Something Peculiar (Enoch O'Connor)

17. New Wight

When they got to the Lighthouse, the plan was devised.  Enoch, Olive, and Horace had to be on lookout; Jacob, Emma, Bronwyn, and Millard all went in to rescue Miss Peregrine;  Fiona, Claire, and Hugh were in charge of finding some sort of first aid kit for Antonia in the bottom floor of the lighthouse, and Antonia's job was to sit still and not get herself killed.  She sat and looked around for a while, until a hand found its way to her knee.

"I'm sorry we had to meet like this."  When she heard the voice, she could've sworn her heart stopped for a second.  She didn't look at him, just at his pale hand.  "Antonia."

"Y-You're d-dead," she said quietly, still not looking up at him.  "You d-died i-in the r-raid."

"I must say," he said as he sat beside her, "you even look beautiful with fabric covering your eye."

She scooted away from him.  "You need to give me some answers."

"Well you're not going to like that I have to say."

She slowly looked up at him, and saw most of the face she remembered.  The same brown hair and pale skin, but one thing had changed: His eyes.  "W-Wesley...?" she said in a terrified voice as she stood up.  "N-No, no i-it can't be..."

Standing before her was her ex-boyfriend, as a Wight.  "E-Enoch!" she said, unsure of what else to do.

In the blink of an eye, Enoch was standing between the two of them.  "How the hell did you get past us?!" he asked as he hid Antonia behind himself.

"It's amazing, the things a Wight can do," Wesley said with a smirk as he looked at Antonia.  "I came to bring you with me, Antonia.  I couldn't find you, but now here you are.  We can be together again."

Enoch's eyes widened when he realized who was standing in front of them.  "Wesley is a Wight?!"  He pushed Antonia back slightly and stared down at him.  "You've got a lot of nerve."

"You know what else I've got?"  He looked up at Enoch, hit white eyes emotionless as they roamed his face.  "I've got the heart of that girl you're hiding behind yourself.  We're in love, and nothing can stand in the way of that.  So I suggest you move, before you get hurt."

Enoch didn't know what to say to that.  He wanted to say she didn't love him anymore, but he wasn't sure if that was true.  But thankfully, Antonia did it for him.

"I don't love you anymore," she said as she stepped out from behind Enoch.  "You were rough and abusive and I had to mask my pain every time I even looked at you.  But Enoch, he's showed me that there's better things out there for me.  He showed me that it's possible to love without getting hurt!" she yelled as she stepped towards him, and punched him across the face.  "He showed me real love!  I never loved you!  I love him!" she yelled, pointing to her boyfriend, which made his eyes widen again.

"You've replaced me," Wesley said as he wiped a bit of blood from his mouth.  "With a weak copy of myself, eh?  Don't tell me you don't see it; the dark hair, and the dark eyes.  His peculiarity.  We're exactly the same person, Antonia.  Love one, and you love the other."

"See, that's not true.  Enoch showed me love after you showed me pain.  You're two completely different people, who happen to look very similar."  She stomped on his foot, then punched him again.  "You're nothing alike."

Wesley sighed and shook his head.  "You know, I really wish it didn't have to come to this."  He took a knife handle out from his pocket, and a blade emerged from it when he hit a button.  "I guess it's feeding time already," he said as he lunged at Enoch.

"NO!" she yelled as she jumped in front of her boyfriend.  "I won't let you hurt him!"

"Get out of the way," Wesley snarled as he glared at Enoch.

"Look," Enoch said as he gently moved Antonia aside, "you want her to love you, but give her no reason to.  You try to kill her boyfriend when she says she never loved you.  Look around, where's Reggie?  Where's her best friend, the only person who could help her possibly recover from my death?  He's the one that's gone.  I wish more than anything that it was me instead of him, but it wasn't.  She's got one person left, don't take that away from her."

"Two," Horace said as he ran over.  "Sorry, I just noticed this was happening."

"Three," said Claire as she ran over with a first-aid kit in her hands.

"Four," said Hugh as he also came over, with Fiona's hand in his.

"Five," she said.

"Six," Olive said as she ran over and hugged Antonia's leg.

"Seven," Jake said as he emerged from the lighthouse.  "We heard the whole thing."

Emma emerged after him.  "Eight!"

"Nine."  Bronwyn came out next, holding Miss Peregrine's cage in her hands.

"Ten," Millard said, finishing the count.

Enoch looked at Wesley with a cocky grin.  "It's eleven against one.  What are the odds of you winning?"

Wesley grunted before turning and walking off.  "This won't be the end," he said before diving into the ocean.

Antonia turned to Enoch and hugged him tightly.  "Thank you," she said quietly as her arms hung themselves around his neck, and his found their way around her waist.  "I'm so, so sorry about-"

"You have nothing to be sorry about, if you left me I'd still be hung up on you, too."

She laughed lightly and hugged him tighter.  "You make the monsters go away," she whispered into his shoulder.  "You're my protector."

"Because I love you," he whispered into her ear as he tightened his arms around her.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

Horace stepped forward and put his hand on his sister's shoulder.  "There are two things more Peculiar than anything I've ever seen. The first is time. It goes by so fast, we take it for granted, don't even think about it, really.  Not many notice or see it.  But you, Antonia, you're the second one. You really are something Peculiar."

She smiled and hugged her brother with one arm.  "Thanks, Horace."

"Well how about we get out of here?" Bronwyn asked as she pointed to the shore.  "We can't stay here forever."