BLACKOUT; JR [1]

12.7

All of us were scouting the room for ingredients, or just things we thought might be generally useful. Sam was the only one who sat down, appearing to be sulking as he refused to help us. "Here we go again..." The boy mumbled, sinking further into the chair. He was situated at the desk, but he wasn't doing anything except staring down at the dusty surface. "Saving Felix from the demon." His voice was clipped, unwilling. He just used words to further demonstrate his anger with Felix, and his moping was getting tired very quickly.

Jake turned to him, a scowl crossing his face. "Felix used magic to help his brother, and I know you'd do the same." He said, his stern features causing Sam to look away, ashamed.

"Yeah, I guess." He mumbled, tracing patterns with his pointer finger on the dust covered desk.

"The boy has skill." Phoebe acknowledged, flicking through the pages of one of her many spell books.

"And we have potential!" Andy added, a bright smile taking over his face. The hard lines that were previously resting on his smooth skin were erased as he moved his head down to the book he was reading, grinning to himself. "Does that make us warlocks, as well?" He asked, directing his question to Phoebe. I stifled a giggle at his question, but she just rolled her eyes. Andy didn't realise this unfriendly gesture, as his nose was buried in the novel.

"Really, Andy." She sighed, closing the leather clad book with an unnecessary slam. "It just seems to make you a pain." Andy picked his head up upon hearing her statement, it had caused him to frown. The distressed creases returned, taking their rightful place and diminishing his smile. Then, a clatter of footsteps sounded from inside the shop, and they were coming toward the back room. It took our attention away from the irritated comments that were being thrown around, and our mouths went wide with horror. I didn't know what I expected, but I was sure it wasn't that. Ellen and Mia ran inside, gushing at Sam and Andy. I let out a relieved sigh as they squealed, and I was glad that it wasn't somebody else.

A string of words left Ellen's mouth, and most of it was undecipherable. "Felix just got kidnapped!" She shrieked, her shrill voice casting a silence over the room. "A teacher took him." We all perked up at this, knowing exactly who she was talking about. The girls seemed surprised by our reactions, but the suspicious looks that coated our features puzzled them the most.

"It was Bates, right?" Andy asked, causing the both of them to nod in unison.

"How did you know?" Ellen questioned, raising an eyebrow curiously. The pair seemed to stare at each other, lost in the thoughts that smothered their minds. It stayed like that for a little longer than any of us anticipated, and we baked in the awkward silence. Mia cleared her throat, eyeing her friend with clear embarrassment.

"Oscar was there, too." She noted, snapping Ellen and Andy out of their trance. They both blushed furiously, and tried their best to hide their heated faces. "He was helping."

"Oscar was helping Bates?" Sam mumbled, his head turned down at the desk. He looked to be thinking deeply, trying to find the answer to his own question.

"Well, the demon is known to possess more than one body." Phoebe chimed in, walking over to place a full jar on the surface of the table. The way she said it made me believe that I should have already known, but it just didn't ring a bell. Sam's eyes flickered up to the woman, his lips parting as a dry cough escaped his mouth.

"Okay, now I'm really scared." He mentioned, hanging his head glumly. Phoebe's words had thrown Ellen and Mia off, and I then realised that we'd just accidentally exposed ourselves once again.

"Demon?" Ellen squeaked, her face as equally baffled as her voice. "As... as in the football team?" Andy turned back to face her, and I was a little surprised at how calmly he handled Ellen's mistake.

"No, as in evil supernatural force." He corrected her with a very blank voice, but I guess that was to be expected. Jake was put back to work, as Phoebe was still collecting various magical items from around the room. She needed help, and Jake was the closest.

"We need to go to the police!" Mia stated, and she was suddenly so worked up that she was almost yelling. I winced at the volume of her voice, and wondered why they hadn't gone straight to the cops in the first place. It was a good thing they didn't, but it was just something to think about. Ellen silenced her friend with a wave of her hand, and she eyed Andy with pure stagger in her tone.

"Did you just say evil supernatural force?" She muttered, apparently wanting it clarified. Andy let out a small sigh, then he turned to Sam. He looked up at the Asian boy, clearly not aware of the notions in his mind.

"I think it's confession time, guys."