymore. His eyes were piercing. It was as if we were having a staring contest. It felt as if it would never end. I couldn't take it. I suddenly realized that I just wanted to kiss him again. To go back to where we were in the ocean.

A massive crash broke the silence. We turned to face the window. The reset had just begun. Fire rained down in the sky. I had never seen the reset from my room. Rather I hadn't bothered to watch it from my room.

I felt Enoch pull me into a tight embrace. Out of instinct, I wrapped my arms around his torso, my head resting on his chest, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. We watched the fiery sky and the raging war that took place above our heads.

I was so distracted by the beauty, yet devastating reset that I barely noticed as Enoch planted a light kiss on my forehead. My heart rate quickened, and so did his.

I'm not good with my feelings. Despite the fact that I can manipulate the feelings of others, I myself can not handle my own. I can't convey to others how I feel, and it is because of that that I cannot tell him how I feel. I'm afraid.

I could feel him loosening his grip. I could tell that he was uncomfortable. I did only what I knew I could do. Instead of letting go, I held on tighter, pulling him closer to me. I could sense the surprise in his touch. But he stayed, returning his grip on my shoulders. He understood now.

We stayed together like that until every light in the hallway was out. His bedroom door was shut, and his light was off. Indicating to the others that he was "asleep." Little did any of them know, we wouldn't be sleeping tonight. We had a mystery to solve; we didn't have hardly enough time to do it.

(Hi all! Sorry for the late update, but I'm so excited for the chapters to come! I hope you like this new development of this story! Till Chapter 14, happy reading! XOXO - IlliterateIguana)