The Unseen World

Chapter 8: Bella

    I didn't know what was going on with Jared and Jackie, but I was going to find out. Yesterday, they had gone on a walk, and from what Jackie told me, had talked about some serious yet pleasurable matters. But Jared had come back with a frustrated Jackie storming behind him. She looked ready to bawl.

    I had made her tell me what happened, and asked her if she wanted me to talk to him about it, even though I knew what her answer would be. And she said no, even though she knew I was going to do it anyway. Then, not 60 seconds later, there she is all cuddled into his back. How can someone be so forgiving?

    Well, when we got landed and the camp set up, we all went straight to sleep, so there goes one opportunity. I vowed before I went to sleep that I'd nail him while he was on watch in the morning. He was up when the sun was slowly peeking out of its bed.

    The sun shone through the tent and I squinted against it and rolled over to go back to sleep. My mission! I jumped up and ran a hand through my short but thick choppy hair and yawned. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and walked out into the bright sunrise.

    Jared sat on a little stump next to a stream, watching the water trickle past him and gradually increase to become a good sized river. As he heard me approach, disrupting the peace of his scenery, he sighed.

    "So, wanna talk about what happened?" I asked, sitting down on the grass with my back against the stump. I was facing away from him.

    "No, not really," He muttered drowsily.

    "Talk," I snapped. "I know you like Jackie and you feel like you can't ever be with her. I know it hurts too much to be around her, but that's not any reason to go around breaking her heart." I stood up and walked around the stump so I could crouch in front of him and look him in the eyes. "So tell me, my dear friend. What the heck were you thinking?"

    "A lot of things." He said smugly. When he saw my glare, his 'I'll-never-talk' charade crumbled. "I was thinking that she looked beautiful surrounded by flowers. I was thinking how much I wanted to take her into my arms and never let her go. I was thinking.. how much I wanted to kiss her." He added the last part quietly, hesitantly and with a blush. He avoided my gaze.

    "I think you should have," I laughed quietly and fell back onto my rear and sat criss-cross applesauce. Jackie would have liked that, I thought.

    "How could I have done that when I know what I do?" He growled more to himself than me. My smile melted off my face.

    "What? What do you know?" I asked, sitting up onto my knees. "What do you know!?"

    "I know my destiny, and I know hers!" He snapped, standing up from the stump and walking over to the stream.

    "W-what are you talking about?" I asked, getting up and taking two steps after him.

    He took a deep breath and began to sing.

    "In a time of trial and change,

      A young Squire shall bring a dame,

    but before the dark she beats,

      the one she loves, death shall reap."

    The silence, when he finished, was deafening. I decided to break the silence with a slight applause, also to maybe lighten the mood. No such luck. He spun around angrily.

    "Bella, don't you see what this means?" He snapped, storming over so we were face to face. "If I die, who will take care of my parents when they get old and gray? What about Jackie? Who will protect her?"