Chapter 10: Chapter 8: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

In hindsight, it might have been a stupid idea.

"Just so you know, I have to be back home before 8 PM."

Hell, it might have been his stupidest one yet.

"Oh? Curfew? What a little boy."

However, Jered was so blinded by a strong curiosity towards his situation that it blotched out any good sense he had left. Rainey must have been stalking him for a while to crop up that bus-meeting coincidence. She was playing by her rules, and he knew that if he quit now she could easily snap her fingers and levitate him off a building—or worse, turn him into a mindless puppet to play dress-up with. His teenage wacky foolishness landed him there because he wasn't already edgy enough, and now he was embroiled in some potential terroristic organization whose aim was still unknown. Well, as long as she'd pay him handsomely for his services, and not with her body, then he was aboard. Also, he had promised.

The best course of action was not to antagonize her, especially if she was more than capable of putting him to sleep with a wink.

"Dinner is not going to cook itself, and I have to look around a bit for a potential gift for my sister." he hoped their playful back-and-forths would alleviate the lingering tension between them; he needed their relationship to be at least on a friendly level. It would ensure his survival for the foreseeable future. It boded well that she was easy to get along with, and didn't seem keen on flaying him alive or 'raping his soul, mind, and body' as she had antecedently threatened to do. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not kidding. Her birthday is approaching and I want to buy her something nice."

"I've been told I have quite the taste for gifts. Maybe I should accompany you? We could also grab something to eat, we have a lot to talk about anyway." Rainey challenged with a growing grin.

He so wanted to make a retort about her and Jasmine's age gap, and how he doubted she'd really supply him with any good suggestions. But no... a jab at her old age would have been very, very stupid. "I'm afraid you're too old to know what a young woman would like for her 18th birthday." why did he say that? It must have been the little devil on his shoulder. Gosh, lately he's been doing very stupid things. His chuckle faded as Rainey's smile scrunched up in distaste, and he quickly translated that as a dangerous sign. "Buuuut, you know... I've always had a thing for old, wrinkled skin. I think it's... cute," he eloquently added.

"Y-You think I'm cute?" Rainey averted her gaze. The way she bit her bottom lip provocatively was so, so wrong, "Do you want to do it here? No one will disturb us."

"Ah, but surely you'd prefer someone with more experience under his belt?" Jered wanted to conjure a knife and slit his throat, "Should I call Jerry? He's been honing his skills with the patients..."

There was a tense silence before she cracked up in giggles, "Oh, Jered... I was just horsing around," when he visibly relaxed, she narrowed her eyes, "But I dare you to make another joke about my age, and I swear I'll magically defile your body in every way possible."

He threw his hands up in the air, "You win, my bad. No need to go that far,"

She waved him off, "Back to the topic, if it's necessary you could stay here for the night as well. I'm sure you're more than apt to work out a lie to tell your mother."

He shifted a bit on his chair. After that whole ordeal about Arya and her supposed failure of awakening mana simmered down, he was led towards her small office. Rainey had her behind propped against the lip of her mahogany desk, peering down at him with such an intensity it had him constantly on the edge. It didn't help that his nose never stopped working as a magical radar, and Rainey's close proximity was making his head throb. Also, her knack for sneaking a sex joke here and there during their exchange was going a bit overboard, not that he wasn't to blame as well.

"There is no need, this room should suffice," Jered crossed one leg over the other. He wanted to address something that had his heart go cray-cray, "You talked about Magic..."

Taking his cue, her demeanor switched to a serious one. She pulled her hair up into a bun, conjuring an elastic out of nowhere. "I'm surprised you're taking everything so calmly."

"I've been living my life as if everything were nothing but a silly hallucination. I just need to let it sink in for a bit." his system had planted the seed of suspicion, she just confirmed everything. Magic did exist.

At his growing smile, Rainey pleasantly went on, "Yes, it does. I could talk about it for hours, but it wouldn't be particularly beneficial to waste time this way." she bit the corner of her bottom lip, "I'm going to give you a brief summary of Magic, as for the rest you'll have to study it on your own after I provide you with the material. I have a stack of books that I'm sure you'll enjoy immensely."

His smile never faded throughout her explanation.

---

Jasmine turned off the television. The National Hurricane Center was spamming the news of the latest weather anomaly, called Layla, everywhere. It was concerning, yes, but she had more pressing problems swirling through her head. She checked her phone for new messages, but nothing. It did just not feel right, the emptiness in her chest should have been filled by the constant affection of Alison and her family. Life was good so far, but she so missed the bleary atmosphere of her home.

Some feelings still clung to the happy memories of the past.

