Elemental War

Chapter Fifteen - Scarred For Life (JASON and CALLUM)

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{JASON}

I watch Addison walk into her room and close the door.

For a moment there, I thought I was going to kiss her. I shake myself. There's no point getting hung up on the first girl I meet. But damn, is she fine.

I open my own door and stride in. The first room is a kind of living area, with a huge flat screen TV, a poofy white couch, and a modern looking glass-and-metal coffee table. Against one wall is a few wooden food cabinets.

I poke my head into the white door on the left and find a restroom with a bidet, shower, sink, toilet and cabinet, all white and silver.

Finally, I walk into the last door to find a massive bedroom. You've heard of king size beds? This was emperor-of-the-universe size. A white - getting a bit of a theme here - bedside table has a lamp on the left hand side of the bed, with a silver metal mini-fridge on the other, and a cork-board for notices against the wall above the bed. There's a note on the bed that says:
Hello, fellow Elementalist! Welcome to the East London branch! The notice board will have new notices every day of extra activities, news, and your own timetable. The walls are soundproofed and you have a sort of 'weekly allowance' of £30 to spend on CDs, DVDs and junk food. I hope you enjoy your stay!
-the Elder

I laugh aloud. Allowance? Okay...

I open the fridge. Inside is a six pack of coke. I grab one and pop it open. I take a slurp and plop myself onto the bed. It sinks slightly and is über comfy. I think I could get used to this...

***

After dozing on and off for 20 minutes or so, I decide to do a little exploring. I've seen a few rooms, but clearly this house is huge. I poke my head out of the door and look left and right. No one in sight. I close the door behind me and turn left, away from Addison's door.

My stuff is still in my bag, which is slung over my shoulder. I don't have much. After wandering around for a while, I find myself in the hallway I first walked through. I go into the now cleared and empty mess hall area, back into the kitchen. I see a door at the far end and, on an impulse, go through it.

I suddenly find myself in a garden. It's not well looked after. The canopy above my head is tangled and in areas has snapped, causing blockages. I push past a few and tear through some creepers and realise that I'm in a clearing. A guy is sitting on a flat rock, staring at the green facing away from me.

He jumps up, spinning round and I can't help but gasp. He has sandy brown hair and hazel eyes, and he looks nice enough, but there's a scar running from above his nose, just missing his right eye all the way to his jawline. His smile turns into a wince of pain and he gently prods the raw skin on his cheek.

"Yeah. Hi. Sorry. I- I'm Callum. I don't recognise you?"

"I'm Jason. Nice to meet you." I hold out a hand and he shakes it.

"So I'm supposing that you just got here with Addison?"

"Yesterday, actually. If you don't mind me asking, though, what, uh, what-"

"Happened to my face? Les is what happened to my face. He was ranting about 'some kid who thinks he's better than me', and I was in his sights. At least I know now not to try and talk to someone who stores a jagged knife in their back pocket when he's having a moment."

I wince. "That was almost me yesterday." I tell him.

"Jesus. How'd you upset him so quick? Damn, just tell me how you got here in the first place!"

I told him about everything, from my family, to when Addison found me, to the house, to the scene in the kitchen, to my talk with the Elder, all the way up to now, sitting on this rock.

"And I thought I'd seen some stuff. How come you're not in the hospital getting your head checked out?"

"How come you're not there getting that cut checked out?"

"I s'pose you're right. It bled quite a bit, but Claire helped with that, so I'm fine. I'm grand."

"On a roller coaster that's only going up?" I mutter under my breath with a small smile.

He grins ear to ear. "Indeed I am, my friend. Indeed I am."

He glances at his watch and practically jumps up. "Lunch," he says, answering my question before I even open my mouth. He holds out a hand and I take it. He pulls me up.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask.

"Hell no. But I deal with it."

We walk back through the kitchen, which is now buzzing with energy, with people checking out the food, chatting and glaring at me and Callum. In credit to him, he completely ignores them - either that or he's oblivious. I see Addison wading through the crowd but before she reaches us, a girl even taller than me is standing in front of us.

"Callum! I told you not to run off!"

He smiles warmly and says, "You know that you can't stay mad at me."

"Just because you give some damn good puppy dog eyes doesn't mean I can't stay mad at you. Please tell me you weren't outside with all that bacteria?"

He grins, and she bites her lip. "Just don't do that again."

"I wouldn't dare," he replies and kisses her briefly on the lips. I suppress a smile. "On another matter, Claire, this is Jason. He scared the frack-a-dackles outta me by exploring the terrifying outdoors. I believe that he's the one Adds brought in."

"He is," says Addison, appearing out of nowhere and raising an eyebrow at Callum. "And I thought I told you not to call me 'Adds'?"

He shrugs. "Eh."

"How are you two, anyway?" Addison asks, indicating their linked hands.

"As good as we'll ever be," Claire replies, blushing slightly. Callum kisses her cheek and throws me a grin.

Addison rolls her eyes but smiles at them. "I'm glad," is all she says.

{CALLUM}

God, does this cut hurt. Jason was nice about it. But, damn, am I glad that Claire is a Water. She can stem the flow of a river just as easily as she can blood. We heal faster anyway, but she's almost certain that this will never 100 percent get better. I'll still have a scar. But it could be worse.

All the same, I always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That time the Guys lay a custard trap making it fall on my head; that time two people were making out in my room; and now this. I'm just always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

They say that it'll get me killed one day.

I hope they're wrong.

{EOC}

I'm doing so much foreshadowing! I feel really evil. But hey, I was wrong. Two chapters in as many days. I'm on fire! Pinkspider48 , I'm truly shocked. At myself. Four days till Christmas! So psyched!