《 Skip a Beat 》

White, red and purple

Silence echoed around the house. It had, ever since Leta and Theseus left. The sun was dipping behind the horizon now, casting warm rays of sunshine filtering through the windows and spilling into the living room.

Queenie and Jacob were murmuring in hushed voices to each other as they set about preparing a meal- Newt had just left the living room in search of the other Goldstein sister, who had mysteriously disappeared after accidentally walking in on Theseus and Leta's row earlier that day.

He supposed he was just killing time- he didn't necessarily need to speak to Tina, but he had nothing to do, and being bored with someone else was more fun than being bored alone.

Newt had already checked the kitchen, his room, her room, the laundry and the study, all on the sly, as Jacob and Queenie were both worried that walking around too much could lead to further injuries. He sneaked as stealthily as he could, which wasn't much (because he still wasn't completely used to crutches, and almost dropped one on his way to the study), past the kitchen again.

Luckily for him, Queenie and Jacob both had their backs turned, discussing about whether they should let the pie bake for another few minutes or take it out. Newt had almost made it down the corridor when Jacob's artless voice followed him.

"Hey Newt... where ya' going?"

He cringed, but hid it well, then turned around. He met Jacob's gaze, quickly forming something in his head- he was an excellent liar.

"Just going to rest," Newt replied, schooling his expression into neutrality. Jacob nodded and wheeled around again, returning to the finer arts of preparing food. Newt breathed a sigh of relief. No problems.

Or until, he felt a jab of pain in his shoulder.

"What-" He looked down to find Pickett clicking madly at him, pointing to Tina and Leta's room. Newt knit his brows together in confusion.

"What?" he whispered hastily. Pickett sniffed, pinching him again. Newt batted him away. "Alright, alright. If it makes you happy."

He hesitated a moment before sticking his head around the doorframe, but the room wasn't empty.

She must've sneaked in after he checked her room for the first time, but Tina was now standing at the dresser, her gaze transfixed on the mirror in front of her. Newt frowned and craned his neck to glimpse what had snagged her attention- nothing.

The mirror was perfectly normal, yet here she stood, gazing at it with curiosity flickering in her eyes like fire. He was about to leave her be, when she suddenly snapped out of her reverie, glancing towards him. The dancing lights in her eyes faded slightly- instead, a small smile bloomed on her lips.

"Hi."

Newt offered her a somewhat awkward grin. A second of silence passed.

"I- um..." Tina began talking, then immediately looked as if she regretted it. Newt cocked his head to the side. "Have you ever seen this mirror do anything... odd?" she asked quietly, then cringed.

Newt shook his head. "I... don't recall seeing anything- uhh- strange, but..." he paused suddenly, thoughts chasing each other around his head, until a certain memory stopped him from finishing his sentence.

~~ Flashback (1926, December):

Newt had been trying to keep out of his family's way ever since he got back from New York. Especially Theseus, who had been pestering him for details ever since he mentioned that he met a girl. Unfortunately for him, there was no way he could weasel himself out of the situation when Leta suggested that he stay with them for a few days, just so they could all 'catch up on everything', and two days later, Newt found himself unpacking in in the spare room of his brother's house.