The Boy Witch

12: Thorn in My Side

Time passes very differently in a small town. Depending on how you view it, time can pass extremely fast or very slowly.

The first week of my stay here in Wintervale had passed by painfully slow. The big idiot Alex had continued to pester me, even going so far as to show up at my work place. The second Josie of the cafe called Sleepless Cafe heard me ask for a job, she accepted me right away, saying that I would be perfect for the job and that I was adorable and would bring in more business. I would ignore the cute part, trying to tell myself I got the job because I was useful.

But back to Alex. No matter what I say or do he always seems to stick by my side like a leech. He always made a point in seeing me at lunch, giving me an apple and calmly arguing with me until I ate it. Rosie, Matthew, and Josh seem to follow along simply because they find Alex and I's interactions entertaining. But even though I consider them my friends, I still like my space away from people. Hence why I started to try and pull away from them a little when they started showing up at Sleepless. The trio seemed to just be following Alex around since they also seemed to be close friends of his.

That's not where my troubles stop. The larger part of my worries are about Mr. Wiser. After his initial confrontation on my classwork assignments, he hasn't acted upon any of my suspicions. Not yet, anyway. This only seems to make being around him even worse, an unease that he hasn't failed to notice and find amusement with. The warlock would intentionally walk past my desk or brush past my shoulders, watching my reaction to the numbing sensation spreading in my shoulders or watch me suppress a gag to the extreme odor of his sulfurous death magic. Not only that, he would make a point to call out a farewell to me in particular as I would be leaving, making a point in saying he would see me the next day.

My only solace is in Mrs. Mercy's art class. The middle-aged woman was plump and round, and extremely huggable. She had a warm smile that always greeted me whenever I came through her doors and always brightened my mood after I came from Mr. Wiser. She would leave me to my own devices during class as well, not bothering to chide me when I was obviously not paying attention in class. Mrs. Mercy would simply hand me a pencil and paper at the beginning of class, sometimes with a prompt, and come see my drawings afterwards, constantly praising my work. At some point, I started to bring my personal sketchbook to school to use in her class. Her class was the one I always looked forward to.

Today was like any other, only I didn't want to talk to anyone today. I simply am not in the mood, since this morning Morrigan had decided to pick a fight with me about how I live. Even though she was stuck with me twenty-four seven, she was stubborn about her opinions on me and made sure I knew. So since I was in a foul mood and easily irritable, I thought that it would be best to stay away from everyone. Not to mention whenever I am in a irritable mood as this, my magic tends to become unstable.

Throughout the morning, I've managed to stop myself from saying anything regrettable to Rosie. She doesn't deserve my flack, and I know that Josh would kill me for it later. But I've managed to get it across to her that I want to be left alone today, and I can only hope that she'll tell the others as well.

By lunch I had avoided all social contact including Morrigan, who I blocked off despite the searing pain. Instead of making my way to the normal table where Rosie and I would meet up with Matthew and Josh, I made a large detour around the table and made my way outside behind the school.

It was peaceful behind the school, as I had found out when avoiding the others. This area where Josh had dragged me out to fight was always quiet, untouched by the chatter of other students. It faced a wooded area, which occasionally made me feel uneasy. But there were some lonesome trees closer to the buildings that provided with good shade when the sun was high.

I stand there for a moment to appreciate the silence, leaning against the metal doors then push off and make my way to one of the trees. This one was easily climbable, and had enough coverage to hide me from plain sight. I quickly scale the tree and sit in one of the lower branches, leaning against the trunk and leaving a leg to hang off the branch. Taking my bag into my lap, I pull my sketchbook out as well as a pencil. It was comfortable, and even more so when I thought that no one knew about my home away from home. So naturally, I began to relax into the tree as I let myself draw whatever my heart wanted.

I thought that this place of mine was secret. I thought no one knew that I came here when I was overwhelmed or needed space. I guess I thought wrong.

"So this is where you disappear to, huh?" I jolt out of my dream-like trance, sitting at alert. I snap my gaze towards the irritatingly familiar voice to see blue eyes staring back.

"You," I hiss. Can't he leave me alone for one day? I glare at Alex from above, taking advantage of the height. He ignores it and instead smiles, looking around the area. "This is a nice place. Do you usually come out here?" He asks. I growl under my breath, "Not anymore I do."

Even though I didn't mean for him to hear, Alex heard anyway. He turns towards me, craning his neck a little to look directly at me. "What do you mean by that?" He asks, slightly puzzled but more amused than anything.

I glare at him, but decide to at least entertain his question. "What do you think I come out here for?" I don't wait for him to reply, instead continuing on as if he didn't open his mouth to answer. "The answer is for privacy, solitude, peace, and quiet. Ever since coming to here, I've barely had a moment to myself without one of the twins, Josh, or you breathing down my neck. Not even my work place is safe from you four, so I find solace here."

Alex stares at me with shock, clearly taken aback by my honesty. I don't meet his gaze and instead focus in on my sketchbook while continuing on to answer his question. "But now that you've found my hiding place, I can't come here anymore because most likely you will be here waiting for me if I do."

I stop abruptly, roughly setting my hand on top of my sketchbook with a soft thud. "Now," I said, setting my eyes on Alex. "I get to ask a question. Why are you here?" Instead of acting nervous like I expect him to, Alex stares straight into my eyes unwaveringly. To say the least, I was a little shocked but didn't show it. Usually people feel uncomfortable under my stare, I don't know if it's my bright green eyes that freak them out or the fact that I always look judgmental.

Alex scoffs quietly before tossing something up to me in the tree. I barely catch it while trying not to fall out of the tree, but somehow succeed. I scowl at the light green apple in my hand as he explains, "I came to do what I usually do, make sure you eat lunch."

I growl at him, clenching my teeth as my temper rises. My eyes flash brightly as I lose my cool. "I'm not a kid, damn it!" I yell at him, aiming the apple at his head. A wave of shock fills my senses as the magic leaves my fingertips, trailing after the flying apple. Horrified, I could only watch as Alex couldn't move out of the way in time and was hit squarely in the head with the magic amplified apple.

I sit in the tree, stock still. Fear begins to replace my momentary anger, filling my stomach until it feels like I swallowed a bucket of ice. The wind seems to shift with my emotions, whipping harder into my face. The heavy scent of incoming rain fills my nose, and I look up into the darkening sky. Panic starts to set in. Oh Goddess, not again, not here! Not another disaster caused by me!

I close my eyes tightly, tucking my head between my knees and not caring when my bag and sketchbook fall to the ground. "Ow, what the fuck was tha-" Alex cuts off abruptly, and I feel his gaze on me. "North?" I ignore him, instead focusing on my breathing. If I can calm myself down, then I calm my magic.

Breathe in. Hold. One. Two. Three. Out. Two. Three. In. Two. Three. Four. Out. Two. Three. Four.

The harsh winds slow down to a gentle caress. Slowly, I look up into the sky. The once angry grey clouds were now almost nonexistent, slowly dissipating into the former tranquility. I let out a sigh before suddenly realizing another problem, this one always sticking like a thorn in my side.

"What the fuck was that?"