It was not something she often found herself mulling over, but her birthday was approaching, and there was no way she'd spend it elsewhere but at home. As much as she loved Alison, it was time to be brave and open that can of worms; she had been spending too much time at her friend's house.

She slumped a bit, still staring at her phone, as if it would have provided the solution to all of her problems. She just needed a text, a call, a goddamn remainder that they wanted her back there. It was easier to ignore her faults, it was her choice to alienate herself from a family that was slowly breaking down after all. She didn't want to be the one to pick up the pieces, but now that she was slowly breaking down inside, no one was there to pick up her pieces.

"Jaz, what got your panties in a twist? You look like you're about to cry..." Alison's voice wafted from the sofa nearby, too busy polishing her foot's nails to even spare a glance at her. She briefly wondered how the black-haired girl had even caught the slight difference in her expression. She had made sure to tilt her head around when her eyes prickled with tears. Jasmine remembered when she was younger; clothed in wool, warm pajamas she used to curl herself into a ball for, and cry away into her pillow.

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John had just died then, and she couldn't cope with the loss, not so early in her life. Jered would crawl on her bed, a proud smile on his face. 'Don't worry, Dad is there in heaven making business deals with God. I'm sure he'll come back soon,' he'd say, and she'd laugh at his silliness. How couldn't she?

Years passed by, and her father's death—for better or for worse—changed a lot of things. Her mother did her best to be there for them, and soon enough, Jasmine did her best not to be there. Jered must have been feeling lonely living in that empty shell of a house.

She thinned her lips into a line and raked her hands through her hair, bundling it up into a ponytail. She and Alison were lazing around in the living room, her friend's parents had left for some time—they usually did. It was all good, but she needed some ruckus around her to drown out the thoughts in her head. It was hard living with a guilty conscience, even if she had done nothing wrong. Well, not really. She did nothing wrong, but paradoxically she was wrong by exactly doing nothing.

"Hey... calm down Jaz." Alison suddenly stopped what she was doing, "What happened?"

Don't cry Jasmine, don't cry... you're better than this. Don't fucking cry.

"I... I'm fine..." a wet, salty pearl betrayed her determination, and streamed down her face. "I'm not fine..."

Nailed it.

Alison clambered to her feet and hugged her, "Shh... it's okay... what happened, tell me." her voice was so soft and comforting that for a moment she considered spilling out everything. That would have been a bad idea. Her personal problems had to stay personal, if she told her they wouldn't be personal anymore.

There was so much she wanted to tell her, so much weight she wanted to take off her chest. Alison wouldn't understand, however. When it came to things that didn't involve the two of them, she would never understand. Homesickness was but the tip of a bigger iceberg, and despite their close relationship, what was lurking in the icy depths beneath it, had to be forgotten amidst the waves of time.

"I'm going home, Ali..."

"What? I thought we'd go out today... also, I'm not supposed to tell you, but my parents want to surprise you with a birthday party! And... and—"

Jasmine sniffed a bit, interrupting her with a cracked voice. "That's awfully nice of them." she cooed, "I'm sorry, but I'm homesick... I-I just want to go home."

There was a short silence.

"Ah... I see... I must have been keeping you away from your family a lot. Huh." Alison nodded comprehensively, a smile of relief slowly blooming on her pretty face. "Honestly, I thought it was something way worse."

"Oh, no no... don't worry. It was me! I mean... thank you."

"You're so silly..."

"Oh shut up you!"

They somehow ended up pillow-fighting each other for a good while. Jasmine was clearly on the receiving end, futilely struggling to hold her friend at bay. "You're cheating! How can you be so strong!" it was all fun and games, until Alison broke through her defense, and leaned down next to her ear. Whatever she was about to whisper was cut short by a whistling melody, her phone being the source. Jasmine used that excuse to wrestle herself free from her friend's invasive grasp and stood up. A quick look at the screen, and she found herself inwardly thanking her mother for the impromptu rescue.

"Sorry, it's my mother. I better go now."

"It's okay, dear. Give me a call when you're feeling better. I'm so lonely here. I'll really miss you..."

Jasmine huffed out a chuckle as she zipped up her hoodie and took her umbrella on the way out. "Hehe, I know... I'm such an amazing and irresistible friend, everyone wants me..." she sighed theatrically, as if her awesomeness had already transcended the mortal plane of existence.

"For fuck's sake, you ruined everything. Go away..."

"Hehe, see ya."

Alison leaned back, a knee draped over the other—and before the door was fully closed, as if tempting fate that Jasmine would somehow hear her—she muttered in a sing-song tone, "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe... catch the disobedient girl by the toe, if she hollers don't let her go..." she burst into peals of giggles, her hand tip-toeing down her navel, ever so southward, past the bindings of her pants. She bit her lip, "Oh, Jaz..."

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