HAUNTED

25

As flames engulfed the ancient sturdy building that once lived a wise sage from a long time ago… as the crackling of the wood, the crackling of the heat on everything that once was he… The crackling of the trees that seemed to ache with every kiss of the flames sounded like screams of lost souls.

Simmering to nothing but shadows of ash.

She pulled away for a breath in a moment and he dug back in with an arousing groan that left her bones too weak to even think straight. No memories to interrupt raw lust… no thoughts… nothing but a death defying force.

Then thoughts began to scroll back to her mind, and she ripped herself from him taking a few steps back, “Sorry… I… Uhm,” she cleared her throat, “I needed to get you to worp.” She honestly hadn’t thought about it. It was just an impromptu excuse.

Looking around to see where they were, “how did you know it would work,” he withdrew his wings and took a step towards her.

“I didn’t… in the past you explained how certain things heighten avian energy and their power. That was one of them. You needed energy, I helped you charge yourself up with energy.”

“And worped us to my favourite T-shirt store,” he honestly had never been here before in his life. He had a cheeky smile on as he took another graceful step towards her. That really was his last T-shirt though.

“Jacob…” she took a breath, “we shouldn’t.”

“Lex, I…” he froze in his words scared, why shouldn’t we… short silence he thought, because you never love me like I love you… hopelessly, irrevocably… I shouldn’t have said that before… he looked at the ceiling. Still silence he reached for a shirt and a backpack in the eerie shutdown shop, closed for the day with freaky manikins and dimmed lights.

“Jacob,” she liked the sound of his name at her lips. She took a step towards him, I only remember you. Well mostly… you are the only good I remember… she thought.

He sighed pinned her hair behind her ear. Admit that I love you, she thought. He smiled.

She lay her hand lightly on his chest as she remembered the burn, “how are you feeling?”

“Hungry,” he answered lost in a thought, she smiled, “you?”

“Like a champion,” she responded sarcastically.

“Would you let me kiss you…” he froze realising what had just slipped out of his mouth, “again,” he calmed, “now.”

…this isn’t the worse mentioned but it did happen and it does need to be there otherwise it will be very confused if it just BAM happens…

Her breath was coming too fast. She pulled away, threatened… he was too close to her horrors… she shook her head and turned away. He grabbed her arm tenderly before she could walk away, “still hungry,” she teased.

“What happened to you?”

“A lot. What happened to you?”

“Not that much,” he smirked.

“Show off,” she smiled and walked towards the glass window. She looked through the guarded shades, metal blinds and the world outside was just fogged. He stood beside her and peered outside for a bit.

“We have to act fast,” he didn’t break focus with the outside. She looked at him.

“Where to start,” she sighed.

“We already have,” he left the window and head for the counter to look for some food or something. Energy to worp.

“You could have at least worped us into a restaurant,” she teased.

“Kiss me again and I will,” he teased back. She turned away her walls threatened, “Why did we show up here anyways?”

“I was a little distracted with your bare chest.”

“Aha!” he suddenly yelled, “jackpot,” he had found a shelf of protein bars and fake healthy candy’s. A light flashed across outside and they both went quiet… then passed.

She got to him behind the counter. He was already a few protein bars down, “want some?”

She took one and started eating it. “What’s the plan?”

“Eat, teleport… then after a series of stuff… win.”

“You know that those people we were back then… they are gone now.”

“Yes,” he took a deep breath, “And no.” She turned to him. He had a little bit of chocolate on the corner of his mouth that made it hard to take him seriously, but she still did, “we are different no doubt about that but every time a part of ourselves stays and a part of ourselves die… some parts just…” he glanced at her.

“Live,” she sighed out, she wiped the corner of his mouth with her thumb, and “we can’t save the world while you have chocolate on the corner of your lip.”

He smiled, “eat.” She took another bite.

“We should wait until that clears,” she said after swallowing and he took down another bar.

“Nope, might be too late. We can’t wait for it to be next week.”

“What did you see exactly?”

“Burnt out forest and then I got attacked by normal people who have lost their minds.”

“Can you worp,” she asked. They heard screaming and screeching getting louder and louder… then thuds against the glass that got louder and louder. Someone hit the glass with a rock and it smashed…

He reached for her hand. Popped up at school, in the library in her office, landing with a light thud on her couch. A little too close and pleasurable he smirked and worped to a corner and ran his fingers through his hair. There was too much of this going on between them, romantically involved then not but it’s all to get something which is useless and honestly kind of irritating. We have more important things to get done… she thought, “no distractions this time.”

“Sure,” he spoke in thought.

“What now,” she asked almost. They need to know what Sam is up to that’s why invisibility is better than super strength… at this point we have no idea if Sam sees us as a threat, weather we are around or not. We know his perception is that he is cleansing the earth of inequalities by getting rid of everyone. If I were him would I care about two old souls trying to win a destined battle before it goes wrong?

“Live like we have never lived before,” he responded, she finally sat up from the couch and looked at him. “Forget we ever lived before.”

“I meant an actual plan to get rid of Sam not some profound thought.”

“I am not talking about Sam,” he sighed out.

“You can fly right?” she walked toward him. “We need an aerial view, see what’s going on,” she pretended not to have heard. She didn’t want any distractions. Things that would make her scared again. Fear makes people stupid in war. She didn’t want to fear losing him… but she already did, or losing herself and hurting him… but she already was.

“This,” he gestured everything, “will keep getting in our way if we don’t just sort it out now,” genuinely frustrated, “I was wrong that we shouldn’t… I don’t know why the hell I said that. So please forget every other life and remember that in this one much like in most of the others I am eternally glued to you and we might as well make the best of it.” Not much sense in his world, just the mindless blabbering of a Jacob.

She took his arm, “worp into the sky so we can see.”

“No.”

“Jacob,” she complained, “We have enough to face already… please stop.”

“It’s distracting not being with you,” he sighed, “Wait ’till morning enough has happened for one day don’t you think.” Sat on the couch and gazed at the ceiling, “I am tired and you are the only … that makes me feel less dead.”

“We can’t be in a Harry Potter Deathly Hollows part one situation,” he understood the reference and smiled, “what if something important is happening now.”

“It will wait for tomorrow.” He turned to his side facing away from her.

Silence, silence bore into her mind as she sat in her chair minutes past they felt long and painful, “I’m sorry,” she said with a breath, “in this life I don’t know how to...” love “I have forgotten how to be…” loved… took a breath, “uhm” she stood up. She gripped the back of her neck and squeezed, stressed. She opened her mouth say more but nothing came out all that did was warm air and a lost thought. Too broken she thought, I need to fix this one thing right in this life. He watched her as she sighed memorising the glimmer in her eyes, her lips, the way she blinked, memorising the warmth of her presence. She didn’t look at him, “I am here with you now isn’t that enough,” He smiled, she made sense, “I don’t want to hurt you. I always do.”

If I forget all the other lives you would be the cute boy I have bumped into in a war zone and kind of really like. Would I like him if I didn’t know him from before? Did I like him before I remembered? She thought. Silence.

He watched her stuck in a trance like gaze. Stuck on the words I am here with you now is that not enough … “It is,” he smiled, he took a breath silently. She looked at him, glad to hear him finally respond. “You’re enough,” she was right there in front of his eyes alive, at least not physically dead.

He worped to her, “We need to stop losing more than what our victory is worth, Lex.” Between him and a wall, with more than enough space between either one to get around him.

She reached for his cheek wanting the more of him she had been denying herself, “kiss me.” she whispered ignoring the terror of how he was walking through the walls she had fought so long to build around herself. He took a step or two towards her and did as she asked.