Pure Magic (Ballad of the Seer, Book One)

Chapter 9 - Scars

"Jack called me six times yesterday." Lily said, when she sat down in Dianna's car, the next morning. Dianna pointed to the cupholder at the iced latte from Express-O that bore Lily's name. Lily was glad to take it.

"What did he want? As if I don't already know." Dianna sucked on her straw as she put the car in gear and took off.

"I let it go to voicemail and deleted the messages. But he keeps texting me." As if to illustrate her point, Lily's phone dinged with another message from Jack. Lily read it aloud, "Need to see you." She switched the phone to silent so she wouldn't have to hear the incessant pinging.

"He really can't take a hint, can he?" Dianna asked.

When the car behind them honked, Dianna looked over her shoulder and held up her middle finger. "Some people are so impatient." She shook her head and slammed on the gas, jolting them forward.

On the next block, Dianna sped up to make it through a yellow light. She barely missed a kid on a bicycle. "Damn kids," Dianna exclaimed as she pulled into a parking spot in front of the pharmacy.

"You're over the line." Lily informed her.

Dianna shrugged and tossed her sunglasses onto her seat before walking away.

Lily sucked in her breath as she suddenly felt the pull on her heart which meant Duncan was somewhere nearby. She closed her eyes and waited for the tingling to begin. She forgot how good it felt. Being sequestered in her house all day yesterday, she hadn't felt as much as a nudge from him.

"Hey, look, there's Lover Boy." Dianna said.

Lily's eyes popped open to see Duncan across the square with Bobby. They had become fast friends.

Duncan must've sensed Lily, too. He suddenly turned over and smiled at her. She wanted to run up to him and hold his perfect face between her hands, to feel the electricity that flowed between them, and to kiss him. She wanted to... right up to the point that she saw Veronica—with the old army jacket Duncan always wore—jogging up behind him.

Lily turned away before she had to see Duncan embrace Veronica, instead of her. She ran back the way they had come. She didn't stop until her side ached and she struggled for breath.

Lily felt a hand on her back and spun to see Dianna. "If it wasn't a stupid question, I'd ask if you were okay."

Lily leaned against the alley wall. "I wasn't expecting that to hit me like it did."

"I'll say. You popped every streetlamp you passed. Do you think it was someone else's emotion, y'know, taking over?"

Lily shook her head. "It was most definitely my emotion. I guess I didn't know just how much I liked him."

Dianna tossed her hands up. "Have I not been saying that you're cuckoo for his Cocoa Puffs all this time?"

"I can't believe that he's with her. How could he like her? She's so..." Lily let out a frustrated screech. She took the band out of her hair and redid it. She did this several times, never quite feeling that she had it right.

Dianna grabbed her hand, before she could pull the band loose again. "Leave your poor hair alone. I swear if you keep that up you'll go bald."

Lily dropped her hands to her sides and shook them out, her fingers itched to be doing something. She felt like her hands contained so much unrealized energy.

"Lily," someone called out from the mouth of the alley. She knew before she looked back that it was Jack. "I really need to talk to you." He was dressed in jogging shorts and a sleeveless shirt. She guessed that he had been out for a run. Although, he usually did that in the forest trails behind his house.